Expert Bio: Yesenia Almonte

Yesenia is the beauty director at Seventeen. After graduating from Fordham University, Yesenia went to InStyle magazine, where she was an assistant in the beauty department. (Yesenia felt it was her destiny to land a job in the beauty department!) Less than two years later, Yesenia went on to work for Latina magazine, where she started as an associate beauty director and worked her way up to beauty director. In 2007, Yesenia came to work for Seventeen and is now having the most fun she's ever had! She loves catering to teen girls because they're open to experimenting with makeup and different looks. Yesenia gets her love of beauty from her mother, Delia, who always taught her the importance of looking good. Yesenia loves to try new products and would never suggest something in the magazine that she didn't love herself. You'll often see her in the beauty closet with swatches of lip gloss on both hands. A native New Yorker, Yesenia never learned how to drive but is now taking on the challenge (she takes classes every Saturday). She also recently learned how to swim (she can do a mean backstroke!). Yesenia never misses an episode of Dancing with the Stars, and secretly wants to try out for American Idol.