The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast - #85: Ashley Tisdale - Acting, Singing, and building an Empire

Episode Date: October 24, 2017

On this episode we are joined by superstar Ashley Tisdale (@ashleytisdale) to discuss her journey from child actress to adult actress. What it's like being in the movie and music industry, auditioning, embracing social media as an actress and musician and how to develop thick skin and patience in the demanding Hollywood atmosphere. We also learn all about Ashley's brand Illuminate cosmetics.  For Ashley's YouTube Channel click HERE To Learn More about Illuminate Cosmetics click HERE To connect with Lauryn click HERE To connect with Michael click HERE This episode is brought to you by The Skinny Confidential Bombshell Body Guide and Meal plan.  tired of combating inflammation & bloat? Want to feel lighter and sexier? Check out lauryn’s latest 7 day meal plan. In this simple & super effective plan you’ll find: + tsc grocery list with every ingredient you need for the 7 days. + what the f*ck to do when you love carbs guide. + quick and delicious recipes: breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner and dessert. You will also find 28 weeks worth of fat burning, muscle toning, 27 minute long, effective workouts you can do at home with no equipment. USE PROMO CODE: HIMANDHER at Checkout for 20% Off

The following podcast is a Bostick Media Production. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostick are bringing you along for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to the Skinny Confidential.

Him and her. Aha! Aha! Skinny Confidential, him and her. Oh, hey guys. It's Tuesday and we are podcasting straight from New York City. I'm Lauren Everts Bostic behind the Skinny Confidential. The Skinny Confidential, for those of you who don't know, is a blog, podcast, and YouTube channel that encourages women to be the best version of themselves. And I am Michael Bostic, entrepreneur, marketer over the last 10 years, specializing in product development and marketing. I'm really, really behind the skinny confidential. Literally. What does that mean? Just like I've been behind you, literally. I don't know.

That's creepy. And yes, now podcaster. So today we're going to have someone on that's going to discuss the music industry, the makeup industry, her career journey, child acting, transitioning from child actor to adult actor, auditioning, having thick skin and patience. And a little thing called high school musical. Yeah, but we can't tell them yet. So we are in New York right now. We just finished up a speech at Brunch Works, which was really fun. And it was really fun to meet some of you guys there. And we are off to dinner. Where are we going? You said it was some great place. Pasquale Jones. Is that what it's called? Oh God, you got to look it up on your phone.

Tell them the app you use so they can go download this app that you're obsessed with. I've said this before, but if you're ever in New York city, actually now they have in multiple cities, they have an LA, San Francisco, Texas, maybe an Austin, London, a lot of places. Um, but anyways, it's called the infatuation and I've used it for years. Um, it's honestly like the best food app, especially in the city. Not an ad. It's not an ad. No, it's not an ad. It should be. But they basically rank restaurants and you can look in terms of like, do you want to go for a date night? Do you want to take your parents out? Do you want to go for a chill even? You want to go for a drink, brunch, whatever. And it ranks them. And then it also gives reviews. And I have the app now on my phone

because I just pulled it off the charger. It's in Austin, Chicago, Denver, London. It's always the best food and drinks. You guys, these guys know what they're talking about. Definitely download it if you're in New York City. And then you also use that other weird app. New York, Interrupti, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C. What's that other app that you use? That's the only one I use.

City Slicker? Oh, no. City Mapper. That's another one. If you're running around, that's a good one too. Yeah. To get around. That's what I have to deal with him and all of his apps.

For those of you that are new listeners, I recently, yes, Lauren, I recently went back in and recatalogued, retitled, redescribed, where is that cataloged? Redescribed all of the older podcasts, updated the titles, updated the numbers, updated the guests, made it easy to navigate, figure out each of the older podcasts, you know, updated the titles, updated the numbers, updated the guests, made it easy to navigate, figure out each of the subjects. So for those of you that are new and are kind of like, okay, what should I listen to? Where should I start? What am I interested in? I've made it easy for everyone to kind of go back, look at the older episodes, see what they're about, see who's involved, see who the guests are, see what the subjects are, and then click play from there. I helped by sitting next to you. That's true. You sat there, rubbed my neck a little bit. But yeah, so it's just, you know,

now for anybody that wants to go back and listen to the old episodes, it's really easy to figure out what they're all about. Happy listening. All right. Well, well, well, we have got a treat for you. Let me give you guys a hint. She was on the series, The Sweet Life of Zack and Cody and High School Musical when she was younger. But ultimately, she's a total badass who's taken her career and turned it into an incredible empire. Not only did she launch her own makeup line called Illuminate recently, she also has a successful production company, music career, and YouTube channel. We're actually filming for her vlog during this podcast, which was so ideal because it was the best lighting team ever.

Her social media is off the chains with a cool 10 million followers. She loves her fans like no other, which you know I appreciate. If you're looking for her, she's now running her business and in the studio. So you guys probably already guessed, but if you haven't, surprise, it's Ashley Tisdale. As we're welcoming her, you guys should know that she's flipping through my book and totally going to make three ingredient pancakes because she said she likes easy recipes. I feel like she gets me. Anyway, I love a girl who's building her empire while making easy, quick recipes in the kitchen. So with that, welcome to the show, Ashley Tisdale. If you didn't already know from the show title. Michael. Lauren wanted to surprise everyone. She's like, this is going to be a big reveal,

big surprise. I'm like, well, they're going to see the title of the episode right off the bat. Maybe it was a surprise. But if you can't read and if somehow this just got turned on, surprise. Surprise is Ashley Tisdale. Surprise is Ashley Tisdale. Here we go. This is the Skinny Confidential, him and her. Okay, Ashley, introduce yourself to the audience. I'm sure they already know you, but just give us a quick intro.

Hi, my name is Ashley Tisdale. And I'm here to talk to you guys. We're so excited to have you. Aw, thank you. Give us a little bit of background on your journey with acting and singing and now your makeup line. Share the dance. And now to the big finale of finishing here with us. Yeah, the finale is the end of my life right now. Well, at least you have good light. Man, it's been a long, a long journey. I mean, I've been in the business since I was three years old and I started in commercials and modeling for Ford Models because that's kind of like what

you did in New York. I'm from New Jersey originally, and then from there, I just kind of evolved into musical theater. I did Les Miserables on tour when I was eight. Wow. I did a couple tours. I did Annie in Korea, which was very interesting, and then I got like the bug for TV, and so I was like 10, and I started coming out to LA and I started working on TV shows. And I think it just like kind of has always evolved into something else. Acting's always been my number one through everything.

Cause I think like, you know, at eight years old, I had to like make a decision, which was like, are you going to continue with music or are you going to continue with acting? And acting's always been my number one, but obviously with high school musical, being able to join both the music and acting was so much fun. And, uh, yeah. And then I've, I have a production company, Blondie Girl Productions I've had for seven years and we've produced for E and MTV and Bravo and have the show Young and Hungry on Freeform. And I have my makeup line. So I always

like, you know, for me, I think specifically it's always about staying busy. I love to work. I've had a very normal life because my parents were like, you're going to go to regular school. You're going to work in clothing stores up until you have a series. So I did. But, you know, I just think that I love to work. And when up until you have a series. So I did. Um, but you know, I just think that I, I love to work and when I'm not busy on the acting side, I have to be doing something. Otherwise I just feel like my day is not fulfilled. Like I'm like, Oh gosh, I feel like I'm wasting what like God gave me, which is like to be creative, you know? So, uh, so yeah, that's like a little, I want to go back a little bit. I mean, you started so young. Were your parents actors or?

No, they weren't. My dad is actually a contractor and my mom was in fashion. She went to fashion school and had a clothing store when we were younger. I was found in a mall by my manager. Same manager this whole time? Well, I actually, we just parted, but, um, but yeah, we were still obviously like, he's like a second dad to me. Um, so yeah, he found me in New Jersey at the shopping mall and thought it was just really cute. And that, I mean, my mom was like not into it at all.

She was like, no, thanks. Like I know what that business is like, and I don't want to do that. And he was just like, please, here's my card. And it was really because my grandma had just suffered a loss in the family. So my mom was trying to get my grandma out of the house. And she was just like, well, this guy gave me this card. Maybe we should just call him and see what it is. And he had an audition for me, and it was a JCPenney commercial. And so she got my grandma to go with her. And I went out for it, and I booked the first commercial and

I booked seven commercials after that in a row. So I think for my parents, they're just like, um, this is weird. Like it happened just so naturally that they're like, maybe this is what she's like meant to do. Uh, but yeah, so it was very important for them to like, you know, for me to have a normal childhood. And that's why I was always in school. And how do you go from that to the Disney channel? Like where, what happened in between? I was a really serious actress before Disney. No, but for real, it was funny because obviously as an actress, you have to audition for everything. And so I always auditioned for Disney stuff and I was always up for like Disney channel movies. Like I was up for Xenon. I was up for, I forget what it was called, but it was one with Shia LaBeouf. And I was, it was always me and like the girl who was

on Disney channel and she would always get it. And I was just like, you know what, this is it. Like I'm so over, like for me, I was like doing network shows. So I was just like, whatever, you know, like I was like, I'm just gonna do my network shows. So I actually stopped auditioning for Disney based off of being like, they're always going to go with the Disney Channel actress. I'm just never going to get in. And my first pilot was for Chuck Lorre pilot. And he's the creator of, you know, Big Bang Theory and Mom. And so that was my first pilot was for Fox. It didn't get picked up. The year after was for, um, an NBC show the year after was for a, uh, ABC show. So I kept on working in TV, but like, it was these pilots that weren't getting picked up. And finally I just got to the point where I was just like, okay, this is like really rough. Cause you're like almost there. And then

it doesn't go. And like, my whole dream was just to be on set all the time and like be on a TV series. I mean, it's still my dream today. Like I, my goal is to win an Emmy as best actress. So, um, you know, for me, I was just like, this is so frustrating. And then this Disney show came about in Suite Life of Zack and Cody. And at first I was like, no, I don't audition for them anymore. And then I was just like, hold on one second. They only do two pilots. So it's a 50, 50 chance of you get picked up. And so I think for me at that point, everybody in my team, like my agent was like, no, don't do it. And I was just at this point in my life where I was just like, I just graduated from high school. So used to having structure in my life, like school, then auditioning. And now it's just like, okay, like,

what am I doing? Like either go to college or, you know, like nothing's happening type of thing. And I was just like, you know, I'm just going to go out for it. And I had auditioned for both Maddie and London and I tested for both Maddie and London. And so pretty much it was just like, I was, you know, they loved me for Maddie and, um, I got the show and I was just like, awesome. And so I felt really good knowing there was only two pilots that year, which is like for networks, there's 30 usually. So that's kind of how that came about. But it was interesting because like my whole life, my journey has never been like, she's the girl, you know, like, and like, I get it right away. I fought for everything, even for High School Musical. Like I was finally in a situation where I'm the Disney Channel actress and I'm auditioning for High School Musical. I'm like, oh, I'm getting it. And yet like they didn't even think about me for it. I was just like, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Like this is like, I'm supposed to get this easier. Right. And I was just like, they were like, no, we already have like who we want. And it was just

like last minute thing where I got to meet with Kenny and I ended up like, you know, I just pretty much fight for every role that I get. What's the, because you've been acting for a really long time. What is the difficulty transitioning from like a child actress to an adult? Like, cause you know, you hear a lot of horror stories of children acting and then, you know, getting typecast or not being able to get work in the future. So have you experienced any of those hurdles? Oh my gosh, of course. Like, I feel like every stage of that is like, you know, something, uh, you have to go through and it's just a process. It's like going from like the cute little, like three-year-old and five-year-old and like commercials to a teenager and stuff to then, you know, I think for me, um, right now what I've

been going through over like the last five or six years is going through my transition into my adult career. You know, I look really young. So that's been a hurdle in the past couple years. It's like, I test for a lot of shows that are out there and that are like the 30 year olds and I'm 32, but I can't play 30 yet. So it's like, that's kind of been a little bit difficult. And I think for me, there's been tons of times where I've quit. Like I remember being like 18, being like, I'm done with this business. Um, but then obviously I'm like just being dramatic because I love it. It's like my favorite thing. And I know I'll always work. Um, the cool thing about having a production company is like in this moment where it's like been difficult the last couple

of years, because it's like, I keep testing for these things that I like obviously want to do, but it's just, I don't look old enough is being able to create my own thing, which is takes a little bit longer. So it's like for my fans, they're like, Oh my God, what are you doing in acting? It's like, if you only knew, like, it takes so long to, I mean, develop a script, produce it, like get it actually like developed to a point where people want to look at it. And, uh, you know, there's like, I think, oh gosh, the night of, do you know, remember the night off took eight years? Really? Yeah. That's a great show. So I love that show. Eight years to become like something on TV. So it takes a moment, but, um, you know, that's what I love about having a production company is like being able to be like, OK, what's a character that no one is going to give me because they don't think of me as that person or that character?

I'm going to create it for myself. And that's what's cool. I like that. What's the process of auditioning? Like walk us through that. I know that you probably think it's not a big deal, but to someone that's never auditioned, what's it like? Oh, it's horrible. What do you do? Um, I think the more that you do it, the better you get at it. I think in anything in life, the more you practice something, you're obviously going to get better. Um, I still get nervous, you know, not the initial audition. Cause it's like the initial audition is with like producers and you're in the room and you just do the scene. I think what puts a lot of pressure and like the scary part is screen testing because you're like in front of the whole network

and you sign a contract being like, you know, your whole contract is already like done. If you book that job, you're good. So you sign that before you actually screen test, which is like almost this like you almost have it. And so you're that close. So what happens if they don't like you? You don't get that job.

So you screen test a bunch. So what's the contract for? The contract is for, you know, when you have gone through like pretty much like a producer session and then another session and say like, it's a pilot, you know, for Fox or something or NBC, they like when they want to screen test you, there's your screen testing up like with other people. So instead of like you having the upper hand, so say you get the job, then you would have the upper hand if you don't sign a contract first, because you're like, oh, well then I want this much and all this stuff. And like, they don't, yeah. So they like pretty much work all that stuff with it within all of the actresses that are testing. And then they have you test and whoever gets it, like they've already signed.

They already got it figured out. Yeah. What are the dark sides of Hollywood? Like give us a peek behind the curtain. Oh, the dark side. Yeah. I mean,

I think it's just like, uh, 80% rejection. You gotta have thick skin. You literally have to have thick skin. Um, I auditioned for so much stuff and you know, I've been so lucky because the stuff that I have gotten like has been amazing. Like the fact

that like I auditioned for multiple Disney channel movies and ended up getting the high school musical movie, which became this bigger than life thing. Like, Oh my gosh. Like it's just patience. Like you have to have patience in this business because it's just like, you never know what's going to be amazing and what's not going to hit and like just getting the, you know, opportunity pretty much. And, uh, I think it's just like, that's probably like really hard. I know I would assume competition. There's so much competition. It's funny. I think there is. And that's, what's difficult with, um, I feel like that's in anything that's good. Yeah. It's hard because I've been raised differently. Like I was raised since I was in the business. Since I was young, I don't look at it differently.

And my mom, when I was younger, she used to tell me she'd never wanted me to feel rejection, especially being so young and doing commercials. So she told me every commercial I auditioned for was the job. So I actually thought I already was doing the job. And it wasn't until I started watching TV and I was like, I thought I did that commercial. And she's like, oh, they went with the redhead. Like she's just like made it very like non-competitive. Also my sister was in the business. So for me, how I compete, like in anything, like I even like do this with my hiking. I just feel like I just compete with myself. Like I feel like if women specifically were to know, like no one is taking anything away from you, no one can take anything away from you. Like you're either meant to get

that job or you're not meant to get it. And I feel like it would be just so much easier. And it's hard because I'm a very supportive person over all of my actor friends and any friends that do well, but then it's just hard sometimes to like receive that back because it's just like, I think some people are just like in that kind of zone. Um, so that's difficult, but I, you know, I love that. I know for me, it's like, no, one's going to take something away from you. I love that. Yeah. What's a day in the life? Like walk us. I know it's different probably all the time. It is, um, a day in the life. I feel like I'm on the phone like so many times I am like, I've become a real like business person. Um, you know, I like wake up, I make coffee. Are you early riser or do you rise later? I do. I mean, I wake up around 8 AM. Okay. Um, I am a morning person. I think people would say 8am. Okay. Um, I am a morning

person. I think people would say like cast members would be like, you're a morning person. Cause even like when I'm doing a show and I'm like, have to be wake up at 5am. I'm like singing in the trailer, like makeup trail. I'm like, ah, we're opposite on that. Yeah. Very big morning person. It's the coffee that gets me started. Oh my God. I told him to wake me up like a cat. I've been still, I've been trying to figure out what that means like one of our wedding vows I said I'll promise to wake you up like a cat but I kind of like ad-libbed it because I still haven't figured out what that means like you gotta figure it out because I think it means like a pet it just means like you can't you know like when you scare a cat and it jumps up that's the wrong way to do it yeah yeah you gotta do the other to do the other way. Yeah. That's so funny to work on that. Okay. So you wake up,

you make coffee, wake up, make coffee. I looked at my emails. Um, you know, I check in with like what's going on with illuminate. I check in with my production company.

I check in with like my agents and just see like what I have that day. Um, pretty much like my schedule. I have like a crazy schedule. So I just try to like look at it the night before, just to not get overwhelmed by it. Um, but that's pretty much like how I do it. I have a lot of people that obviously like teams of people that help and, uh, yeah, that's pretty much me. I want to know more about your makeup line. Oh yeah. Yeah. Talk to us about that.

How do you go from acting to makeup line? Well, um, I don't know. How do you do come from that? Um, for me, my dream has always been to own a company. Like I just, it's ingrained in me, my, like my family on my mom's side. Um, people don't really, I think some people do, but Ron Popeil, who's like the set it and forget it guy is like my cousin, my grandpa's cousin. My grandfather was in infomercials and, um, he was the guy who, if you stay up late and see infomercials, like he promotes like the Ginsu knives and was known for that. Yeah. He's just like a huge, like the whole family on my mom's side of business does that stuff. So they're very business savvy. And I think that that's just something I have in me. Um, with Illuminate,

I obviously have been a huge fan of makeup I've worn makeup my almost my entire life so you know a lot of it had to do with that whenever I would go to events like years before I mean and it's like even before Instagram was born I always did my own makeup like I had obviously hair and makeup people for certain events, but then who wants to have that? Like, you know, people with, I mean, that would be nice. But for me, it's like, I actually have a little, like I do have anxiety and a lot of the time I would just like not go to something because of the pressure of like having a hair and makeup people come and do your hair and makeup. It's actually easier for me to just do it myself and feel like it's like a cool night

just to like be chill and hang out. So, um, I've always been a big fan of doing my own makeup and you know with BH Cosmetics who I partnered up with there was just an opportunity there and I was just like oh my gosh I would love to. We're actually in the middle of doing something that is an even bigger situation. I can't really talk about it yet, but pretty much there's a lot of new ideas for Illuminate. And for me, I just feel like what I love about my company and what I love about Illuminate is that there's obviously makeup is so huge right now, but my price point is, you know, really affordable. And whenever I go out to do something specific like I always think of the fans I'm always thinking about like okay like you know a lot of people always ask like what I was using

and stuff and I was just like okay well how can I like create something like this but make it affordable because I just feel like I know who my fans are I like interact with them daily I know they're on a budget I know they're just like in college and stuff and it's just like okay well what did I used to do and like what do I still they're just like in college and stuff. And it's just like, okay, well, what did I used to do? And like, what do I still do? And you know, like I'm the type of person that, you know, yes, you can buy like for skincare, I spend more money on that. But then for eyeshadows and stuff, like you're constantly like using that stuff and then you have to buy a new palette and like get new stuff where you're super excited about this one. So it's just like the fact that I'm able to make it affordable for my fans is just something I'm really proud of. What's your favorite in the line? If some, if someone's listening,

what do they need? Oh, there's so many favorite things. Well, I'm a huge fan of lashes. Uh, so I mean, and a lot of my friends who have my line, they're just like, they love my individual lashes. Are you wearing them right now? Okay. I was looking at your lashes when I walked in. They're cluster lashes and they're my favorite. They're like so good. $6. And I mean, even like my girlfriend, Lea Michele was just like, I love your lashes. And it just, I, they're my favorite, but I also love the beach goddess palette. I'm like a bronze goddessy person. So, um, that palette's just perfect. It has like, it has everything from contour to highlighter, to the eyeshadows, to blush. So it's just like what we were talking about being the girl on the go. It's just like, I take that with me and I'm able to do touch-ups

during the day, but it's very like warm tone compared to like the night goddess, which is more cooler tones. And what was the process of building this? Do you actually get in there and pick the colors and try it and everything? Like What's that process like? It takes so long. It takes forever. A lot of back and forth. Before it even launched, I was like two years had been developing it. So from the palette, I mean, from the packaging itself, um, the packaging, you know, which we actually are revamping because what I, you know, it's like kind of a trial, you know, like you're learning while you're doing it. Um, I'm so proud of the packaging, but at the same time, it's like kind of a trial you know like you're learning while you're doing it um I'm so proud of the packaging but at the same time it's not like you know friendly for someone to walk into a store because you can't tell the difference between night goddess and

beach goddess and like the cream cheek and lip tint so we're trying to figure out a new way of doing that um but the packaging itself was like built off of this L beach cover that I had that I just always loved the colors on it the girl was wearing a black and white striped shirt and I'm huge into stripes. However, black and white reminded me of Sephora. So I was just like, what's my next favorite color? And I was like, oh, rose gold. So that's how that was made. And then, yeah, from the start, I was just like, okay, what are my go-to like colors? And that's how the beach goddess was formed. And then the night goddess. And I just get, obviously I'm always buying makeup and getting inspired by certain things. And that's pretty much just how it happens. And like, I just had the matte liquid lipsticks come out that took

about a year and a half. Um, long time. It's really takes a long time. Um, which it's hard because the fans get a glimpse of it and then they just want it constantly. And I'm just like, yeah, they're not, you know, like, and I'm someone who also prides myself on quality. So I'm not going to come out with something. And like, I would hate for it to be like, you know, the trust with my customer and knowing that they're going to get like amazing quality for affordable pricing is like so key. So it's just like, if something is off just about the formula, I will stop production to like redo it. And so that's kind of what happened is off just about the formula I will stop production to like redo it and so that's kind of what happened with the matte liquid lipsticks like I was testing out my

liquid lipsticks and fans would see it on like my pictures and they wanted it and then I was just like the formula I just didn't love so I had to like redo that formula so it takes it's a it's a process it's definitely a process how important is social media to this process? Um, I mean, I'm like super into social media. I just like love it. Um, you know, I think for me, it's like, you're able just to get comments right away and like hear from the fans, which is so great. So it's like, you know, what they love seeing what they're like posting about seeing what, you know, what they're purchasing from the line. Um, sometimes I get, uh, you know, like even for the naming, you know what they're purchasing from the line um sometimes I get uh you know like even for the naming you know like constantly coming up with names for each eyeshadow and stuff is like

definitely difficult um and I had themes in the beginning and then I had obviously for this uh one of the other palettes called the goddess palette I knew it was gonna be called the goddess palette but I didn't know like what to name it. And I just asked the fans and the fans were like, why don't you name out after your friends? And I was like, oh my gosh, that's a really good idea. So then I just like took their ideas. It's pretty cool. That is cool. It's the best when you're like building a company from scratch and you can basically like communicate with your customer base before you have to make any decisions. They can kind of make the decisions for you and then, or help you make the decisions. And then like when you start actually selling and branding,

you already have a built in audience that feels vested, right? Like cause they feel like they've helped you create something. Yeah, exactly. How do you think social media has changed the industry you're in? Cause it's, cause here we are vlogging. I know. Can you talk on that? So crazy. I know. Um, you know, I feel like it's,'s yeah it's like definitely it's so different it's really funny because I had started on YouTube when YouTube first started I was like another number six subscribed person at that time because I just like wow YouTube just became a thing and I was

doing my I believe my second album um guilty pleasure and so it's just like I was doing a lot of vlogging, like on tour with high school musical. And if you look back at my videos, they're like so funny. Cause I was just like, what do I do with this? And I was just like, I guess I'll just play video games and like film myself. I was like, there's one where I'm just like playing video games. And I remember being like, what is this? Like someone had told me what YouTube was. And I was like, I don't know, like, this is so weird. And then like it blew up and it's just so crazy, but it's awesome. And for me specifically, it was interesting because I really neglected it for a while.

I was just so busy on like Twitter and Instagram and yeah, I just kind of like didn't really put a lot of time into it like I was doing. And it was so weird because even though I was on different social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, I felt like a loss of a connection with the fans. And so that's really what made me want to like go back and relaunch my YouTube channel. Because it's funny too, because fans are like, oh my gosh, like what are you, are you just doing YouTube? And I'm like, no, like this is just something, it's an outlet for me. You know, everything that I do, like from producing to, you know, acting, it's like,

you're pretty much like being a part of something that's being created with other people. And also with acting, you're jumping into something that's already created. So it's like cool because I feel like YouTube for me is just really a place for me to just be myself and just be who I am versus like, you know, a character or, you know, doing all my business side of stuff. So it's interesting because it's like another distribution channel and it's, and it's interesting that you've embraced it because, you know, there's a lot of actors, actresses, celebrities that have been resistant to social media channels like YouTube, Instagram. And I think it's a mistake because it's almost like it i know it's a fine line where you don't want to put everything out there because you have the other side of your career which is like you need to you know get work and you need to kind of like have that air of mystery maybe

i don't know if that's the right way to say it but there's a lot of people that are like very resistant to it or don't take it seriously kind of like disrespect the the channels themselves or like i'm not going to go on social or I'm like, it's like beneath them. But I think it's a mistake because they're not understanding that at least in 2017, these are huge platforms where you can get any message you want out there. Well,

I know on the production side, just being a producer, I'm producing a movie right now. And it's about how many Instagram followers they have. So I think it is, it's changed, you know, meaning that they want someone with a lot of following because now people are getting projects based off of how much of a following they have. Um, I think it's different for everybody. Like obviously we're not going to have Angelina Jolie Instagram, but you know,

like we're not going to have Jenny Aniston. It's like a different, it was, it's different. And so I can understand why they probably wouldn't. But then you have Reese Witherspoon who's like killing it in the Instagram game. There's like certain people that have like, that are so big, right? Like the people you mentioned, you know, they're already made it, but there's a lot of people that are starting out. Right. And I think for them, this is a necessary tool. Like you need to use this. You need to be relevant. This is where people's attention is. It's not so much on the, you know, the TV anymore. Like people are consuming their content from their phone. Yeah. And even for Twitter, like I started on Twitter, like when Twitter started too. And I remember like some of my cast members were like, what is that? Oh no,

I would never do that. And now like they're doing it and stuff. And it's just like, for me, I've always just been a big fan of being able to be in contact with your fans like just being connected um you know obviously like I do take in you know okay like is this gonna hurt like I definitely think about stuff because obviously like I said acting is my number one but I just feel like it doesn't at this point it really doesn't like when you have people seeing you know how much of a following does she have? Like, you know, like that's the conversations being done. And it's also, it's kind of like, it's hard too, because it's unfair for like the people who are just starting, who don't have followings, like the people who have made it. And, you know, it's like, it's a little bit of a struggle. I mean, I think we have to find that balance because I think that, you know, that is something that is, I'm aware of,

but, um, and there's some people that are booking over other people because of their following. So it's like, it's an interesting time in the business. I think the business is still like trying to figure out this whole social media game to it. But I just, some, like I said, I've just always been into like connecting with my fans and I've from day one high school musical would not have been anything without them because it wasn't something like a twilight book series where the book was huge or 50 shades of gray book which was like whoever's going to do the movie it's going to be huge high school musical was not that and it was because of the fans that it became what it was and so for me I'm just like forever grateful for that. It gives you leverage in a certain way, right?

Like if you're, I don't know, if you're talking to a studio or something, you're like, listen, I already have this fan base that's right here that's gonna support me in anything I do. It's like, if you didn't have that, you're almost at risk to somebody who does. Like you said, like if another, let's say you had nothing and another woman came on

and she said, I have this many million people following me. It's like the studio is gonna say, hey, well, she's bringing an audience already. So anything she does is probably going to be successful. Exactly. I think it's just like, I think it's just interesting on, you know, it's just like more about like what you're known for, you know, like I think for as an actress, obviously I'm known for acting. So like everybody will always like think about me as acting and music. And so for my YouTube channel, they still think that way. Um, so it's like, I don't think it's something that hurts it because it's just like, I'll always be known for that. And I'll be

continuing to do that stuff. I think it's just interesting. Like, you know, when people think it's going to hurt them in some way, cause I'm just like, no, like, you know, if you're on Instagram already, or if you're on like, you know, like you can do any of that stuff. What is your vlog about? If you, if you were to sum up your channel, sum up my channel. I mean, I think it's just like everything I'm into, you know, for me, I just like, I'm not a good cook. You have a cookbook for the girl. That's always late. I know I'm so excited, but I do have some good recipes that I do so I you know shared that on my YouTube channel um there's like this one called slam and salmon everybody loves it it's like what I'm known for um and then there's like obviously the makeup stuff like how I do my makeup I'm not

a makeup professional I'm not trying to be a makeup professional because there are like some YouTubers that are like I that's where I also learned how to do makeup is like watching like Carly and like I'm like watching them like oh oh, that's how you do it. You know, for me, I'm not a makeup professional, but I'm going to share with you how I do my makeup and like how I do my skincare and, uh, fashion is another thing. So it's just all things that I love. And where's your husband in this? Is he behind the scenes? Yeah. I mean, he helps me on music sessions. It's like a really big one on my channel. Um, I music sessions is just, it's a way for me to kind of fulfill my music fans. They constantly want me to have a new album and like come out with a new album. I've been in and out

of the studio for a long time. And I guess like for me, I just like, don't want to half ass something. Can I say that? Sorry. Yeah, you can say whatever you want. You can say whatever the fuck you want. Awesome. Yeah, I just like don't like to half-ass anything. So it's like if it's not great, like I'm not going to come out with it. So it's like I've been trying to find my like where I want to be in music. And so for now, I've just been doing cover songs.

And my husband does obviously like he plays guitar and he will take a song that I'm like, oh, I love this song and it's like really like you know some crazy pop song and he'll like slow it down and do a really cool version of it um and then I've been having like guests on music sessions so we've had like my girlfriend Vanessa and Leah and I just had Echo Smith on it recently um we're gonna have more people on it so it's just like people love it I think it's like successful because it's just so it's taking two people you would never expect to do a song together and like we're doing like a cover song so that's been really fun um but other than that he's not like

super involved I feel like in everything I've done even in Twitter Instagram there's always that line where I get personal but not too personal because I feel like it just you know there's like I like to keep some stuff that's like to myself how did you guys meet that's something I'll keep to myself but just through friends through friends yeah okay you guys are so cute oh you share like little snippets like yeah on Instagram it's just like a little snippet yeah okay so I want to talk too about your music career. Okay, cool. So you've done two albums.

Yes. Tell me about those. They were so much fun. I did album Headstrong and Guilty Pleasure. You know, my dream was like growing up, like obviously I loved Britney Spears and Christina, TRL. And I was like so into it. And I had always dreamed about doing music.

And so High School Musical really gave us the, you know, like the platform to do it. It was such a different time than it is now. It's different, you know, like I loved, I'm a performer. So as much as I loved being in the studio is really about the performance that I love the most. So it's just like, I loved being in concert. I loved the music video aspect to it. And I'm so glad Tyrell is coming back because that is just like, yeah, it's coming back. I mean, for me, the music video stuff was so much fun. And then to have it kind of go away for so long, it's just like the art behind it's like gone, you know, like you're like, oh my gosh, like I love the people who are still doing it, you know, and I love to see what, like what they do with it. But, um, but yeah, I mean, it was like so much fun. Um, it's hard to kind of, for me,

it's finding like a new way to do music where I just feel like I toured and like, we went to, you know, South America, we performed for 80,000 people and you've like done these like we performed at the Staples Center so it's like where do you go from there you know like for me it's just like trying to find like I know people want me to do more music but it's just like finding that like balance of being like okay like how you know how it's just different like you could literally do music and just like put it out now and it's just like as a business what's better acting or music what's better or what am I more passionate about? Let's do better from a business standpoint and then more what you're more passionate about.

I mean, I don't know. I don't know if anything's better. I think it's just more what's what you're more passionate about. You know, like for me, like I said, when I was younger and I was doing musical theater, I did have to make that decision. And that decision's always been my number one. Even like through my production company, like acting is always my number one. Maybe that's the wrong question. Let's not call it better. Let's say what's more difficult to break into? Oh.

Like where is it easier? If you were giving somebody advice and they had musical talent and acting talent, which would be obviously rare. But if you were giving somebody advice, where would you tell them to start? Oh, I mean, I think for me, it's just obviously like, I think acting, um, I think that it just depends on what your talent, your talents in, like at this point, it's just about being talented in everything. Um, but I feel with, uh, I don't know, like, I think both are pretty hard, but like, then there's just like, you know, Justin Bieber who like is found on YouTube. Like, so, I mean, it's just like, I think if you're really talented and like, you're super

passionate about music, then start there. But I think if you're really like acting is like, you know, your main thing, the difference is, this is the difference. And this is what I tell my husband all the time, because he's a musician and now he's into composing. I'm like, as a musician, you can fulfill your, like, just like say you're not on the road. You can pick up a guitar and you can play music and be happy. As an actress, you can't just start acting. You can't just like act in your, in your room by yourself. You can't, you have to have that project you know so it's like for me that's like difficult because it's like oh I just always want to do it but I've been like doing these like cool acting classes

that are just like about like classes on playwrights not on movies and tv and it's just like something that I love to do and I'm always about like learning more because I feel like no matter where you are in any stage of your life, you can always learn more. I love that advice. We've been talking about a lot of like great things, right? Businesses and acting and singing. Can you tell us about a, like a dark period in your life and what you learned from and what you had to go through and the experience, what the experience brought you? Um, man, a dark period in my life. Maybe a difficult time or like, maybe you got, you didn't get a job you really wanted or maybe.

Oh, that happens all the time. I'm like, that's no big deal. Um, I think for me specifically, I guess like relationships were pretty dark. Um, I think that until I met my husband, I definitely had like some horrible relationships and not like horrible, but they were just like learning, you know, experiences. But at the time you're like, this is devastating. What are their names? He's going to kick their ass. Um, yeah, I mean, it's just like, it's funny. Cause like back when I think about like my relationships and it's not even just the guys, I think I was like absolutely crazy as a person you know like you just like learn about yourself and learn like things that you shouldn't do and like I think that at the time I like a one relationship specifically I kept on trying to think that I had to make it

work because I thought it was the one and like you realize like because you hear about like oh relationships are hard work but then I thought it just like maybe took it to like extreme being like, yeah, this is, this is what this is. And then you meet the person you're meant to be with and you're like, oh, it's not that hard. It's like actually really natural and like really nice. And so up until that moment though, every relationship I was like struggling and trying to make things work all the time. And I was just like, Oh my gosh, if I only knew it's not supposed to be that difficult, you know? So I think just like that, I think, um, I don't know if there's been like a really,

like, there's been obviously a period where I'm just like have more anxiety, um, than I usually do. And that's usually when I'm not on set and working as an actress. What do you do for anxiety? I do acupuncture and it helps so much. Oh, wow. I do meditation. I meditate like twice a day. When you wake up first thing? Yeah. When I wake up first thing before I have coffee and then like towards the end of the day, that's really helped a lot. It's just like really centered me. And, um, I think for, you know, me specifically, I'm just like, just like obviously have faith that like, you know, what I'm doing right now is exactly what

I'm meant to be doing. So what about a beauty tip for our audience? Ooh, a beauty tip? A good one. Oh man. There's so many beauty tips. Um, well first the lashes, that's definitely one. Cause I'm looking at them guys and they really look good they look like real lashes thank you thank you uh for me I mean like I I think I actually have a video teaching you how to do my illuminate lashes on my youtube channel I'm gonna check because I think some people get scared about the individuals and they just go immediately towards the strip I'm not a strip person because my eyes tear. So if I'm at an event and I like, like say I'm going to like some red carpet thing and I'm like a makeup artist puts a strip on me, I know my eyes going to start tearing. And like what happens is that it starts

to come off and then you're like pretty fucked because like you have to take the whole thing off. Oh, I've had them stuck in my hair for days. I stick them on him. Yeah. Like some of the nastiest things, like get up on a late night of like hitting the town. And then I look over and she's like laying there and there's like eyelashes hanging out. Oh, I know. So for me, like I love individuals because I'm like, if you're going to lose one, at least it's just one and not the whole thing. So I teach you how to do it. But I start with mascara. Don't curl them. I start with mascara, curl my own mascara, my own lashes. Then I put my individuals on and then I curl after.

So then your lashes and the lashes are curled at the same time. Great tip. Yeah. What about something that's a wellness tip? Like something you do all the time that's unique. Unique. To you. A wellness tip.

Oh, I would have to say, I mean, for me, I'm very good at like washing my face at night, putting all the moisturizers on that I need to. I've been doing that since like my early twenties, even like the eye cream. I didn't need it, but like I'm always about preventative. So I do eye cream, I do moisturizer, I clean. I'm very like my sister's the type person that she'll sleep in her makeup from something. And like, even if I come home like really late at night, I'm like, nope, washing my face and stuff. Um, that, and then also I do drink two liters of water that I bring with me. You brought a bucket of water. Yes, I did. And I bring it everywhere. Um, but that's like amazing for your skin as well. And just like, I, I work out a lot. So, you know, if I'm dehydrated, I can feel it. What's your routine?

Working out. I work out at, I'm sorry, I'm so hungry. My stomach's going. Speaking of food. I'm like, I do love to eat too. I work out three times a week with weights. And then the other three days I do hikes. I love it. Yeah.

Okay. So what's next for you? What's next? Yes. Well, right now I am developing a project for myself within my company. So that's exciting. I'm also been developing a lot of stuff that's, you know, like not for me in the company. We have, there's so many things I can't talk about.

I'm like, so I'm doing this. There's some exciting news on the illuminate side, but I just can't share it yet. Um, but it's very exciting. And yeah, there's just a lot of things I can't talk about. There's like so many things that I'm doing,

but I'm like not able to say anything yet. So we just have to follow you on Instagram. So everyone can watch. Are you working on any new projects? Any new movies? She is, but she can't talk about it. I can't talk about it.

None of them? Okay, where can everyone find you? Oh, on my Instagram at Ashley Tisdale and Twitter is Ashley Tisdale and YouTube is Ashley Tisdale. Everything is Ashley Tisdale. Easy. Yes.

Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you. Thank you. I hope you guys loved Ashley as much as we did. Make sure you're subscribed to The Skinny Confidential, him and her show on iTunes. Please rate and review us. Tell a friend. If you do review us, we'd love to send you my top five beauty hacks straight to your

inbox. All you have to do is screenshot your review and email it to asklauren, Lauren with a Y, at theskinnyconfidential.com and we will send it straight to your inbox. With that, we will see you guys next Tuesday.