Grey Layers

of style and of substance

Boss Babe : Denisse Benitez

My boss babe tab is officially open! Nobody has the honor of being my first BB other than my Babe in crime, Denisse Benitez knowns as Thugnanny. Flipping through my Instagram all I could remember is how my eyes slowly started lusting over a photo well composed with a girl in a red cloak in the dead of winter. Who is this amazing photographer? Blushing at every compliment, humble and as grounded as Earth itself, I thought it would be a great idea to work with The Thugnanny. And there it was, a perfect shot. I was right to work with her. Every frame is perfection. Perfect enough that Vogue Italia picks her work to publish a few times a year. Is she a live nanny? Is she just a photographer? What about her that truly grabs by the heart? It’s time I sat with her, no shoots, no work, no meetings, just a sit down to finally dig beneath her grounds to share the girl behind the hustle. PS: we tried to be really serious through this amidst our A.D.D. JG: How old were you when you first held a camera? What inspired you to coninue from there? DB: I honestly don’t remember how old I was. I got a camera for christmas for a couple years in a row (I kept losing it). What really inspired me was being able to create. Till this day that’s my favorite part. JG: That’s amazing. It must be the most rewarding part! You’re climbing your way to the top and a lot of bloggers and models inquire to want to work with your talent! Tell me about your humble beginning. DB: Thank you! It’s continuously an amazing and pleasantly surprising experience. I started shadowing one of my mentors Mario Peña back in like 2010. He’d let me go to photo sessions with him. He’d take me to art galleries all over the city. That exposure really set the foundation for me to do my own thing. I started out by begging my friends to let me take terrible, over filtered photos of them.. Years later.. well here we are JG: That’s great! I think a lot of other aspiring photographers look up to you because of your humility as well! I know I do. Tell us a little bit about your 9-5! DB: Thank you! That’s so kind of you to say. Recently I’ve gotten a lot of inquires…

Read More

Color between the lines

Coffee has disappeared from my life. I’ve been drinking more colorful things lately. Orange juice, mango shakes, Peppermint teas.. My jars full of chocolate and truffles have been exchanged for fresh fruits and and houseplants. Well.. half a houseplant because I keep forgetting that plants actually need water to survive. No green here thumb here, that’s for sure. My wardrobe, slowling adding in yellows, limes, lavenders, and aquas. What has the world gotten to? You might think. Well , I was thinking : Color might not be so bad sometimes. Oh No! Who is this person? What have you done to Jeanne? Relax. I’m still the same clean, minimal, boring black and white grandma that you’ve come to love. I hope. Bralette by Sonoire Adding this aqua hand knitted cardigan from Elin US is probably the best decision I’ve made this dead of winter.Inna, the designer behind the knits, hand perfects these pieces to bits.  It’s become my blanket on datenights, my bestfriend on girls night ins, my comforter ( yes, because it’s big enough to be.), and my favorite accessory to top off any look this winter. Clearly my new obsession. Photography by Denisse Benitez Makeup by: Ella DeJesus In Collaboration with Elin US. Check out her pieces here. 

Read More

On Romance

Is romance really dead? Walking around a whole new place gets me thinking about the craziest things. Quite frankly a new surrounding allows new observations and thoughts. I wouldn’t mind this. Think about it. So many people believe this to be true. But look again. Now, we don’t commit, we just test. We order up human beings through Online Dating sites like they’re a medium sized McDonald’s meal. We now think intimacy lies in a perfectly executed string of emojis and that good morning texts are more important than honest conversations at 2 am. Cut your choices down. Concentrate on one. One is all you’ll need. Isn’t that the point? To find one, and stick to one?  We think that the more choices and options we have in dating, the better we are. Our choices kill us. The more chances you have, the more watered down it is. We end up forgetting what it actually feels like after dating over and over again – thinking there’s a better one, thinking we might be missing out. We end up missing what’s right under our noses, asking to be loved. And when we do choose to commit, the cycle continuous as you start comparing your redden-eyed, tear stained bed sheet relationship to the shiny and perfect 140 character, emoji filled couple you see on social media.

Read More
Instagram did not return a 200.

About GreyLayers

GreyLayers is style partnered with substance. Meshing both together in harmony creates depth-filled style, travel and living. Jeanne Grey created GreyLayers to influence the everyday and awaken passion within others through the layers that make her who she is.

Get Social

Latest Posts