Melissa began her writing career in the first grade, when her story about a princess and her pet skunk got rave reviews from her mother. She decided to parlay her skills into a career after graduating from New York University with a B.A. in journalism. Her first professional editorial gig was as an Associate Editor at Hamptons magazine, where she wrote about style, food, and the lifestyles of the famous and infamous for the pages of the weekly glossy. After Hamptons, Melissa entered into the world of women’s magazines and joined Cosmopolitan as a freelance Beauty Editor. She was then swept into dotcom mania and became a Beauty Editor at Eve.com. When Eve met her untimely demise, Melissa joined Seventeen magazine as their Fashion Writer. After a couple years covering the sartorial choices of the under 21 crowd, Melissa joined Sephora as their Beauty Editor, where she covered all things beauty for the retailer’s website and catalogs. Next, Melissa went on to become the Fashion Features Editor at Marie Claire.

When Melissa left Marie Claire, she decided to go freelance. Her articles have appeared in Shape, In Style, Redbook, Interview, Women’s Wear Daily, Marie Claire, Hamptons and Philadelphia Style. Her first book, Sephora: The Ultimate Guide to Makeup, Skin, and Hair from the Beauty Authority, was published in April 2008 by HarperCollins.