Cassidy Montalvo is a creator and the digital big sister who’s become a guiding voice online.

Cassidy Montalvo has an incredible following of over 3 million across multiple platforms, in which the popular lifestyle and fashion creator has carved out a space rooted in honesty, creativity, and connection. Today, HOLR is sitting down with Cassidy to talk about her journey from content creator to community builder. Plus, how she’s reshaping beauty standards online.

Here’s what it really means to Cassidy to be a digital big sister in the age of authenticity.

You’ve been called the internet’s “big sister.” How did that identity evolve, and what does it mean to you?

I come from a big family with six girls, so I’ve literally always been a big sister. It’s a role that’s just part of who I am, I have always been the big sister that wants to make life a little easier for my other sisters. After becoming a mom, that instinct to look out for others, being that someone my girls and sisters can come to for help, just grew stronger. I also grew up in the era of beauty YouTube and the Cosmo magazines, so I’ve collected what feels like a lifetime’s worth of beauty hacks, life tips, and random “why did no one tell me this sooner?” facts.

Whenever I find something that makes life even a little more comfortable, especially for women, the first place I would go would be my sister group chat. I am the sister in our family that the others will come to for anything remotely related to the beauty and fashion world, I am also the sister that will overshare and send them every little thing I find. I basically just took my sister’s group chat and brought it online and it really resonated fast with others. When I started seeing messages coming in saying, “you’re like the big sister I always wanted,” it hit me how special that was. The whole “internet’s big sister” really grew from there. I don’t know what it’s like to not have sisters. My sisters and I are extremely close and talk every day. We have a group chat that’s never ending. I just so want to help share that with others and make people feel seen the same way I do with my own sisters. I want to be able to help give those special little hacks that just make all the difference in the world that we usually get from our big sisters. It’s been amazing to see that make a difference for others.

Where do you find inspiration for your content style, and how do you keep it feeling fresh and relatable? 

I get inspired by real life, the chaos and beauty of it, plus those random moments of “Why does no one talk about this?”. My content has always reflected where I am in life. Style wise, I am not “polished perfection”, but I am true to myself, and I have never been afraid to overshare, to open up about the good, the bad, and the embarrassing.

I view my community online like a sisterhood and if they trust me, I need to trust them. What keeps it fresh is staying curious and staying real through all the chaos that is natural to life. I let myself evolve and grow and don’t box my content into one niche, but let my content flow into whatever area of life I am in. If I am in a self-growth era, we talk about mindset. If I am in a glam era, its hair and makeup tips. I think the key is to grow with your audience, not ahead of them. Staying connected to them. I will forever be in comments and DM’s and that allows me to see the common needs that I can help with. I never want to pretend I have it all figured out. I just share what’s working and what’s not and let that evolve naturally. If it’s something I would text a friend or sister about, that’s usually my sign to post it.

How do you maintain authenticity while scaling your platform and brand?

Honestly, it comes down to remembering why I started. I never set out to build a “brand”, I just started sharing what I loved. That evolved into sharing what I was genuinely learning and going through in real time. As things grew, I made a promise to myself that I would never post something just because it would perform well or sell, it always must be true to me. I never look at analytics, because I don’t want to go down the rabbit hole of feeling the need for more followers or engagement. I never do public giveaways to get more followers or engagement. Everything I do and every piece of engagement I have I want to be authentic and real.

I also think authenticity is about intention. People can tell immediately if something is forced, and I really think intentions in your content shines bright. If someone is making content for the goal of income, it’s obvious. If someone is making content because it brings them joy and they care about their audience, you can tell. I bring everyone along for every season of life; marriage, motherhood, launches, anxiety, and just growing up. I think they trust me because I let them see both the highlight reel and the messy middle and I don’t apologize for the mess or make excuses about it. That’s life and we are all in it together.

I started scaling my brand with the intention of just having fun, but I always want to be proud of what I post even if no one sees it.

What’s one beauty or fashion tip you wish every young person had growing up — especially those who didn’t have a big sister figure?

Oh gosh, there are SO many. Like so many little hacks in the world that just make things easier. I think first and foremost I wish someone had told me that no product or outfit can replace confidence. Confidence comes from truly knowing yourself and accepting yourself for where you are, not looking like everyone else or having everything in a row. You don’t need to have it all figured out or follow every trend to be beautiful. If you didn’t grow up with a big sister, here’s what I would tell you, experiment, make mistakes, try new things, THAT’S how to find your style and yourself. But also…I say this with love…wash your dang makeup brushes, drink your water, and stop comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle, you are doing better than you think.

And because I can’t resist giving a real beauty tip; this feels totally wrong, but it WORKS. Apply a light layer of translucent powder BEFORE your foundation. It sounds backwards, but it helps control oil and gives your skin that smooth blurred finish. It’s one of those discoveries I instantly texted my sisters about.

As an entrepreneur and content creator, how do you balance creativity with the pressures of being online?

It’s definitely a balancing act. Creativity flows best when I am not overthinking numbers or algorithms, being online it can be very hard to separate the two, so I simply don’t look at them. If you are focused on numbers, it will become impossible to stay true to yourself. You will become so focused on growing or why you lost followers you will become a people pleaser and people pleasers are rarely true to themselves.

Whenever I feel pressure, I really look at my content and myself and make sure I am creating what brings me joy.

As an entrepreneur, I treat creativity like a muscle, I give it structure, but also space. Somedays I am designing jewelry for Imperfect Collective, other days I am filming something totally unplanned, but feels right, and most days I am just sharing what I love, putting together outfits and giving fashion tips or big sister tips. The key has been giving myself permission to be both, a creative and a businesswoman, without losing the joy that made me start sharing in the first place.

You’re reshaping how Gen Z approaches self-expression, so what’s one thing you hope your followers take away from your content?

Gen Z can get quite a bit of judgement from older generations, but I think they are one of the most creative and artistic generations we have seen. They care about authenticity, mental health, and living for today and that’s something I really love seeing.

What I hope my followers of all generations take away from my content is the ability to express themselves fearlessly, removing that feeling of needing to shrink or filter to fit in. Self-expression isn’t about being perfect or on trend, it’s about being real. If I can play even a small role in reminding others that they don’t need to change to be seen, then I feel like I have done my job as the internet’s big sister.

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Published by HOLR Magazine