Influencers. What would my life be without them. There’s reason to love them or loathe them what with their free trips to exotic destinations or getting paid thousands of pounds for Instagram posts, but you have to give it to them; a lot of them create amazing content worth every penny. Don’t you just wish you had kept up that blog six years ago? Or started a YouTube channel when you were 14?
I’ve grown up with Instagram, but I’m also glad that I was a child/early teen without social media. I played outdoors, set my face with hairspray and was a Dream Matte Mousse victim, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nowadays, children are growing up with Instagram, with filters and unrealistic beauty standards. Teens are getting botox and fillers and glued to sunbeds. They think what they see on social media is real life, but thankfully I only grew up with Bebo and Ask.fm and didn’t have this added pressure when I was 13, chubby and had acne.
My favourite social media stars are the ones that are down-to-earth, relatable and real. They don’t live life through a filter and they don’t make it seem that their life is 100% shits and giggles. From fitness influencers to beauty influencers to travel, I have some favourites which I’m going to share with you now.
1. Victoria Magrath (@inthefrow)
To me, Victoria is the Supreme. If you watched American Horror Story Coven, then you’ll know what I mean. She’s the best of the best in my eyes. The content she creates is incredible and there’s no other beauty influencer out there quite like her. Her paid collaborations, adverts and general images are always perfect and like something you’d see in a magazine or on a billboard.
Victoria’s blog was the first I ever came across that made me want to have one as good as hers someday and the reason I began blogging all those years ago (but never followed through). She’s also in my five women I look up to post.
2. Sinead Hegarty (@sineadheg)
I only started following Sinead at the end of last year, when she was farming in Australia. Sinead’s journey has been emotional, raw and inspiring from being cheated on and leaving Ireland to travel around Australia and Asia by herself, she’s inspired so many other people to just go and stop waiting on someone to go with them.
Sinead is a fitness blogger but also posts the books she reads and explains emotions and feelings in ways that her followers can understand. She has started to speak at events and wants to motivate and inspire as many people as she can. She’s a great account to follow for fitness tips, life tips and how to stop caring what other people think and just be the best version of yourself.
3. Beth Sandland (@bethsandland)
Beth is one of my favourite people on Instagram. I’ve been following her for quite a while, when she was in her final year of university in London. Her content is incredible and she has such an art for images and editing. Recently, Beth has been traveling around Asia and Australia/New Zealand and her images are mind-blowing. Go and look at the image of her with a kangaroo on a beach in Australia, it’s ridiculously amazing!
One of the things I love most about Beth is that she is always honest with her followers and gives honest reviews about everything she gets sent/is gifted or paid for. Hotels that she stays in, places she visits, restaurants she eats in and even gadgets she is gifted are all given totally honest reviews which I think is what makes her such a great influencer.
4. Erica Fox (@retroflame)
Erica is one of the best fashion/beauty influencers that I follow, living her best life in New York City. Originally from Kerry in Ireland, it’s inspiring to see her journey from the bottom corner of Ireland to one of the biggest cities in the world.
One thing about Erica that stands out is her advertorial pieces on her Instagram. They’re always so incredibly created, shot and edited that you would expect to see something similar in a magazine or on TV – not from an influencer. She is definitely one of the best influencers when it comes to paid collaborations with brands.
5. Ellie Kelly (@ellieekellyy)
I only recently started to follow Ellie after her collaboration of lip kits with bPerfect Cosmetics. After seeing them absolutely everywhere, I found Boo in my local chemist and purchased and was not surprised at the rave reviews she had been receiving. She’s completely down-to-earth and shows her every day life on her Instagram, from her red post-gym face to her glam beauty looks at events.
I think there are huge things to come from Ellie and can’t think of anyone more deserving of the success she’s been having recently.
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