Insta-Gods: Who You Should Be Following on Instagram

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be completely addicted to Instagram. I love being able to open the app and explore the glamorous lives of anyone – celebrity or not – anywhere in the world, get fashion, exercise or home decor inspiration or just follow my favourite celebs. With filters, cropping and editing, it’s possible to make yourself look amazing from a single photo and gives you a little boost of confidence when editing those pictures from last night. But there are so many people on Instagram, it can all be a bit of a blur. So I’ve got a list of some of the best people to follow on Instagram – the people that upload regularly with fabulous pictures or just some inspirational ones! Enjoy!

Millie Mackintosh

I always loved Millie when she was on Made in Chelsea – with her serious loyalty and anger towards men. However, since she has left and married rapper Professor Green, her life has hit the fast lane and she is all about health, fitness and high fashion. She also posts a LOT of dogs!

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Anouska Proetta Brandon

Anouska is a fantastic blogger based right here in Dublin and is the unofficial face of Irish blogging. Unlike some who are flashy and flaunt their new-found fame with designer goodies, Anouska has taken several campaigns and brand ambassador titles in her stride and combines unknown and Irish designers with other bigger brands. Working for Guess and other big brands, Anouska is both beautiful and business-savvy, teaming up with brands that suit her and her style. She can be found wandering around Dublin in fabulous ensembles being photographed by her photographer boyfriend Ronan.

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 Derek Blasberg

Friend to everyone from Alexa Chung to Cara Delevingne, Derek Blasberg’s Instagram is full of celebrity friendships and glamour. He never seems to be short of a party to go to and always puts up pictures of his escapades with his famous pals!

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Holly Shortall

Holly is a fantastic Irish illustrator, a skill that is hard to come by these days. Not only does she get paid for illustrations but her drawings online are done for the love of her job and she has been recognised by everyone from Kelly Osbourne to Lupita Nyong’o for her fabulous red-carpet illustrations. She did the illustration for my website Intrigue.ie and I’m hoping that I’ll get a personal illustration done one of these days!

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Cara Delevingne

Just because. Our new favourite model is just the right amount of crazy and we get to follow her global takeover bit by bit on social media. From tattoos to partying with Rihanna, this Brit girl has the high life and I adore seeing her style choices.

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 Kendall Jenner

My favourite of the Kardashian sisters and a fantastic model, Kendall Jenner is definitely on the one-to-watch list. Her mixture of high-fashion shoots and runways with friend selfies reminds us that being young doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. She really is the breakout star of modelling at the moment and we sure hope it continues!

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Leanne Woodfull

Another Irish blogging influence, Leanne Woodfull is so passionate about what she does and isn’t afraid to show it. From London Fashion Week to the streets of Dublin, you’ll find her strutting somewhere in some Wednesday Addams-style clothes and badass shoes. Not only is she an advocate for fashion but for life issues and women with body image issues!

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British Vogue

If you’re as passionate about fashion as I am, you’ll need to be following at least one edition of Vogue. I’ve always made it known that I’m a huge fan of British fashion so British Vogue would have to be on my list. From must-have products to British models, Vogue has it all and I adore looking at their updates to see what’ll be in the new magazine!

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Rachel Iwanyszyn

Rachel is the creator of Jag Lever, a fantastic fashion blog that is a real joy to read. Her unusual, interesting style ensures her place in magazines, on websites and regularly the front page of Lookbook. She looks a little like Zooey Deschanel and rocks plaid and flowers like a boss.

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 British GQ

One for the boys, this Instagram account covers everything from London Collections: Men to the latest trends and everything in between. GQ is the perfect mixture of fashion and life issues for men and their coverage of fashion weeks like London Collections: Men are extensive and very in-depth. Definitely one to follow if you’re into male fashion!

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Nicole Richie

No longer part of the most ridiculous duo on TV, Nicole Richie is now a fully-fledged fashion icon. Her Instagram feed is a mixture of high-fashion and family snaps, giving us an insight of her glamorous life. Her gorgeous clothes and hairstyles are inspiration for many and the pictures of her husband and children are so sweet, I really do love looking at her account.

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Lorraine Candy

Lorraine is the editor of Elle UK and is a fantastic role model. Juggling a hectic work schedule with four children is no easy task but Lorraine seems to manage it all, while looking fabulous to boot. She gives us sneak previews of runway shows, Elle stories and snippets from her own fabulous life, covering a little bit of everything!

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There are so many interesting people to follow on Instagram, these are just some of the ones that I love! Go searching on the app and you’ll never know who or what you might find! If you want to give my account a follow, click here for my updates (yes I’m that person that Instagrams her food!) and you might see something interesting! All pictures are courtesy of the individual’s Instagram account.

Until next time,

Keep Styling,

Em

x

Scrumptious Sunday Seven June 10

Another week goes by full of work and hiding from the hot weather. I mean it, I’ve the palest English Rose complexion on the planet and I get sent to live in Budapest in June in 34 degree heat! I’m like a ninja at the moment trying to hide in the shadows and on reflection of this, my inter-railing plan in the middle of Europe in July was pretty stupid. But anyway! I’m really excited about going home for the weekend on Friday, its my little sister’s second birthday and social event of the season of course so I’m flying home to see all my family and Brian. I’m a bit distracted, thinking of what I’m going to wear for the party (yes, I’m putting this much thought into a two-year-old’s party!) but I’ll take the time out for this weeks Scrumptious Sunday Seven! I’m so pleased with the response on the blog at the moment, I’m getting great hits and comments from all you readers so I just want to say thank you to all of you 🙂

1. British Vogue. I may have mentioned this before but I absolutely love British Vogue. I may have even put it in one of these posts, I don’t care! For the last couple of years, I’ve read it avidly and I can’t wait to go home so I can start ready again! Its way too expensive here!

My little sister holding Vogue for the first time, I’m teaching her well 🙂

2. Kate Middleton or the Duchess of Cambridge, whichever you prefer. Our generations Princess Diana and the elegant style icon that is needed in today’s society. Her latest outfit choices at the Royal Jubilee have left us in awe, like she always does and we have to ask ourselves, can Kate ever get it wrong?!

3. Ballet pumps! I’m looking for some shoes that won’t murder my feet for all the walking I’ll be doing in July and I would LOVE some input on this! In the meantime, I’ll think about ballet pumps! However as I have a bit of a vertical problem…I’m a shortarse (yes, that’s the technical term!), ballet pumps aren’t a great choice for me, cos I like to wear heels and boots most of the time but I find them utterly adorable on everyone else!

4. Orange. I love the colour orange, especially in the summer and when its hot, orange is a beautiful vibrant colour to wear! Personally I don’t have enough orange in my life as it would clash with my hair but there is always a solution to this, changing your hair colour!

5. Kim Kardashian. As much as I don’t like her, she is a fashion icon to millions of people and some of her outfit choices should be commended. Wish I’d look as good as that in a bandage dress! Just don’t get me started on her!

6. Playsuits. I’m always running around in my Topshop one and its the most comfortable thing ever, perfect for the summer months! It’s the lovechild of a minidress and a jumpsuit and they fit so perfectly into my wardrobe!

7. And last but not least, some inspirational fashionista quotes and cute pictures to get us through the week and to make my week go incredibly fast until Friday!

Keep styling, Em x

Met Ball 2012: Best and Worst Dressed

So the 2012 Met Ball was on last night and it brings the celebrities out in their drones every years. As with every other event, there are some amazing dresses and there are some disastrous misses. I’m going to show you my favourites and my   opinions on the worst dressed, because believe me, there were a few! But the best dressed really shone, especially Ginnifer Goodwin who recovered from her bad outfit choice at the Kentucky Derby earlier in the week!

The Best Dressed:

Scarlet Johansson

Cate Blanchett

Gisele and her husband Tom Brady

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski

 

Amber Heard

Camilla Belle

Jaime King

Brooke Shields

Chace Crawford

Ed Westwick  AND the Worst Dressed. Unfortunately there were quite a few of those but I’ll try to keep it short. Spot the mistakes these usually fashionable people should have steered clear of:

Beyonce. Although she looks great for a new mother, in my opinion, dresses shouldn’t be both massively feathered AND see-through!

Kate Bosworth. Looking like a hybrid between Morticia Addams and Big Bird

Alexa Chung. The PVC looking dress MAY have looked ok, had you not teamed it with the crumpled white shirt!

Chloe Sevigny. Oh dear.

To have a look at most of the dresses at the Met Ball last night, check them out HERE on British Vogue’s website and think up your own opinion on the dresses you think are fabulous or should have been left at home!

Keep styling, Em x

Scrumptious Sunday Seven 29 April

I’m just back from Vienna and the scorching heat so I’m glad to be inside for a little while to write this post. I’ve been busy this evening writing a new article for The Genteel on modelling so I’m looking forward to that going up on the website! I’m absolutely exhausted from 5 days of travelling and walking and sightseeing with my mum and I have a hectic week with moving and starting my job so it’ll be a crazy one this week, I’m sure there will be lots to report!

1. Retro Flame. A friend of mine who writes for blog Retro Flame is featured in the Sunday Times Magazine’s ‘What Are You Wearing’ section so congrats to Erika on the amazing publicity, she’s got great style!

2. Bowler hats! Very excited to get my new bowler hat from Cotton Face Vintage, the amazing vintage shop I’ve mentioned before on the blog. The bowler hats are at such a reasonable price and with my rash decision to cut off most of my hair last year, its one of the only hats that suit me! But I have to wait three weeks until I get it as my boyfriend Brian is picking it up and bringing it to Budapest..it’ll be a long three weeks!

3. I’m getting ready for my inter-railing trip at the moment and absolutely delighted that I’ve got my decent camera for the trip. Until Christmas, I had a small digital one, but knowing I love my blogging and photography, Brian *Santa* bought me mine and I use it ALL the time! Can’t wait to take loads of pictures of all the fabulous cities we’ll see!

4. Anouska Proetta Brandon, another Irish blogger I’ve been following a lot recently. I love her beautiful Lookbook posts and her style ranges from eclectic and funky to dreamy, she’s got a beautiful range!

5. Counting down the days…and months…till my 21st birthday so I can raise some money to get this little bad boy! My computer is 3 years old now and it isn’t great to say the least but I’m looking forward to getting a laptop that has more than 5 minutes battery life and doesn’t stick all the time!

6. I’m absolutely loving the city of Budapest and the weather is gorgeous, in the high 20s all weekend but, I’m missing my copies of British Vogue very badly!

7. Last but not least, I discovered a new past-time this week, lying in the sun! I can never just lie in the sun cos I’m so pale but I made a conscious effort to go out and enjoy doing nothing. At the end of it? Still like walking around more, but I’m sure I can stand doing nothing every once in a while 🙂

That’s all for now, I’ll be rushed off my feet so I can’t be enjoying the weather but I hope you all enjoy it where you are! Have a great week!

Keep styling, Em x

Made in Essex

TWO years ago, Amy Childs was virtually unknown, working as a beautician and model in her hometown of Brentwood, in Essex.

But for the last two years, we’ve watched her grace our screens, sitting in her beauty salon, performing Vajazzles and spray tans to the vast and insane clientele of Essex. But the success of ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ (TOWIE) has seen the 21-year-old launch from a ditzy stereotypical Essex girl who parties all the time at the ‘Sugarhut’, to a household name, prompting people round the world to coin her phrases ‘shu’ up’ and ‘jel’ into everyday life. But how has the young woman influenced our lives, and British fashion, so much? Starring in an editorial in the October issue of British Vogue, she’s certainly come a long way from her small town in Essex.

At the moment, she is a finalist on the Celebrity version of Big Brother on Channel 5, but sees herself as so much more than a reality star. Childs has won ‘Personality of the Year’ at the National Reality TV Awards for TOWIE, the show that’s made her famous, and writes a column for celebrity gossip magazine New!, as well as presenting a regular fashion segment on ITV1’s ‘This Morning’. She has made herself available to the widest market as possible, and although she has a reputation of being one of the thickest girls on television, she’s far from it.

However, while Childs has had a wide fan base, she has critics aplenty and is tired of being stupid. In fact, she is so sick of people calling her stupid; she plans to go back to college to prove to people that she has brains as well as beauty. She’s also in talks about having her own reality TV show which would see her travelling the world learning about different cultures and beauty treatments.

I suppose you could say Amy Childs is a little like Marmite: you either love her or you hate her. Whichever opinion you have of her, there is no denying that over the last two years, she has forged a successful career and wormed her way into the hearts of the British public. Watching Celebrity Big Brother and TOWIE though, only one thing is clear. No matter whether she’s dancing in the Sugarhut, or posing for Vogue, you can take the girl out of Essex, but you can never, and I stress never, take the Essex out of the girl!