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MUSINGS Archives - Megan Taylor

Category: MUSINGS

FEELING SHORT OF TIME

Sooo…it’s 2022 and last year I promised I would be back more often. Well, that didn’t happen did it. I can’t believe there was a time that I used to blog 3-4 times a week and not just chatty pieces of content. I would do a whole creative photo shoot and make things. WOW!! Mummy-hood definitely hit me hard haha. I knew being a mummy would be a lot of work and life wouldn’t be quite the same but I must admit I didn’t comprehend how very little time I would have. I now have to choose between having a shower, eating or catching up on sleep. That being said I am very happy and I do think I can see a change coming…

NEW PRIORITIES

My priorities have definitely shifted since having a baby. I used to be work, work out, sleep, work, work out, sleep repeat. Now I am sleep (I wish!), feed my baby, put my baby to sleep (try not to sleep myself), tidy up, feed my baby, put my baby to sleep (and then suddenly have insomnia and not actually sleep haha).
Work has definitely had to take a back seat. The last year and a half has taught me that I bloody LOVE working though!! I LOVE my work and I LOVE achieving things. Whether it’s acting, modelling or creating content I just love it all and although I have been lucky enough to dip my toes back into it with a job or two about once a month it’s just not enough for me. I’m hungry for more. I want to succeed and I definitely want to earn more money because there are things I want to do and a whole lot of things I want to buy!!

NEXT STEP

I have so many dreams of big things I want to achieve. You know that feeling when you’ve been on holiday and relaxed for a few days and then that creative and inspirational feeling hits you and you’re practically giddy to get back to reality. Just me? It’s a fabulous feeling and I have that right now. It has been pent up inside me for nineteen months (more in reality if you include my pregnancy which was struck by a Covid lockdown and twenty plus weeks of morning sickness!).

WHERE TO START?

I am so overwhelmed with lists of things I want to achieve but to be honest I’m not sure where to start. I think I need to life coach myself back to reality or maybe read The Secret again, I always found that book quite inspiring.

Are you feeling inspired or is Blue Monday a thing for you today?

THE NAP DIARIES

Hi, long time no chat. I have missed blogging so much, but since becoming a mummy to a human baby sixteen months ago, not since becoming a mummy to my doggy Coco. I simply have not had time to think…or sleep or shower to be honest. I know not many people read blogs anymore but I personally love a little blog read when I have a moment. Quicker than reading a book (which I definitely don’t have time for at the moment) and a lot less stressful that reading the latest fake news on Twitter. Well, I am back! I know my audience may be smaller than before due to both my absence and general blog popularity but I love writing and want to share some things on this page for those that fancy reading.

SOMETHING NEW

Something I am going to start is a bit of “NAP DIARIES”. I love love love sharing mummy stories on my Instagram Stories but wanted something a little bit more permanent on my own space on the internet.
I am going to be sharing my mummy musings. I have shared my general Megan’s Musings over here. Yet, I am now going to be sharing my Mummy Musings in the form of Nap Diaries. Re-reading this kind of sounds like two brand names. Mummy Musings & Nap Diaries. Clearly I haven’t a clue what I’m doing haha.

WHAT AM I ON ABOUT?

Basically… I am going to share mummy hacks, mummy moments, things I’ve learnt, things I recommend and general shouts for help. It will be a rough guide to mummy-ing and a little hub for you to read when you too think you have no idea what’s going on. I don’t know about you but I personally feel like I’ve “hacked” this mummy life for three minutes and then boom…something happens and I realise it’s a complete rollercoaster of emotions.

…”BUT WAIT…WHAT ABOUT THE OLD STUFF?”

Don’t worry, this isn’t about to become a solely mummy blog. I am just going to add some mummy things for those moments when I need a little outlet.

How have you been?
I hope to see you along for the ride.

CAN BLOGGERS BE SUSTAINABLE WITH THEIR FASHION?

The pressure on the public and especially influencers around the subject of sustainability is getting stronger everyday. Fast fashion and plastic consumption are on everyone’s mind and a lot of bloggers are worrying about being seen in their Instagram Stories, YouTube videos, blogs and Instagram posts with plastic bottles, plastic cups, cheap clothes that are creating fast fashion. The likes of Stacey Dooley’s investigative show for the BBC delving into fast fashion wrecking our planet and the Telegraph’s article on charity shops being inundated with poor quality clothes that they have to send to landfill is terrifying. We need to try our best to make sure that we are not part of this problem.

KEEPING OUR AUDIENCE’S ATTENTION

It seems that to be a successful fashion influencer there is a constant demand for new content, each and every day. We need to be seen as current, follow and create new trends to keep our audiences interested. I have looked at my most popular Instagram posts over the last year and apart from a few “announcement” images my posts with new, current and exciting fashion pieces always rank most popular. These posts excite people, they want to know where you got that items from and in turn are boosting our engagement rate which we all know is imperative right now.

AFFILIATE LINKS

Most fashion bloggers use affiliate links through the likes of Reward Style, Shop Style Collective and SkimLinks. Although, for myself, and many other bloggers, the profits we gain from these affiliate links are pocket money and not reaching salary goals, every penny helps so we are obviously going to use affiliate links. If we are posting old clothes that are no longer stocked, we can not link them and therefore make no money from a post which is not a paid collaboration.

FAST FASHION

The Telegraph states this sad fact, “the rise of fast fashion, where t-shirts are sold for just £2 and dresses for £5, means clothes are worn once then thrown away, where they end up in landfill…Mrs Creagh told The Telegraph: “Charity shops can’t be the dumping ground for the high street’s dirty little secret – much of what they take back they can’t sell because of the quality and it’s very difficult to recycle the fibres.”.

So, what are us fashion bloggers meant to do in staying sustainable and earning a living?

HOW CAN WE COMBAT THIS PROBLEM?

STYLISTS LIFESTYLE

The best way, I personally, can think of to help reduce our speedy consumption of buying clothes all the time is to work our blogging lives in the same way stylists do and always have done. Stylists get in touch with PR when they need items for shoots, they call in what they need and pack it up and send it back to the PR or brand after the shoot. The PR and their client gets current clothes, the brand and PR get the coverage they are after and free images to help promote their brand.

There are problems with this though. The reason the public have turned to bloggers over magazines is because bloggers are more “real”. We wear what we want, what we love and what we actually own and have spent our money on. If we are just borrowing clothes from brands and PR companies then we don’t actually own the item, we may not love it enough to spend our hard earned cash on the item so why should our audience part with their money? If we used this stylists lifestyle then would we effectively just be unpaid models for those brands creating our own editorial magazine style shoot but in a street style way?

THE RETURNS CULTURE

Back in August, the Daily Mail wrote an article which of course created backlash at the blogging community once again. They wrote about how bloggers and the public are buying clothes, wearing them once for the Instagram shot, then sending them back. Apart from cheating your audience with clothes that you are pretending to “love and own” you are actually doing harm to the environment with the constant ordering and returns process. Think of all those plastic bags that your online orders come in, think of the fumes of the vehicles getting your parcel to you.

THE REALITY

The reality is, to be absolutely perfect and not harm our environment we are going to turn ourselves into a stress bucket. We all need to be a little more conscious with our purchases, love our clothes until they are falling apart and then sew them back together. Let’s not lose the love of fashion but let’s also love and respect our planet at the same time.

THE NECESSARY LIFE UPDATE AND GOSSIP

Hello all and welcome to the first real week of 2019. The first week of five full working days, eek. Good luck to us all. May we sleep well at night and feel full of energy during the working days. I have dabbled in working since the Christmas break but found myself getting distracted. I have taken six bags of old un-necessary hoarded goods in my house to allow new more special things in. If we hold on to clutter then how will the new ever enter??

“this is it!”

so I THOUGHT

THE YEAR 2018

The year 2018 was filled with highs and lows. Two major things that happened for me were a work and personal matter separately. In WORK, I booked my biggest job I had ever booked, both in monetary value but also in potential of recognition. I filmed the job, I recorded the voice over and I had two days of personal appearances at a huge event booked in the diary. I had a meeting with their marketing manager about the ways they were going to grow me as the ambassador and how we were going to develop the collaboration. It was an acting job but also made bigger by involving my blogging and social media. I literally thought, this is it! This is the job of the century…well, apart from booking a movie. Then a month before the PAs I had a phone call from my agent saying, “they have decided to cut your part”. I was at a big blogging lunch when I got this call and I was in shock! Thankfully I still got paid but I didn’t care, it was the job that I wanted even more so than the money. I was excited by the potential this job held. Anyway, I moved on and that’s fine and they explained that they loved everything I did, it just didn’t work for the American marketing etc etc etc. Then come late November in my PERSONAL life I went into meltdown. I found out that someone I love with all my heart has got cancer. FUCKING cancer… I literally screamed these exact words when I found out, then burst into tears for a good week or so. I stopped posting on social, I wasn’t sure what was the point in anything. In a spaced out manner I traipsed myself off to pre-booked jobs but I ignored emails and phone calls while I tried to process something that had thankfully never hit so close to home. Yet, the prognosis is good and actually, fingers crossed, everything is going to be totally fine and come February this will hopefully all be over and we will all laugh at the few months of absolute SHIT we have had to go through! I can’t wait for the sound of the cork popping from the chilled bottle of Champagne.
BRING IT ON!!

 

WHAT’S TO COME ON HERE

My main aim for this website in 2019 is to make it original and accessible. What I mean by this is that everyone and their dog have a blog these days. With more and more people are owning a blog there is a very similar vibe on everyones website which is something I noticed when I was booked as a blogging judge on for this years UK Blog Awards…so much similarity between everyone. I am determined to bring some new aspects to blogging that are new or relatively untapped at present.
Even though there are more and more bloggers/influencers/content creators about, there are still those who turn their nose up at blogs or simply can’t be bothered to read them. I did a little market research with a couple of my cousins (I have many many many cousins haha) who never read blogs or online websites. I found it really interesting to see what they said and it is with their answers that I am going to try my hardest to develop my site into one that even they, the hardest people to get to click through to read.

2019

In 2019 I mainly want my family to be happy and healthy. I want to be even more successful with my work.
I reeeeeally want to sell our flat and move into a house with Liam…fingers crossed for all of that!

I hope to spend a lot more time with you all in 2019 and I hope you like what is to come, let me know what you think and what resolutions you have for this year ahead.

Megan Taylor London | HAPPY NEW YEAR

BLOGGERS YOU NEED TO READ THIS

Sooo…first and foremost we really need to start supporting each other. The algorithms are out to get us and I have noticed a lot of us are not helping matters. That is why I am here to get a few things off my chest and to try and influence a new breed of bloggers who are all about the love. My following rambles are actually valuable to everyone not just bloggers so stick around whether you are a blogger or not.

PRAISE

Many moons ago I met a gorgeous human in the form of fellow model Tess Dimos as we have the same modelling agent and she changed me in ways that she won’t know until she reads this. I had grown up in my teens and early twenties in a dancing world which was definitely a dog eat dog world. Everyone was out to get what they wanted and would do whatever they could do to get there. I am all for the attitude of getting what you want out of life but let’s not slam or hate on others in the process. Now, back to what Tess taught me… When Tess and I friended each other on Instagram and Facebook she would comment on my pictures with the most complimentary uplifting messages such as “what a babe”, “You look amazing”, “Congratulations” and “You’re amazing, well deserved” etc etc…apart from members of my family and my absolute besties I had never had people speak publicly like this. It was a breath of fresh air and something to really learn from. I then subconsciously started behaving in this way online to others, not in a fake way, but if I thought something nice, I wrote it down for the recipient to see. Your one tiny comment that took one second to write may be something that turns their frown upside down. Don’t forget that wonderful saying by Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” So, go forth and do something nice today.

“People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

ENGAGE

Engagement in the social media world is key, more so than ever. For non-bloggers who may be reading this, I want you to know that bloggers/content creators/influencers/YouTubers really need a good engagement and when you do it doesn’t go un-noticed. It may seem silly but it really is make or break to some of us booking a fabulous job and allowing us to continue making the content which makes you and ourselves happy. I actually stopped putting up flatlay and foodie style pictures because the engagement was half of those that I was actually in. I guess this is flattering but it also stunted my creativity, through no fault of my own…yes, I shouldn’t be so preoccupied by likes but if you read on you will see why.
I recently put out a poll on my Instagram stories because I saw others talking about it saying, “Do you see my Instagram photos pop up in your feed”. I have 20k followers on Instagram, I average 300 likes per Instagram photo, my Instagram photos reach 3000+ people, I average 600 people viewing my stories and I haven’t bought any followers. The maths just doesn’t add up does it?! The poll came to the conclusion that 73% did see my photos. So, I’m going to assume you like what I do as you follow me but does this mean you don’t fancy liking my photos or that you just don’t like peoples photos in general? So many of my other Instagramming buddies are having the exact same problem. We all stick a quick story up saying that we have a new picture on our feed but not many head on over and click like…it takes 2 seconds, why not? For us that care to get around the problem, we really need to start supporting each other by engaging with each other. Whether it is just a quick like because you are tight for time or if you have a few seconds more why not pop in a nice comment? If you can tell it is an #Ad #Spon post then put in the extra love to engage. Let’s do it x

“I average 300 likes per photo yet they reach 3000+ people. The maths just doesn’t add up does it?!”

COMPARISON VS INSPIRATION

Stop comparing yourselves in a negative light. I am always someone who gets caught up in a comparison rut and struggle to get out of it, but rather than letting it eat you up inside, why not just use it as inspiration? Let other people be them and let you be you. I personally think it’s wonderful to keep an eye on the “competition”, it helps you grow and in my opinion can be incredibly motivating. Yet, you really need to start treating it as motivation rather than competition. You can only be you and once you start sticking to what you do best you will grow and improve your own work. There are an insane amount of content creators in this ever increasingly saturated market and even the likes of Zoella and Tanya Burr would be struggling if they started today, but with a little determination and less wasted time on bad comparisons you will thrive to be where you want to be.

“Let other people be them and let you be you.”

What is everyone elses opinion on this matter? Let me know your thoughts in the comments xx

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS ON A ROOFTOP IN CENTRAL LONDON | Megan Taylor

Here’s a photo of some typical blogger stuff 😉

BYE BYE 2017

I hope you have all had a fantastic Christmas break and rounded off your year on a high. I thought I would quickly swing by and say farewell to 2017. I especially wanted to thank you all for supporting me this year. Megan Taylor London has grown a huge amount this year. The “social world” is getting more and more saturated each day with new, very similar talent and the standard is constantly being raised. I am supremely thankful that you have all been here for me and helped me grow. It sounds awfully cliche but in my honest truth, if I didn’t have any “followers” on my blog and social platforms I would not be here doing what I am doing. I could be doing this as a hobby for sure but a real job would be stopping me from doing as much work on my site as I do now. I hope you have all had a fantastic 2017. What are you most happy to have achieved or thrilled with?
For me personally it has been pretty bloody fantastic, for a few reasons I will touch on below.

I have been thinking about resolutions and goals for the new year. I tend to focus on goals,
what I want to achieve the following year rather than what I want to change about myself. Does that make sense? Every year I write down a list of everything I am happy to have achieved throughout the year in work and life in general and then check back on it in December. You will always be surprised by how much you have achieved. Put out there in the universe what you would like to achieve and maybe, just maybe you may accomplish it. Make sure you check out my top tips of how to make the most of your new year here.

2017 HIGHLIGHTS

• I was signed to WaR management for all things bloggy and social which has helped me a huge deal…they know their stuff!
• I was whisked off to Tenerife for 11 days to film an incredible job for Jaguar.
• I have worked alongside some incredible brands and PR companies which I would only have dreamed off this time last year.
• I won ‘HIGHLY COMMENDED’ at the UK Blog Awards!!
• I was a FINALIST in the Beauty Influencers Awards alongside the biggest beauty bloggers in the industry!!
• I have shot some incredible modelling campaigns.

Have you got any new years resolutions? Please let me know what your dreams for the new year are. Happy New Year everyone xx

BYE BYE 2017 | Megan Taylor

I AM A FINALIST

OMG I am super excited to announce that I am a finalist in the Beauty Influencers Awards hosted by Olympia Beauty. I am so overwhelmed and can’t quite believe it. Earlier in the year I won the highly commended title at the UK Blog Awards which was incredible and that alone has really helped boost my blog in the super busy blogosphere. Winning this beauty award would mean the world to me and hopefully create lots of new opportunities. The awards have already been covered in The Diary Directory which is huge in the beauty industry as it is recognised across the whole of the beauty and fashion press. For me to win it comes down to the judges opinion and is also mixed with the public vote. Please help boost my chances by voting for me here (please vote from as many email addresses that you own). When you vote for me you are in with a chance to win a huge beauty prize…what are you waiting for? Vote vote vote xx

Thank you so much in advance xx

Does Everyone Think They Have Anxiety?

8th – 14th May is Mental Health Awareness Week. The aim of the awareness week is to get people talking and feeling less self conscious about the struggles they are going through. I wanted to share my post that I wrote on anxiety a couple of months ago.
My article was first published in The Huffington Post.

Does Everyone Think They Have Anxiety?

In the last few years anxiety seems to have become the buzzword of our generation. Everyone has begun to feel more confident at talking openly about mental illness. This is positive in so many ways but some people are beginning to be confused by actual “anxiety” and simple nervousness.

For those who are diagnosed with anxiety their illness is being poo-pooed by many people who are faking it as an easy way out of difficult situations. As a result, anxiety is being tarnished as a credible mental health issue for those who are truly suffering.

It is the same for people with OCD. It can actually be incredibly inconsiderate to say in jest that you are OCD about something whilst true sufferers are having a real daily struggle with a severe case of the disorder. If you have to, once in a while, double check you turned your hair straighteners off before heading out to work it is unlikely to be comparable to OCD sufferers daily struggles.

This week there was a headline in the Daily Mail stating, “Father snorkelling and jet-skiing while claiming £15,000 in benefits because he was too ‘anxious’ to work”. I immediately looked into the comments section because I knew what I would see. Whether the man in this story is officially diagnosed as having anxiety or not, the title was biased and persuasive in forcing people to think negatively when they see the word anxiety in speech marks. The majority of the comments were derogatory. The comments touched on “work shy”, “play[ing] the system” and “sponging layabout”. Whilst this could be completely true it is awfully cruel if he does in fact have a serious case of anxiety.

I do not believe that I personally have anxiety yet there are some days when I have a serious case of nervousness about things such as, driving on the motorway or attending a huge acting audition. However I still carry on doing these things and feel a huge sense of accomplishment once I have done them. Even though I may have felt a sense of anxiousness I am not about to diagnose myself as someone that suffers from anxiety as it is not debilitating me and my lifestyle.

Zoella is famed for being open about her anxiety and has raised awareness by making videos on the subject, discussing what she experiences and how she deals with it. Zoe has even become the digital ambassador for Mind. A lot of her audience are young and easily influenced by her lifestyle. These fans are influenced by her on a daily basis (Zoella was listed on Dubrett’s most influential people in Britain list). In fact she has definitely influenced me to buy a few fashion items over the years. I remember when I was 11, I was obsessed with Britney Spears and unashamedly did anything she did, well until she shaved her hair off, that was a step too far for me. I wonder if Zoella’s openness with anxiety has come as a double edged sword for some children trying to emulate her and have begun using anxiety as an excuse to not do some things. Yet on the other hand, for those truly experiencing anxiety on a regular basis, her openness will be comforting and freeing for those that had previously been too scared to talk.

Do you suffer from anxiety? How do you feel now that anxiety is no longer a taboo subject?

Are Blogs Becoming Magazines?

I am a finalist in the UK Blog Awards 2017 so quite naturally I asked my mum (my biggest and most honest critic) to check out my competition and let me know exactly what she thought. Naturally she came to me with a hefty checklist of what they or I were doing right or wrong. Mum also noted that she was baffled that every blog nowadays has now moved on from what blogs originally set out to be and that is a diary of what that blogger gets up to on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. This got me to thinking or further more to Googling what a blog really is and of course, “mother knows best!”…

“A blog is a frequently updated online personal journal or diary. It is a place to express yourself to the world. A place to share your thoughts and your passions.”

Quite frankly, a blog can be whatever you want it to be. Not only do individuals create blogs every minute of every day but most companies also have blogs now. Blogs can be a great way for a company to be a bit more personal with their audience. Whether your blog is an online journal, a place to express your thoughts and opinions or a place to show the world what you are passionate about, it really doesn’t matter but I whole heartedly believe that to be a trustworthy blogger you need to stay true to your morals and not get swayed by the monetary gains if it is not inline with your beliefs. I like to blog because it is a fun creative outlet where I can engage with my growing readership and we can share our passion for everything fashion, beauty, food and fitness.

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AN ONLINE DIARY

Many years ago blogs used to be known as an online diary. People would publish what they had been up to for their handful of readers to have a read of. Their handful of readers would tend to consist of their friends and family. Blogs then became a way for students on their gap year, travelling around the world, to keep their family in the loop of what they were up to and it provided a place for them to upload all of their photos to. Then the Facebook boom happened and replaced the travellers blogs. As the years have passed, blogs have begun to be produced into online magazines. Many top bloggers have a higher readership than Vogue.

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YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY

People have started to cotton on to the fact that blogging is no longer the “sad” thing that the girl at school with no friends used to do (actually, you can make hundreds of new friends through blogging). If you are savvy, blogging is now an opportunity to make an incredibly lucrative career from the comfort of your own bedroom. Many blogs are now started with the intention of becoming a business. Blogs are looking more and more professional and most blogs now have their own SHOP full of affiliate links. This was one of the first things I had set up on my blog. There is no harm in creating these affiliate linked shoppable blogs if they are really things that you like, in fact they are a lot of fun to create and can give your readers a further insight into your personality and they can “shop your look” for example. If you have the opportunity to make blogging a career you would be silly to miss out on the opportunity. I advise anyone with some extra time (I started mine on my daily train commute into London) to start one, you never know what it could lead to.

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A WAY TO MAKE MONEY

The pretty little row of products below is a clever way for a blogger to make some pocket money. I created this “widget” to allow you to shop items that relate to this blog post. They may not be directly what I am talking about but they are loosely related to blogging. They are all items which I either have or want. With every click you make on each product I earn 4p! At least 50% of bloggers are doing this, as are actual online magazines. There is no problem with this, it is completely legal and some bloggers, myself included am very open about this in my disclaimer
…a girl’s gotta pay her mortgage.

If you want to learn how to make money on Instagram check out this post.

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PLUGGING HONESTLY

As I touched on above, I personally don’t mind a blogger becoming a bit more editorial and pushing products as long of they are plugging these products honestly. I don’t want a false review just because the blogger is being paid £1000 to push it. I feel this is a job for magazines where the journalist is just doing their job to help advertise the product. If a magazine is pushing a product/brand there is no need for them to state that it is an advert or sponsor because we expect that of them. Yet, as a blogger you have a duty to give your honest opinion but still make sure that you are transparent and that you tell your audience that you have been paid by using the generic #SPON #AD.

What do you think? Do you mind that blogs are steering away from the traditional diary format?

What Models Really Eat During Fashion Week

Along with every fashion week comes a lot of press reports of models being too skinny, today the models for Victoria Beckham, tomorrow the models for another designer. I have been researching what models REALLY eat during Fashion Week and have been quite shocked by the actual truth.

Thanks to my lovely model friends help I created messaging group full of male and female models and asked for their personal stories and experiences of food during fashion week. The press articles of hungry models definitely plays on the mind of many of the models I have spoken to. They feel the press can actually cause the models to worry about not being skinny enough to fit into the designers clothes when in actual fact they already can.

The reports of designers producing clothes that will only fit those that are super skinny isn’t always true. The reality is that at most of the fashion houses the clothes are actually fitted on a standard size 8, like myself, pre fashion week. These garments are then left un-hemmed and fitted on the show girls nearer the date of the show. In reality this means that the show girls just need to be a healthy size 8. It seems height is actually the first priority, unless you’re Kate or Cara.

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The lead up to fashion week
Models tend to be healthier in the lead up to fashion week than during the show season itself. Show season is jam packed. For the top models, they can be travelling from city to city for a good month of constant shows and by the end of it they are left exhausted and spotty from the make up and lack of healthy home cooked food.

There are some models that are naturally gifted with no real need to work out, yet there is also a new wave of models that work out like athletes. With the influence of the Victoria’s Secret motto, “Train Like An Angel”, many models are working out more and more and eating healthier than ever. Models don’t take time off and will wake up at 5:30 to make sure they get in a run.

The biggest factor for every model during fashion week is time. Imagine you have a day full of meetings and didn’t have an intern to run out and get you your lunch. You would have to simply do without food until your meetings have finish. That is the same for models. If there is time, they eat.

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Today I am zipping between two modelling jobs, three castings, one meeting and writing this article. Models get very good at juggling many jobs. If you are not prepared with food in your bag you often have to forfeit food. Whereas on other days you may have no work and sit on the sofa eating a bag of Maltesers and a pizza. Some models that I spoke to said they like their food too much to care about their weight.

I spoke to a PR girl I know who works for a company that organises shows for some very well known fashion houses. She tells me there are rules set by the British Fashion Council that make sure there is always food available for the models. This being said there often isn’t time for the models to eat it if it is actually there so the PR girls end up eating it…its very hard to resist free food. When you are having your make up done and are putting on the clothes you can’t be munching away on food.
–Even though there are these rules, all the models I have spoken to say there is more often than not no food at all just bottles of water. Maybe these rules should be better regulated?

I spoke to a very honest male model who has been doing shows for ten years. He notes that there is sometimes some food available but to be honest he wouldn’t want to eat it before a show anyway. He spoke about wanting to feel your best when walking down the catwalk in front of hundreds of people. Maybe the best option would be for the BFC to have an hours break for lunch allowing everyone in the industry to have a break. Yet, we all know this isn’t going to happen as fashion never takes a break.

One organised models food diary for a typical day of fashion week

The night before fashion week starts I bulk cook loads of sweet potato, quinoa and kale and then store them in Tupperware pots to take with me each day. I tend to wake up very early for the first show to get to my hair and make up call. I tend to pick up a smoothie from Pret or M&S on my way to work. At lunch, or any time that I actually have free I will pick at my lunch that I brought with me. In-between shows I will graze on nuts and seeds. By the time I have finished for the day I am exhausted and hungry so I skip the late night parties and pick at whatever food is closest to me on my journey home. I tend to eat quite bad food after a long day because I am often in a foreign city so just have to pick up something from a shop or get a take away. It’s not healthy but it will fill me up until the next day.

A TYPICAL DAY AT FASHION WEEK
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Homemade sweet potato and greens and tuna
Snacks: Continuous grazing on nuts
Dinner: Trashy food. We are hungry from a tiresome day

A Note To The Smokers On The Beach

Many of you may have smoked in your lifetime, whether it is socially or maybe you have an addiction. If this is the case I am sorry you have gained such an addiction not just selfishly but as a real worry for your health. Back in the Mad Men era, advertisements and nurses alike were indeed saying smoking was on a par with the saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. I am sorry to burst your bubble but thirty years have now passed and we are no longer in the 80s. Smoking is bad for you and for a non smoker like myself I have to say it is antisocial and you are ruining my holiday! So here is a note to the smokers on the beach.

A Note To The Smokers On The Beach

I am writing this as I lay on a gorgeous secluded beach in Zakynthos. Barely ten soles lay on this beach taking in every molecule of the sun beaming down on us whilst my friends and family back home are drenched in rain. I am having a glorious time. I have only been here five days and I am already starting my third book…a result of zero internet or mobile phone service. There are six other sets of empty sun beds and parasols down this thin sandy beach yet a family of three smokers have decided to lay beside my husband and I, we must be delicious to them.

Laying down reading only the tenth page of my latest book which I am already hooked on and I chug on a plume of deadly cigarette smoke…moment ruined! What can I do? Tell them I’m allergic? Tell them I’m pregnant? (before you ask, no I am not pregnant). I can’t tell them to move or stop, it’s not illegal to smoke on a beach. Especially on holiday when people are smoking everywhere…no need to obey those four walls and a ceiling rules we have all heard of. What can I do but splutter, hide my face in a sarong, feel uncomfortable and believe I am going to die an early death of smoke inhalation.

I know that to smokers I sound absolutely ridiculous and rather annoying but my goodness eewwww!

Are there any non smoking beaches and restaurants and hotels that I can frequent?

Maybe in the interim between this frequently happening and the whole world realising we shouldn’t smoke…maybe could all of you current smokers please try and observe the wind direction and keep your smoke away from us non smokers. You paid a lot of money for that cigarette how about you stop being so generous with your smoke.

What Have I Learnt In A Year Of Blogging

I have been unsure of whether to celebrate my one year of blogging or not because technically I have been blogging on and off for many years. The only reason I started this particular blog was because I forgot to cancel my direct debit payment for this webpage and my mum said I should make the most of it and make another blog. Well I would like to thank my mum because this blog has created some incredible opportunities.

I have dabbled in many blogs specialising in baking, modelling and even acne!! Yet this lifestyle blog has somehow stuck. I think broadening the scope of my blogs subject to “Lifestyle”…like a million other blogs out there has really helped me feel less restricted. I love it because I am able to widen my creative thoughts and share everything and anything with you. I feel at this one year landmark of megantaylor.london I would like to share with you my new menu header up above called “MUSINGS”. This is going to be a little section of my site, “Megan’s Musings”, where I will ramble on about a subject that is currently on my mind. In fact this blog post will be under the musings title because of my current state of blurting out utter randomness. I do hope you like my new little section of my blog which will be a bit more talkative and a chance for me to flex my writing skills a little more.

This one year of blogging landmark happens to have roughly coincided with my birthday so I shall raise a glass to my year of committed blogging professionally and turning one year older. Blogging has led some very exciting opportunities and I hope this can help inspire you too to start blogging. There is definitely a space for everyone to blog in the internet stratosphere and I would certainly encourage it because it can lead to opportunities beyond your wildest imagination.

Thank you to every one of you who has helped support me and helped me make blogging another one of my many career paths. I hope you will continue to follow me along this exciting journey.

xXx M xXx