I’m not a vlogger. I don’t watch Youtube, I rarely even watch TV, and I certainly don’t film myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m full of respect for those that do – it sounds horribly technical and I’ve seen evidence of comment-bitchiness that’s put me off it for life. It’s just not for me. I’m happy with my little blog and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.
I’m also hugely self-conscious. It’s only recently I’ve really started sharing photos of me, including selfies on Instagram. In all honesty I really struggle to not hate how I look, let alone like it. When I hear it back my accent bugs me, I can pick up faults about myself absolutely no one else will have noticed. And that’s probably one of the biggest contributors to not vlogging. So when Aldi got in touch and asked me up to Manchester for a day of filming with them, my first reaction was “No!” and my second was to run and hide. Then I found myself on a Virgin train up North, wandering down a very dark country lane, and feeling really rather sick…
It didn’t get off to the smoothest of starts. I nearly ended up with my suitcase full of clothes locked in the Natural History museum in London. I missed the off-peak trains so had to wait for a late one. I missed my connection at Stockport, couldn’t get hold of any cash and ended up having to walk down what seemed to be a country lane (with no street lights) in the pitch black to get to my hotel (room pictures above!) in the lovely Prestbury. I plonked myself into bed and lay there until finally falling asleep at 4am…
7am saw me in a taxi on my way to the studio. Set in a gorgeous loft conversion, camera equipment work more than my annual salary and a hugely lust-worthy kitchen, plus the most lovely crew. The creative assistant and makeup artist put me at ease (even bringing me tea – major loves right there). I ended up with the most stunning makeup I think I’ve ever had. Up close you could see the layers of foundation necessary for filming, but I LOVED the brows and lip shade. If only I could remember the name of the MAC lipliner…
Eeek, how scary!
No idea what’s with my sharp ‘hi’ at the start, but other than that it’s not actually too bad. I look exhausted (hello two hours sleep max!), my hair literally doesn’t move (yep, a whole can of hairspray!), but I feel so super proud of myself!
Blogging has opened up SO many opportunities for me, I’m constantly amazed at it. Yes there’s the ‘freebies’ and I’m so very grateful for that. But it’s also introduced me to some lovely, lovely friends, it’s allowed me to try new foods, it’s pushed me to do this filming with Aldi, it’s a huge bonus on my CV.
What opportunities has blogging given you? Have you ever pushed yourself to do something terrifying?
