This post is sponsored by Persil Powercaps
I have wanted to write this blogpost for… well… since forever. And I was so excited when Persil Powercaps asked me if I wanted to share what it is really like to live that busy travel blogger lifestyle so I thought this would be the perfect time to share all my secrets!
I always get asked about how I take my travel photos, did I plan them, were they just luck, how many times a day do I change my outfit on holiday…. So I thought I may as well share the behind the scenes of what actually goes on behind those glossy travel Instagrams. Hint – it is a mixture of stress, chaos and about 7 million outfit changes on the go.
Behind the scenes of one photo will be my sister or boyfriend holding a bag of clothes, my coat, a coffee, other things I have flung at them… usually squatting in an uncomfortable position – with me giving awful instructions such as, ‘no no no higher – but a bit lower – like get me in the middle of the photo but make sure there is space below and above my head and also can you make sure I am quite big but no too big in the image’. That kind of craziness.
What you don’t see behind the Instagram image is the huge amount of planning that goes into one photo. The research, the outfit decisions, the location searching, the getting changing in McDonald’s toilets in between locations, and the huge amount of washing that happens in between trips as lets face it – I wear enough outfits for a 3 week trip on a 3 day trip!
Here is a little example of a typical travel blogging trip:
When my sister Zoe and I went to Paris this summer, it was purely a work/ content creating trip. Paris is one of my favourite cities in the world and also on of my fav places to take photos. Plus it has some of my favourite content to see on other peoples feeds. Everything about it feels and looks romantic, like a painting, beautifully toned with their stunning buildings and cobbled streets.
And then there is me – running around with a suitcase filled to the bring from location to location hair in a mess, sweat everywhere. Its beautiful really.
Sometimes my sister would look at me and say “If only people could see you now”…
A normal day will start with a 6am alarm. A few snoozes. Until my sister kicks me out of bed to go get ready.
Then I am up, showered, and doing make up. I normally (if I have my life together that trip) have all my outfits for that morning pre planned and laid out on the floor – so I get dressed and drag my sister out of bed.
Then it is off to the first location. You pray it isn’t busy / raining / too sunny / too dark / covered in bird poo / closed / a car park in front of it / people sitting there etc etc. Then you snap snap snap – a few stressful panics of ‘ahh I don’t like it, I look awful, can you make me look less hideous, can you make the Eiffel tower look bigger’.
Then when Zoe agrees that we have the shots, we move to the nearest place that will have a bathroom for me to get changed – best bets are always Starbucks or McDonalds. Then I send her off to buy us coffees (NEEDED), and I cram myself into a horribly gross toilet cubicle to get changed into my next beautiful outfit. And so on and so forth until we are out of outfits/ locations or normally – energy.
Then we TRY and do something non photo related for a couple of hours in the afternoon/evening – then its out for dinner and off to bed. Zoe will usually pass out pretty early and I will be up until around 2am ish researching locations / editing the days photos, planning outfits, repacking the suitcase – I get through a LOT of clothes – and then its up again at 6.
It is exhausting – but its what I LOVE to do. My favourite thing about my job is creating a shot that I love. Buying outfits that I know will go with specific locations. I know it sounds silly but I just LOVE it. It is like bring a little vision to life. My own little piece of creative artwork.
But after these hectic trips – the last thing I want to do when I get home is sorting out the unpacking. I just want to sleep for 100 years.
However – normally my life is pretty much non stop meaning I will have a very tight turn around before my next trip so I have to get a wash on asap unless I plan on turning up on the next trip without any socks.
This used to be the bane of my life – as I would wear so many different outfits, and either they would be sweaty, or I would have managed to stain them, dribble pasta down them etc etc – there is always something – that there would be so much washing to get through in a super quick turnaround.
But I have been trialling out Persil Powercaps all summer – and it is real love guys. It is love.
I have always used Persil – so when they approaced me asking if I wanted to trial their Powercaps – I was super excited. I have really sensitive skin and some washing powders really irritate me – but as I always use Persil I knew I would be fine.
These little babies are SO helpful in my life. The amount of times I have spilt washing powder all over the floor in a frantic tired mad rush accident – its ridiculous. But with these babies you can just fling the tablets in with your load and ta da. That is it. voila!
They come in Bio, Non Bio and Colour – I prefer Non Bio I think! It makes washing so easy – just pile everything in and I am good to go. The tablets contain triple power to remove stains, care for your clothes and intensify freshness AND my fav bit – it is in a pre-dosed format (meaning no more faffing at all for me). The capsules also dissolve super fast – in all temps – so they get to work super quickly on your washing.
Do you have any washing tips for me!?! Let me know as I am always wanting to become the best ‘rushed, no time’ domestic goddess there is!
So that is some of the behind the scenes truths of fashion blogging. We aren’t all just strolling around in glorious outfits looking flawless – we are actually running around like headless chickens looking crazy!
Let me know if you would be interested in hearing any of my favourite BTS anecdotes!
Thanks so much for reading!
Best wishes,
Jess x
