50 Questions with O'Brien And Olive

With a wedding promise to make every single day an adventure for one another, the eclectic husband and wife team of O’Brien and Olive’s Jack and Allison Marie O’Brien have done just that – journeying from the rooftops in Paris to stargazing in Morocco.

Along the way, the two discovered a love for the art of creative imagery and storytelling – turning to blogging and Instablogging to share their moments. With Jack from England and Allison Marie from America, this incredible duo bring a different type of artistic flavour to Instagram that adds a uniqueness to the platform.

Here, we chat to both Jack and Allison Marie to find out more about their back story…

Missed the last articles in the 50 Questions series? Click the links to read interviews with The Grey Layers’ Jeanne Grey, Trash to Treasured’s Tina Abeysekara, and Alyssa Lynch.

1. Best beauty/grooming product of all time?
A: Aveda Hydrating Lotion! I’m all about soft skin 🙂
J: To be honest, these days my only grooming product is deodorant!

2. Five beauty/grooming products you can’t live without?
A: I stopped wearing makeup over a year ago and threw it all away! 🙂 But I am loyal to a wonderful skincare routine. I love a good cleanser, Aveda Toning Agent and Hydrating Lotion, lip balm, and a lovely moisturising oil for my skin after showers
J: Deodorant, haha!

3. Favourite fragrance?
A: I prefer to go all natural 🙂
J: Whatever deodorant I’m using!

4. Favourite item of clothing?
A: My tiny little flowery wedding dress
J: My dapper bright blue wedding suit

5. Favourite fashion brand?
A: I actually don’t have one at the moment! All of my favourite pieces came from my mother’s wardrobe when she was my age
J: ASOS

6. Shoes or bare feet?
J+A: Bare feet forever!

7. Gym or exercising outdoors?
J+A: Exercising outdoors – there’s nothing like a fresh breeze and sunshine. Nature is so wonderful

8. Yoga or running?
A: We go running every morning! Although I’d love to take a yoga class come the opportunity
J: I love a good ol’ run, though I’d be very intrigued to see if I could last an entire yoga class 🙂

9. Healthy eating or treating yourself?
A: BOTH! Healthy eating for all round happiness and goodness. Treating yourself to especially feed the heart and soul! 😉
J: The best feeling is when you feel as though you are treating yourself because of how healthy you eat. Allison says I make delightful salads!

10. Can you cook?
A: I absolutely adore cooking (along with putting on an old record, drinking the wine, the whole shebang), but 99% of the time – I’m too lazy. Out of the two of us, Jack is definitely the cook, and a fantastic one at that! Marry a soul who can cook!
J: I like to think that everything we eat is enjoyed by the Mrs 🙂

11. Favourite food?
A: The vegan version of the traditional Filipino dish called “Sinigang”
J: The vegan version of a traditional English roast dinner!

12. Favourite drink?
A: Mango juice
J: The freshest of fresh orange juice. Hold the pulp 🙂

13. Best place to eat out?
J+A: Bella Italia has served us well over the years… we absolutely love Italian food! Plus, it’s sentimental

14. Happiest moment?
A: Every single moment spent with my soulmate and our loved ones during our wedding day, watching an intimate performance of a classical Vivaldi and Mozart concerto in Venice, Italy, stargazing with an astronomer in Africa, and walking through the sleepy streets of Santorini in the very early mornings and seeing the sky light up magical pastel colours from the rooftops as the sun began to rise.
J: It was on our wedding day. I was waiting in the town hall and the ceremony had just begun. The moment was when Allison Marie walked into the room for the first time, and she was just… breathtaking. I shed a tear and I just couldn’t believe that she was about to become my wife. I had never cried out of pure happiness before that moment. It was a unique experience and very special

15. Saddest moment?
A: When my beautiful, extraordinary sister passed away last summer
J: My incredible Granddad’s funeral

16. Instagram or Snapchat?
J+A: Instagram!

17. Blog or YouTube?
A: Blog
J: YouTube

18. Iphone or camera?
J+A: Camera 🙂

19. Type of camera?
J+A: We have a Canon for digital, Pentax for film, and Fujifilm for polaroids

20. VSCO cam or Snapseed?
J+A: VSCO

21. Facetune or untouched?
J+A: Untouched

22. Favourite filter?
J+A: We use our own custom presets and edit by hand

23. 9-5 job or full-time influencer?
J+A: Full-time photography and writing! 🙂

24. How did you first get your start in influencing?
J+A: We had just moved into our very first home together in Ireland in early 2016, and as we didn’t know anyone or have any jobs yet, we kept ourselves busy with painting! We had always adored painting together. But we were painting so much that they began to fill up our tiny apartment! So we figured, “Hmm, why not try to sell some or give some away?” Otherwise, we’d be swimming in our own paintings in no time! So we started our blog, “O’Brien and Olive,” as a way of sharing our paintings and our new life in Ireland together and hopefully selling a few… We only sold one entire painting in the end, haha! But we were so in love with photography/creative imagery and writing and sharing our stories that we continued with our Blog and Instagram anyways out of pure love for creation and connection 🙂

25. How much time goes into a normal picture found on your Instagram account?
J+A: It all depends on the photograph, really!

26. How much time do you spend on Instagram a day in general?
J+A: Typically, we don’t like to be glued to our phones. But every now and again, we love losing ourselves in other artists’ beautiful work!

27. What’s your top Instagram tip?
J+A: Share with others art that comes from your soul. Have passion and don’t fret putting your heart on your sleeve

28. Who takes your pics?
J+A: We compose and shoot all photographs ourselves 🙂

29. Career highlight since being an influencer?
A: When our five-year-old dreams finally came true by visiting our favourite continent – Africa. We camped together beneath the stars in a desert across the Atlas Mountains and it was just…ahh. I’m at a loss for words. I still dream about it all the time 🙂
J: It had always been a dream of ours to visit Oia, Santorini, and even more so, we had always wanted to visit for a wedding anniversary! At the time, it seemed as though it would always remain a dream for us because of how expensive it would be. However, this past July, we were finally able to visit together for our two year wedding anniversary because of our photography and writing. It was absolute bliss

30. Career lowlight since being an influencer?
A: We were taking a photograph on an ocean pier once, and we had this big box of the most delicious, hot french fries you had ever seen just waiting to be eaten. We turned our backs to take a look at our camera for one second, and before we knew it, a huge swarm of the craziest, gigantic seagulls swooped in and began devouring them, haha! It was so hilarious yet so sad all at once
J: This was both a lowlight and a highlight in its own little contradictory way: We had just arrived for our very first travel collaboration in Paris, and we were in a suite with a balcony besides some very easily accessible Parisian rooftops. Very high on Allison Marie’s bucket list is written, “Go on top of a real Parisian Roof”. You should have seen her eyes light up at the sight of these rooftops – she was like a child during Christmas morning. Being the perhaps overly-excited pair that we were, we got ahead of ourselves and jumped the barrier of our balcony to make that bucket list dream come true amongst the rooftops. Later, the hotel had apparently received a complaint from a neighbour, and so, within two hours, we were asked to leave the hotel… We’ve most definitely learnt our lesson since then… but at least it’s a story to tell our grandchildren one day! 🙂

31. Best campaign you’ve ever worked on?
J+A: Each campaign has been such an incredible experience in their own unique way. We are grateful for every single one of them. We can’t deny, however, our campaign with Scarabeo Camp has left its footprints on our hearts

32. The best gift you’ve ever received as an influencer?
A: A night spent stargazing with a real Moroccan astronomer in the Agafay Desert. We saw our first ever shooting star that night and made a wish on it together
J: A honeymoon package in Santorini with the most perfect view of Oia’s famous sunsets

33. Last thing you googled?
A: “Definition of writhing”
J: “Is all lavender edible” (I’ve been trying to infuse lavender into all of my recipes, haha!)

34. Favourite film?
A: “Titanic”
J: I’ve already watched “Hacksaw Ridge” four times within the past three months…

35. Favourite book?
A: “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov
J: I absolutely love Shakespeare, so I’d have to say “Hamlet”

36. Favourite song?
J+A: “Just The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra

37. Favourite band?
J+A: We’ve absolutely loved Maroon 5 since the beginning of our relationship. Allison Marie made me a mixtape after a month of being together and the opening song on it was “Love Somebody” by Maroon 5 🙂

38. Living in the city or living by the beach?
J+A: By the ocean!

39. Favourite travel destination?
A: Ooh, this is such a difficult one! We actually ask each other this question every time we visit a new place together. My most sentimental place will always be Brighton, England, but my favourite travel destination so far has to be Oia, Santorini, Greece. It’s such a special, magical little island for us for so many personal reasons 🙂
J: We’ve been very, unbelievably, crazily fortunate in the last year to visit some incredible places with our work. I never thought in the same year we’d be on a gondola in Venice, a camel in Morocco, up Oia Castle in Santorini, and many more beautiful destinations. But funnily enough, I would always pick the seaside town of Brighton, England. It was where I proposed to Allison Marie, it’s our wedding town, and has since been the home to many wonderful memories together…

40. Going out clubbing or quiet dinner with friends?
A+J: We couldn’t possibly say no to a lovely dinner, wine, and good company

41. Partner or single?
A+J: Soulmates

42. Siblings?
A: A gorgeous older sister, an amazing late older sister, and an incredible older brother
J: One older brother. The sensible one 😉

43. What city are you currently living in?
A+J: We currently don’t have a house or a permanent address! We are here, there, and everywhere 🙂

44. Celebrity girl crush?
A: Angelina Jolie
J: Joanna Paige…her welsh accent!

45. Celebrity boy crush?
A: Leonardo DiCaprio
J: Leonardo DiCaprio

46. Pets?
A: My family in America have the most adorable brother and sister shih-poo puppies named “Freddy and Flurry.” They are nuts and so, so cute
J: My family in England have a sweet elderly, curly black poodle named “Bailey”. He’s pretty deaf and only has one eye, but he’s still the cutest thing ever!

47. Top five Instagram accounts to follow?
A+J: @kat_in_nyc, @natgeo, @babaktafreshi, @reallifelines, @puuung1

48. Favourite quote you live by?
A: “Everything happens for a reason and what’s meant to be will always find its way”
J: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” – Oscar Wilde

49. Top career tip?
A+J: Have genuine kindness, humility, and compassion for yourself and for everyone you cross paths within your career and your life

50. Where will you be in five year’s time?
A+J: Life is an unpredictable, marvellous thing. Wherever we are in the world, we hope to be happy, healthy, and warm