When illustrator Sally Spratt couldn’t afford the luxury items she desired, she did the next best thing… drawing the pieces she coveted from handbags to jewellery to beauty items – sharing the images via her Instagram account, The Lust List. Her motto? “If I can’t have them, I’ll draw them”.
Fast forward 4 short years, and Sally is now one of Australia’s most in-demand artists – while The Lust List has become a daily dose of luxury lifestyle inspo for over 130,000 followers. Collaborating with brands such as La Mer, Bobbi Brown, and Estée Lauder and being featured in publications including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, and Elle – Sally is a living breathing example of the saying: “Life imitating art”.
But while we often get to see her illustrating talents via the Gram, we don’t know too much about what Sally’s life is really like once she puts the pencils and paint brushes down – so naturally we decided to track her down for our latest Fast 50. Here, she talks us through everything from first gaining the attention of Ministry of Talent’s Roxy Jacenko to how influencing intertwines with her 9-5 job…
Missed the last articles in the 50 Questions series? Click the links to read interviews with Gab Scanu, Travel A Little Luxe, and Annisophie_’s Anne-Sophie Schmidt.
1. Best beauty product of all time? YSL Touche Éclat
2. Five beauty products you can’t live without? YSL Touche Éclat, Lancôme Hypnose Mascara, Jane Iredale Contour Kit, Nudestix Hi-lite Pencil, IT Superhero Eye Kit
3. Hair “done” or messy? I like my hair done, but not perfect. I like it to have a natural/messy finish
4. Favourite fragrance? Bvlgari Goldea
5. Favourite item of clothing? Black ksubi jeans for winter and my One Teaspoon denim cut offs for summer
6. Favourite fashion brand? This is such a hard question! There are so many – but I do find myself illustrating a lot of Acler items
7. Gym or exercising outdoors? Gym
8. Healthy eating or treating yourself? Both! It’s a delicate balance
9. Can you cook? Not well. I cook out of necessity rather than for passion
10. Favourite food to indulge in? Hot chips & popcorn
11. First thing you pick from the mini-bar? Red wine
12. Best place to eat out? Fratelli Fresh
13. Happiest moment? The other Sunday morning lying in bed with my boyfriend, coffees in hand and my dog in between us – laziest & most beautiful moment
14. Saddest moment? I don’t have one that comes to mind
15. Blog or YouTube? YouTube
16. Iphone or camera? iPhone
17. Type of camera? iPhone 😉
18. Facetune or untouched? I would love to say untouched but I Facetune blemishes and edit colours using Snapseed
19. Lightroom or VSCO? Snapseed
20. Favourite filter? On Instagram, the one that makes you look fresh – I don’t know what it’s called but it has little white stars
21. Favourite way to edit pics? Lots of light, low saturation, and increase in ambiance
22. 9-5 job or full-time influencer? I’m a 9-5 gal. As a small business owner I wear a few different hats. By trade, I am a graphic designer & illustrator –but this is also what has opened me up to being an influencer, they all intertwine
23. How did you first get your start in Instablogging? It was 5 year’s ago when Rox [Ministry of Talent founder Roxy Jacenko] and I connected. I had sent a bunch of Christmas cards to Sweaty Betty to let them know I was an illustrator if ever they needed an illustrator for a job. This quickly accelerated when Rox called & invited me to join the Ministry Of Talent team. From there, she’s opened many doors and been the most incredible cheerleader and agent!
24. How much time goes into a normal picture found on your Instagram account? It can depend. If I am illustrating one image – such as the Dior saddle bag, it took maybe 3 hours to complete. However, if I am putting together a tile with a collage of multiple images, I usually use ones I have on file – this can take 10-20 mins to design
25. What’s your top Instagram tip? Be authentic
26. Who takes your pics? Me
27. Career highlight since being an influencer? The opportunity to travel with Adobe to their annual conferences in America
28. Career lowlight since being an influencer? There was a time where I took Instagram analytics personally which really threw out my judgement. I struggled there for a while as “likes” became validation to me, which was unhealthy
29. Best campaign you’ve ever worked on? This one is actually in the works, which I can’t wait to share with you. It’s top secret for now, but stay tuned!
30. Worst thing that’s happened to you on a photo shoot? I have been lucky as all photoshoots have been incredible! The things that have thrown me have been things happening in my personal life which I’ve struggled to compartmentalise before a shoot. This has made me feel unprofessional as my head wasn’t in it
31. The best gift you’ve ever received as an influencer? I am extremely lucky in this profession and am so grateful for the generosity of everyone that has gifted me, however, one stand out that I use regularly is my iPad Pro
32. Last thing you googled? Best cafés in downtown LA
33. Favourite film? ‘The Intouchables’
34. Favourite book? ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’
35. Favourite song? Red Hot Chilli Peppers – ‘Scar Tissue’
36. Living in the city or living by the beach? Beach
37. Favourite travel destination? L.A
38. Most Instagram-worthy spot? I’m always finding new places
39. Top three essentials to pack when traveling? Back-up charger, make-up bag & sneakers
40. Going out clubbing or quiet dinner with friends? Quiet dinner with friends
41. Partner or single? Partner
42. Siblings? 1 younger sibling
43. What city are you currently living in? Sydney
44. Celebrity/influencer crush? Chris Hemsworth (*swoon*)
45. Pets? 1 Golden Retriever – Baloo, he’s almost 3
46. What is your best asset? My positivity
47. Biggest misconception about you and your job? It’s easy
48. Top five Instagram accounts to follow? 1) Fave Style – @happilygrey & @rocky_barnes 2) Photography – @demas 3) Celebrity – @chiaraferragni 4) Art inspiration – @jasminedowling @cj_hendry
49. Favourite quote you live by? “Follow your bliss”
50. Top career tip? Never give up.
All images: The Lust List
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Wow very nice