I first came across Jess Meyrick’s The Wondering Dreamer Instagram account when I joined up with Instagram in late 2015. At the time she was travelling around Australia and I immediately fell in love with the way she was portraying the country through her IG feed. At the time she was sitting on >10K followers – despite demonstrating an obvious knack when it came to the visual pursuits.
Fast forward to 2017, and Jess is growing at a rapid pace as more people begin discovering her multiple talents when it comes to capturing moments on the Gram. Recently hitting 33K and with a crazy good engagement rate – we know this is one travel influencer who is going places (quite literally).
Naturally, we’ve been dying to get Jess in for our Fast 50 series to get a little of the background goss on what’s going on behind the feed. Here, we chat to her about everything from meeting like-minded people in the industry, to top Instagram tricks and tips, to how she gets through the hard days…
Missed the last articles in the 50 Questions series? Click the links to read interviews with Valentina Marzullo, Montana Lower, and Anouschka Marlene.
1. Best beauty product of all time? Environ products – they’re so gentle and amazing for my sensitive skin!
2. Five beauty products you can’t live without? MAC Select Cover-up, Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer, Estée Lauder DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme and Kevyn Aucoin Mascara
3. Hair “done” or messy? I love when my hair is professionally blow-dried and all bouncy, however, I’m just someone who can’t be bothered! So most of the time it’s in a messy bun
4. Makeup or no makeup? No makeup for me really, apart from a little MAC Cover-up
5. Favourite fragrance? BVLGARI – Jasmine Noir
6. Favourite item of clothing? A sweater by Essentiel and has the writing ‘Dream on baby’ on the front of it
7. Favourite fashion brand? Gaah, such a hard one, I have SO many! I LIVE in Topshop – Jamie jeans, dress-wise – I’m obsessed with ‘Wiggy Kit’ as they’re the perfect summer dresses. Also LOVE the clothes from Free People
8. Sneakers or heels? Sneakers fo sho, hardly ever wear heels
9. Gym or exercising outdoors? Gym for me, not a runner. Although I love walking outdoors
10. Yoga or running? Pilates!
11. Healthy eating or treating yourself? Love a bit of both, I’m definitely one that doesn’t think too much about it
12. Can you cook? Yes, love cooking!
13. Favourite food? Japanese – I could eat sushi everyday for the rest of my life!
14. Favourite drink? LOVE a cup of earl grey tea
15. Best place to eat out? LOVE the restaurants in London – Japanese is my favourite food. Don’t have a fav place I also go back to
16. Happiest moment? Hmm, so many! Most of the ones are when I am surrounded by family & friends all looking happy
17. Saddest moment? When I realise how much I miss being away from home. Nieces and nephews, friends weddings etc
18. Instagram or Snapchat? Instagram!
19. Blog or YouTube? Blog, although trying this YouTube wagon
20. Iphone or camera? Camera
21. Type of camera? Canon 5DS
22. Facetune or untouched? Untouched, absolutely can’t handle pretentious touched-up photos
23. Lightroom or VSCO? Lightroom ALL the way
24. Favourite filter? My own Wanderlust presets I’ve created
25. Favourite way to edit pics? In Lightroom, using my presets
26. 9-5 job or full-time influencer? Unusual job. I work as a nanny 24/7 2 weeks a month, then I have 2 weeks off a month (to do all this influencer stuff)
27. How did you first get your start in Instablogging? About 2 years ago, when I started travelling lots
28. How much time goes into a normal picture found on your Instagram account? The editing for one photo can take up to an hour of playing around. So probably 45-60 mins per photo
29. What’s your top Instagram tip? Consistency and engagement
30. Who takes your pics? Myself, and if I’m in the shot, the boyfriend, friends, photographer…
31. Career highlight since being an influencer? Have LOVED the amount of talented and like-minded people I’ve met on Instagram
32. Career lowlight since being an influencer? There are hard days when you think ‘oh, can I do this anymore?’, but then you see the response from one photo – and it makes it all worth it!
33. Best campaign you’ve ever worked on? Haven’t really worked on any campaigns…
34. The best gift you’ve ever received as an influencer? Gahh… too hard to choose!
35. Last thing you googled? What’s the weather like in the UK – ha!
36. Favourite film? Forest Gump
37. Favourite book? Richard Branson’s biography
38. Favourite song? A thousand years – Christina Perri (such a good sing-along)
39. Favourite band? Bears Den
40. Living in the city or living by the beach? Beach!
41. Favourite travel destination? Eek – another hard one… absolutely love New Zealand and the Maldives… but I have loads!
42. Going out clubbing or quiet dinner with friends? Dinner with friends for sure, you’d very rarely see me in a club
43. Partner or single? Partner
44. Siblings? 2 sisters – one older and one younger
45. What city are you currently living in? Bermuda
46. Celebrity crush? OMG, so many!
47. Pets? Only my mum’s dog – Hector
48. Top five Instagram accounts to follow? @mycolourfulworld, @dy_ellie, @meanderingmacaron, @haylsa & @nastasiaspassport
49. Favourite quote you live by? “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment” – Buddha
50. Top career tip? Stay driven, focused and open to all opportunities that are thrown in your path
All images: @the_wondering_dreamer | Click here to discover The Wondering Dreamer Presets
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