50 Questions with Citizens of the World

In 2013, Meghan Loneragan (then McTavish) was working as the Online Editor for Qantas magazine – a position that saw her land in the Top 20 finalists for Rising Star of The Year. It was around this same time that her now husband, photographer Dominic Loneragan, had successfully managed to convince her to also partner with him on a new creative project he was undertaking – CITIZENS OF THE WORLD.

A decision she wouldn’t regret, with the lifestyle and travel website and brand going on to become a multi award-nominated destination. With Meghan’s writing skills teamed with Dominic’s flare with the camera, the two have become an unstoppable team when it comes to content creation.

Intrigued by the dreamy visuals of escape conjured by these two, Husskie decided to call on Meghan to be the latest contender in the site’s weekly 50 Questions segment. Here, she talks about the ups and downs of blogging, hiking to perfect photography locations, and throwing schedules out the window.

Missed the last articles in the 50 Questions series? Click the links to read interviews with Twice Blessed, K is for Kani’s Connie Cao, and Lion In the Wild’s Kiara King.

1. Best beauty product of all time? Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair – it’s my ride or die
2. Five beauty products you can’t live without? The Base by Lara Bingle LB Cream, Giorgio Armani ‘Maestro’ Concealer, Giorgio Armani ‘Maestro’ Foundation, L’Oréal Infallible Matte Lipstick in Silencio, Benefit Cosmetics Ka-Brow kit – usually all in this order
3. Hair “done” or messy? Always messy
4. Makeup or no makeup? Makeup
5. Statement eye or statement lip? Statement eye. I dream of being a statement lip woman
6. Favourite fragrance? Comme Des Garcons Hinoki Fragrance 1 for Monocle. It does something crazy to me whenever I sniff it – I transform into another person. It’s the full moon of fragrance
7. Favourite item of clothing? White tees
8. Favourite fashion brand? AJE
9. Sneakers or heels? Sneakers
10. Dress or jeans? Jeans make me feel more free. Which isn’t to say you can’t be free in a skirt – I just like to sit cross-legged a lot

11. Gym or exercising outdoors? Gym. I like to see the number stack up on a good run
12. Yoga or running? Running. Usually when I have a problem I don’t have the answer to
13. Healthy eating or treating yourself? Healthy 80 per cent, treats 20 per cent. It’s the evening wine that’s hard to give up
14. Can you cook? Yes, but my husband likes to rule the kitchen (which I’m happy to hand over)
15. Favourite food? Tuna poke
16. Favourite drink? A good quality tequila, a squeeze of lemon and ton of ice. If you want a ‘light’ drink that tastes good you can’t go past this
17. Best place to eat out? Sake Restaurant and Bar, The Rocks, Sydney
18. Happiest moment? Seeing Dominic, my husband, at the end of the aisle at our wedding with a big goofy grin on his face and us both laughing like mad at the the altar (aww cliché, I know)
19. Saddest moment? I can’t tell you, but every now and then I reflect on it and don’t recognise myself in that place. It’s all learning
20. Instagram or Snapchat? Instagram. Snapchat, I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us because you’re very cool and good looking, I’m just looking for something less complicated

21. Blog or YouTube? Blog. I’m a words gal. Getting better at YouTube though…
22. Iphone or camera? Camera
23. Type of camera? Nikon D4s. The Wifi on it is super handy
24. VSCO cam or Snapseed? VSCO
25. Facetune or untouched? Filtered and Facetuned (sometimes)
26. Shooting on-the-go or location scouting? On the go, fly by the seat of your pants style shooting – which Dom hates but our schedule is all over the shop so we have to take shots when we can
27. 9-5 job or full-time influencer? Full-time
28. How did you get into blogging? Dom asked me to join forces with him on something creative. That was four years ago. Lots of ups and downs to get to here but we love it
29. How much time goes into a normal picture found on your Instagram account? Not including shooting time – maybe 10 minutes fixing the colours, I might make some adjustments in VSCO but not too long. It’s the time to get to the location, wait for the good light or hike to a great spot that takes the most time
30. Most exciting moment since being an influencer? In Singapore, having lunch at a random bodega-style restaurant in Balestier, a waitress came up as asked if we were @citizensoftheworld. We forget that anyone might recognise our work, which sounds odd but we don’t think about it much. So it’s nice when people tell us they enjoy it

31. Most terrifying moment since being an influencer? Nothing too sketchy. Quitting my full-time job to do this was pretty scary
32. Best campaign you’ve ever worked on? We shot a video campaign for Vodafone about the feeling of being able to use your phone even in the remote wilderness. We travelled to beautiful Wanaka, New Zealand, and rode helicopters to the top of peaks and hiked for hours next to crystal clear water streams. It hit every note for us, emotional connection, beautiful content, nice client
33. The best gift you’ve ever received as an influencer? Someone send us their first novel!
34. Favourite film? ‘Total Recall’ – the 80s Arnold Schwarzenegger one. I have a thing for 80s sci-fi thanks to my big brother. If you want a weird movie experience though, Google ‘The Room’. Trust me, you will never regret or forget this movie once you see it. You’ll travel across the globe and mention ‘The Room’ in a packed bar and strangers will come up and start quoting lines from it to you
35. Favourite book? I’ve read ‘1984′ about three times. I feel like it should be mandatory reading for everyone
36. Favourite song? Lately: ‘In The Shadows’ by Foreign Air. All time? ‘Cornflake Girl’ by Tori Amos – it’s what made me finally decide to learn the piano in 2017. I’m determined to be able to play it by Christmas. Ha. Watch this space…
37. Favourite band? Alt-J
38. Living in the city or living by the beach? The city
39. Summer or winter? Summer
40. Ocean or swimming pool? Ocean

41. Favourite travel destination? Wanaka, New Zealand
42. Going out clubbing or quiet dinner with friends? Dinner with friends
43. Partner or single? Partner
44. Siblings? Bro and sis
45. What city are you currently living in? Sydney and we’re suffering through a heatwave. Send us luck
46. Celebrity girl crush? Lizzy Caplan
47. Celebrity boy crush? Bernie Sanders
48. Pets? One labradoodle puppy named Biscuit and 2 tabby cats, Bogart and Cyrus. Our house is hectic
49. Top five Instagram accounts to follow? @knighttcat @cabinporn @nasa @kookslams and @dominicloneragan ?
50. Favourite quote you live by? ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’