In a world where there’s an abundance of creatively-blessed influencers, it can be a little overwhelming to know where to start when it comes time for some inspiration hunting. But if you’re looking for a good place to start, this month has seen Marie Claire UK create its first ever influencer power list.
Featuring those “who’s voices are shaping the way we think, behave, and actually live, and their passions and values chime with our own”, the publication has pulled together its very top picks of influencers across the fashion, beauty, lifestyle and health industries.
We take a look at who made the cut…
1. Shini Park (258K followers) – Launching her blog Park and Cube in 2008, founder Shini Park delivers a curated edit of photography on everything from fashion to food.
2. Laura Fantacci (51.8k followers) – The founder of Wearing It Today and co-founder of digital magazine and shopping site Wardrobe ICONS, Laura has made her mark as an influencer by documenting her fashion and styling tips, tricks and finds.
3. Hayley Hasselhoff (56.8k followers) – While Dad David Hasselhoff may be the more familiar face in the family, Hayley is paving her own way. A model, actress, and designer of plus-size clothing range with Elvi, Hayley uses her platform to help promote positive body image for all women.
4. Xenia Tchoumi (7.1m followers) – Style influencer Xenia is one of those digital entrepreneurs who is using her influencer power to help evoke change. In 2015 she gave a TEDx talk about female leadership and internet against prejudice, and recently spoke at the United Nations HQ about the power of digital women.
5. Callie Thorpe (159.9k followers) – Callie’s rise to influencer status derived from what started as a diet diary. This morphed into her passion to show her followers that confidence comes from acceptance and that women of all shapes and sizes can have style.
6. Patricia Bright (1.7m followers) – After starting her YouTube channel in 2010 under the name BritPopPrincess, the Nigerian makeup and fashion vlogger grew a loyal fanbase addicted to not only her beauty tutorials – but also to her body confidence videos and candid takes on family life.
7. Freddie Harrel (130.7K followers) – Through her SHE Unleashed and Big Hair No Care campaigns, UK blogger Freddie desires to inspire confidence in women through a platform that she tells Marie Claire, “allows me to express myself and exchange ideas with like-minded people”.
8. Erica Davies (61.8k followers) – Mother, stylist, fashion journalist, brand consultant and founder of popular lifestyle blog The Edited, Erica rapidly found success as an influencer after starting out as Fleet Street’s youngest ever fashion editor at just 24 years of age.
9. Alex Stedman (138.9k followers) – If Alex’s gorgeous style wasn’t enough reason to follow her, her tips on scouting the best high-street buys in London found on her luxury living blog, The Frugality, is a definite reason to follow this fashion addict.
10. Lindsey Holland (30.3k followers) – By day she can be found working as a physiotherapist in elderly care, but at night – Lindsey will be spotted tapping away on her Ropes of Holland blog. Begun in 2012, Ropes of Holland features Lindsey’s cool-girl Scandinavian style.
11. Laura Lejeune (178k followers) – Laura took to YouTube as a platform to help with her own mental-health struggles when she felt a lack of comfort from professional therapy. Since then, this “mental-health hero” has gained a major following to help others better understand mental health issues as well as provide a platform for support.
12. Hannah Witton (565k followers) – A British YouTuber, broadcaster, and author commonly known as delivering the no-bs* sex educator for young people, Hannah creates vlogs mostly based around relationships, sex and sexual health.
13. Lisa Dawson (53.7k followers) – Interior designer and lifestyle guru Lisa provides her followers with daily inspiration from documenting her passions on Instagram to writing tips on her blog Lisa Dawson Styling.
14. Jackson & Levine (258.5k followers) – After meeting at a jumble sale in 2013, Laura Jackson and Alice Levine discovered a mutual obsession with food and decided to start a lunch club of two. Four years later, and they have a thriving food business that includes a cooking warehouse, food columns, a cookbook, and a homewares range.
15. Melissa Hemsley (20.4k followers) – Major foodie Melissa is an author, cook, presenter and blogger. Not only has she used her influencer status to promote healthy eating and nutritional education, but supports the charity initiative #CookForSyria.
16. Dina Tokio (2.2m followers) – Beauty mogul Dina refuses to hold back on her love for fashion and beauty just because “people assume young Muslim women should be a certain way”. She discovered that many women could relate to this issue and created a beauty blog for women to connect with each other through their love of beauty.
17. Louise Pentland (9.1m followers) – As well as running super successful YouTube channels Sprinkle of Glitter and Sprinkle of Chatter, Louise has written a Sunday Times number one best seller: ‘Life With A Sprinkle of Glitter’, released two clothing lines, completed two nationwide sell-out comedy tours (which the BBC turned into a DVD), served a year long term as a United Nations Ambassador for Gender Equality and is on the cusp of releasing her debut fiction novel Wilde Like Me.
18. Estee Lalonde (2.2m followers) – Canadian-born, London-based vlogger and author of lifestyle book Bloom, Estee provides inspiration for beauty, fashion, food, travel and updates on her puppy Reggie.
19. Victoria Magrath (1.5m followers) – Victoria’s impressive resume includes a PhD in fashion and a hair ambassadorship with L’Oréal Paris. It’s no wonder her beautiful blog In The Frow is award-winning.
20. Really Ree (78.9k followers) – Sometimes beauty tips and tricks can get a bit technical and challenging to follow, so Ree has created a beauty blog where she writes about beauty in a easy to understand way.
21. Em Ford (2m followers) – Working with the likes of Kylie Jenner, Em shares her secret makeup tips from first impressions of products to beauty problem hacks.
22. Lily Pebbles (1.1m followers) – Lily’s chic style coupled with her quirky personality is showcased in her lifestyle, travel and fashion blog. She showcases her perfect wardrobe, make up hauls and podcasts with major influencers like Zoella.
23. Anna Whitehouse (113.1k followers) – Anna’s hilarious blog for “people who happen to be parents” tells it how it is and shows us how she is #parentingtheshitoutoflife and having fun with it.
24. Giovanna Fletcher (1.7m followers) – As Sunday Times no.1 best selling author, actress, blogger and presenter, Giovanna knows all too well about the importance of celebrating the “good corners of the internet”.
25. Aj Odudu (71.2k followers) – DJ, presenter and fitness blogger AJ is the champion of body positivity. Not only does she advocate for self love, but she also empowers women to follow her passions just as she has in writing, presenting and fitness.
26. Kayla Itsines (19.9m followers) – Kayla has become a global sensation in the fitness industry. Transforming lives through her Bikini Body Guides, she has become a mentor for women everywhere who are looking to take control of their health.
27. Zanna van Dijk (237.5k followers) – Author of Strong, co-founder of the #girlgain movement, serial magazine covergirl, and the first female UK Adidas global ambassador, Zanna is dedicated to empowering and educating women on health and fitness through her blog and Instagram.
28. Jody Sheild (17.1k followers) – After having a “full-on meltdown”, Jody quit her corporate job in pursuit of her love for travel. She is now a motivational speaker on what she learnt from this experience and author of LifeTonic.
29. Bella Younger (148.2k followers) – Bella is like the devil on your shoulder when it comes to “clean eating”. As the founder of Deliciously Stella, she creates “healthy-ish” recipes with a twist and always with a dose of humour.
30. Emily Hartridge (359.9k followers) – Comedic genius and creator of “10 reasons why”, this woman has been deemed by Marie Claire as the funniest woman on YouTube – and it’s not hard to see why.
Main image @parkncube | Words: Maddi Kinchington
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