The Instagram illustrator speaks to Blogosphere about having a niche, coping with anxiety and creating the very first beauty colouring book
Photography: Rebecca Need-Menear
You have probably seen a ‘what’s in my bag video’ on YouTube, where someone delves into the bottom of their handbag to reveal its contents to their curious viewers, from old receipts to designer wallets, chewing gum to their makeup pouch.
You might have watched a bedroom or house tour, eagerly surveying the uploader’s wallpaper choices and bathroom towel arrangements.
You may have even nosied into someone’s weekly supermarket shop via Instagram Stories, because in today’s world of social media sharing, nothing is off limits, not even the types of carrots you buy.
We are all fascinated with what is behind the digital curtain, and it is this obsession with knowing the details of people’s lives that have seen Instagram accounts like @topshelfieillustrated take off.
Behind the account is Lauren Johnstone, 24, who was inspired by a series called ‘The Top Shelf’ on beauty website Into The Gloss, which was founded by Glossier CEO Emily Weiss.
‘The Top Shelf’ gives readers a look inside celebrities’ beauty cabinets to show their current beauty favourites.
“I thought it would be really cool to do illustrations of people’s beauty collections, or ‘shelfies’, that I’d seen on Into The Gloss because it had never been done before. I made the Instagram account @topshelfieillustrated at 2am and started uploading the next day – I’m quite impulsive!” Lauren explains.
“Within five days I had 1,000 followers.”
Before having the idea for her Instagram illustrations, Lauren had moved from Liverpool to London and was working in PR when she discovered her love for drawing.
“I used to commute from South London to North London and it took ages, so I started to doodle on the train. It was a way of coping with being on public transport, which can make me feel really on edge. I’ve had depression and anxiety since I was 16 and moving to London and having to commute such a long way made it worse. I found drawing to be really relaxing for me.”
Lauren then started to illustrate pictures of other people’s makeup and skincare collections that she saw online.
“A lot of illustrations are done digitally through an Adobe product called Illustrator, but if I find an Instagram picture I really like, I’ll hand-draw it in a sketch pad. Then, I either take a picture of it or scan it into my iPad and use software to draw over the image.”
It’s a long process, with each illustration taking an average of five hours to create. However, Lauren’s unique designs have seen her amass 18,000+ followers on Instagram, capturing the attention of big beauty brands including It Cosmetics and Glam Glow.
“I no longer work in PR and I’m a full- time illustrator now. Most of my clients are based in the US at the moment, but I also get to work on amazing projects in the UK. For example, when L’Occitane opened their new flagship store on Regents Street, they asked me to draw 12 images for it to create a social media buzz.”
Lauren’s attributes her success so far as an illustrator to two main things, one being the online beauty community, which she finds is a constant source of creative inspiration.
“Most beauty bloggers have unreal photography – and they’re just doing it as a hobby! Seeing what they create and the composition of their photos and stuff is really inspiring and makes me want to take it to the next level and draw a little illustration of it.
“When I first started, I gained a lot of followers very quickly because I would draw people’s images and they would re-gram it and put it on their Stories, so my work was reaching a lot of people.
“Also, the beauty community in general is super loving and supportive of each other. It’s really interesting to see because the blogging community can have a lot of cliques, but I don’t think that applies to the beauty scene.”
The second thing Lauren believes is key to growth on Instagram, and why so many people are attracted to her page, is her USP.
“I think having a unique selling point is the best thing you can do on social media. You need a way to set yourself apart. Sometimes I do illustrations of women on my Instagram instead of beauty products and they don’t perform anywhere near as well as the ‘shelfies’ – most people are following me just for beauty.
“It’s the same with more personal accounts. If you’re posting a range of things, for example outfit shots one day, then travel shots, then food, you’re not going to grow as quickly as bloggers who only post pictures of themselves.
Bloggers like Lizzy Hadfield (@shotfromthestreet) and Lindsey Holland (@ropesofholland) only post outfit pictures and they do amazingly well. If they suddenly put up a picture of their home then it wouldn’t get the same engagement. I definitely think having a niche or genre and sticking to it is definitely the best way to go.”
With the newfound freedom of being a freelance illustrator, in September 2017 Lauren decided to move back to Liverpool, where she is much more content.
“People see London as a kind of mecca; they think you can’t get anywhere unless you live in London. I’ll tell people I’m from the UK and they’ll say ‘Oh, you’re from London!’ and I’m like ‘No, there are other cities in the UK!’. I think the North doesn’t have as much of a voice on social media. But there are bloggers like Megan Ellaby in Manchester who show that you can do something creative that you love and not be in London.
“A lot of bloggers still want to live in London because that’s where all the press and their connections are, but there are still loads of bloggers up North who are doing really well. Ten years ago, London was the place to be to have a creative career. I don’t think that’s the case anymore.”
Lauren has taken her career a step further in the past few months by launching the first ever beauty colouring book. She self-published The Top Shelfie Colouring Book in June after setting up a Kickstarter and receiving the funding (£1,979, almost double her goal) within just one day.
“Adult colouring books have become really popular in the past few years and can really help with anxiety, especially when you’re travelling. I noticed that most colouring books for adults are just patterns which I found quite repetitive.
I thought ‘why not make a colouring book of my illustrations for people who love beauty?’ There’s never been a beauty-themed colouring book before. I’ve also left enough space for people to get creative and draw their own products in.
“People use the beauty community on Instagram to escape from real life, so hopefully this colouring book helps people because they can just get in the zone and colour in. 10% of the proceeds are going to the mental health charity Mind.”