Blogger Spotlight! Marianna Hewitt of Life With Me

by Sydney Sadick

Marianna Hewitt, the blogger behind Life With Me, has one busy summer ahead of her. The TV host-turned-lifestyle blogger, who is signed with Socialyte, has recently signed on for a yearlong collaboration with Colgate (major!), has plans to start a brand of her own and is literally traveling the world. We caught up with the adorable brunette, who broke down all of these plans—and more—to us. 

What triggered your launch into the blogosphere?
I’ve had my blog since February 2014, a little over two years. I went to school for broadcast journalism and always had a passion for wanting to tell stories and share with viewers. I’ve always loved telling my friends about my favorite new beauty product, where I found a shoe sale or what my favorite new destination is. Whenever someone needs to know a product or restaurant, they always ask me. So when blogging became popular, it seemed like a natural fit because it was already everything I loved to do.

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Your blog is called “Life with Me.” What is life with you like?
I share so much of my life via the internet. Before Snapchat, you could see a lot of it on my vlogs on my Youtube channel. Snapchat has given my readers and viewers a more personal look at my life, that isn’t perfectly curated for Instagram or edited for youtube. My real life is a lot of answering emails, packing suitcases and opening up boxes. Before I became a blogger I thought, This cant be that hard! Until it actually became my full-time career. You’re a creative director, photographer, social media manager, model, stylist, food stylist, videographer, editor…the list goes on. We can only delegate so much, since as a blogger the content is you. So luckily, I love my job and sharing my life is my job.

Tell us about the videos you post.
My Youtube channel is filled of beauty videos and travel vlogs. Those are my two passions. I am a true product junkie, so I love to share how to use a product, my new favorites or how I’m doing my hair. My top videos are Jessica Alba doing my makeup with over 1 Million views, we met on Instagram! And another top video is how I edit my Instagram photos.

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What is your Instagram personality?
Very curated without being boring—I hope. I’m very particular about the content I post and I stay true to who I am visually. It took a long time to find my groove, the style of photos I like to take and how I want my overall feed to look. I usually have at least the next three photos planned, so I can tell how the feed will look overall. I think as a brand or an influencer, it is really important to immediately show new followers who you are as a whole. I edit fairly quickly, but taking a photo could take a lot of time for me

Clearly it’s working! You have half a million Instagram followers.
Just like a magazine or website, I give myself a set of style rules before taking a photo. I know that I don’t like flash in my pictures, so I stick to only taking photos during the day. I like pictures to look clean, light and airy so I’ll be sure to have enough negative space or clean solid backgrounds. Giving myself a set of style rules helps with the consistency of my photos and also pre-planning my feed, I use a few apps to plan the next 3 to 6 photos so I can arrange them in a way that’s overall visually appealing.

Your personal style is…
Classic, feminine with ease and a little bit of contemporary.

As a makeup junkie, what are your top beauty buys right now?
Tarte BB cream, NARS creamy concealer, Pat McGrath highlighter and good old Vaseline.

We’ve seen you recently in London and Paris. What were you doing there?
I was in London filming a campaign with Rimmel London for their new mascara. We filmed all over Mayfair, on a typical rainy London day, and the video was shared to my youtube channel. I got to take my followers on a behind-the-scenes look of the shoot on my Snapchat and also vlogged my trip. I went to London again the next week and since I was there, popped over to Paris since the train is so easy to take. My best friend, who also works for me, had never been to Europe so I had to take her to my favorite restaurants in Paris! I was actually born in Germany and Paris was the first place my parents took me when I was 1 month old…so I’ve been going almost 30 years! There is something about Paris that I never get sick of. Every time when I return, there are places I have to see, but I still find a new place to explore, see, shop, eat or just walk around and enjoy.

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Traveling anywhere else this summer?
I just went to the Hamptons. I’ll spend most of July in St. Tropez then maybe go to Iceland and Cuba.

Where are you shopping these days?
Intermix is my go to shop. Everything I love and want to own is there from IRO jackets or a Marissa Webb dress to Aquazzura shoes. I also love everything at REVOLVE, their new GRLFRND denim is amazing.

Tell us about your collaboration with Colgate! What will you be doing in your role?
In my YouTube videos, I’m often asked—how are your teeth so white?! And honestly it’s just from brushing with whitening toothpaste every day. Using the right product makes a huge difference, so sharing that with my followers seemed like a natural fit. Throughout the year I’m partnering with Colgate to share beauty and fashion tips and how that ties into having a beautiful smile, which I think is your most important accessory.

You’re starring in a Colgate commercial. Is this your first?
I’ve been in commercials but not since I was a teenager but I was always playing  a role. This is the first time being in a TV commercial as me, with my name, which is so crazy, surreal and still kind of a “pinch me” moment! I can’t believe I started a site to share my love of things online and it turned into being in a commercial where us as bloggers set trends that people follow.

What must you pack with you wherever you travel?
Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C packs so I don’t get sick, an eye mask and ear plugs to block out noises on the plane. Then when I land, I have a T-Mobile phone because they have unlimited international data, so I no longer rack up my phone bill trying to Snapchat every move I make. I also have my Leica T camera, which has amazing quality, without having to drag around a huge DSLR and comfortable, but chic looking flats—my favorite right now are these suede Manolo loafers.

What will we never see you wearing this summer?
A printed maxi dress—unless it’s Missoni or Pucci.

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What’s the best thing about being a blogger today?
The opportunities are endless. It isn’t just about posting something online, it’s about truly being influential and having opportunities I never thought I would get. From starting a clothing line and writing a book to being on a TV show—I’ve been approached to do so many things, it’s just a matter of what to do next and it is such a blessing and I’m so grateful.

And on the flip side, the most challenging?
It is a 7 day a week, 24 hour a day job. You think of blog posts, you create YouTube videos, and you edit the posts. Then you’re posting on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook and also going to events to network. So we don’t really have a set schedule, which can be tough but I try to just separate and give myself a day off to not post or not leave my couch. The majority of my schedule is traveling for work. The traveling can be tough, because I’m away from the people I care about the most. So I try to bring someone with me whenever I can to share these incredible experiences. But right now, I’m in my hotel room alone waiting for room service.

Any other upcoming projects or plans you’d like to share?
I did a design collaboration with House of CB last year, a lot of celebrities wore the collection from J Lo to Gigi Hadid. It was pretty amazing. Since the success of the collab, the brand and I have decided to start a new brand of our own that we are working on for Spring/Summer 2017.  We’ll be releasing collections 6 times a year and I’m excited about that!

PLUS! Marianna’s Five Tips for Aspiring Bloggers:
1. Post quality content.
2. Post often.
3. Use relevant hashtags and tag brands and accounts that repost content to gain more followers. I have a blog post up about this on LifeWithMe.com with hashtags and accounts!
4. Collaborate with bloggers who have similar content to cross promote each other and gain new readers who already like the same type of content you create.
5. If you haven’t started yet, just start! Buy a domain. Post some stuff. Starting is the hardest part, but a year from now you’ll be happy to see how far you’ve come!

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