Fairy Tales : A Glittering Guide to Surviving with Joanne Larby

“When I was a little girl my head was filled with fairies and fantasy, I had burning glitter running through my veins and frantically sketched unicorns in my spare time. My bedroom was a haven and outlet for creativity, thankfully my equally artistic mum allowed me use my interior space as a form of expression. From themed wall paintings to clothing alterations I was a creative little soul. Aside from all things girly, I was a deep thinker and a regular ear to council my friends.Fast forward some years and I had completed a course in Art College, followed by Make Up Artistry, and studied Montessori, Special Needs and Child Psychology.At the age of 25 I became my own boss and created the brand The Make Up Fairy. What initially began as a blogging hobby, which I used as a means to grow my name as a Make Up Artist while I worked as a teacher, fast became one of Ireland’s biggest beauty brands.This book brings together my experiences as an entrepreneur, blogger, model and woman.I regularly share my body confidence secrets while I work as an active curvy model, create written and video content online, teaching my followers the top tips and tricks of the trade, hold beauty and style workshops and social media seminars around Ireland, review hotel stays in the travel section of my website, collaborate with big name brands worldwide and offer advice. When I first began, my mum was probably my only fan and follower and now I have a combined social media following of over 120,000 people which is growing all the time, have been voted by Vogue Italia as the top curvy girl in the world to follow, I’ve won awards such as Best Company Beauty Blog and Best Social Media in Ireland, and been nominated for awards in international magazines like Cosmopolitan. I’ve worked as the social media ambassador and videographer for the likes of L’Oréal and Easilocks, as the beauty blogger for some of the main department stores in Ireland and featured in a myriad of TV shows and print media.The more my following expands the more private mails I receive daily from women around the world, telling me how much I inspire them to carve their own career paths, love their bodies, become fit and healthy, manage their anxiety and even break out of unhealthy relationships. At this point in my career I feel like somewhat of a fairy godmother to my online following. It is a position I take very seriously, and as such I wanted to create something that would house all the information I’ve been bursting to share for so long. From building a business and banishing blemishes to surviving stress, panic attacks and heart break, this book encapsulates the struggles we face as women breaking into a harsh and saturated industry and includes advice on the exterior emotional situations we all encounter, with a tongue in cheek twist.The most amazing part about my job is the ability to interact with my followers daily, so this book combines my ideas, with your suggestions to ensure every area and topic is covered.As a beauty and lifestyle blogger I spend my day writing content for my own website and other media outlets, so publishing a book was always a natural progression and long-term dream of mine. I didn’t want this book to be a basic beauty bible or simple style guide; I wanted to bring everything my brand embodies into one glittering guide to surviving life with sparkle. I want you to be able to indulge in my humble success story, turn negative life situations into positive progress and above all feel empowered. Whether you’re a loyal fairy follower or someone who picked up this book from a shop shelf out of intrigue, I wrote this for you and believe in you.”