by Tanya Burr
2. SITTING ON THE FROW AT MULBERRY
Mulberry has been a brand that I have loved for years and I have built a relationship with them. I was lucky enough to sit on the front row of the spring/summer 2014 show in September 2013 alongside Alexa Chung and Douglas Booth. The show always has a special feel about it and this one in particular because it was creative director Emma Hill’s last collection for the brand. Emma did such a fantastic job at Mulberry creating such stunning looks for six years. I wore head-to-toe Mulberry for the first time, as they dressed me for the show, which was such an amazing experience!
3. GOING TO THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE PREMIERE
In November 2013, I was invited to attend The Hunger Games: Catching Fire world premiere in Leicester Square and I was thrilled to be asked. I was feeling super-glamorous that night; I was wearing a full-length dress from Coast, had my hair up in pretty braids and my friend Adam had done my make-up. As I stepped onto the red carpet with my friend Maddie, all the photographers were shouting my name. It was also crazy because there were so many of my viewers on the red carpet, which I totally wasn’t expecting! I spent about an hour having my photo taken with loads of them. It was such a buzz and after watching the film, we were lucky enough to go to the after-party at the Royal Courts of Justice!
It was the coolest party and the food was amazing – banquet tables piled high with all sorts of gorgeous food like salted caramel profiteroles and old-fashioned pick’n’mix sweeties. The venue was beautiful and it really reminded me of Hogwarts. There were these incredible pink cocktails in martini glasses with popping candy around the edge. I took so many photos!
4. YOUTUBERS TRIP TO DUBAI
In December 2013, I went to Dubai to film a look-book for a YouTube channel called Daily Mix with Zoe, Alfie, Jim, Joe, Ruth, Niomi and Marcus. I hate not working but I love a ‘working holiday’ and this was the perfect combination of work and play. We stayed at the Atlantis, The Palm hotel and spent a lot of time lying on sun-loungers and drinking cocktails. I had been to Dubai before and done all the touristy stuff, so while some of the others left the resort, I stayed there and hung out at the spa and on the beach.
5. ATTENDING THE BAFTAS
Usually I wouldn’t be allowed to go to the BAFTAs because I’m not an actress, obviously (although that sounds like such an awesome job!), but I have been kindly invited to go for the last couple of years by the hair brand Charles Worthington, who are official sponsors. On both occasions, it was such a special and magical evening. Last year, the part I enjoyed most was hearing the directors’ speeches about their stories behind the films. After the awards there was a dinner and it felt very surreal sitting eating dinner in the same room as George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt! I had some lovely people on my table from Charles Worthington, and also Sai Bennett from the ITV show Mr Selfridge and Samantha Barks from the musical Les Miserables. None of us knew one another, but we had such a fun evening together.
6. BEING NAMED AS ONE OF GQ’S 100 MOST CONNECTED WOMEN
In September 2014, I was named as one of GQ magazine’s Most Connected Women. I was listed under the ‘Influencer’ category and the list contained so many amazing women, like Stella McCartney, Anya Hindmarsh, Victoria Beckham, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Tracey Emin, to name just a few. It was such an incredible honour and I still can’t quite believe it.
7. LAUNCHING MY TANYA BURR COSMETICS RANGE
As well as my nail polishes and lip glosses, which launched in January 2014, more recently I launched a range of false eyelashes. The party was held last October at the Sanderson Hotel again and it was brilliant. All my favourite people were there and it was packed out with press and guests. I spent half the night in the photo booth with all my friends and family pulling ridiculous faces and my dad even had some of my individual lashes applied to show his support! All my family and Jim had written me really cute cards saying well done, including one from Oscar where he had drawn some cartoon eyelashes on.
8. AMITY FEST
In October 2014, we went on the Amity Fest tour. We do so many events but they are never exactly how we want them because we’re not in control, so we decided to set up our own tour, called Amity Fest. Jim and I, Zoe, Alfie, Niomi, Marcus, Louise and Caspar all participated and we performed at venues in Brighton, Liverpool and Birmingham. Sadly Joe was ill for the first two nights so we took a cardboard cut-out of him on stage with us, but halfway through the Brighton show he came on stage and kicked it down – I was so shocked to see him! It was completely sold out and the atmosphere was electric every night. We also did some meet-and-greets before each show and normally they feel so rushed, so it was really good to meet our viewers in such a relaxed environment.
9. BEING AN AMBASSADOR FOR CHILDREN IN NEED
In October 2014, I was honoured to take part in the BearFaced campaign to raise funds and awareness for BBC’s Children In Need, alongside other names including Michelle Keegan, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Olivia Coleman and Rochelle Humes. The campaign was shot by one of my favourite photographers of all time, Rankin, who was so charming. I didn’t have a scrap of make-up on but I had my hair done, which made me feel slightly more glamorous. When he took the photos, Rankin had a massive team of people holding lights around him and the results were incredible. I had loads of lovely tweets and texts when the photos were released. It felt brilliant to be involved in such a great campaign for such a fantastic cause.
10. THIS BOOK
I’ve always had my nose in a book since a really young age and they are such an important part of my life, so I am incredibly excited to be writing my own. I couldn’t be more excited!
List your proudest moments …
I love thinking about the future and what it might hold and writing lists about the things I want to do and achieve. At the moment, work is my number one priority and I have a real passion for what I do. As well as making videos and writing my blog, I enjoy working with some brilliant brands, being involved with some seriously cool projects and continuing to expand my Tanya Burr Cosmetics line. I have no idea what will be coming next, but I love the idea of doing a brow product or a fragrance. I have a few fragrances that I have always worn, but the one I would label as my signature scent is Chanel Chance Eau Fresh. It’s a really fresh, light scent and it lasts on my skin for a long time. It would be incredible to create a scent and learn about the process of matching different scent notes together. I am also the biggest fan of scented candles and always have them burning at home, so in the future at some point I would love to design a line of candles. Some of my favourites come from Jo Malone and Diptyque.
It felt like a real honour to be asked to be involved in the recent project with Children In Need and I’d love to do more for charity. I feel really privileged to be able to help and feel passionately about being able to make a difference through my influence on social media.
Life for Jim and I seems to be a crazy whirlwind of work and travel at the moment. We are so lucky that some of our work overlaps and we get to be together on some shoots, meet-and-greets or projects that we are working on. I love having him by my side, but it’s also amazing that we have our own independent businesses too and can go a week without seeing each other, then have loads to talk about.
The wedding is later this year, so by the time you are reading this I hope to have more planned and looking beyond that, I’d love to have a family at some point. In my head I hope to work hard for the next five years and then have children when I am about thirty. Children might come before then, but that’s my plan so far! I think I’ll always want to have a career and continue working but, like my mum, I’d like to spend as much time as possible with my children. Jim and I have always said that we’d like to have children; I’d love to have a boy and a girl. I’ve loved watching my sister’s son Isaac grow up and Sam and Nic’s children, Lily, Ollie, Harry and Edie. When I met Jim, Oscar was five and just out of that baby phase and Sam’s daughter Lily was one. Since then, there have always been n
ew little people to cuddle and play with. Maybe by the time they are all grown up, it will be mine and Jim’s turn!
When it comes to giving career advice, I always say to do what you love. In that way hopefully you’ll find something that truly reflects you, your creativity and what matters to you in life. I consider myself very lucky to have found a job that I love but for many people it takes a long time to find their niche. If you’re unsure about what path to take, think about what you are good at, what you enjoy, jobs that relate to your hobbies or the things that excite you most in life. If you are stuck on the things you are good at, ask your closest friends and family or a teacher or mentor, what they think you excel at. If you try something and it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t matter; simply move on. Get everything you can from a job – even when I worked at Starbucks, I tried to get as much as I could from it, like learning how to work around other people, dealing with stressful situations and with the public. There is something to be learned from every job. If you follow your heart and think creatively, you will succeed!
MY TOP 10
WAYS TO GET WHAT YOU WANT IN LIFE
1. DREAM BIG
Allow yourself to dream big and imagine and fantasise about all your career goals and the kind of life you would like to live. Imagine you have no limitations on what you can be, have or do in life and create a vision for your long-term future. Once you have a clear vision of the life you want to achieve, then it becomes easier to take steps towards it. Jim really struggles with this idea because he is such a realist, so I always write him little notes saying things like, ‘Dream Big!’
2. BRAINSTORM
If you are unhappy with something in your life but you can’t quite put your finger on why, sit down with a friend and talk to them about it. As you chat, write a list of areas in your life that you don’t feel totally satisfied with and ways you might be able to improve it. Issues like not being happy at work or with your housemates might arise, or it might be something as simple as not wanting to watch so much television. By writing it down, it will then become much clearer in your mind.
3. FOCUS ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ON YOUR GOAL
Whether your goal is health, relationship or career-related or just about simple self-fulfilment, once you have decided to do it, be committed – write it down and put it somewhere where you will see it a lot, like on your bedroom wall. Tell your friends and family what you are doing because they can offer support and encouragement and you are less likely to quit.
4. ONLY TRY TO ACHIEVE ONE GOAL AT A TIME
If you start with a whole load of goals, you are unlikely to maintain focus and energy and manage to do all of them, so do one thing at a time. Also, if your goal is a big one, start out with a series of smaller goals. For example, if you need to get out of bed two hours earlier every day, start by setting your alarm ten minutes earlier and then twenty minutes earlier, until you reach your goal time. If you want to cut sugar out of your diet, start gradually, so if you normally have two chocolate bars a day, cut down to one, then one every other day, then one every three days and so on.
5. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
Everyone has the ability to believe in themselves and achieve incredible things in life. Believing in yourself is key to almost everything you might start, so if you want to start a business, not only do you need to feel passionately about what you do, you also need to believe in the fact it can work. If I want something, I like to close my eyes and imagine it happening and I find this really helps.
6. BE PREPARED TO WORK HARD
Always be prepared to work hard and put negative thoughts out of your mind. Making changes or achieving something you may have dreamed about for a while might not be easy, but if you work hard, you can get there.
7. DON’T BE DISCOURAGED BY SETBACKS
Everyone faces setbacks from time to time and you might be tempted to give up and ignore all the hard work you have put in to something, but remember the saying, ‘One step forwards, two steps back’. Keep moving forwards.
8. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES
If you’re waiting for things to be perfect in your life, you might be waiting a long time – after all, nobody has the perfect life! Take advantage of every opportunity that is thrown your way and embrace it. Say yes to invitations and be prepared to take risks.
9. BE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR GOAL
Look at your reasons for wanting to achieve something. You have to be passionate about it. Whatever it is, you’ve got to make sure you really, really want it, otherwise you might not manage it. For example, if you are being pushed down a certain career path by your parents, this might not make you very happy if you don’t love the subject.
10. ALWAYS PLAN
I write lists for everything. Every once in a while I do a career plan, so I can work out what I see happening in a year and then five years’ time. This is how I came up with the idea of Tanya Burr Cosmetics and have continued to grow the brand. I want to make sure it always stays strong.
List the things you would like to accomplish …
List your dream jobs …
MY TOP 10
BOOKS
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (No specific one, I love them all!)
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
List your favourite books here …
Ask Tanya
Erin (@endlxssirwin)
Q: What was your favourite childhood tradition that you still do today?
A: Every New Year’s Day, we go for a beach walk with my family and grandparents at Southwold in Suffolk. Even if I’m out really late the night before or it’s freezing cold, we still go; Mum and Dad say it blows out the cobwebs at the start of the year.
Kayleigh (@kayleigh_ac)
Q: If you were a Disney character who would you be and why?
A: I’d be a mixture of Belle from Beauty and the Beast because she loves to read and sing, Tigger from Winnie The Pooh because he is bouncy and a bit excitable, and also Alice from Alice in Wonderland because she’s a real dreamer.
Mikkeline (@mikkelinesm)
Q: How should I deal with schoolwork? I’ve got so much to do I can’t possibly fit it all in my day?
A: Make a list of everything you need to do and tick it off as you go – if I have a long list of things to do, this always makes me feel so much better. Try and use your time wisely and prioritise the most important things and do them first. Good luck!
Corrie (@22corrie)
Q: What would your job be if you weren’t a blogger?
A: When I was little I wanted to drive an ice cream van but now I’d quite like to have a cake shop and bake all the cakes myself!
Luella (@luellaworrow)
Q: How should I deal with rumours that aren’t true?
A: The best thing to do, however hard it might be, is to ignore them. The people closest to you will know the truth.
Jessica (@tanyaburr_x)
Q: What are five things you should always have on you?
A: Money, your phone, your keys, lip balm and a smile!
Becky (@beckythellama)
Q: What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?
A: I can’t choose between mint choc chip and salted caramel – just not together!
Torrie (@_torrieholder_)
Q: What inspired you to keep going and never give up?
A: My passion for what I am doing, belief in myself, and the people watching my videos and reading my blog who encouraged me to keep going.
Rachel (@oakleysmd)
Q: If you could relive one moment i
n your entire life, what would it be?
A: When Jim proposed to me because it was such a blur of happiness and was over so quickly, so I’d love to do it again.
Jemima (@jemxx_)
Q: What inspires your videos?
A: It depends on what kind of video I’m making. It could be anything from a request someone has tweeted me, seeing a beauty or fashion campaign while walking past a shop window or just a random idea that has popped into my head.
Acknowledgements
Many, many thanks are due here:
To my managers, Dom and Lucy, at Gleam who have worked incredibly hard to help me realise my dreams.
To the wonderful people at Penguin, Fenella Bates and Emma Young, for such a warm welcome into the world of books and remarkable teamwork.
To Georgina Rodgers, for helping me to write my first book.
To the amazing creative team, Dan Kennedy, Matt Russell, Smith & Gilmour, Annie Swain, Samantha Cusick and Kolbrun Ran.
To all the lovely people who watch my videos, read my blog and chat to me on Twitter for their constant support and enthusiasm, which has guided and will continue to guide me through this adventure.
To my friends for their unstinting advice with everything I do and for always being there for me at the drop of a hat.
But most of all, as ever, to my family and Jim, thank you for believing in me from the beginning and giving me the strength and encouragement I needed to be the best I can be. From little dreams to sky-is-the-limit dreams, thank you for allowing me to live mine.
