Self-care will forever be our favourite hobby but we appreciate that recharging and putting yourself first looks different for everyone. Each week, we'll be asking the celeb lot to share their ideal self-care Sunday routines, the hard-working beauty products they recommend to their friends and which TV show they're currently binging…
This week it's all about Megan Bolton, best known for her comedy sketches on TikTok which are hilarious and deeply relatable - so much so, she's amassed over 2.8 million followers and counting. The 22-year-old is making huge moves online by working with huge global brands (including Adidas, Amazon Prime, Channel 4 and Spotify) and even landed a small part on Hollyoaks after leveraging her TikTok to apply for acting jobs (but more of that in a minute!).
Megan chats exclusively to heat about her beauty routine, her secret sauce for success and the bargain fake tan so good, it makes her 'look and feel ten times better'.
On starting out
"I was at school when I first started my TikTok channel and used it mainly as a showreel for my acting. It's definitely paid off. I was one of the classic lockdown babies on TikTok and I started doing a little bit here and there and saw how people grew big followings and turned it into a job. I remember thinking, 'Oh my god, I should probably take it a little bit more seriously now!' I started doing relatable and different-age sibling sketches and just anything relatable for people during a really awful time. I wanted to make people laugh online.
"It also helped my acting career, because casting directors were looking on the TikTok app during lockdown because you couldn't audition or go on stage and do a performance. I had a couple of casting directors ask me to do self-tapes and one of them was for Hollyoaks. It's weird how an app like TikTok can really excel your career. Instead of doing a screen acting degree in London, I chose to do TikTok. My parents at the time were like, 'What are you doing you silly girl?!' But it just felt right and now it's one of the best decisions of my life!"
On content creator tips
Megan is smashing it online, but what are her top tips for becoming a successful content creator?
"To be honest with you, it's consistency. I know that's a classic one that people don't want to hear, but you have to just be consistent. That means when you first start out, it's sometimes posting three times a day trying to gauge where your audience demographics are. If it's a younger demographic, be posting at 3 o'clock when they come out of school. I'd start by testing the waters and posting what you want to be authentic to yourself so you can find out what you enjoy and what you like. Then maybe post stuff depending on what your audience asks to see more of. It's finding a balance and being consistent."
On self-care
What does the ultimate self-care Sunday look like for the TikToker?
"It's recently changed because I feel like I'm constantly travelling across the country every other day. Self-care for me is now time to do nothing. A time when you're not mentally thinking about this or the next idea or making dinner, you're literally doing nothing. Do you know what? Sometimes I find watching TV a little bit stressful. I just want to be on my phone doing nothing. I find travelling so draining.
"I always do the tan and shave routine every Sunday and now make an effort to fake tan for my own self-love. I'm not happy with my body at the moment and when I tan it mentally and physically transforms me into a different place - I just feel ten times better. I love the Dove Summer Body Gradual Tanning Lotion, £4 and will always use that as a base, before using the Revolution Tanning Deluxe Tanning Mousse, £14.99."
AmazonOn skincare
"Pixi, in my opinion, is the ultimate skincare brand and I first worked with them when I was 17. They saw potential in me and I saw potential in them straight from the beginning. I love their Clarity Cleanser, £18 and their Rose Ceramide Cream, £24. Those two products are actually insane, I swear to god! I'd say in 80% of my TikTok sketches I'm not wearing make-up so the skin has to be clear."
On make-up must-haves
"Another brand I've loved from the beginning, especially now I'm living up North, is Doll Beauty. They're such an incredible independent brand. My favourites that I always use are the Gimme Contour, £18 and the Doll Beauty Blush in the shade Beach Please, £15. That's something I use every single day without fail."
Doll Beautywww.lookfantastic.com
On budget beauty buys
"When it comes to mascaras, I believe you don't need to spend a lot. When I was at school I used to get my mascara from Wilkos. Sure, it's nice to have the Huda Beauty mascara, but any mascara works and I always just get mine from Primark.
On red hair hacks
"People invest a lot of money into their hair, but I swear by the Crazy Colour Hair Dye in Vermillion Red, £6.28 which you can get from Boots or Superdrug. My hairdresser uses it to paint on and dye my hair and I then use it as a hair mask every time I wash it. It keeps the red hair juice in if you know what I'm saying."
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Crazy Color Vibrant Vermillion Red Semi-Permanent Hair Dye
AmazonOn a work-life balance
"To be honest with you, I feel like I am mentally switched on 24/7 when it comes to work. The first thing I do in the morning is check my phone to see if I have any messages from my agent and that will happen all the way through until I fall asleep. Even when I'm sleeping, sometimes I'll wake my boyfriend and be like, 'I have a really good idea, can we do this tomorrow for a sketch?'
"I don't switch off and prefer it like that because when it comes to this type of work and being self-employed, especially in the social media industry, as soon as you switch off, someone else is hopping on and doing what you need to be doing. There's a constant influx of new influencers and creators. So if you're not doing it, someone else will be. I'm so ambitious when it comes to this job answer when you start switching off, you're slipping. I feel like this is why people cop out early in this job because it's a lot of hard work."
On wise advice
"My dad said this to me when I got broken up with in year nine, but it's always stuck with me. It's 'Everything happens for a reason.' I know it's really basic and cliche, but when bad things start happening or it's not going your way, you've lost a certain brand deal - everything happens for a reason. You may not see the reason at the time, but you'll eventually begin to realise that's why that fell in place."
Quickfire round:
What show are you currently watching? I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, obviously.
How do you like your cuppa? I don't drink tea or coffee so a hot chocolate. I like it with a lot of sugar, cream and marshmallows. If it doesn't have that, I don't want it!
Go-to loungewear brand? I'd say Primark, it's got decent, vibrant stuff there.
Everyday perfume? The Playboy fragrance, £14.25 is brilliant and I always get compliments.
Go-to takeaway order? Chinese takeaway 100%. Chicken chow mein, vegetable spring rolls and then sometimes chicken gyosas or chicken dumplings.
Favourite candle? I've only recently got into candles, but definitely a Yankee Candle.
Aimee Jakes is heat’s trending content editor. As well as writing about skincare launches, high-street fashion and gym bag essentials, she’s forever chatting to celebs about their fancy beauty routines. Follow her on Instagram here.