Louise Pentland is one of the stand-out stars and original content creators – she started her blog in 2010 which then led onto her successful YouTube channel, Louise Pentland formerly named Sprinkle of Glitter, where her content is related to motherhood, parenting a lifestyle and has earned her a following of over 2.4 million.
As a mum of two girls, Darcy (9) and Pearl (2), Louise has amassed millions of loyal fans following her journey as a mother, partner, and overall strong woman. Louise’s real, raw, honest content is refreshing for millions of women across the world and her videos have achieved over 200 million views. Louise’s work empowering women has also earnt her the acclaimed title of UN Change Ambassador in 2016, and she featured in the 2019 Sunday Times’ Influencer List.
Louise is a number 1 Sunday Times Best-Selling Author with four books under her belt, the most recent of which is the final book in the Wilde trilogy, Wilde Women. She also launched her podcast Mothers’ Meeting with Global in late 2019, where guests include both celebrity and social media mums and share their experiences of the highs and lows of motherhood. She is also the ambassador for a range of much loved British brands in the beauty, parenting and interiors sectors.
Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role
Hello! My name is Louise and I’m a mum to two gorgeous girls. I’m a YouTuber (just celebrated 10 years in the biz), a best-selling author, a podcaster, charity campaigner and a presenter. My background is that I was very bored working as a receptionist so I started writing a blog about the house I was renovating, which evolved to include more fashion and beauty as I’m also passionate about that. I loved writing, and after 6 months, at the request of some of my blog readers, I started vlogging – documenting my day to day musings, sharing hauls and talking about my first pregnancy. My ‘community’ grew and grew, leading me to write four books, host my own podcast, work with some amazing people and brands, and pursue my dream of presenting.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
When I first started blogging it was just a fun a hobby – I never imagined it could turn into a career, it wasn’t even a ‘thing’ in those days. So, to now be presenting on daytime TV, on programmes like Lorraine and Loose Women that I’ve watched for as long as I can remember, it’s a dream come true and I’m really excited to do more of that. Please keep your fingers crossed!
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
Absolutely. I’ve always been very honest in everything that I’ve shared, and my followers have had a genuine insight into the highs and lows of the last 10 years of my life. Those have included the births of my two wonderful daughters, a divorce and finding love again (kissing a few frogs along the way!), the PTSD I suffered after a traumatic labour, the grief I struggle with after losing my mum when I was young and a few wobbles here and there, just like everyone has. My hope is that by sharing my own experiences, people who are going through similar things will be able to relate and realise that they are never alone. Also, I think it’s good to see that nobody has a perfect life!
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
That would be my two girls, Darcy (nine) and Pearl (two). The juggle struggle is real and I in no way consider myself an expert in the parenting arena – if such a thing even exists. However, I’m quite fond of them and especially during these recent bizarre times, I’ve loved the extra time and finding the joy in the simple things like making ‘potions’ from glitter and flowers or having movie nights with treats and blankets! They’re good eggs.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
I think for me it comes down to passion and brutal honesty. The beauty of my job is the relationship I have with my audience, who are in some cases, customers too. I’ve never represented a brand I didn’t believe in, never sold something I didn’t think they’d like. Trust is a really important thing to have with people and is a big key to success. This tip is well applied to every area of your life!
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
I don’t know about a ‘mentor’ as I don’t consider myself an expert, but I have been on the scene long enough to pick up a few tips and tricks for success in my industry. Through my content I always hope to encourage and inspire people going through hard times, and I try my best to get back to anyone who reaches out to me for advice or guidance. In terms of being a mentee – I’m incredibly lucky to have an amazing support system around me – my family, my fiancé, my work team, my friends and my amazing followers. I learn from them all every day! Sounds a bit twee but it’s true. Insert heart eye emojis all round haha.
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?
This is something I’m really passionate about. In 2016 I was invited to be a UN Ambassador for Change (specifically on gender equality) and to speak at the United Nations in New York about the global goal of achieving gender equality. I opened up the discussion on my channel and encouraged people to share their own thoughts, stories and suggestions on how we can make a difference through the #OwnYourOwnVoice campaign. I truly believe that by keeping this conversation going, we can achieve gender equality. So much so that we set a date for it – 2030!
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
I was raised to believe I should always be trying harder and sometimes (well, quite often), I don’t really know where to stop. That sounds like a great problem but when you dig yourself into a hole of never feeling good enough, it’s not. What I have learned to accept is that good enough is good enough. Sometimes I read things about what I’ve done in the last few years and think, ‘Wow, that’s pretty impressive’, even though I don’t feel them at the time. So I would tell little me to believe in herself and not to listen to anyone telling her she’s not good enough, because she’s going to achieve some pretty cool things!
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
I’d really love to do more TV presenting work. It’s always been a dream of mine and I would love to jump back in the saddle when the world goes back to normal. For now I think it’s just about living each day and creating a friendly, safe space on my Instagram and Facebook – hopefully providing some light-hearted relief for my followers!
