20 Questions with Brittany Xavier

20 Questions with Brittany Xavier

Where are you from?

Brittany Xavier: I’m from Glendora, California, which is 20 minutes east of where I live now in Pasadena, California.

Modeliste: Can you tell us a bit about your life before becoming an influencer?

Brittany Xavier: Before I was an influencer, I was a political science major in the pre-law program, ready for law school. But after school, I got a good job in a marketing firm and started working there until I figured out what I wanted to do longterm. Kind of had like a, not a midlife crisis, but just a sense of, I was always on that path for the law school. And wondering if I still wanted that at that moment in my life. And shortly after is when I started my blog as a hobby. And it became where it is today.

Modeliste: How did you become an influencer?

Brittany Xavier: How I became an influencer, I was actually really into wedding blogs while planning my wedding. That was actually my first experience with blogs. And after we got married, I wanted to continue in that fashion some way. So we decided to start taking photos of my outfits, sharing a little bit about what we’re doing in our daily life and it just really started to move on from there.

Modeliste: What did you find the easiest and most challenging part of being an influencer?

Brittany Xavier: I wouldn’t say it’s easy every day when I wake up, but I do remember a time when I quit my job, I quit my full time marketing job and was working from home, doing this full time. And it was just such an eye opening feeling for me to think that I wasn’t going to have to check in with someone, no one was my boss anymore. And that was something that really motivated me to keep wanting to do this and continue to be successful with it. So I would say one of the biggest perks is definitely being my own boss. And the hardest, I would say is dealing with just cyberbullying and you really have to have a thick skin and be able to know that a lot of times when people say negative things, it really has to do more with them than with you. And you really have to be in a strong place in your mind for it, for sure.

Modeliste: How do you balance your time on social media within your personal and professional life?

Brittany Xavier: Well, I have a 13 year old daughter and with her being at home during quarantine and really us not that separation at all for her going to school, we had to set a lot more boundaries at home as far as when we stopped working at night and on the weekends. We really don’t want to be shooting photos or creating any content on the weekends. And that was a huge shift for us. Before quarantine, I feel like we were constantly working, especially the hours that she would go to school, but I really want to set an example for her that she can work hard, but also there needs to be a balance or you’re working all for what?

Modeliste: You have proven yourself to be a woman of many talents. Are there any other categories you plan on exploring in your career?

Brittany Xavier: Actually, yes, I can’t get into it too much, but it includes my daughter much more than I’ve included her before and she’s very excited about it too. So we’re working on it together.

Modeliste: In what ways do you use your platform for the greater good?

Brittany Xavier: This year, especially, has really motivated me to use my platform for greater good. I feel like before I was always very neutral. I have very strong political views and moral views that I obviously have with my family, but I never wanted to share any of that on social media just because I wanted to keep it very fashion and family lifestyle. But I wasn’t really open to sharing so much about how I thought on day to day news articles and what I was reading, but especially with the pandemic and with Black Lives Matter, I was watching different stories and I was realizing people were just sharing information that sometimes wasn’t even verified. No one was sharing really good articles that were coming from good sources. So with that, I really decided I wanted to be a place that yes, people want to see me for fashion, but then come to my stories, they can find resources that can help them at home with the pandemic and how they can get involved too with Black Lives Matter.

Also during the pandemic, we sent out around 3,000 ear guards. My husband and I printed these ear guards that helped protect the healthcare workers from their mass. It pulls the guard off their ear. A lot of nurses were getting major blisters and we realized we had a 3D printer. We bought another one, so we could double our production and we sent them out. So that was something we did as a family. And even though we were giving back, it really just was so nice to see my daughter and my husband just really coming together and doing this for a good cause.

Modeliste: What does a typical work day look like for you?

Brittany Xavier: A typical workg day for me is very calendared. So at the beginning of the week, we schedule everything from campaign due dates to mood boards, brainstorming, email time. We go through everything that’s due for that week and we calendar it. So each day for me is different. I’ll have meetings, I’ll have different brainstorming sessions, a lot of shooting, a lot of video creation, but each day is something different. And as long as we get everything done on the calendar for the day, we’re good for the next. And I don’t ever feel super overwhelmed that way. It helps me keep really organized.

Modeliste: What is something readers don’t know about you?

Brittany Xavier: I feel like I’ve shared a lot, especially this last year I feel like I’ve opened up a lot more about my personal life. Oh, maybe that I’m lefthanded. Such a random fact, but people are always like, my husband and I are both left-handed actually.

Modeliste: How do you stay up to date with fashion trends?

Brittany Xavier: I like to scroll Instagram. I definitely scroll TikTok a lot, just reading different news articles as well as some of the best fashion magazines that I follow. Obviously some trends don’t apply to me or aren’t my style. So the ones that really feel like they resonate with me, those are the ones I save for future inspo.

Modeliste: Who are your favorite designers at the moment?

Brittany Xavier: Well, just last night, I actually watched the digital show of Jack Moose and was blown away by the designs. It makes me so excited for the future and be able to go out more and yeah, it just … Obviously I’m still at home, so I’m not dressing up as much, but yeah, I loved his collection.

Modeliste: As a creative in quarantine, how have you found ways to keep your creativity flowing?

Brittany Xavier: In quarantine, I’ve found different ways to keep my creativity flowing and that has been for video content with me. And the fact that my daughter has been home, we’ve really bonded over TikTok and it’s been so much fun to create and show that side of my personality on that platform. And it’s actually reinspired me too, because I do feel like during that time, Instagram was very heavy, and it was just a lot to take in, especially in the beginning when it was just a little bit more depressing too. So TikTok for me, it was like a nice escape. And also it let me think about different ways that I can edit videos and just all these different ideas that I never really thought about video creation before. So it really inspired me all over again.

Modeliste: You have expanded your business as an influencer in the last few years and have brands all over the world who want to work with you. How do you decide what brand partners you move forward with in collaborating?

Brittany Xavier: They have to be ones that I would wear or use outside of … I’m not going to do an ad that I’m not going to actually use or wear myself. And I didn’t listen to my instinct years ago about that and that made me learn my lesson. I felt I didn’t feel comfortable, super comfortable with the outfit. And I did it because I was still new, I didn’t know that I could say no to certain jobs. And after that, I was like I’ll never do this again. I did not feel comfortable. It wasn’t something that I would actually wear.

I mean, I’m sure people thought it was cool, but just, for me, it was just not tailored the way I like and the fit. And after that, I was like I’m not settling. I’m not going to say yes to something just for the rate if I don’t use it, or if my daughter doesn’t use it. Also in skincare last year, I made a switch to only use clean skincare. So I only work with clean skincare brands going forward. So that helps me know who to partner with in that category as well.

Modeliste: What is the best and worst piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Brittany Xavier: The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is to stay true to myself. And that sounds very cliche, but you have to think about that daily in this business, and you have to stay true to your values and who you are as a person and not get lost in what everybody else is doing. And the worst piece of advice is to take something based on the rate versus just make something work if the rate is good. I had to learn the hard way of that years ago.

Modeliste: The content you create is never short of amazing. Can you give us an insight in the process of creating your content?

Brittany Xavier: Based on the item that we’re shooting, I like to get inspired, whether it’s going to be an indoor shoot or outdoor. Like to put together mood boards and think of some cool pose ideas and just really have a plan. A lot of the time, the best pieces of work come from a little bit of planning versus just on the whim. So I like to be a little preplanned with my shoots.

Modeliste: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Brittany Xavier: In my free time, I love to listen to true crime podcasts. I love business podcasts as well, but the true crime really just lets me escape the everyday work environment that I’m constantly thinking about ways I can improve my business. But this is just a complete escape. It has nothing to do with my business. And I listen to it every morning when I get ready. My husband and I love watching Criminal Minds on the weekends.

Modeliste: Where’s your favorite place to travel and why?

Brittany Xavier: Oh my gosh. I’ve been to so many places that I love. My favorite place to travel has to be when we went to the Amalfi Coast. My husband and my daughter, it was a family trip and it was so much fun, we ate the best food, we hung out on the beach every day, and had no schedule. It was so much fun. And now I would love to go back, but with COVID and everything that’s going on, it makes me want to go even more because I haven’t traveled in so long, but that’s just such a fond memory.

Modeliste: What advice can you give someone who is working towards establishing a successful career as your own?

Brittany Xavier: You have to be able to work hard and put in the work when you’re not seeing the immediate results, continue to persevere. And really if you’re passionate about it, and if you’re staying true to yourself, you won’t burn out and you have to have a really thick skin.