Diary of a model

Lily spends her days as a model, rushing from shoot to show and then to another casting. On Amayzine, she tells you all about what her life is really like. Under a different name, of course, but that means she can share all the juicy details. This week: the big secrets of a model.

There will always be unexpected situations, but this week I’m sharing a few secrets to stay ahead of the surprises. This one is for the girls who are thinking about becoming a model or who have just started as a living clothes hanger.

1. Skin-colored underwear

Make sure you always have an extra set of skin-colored underwear with you. Sometimes you have to suddenly fly to another shoot after your job, and wearing the same thong twice isn’t very fresh. I’ve also experienced a time when I was standing waist-deep in water for the shoot, so a dry pair of underwear comes in handy.

2. Bring a razor

Nothing is more annoying than shooting summer dresses in winter when you’ve just grown a warm coat. Always bring a razor on your travels. Don’t let a callsheet that says ‘shooting winter coats today’ fool you. Winter coats can be perfectly combined with bare legs because fashion will always surprise.

3. Cap

Besides protecting your delicate model skin from the sun (fewer wrinkles = being able to work as a model longer), a cap is also a perfect item for the airplane. More often than I would like, I’ve had to sit on the plane with the so-called wet look. To avoid looking like a homeless person who hasn’t washed her hair in years, I often carry a cap or hat with me. From homeless to fashion icon in less than two seconds.

4. Warm scarf

What you should always bring to a location shoot is a warm scarf. The temperature often turns out to be lower than expected, and nothing is worse than shivering between shots. You can always wrap a scarf around yourself without the stylist screaming that you shouldn’t wrinkle the clothes.

5. Legs in the air

After standing on wobbly heels for a long day, nothing feels better than lying on the ground/on the bed with my legs vertically against the wall. Finally, the blood can flow back up, and my calves shrink back to a normal circumference.

6. Blister plasters

You can bet that more often than not, you’ll get the wrong shoe size on a job. Despite the fact that every model has her shoe size written on her comp card, it often happens that you have to squeeze your (already blistered) feet into shoes two sizes too small. If you want to be really professional and preventive, you can buy a blister stick and apply it to your feet beforehand.

7. Pantyhose

Also very helpful in the shoe size battle. Often a stylist has pantyhose with them, but I prefer to have clean ones in my bag. Sometimes you share a pair of stockings with your fellow model. I really don’t have a huge fear of germs, but that’s something I’d rather not share.

8. Makeup remover

Nothing is nicer than removing the layer of makeup after a long day. Foundation can be detrimental to your skin, and once you start getting worse skin, the makeup also increases. Immediately after the shoot, remove your makeup with good products. That way, they can’t call you back to shoot an outfit again. Sorry: no makeup, no photo!

9. Bikini polaroids

This is a tip from a friend of mine; male models often know even more tips and tricks than the girls. The day before your underwear polaroids, avoid eating foods that contain a lot of water (like cucumber or tomato) and drink one glass of white wine in the evening after dinner (that dries you out a bit). The next day, eat nothing until you’ve taken your photos. After that, you can shove a Big Mac in if you feel like it. The result: just a bit more visible abs.

10. Everyone is your friend

Besides the fact that the world becomes a much nicer place when you are kind to people, you never know what someone might mean for you later on. The receptionist at the casting could suddenly become a casting director, or the lighting assistant of the photographer could turn into the new Peter Lindbergh. In the modeling industry, it’s good to have the ‘likeability factor’ in addition to long, thin legs. There are thousands of girls with long stilts, but in the end, people prefer to work with someone who can tell a hilarious ‘knock knock joke.’.

XX kisses from Lily