About.
I’m Lauren, mum of boys and a sweet old dog, she and I are the only girls in the house. I fill these pages with the things I love most; family, food and all of life's simple pleasures!
Grab yourself a glass, get comfy and take a look around….
FAQs
How old are your children?
I’m lucky to have three lovely boys. The youngest two are mine and I have a wonderful step son, Archie. In Autumn 2020, Rory is 3, Ollie is 5 and Archie is 11 years old…still surprises me when I write that, time really does fly, hey?
Where are you from?
Right now we live in rural Herefordshire, England. We absolutely love it, although I’m Welsh and Colin, my husband is Scottish. I think it's left me with a slightly mixed up accent.
How long have you been blogging?
This is always an easy question to answer as I hit publish on this blog when we were waiting for Ollie to make his entrance to the world. I’d just started maternity leave and thought I’d need some help “filling my time”….I now realise how naive that was! So, yep, it was 5 years in July.
Why ‘Hunters & Heels'
It was actually my lovely husband, Colin, who came up with the name Hunters & Heels, long before this blog even existed. I wanted a proper “name” for my Instagram back in 2014 (I think this is the time I became officially addicted to it), and he thought it would be perfect for a girl who spent the working week rushing around the city in stilettos and the weekends wandering the countryside in her Hunter boots. These days I rarely wear the heels, but I think I’ll keep the name for now. If you’d like to know more about me, and us, watch this.
What do you do for Bobbi Brown?
I’ve been employed by Bobbi Brown for over a decade. Over the years I’ve done many roles, including Makeup Artist and Regional Sales Manager. Since having Rory, I now work part time as part of the Communications team. No day is ever really the same, I create social and online content, host events and work with PR. I feel very lucky to still be a part of the Bobbi Brown family after all this time and to be able to share products I know work with my online friends too.
Who Takes your Pictures?
Mostly me. Taking pictures has always been a real passion of mine, and my sons have become my muse. If I’m in them though, it will mostly likely be taken by Colin. I don’t think he quite shares my passion for photography but he’s happy to help and I love him for that and a million other things.
What Camera Do You Use?
For video and stories, it's mostly my iPhone camera. I think it does a great job and its obviously super convenient, we always have it in our hands ready to go don’t we.. Most of the pictures on here and on my Instagram though will be taken with my ‘proper camera’. I really love my Lumix GX80, it's a small mirrorless camera, as I’m still not sure I’ll ever actually carry one of those big heavy DSLR’s around with me. Maybe one day I’ll take the plunge and get one though, perhaps once I no longer need to carry baby wipes.
Do you Make Money from your blog?
I’m incredibly fortunate that I do. What started as a hobby and a place to share things I love organically has become part of my career journey and a way to support my family. I make money through collaborations with brands that I love and buy from, as well as some affiliate links. You can read more about how I monetise my social channels here.
How can I get in touch?
I would love to hear from you, either in the comments section below or using this simple contact form.
Unfortunately I may not always be able to reply to messages of a personal nature, if I did that I would be at it 24/7.
The Legal Bit / Sponsored Content
You are important to me. That's why this section of my website, while not the most interesting, is important. Here I explain how I monetise this space, and my social channels, how your data is used and stored and of course, you privacy.
Five years ago, when I started this blog, I never imagined that it would or could become a part of my career journey.
I have my favourite brands, that I have both purchased from and lusted after for years. I’m sure you can imagine my excitement when these brands reached out to work with me, here on Hunters & Heels.
To be frank, being able to make money sharing products and experiences I’m passionate about, and would share no matter what, is something I’m very very proud of, but it’s not the sole reason I’m here. I’m here for the community, the inspiration and the creativity. If all the work stopped tomorrow, I would still be here, because I love it, and that’s the truth.
What this job has allowed me to do though is dedicate more time to this space, to produce better quality content, and hopefully find more amazing things to share with you. I aim to engage with every comment and to build a relationship with anyone kind enough to share a part of their busy day with me. Of course, monetising my platforms also gives me the flexibility to be more present for my family. Now I get to put my children to bed most nights and wake up with them most mornings which is a luxury I never take forgranted.
Not a day goes by that I am not entirely grateful for the opportunities that this platform has brought me, and I’m under no illusion that it will last forever. We can only make the most of it, while it does.
It’s for all these reasons that you can be assured I will only work with brands that I genuinely love and use. I would never put my name to a brand or product that I didn’t believe in. This is the most important thing to me. If I wouldn’t buy it with my own money, you won’t find me advertising it, that is my promise. Where content has been sponsored, or is in collaboration with a brand, I am and will always be transparent about that, in line with the ASA and CMA regulations and guidelines. If I have been gifted a product or service, or have been offered a press discount, I will be transparent about that too.
As an employee (and die-hard fan) of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, the brand is a big part of my life, my working week and the only make-up product I use. Therefore you will see me using their products, sharing new launches and any tips and tricks that I have to offer. So that you’re clear about my relationship with them, you will find my job title in my bio on all of my social channels. I will also label all social posts where I link back to Bobbi Brown Cosmetics as Paid Partnership. I do not recieve any payment in addition to my salary for sharing Bobbi Brown Cosmetics product, but as an employee, I am promoting the company I work for, and I need you to be fully aware of that, inline with the ASA and CMA regulations.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
From time to time, I will use affiliate links. If you’re not familiar with these, it means that if you purchase something via the link in my post, I will earn a small percentage of commission for influencing that sale. Please rest assured that this will not increase the price of the item. I will always state clearly when an affiliate link has been used.
PRIVACY
I take your readership and privacy seriously on www.huntersandheels.com, so this section of my blog – while not the most exciting – is really important because it’s where I explain how I work and how your data is stored/used etc when you visit this site.
YOUR DATA
Data is collected in the following ways on huntersandheels.com
Comments left on blog posts
If I run a giveaway and entrants provide email addresses
Plug ins used on this site, such as Google Analytics
Via cookies.
WHY
Data helps me understand how huntersandheels.com is being used. Google Analytics for example tells me the cities and countries in which my readers are based, how long users spend on my site and how many reads individual blog posts have had. It helps me decipher the kind of content which is successful, useful and of most interest to my readers which in turn informs the future direction and content of this site.
Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about this website. The information generated relating to bylaurenmcdermott.com is used to create reports about the use of the website. Google stores this information. Google’s privacy policy can here found HERE.
This site is created via Squarespace, and their privacy policy can be viewed HERE.
PLEASE NOTE
I am not responsible for republished content from this blog, on other blogs or websites. bylaurenmcdermott.com may contain links to other websites of interest. Once you have clicked on such links and have left this site, I have no control over that website or how your data is used there. I cannot, therefore be held responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting that site. Said site will likely have its own privacy statement, which you should read if you see fit.
huntersandheels.com does not share personal information with third parties, unless a user has given express permission – for example where the winner of a giveaway allows their contact details to be passed on to a brand, so their prize can be sent to them.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of the statements in this page or on any of my platforms, I welcome your feedback and would love to hear from you on hello@huntersandheels.com
This Privacy page will be updated periodically. It was last updated August 2020.