The Blonde Salad's Chiara Ferragni: Meet the internet’s most popular fashion blogger

Chiara Ferragni is not your average fashion blogger. Since launching her blog, The Blonde Salad in 2009, the 28-year-old has garnered more than 5.4 million Instagram followers, has launched a shoe line with Steve Madden and has attended the Met Ball alongside her friend Kendall Jenner. And now she's in a new role as the Global Ambassador for haircare brand Pantene. This girl is unstoppable.

It seems like ancient history, but seven years ago blogging was a relatively new phenomenon. Chiara was then a 21-year-old Law student at Bocconi University in Milan, when she began posting about her favorite fashion items and her opinions on the latest style trends. “It began as a hobby,” she tells HELLO! about about her blog. “It was a mix of several factors: the right time, publishing every day, very hard work from the beginning. Brands began to want to work with me, and I have built a great team."

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The Pantene ambassador started fashion blogging as a hobby in 2009 Photo: Getty Images

In this interview with the new ambassador of Pantene, we ask her about her favorite beauty tips, the success of her blog and how she keeps up with the latest fashion trends.

H!: So how do you define your style?
Chiara Ferragni: “My style changes every day. I would say its casual chic. I like to wear boots with skirts or mini-dresses, or jeans with sneakers and jumpers, leather jackets or a rain coat. I like to mix designer clothes with vintage pieces or high street [non-designer] names. I really like Mango and Zara, they have really great collections, but I also love brands like Loewe or Davidelfin.”

Where do you get your fashion inspiration?
CF: “I don’t follow other fashion blogs but I do follow other fashionistas on Instagram. Many of them are my friends, it’s really cool, they can inspire me and they’re also my friends. I also look for inspiration in the street, there are so many fashionable women walking around.”

H!: How does it feel to become the new face of Pantene?
CF: “This campaign means a lot for me. I have always used Pantene hair products since I was a child, since I was 9 or 10 years old when I began to shampoo and condition my hair. I have also always been ‘obsessed’ with the brand's beautiful ad campaigns. It is one of the brands that has always stayed with me and so to become an ambassador for the company is a dream come true.”

H!: What's your best beauty trick?
CF: “I try to sleep as long as possible. This helps me work well but it isn’t always possible, because I travel so much. When you travel you don’t always feel great, you feel bloated… It’s not the same as when you’re at home. But I love what I do, I love my life, so it’s all good.”

H!: Do you have a trick to overcome jetlag?
CF: “Really there is no trick. Sometimes you take it well, sometimes you take it badly. The key is to sleep but try not to obsess about it."

H!: How do you stay healthy when you are traveling so much?
CF: “I try and be healthy wherever I am. I am trying to work out more, but it’s not always possible as I don’t have enough time or energy. I try to eat well, not drink too much, maybe a little wine, but no spirits.”

H!: What are your must-haves in your makeup bag?
CF: “Some days my skin is great and others it’s not. It depends on so many things. There isn’t one cream that always works, it has more to do with my mental state. I look a lot better when I’m relaxed, that’s when the creams work wonders, but they are less successful when I’m stressed. I tend to have dry skin, so I use an oil from the brand Sunday Riley, that helps me to resolve that problem. [For makeup] I really like Aqua Foundation by Koh Gen Do, a Japanese brand, it’s really light and I hardly feel it on my skin at all, lipsticks from NARS, eyeliners from Eyeko and Brow Drama by Maybelline.”

H!: In your Instagram photos we often see your street style, how is your day time makeup different to your evening glam?
CF: “Day to day, I prefer a natural and smooth looking skin, mascara, eyeliner, a touch of natural lip gloss, like Carmex and maybe just a brush of blush for my cheeks. For an evening out, red lips! For a professional event I use a makeup artist, but it has to be someone I trust. Sometimes you work with people who apply too much makeup and you can’t even recognize yourself and you don’t like the end result. But when you know someone who is good y they know what you like, it’s great.

H! Who is your style icon?
CF: I love Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. I have met her a few times, she is beautiful. She doesn’t always wear my style of clothes, she always goes for a bit more of a sexy style than me, I prefer the tomboy look, but I really love her look, she nails it.”

H!: Looking to the future, what is her next challenge?
CF: “I’m hoping to land more campaigns like Pantene, I would also like to work with brands that fit in with my style and are authentic and I will also be continuing with my shoe line.”

H!: And, any final advice?
CF: “You know what you’ve got, but don’t think too much about it. Follow your instincts and everything will work out. But the most important thing on social media is to be authentic, publish what you want and what you like, don’t become preoccupied with your amount of followers.”

CHIARA AT A GLANCE:

A beauty trend that you love:
"I love all types of braiding, for example corn rows."

Your favorite ‘front row’:
"All of them, for different reasons. I love New York for the parties, the energy… Milan for the street style, the color… And for the runway shows I would have to say Paris. They’re all so different."

Your favorite color:
"Black for clothes and blue for life."

Pizza or pasta:
"Difficult, maybe pasta."

Milan or Los Angeles:
"L.A to live but Milan has my heart, all of my friends and family still live there."

You can’t live without…:
"My iPhone."

Your favorite item of clothing:
"My leather jacket."

Your favorite brand:
"Right now, Gucci."

Eyeliner or red lips:
"Eyeliner. I can’t wear red lipstick every day."

Long, short or medium length:
"Long, always!"

Loose or a ponytail:
"Loose."

Red or nude nails:
"Red."

Instagram or Facebook:
"Instagram, I don’t use Facebook."