#susannah taylor

Working alongside Sarah Vine, lead writer and beauty editor at The Times, and Krishna Montgomery, founder of Monty PR, Susannah and her team have ushered in a new authority on all things beauty and health. 

Between interviewing luxury fashion brand Marni’s Carolina Castigliano about a new fragrance to her addictive “Fad Hag” column, where she test runs beauty trends, Susannah is busy being a career woman, mother and beauty goddess. 

For the first time ever, Wantering is bringing the world of beauty into our fashion space. What are you waiting for? Meet Wantering Tastemaker Susannah. 

As a native Londoner, can you tell us what makes living and working in London so special?

I actually live out of London but travel into the city three days a week. I live in Oxfordshire in a beautiful little village which is about 45 mins out of London by train. We moved out to the countryside a few years ago and I'm lucky as I now get to experience the best of both worlds - the amazing British countryside and then I get my buzzy London fix too.

To me London is a creative melting pot and it really supports individual ideas and individual people. I love all the different pockets of London too and the different vibes they have - from the grittiness of East London to the glamour of Bond Street to the laid back vibe of Notting Hill. I'm probably more of a west London type of girl though!

You are a Central St. Martins School of Art alumni and have worked with the best of the best at Vogue and Glamour in beauty and health. How did the two worlds of beauty and fashion collide for you?

All my life I have loved fashion - as far back as I can remember I have been rather obsessed by it and was collecting Vogue’s when I was about 13! I was the girl at school who would draw designs on all my clothes and cover my shoes in sequins. When I was 14 I remember telling my mum that I wanted to be an editor at Vogue.

I did an art foundation course at Central St. Martins and then went on to do a degree there in Fashion Promotion and Communication because I wanted to be a fashion journalist and stylist. I had a year out working for the revered fashion journalist Sarah Mower, who was the fashion features editor of Harper’s Bazaar at the time as well as Communications Director at The Arcadia Group. Working for her was an incredible experience, if not pretty terrifying!

When I left St. Martins my first job was working at an avant-garde fashion magazine called Scene that no longer exists. They had just fired a load of staff and were trying to take the magazine online (this was the very early days of fashion and the Internet and with hindsight I think it was just too early for it). They asked if I'd do the beauty and as a beauty junkie of course I said yes! A little while later I heard that Glamour was launching and I applied for the deputy beauty editor's role and got it immediately. The rest, as they say, is history...

What is your personal motto or mantra?

The most important motto in my life has been “Never treat anyone how you wouldn't wish to be treated yourself.” I think kindness and generally being a good person is more important than anything in life and it really helps me in everything I do. I think relationships with people are fundamental to success.

Who are your style icons?

I have many for many reasons! Kate Moss for her edge (her early looks are my favourite), Gwyneth Paltrow for just looking UNBELIEVABLE for her age, and I have a girl crush on Miranda Kerr right now...I love her style.

For past icons, I adore the style of Jean Shrimpton - such cool, laid back and easy beauty. I think though that much of style comes from the way you are groomed (or ungroomed in some cases); it is not always about what you wear.

  You get an amazing opportunity to work with celebrities, industry insiders and, of course, your amazing team of writers and editors. What's your favorite part of your job?

My favourite part is definitely anything visual - I am first and foremost a very visual person and love doing shoots or videos with talented people. I also really enjoy working with people who are top of their game: the amazing hair stylists, make-up artists, and fitness and health experts for example. I am very lucky to have all of this at my fingertips and love learning from them, which I do all the time.

What social media outlets do you love using?

I am a huge fan of Twitter and am on it way too much. I also love Pinterest since I’m such a visual person and we are just getting into Vine which I think is a genius idea and am sure it will be huge.

What can we find inside your bag on a typical day?

Beauty-wise you can find my rather large make-up bag which contains Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara, Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon, Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine Lip Color, Chantecaille Total Concealer, Nars eyeshadow in Corfu, and Garnier BB Cream. I also have a Smythson notebook, pens, nail files, and iPhone. Sometimes you might find a nail polish, in which I love anything by Essie!

If you could give one piece of advice to your 14 year-old self, what would it be?

The advice my father gave me: do what you love in life, life is too short not to.

Favorite Video?

A favorite is when celebrity stylist Sam McKnight recreated Brigitte Bardot's Sixties bedhead look for Get the Gloss!

To get the inside scoop on all things beauty and health follow Susannah on Twitter and Get the Gloss on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest! Visit Get the Gloss here.

To shop Susannah's chic British style, join thousands of other trendsetters on www.wantering.com. See you there!