I suppose now is a good time as any to post some inside scoop, given that "Smart Skin" has gone bust...
I was one of the "muses" picked for the original photo shoot. At the time I'd been following Niomi since her Notting Hill era and completely bought into the lifestyle - though not the vegan part, as, unsurprisingly, she didn't win me over with her unappealing recipes.
So, I don't know if you all remember this, but at the time, she put out a casting call for her muses, asking us to share our stories and that's how we were picked. In the application we had to share our socials - I suspect this was how Niomi picked her "muses". We turn up on the day, there were two shoots, a morning and afternoon with a crossover between both groups around lunch.
The morning team had completed their individual shoots, there was a team lunch and most of the girls there were not vegan, so we shared quite a few glances over the small platter that had been put out consisting of basically rabbit food ...
Then came the group shots and interviews.
As you'd expect, each woman had an inspiring story to tell about what they were an advocate for, things that they had accomplished (academically and in career) etc. Niomi conducted "interviews" with each one of these women, filmed and recorded for part of the promo of Smart Skin and basically why most of them had applied in the first place - exposure via Niomi's platform.
So colour me surprised, when these videos never came to light, nor the stories of these muses ever told. A couple months after the release of Smart Skin it became very obvious to me that Niomi's intentions had never been to share each one of their stories, but rather use this as an opportunity to show "diversity". If Nimbobs had the ability to make friends with people from different backgrounds, I am sure that she would have used them in her shoot instead of randoms. The moment that realisation hit me, I unfollowed her on Instagram and became a full time luker on here.
Anyway, I'm sure each one of those girls are going on to accomplish far more than Niomi has managed!
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For more juicy bits:
- Niomi is a lot smaller in real life. Both in height and size. I'd estimate her to be 5'5". (I'm 5'6" and she was just a smidge shorter).
- She's also quite plain looking. If you want a true indication of how she looks in real life, refer to her Smart Skin - bare, no makeup face.
- Light makeup was applied to all the muses for the shoot ....
- Her managers (from Gleam) were stalking the social medias of all the girls to make sure that we weren't leaking the "top secret" project
- We were paid in the region of £100 + travel expenses, so at least we received some compensation for our time lol
- Joe was there that day, but arrived later on in the afternoon. He'd been "out with friends".
- He and Niomi sat together on the couch etc but did not seem entirely comfortable - I'm quite intuitive and their energy seemed a bit off for an engaged couple.
- He spent most of his time there on his laptop but didn't interact with anyone else but Niomi and her team.
- I believe the time of the shoot coincided with their move to London, or just before - I need to fact check this.
Watching them interact was my indication that something was not right. I was already on GG for other "gurus" but came across Tattle and started silently following the thread to see if what I suspected would happen. And lo and behold, in just over a month, just before the launch on Smart Skin, the break up had happened!
It's been a ride for sure!
This is all I can think of, off the top of my head...