It’s that time of year again: social media spring cleaning. It’s when you realize you don’t actually care about seeing that person-you-kind-of-knew-in-high-school’s photo of dinner. You may not realize how many of these accounts are filling up your feed. Then you worry that if you unfollow everyone you want to, your Instagram will be pretty stale with just a few friends filling it up. Well, not to worry Collegiettes, because here are twelve must-follow accounts to help your Instagram feed become awesome.
1) Beautiful Desinations (beautifuldestinations)
The name and this picture pretty much sum up everything you need to know about this account. They post gorgeous pictures of, well, beautiful destinations around the world. Most of the photos capture tropical places like the one above, but some also highlight beautiful city scenes (who doesn’t like to see pictures of Paris or Venice). In the caption it always says where the photo was taken, so you can start planning your next vacation to your favorite spot (hey, a girl can dream right). Here’s the other cool thing: you can submit your own photos. If you’ve taken a trip to somewhere spectacular, share it with the world so everyone else can drool over it along with all of Beautiful Destinations’ other posts.
Not to be confused with Beautiful Destinations, this account also chronicles the incredible places our world has to offer. While they definitely don’t skimp on photos of the tropics, this account tends to focus on pictures of fabulous cities. They also tell you where every photo was taken. If you are planning a trip, it can be a lot of fun to look through and see if they’ve posted a photo of your destination. Even if you are planning on staying put for the moment, it’s nice to scroll through Instagram after you froze your butt off walking to class and let your mind wander somewhere far away (and preferably warm).
3) Makeup & Beauty (IHeartMakeupArt)
If you follow one makeup account on Instagram it should be this one. Run by an LA-based makeup artist, this account focuses mostly on the hardest and most intimidating of beauty techniques: eye makeup. There are great step by step videos and photos of the finished product. Even when only the end result is posted, you can easily break it down. There is nothing too complex, it’s not unachievable on a college budget or any level of competency. Browse through old posts and find something pretty you could do with the eye makeup you already own, or get inspiration before the next time you have to make a makeup purchase.
4) RibbonsandBraids (ribbonsandbraids)
As someone with long, straight hair I’m always desperately searching for styles to mix things up. The styles pictured on this account can work with all different types of hair: thick, thin, long, short(er). While some are completely unachievable on your own, they’re all gorgeous to look at and can inspire your own spin-offs. Others are totally doable and work perfectly on that day you literally have no idea what to do with your hair.
5) One Grey Day – Los Angeles (onegreyday)
One Grey Day is a clothing store that specializes in cozy sweaters and cardigans. While there are actually four stores in Mass (all locations can be found here), they can be pretty expensive. However, they have an awesome Insta account; it’s a go-to place for fashion inspiration. Versions of many of the sweaters and outfits pictured can be found elsewhere for a more reasonable price. One of my other favorite things about this account is they actually give great nail color advice. Almost all of the models have their nails painted in a color that looks absolutely fantastic with the color or outfit they’re wearing (like in the photo above). Just another great way to be inspired by this chic account.
6) OutfitPhotos (outfitphotos)
This account is so cool. Seriously. Not only do they put together fabulous outfits, but they put together a whole feeling. Like you can see in the picture above, they include objects along with their outfits to give you an entire vibe. It’s typical to feel different depending on what you’re wearing. Some days I feel like I could conquer the world and my outfit will help me do that. Other times I’m tired and sick and I don’t want anyone to talk to me or look at me and my clothes reflect that. This account helps you get into whatever mindset your outfit calls for without you having to put forth much effort (#confessionsofalazygirl).
7) Lauren Conrad (laurenconrad)
Where do I even begin? This is easily my favorite account on all of Instagram. Lauren has completely transformed herself from her The Hills days. She has become an artistic, dog-loving, stylish-outfit-wearing, perfect-hair-having businesswoman. And she posts pictures of it all. Somehow every single one of her photos gives off the vibe of a laid-back summer evening, even her Christmas photos (still haven’t quite worked that one out). Basically every time one of her posts shows up it makes you want to hop in a convertible and take a road trip with your girlfriends on a sunny August evening. I’m not exaggerating. Go check it out for yourself.
I don’t think this requires much explanation, but I had to include it just in case you aren’t one of her ten million Instagram followers (which would be a complete and total catastrophe). Let’s face it, no one can have enough Queen B in their lives.
Yet another account that needs almost no explanation. Why on earth wouldn’t you want more puppies on your feed? Seriously. There is no such thing as too many puppies.
10) Humans of Portland (humansofpdx)
While Humans of New York was the original and is the most popular of these photo blogs, I actually find Humans of Portland to be the most interesting. For anyone who doesn’t know what these photographers do, they walk around cities everyday talking to normal people about, well, life. It’s fascinating because even though you are only seeing pictures and a snippet of something they said, it almost feels as though you meet all these people yourself. For whatever reason, Humans of Portland feels the most authentic (and by saying that I don’t mean that all the other blogs are fake or exaggerated). It’s just that Portland’s version feels very down to earth; almost like you could come across these people on your way into town.
This guy is the current Chief Official White House Photographer. Regardless of your political views, it’s pretty cool to be able to go behind the scenes of the life of the President. This Instagram takes you into the daily ongoings of the White House, onboard Air Force One and (continuing with the puppy theme) chronicles the lives of our adorable First Dogs, Bo and Sunny. I am always surprised how much you can learn about what life is like as a part of the First Family from this one account composed entirely of iPhone photos.
12) Her Campus, UMass Amherst (hcumassamherst)
Obviously this is a must-follow! Not only are there awesome pictures of campus on our Instagram, but you can easily stay up to date with features like the style blog. We absolutely love our fellow UMass Collegiettes and hope this provides a way for you to stay connected on the go.