Spotlight: Queen of Jet Lags

We met up with Noor de Groot–winner of Best Lifestyle Blog at the 2015 Bloglovin' Awards–to get an inside look into all things Queen of Jet Lags. Noor fills us in on her blogging journey, some exciting projects she has in the works, and even the craziest week she's ever had – a 76-hour world tour by airplane. Also, a big congrats to Noor on her pregnancy!

What’s your story?

I didn’t start my blog with a great masterplan. When I was a student I was traveling a lot to see my boyfriend and I always used to post many pictures on my personal Facebook, as I love photography. At some point I figured that I might be annoying people with all my pictures so I decided to start posting my pictures on a blog. So a hop, skip and a Go Daddy later, and Queen of Jet Lags was born.

It’s not even relatable, so so many things have changed. My blog turned into a real business with employees and I even have my own office! I learned so much the last years. My love for photography, aesthetics, and lifestyle is still the same, if not bigger! I learned to develop a better eye for aesthetics and how to be more creative.

As I used to have the most crazy travel itineraries (with a boyfriend as DJ that seems to happen) me and my friends would always joke about me being the Queen of Jet Lags. So it was a no brainer for me to call my blog that!

How did you decide on the style you were going to angle your content on?

I think it was a process that grew quite organically. In the beginning travel was a huge focus point for me, especially because at the time there were not a lot of girls who used to combine fashion with travel. After a couple of months in, and after analyzing my Google Analytics, I learned to strategize a bit and focused on topics that my readers really liked. I still do that today and change things from time to time. But like I said, as I love photography I always made sure that the content was really good quality, no matter what subject the content was about.

My style is quite girly. I like to mix and match prints and to wear colors. I don’t like to describe my style as I always dress up like how I’m feeling that day! I like to play around with many styles that I don’t want to stick to just one. I get my inspiration from traveling, seeing people looking amazing in daily life can give me ideas, I love browsing on Pinterest and of course attending fashion week gives me loads of inspiration.

What’s your idea of the perfect travel itinerary?

Going to Los Angeles and being able to enjoy all the beaches and not having to be there for work once would be amazing!

I’ve learned that styles in general are pretty much linked to the culture and weather of a city. In LA I see a lot of laid back style so whenever I’m there I tend to wear more denim shirts and casual shirts, where as in New York I wear more black and am a bit more dressed up. When I’m in places like Dubai I try to respect the culture so I would cover up more and would try to look more polished, as a lot of woman there always looks so put together. My all time favorite city when it comes to fashion is Paris, I feel SO inspired when I’m there, but over all Amsterdam, my hometown is my favorite city.

Don’t try to control everything that’s happening on your trip! Nothing ever goes according to the plan and if it does, where’s the fun? Let go and enjoy every single second of the ride.

Any advice for aspiring bloggers?

I write blog tips for aspiring bloggers every Wednesday on my blog and I think the things that I mostly repeat is to focus on creating original and authentic content, to be yourself, and to do it for the right reasons.

Well, I just announced on my Instagram today that I’m going to be a mommy! So that’s happening in my personal life. Regarding the blog, I have many exciting collaborations happening and coming up. I recently did some presenting work for MTV which I absolutely LOVED so you can expect more of that. Hopefully I will also launch a Queen of Jet Lags line of something exciting by the end of next year.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Play music and hang out with my family, friends and boyfriends!

I might’ve been a singer. Not many people know that I sing, play guitar and piano. It’s still my number one love in life but I’m perfectly content with where I am now. I graduated in Museology so I also could’ve been a curator by now. I recently visited the Louis Vuitton exhibition in Asnieres and am a huge fan of Judith Clark, who curated it. It got me thinking that it’s still something that I could do at some point. For now I like to think of my blog as my exhibition and me as the curator.

Editing my Instagram pictures is a huge process. People always laugh at me when I say I can spend 10 minutes editing one Instagram picture. I use 4 apps to edit 1 picture, Facetune, Afterlight, Snapseed and VSCO Cam. Each app has its speciality.

If you had to choose five fashion pieces to wear for the rest of your life, what would they be?

A black leather jacket, a perfect striped shirt, a good pair of jeans, a leather mini skirt and denim shorts. I would never be out of style ;-)

I’ve been around the world in a week once, when I said yes to a little world tour my boyfriend invited me to go on. In one week we spend 76 hours on an airplane, I probably reach gold status with some companies and had a horror of a jet lag.

I absolutely love watching Nashville at the moment! I’ve been a fan of country music all my life so this show ticks all the boxes for me. Next to that I’ve been listening to the Tame Impala album loads this last year, it’s so good.

Be sure to follow Noor of Queen of Jet Lags on Bloglovin'

Pictures by Joey Cupelli