When Isobel Lorna’s myriad fans tune into her TikTok channel, they’re often dazzled by glimpses into her opulent lifestyle. From her lavish London penthouse to cruising around in a sleek £97,000 black Porsche Macan, it’s easy to see why some might feel a twinge of envy.

Her videos frequently feature more than just her luxurious car and residence. Isobel, now dubbed a ‘poshfluencer,’ also flaunts her collection of £30,000 Hermes Birkins, jet-setting business-class trips around the globe, and stays at six-star hotels, all of which she shares with her audience.

Yet, beneath the surface of this glittering life lies a story of humble beginnings, a narrative Isobel Lorna MacDonald shares candidly for the first time.

In an exclusive interview, Isobel opens up about her past, revealing a time when she worked night shifts at a local Amazon warehouse. This was during her law apprenticeship, a period when she drove a modest £3,500 Ford Ka to make ends meet.

Though far from her current lifestyle, these challenging days were foundational for Isobel. They provided a stepping stone that eventually led to her current wealth, all thanks to a particularly astute decision made at the age of 19.

Back then, she was navigating a demanding schedule: balancing her law apprenticeship from Monday to Thursday, dedicating Fridays to study, and spending weekends packing boxes in the warehouse to support herself financially.

Isobel realised she didn’t have much in common with her much older, male colleagues at the law firm. So she decided, why not start posting about her job on TikTok?

‘There wasn’t much to do for me at that age, so I may as well have been working in another capacity,’ she reveals in an exclusive interview.

‘I wanted to show young girls that it was cool to work,’ she tells me. ‘My parents had always told me that to get what I wanted I needed to work.’

At the time, few people were documenting office life online, something that has now become commonplace on TikTok.

Isobel’s ‘day in the life’ office videos – which showed her work outfits, routines and snippets of corporate reality – quickly gained traction, pulling in tens of thousands of views overnight.

And her hook wasn’t just that her content looked glamorous and pretty – it was aspirational in a different way. This wasn’t inherited luxury, it was earned. And that, really, is the entire point of the Isobel Lorna MacDonald brand.

There had been many jobs before Amazon as she grew up on the outskirts of Bristol. She baked cakes at the age of 12 for her mum’s colleagues, there was a stint at a pottery studio, babysitting, shifts at a hair salon, then a hardware shop where she taught herself the basics of business by making and delivering leaflets to get customers through the door.

By 16, she was working in pubs and restaurants, learning quickly how to handle pressure, people and long hours.

And at 18, she started with the law firm.

‘I’ve always wanted to work and have more money,’ she says candidly. ‘I became addicted to posting because I could see my followers going up by tens of thousands.’

When the followers came, so did the money – and in quantities that even she admits didn’t quite make sense.

‘I was offered about six times my monthly salary for one TikTok,’ she tells me.

‘I was posting all these videos in the law firm and quickly getting offered money for these brand deals and people would ask me questions like, “How do you do your hair?” “Can we see your office outfits?” “Where are those shoes from?”.

‘So I just kind of taught myself influencer marketing. I didn’t really know what I was doing back then. But I figured it out.

‘There’s a video of me doing like an Elizabeth Arden advertisement at my desk in the office.

‘I was really ballsy and I didn’t care. Other people at work were laughing at me but I knew that if I kept going it would give me a way out.

‘My parents at first weren’t keen on me quitting, I had a company paying for me to get a degree and I was earning a decent wage. I think my first salary was £16,000 a year.

‘But then they saw how much I was earning and supported me to give it a shot.’

Fast-forward to now. Isobel quit her apprenticeship, moved to London and has most recently upgraded from a £3,500 Ford Ka to that Porsche, and made the entire journey into a viral series.

She has more than two million followers and has gone viral more times than she can count.

‘The Porsche basically paid for itself,’ she said, explaining how she films her podcast inside it.

Content, as ever, is king. And MacDonald clearly understands better than most that it’s not the purchase that matters, it’s the story you attach to it.

Some fans came across her page after she posted her viral series in which her boyfriend – someone who she keeps offline – gifted her a luxury advent calendar. Her gift on Christmas Eve in 2024 was a £3,000 Van Cleef necklace and this year she opened Dior, Chanel and Hermes presents over the 25 days.

Within three days of posting about the advent calendar, she had gained 30,000 more followers.

Another viral video saw her on skis in the Alps in a pair of six-inch heels.

‘If I was walking down the street in a plain jumper, you wouldn’t really notice me,’ she explains to me.

‘I would just walk straight past you and you wouldn’t probably even look at me. If I was dancing down the street in a bright yellow outfit, singing, and blasting music from a speaker, you would look at me.

‘So you must create something different for someone to look at, whether it’s a contrast of having something expensive on snow, like a Birkin when you’re skiing, or whether it’s a 25-day advent calendar, it’s got to be ridiculous.

‘You must grab attention, but it must be extreme, which is why it’s always a Birkin bag when I’m skiing, not a YSL bag.

‘You have to ruffle some feathers if you want to go viral. And it pays off.’

It is the first time that Isobel has spoken of life before social media. I wonder if she has purposely hidden her past?

‘I think the issue most influencers have is they almost find their past embarrassing because they want to be like some rich, flashy, luxury person,’ she replies.

‘But actually it’s much more relatable if you constantly remind people where you came from.

‘I am very aware that I have a very abnormal life for a 24-year-old. Do I absolutely love it? Yes – and that’s why I wake up every day and work hard.’

Naturally, Isobel is already thinking about the next chapter. Another Porsche, this time one that’s ‘more sporty’ – a 911, ideally.

There is, of course, something slightly dizzying about the scale of it all.

She owns property, runs a creative agency, and is preparing to launch another.

I’m told it will be something to do with haircare, considering her hair routine is one of her most admired attributes.

Her podcast is being revamped, her content strategy is meticulously plotted, and her every move is monetisable.

And if the next Porsche is already on the vision board, I get the sense it won’t just arrive.

It’ll come with a carefully planned storyline that’ll win her even more followers.

Alix Earle’s skincare buzz 

Three weeks ago, I reported that Alix Earle was preparing to launch her own brand – and I can reveal that the rollout has officially begun. Perfectly timed to coincide with her upcoming Netflix reality series, expected in the coming months, she has confirmed that something is indeed on the way. For the past week, Earle has been teasing the project, and now industry sources tell me the brand will be called ‘Reale Actives,’ focusing on non-medicated skincare. It’s a direction that feels both strategic and authentic, given her well-documented struggles with acne and her openness around skin journeys. 

What stands out most, however, is the marketing. In a move that seems both personal and highly shareable, select friends and influencer peers were sent puzzle pieces, each contributing to a broader reveal. Earle is, by most measures, the internet’s current It-girl. If early buzz is anything to go by, this launch won’t just land, it will likely sell out almost instantly.

How much of Made In Chelsea is structured reality?

Watching the latest series of Made in Chelsea has become a surprisingly disorienting experience. Week after week, viewers are drawn into ‘will-they-won’t-they’ romances – yet a quick glance at Instagram shows cast members in entirely separate relationships off camera. Take Livvy Barker, for example. On the show, she’s navigating her romances with Chuggs Wallis and Kit Paterson, yet her social media presence suggests a completely different romantic reality.

It raises the inevitable question: how much of this is real, and how much is carefully constructed narrative? Behind the gloss, there are further signs of strain. Insiders suggest cast members are paid relatively modest sums to appear, hardly reflective of the show’s once-lofty cultural status. And then there’s the geography. As one source dryly noted, few of them even live in Chelsea anymore, joking that the series would be more accurately titled ‘Made in Fulham’. Once a defining hit, the show now feels somewhat out of step. Even Channel 4’s quiet decision to push it to a later 10pm slot hints at a recalibration of expectations.

UP

The original wave of influencers, names like Zoella and Sarah Ashcroft, built their audiences not on perfectly curated grids, but on blogs. Long before Instagram became the default, they shared fashion tips, personal thoughts, and daily inspiration through the written word. Now that format appears to be making a meaningful return. In recent weeks, I’ve subscribed to Dua Lipa’s Service95 newsletter, a curated mix of nightlife recommendations, cultural insights and style advice.

Likewise, Em the Nutritionist has launched her own editorial-style dispatch, while Otegha Uwagba’s ‘cultural digest’ Substack, Add To Wishlist, continues to grow in influence. In an era where social media feels increasingly saturated and transactional, influencers are rediscovering the power of words.

DOWN

It seems singledom isn’t being worn particularly quietly by Bradley Dack. Word is he’s been making the rounds at local pubs in Kent, often alongside his close friend, Ronnie Vint, with behaviour that’s raising a few eyebrows. 

There’s no denying it’s been a week of headlines, not least because of reports that his ex, Olivia Attwood, has moved on with Pete Wicks. That kind of news would sting for anyone, but insiders suggest Dack’s response has been less dignified than one might hope. By all accounts, his attempts to charm have come across as trying a little too hard, with some describing the approach as edging into desperation.

Sisters Georgia May Jagger and Lizzy Jagger have been unveiled as the new Global Ambassadors for Jo Malone, fronting the launch of its latest scent, English Pear. With the aptly chosen strapline, ‘Two Sisters, One Perfect Pair,’ the campaign leans into both heritage and family ties, unsurprising, given their lineage as daughters of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall. 

Speaking at the launch, Lizzy revealed that the perfume’s sweet pea notes evoke memories of their childhood in the English countryside. It’s also a nod to their mother, who she tells me still grows the flowers and gathers them into weekend bedside bouquets, a detail that neatly ties sentiment to scent. Georgia, meanwhile, offered a glimpse into their dynamic as sisters, describing the shoot as more joy than job. Filmed in a pear orchard, the campaign captured a sense of ease and authenticity, with the pair ‘running about’ rather than posing stiffly. In an industry often driven by polish, it’s this kind of natural chemistry and a touch of nostalgia that I feel gives the campaign its charm.

Remember when Grime Gran, the 86-year-old viral rapper, had to explain a jacket potato to Kim Kardashian live on air? The moment hasn’t been forgotten. This weekend, as London fills with fitness fanatics taking part in the city’s Hyrox competition, Gymshark is leaning into the nostalgia. Teaming up with Grime Gran (700k followers) and viral food star Spud Man (4.2m on TikTok), the brand is handing out free jacket potatoes alongside merch and discounted gym gear, a clever blend of internet culture, comfort food and fitness frenzy.

Email me – molly.clayton@dailymail.co.uk

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