Welcome back to What I Rent – Metro’s tenant diary series exploring what renting is like in the UK and further afield. This week, we’re back in London – Tottenham, to be precise. Anyone who’s a fan of the OG YouTube days will fondly remember Estée Lalonde (AKA Essie Button), who stole the hearts of millions with her down-to-earth, candid vlogging style.
Having moved to London from Canada, she decided to document her new life abroad — and in the process, started filming beauty content. Now, she’s founded her own wellbeing brand and has since taken up use of the co-working spaces available in her £3,000 per month block of flats. Here’s what she had to say about her property journey.
.. Tell us about yourself! Hi! My name is Estée Lalonde, I recently turned 34 and I live in North London with my Greek rescue dog named Effie (adopted via Wild at Heart Foundation).
I was born and raised in Canada , but I consider myself a Londoner now that I’ve lived here for 15 years. My career began in the beauty space as a content creator when I was about 20 years old. It was a much different time then! I was sharing my life with my audience (now over 2 million across social platforms) because I was seeking connection after moving to a new country, but I had no idea it would become my career.
I used beauty and self-care as a form of self-expression and have been lucky enough to call this my job ever since. Over the years, I’ve cultivated a loyal community who have grown w.