Sittting with Ellie as she took me through her makeup collection I was in awe of more than just her makeup brushes. After containing my excitement over the multiple Tupperware containers of delight I was eager to get to know more about Ellie and her successful blog ‘BronzerandBooks.’
The idea of starting a blog came to Ellie last May whilst studying for her A-levels. She described her decision as the ‘ultimate procrastination!’ It certainly beats the average procrastination of watching cat videos on YouTube… Ever since, Ellie has posted about all things from literature to beauty. As someone who’s makeup choices have remained stagnant since school I soaked up as much of Ellie’s advice as I could. As a HerCampus exclusive (you’re welcome) Ellie revealed a too good to be true drug store dupe for MAC’s Strobe Cream in the form of Soap and Glory’s Hocus Focus. As a makeup lover, Ellie likes to mix it up and loves to experiment with new products. As a testimony to this, she does monthly favourite posts on her blog, I recommend these for anyone who, has to fake customer confidence whilst under the watchful gaze of a boots employee.
As Ellie herself joked, she is definitely not just a ‘makeup bimbo.’ Her second passion is literature, hence the title of the blog! Ellie’s post ‘20 Books You Have To Read Before You’re 20’ is certainly not to be missed. Ellie also wrote an insightful blog post on Philip Larkin. She has a refreshing perspective on the man often conceived as a misogynist: ‘More importantly, Larkin is the person that opened my eyes to not only the beauty within poetry but the beauty within normal, everyday life without the need to romanticise it, and for that, he will always hold a special place in my heart.’ For Ellie, her blog is a safe place to express her opinions and talk about things she believes in.
In fact, two of Ellie’s most read posts tackle more difficult issues. It was great to have the opportunity to chat to Ellie about her post ‘Break the Stigma: Depression at University.’ Ellie admits that writing this post was something that took a lot of thought, taking her three days to write. But despite this initial hesitation Ellie stressed that it was definitely her most rewarding. As someone who has experienced depression firsthand, Ellie feels that mental illness is something that needs to be spoken about. In her blog she reveals how depression personally affects her. Ellie, the epitome of bubbly, explained to me how when suffering from depression she felt it important to work to change her own mindset. In saying this she is not dismissing the debilitating nature of the illness, but merely emphasising that depression does not define her, and she is not ashamed of it. Ellie’s open and encouraging post was extremely popular. Ellie actually received over thirty messages from various sufferers and non-sufferers, who greatly appreciated her extend of understanding and willingness to talk about depression.
I could not possibly end this article without mentioning another of Ellie’s posts: ‘Israel Is.’ Being half Israeli, Ellie considers Israel ‘her home,’ with Hebrew being her first language. Inspired by Natalie Portman’s ‘Israel Is,’ Ellie writes on her perception of Israel drawing from personal experience. The post is a blend of funny anecdotes and poignant truths about the country such as: ‘Despite public opinion, prejudice and bigotry, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and atheists live in coexistence, friendship and peace, and will continue to do so. No matter what the media try and portray.’
Ellie’s future aspirations are to become a lawyer as she is keen to be involved in a profession that keeps her ‘intellectually stimulated.’ But thankfully she is determined to always keep her blog as a hobby (yay.)
Here is a link to Ellie’s fabulous blog: https://bronzerandbooks.wordpress.com