Well hello there, it has been a while,... a long while! So there has been a "brief " interlude of radio silence in the midst of my blog re-launch series - brief 😆 - too say the least! For that I can only apologise and as to why... Well this break really was not planned nor wished for. Just to note before my words of wandering below, I've had this post written for over 6 months now and have been pulling, nipping and tweaking at it ever since. In the meanwhile the world has turned upside down and inside out in more ways than one. I've been excitedly and nervously anticipating returning to blogging again but I want to make clear I am very much aware of the absolutely awful events that are tearing loved ones away from and fuelling evil in this world. I want to make note that throughout all that I do I stand by all with the power of kindness and give my hand and my heart to restoring goodness and ending hatred in our world. Despite my sharing of the things I love and enjoy, like my blogging below, I want to make clear that regardless of what I share, do or enjoy standing hand in hand and not being peaceful until justice is brought and goodness and honesty are at the forefront of this world will always be at the forefront of my mind and my actions. As you read my post below and view whatever I may do please know that I continue to focus my awareness and energies towards the issues in our world.
In a snapshot, a great plethora of things have happened in this year and months gone by and I've been trying to hold my fort through the many great changes that have occurred. I have very much been trying to maintain afloat in this time of great change while also completing the mammoth mission that has been my university degree. All in all, I have pretty much been eating (almost), sleeping (almost) and just existing and have not had a second to breath these last few months this past year and a half. Hence why the radio silence has not just been with my blogging but all means of my social media. Comfort style became my No.1 and (the occasional touch of) minimal makeup was my absolute one and only go to. In frank honesty this past 18 months has been a very difficult time in my life, whilst also being very much an incredible time, but I just have not had a second for myself and it has been very hard to watch me neglect myself and especially so all the things I love. Although I felt as though I had began to restore myself following the end of my degree I did not perceive how the year following would unfold and right now I am still very much a shell of myself. However since the ending of my university chapter I still have the hope - for the first time in over three years - that I have a chance of gaining back all that I've lost, most of all including myself. Everlasting assignments, you are no more! There's a bit of a bumpy ride left to navigate - and a jump of faith, with an untold adventure to say the least - but my heart has been through so utterly much these past three to four years I've a courage inside me I've never had before to make things right, and that is, the most important thing of all. To live a life of all that you love. After some gathering of myself and organising of my little corners of life, I finally feel I've found some space to breath and reclaim some of the things I love - one most of all, blogging. And with that being said, longingly clutching at my heart all this time with anticipation, I wanted to return by finishing what and quite literally where I started.
Thus...
Welcome back to the third installment of the Ellie Bows & Sparkles blog relaunch! - a year and a half later but here we are!
My everlasting spark of anticipation to return here wouldn't be just if it wasn't for the love that began my blogging in the first place and in this, the third and final post of the blog relaunch series, I wanted to explore all the little things that led me to begin this wonderful thing that is blogging and keeps my spark for it forever glowing. I think theses posts are so lovely to read - especially for those alike who enjoy old school style blogging - in this influencer focused and social media mind boggling era. <- Please do insert your own word of choice here to describe the mayhem that has become with social media these days as I am struggling to find one to encompass all the madness there is! In my old school blogging heart, there's nothing better than cosying up with a cuppa and getting into an a good ol' fashioned blog post.
As I tried to encompass the spirit of this post in its heading picture, of exploring my falling in love with blogging, it brings my heart such joy to see a spread of all these little gems that hold such special memories to me. Like my beloved Naked 3 palette. I swooned over this for years from the moment I saw it, the big sister to the all famous Naked palette, all over 2013 floral Instagram. Then to my MAC makeup plan from the first time I had my makeup done and very first spa weekend with my mum. As I was just a little too young to enjoy a proper spa day my mum would instead take us to get our makeup done on a mum and daughter shopping trip in town. On this occasion, I remember the MAC makeup artist asking me if I wanted false lashes and me of course asking for the most voluminous lashes they did! This was my first time properly wearing falsies and I'll never forget the pure excitement of how grown up and glamorous I felt. Then to my collection of Kiko Milano Cosmetics picks from our holidays to France in later years. Whenever we'd make a day trip to St Tropez I'd always be buzzing with anticipation to visit the Kiko Store and swatch the entire contents of the shop! Each and every year I'd always come back with a plenty full of dreamy beauty bargains that I would be just itching to play with.
My love for beauty in my heart goes back many the year ago and when I was a little girl I was forever enchanted by the princess worthy magic that was makeup. As I mentioned in my previous post - Get to Know Me - my nan would always give me a little bit of her lippie whenever we were going out and I'd feel ever so grown-up walking around with a rosy pink lip. It was always a No.7 lippie too! Did anyone else's mums and nans have an obsession with No.7 lipsticks in years gone by too!?
I think I really got into wearing makeup however when I started high school, most probably because it was the first time I felt I could sneak it on without my mum's permission! And yes, I fell victim to the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Sand too. Why I ever thought I was the shade Sand when I can't find a single foundation pale enough to match me these days I do not know. However, I loved it and again felt ever so grown up. I also fell in love with the magic of a flawless complexion foundation could create and that was partially what led me to my discovery of concealer. And all the rest of the makeup world for that matter!
Does anyone else remember that Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation advert where they smoothed every chiseled dimple of that golf ball to perfection? I was mesmerized by that!
Later in my high school years my love for makeup and beauty was still very much all the same (me and my best friend had the same Primark leopard print makeup bag we'd never fail to bring round on sleepovers) and I always had a lip gloss to hand in my blazer pocket. No.7 lipgloss in shade Joy I'm looking at you! I was honoured when my French teacher complimented my lip gloss shade one day and at the same time relived because I very much thought I was about to get told off for wearing a little too noticeable makeup. Oh the high school days! This was however the time where I began to get the odd spot and from here my long-standing relationship with acne began. As I mentioned briefly, now was when I began the hunt for products that would cure and mask my pesky spots and give me very much that flawless faced look. After finding some good grounding with stick concealers (my goodness what a throwback I know!) my curiosity to try different brands and formulas in the pursuit for the most full coverage concealer of all grew. I was also very much obsessed with finding that perfect full coverage foundation. This was when I began to search for product reviews, in my quest to find the perfect makeup products to disguise my acne.
As you might have spotted from the post picture above I became ever so familiar with the website Makeup Alley and could eye up many the product in Boots for it's score in lipsticks. Please do comment below if you know exactly what I'm on about! In addition to Makeup Alley I'd also stumble across blog posts of product reviews and all their glorious swatches - clearly right about now was the time I came to understand that I was not shade 30 Sand. My favourite posts where the ones that told me all the good stuff and with pictures to prove it. Swatches next to others of the palest of pale foundations; pictures wearing the product to show just how long it really lasted; before and afters to show just how well the product really did apply. I definitely tried some real throwback gems from these recommendations, here's a little list to name a few...
- Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation
- Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation (Can't believe I forgot the brand of these two foundations and thought they were Maybelline! That's what over two years of cruelty free and vegan makeup hunting has done to my beauty brain now!)
- Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
- St Ives Apricot Scrub
During that same late 2013 time I also stumbled across product reviews on YouTube and that my friends was where it all began. My descent down the rabbit hole that is YouTube! I always remember watching Fluer De Force religiously, as well as Vivianna Does Makeup and Lily Pebbles too. I can never forget the first of Zoella's video I watched though. On my hunt for the perfect drugstore full coverage foundation I found an absolute gem when I came across Zoe's Top 5 Drugstore foundations video -> Highstreet/Drugstore Foundation Review #1 | Zoella. Seeing her compare them all together and giving the deets on how long they all lasted, how well each performed. I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! After watching this, the very first of Zoe's videos I ever did watch, I remember talking about it with great excitement to a friend in class at school. During this time, my final year of high school, I was struggling quite difficultly with anxiety a second time round and I remember when talking about this foundation video of Zoe's to my friend she told me that Zoe had made a video about having anxiety too. Intrigued I was, I watched it with great anticipation when I returned home. Watching that video I remember feeling such a spark of hope in such a low time that someone I felt I resonated with had experienced something so similar to the anxiety I experienced too and my goodness, what that video did for me I cannot put into words. I'll never ever forget that from that very video Zoe was the one and only person I'd ever found with anxiety so similar to mine and after that I couldn't refrain from exploring all her videos and more. As well as resonating with what Zoe shared about her anxiety I also began to find we shared a lot of love for a lot of the same things. From all things cosy and baking, to Christmas and funny family traditions, and of course all things beauty!
From here on I always hold a special place in my heart for late 2013 to 2014 where I ventured further into the beauty community on YouTube. Newer videos I came across and also loved at this time were fashion videos and vlogging. Que throwback to CTFXC each and every evening at 6pm and In The Frow and her signature lilac hair.
Just as with makeup my heart has forever had a spark of excitement for fashion too. In the picture for the post I popped a little measuring tape and some sewing cotton into the mix as sewing and knitting was another treasure my Nan shared with me at an early age. I have so many special memories of making dolls cloths with my Nan and I think I even tried to make myself a dress once, trying to replicate her vintage sewing patterns. Likewise, as I talked about in my previous Get to Know Me post, there was nothing I loved more than going on a shopping day with my mum and my Nan. I always remember being absolutely obsessed with all things polka dot at about the age of seven and seeing this beautiful red and white polka dot dress in Woolworths and begging my mum if I could get it before it was gone. I didn't quite save my pennies in time to get that dress but I did get a very me red and white polka dot cap sleeve top that I utterly loved and was very much my most favourite top.
I remember trying to hold up and hide behind this polka dot top in attempts to picture it and create an almost sort of lookbook when I was younger, so I could see the contents of my wardrobe to plan outfits I wanted to wear. I even tried to make the background white by hiding behind it under a towel! The blogger within me has clearly always been there!
As I entered my teenage years the Disney Shop and Tammy Girl swiftly became all things Primark and New Look and both my wardrobe and style began to grow. With this and my new found love for YouTube, I began to watch and love the high street hauls and lookbooks too.
During this 2013/14/15 era there were some extra special videos I stumbled across that will forever stay in my heart for the happy memories they bring me. If I can I'll link a few but here's a little list of some of the most special ones to me...
- The Autumn lookbook where I discovered the beautiful music of and artist that is Lewis Watson
- Zoe Sugg's lookbooks
- Zoe's Top 5 Drugstore Foundations (as mentioned but always has a special place in my heart)
- Fleur De Force, Vivianna Does Makeup and Lily Pebbles' monthly favourites
- Essie Button's makeup tutorials
- Zoe Sugg's mahusive makeup collection video
 |
| The very spot where I began my beauty blogging and YouTube journey. |
Happily submerged in the online world that was all things YouTube, blogging, style and beauty I had begun to love and enjoy trying a plethora of new products for my acne, experimenting with makeup and playing with seasonal style. At this point I had gained so much helpful knowledge and advice from my studious skincare studies and trials and tribulations with makeup products - and simply so much joy - that one very special day I decided,
"I'd like to share all my experiences and tips and tricks with others just as I looked for theirs, in the hopes that maybe I can help someone else and share the joy that this wonderful online world has brought to me".
And in the mid-Summer of 2014 Ellie Bows & Sparkles, my blog, was created!
As I talked about in the first post in the series - Ellie Bows & Sparkles is Back! | The Blog and All That it's About - I always wanted my blog to be an old school style beauty blog but most importantly to share my honest opinions on the products I tried, in the hopes that I too could help someone else with acne like other's blogs and reviews had helped me. Eventually it has become my very own little online bubble of old school beauty blogging and all the things I love.
These past three to four years have been quite the whirlwind of my life so far and I'd be silly to deny that I haven't been able to blog and enjoy blogging, and all that comes with it that I love, as much as my heart has wanted to. Despite that however, over the 6 years Ellie Bows & Sparkles has been I have always returned back and for the love of blogging, I'll forever be returning back. As I mentioned briefly above, I've finally been able to begin to navigate my way out of this whirlwind chapter in my life. Regardless, I still very much enjoy catching up on my friend's blog posts. I still very much enjoy noting down all the seasonal trends and style predictions to come. I still very much enjoy cosying up with a good beauty YouTube video too! I hope that now, after this period of immense and honestly very low time in my life, I can return to this wonderful hobby that is blogging much more happily and a lot more easily.
It just wouldn't be me without blogging!
I'm looking forward to hopefully sharing many more posts to come this year. This time round I'm not putting any strict schedules on myself for posting and uploading and I'm going to do as my heart takes me. I'm really looking forward to enjoying some of my other favourite creative outlets and hobbies too and, as I've always done, I'll more than likely be sharing my blog content on my other platforms of social media (check out my new snazzy buttons on my side bar!). There's a couple of posts I had on the go from early on last year - *painfully laughs* - but I'd very much enjoy to share this content still so keep your eyes peeled for something in the realm of empties and a brand evening with a very popular vegan-friendly high-street shop (an extra special memory in my blogging journey! <3).
I'm so looking forward to reconnecting with yourselves and this wonderful world again and I'm so excited for what the future will bring. In the grand spirit of keeping up this wonderful world that is blogging I wish you all...
A Happy New Decade of Blogging!
Many thanks if you're catching back up with this very belated post in the blog relaunch series, and to anyone who popped by just for a read and made it this far! Until my next post,
Ellie Xx
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ReplyDeleteWelcome back to blogging girl! It’s so good to have you back! Absolutely loved this post, I too will never forget my first Zoe video haha x
ReplyDeleteAwwww, Hanna that's so sweet, that means so much to me! Love you girly :) . I'm going to watch that 1 million subscribers video in bed now with a cup of tea, haha :'D . So excited to share more posts and so excited to read all your new posts to come too! :D xx
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