I remember the first time I watched one of Estée’s videos on youtube. I was looking for swatches of mac’s lipstick “crosswires” and she came up as one of the suggestions. It was exactly this video (click) She was bright and cute and I thought this bubbly sweet girl can’t have a single care in the world. I subscribed to her as it was just so much fun listening to her talking about lipsticks like she does nothing else. Watching her for a few months (or.. for 3 years now) I realized that there is way more to her than just this happy blogger girl. I genuinely felt like I know her.. I admired the way she sees life and its challenges so much. So it was absolutely clear to me that I was going to buy her book. And oh my god.. I haven’t cried like this because of a book and years!
In “Bloom” Estée talks about her life as a teenager a Canada, how she met her current boyfriend and how she moved to the UK for him. Everything is very honest and so open. She doesn’t even try to make it look like she had a perfect life. She tells her readers about her self-esteem issues, her fear of being different and her struggle to fit into this world. She also talks about the complicated relationship with her dad. Her mother and her boyfriend both wrote a little letter to Estée in this book. Absolutely heartwarming. But not all the chapters are that emotional and raw. She also writes about how she found her own style, her experience with makeup and she even shares a couple of her favorite recipes. I feel like she tried to put every aspect of herself in this book. The bubbly and fun things, as well as the heavy and depressing parts.
Going back to what I said about knowing her. I totally felt different after I finished this book. I felt like I got to know a completely different side of the Estée I thought I knew. I mean, there was no extremely shocking secret she revealed, but the way she felt in her teenage years and the struggles in her life really connected to me and I think it did to a lot of people. It was so inspiring to see how hard she worked for where she is now. She just tried something different, with no concrete plan and certainly not with the expectation that she would have this life she has now.. but she did it. And everything else fell into place.
After I finished the last page I totally felt stupid for thinking I knew her. Honestly, you just can”t know someone over something they choose to share with you. Even after reading a book about someone’s life you will never completely know that person.
If you need some inspiration, motivation, a few good laughs or just an honest cry you should really, REALLY read Bloom. My sister actually gave this book to me for my birthday and she told me she thought it was going to be just another lifestyle book of some blogger about how to lead the perfect Instagram life. She read a couple of pages and was absolutely hooked. Amazing.
Well done, Estée!
Let me know which books have inspired you recently!
