Welcome back to our Favourites Feature! The Blog Series where we delve into the lives and minds of our favourite MUA's, Bloggers and Influencers, where we talk all things make up, mental health and life in the spotlight!
We are always extremely excited to share our monthly features, and to shine a light on another talented individual that has caught the attention of the CBB community. This month we are bringing you the absolutely beautiful, the one and only Effy from @effys_place.
Effy is an absolutely stunning, UK based creative superstar. We absolutely love her fun, expressive & colourful looks that have us constantly reaching for our eyeshadow palettes.
We are so ridiculously proud of Effy for what she trusted us with during this More Than Make Up feature; a raw, honest and inspiring interview where she has revealed a lot about herself for the very first time.
What is your full name and where are you from?
Elizabeth Hopkins - I’m originally from Manchester!
When did you discover your love for make up and how did this affect your life?
I started loving makeup quite “late” when I was around 19 and in uni. I’ve just always struggled to find a way to stand out without being too out there and I think makeup has really helped me to do that.
What inspired you to start up your instagram?
I had been getting more into makeup and started playing with colour more and just started seeing it more as a creative escape, but I didn’t have anyone in my life who viewed makeup in the same way. So I decided I’d go out and find people who did. And I think that is genuinely what I’ve managed to do.
Have you come across any resistance with your makeup journey, and if so, how have you coped/overcome it?
Does the Instagram algorithm count? I think in general the numerical side of social media has always been a struggle for me and over the years it has got me down a lot. The only way to deal with that is to just remind yourself you’re doing it for you and for the love you have for your craft. Also it’s completely fine to take a break from it all when you need it.
Have you found that expressing yourself through makeup has helped with your mental health?
Mental health is really something I struggle to talk about in general with friends and family so it’s not something I ever really speak about online. It’s something I really want to because I know how much it can help other people but obviously it makes you very vulnerable. As much as you won’t find a post on my Instagram where I wrote about mental health it’s important to remember how much makeup is an escape for a lot of people. So when you see a look that clearly took a few hours to do that was a few hours that really helped my mental health and I’ve always found I do my best looks when I’m having a bad time mentally because I’ll just sit for hours doing makeup by myself and that helps.
Can you tell us a little more about your experiences with mental health?
Like I said, not really something I talk about, but I’ll give it a go! (Warning it’s a lot) I guess mental health kind of runs in my family and personally. I started experiencing depression around the age of 11-12, mainly due to my home life and that really is a story I’m not ready to jump into right now but it essentially resulted in me leaving my childhood home and moving to live to my grandparents which helped a lot. However this whole situation has just left me with a lot of unresolved trauma that I should 100% go to a therapist for. I now just have a lot of trauma and anxiety and I go through waves of depression, and in particular right now I’m dealing with the passing of my mum which happened in September. As someone who’s never really dealt with grief before I’ve found myself in a whole new world of emotions that I have no idea how to navigate. I should probably just go to a therapist and get some of these issues resolved but I think it’s very difficult when your mental health is so deeply ingrained in who you are because of how early it started affecting you.
How has makeup helped you as a whole?
If we’re being honest, playing with makeup is not going to heal my childhood trauma and I’m not expecting it to. What makeup does do is give me a few hours where I don’t have to think about anything other than what I’m putting on my face and some days I need that.
Where do you find inspiration for your looks?
A lot of the time I just get inspo from different colour schemes I see all over the place. I like scrolling through Instagram and just seeing what colour schemes other people are using. I also just love seeing other people's creativity and that usually sparks mine a little.
Who and what would you say are your biggest influences?
in terms of makeup I think Steph Toms has really helped me a lot. She’s been very open about her mental health and she even spoke a lot about her mum passing which happened the year before mine so that really helped me when my mum passed. And in general she’s just very unapologetically herself and I love that. In everyday life my grandparents are my biggest influence. They're the best people in the world - as pensioners they let me and my brother (two teenagers) move in and they looked after us and got us to where we need to be in life. They’re just also so kind to everyone and generally good people, I look up to them a lot.
If you could speak to your younger self, what advice would you give?
Well I’d probably tell her to move out of the family home much sooner, but other than that I think I’d just tell her everything’s going to be okay (she needs to hear that) and that it’s okay to just be herself and focus on making herself happy.
How do you aim to inspire others in a similar situation?
I just want anyone in a similar situation to remember that it’s not going to last forever, and you’re not going to feel this way forever. But while you are feeling this way it’s important to do what you can to feel better and celebrate the small things.
Which of your looks has been your favourite?
That is a tough one! Being completely honest I haven’t done a look I’ve been particularly proud of recently just because I’ve been so busy working. I think maybe the one I did for Easter last year might be high up there. The post performed really well and someone even recreated it which I’ve never had happen before.
What is your proudest moment throughout your makeup career?
As much as I have received PR and I’ve now been added to PR lists and I’m very proud of that, but I think my proudest moment is actually posting my first YouTube video. The entire video is out of focus, I didn’t know what I was doing and it’s probably a terrible video but I’m so proud of myself for doing it. I had wanted to start YouTube for the longest time, I bought my camera using my first pay check from my job and now I’m posting videos twice a week and although my channel is really small, I love doing it and I’m just so proud of myself for taking the plunge.
Charlie Betty Beauty’s Earth Palette was modelled on representing the Earth element - in the 5 elements of earth, air, fire, water and aether, what element would you say you resonate with the most and why?
I think it has to be earth. I don’t follow star signs but I’m a Capricorn and I know that’s an earth sign. I just also feel much more connected to earth out of all the elements. I’m not sure why I feel more connected to earth, maybe because it’s got so many different areas to it and it’s kind of safer even though it has its own dangers it’s not like fire or water. Kind of like a sleeping giant, I like that.
What is your favourite shade in the Earth Palette?
It is a massive toss up between bedrock and Capricorn. Funnily enough when I first got the palette I didn’t really care for Capricorn and now it’s one of my faves!
Do you tend to purchase makeup from companies based on their messaging and their values, or mainly based on what you are loving at the time?
This is difficult when you do a lot of testing videos on YouTube and you only have a small audience. I try to pick some brands that are popular and might get more views but then I try to also show smaller brands that deserve to be seen. There are some brands I don’t buy from because of their messaging but overall as long as a brand isn’t spreading hate I’m happy to support them.
What new product would you love to see or experiment with this year?
I am really trying to get into more liner looks so I’m always interesting in colourful liners and cake liners. Hopefully I can practice loads and finally get the confidence to post something on my page!
What are your goals for 2022?
I think honestly my main goal is to just be happy, last year was genuinely horrible for me so I just want this year to be better. I would love to hit 250 subscribers on YouTube, but overall being happy will be enough!
Finally, what’s a quote that you live by?
Not a massive fan of quotes but if I have to give one this is one I saw when I was drunk and found it hilarious and now it just put a smile on my face:
"Life is meant to be easy peasy lemon squeezy, but it’s really just difficult difficult lemon difficult."
Its probably not that inspiring but it makes me chuckle and I even now have a lemon tattooed on my arm all because of this quote.
Thank you for taking this time and for putting your trust in us Effy. We are in such awe of your strength and we have so much confidence in you and your project. We cannot wait to see where your MUA journey continues to take you! You can follow Effy on instagram by clicking here, and you can also view and subscribe to her incredible videos on YouTube by clicking here.
Don’t hesitate to let us know your favourite MUAs, Bloggers and Influencers in the comments below. We are always looking for inspirational people to include in our More Than Make Up Features.
If you missed last month’s Feature of @makeupandinked, don’t panic, you can view it by clicking here! Or you can subscribe to our blog today and never miss another upload!