Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me by Lily Collins

My second celeb-short-essay-collection book this year (and in my entire life too haha)!

Rating: 5 stars

It was a cold winter’s night of 2015 when I was first welcomed into the world of Mirror, Mirror - a movie starring Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer and Lily Collins. I remember being totally shocked (see below gif) when I saw Lily Collins - I could only see her eyebrows!

I don’t mean that as a mean comment. At the time, I was just projecting my own securities onto her. I had been struggling with the bushiness of my brows since I was a pre-teen. I thought that was all anyone looked at when they saw me. Fast forward to now and I am actually proud of my eyebrows and extremely grateful for them. I am so glad that Lily Collins and others, like Cara Delevingne, are representing us bushy browed females in Hollywood. It’s what I needed when I was a pre-teen.

Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me is a beautiful collection of short essays written by Lily Collins herself. It is raw, honest and inspiring. She talks about her battles with eating disorders, abusive relationships and her ongoing journey to self-acceptance. The most striking thing about this book is how well it is written. I didn't know that Collins had been interested in journalism and wrote for Elle Girl UK at just 15! This experience really shows. I was completely captivated from page one and could not put it down. Every word felt completely necessary and it was almost poetic. Each of the chapters started off with a few sentences that she would then use at the end of each essay – it made it all connected.

Collins should be admired for her bravery. No topic was off-limits. She delves into every issue in her life with such openness and vulnerability. But it’s not all serious. She talks about her love of tattoos, which came as a surprise to me. I never knew she had any! After reading the chapter about tattoos, I noticed that on the cover you can see one of her tattoos on her right foot. She also talks about her parents and has incorporated letters to herself and to her father.

I don’t really want to say much more because I think this book is best if you go in without knowing too much!

Most Memorable Quote

“So, thank you to all those people who have dealt me a crappy hand and told me no – it’s made hearing yes that much better.”

Since Collins had letters in her book, I’m going to finish this review off with a small letter to her:

Dear Lily,

You are incredibly brave, talented and beautiful - both inside and out! Your book is simply wonderful and will help many around the world. The universality of the human experience is something we non-celebs think celebs are exempt to. Your book dismantled such a delusion. Thank you for your book and thank you for being you! My thick eyebrows bothered me for a long-time, but you helped me to embrace them. This is how I react to my brows now when I see them in the mirror:

(Ok, maybe not exactly like that. I'm not in love with them, but I do love them nonetheless)

Love,

#MirrorMirror #Eyebrows #LilyCollins #Unfiltered #shortessaycollection