Ella Yvonne

twenty something ☆ | personal style & lifestyle blogger ❀ | cat lover ♡ | coffee addict | optimist ☼ | madison + chicago

[ellayvonne]

Gift Ideas for Grad Students | A Little Gift Guide for the Grad Student in Your Life!

It’s that time of year friends! I feel like grad students are notoriously hard to shop for, especially since most of us spend almost all of our time studying in our free time (oops! 🙈) So, here are some of my favorite grad school centered products for the grad student in your life! 

Pomodoro Timer 

If you haven’t heard of the pomodoro method, it’s a productivity method where you work for a set amount of time and then take periodic breaks throughout! It’s a method works for me especially when I need to get through tough slogs of writing or data work! Though we now have tons of timers available to us, I find that having a physical pomodoro timer that I can see right in front of me really helps to keep me on track and I’m sure many other grad students would appreciate it as well! 

!function(w,i,d,g,e,t){d.getElementById(i)||(element=d.createElement(t),element.id=i,element.src="https://widgets.rewardstyle.com"+e,d.body.appendChild(element)),w.hasOwnProperty(g)===!0&&"complete"===d.readyState&&w[g].init()}(window,"shopthepost-script",document,"__stp","/js/shopthepost.js","script")

JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.

Spotify Subscription 

One of the best things I’ve invested in during my grad school years is a paid Spotify subscription. I’m constantly listening to podcasts and music while I’m working and not being interrupted constantly by ads is wonderful for maintaining focus. In grad school, it’s vital to be able to focus for extended amounts of time and having uninterrupted access to great lo-fi playlists has been a god send!

Noise Cancelling Headphones 

I know I’ve said this a thousand times at this point but I really can’t emphasize it enough. Noise canceling headphones are a game 👏 changer 👏 if you want to be productive and not get distracted by every person that walks by your office! Personally, I own both the BOSE Q35 over ear headphones and a pair of Airpods Pro that I use on daily basis.

!function(w,i,d,g,e,t){d.getElementById(i)||(element=d.createElement(t),element.id=i,element.src="https://widgets.rewardstyle.com"+e,d.body.appendChild(element)),w.hasOwnProperty(g)===!0&&"complete"===d.readyState&&w[g].init()}(window,"shopthepost-script",document,"__stp","/js/shopthepost.js","script")

JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.

Meal Kit Services

One of the easiest ways to support a stressed out grad student is by buying them a meal or two! I’m really fortunate to have a partner who is super supportive and does most of the cooking for us, but for busy grad students who don’t have that kind of support, a meal kit service makes a world of difference because it saves them time and energy but still allows them to make their own healthy, home-cooked meals. 

Planners & Notebooks

I feel like you can never go wrong with a planner or a notebook - there are always so many thing to organize in phd life and studies show that writing things down by hand are the key to getting things done. My favorites right now are the Erin Condren weekly planners, The Daily Page, and the Day Designer! 

!function(w,i,d,g,e,t){d.getElementById(i)||(element=d.createElement(t),element.id=i,element.src="https://widgets.rewardstyle.com"+e,d.body.appendChild(element)),w.hasOwnProperty(g)===!0&&"complete"===d.readyState&&w[g].init()}(window,"shopthepost-script",document,"__stp","/js/shopthepost.js","script")

JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.

Robot Vacuum

Right before I started my PhD program, my fiance gifted me the cutest little robot vacuum and it has quickly become one of the best things I own. I’m not a naturally clean person so being able to just let our robot vacuum run around the apartment while I’m doing other work (or being a blob on the couch) is amazing 🤪

!function(w,i,d,g,e,t){d.getElementById(i)||(element=d.createElement(t),element.id=i,element.src="https://widgets.rewardstyle.com"+e,d.body.appendChild(element)),w.hasOwnProperty(g)===!0&&"complete"===d.readyState&&w[g].init()}(window,"shopthepost-script",document,"__stp","/js/shopthepost.js","script")

JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.

Grad School Themed Books

I received a number of grad school themed books from friends and family before and during the first couple of years of my PhD program. I always found these books to be such thoughtful gifts because it really showed that they understood how stressful grad school life could be and wanted to gift something that pass down wisdom from academics who have been through the process before. I also highly recommend them in general if you’re a 1st generation grad student - there are a lot of unwritten rules in academia and these books are extremely helpful if you don’t have a social network that can help you along the way. The two books I still reference and use the most in grad school are The Professor is In and Graduate Study for the 21st Century. 

I hope this little gift guide was helpful for giving you some ideas for your grad student friends and loved ones! HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

[ellayvonne]

Happy Monday, friends! ❤️ Today I’m out and about visiting my school office, teaching my class and getting a COVID test (we’re currently getting tested every week at my university). . These Bose noise-cancelling headphones are one of my favorite things for maintaining focus when I’m in a shared office or just trying to tune out noise at home. I posted on the blog last night my top 7 tech recommendations for grad students! Enjoy! 💕💕 . #phdlife #phdjourney #phdcandidate #productivitytips #productivity #noisecancelling #focus #techrecommendations (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKws2ieAoK1/?igshid=1xkeek3dlw7vo

[ellayvonne]

Meow Meow Tweet | Sustainable Beauty Review

Hi, friends! Coming at you with the first of hopefully many sustainable beauty and skincare posts! I've been on a year long journey of trying to make my everyday routine more sustainable and it's been a lot of trial and error. It can take a lot of time to try out different brands to find what works best for you so I'm sharing my experiences in the hopes that it will help those of you on your own sustainability journey ❤️

Today's post is about the lovely brand, Meow Meow Tweet. Meow Meow Tweet is a great beauty and skincare brand that focuses on creating vegan, cruelty-free, low waste products that are good for both your skin and the planet.

Geranium Palmarosa Face Toner | $24

There are very few sustainable skincare brands that make a toner because it seems that toner is one of those products people often don't need or will give up when they try to go for a more sustainable skincare routine. But since I have acne prone skin, toner has become a very central part of my skincare routine so I've been on the hunt for a toner to replace the one I'm currently using. Meow Meow Tweet has two toners on their website. I opted for the gernaium palmorosa one because of the formula - the other toner they offer is a gel formula and I wanted one that could be sprayed all over the face.

I really really wanted to like this toner, but after testing it out for over a month, I could not get used to the smell or the feeling on my skin. Usually toners tighten your pores and make your skin feel fresh and smooth. I'm sure this one also tightens the pores but because one of its main ingredients is apple cider vinegar, the smell of it is SO strong and it leaves your skin a bit sticky. I always found myself cringing at the smell on my skin so unfortunately it was not for me.

On top of that, the price point of this toner is a whopping $24. Most of the time, with zero waste products you're paying a higher price that ultimately pays off in other ways (e.g., the product lasts longer, vegan ingredients, eco-friendly packaging) but for me, this price point was definitely too high for a product I didn't really like.

Lavender Coconut Milk Shampoo Bar | $12

There are only two shampoo bars listed on Meow Meow Tweet's website and I wasn't a fan of either smell but opted for the one I found slightly less offending (the other option is a rosemary avocado). Luckily, the lavender coconut smell wasn't too overpowering and it performed similarly to other zero waste shampoo bars I've used from other brands. Generally, these zero waste shampoo bars tend to dry out my hair more than a regular shampoo so it's important to remember that a little goes a long way. Although I liked using this shampoo bar, I felt like it melted away really quickly - more quickly than shampoo bars from Lush I've been using - so it isn't something I'm likely to repurchase since there are others that I like better. I'm hopeful that as Meow Meow Tweet continues to grow that there will be other shampoo bars that I'll try in the future!

Grapefruit Mint Body Soap | $10

Out of the products I chose, the grapefruit mint body soap was by far my favorite. Lush products are usually my go-to when it comes to body soaps but I find that oftentimes their soaps have a ton of coloring in them. Though the coloring never dyes my sink permanently, I'm usually left with a bunch of brightly colored streaks all over my soap dish. This soap from meow meow tweet didn't do that at all and I really liked that it was a more natural-looking color as well as a natural scent 🙂  - Although it didn't blow me away in any particular category, I liked it enough that I'll probably continue purchasing it in the future.

Verdict:

My favorite part of shopping with Meow Meow Tweet is feeling like you can do no wrong. They're a fantastic small, eco-friendly company that uses vegan and natural ingredients in their products. They also have a great refill program that allows you to save money on their products as well as save trash from being dumped into the environment. Although I didn't fall in love with any of the products I purchased this time around, I did fall in love with the brand and everything they're doing. All of these sustainable good for the planet initiatives make Meow Meow Tweet a pretty cool company. I'm going to continue testing out more of their products in the future and I'm hoping to stumble on some that I like as they continue to make more great products.

Shop Similar:

[ellayvonne]

I Tried Intermittent Fasting for a Month | Something New

Hello, friends! I've been trying to keep up my something new project each month throughout quarantine in an effort to develop better habits and work on self improvement - even during this weird time. Especially when it comes to health and work-life balance, my habits were all over the place at the beginning of quarantine, so I've spent the better part of 6 months trying to develop better ones! Enter intermittent fasting.

What is intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is where you fast for a long period of time and only eat within a shorter eating window usually in the hopes of achieving some sort of health benefit. The theory of how intermittent fasting works is that when you fast, your body is in a state of ketosis where you are using the extra fat in your body as energy. Intermittent fasting purports to put our bodies into this state of ketosis and also boasts a ton of other health benefits. Intermittent fasting can be done for days at a time or only within certain hours of the day. Some people choose to fast for 2 days and eat for 4 days, some people choose 20 hours of fasting and a 4 hour eating window, but the most common intermittent fasting routine is 16 hours of fasting and an 8 hour eating window - usually somewhere around 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

While there is a long history of fasting in humans (e.g., certain religions have been fasting for periods much longer than this throughout history), the research on intermittent fasting specifically is more sparse.

The Science:

Based on what I could find, the TL;DR of the science behind intermittent fasting is that there really aren't enough studies about it for us to understand the full benefits or harms of intermittent fasting. There are studies on rats (not the same as humans) and there are studies on intermittent fasting in small samples of humans for short periods of time, but none of these are truly indicative of what long-term effects intermittent fasting might have on us. Therefore, if you choose to try intermittent fasting, know that it's truly experimental in nature and that the effects that people claim to experience from intermittent fasting might be specific only to that person, so listen to your body and make sure that anything you do is best for you.

Why I wanted to do it:

To reduce bloating and re-establish healthier eating habits.

Pre-quarantine, I wasn't necessarily the perfect eater, but I was busy enough running around on campus that I didn't have the opportunity to sit in my living room and eat 24/7 🙂. Since quarantine, my eating habits have truly been aaaaaaalll over the place. I'm already generally a healthy eater (thank you, mom) BUT I am also 100% one of those people that eats when I'm bored and has very little self control around potato chips and ice cream (it's all about balance right? 😜). The only strategy that usually works for me is getting out of the house to keep my mind busy and banning junk food from my apartment because I know as soon as it enters the apartment, it's as good as gone. So, I wanted to try intermittent fasting to see if I could reset my brain into less snacking, better eating habits, and hopefully less bloating.

The Rules:

There aren't clear guidelines on what to eat during that intermittent fasting period and how long you should fast. This is part of the reason why the evidence behind intermittent fasting is spotty - there are no rules for how to do it, so the effects are inconsistent. I opted for the most common 16:8 fasting rule and fasted for 16 hours with an 8 hour eating window. I am an early bird so I chose an earlier eating window - from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm.

Since there weren't really any hard and fast rules for what you could or could not eat during intermittent fasting and what was supposedly okay to eat during your fasting period, I decided to do what I affectionately called "lazy" intermittent fasting - AKA I let myself drink coffee with creamer in the mornings before my fasting period was over because...let's be honest. I am a nightmare pre-coffee and I wasn't going to put myself (or my partner) through that 🙂

My Experience:

Alright, so I tried it for 30 days. What was it like?

The mornings were tough for a while: Hunger-wise, the mornings were tough for me. For the first 2 weeks, I was pretty hungry by 8:30 or 9:00 but had to wait another 1-2 hours to eat. Full disclosure, I wake up at around 5:30 in the mornings so waiting until 10:30 is a whole 5 hours!

Your body adjusts: Even though those first couple of weeks were difficult for me, my body started to adjust over time. I'd still be pretty hungry by the time 10:30 rolled around but over time, I was no longer hungry at 8 or 9 and it became easier to wait it out. Eating first thing in the morning has been a longtime habit of mine and it was interesting to see how quickly my body seemed to adjust.

Reduces the need to make decisions: As a social scientist, I'm all about the psychology here - and intermittent fasting definitely helped to reduce the amount of decision-making power I needed in the mornings. Studies have shown that your willpower is a limited resource so if you're using that making decisions about when, what, and how much to eat you have less willpower to make other decisions.

Challenges the assumption that you have to eat three meals a day: Another good thing I experienced from intermittent fasting was that it challenged my assumption that I needed to eat three meals a day. Don't get me wrong, I love eating any chance I can get but I often eat a meal at the "right" time just because I've been taught that I should be eating at that time - not because I'm actually hungry.

Listen to your body: There were a couple of days during my intermittent fasting period where I woke up with a headache or didn't feel 100%. On those days, I completely ditched fasting and took care of my body first.

I found it difficult to stick with it: Only being able to eat within an 8 hour window sounds easier than it actually is - especially during non-COVID times. If you're interested at all in socializing and eating/drinking with people outside of your eating window then you have to either break your fast or be the party pooper that doesn't eat. Since I decided to try intermittent fasting during COVID it wasn't as difficult since socializing is limited, but there were certainly still times where I broke my fast in order to have a glass of wine while watching the Bachelor 😂

Shop Similar:

So, What Happened?

Well, not a whole lot changed in my body after trying intermittent fasting. This could have been partially because I was doing it "lazily" but I truly felt that a lot of the benefits I experienced from intermittent fasting were more psychological than anything.

Greater awareness of the things I ate: Because I was doing intermittent fasting, I was more aware of the things I was putting in my body. The process drew awareness to what I was eating so I definitely ate healthier than I normally would have.

More intuitive eating: I was also listening a lot more to my body when it came to when I was hungry and why I was eating! Because I was intermittent fasting, my brain would do a double take every time I decided I was hungry and realize I was hungry only because I was bored...not because I was actually hungry 😛

I bloated less: Although nothing about my body really changed (e.g., weight, exercise routine etc), I definitely bloated significantly less than I normally do. I think this was mostly due to the fact that I like to enjoy snacks and a bit of booze in the evenings- which really didn't mix with intermittent fasting! Having an eating period that ended at 6:30 meant I snacked a lot less in the evenings and had to give up a drink I might've normally had at 8 pm ☹️

Will I continue?

Sort of. I'm a creature of habit and I like having a mixed drink while I'm watching my trashy reality TV, okay?! It's the simple things in life haha! The reason I say I'll sort of continue is because intermittent fasting has made me a lot more aware of when I'm actually hungry and when I'm not. Being more aware of my actual hunger cues has made me realize I'm actually not that hungry at 5:30 am - contrary to what my habits might tell me. So, while I won't be adhering strictly to an intermittent fasting schedule, I've tried to stick with eating later in the day when I'm actually hungry and trying to only snack when I'm hungry and not when I'm bored.

Long story short, while I think intermittent fasting was a valuable experiment, I think the primary driver of people seeing actual changes in their body is really driven by reducing their calorie intake because eating in a shorter window of time just means you're going to end up eating less overall.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope this was helpful for you! If you've tried intermittent fasting, leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear what your experience was like!

[ellayvonne]

I Tried Slow Mornings for a Month | Something New

Hi, friends! Today I'm sharing another post in my Something New series where I try a little something new each month. This month, I tried out a slow morning ritual - find out how it went below!

Why did I start trying slow mornings?

Welp, it probably doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out, but, like many of you, I've been experiencing more anxiety over the past 6 or so months since the start of the pandemic. Some days are total trash and some days are happy. I'm lucky in that my anxiety is pretty mild and I don't experience panic attacks - but there are certainly days where I find it really hard to focus on my work or relax because I'm so distracted by being anxious about the state of the world, my life, my career - [insert anything here].

Enter slow mornings.

I read and watch a lot of “self-help” style content and have always been enamored by the idea of having this super duper morning ritual that sets me up for the rest of the day. The philosophy of taking care of yourself and putting on your own mask before putting someone else's on resonates with my own general life philosophy, so, in an effort to try and calm the EFF down in the midst of a pandemic I decided to give slow mornings a shot 🙂

My pre-slow mornings routine:

6:00-6:30 am wake up

6:30-7:00 feed the cats + caffeinate

7:00am + plop in front of the computer and start working.

Somewhere between 10-12: hit a productivity wall and do a workout to get blood circulation back up to my brain in the hopes of achieving something in the afternoon haha.

My slow morning routine:

6:00-6:30 am wake up

6:30-7:00 feed the cats, tidy up the apartment

7:00-8:00 workout

8:00-8:30 shower, skincare, putting on makeup and generally getting ready for the day

8:30-9:30 caffeinate, journal, meditate, listen to a podcast or read depending on my mood

9:30-10:00 am start my work day

So, did it work?

TL;DR sort of 😝

The slow morning routine I created was long and extensive. Some parts of it worked and other parts of it didn’t. BUT that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work for you! I still love the idea of having a cozy, lovely little morning ritual to set up the day - but maybe an extensive slow morning routine isn’t the best approach for someone like me, and here’s why.

What I've learned about myself over the years is that if I want to get something difficult or daunting done, I have to do it in the morning. I really hit the ground running first thing in the morning and am able to work harder and make much more mentally taxing decisions In the mornings (e.g., making financial investment-related decisions, pulling the trigger on submitting papers for my PhD, sending emails I’ve been putting off - etc.). Any big decision I've ever made or anything scary that I've been putting off always ends up getting done first thing in the morning.

As much as I'd love to have a slow morning to take care of myself for hours at a time, it's not something that is practical when my mental strength is at its highest in the morning. It’s not that I'm not capable of doing things at other times, but anything that requires lots of thought and decision making willpower has to be done first thing. Spending my mornings enjoying the quiet and taking care of myself was wonderful but it isn't a ritual that is a good use of my time. Essentially by spending a huge chunk of my morning hours doing this slow morning routine, I was losing hours where I was most decisive, driven, and productive. For those of you who struggle with getting up in the mornings or are most productive in the afternoons, however, having a slow morning routine might be perfect for you!

All of that being said, I won't be ditching all of my routines just yet. I still enjoyed working out as well as journaling first thing in the morning, so rather than ditching all of the slow morning rituals, I'm going to try out doing a shorter morning ritual instead - and I'll try to post an update soon! 🙂

Have you tried a slow morning routine? I'd love to hear how you've incorporated it into your daily life and what routines you've tried or want to try!

[ellayvonne]

Happy Sunday, friends! This month has been a bit of a slog for me (read: lots more work but a whole lot less motivation) so I’ve spent the day putting together a little post on my quarantine favorites thus far that have helped me survive stressful situations. My Sodastream has been a key player all of quarantine because a bit of sparkling water prevents me from snacking 24/7 and once 5 o’clock hits it also serves as a nice mixer for my daily cocktails (oops!). Love you all and I hope you’ll give it a read! ❤️❤️❤️ (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CF8GNA9HmSZ/?igshid=51soqcb0f997

[ellayvonne]

Swipe to see the faces I make while trying to prep my video lectures for the next couple of weeks 😜This semester has been a whirlwind already (to say the least). Here's to hoping that the rest of the semester goes online so we can FLATTEN THAT CURVE. 🙏🏽 . In other news (aka the point of this post haha - sorrryy covid is top of mind right now) I'm sharing how I use my iPad for all the grad school things over on the blog today - including how I use it for recording my virtual lectures this semester! ❤️👆🏼#linkinbio (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFC9JXhnbuI/?igshid=ifueeefklsey

[ellayvonne]

~finally sharing my updated lash extension experience on the blog today! this post has been three whole years in the making and lordy has it been a journey. I've had lots of ups and downs in my love/hate relationship with lash extensions and I finally compiled all my thoughts enough to create a long rambly post about the good, and the many, many bad experiences I had with lash extensions. 😂 . as a monolidded asian woman, most beauty reviews, tips, tricks etc - have never really worked for my eye shape so I hope this is helpful to those of you who have had similar struggles or are just curious about the lash extension process!❤️ https://www.instagram.com/p/CE4Z7d8Hghf/?igshid=qxc2mtnuovp8

[ellayvonne]

My Monolid Lash Extension Experience [Updated]

Hello, friends! I've shared my lash extension review in the past and thought I'd share a little update since my first review post. Since then, I've had many (maybe too many!) more lash extension experiences and thought I'd share an updated version of my lash extension shenanigans. It's been a love/hate relationship and with all the new lash-related services out there it is so, so difficult to figure out which one is better for your eye shape and frankly your lifestyle!

If you want to read more about the whole lash extension process, check out my first post ( Something New: Eyelash Extensions). This one will be a bit of a rambly add-on that extends on my experiences after that!

A Little Preamble.

I started experimenting with lash extensions in 2017 but really didn't dive headfirst into my lash extension obsession until last year. I think I got lash extensions maybe 2-3 (?) times in 2017 but never thought it was worth doing regularly because of the cost and how uncomfortable they could be at times. I also never thought they were worth the cost because while they did make my eyelashes look longer, the difference wasn't as dramatic as I'd hoped it would be - given the price point. This is largely because with monolids, your eyelids push down your lashes so that no matter how long your extensions, they're still not as noticeable as they would be on someone with a different eye shape.

Lash Obsessed.

Last year, I started getting lash extensions regularly because I received a set of lashes that were super long and beautiful. I could tell that they were actually noticeable (even with my heavy monolids) and absolutely loved how low maintenance my makeup routine became after getting a fresh set of lash extensions. Although at times they were a little uncomfortable and they were still pricey - I felt like I was getting more out of my money when you could actually see them when my eyes were open.

Things Get Icky.

During these 8 months, I got my lashes filled every 2-3 weeks and usually paid somewhere between $55-$80 to get them filled. From what I can tell, that's not too bad of a price point for lash fills, but I started to run across more and more issues as time went on.

It started with minor things. I couldn't really wear my glasses or sunglasses properly because the lashes were so long that they'd interfere with my ability to push my glasses up. I was always wearing my glasses at the very tip of my nose - and as someone who is nearly legally blind, this was an issue.

With all lash extensions, you're also told you can't rub your eyes. Don't get me wrong, I know that you shouldn't rub your eyes all the time but there are certainly times where you really just want to get in there and make sure you've got all your makeup off!

After having these super heavy lash extensions for months, I realized that the glue that was holding them onto my lashes was starting to clump together which (a) looked awful and (b) was painful at times if the glue was angled in a way that caused it to irritate my eye. Having all of that glue stuck up there also started to obstruct my vision so I had the whole lot of them removed to give my eyes a break.

Things Get Ickier

After giving my lashes a bit of a break, I visited a different place to try out a new set of lash extensions (they're addicting - eek!) and learned that my lashes were horribly weak and short, so they were only able to put very short, light extensions on my lashes. I totally understand the need for keeping your lashes healthy, but for me, these short extensions were not worth it at all - frankly, you couldn't even tell that they were even there.

Things get worse though! After a couple of weeks of having lighter extensions on, my eyes started to have a massive allergic reaction. I ended up removing all of the extensions on my own because my eyelids were puffing up in response to the lashes? the glue? who knows?! After removing the extensions, my eyelids continued to puff and also started to peel and pus (yikes). This continued for months. Months y'all. It may be hard to tell that my eyes are puffy in the photos below, but given that I have monolids normally and some of these photos make it look like I have double eyelids....? It's pretty clear that there was some crazy puffing going on.

The Pros.

I'm not going to lie, when I wasn't busy having an allergic reaction to the extensions, I really loved the long wispy lash look. It made getting ready in the morning pretty damn easy and if I ever had to stumble out of the house, I already felt like I was halfway done with the get ready process. I loved them enough to overlook a lot of irritating things about them.

The Cons.

It's expensive, y'all. I've paid somewhere between $80-$150 for a full set of lashes and anywhere between $40-$80 for a fill.

For my monolidded asian friends out there: if you live in a predominantly white area, be aware that lash places may not have the right lash extensions for you. Extensions are available in a lot of different types of curls but most places I went to in my super white midwestern city only carry a limited number of curl types that are not necessarily suited to monolid eye shapes. I'm convinced that if I had received eyelash extensions with a different curl shape (e.g., more of a J shape than a C shape) I wouldn't have had as many issues with obstructed vision and extensions hitting my glasses.

A lot of small nuisances like not being able to use mascara, having the lashes hit my glasses, getting lashes stuck in towels, lashes obstructing my vision.

Obviously the less than ideal allergic reaction that caused my eyelids to peel for nearly 2 months straight. 😝

If you have naturally short lashes and you want your lashes to remain healthy, you're not going to be able to get the same drama out of your lashes that you could out of false lashes or even lots of mascara & curling. You could, of course, destroy your lashes (like I did) but clearly that's unsustainable 😅

The lash extensions never lasted as long as the lash places said they would. They are supposed to last 4-6 weeks with the appropriate care but I swear that most of the time mine were 50% gone by week 2 - even with the appropriate care.

Final Verdict.

Alright, I know I've said a lot of bad things about my lash extension experience, but I haven't sworn off of them entirely. I still think they're a great option for special occasions like going on vacation, a wedding, etc - but it'll no longer be a regular part of my routine. In my experience, it wasn't the best fit for my monolids and they were more of a hassle and more expensive than they're really worth.

Buuuuuuuuut.... part of the reason I'm no longer regularly getting lash extensions is because I've found a new lash routine that I love love love even more and will be sharing soon - so, stay tuned! 🙂

[ellayvonne]

I’ve been trying to find the time to do another day in the life lately, but the reality is that you’ll find me here for the next three weeks: butt glued to my desk chair studying for my preliminary exams surviving on popcorn and exorbitant amounts of coffee. ☕️☕️ As much as I love #phd life, it has its highs and lows. Miss you all ❤️ - hope you’re having a wonderful May! see you in 3 weeks 😊💕 (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAd6IJyHD3X/?igshid=poaudtovl0y5

[ellayvonne]

Hello, hello, hello, friends! 😊❤️Finally felt super motivated to post something this morning after many months of feeling pretty blah towards instagram and blogging in general. Today I’m sharing a little #getreadywithme of this face [Tuesdays are my “look like a normal human” days because I have meetings all day!] and day in the life in quarantine. ✌🏼 To be honest, I am quite the introvert and already have a job situation where I spend the majority of my work life at home, but it’s been an interesting journey learning to share my “work” space with my fiance. As my mom will probably tell you, I was never the best at sharing my stuff with my brother 😂haha. Anyhoo, I’d love to share some of my favorite strategies, tips, products etc for working from home in a future blog post so drop me a comment if you have any questions for me! 💕 (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_QSk72neyx/?igshid=1oeee4jmkqp5z

[ellayvonne]

Happy twenty twenty, everyone! What an incredible year to be alive 💕Today, I decided to take a trip down memory lane to review all the photos I took and the things I experienced in twenty nineteen. I was struck by all the things I’d done that I’d completely forgotten about. Here are a couple of my favorites with more in my new blog post — the many slow, simple moments as well as the big, very exciting moments in between 💕 (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/B69YbkoHA-9/?igshid=1r3ivrhnlk6om

[ellayvonne]

Year in Review | Twenty Nineteen ♥

Happy twenty twenty, everyone! What an incredible year to be alive 💕

I used to be a hardcore journaler growing up but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found less and less time to journal as much as I once did (there’s also probably less of a need for it since I no longer have the teen angst I once did!). Nowadays, journaling for me takes on a lot of different forms. Saving plane tickets, to-do lists, and taking loads of photos are just some of those forms. Today, I decided to take a trip down memory lane to review all the photos I took and the things I experienced in twenty nineteen. I was struck by all the things I’d done that I’d completely forgotten about! Below is my year in photos — the many slow, simple moments as well as the big, very exciting moments in between.

I hope you all enjoyed this little review of my twenty nineteen ♥

thanks so much for reading along with me this year ♥

[ellayvonne]

{Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays, friends! 😊❤️🎄 Hope your holidays were as happy as Ollie is around Christmas lights ✨💕} (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6hH9QfnD9d/?igshid=9wjiitrhtbxz

[ellayvonne]

Hello, friends! Merry Christmas Eve eve! 🎄Long time no see and thanks for sticking around if you’re still here 😜 feeling extra festive today so I went with a red on red on red ensemble 🥰The last couple of weeks have been very stressful for me #phdlife and family life wise so a break from social media was much needed! Now that I’m finally getting a chance to breathe a bit, Im sharing a little catchup over on my stories! we’ll be spending the next week or so doing more family and friend-y holiday things which I can’t wait to share! 💕 (at Madison, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6azVzwHI-3/?igshid=1j6yfpi2zusjp

[ellayvonne]

Ipsy Glam Bag Review | November 2019

Ipsy Glam Bag is a monthly beauty subscription box that gives you a personalized bag of full-size and sample size beauty and make-up products for $10 a month. All of their products also come in a cute, handy little make-up bag!

Bareminerals: Bounce and Blue Blush in Mauve Sunrise | Full-Size $29

L.O.C.K. Color Boundation in 5 Medium Buff | Full-Size: $14

TheBalm Cosmetics: Mary-Dew Manizer | Full-Size $14.50

IT Cosmetics: Confidence in a Cream | Full-Size $16

Veriphy Skincare: Power Trip Facial Serum | Full-Size $105

Faves:

IT Cosmetics: Confidence in a Cream - Honestly, in my eyes, IT Cosmetics can do no wrong! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every product I’ve ever tried from IT Cosmetics and just find all of their products extremely effective yet not too heavy or “make-up-y” on the skin (if you know what I mean!). Plus, I’m always pleasantly surprised by their price points for how clean and effective their products feel.

Flops:

L.O.C.K. Color Boundation - This product was a huge bummer for me because I actually got to pick this product! Ipsy recently started allowing subscribers to pick one product out of every bag and in an attempt to try a new brand, I selected this BB Cream. Unfortunately, this BB Cream was a huge disappointment. The shade was a little dark for me but on top of that, it came across looking like a pretty heavy foundation rather than a light BB cream. I only use a small pea-sized amount of foundation usually and even with that amount, this BB cream looked super cake-y and heavy after half a day. I might keep this in my office make-up bag for emergency touch-ups but other than that, I don’t think I’ll be using this product much.

Shop Products:

Overall, this month’s Ipsy was a bit of a dud for me - especially the product I chose! I love that Ipsy is now allowing subscribers to choose one product for each month, but from here on forward, I’ll plan to choose products from brands I’ve actually heard of. Although Ipsy has a lot of well-known brands in its bag mix, it often throws in brands that are relatively unknown - and unfortunately, might not turn out to be so great. What did you think of your subscription boxes this month? Let me know in the comments!

[ellayvonne]

BeautyFix Review | November 2019

BeautyFix is a monthly skincare, makeup, and haircare subscription box created by Dermstore. A monthly subscription is $24.95 per box and a one-time box purchase is $34.95. Most items in the box are either full or deluxe sample size products. 

Glytone: Mini Peel Gel | Retail $64

Sanitas: Detoxifying Scrub Mask | Full-Size $68

Dermalogica: Intensive Moisture Cleanser | Full-Size $69

Neostrara: Bionic Face Cream | Full-Size $60

Arcona: Magic White Ice | Full-Size $62

Sachajuan: Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner | Full-Size $28, $31

Herbivore Botanicals: Coconut Body Oil | Full-Size $36

Emma Hardie: Cleansing Balm | Full-Size $49

Box Faves:

Herbivore Botanicals: Coconut Body Oil - I’m usually not a huge fan of coconut scented products (I often find them to be a little too strong) but this body oil was a pleasant surprise! The scent on it is very faint and not overpowering at all - plus, it’s been perfect to use on the dryer areas of my skin now that winter has hit Wisconsin.

Emma Hardie: Cleansing Balm -

Box Flops:

Sachajuan: Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner - This isn’t a knock on the specific product as much as it’s a knock on this product category - I don’t love receiving shampoo and conditioner products in my subscription boxes because it’s not really an area where I’m interested in discovering new products - I’m pretty set in my ways as far as shampoo and conditioner goes!

This month’s BeautyFix was unfortunately a bit of a flop for me overall - While I did really enjoy a couple of products, there was nothing I was absolutely dying to try (which is usually the whole reason I go for subscription boxes in the first place!). What did you think of your BeautyFix box this month? Let me know!