My 5 Favorite Skincare Cleansing Products | In Partnership with Juno & Co.

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Disclosure: This blog post is in partnership with Juno & Co. Juno & Co kindly sent me their products to try for free. Thank you again to Juno & Co. for partnering with me for this blog post!

As a bit of a beauty junkie, thoroughly cleansing my skin at the end of the day has become a vital part of my routine in order to try and prevent makeup related breakouts and give my skin a chance to breathe at the end of the day! However, there are SO many cleansing products out there, it’s hard to know which ones are going to work best for your skin. Today, I’m sharing a couple of my favorite cleansing products - in partnership with Juno and Co! 🥰

To help determine whether these products are a good fit for your skin, I want to mention that my skin is generally pretty oily or combination. I tend to get pretty oily around the T-zone and am usually fighting off breakouts on my chin, cheeks, and in the nose area. Although I think most of these products can be used on both oily or dry skin, if you’re someone with dry skin, you may want to consider how frequently you use products that may be more geared towards drying out and exfoliating the skin! 

Juno & Co: Cleansing Cookie ($8.00)

Y’all, this cleansing cookie has been a game changer for my cleansing routine! I’ve tried a lot of different cleansing cloths but none of them have been a match for the Juno & Co cleansing cookie. I’ve tried several cleansing cloths as well as the make-up eraser brand cloths but none of them are as effective at getting waterproof makeup off as this cute little cleansing cookie. While most of the other cleansing cloths out there are pretty flat, this one has a bit of squish to it which makes it feel super soft on the skin and just makes taking off your makeup a little more fun :) Plus, a reusable makeup pad is better for the planet because you can use it over and over again! 

A Good Cleansing Balm!

One of my favorite things to do to get a good double (or even triple!) cleanse in is to start removing my makeup with a cleansing cookie or cleansing cloth and follow-up with a good cleansing balm to really get into all the nooks and crannies! My two favorite cleansing balms are the Juno & Co JunoSkin Cleansing Balm ($31.43) and the Farmacy Green Clean Balm ($28.95). Both of these balms smell amazing, really get at hard-to-remove makeup, and come from brands that prioritize sustainability. Though a makeup wipe will remove some of the makeup on your face, I find that balms are most effective at getting even difficult makeup - like waterproof mascara - to really melt right off! 

Dr. Brandt PoreDermabrasion Exfoliant ($58.00)

This Dr. Brandt exfoliator has been a LONG time favorite of mine because the exfoliating beads in it are so thin that it really feels like you’re going to an esthetician for a microdermabrasion treatment! I tend to get breakouts around my chin and cheek areas and use this exfoliator from dr. Brandt to exfoliate these areas 2-3 times per week. It prevents additional breakouts and helps my skin recover from breakouts more quickly. It’s a little on the pricer side but I think it’s worth the price point because a little goes a long way with this exfoliator! 

Juno & Co: Clarifying Cleansing Powder

Though I’m generally not too picky about my facial cleansers, I’ve really enjoyed this clarifying cleansing product from Juno & Co because it comes as a powder that foams up when you add water - so cool! I’ve also been traveling lately and this cleansing powder has come in handy for trips because it doesn’t take up space in my liquids bag. I prefer to travel with carry-ons only and this can get complicated when I can only bring so many liquids. Usually my facial cleanser is liquid, too, but recently I was able to pop a bit of this cleansing powder in a bag and I was off! Super convenient!

Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Toner ($10.37)

The last step in my skincare cleansing routine is always a toner! Although I’ve tried about a million toners, I always tend to gravitate towards a simple witch hazel toner. My favorite is the Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Toner - super affordable and easy to find at pretty much any Target or CVS type store. Some toners I’ve used leave my skin too sticky or overstrip my skin, while others seem like they’re not doing much at all! This one is the perfect balance of effective - cleaning and tightening my skin - while also not being so harsh that it dries everything out. 

Thanks again so much to Juno & Co for partnering with me on this blog post! Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? Let me know in the comments! 

How to Choose a PhD Advisor | Applying to Grad School Series

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Hello and happy spring, my friends! If you were just accepted to a graduate program, congratulations! This is SUCH an exciting time but I know there are also likely lots of things running through your mind - one of which might be choosing the right PhD advisor! As a PhD student, your advisor is one of the most important decisions you will make and it has the potential to make or break your experience as a student - or at the very least it has the potential to make your life a lot easier or a lot harder. So in this post, I’m sharing the tips that helped me choose my current PhD advisor. 

First - a caveat from me - I’m going to mention some of the standard reasons why you might choose a PhD advisor, but a lot of my advice will also be coming from a wellness focused perspective. At the time that I started my PhD, I was (and still am) focused on creating a sustainable lifestyle as a PhD student. Since I’d come from a corporate job where I was very unhappy and had received many warnings about the way graduate school can really harm mental health, my choices were driven by creating a lifestyle where I could get the degree while also maintaining my mental health. Not all of you may share those challenges, but hopefully understanding my perspective at the time is helpful! 

Work Style Fit

One thing that was especially important to me when choosing and advisor was work style fit. For me, the ability to work autonomously on my own schedule is extreeeemely important. Working a corporate 9 to 5 was pretty soul crushing because I felt like I was being tied to a chair and was being evaluated on my butt in the seat time rather than the actual work I was producing. So, seeking a mentor who gave me the freedom to work independently and did not micro manage my time was at the TOP of my priorities list. This one might take some self-reflection, so, think about times in your life where you’ve been in different work environments - whether it be a part-time or full-time job or as a student. Think about what expectations were placed on you and what expectations did not gel with your personal work style. 

Historically, I’ve always crumbled in the face of micro-management. To me, it feels like a lack of trust and typically I end up hating the job and slacking off A LOT. But, if I’m in a job where I’m tasked with completing a project but given pretty full freedom to do that projet on my own time and the expectations of WHEN that project is due are clear, then I flourish. Knowing this about myself, when considering mentors, and even to this day when I consider collaborators, I always look for a team of people who are comfortable with independent work and can give me the space necessary to complete my work without needing to constantly be hovering over my shoulder. This isn’t necessarily the best fit for everyone (I know some grad students who love to be in office and having constant everyday contact with their mentors) but it was the best fit for my personal work style! 

Mentorship Style 

Another thing to consider is their mentorship style and what your preferred mentorship style is. Do you prefer someone who checks in frequently and walks you through each new process? Or do you prefer to figure it out on your own and ask questions as needed? I think it’s important to be honest with yourself about what you need as a mentee at this time. Even if you are someone who typically prefers to work independently, if you are new to research, perhaps you want someone who can walk you through the process so that you can learn. In academia, there’s not a lot of oversight or guidance and oftentimes the next step is unclear. If you’re someone who is comfortable navigating that on your own - great!- if you’re someone like me whose Type A-ness needs a plan for everything, consider what your potential mentor’s plan is for you and how that fits with your plan.

It’s also worth noting that your mentor/mentee relationship with your advisor may change over time - as it should! In my first couple of years, I met frequently with my mentor to plan next steps and work towards research projects together. Now, our meetings are far less frequent and much of our communication is ad hoc and through email. Though I tend to prefer the latter, it was actually very helpful to have more frequent touch points at the beginning of my program because it was such a wide, unknown world. Meet and chat with other students to understand better what that person’s mentorship style is like. 

Who are they as a person? 

This might be a very “touchy-feely” one but honestly, I can’t HELP it y’all. I am a touchy feely person! There are tons of cases where people don’t even like their advisors. I’m not saying you have to be buddy buddy best friends with your mentors but hey, you should at least like them a little bit and have some of the same values, right? This might not be a make or break situation for you, but for me, it was a huge consideration. I wanted to feel like I could discuss things outside of work with a mentor and that I could at least understand them on a human level. Though my current mentor and I may not be bestest of friends - and realistically shouldn’t be given inherent power dynamics between advisors and advisees - I like her as a person and I think that is important to working well with someone. 

If you’re not able to figure out who they are as a person from asking around, I suggest meeting with them one-on-one if you can. Whether that’s through grabbing a quick coffee or hopping onto Zoom, I think you can learn a lot about a person just by chatting with them casually. If they are aware that you may be paired up as advisor/advisee, they should be making time for you to make sure that you are a good fit for one another. 

Will they advocate for you? 

The best advice I ever received when going through the process of choosing an advisor was the following: “choose someone who will be your advocate.” I’ll never forget the senior PhD student who gave me that advice because her advice was influential in tipping the scales towards my current advisor. This is especially important for PhD students who are women or part of underrepresented groups. Academia is still predominantly male and White, especially at senior levels, and as a junior person in academia, having someone to advocate for you is HUGE. At the time that I was deciding on an advisor, I already had quite concrete evidence that my current advisor had and likely would continue to advocate for me. 

Other standard reasons you might consider: 

• Funding Ability: This is going to vary from program to program, but in some programs, you are largely dependent on your advisor to provide funding for your stipend and research. Though in my program we are not dependent on the advisor (we depend largely on the department itself), even in these scenarios, having an advisor who is able to fund you through multiple means is helpful. It could mean that you have to do less teaching work for your funding and may be able to spend more of your time working on your dissertation or other research.

• Research Interest Fit: I think this is like the TOP mention for why you should pick a PhD advisor. And I get it. But I also think that when it comes to research fit, you also have to realize that your own research interests may change, and that, eventually, you will be able to work on projects with other researchers outside of your mentor. All of which is to say - should you have some overlap in research interests with your advisor? Yes. Does it have to be perfect and can you have research interests that are outside of those you share with your advisor? Also yes.

• Prestige attached to their name / network & connections: I’m not even going to go about denying that there is a certain level of prestige attached to any advisor’s name. This matters and I won’t belabor the point since it’s belabored in many a PhD advice post. BUT I would argue that it shouldn’t be the only thing that matters. Also consider their willingness to open doors for you, to introduce you to collaborators, and to advocate for you. Someone with a prestigious name who isn’t that interested in helping you out isn’t going to get you that far anyway.

Reminder: No advisor will be the perfect fit

Another great piece of advice I received while choosing advisors was that no advisor would be the perfect fit and that you can seek additional mentors along the way. I think we tend to frame our advisor/advisee relationship as this end all be all type of thing when in reality, we can have multiple mentors. Is your advisor the most influential one? Yes probably. But if there is some topic or area for which you need mentorship that you do not feel like you can get from your advisor, you can always reach out and seek other mentors. And there is nothing wrong with that. 

I hope this was helpful! If ya have any other questions about choosing an advisor, grad school, all of the above - drop me a comment or send me a message. I’d love to help! 

A Grad Student’s Tips for Getting Out of a Motivational Rut | PhD and Productivity

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After 2 years of mostly working from home, I’ve been in a bit of a motivational rut this semester. Even though I absolutely LOVE my apartment and being able to have all my home comforts around me, lately it’s been difficult to focus and my brain has been SO bored doing the same routine and staring at the same screen over and over again. So, the last couple of months, I’ve dabbled around with some things that have helped get me out of a motivational rut and I’m excited to share them with you - enjoy!

(1) change up your environment and leave your house

If you have the flexibility, my number one recommendation for getting out of a rut is to leave the house! It doesn’t have to be for a very long period of time and it doesn’t even have to be very far away - but a change in scenery has done wonders for my motivation. Though you do lose some time commuting to a new space, I find that those couple of hours when I’m in a coffee shop, coworking space, or a library tend to be pretty productive and seeing the hustle and bustle around me usually makes me feel like I’ve accomplished more at the end of the day.

A secondary thing that happens is that I appreciate my own space more once I’ve had the opportunity to work in an office environment again. When I’m at home for such a long time, the novelty of being able to work from my couch really starts to wear off so forcing myself into another space also makes me a little more productive at home because I realize how much more comfortable I am at home!

(2) book a work-cation

I am THE BIGGEST proponent of work-cations. If you have not tried a work-cation and you are in for a TREAT. Just because you have work to do, doesn’t mean you can’t work from somewhere else right? Nature and being in a new place can be such a healing and at the same time exciting experience - and I find that this is the perfect complement for really buckling down and getting work done when you’ve gotten really sick of being stuck in your apartment!

Most hotels and airbnbs now have pretty reliable wifi and you can usually rent out a cozy space that is perfect for getting away and focusing on work (or whatever it is you want to focus on at the time!). I love taking solo trips or trips with my partner (who also works from home!) where we spend the day working and enjoying a new space overlooking a beautiful river or tucked way in the woods! It makes working from “home” a little more fun and even makes my work feel more meaningful

I’m currently in the stage of my PhD program where my main focus is writing my dissertation and doing research - something I can do from anywhere. So, my favorite way to enjoy this semester has been through booking various airbnbs in the middle of the workweek, usually for a lower rate but the same great space :)

(3) the pomodoro method

I know that not everyone will have the means or the time to leave their work from home situation so I also have a couple of recommendations when you’re stuck at home with no other options! My top tip for getting out of a motivational rut is definitely trying out the pomodoro method. I wrote all about the pomodoro method in this blog post: How I use the pomodoro method, if you’re interested in checking it out! - But long story short - what it is is a method where you work for a timed, focused amount of time with no distractions (usually around 20-25 minutes) then take a 5-10 minute break and continue that cycle for 2 hours. For me, the simple act of putting myself on a timer for getting things done can be very motivating because (1) I know that the amount of time is limited so the work doesn’t feel as daunting and (2) it shows me just how much I’m able to get done in a short period of time! Even writing this blog post right now, I’m timing myself on a 10 minute timer to see how quickly I can get things written in a short time span. You’d be surprised how much you can get done with really focused, small bits of time!

(4) a new playlist & noise cancelling headphones

I feel like I say this all the time so hopefully y’all aren’t sick of hearing it yet buuuuut…. Get yourself a pair of noise cancelling headphones!!! Truthfully, I do not know WHAT I was doing with myself before I owned a pair of noise-cancelling headphones because they are absolute GAME changers. Even when I’m at home in my own space, since I live in an apartment, there are always noises both inside and outside of my apartment building that can be pretty distracting. With noise-cancelling headphones, much of that background noise fades away which makes it so that I’m not quickly flicking my attention between so many different things.

If I’m reeeeaaallly in a rut, I like to find a new playlist to play in my headphones to get myself a little more excited for the day! Lately, I’ve been really enjoying study with me videos on YouTube. I tend to prefer the ones that have lo-fi playlists and built in pomodoro timers. I find that having that structure is very motivating for me because it feels like I have a friend who is guiding me and studying along with me.

(5) plan rewards for yourself!

My final tip for getting out of a motivational rut is to REWARD YOURSELF. I honestly reward myself like I would my dog for good behavior! I think that in grad school and in work in general, we often feel like we should do something just because it’s an obligation or part of our jobs or because we’re responsible adult bla bla bla - when in reality, we’re all humans, we all have a bit of an inner child, and sometimes we just need something FUN to motivate ourselves!

For me, the rewards are usually poke, Hawaiian pizza, or an episode of a reality TV show I’m dying to watch :) (Looking at you love island!) The bigger the reward, the harder I have to work for it! Most recently, I presented a paper I’m working on and since it was a presentation where I was experiencing a LOT of anxiety, my reward was both pizza and sushi hehe!

I know working from home during a pandemic can be a HUGE challenge but one benefit is that you’re able to design your environment and may even have the flexibility to tackle some of your existing systems in a way that can help you jumpstart your motivation! I hope these tips were helpful to those of you who might also be in a bit of a motivation rut like myself - if you have any tips you’d like to share with me and this community, leave them in a comment below!