Everything You Need to Know About Breast Reduction Surgery

Today's post is a little off in left field, but once again I found myself looking all over Pinterest and couldn't find any truly helpful posts so I felt the need to write one myself. So a month ago I reduced each breast by about a pound! I know most of y'all won't ever have this surgery, but if you're one of the few readers who will need it or are just curious in general then read on my friends.

To keep this post from being unnecessarily long, I'm going to skip over my how-I-decided-I-needed-surgery story and my how-my-life-has-changed story. If any of y'all are interested in that, just comment or email me and I can make a mini-series of posts about this whole thing. But here is a good summary of that...

Once I realized that my boobs were getting out of hand and honestly getting in my way, I started to try to get them in control. The problem came when I lost 10 pounds my 1L year but they stayed the exact same size. Even worse, I had lost weight around my ribs directly under my boobs so now I couldn't find bras with a large enough cup size and small enough band size. This is when I realized that no amount of push-ups or other "breast reducing exercises" were going to help. Both of my grandmas and now me just have the body type of "large boobs" so I could lose as much weight as I wanted to, but I would still have a whole lot of tissue. And if I ever gained any weight back, it all goes to my boobs first and then elsewhere in my body so this was a problem that I realized wouldn't solve itself simply by working out my pec muscles.

Insurance

Unfortunately I ended up wasting almost as much money as the surgery costs just trying to get insurance to cover the surgery. I first checked on my company's website and saw that the procedure was covered. Then I went to my regular doctor to get her medical recommendation that surgery was needed and to get a referral for my plastic surgeon (cost: copay). Then I went to my PS to be evaluated and she sent off a recommendation to my insurance company (cost: specialist copay). I was denied by my insurance but had been warned of this so I went back to my doctor for pain meds to help and another letter (one more copay + pain medicine). Then I went to a chiropractor and learned that I had a slight curvature just from the weight on my front so I went through adjustments and physical therapy for a month and a half to fix that problem and also get a rec letter (copay + PT + x rays). Then my mom wanted me to get one more opinion so I went to my gyno because she's been seeing me for a while so she knew my boobs weren't going to stop growing any time soon (copay). 

I was denied again and this time we found out that it's because it literally was excluded in my policy (think like before iPhones when data just didn't work on your phone if you didn't have a data plan). My dad owns his own company and I'm on his plan so we were like okay we'll just change policies to one that includes the surgery. However, we found out that this would make his premiums go way up and all of his employees are guys so from a business standpoint he just couldn't do it. I then tried to see about possibly getting on my own insurance plan since I was young and still in school so I figured maybe I could get on the cheapest plan that covered it. This turned out to be a waste, too, because I would pay more just in premiums then the surgery was actually worth.

So my mom called her insurance company (she's a teacher so she's on her own plan through the school) and verified with them that this could be covered and they told her that as long as it's medically necessary and not just cosmetic then they'd cover it. At this point it was over a year since I'd first seen my PS so she wanted me to come back in because she didn't want to write a rec letter over year-old measurements (another specialist co-pay). So we sent off all my old and new records and found out that for this company, "medically necessary" means basically only a mastectomy and since I wasn't going to die without this surgery, it wasn't "necessary" to them. Being denied three times by insurance companies is really terrible because you're basically sending them your nudes (yes you do have to send them pictures) and they come back and say meh they're big, but I've seen bigger and is just really frustrating.

Finally we realized that at this rate we might as well just pay for the surgery outright. Thankfully my parents are super understanding so they were totally okay with helping me pay for the surgery (although I'm not counting on getting a big present for my next birthday). I ended up being glad we went this route because this let me have 100% of the decision making power and didn't have some insurance company dictating how many grams I was going to be taking out. I also was able to choose where my surgery would take place since I didn't have to worry about out-of-network hospitals or anything like that.

The surgery

I found my surgeon simply because I went to my regular doctor and asked who she'd recommend for a breast reduction. I loved my surgeon and a great way for you to do some research on surgeons in your area is to read reviews on RealSelf.com. 

The week before my surgery, I had a pre-op appointment with my doctor to discuss size and look at pictures of her previous surgeries so I could see what would be proportional to my body. Then she answered all of my last-minute questions before she sent me off to get pre-op blood work. I also went ahead and filled all my prescriptions (just pain meds, nausea medicine, antibiotics, and a xanax for the night before) so my mom wouldn't have to deal with that on the day of my surgery. 

I got there at 8 that morning in my button-up shirt and leggings and house shoes all ready to go. Then there was some last minute testing to make sure I didn't have any nicotine in my system and I hadn't gotten pregnant in the past week and then I put on my gown, hair net, and compression socks. I tried taking a picture of this but I had a slight anxiety attack the morning of so my eyes were red and puffy in the picture and so I obviously had to delete it haha. My doctor came in to again talk with me to make sure she knew what I wanted and then to mark me up. Next I got an IV hooked up for the meds and a shot to make me calm and relaxed and sleepy. My surgery lasted a little longer than an hour but honestly I don't even remember leaving the pre-op room.

It's true what my doctor promised, I woke up and I couldn't feel my boobs. Not like they were still numb couldn't feel them, but like they just weren't crazy heavy. If you were to take a sports bra on and put two one-pound hand weights in there and wear that all day and then take it off at night, that's exactly the relief that I felt. That feeling alone instantly made me reassured that surgery was the right choice for me.

The day before my surgery

1 week post-op

Post-op

As for recovery, within just a few days I felt totally normal and fine. The problem is that incisions this big take a long time to heal so even a month out and I'm still covered in band-aids and gauze, so it's weird to look like I'm still recovering while feeling as if nothing happened. 

I spent the first two days basically just sleeping and only would wake up to go to the bathroom or take my meds. For some reason I had zero appetite for the first several days and would gag if I tried to make myself eat anything. Within the first week I felt good enough to stop taking the prescription pain meds and switched to OTC. After switching to less-strong medicine, I wasn't as drowsy all the time and slowly could walk around my house and then felt good enough to accompany my sister on a trip to the grocery store. 

Probably the weirdest part of the first week was that my boobs were so swollen they were almost on my collar bones, which my sister said they felt like hers did when she needed to breastfeed so now I know what to expect with that haha. During this week I also had to recruit my sister to take a shower with me because I couldn't reach up to wash my hair, which was also weird because we haven't taken a bath together since we were like 5. I was actually super nervous about showering just in general because I was afraid some of the tape that was covering my incisions would accidentally get too wet and wash off. 

Here's a fun story— about 5 days after surgery I was home alone and hungry but too lazy to make myself anything and I couldn't drive yet so I figured I'd just make myself a bowl of cereal. My mom keeps the cereal on the top shelf in our pantry just because it's the tallest shelf and when I reached up to get it I felt this terrible pain below my armpit and realized that I shouldn't have done that. Then I went to grab the milk and we had just gotten a new gallon so it was way too heavy for me to hold and so I instinctively dropped it because it hurt so bad. Obviously milk spilled and went everywhere on the floor, so I tried to clean it up but when I bent over to wipe it up there was a lot of pressure on my chest that again hurt really bad. So there I was, covered in milk and sticky from it; in pain from reaching too high for the cereal, from holding a too-heavy gallon of milk, and from bending over like I wasn't supposed to; so I just started to cry out of pain but also just general frustration... Yes, I did cry over spilled milk haha. 

The day of my 1-week post-op checkup, I got my new Stitch Fix box in. I had told my stylist that I was getting the surgery so she'd know huge boobs were no longer a factor for choosing cut and styles of clothes. I teared up trying on the first top once I looked in the mirror because I realized how much skinnier I looked now! Before I was actually worried surgery would make me look bigger since my big boobs made my stomach look flat in comparison, but after trying on this top I realized how I now fit in smaller size tops that could fit my body better overall and it was much more flattering. 

By week 2, the swelling had gone down so I at least felt completely normal. But this was also when everything started itching as scabs formed and my body healed, which was super not fun. This also was the week where the bruising from the liposuction they did around my armpits really started to show up so I look like I'd had my ass kicked pretty badly. I also had bumps from the lipo too because there was scar tissue forming around where she'd poked and prodded me to reshape my boobs. This was also the week that I was moving cities so that was a little hard because I couldn't bend over to put anything into boxes and I couldn't reach up to get anything out of cabinets and I couldn't lift hardly anything so I was basically completely useless while moving. It also was still uncomfortable to reach up when washing my hair and I tried to get my hair stylist to just shampoo my hair for me but she up and got married and had the salon shut down while she was on her honeymoon so I just made due with lots of dry shampoo and baseball caps.

I was actually only 3 weeks post-op when I started my new externship and really nothing was different except that I kept running to the bathroom to make sure I had gauze in place because how do you explain blood-stained boobs on your first day of work? The only other problem that I still have is my skin is super thin from the surgery so I'm having to use a crap ton of coconut oil all over to keep my skin moisturized enough that it won't rip and bleed if I take off a band-aid (I use oil because my doctor doesn't want me using lotion just yet so I don't irritate anything). And by now I'm healed enough where I just have band-aids over areas that are healing the slowest. What's really cool is that I have a friend in med-school who actually did a rotation with my PS! So when I snapped her that I finally went through with the surgery, she sent me this. 

So that's where I'm at! I'm super excited for it to warm up so I can start wearing strapless tops just because I finally can again haha. As far as being my first surgery, this actually hasn't been too bad and I'm just glad that I finally got this over with and can live my life without looking like Pamela Anderson.

10 Ways to Give Back for Giving Tuesday

I know Christmas shopping season is now in full-on swing and everyone's in a buy, buy, buy mode, but I wanted to write a short post about something else for you to think of— give. I know you're like well duh I'm going to give people presents on Christmas day, but that's not what I'm talking about. Tomorrow is a day called Giving Tuesday and is something I knew nothing about until last year, which I'll get to later. And I know you're probably very busy with wrapping up the semester and surviving finals (shameless finals prep tips posts plug here), but taking the time to do a little good is a great little study break that I'm sure will give you some feel-good endorphins to help with the pre-finals stress that's bubbling up. Here's 10 ideas for you to get in on #givingtuesday and #dogood (lol sorry I can't help being a DG).

Donate your hair

I actually did this last year! The way I see it is that I'm fortunate enough to be able to grow as much hair as I want but there's lots of little girls and women who can't for various medical reasons. And all it takes is one really bad haircut for you to understand just how much having the hair that you envision for yourself can really influence your self-confidence. 

Everyone's heard of Locks of Love but I personally prefer Pantene Beautiful Lengths because Locks sells the wigs and Beautiful Lengths gives their wigs for free. This is relatively cheap and easy to do because all you do is make a hair appointment and tell them you're donating your hair so they can keep it all together (or you could even do it yourself), then mail off your donation! 

Donate pet food

Animal shelters always could use more cat and dog food! Pet food isn't very expensive and the animals really, really need it. You can drop it off one day after class and then stay a little bit and hang out with the dogs and cats and feel better about yourself. Here's more on how you can help.

Another unexpected place to donate pet food is to a Meals on Wheels location because I've actually found out that a lot of people who receive meals actually portion out their own food to share with their pet because they don't always have help getting food for their friend. This way, the dog or cat gets their own meal and their owner gets a full meal. 

Sign up to be an organ donor

Here's a fact of life: when you die, you no longer need any of your organs. But one of the thousands of people on an organ wait list will literally have their life saved by one of yours. Signing up to donate your organs is free ridiculously easy on your iPhone- here's how. 

You can also sign up for Be The Match bone marrow registry! I signed up like 2 years ago I think and all you have to do is swab your cheeks for your DNA and you're all done. I know this seems like a long way off but just wait until you take Wills&Trusts and you'll be like oh shit I can die at any time I need to have my whole end-of-life plans put together. 

This brings me to how I know about Giving Tuesday... exactly a year ago tomorrow will be my sister's one year anniversary of having only one kidney. She donated hers to a family friend of ours and I literally couldn't be more proud or happy for her that she changed this man's life in a just a few hours (here's her story). If you're a kind soul willing to be a living kidney donor, you can learn more here.

Donate blood

Another bodily part (kinda) that you can give is your blood. I recently donated blood through my law school's blood drive with United Blood Services and it was really easy! Just make sure you have a full stomach and you've been drinking water and then you lay in a chair squeezing a stress ball for a little bit. It's something so small and easy to do that again can literally save a life!

Buy someone's drink

This is more small scale than the others, but still can make someone's day. All you have to do is just buy the coffee of the person behind you, whether that's at Starbucks or your on-campus dining area. Finals are rough and we're all needing a little extra push so make someone's day just a little bit easier for them and pay the extra few dollars for their drink!

Give out care kits

This one could get a little pricey so it'd probably be easiest if you and a friend or two shared this (or side note if you're in a student org this would be great for y'all to do). Go to a place like Sam's Club or Costco and buy in bulk: toothbrush/toothpaste (I also learned while studying abroad the Colgate whisps work really well), baby wipes, socks, deodorant, band-aids, tampons, non-perishable snacks/food (think tuna/granola), and ziploc bags. Then give out as many as you can to any homeless person you see!

In the future, when you travel you can take the freebie toiletries that are given out at hotels and then regift them to someone who needs them. This is a free way that you can give back even if you have like no money! If you have a bunch of trips coming up in your life, then you can do a lot of good by doing this. And if you don't feel comfortable going up to homeless people, just drop these off at a local shelter or church that help out homeless people.

Collect Box Tops

This one will take a little more time but is something completely free that you can do year-round. You probably forgot about it, but when we were in elementary school it was like the thing to cut Box Tops off cereal boxes and soup labels and then bring them in for your school so your school could buy a new computer or something. Well, I never really stopped because as a DG we had to do this for DG's school for the blind. You probably already have tons of these lying around your house so you might as well cut them out and drive over to the nearest school and give them some.

Donate old glasses

Another thing I've become aware of because of DG is that you can donate your glasses to Lions Club! Your eyesight probably has become worse thanks to law school and although your old glasses aren't enough for you anymore, they could be just the right prescription to someone else who can't afford new glasses. You can also ask around to your parents, grandparents, and siblings and I'm sure you'll get a few more pairs to donate!

Be someone's eyes

Speaking of people with vision impairments, another free thing for you to do is download the Be My Eyes app and you can help someone who is blind! This app puts you in a queue to provide 24/7 service to someone who can't see for themselves so they always have eyes on hand. All you have to do is basically FaceTime them and answer their question based off what you can see (so like they FaceTime you their milk carton and you read them the expiration date). Easy peasy do-a-good-deed lemon squeezy.

Use Amazon Smile

The easiest way to give (and again can do all-year) is through smile.amazon.com because all you have to do is use this version of Amazon and it will donate up to 10% of your purchase to whichever charity you choose. Think of how much you could donate just while doing Christmas shopping now and back-to-school shopping next year! 

Run for charity

Not necessarily one of those run-for-a-cause events. Download the Charity Miles app on your phone and then just have it going in the background while you walk or jog around a park and you're helping out! It's a system kind of like Amazon smile where you pick a charity and then they'll donate a quarter for every mile you run. 

It doesn't sound like much but if you just run 2 miles a day, you're donating $3.50 a week/$14 a month/$168 a year! And it's a great little incentive when you want to stop exercising and then you tell yourself okay I'll just walk one more mile to get another 25 centers and then bam you're also burning an extra 100 calories. Win-win!

Go plogging

This is also an exercise give back. Plogging is basically where you go jogging (use the app I just talked about) with a trash bag and pick up trash you see on the ground as you go. On a little 30 minute walk (because yes you don't have to run) you can easily fill up your bag with litter and then throw away/recycle what you've picked up. Just wear some gloves for sanitary reasons. If exercise gives you endorphins and makes you happy, imagine how you'll feel from endorphins + the feel feeling you get by giving back!

Click for a cause

This is literally free and so easy!! Just go to The Greater Good and click on the big button that says "Click to Give — It's Free" and a sponsor business will donate to the featured cause on your behalf. They have websites for you to do the same click for a sponsor donation for Hunger, Veterans, Diabetes, Breast Cancer, Autism, Literacy, Animals, Alzheimer's, and the Rainforest. Click on all of them and then get 3 friends to visit the sites and to click/get sponsors to donate too.

Shop through partner brands

What do PopSockets, J. Crew, Corkcicle and Madewell have in common? If you shop their sites through this link, a portion of the money you spend goes towards a charity called charity: water. This is a great charity spends 100% of its donations on providing clean water to communities without access to it. Like Amazon Smile, all you have to do is shop through a special link and you'll be helping communities have clean water.

let's be friends!

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November Stitch Fix

Hi I know I'm behind but really that's because November is flying by and basically my whole life is flashing right before my eyes. I say all this because I recently got an email that my December fix is being sent so I figured I should probably get this post up haha. For a full explanation about Stitch fix, you can read my Stitch Fix Review, but basically what it is, is they pick 5 pieces for you a month (can be tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, purse, shoes) and mail them to you. 

You then try them on in your home and then within 3 business days you decide what you love and what you'll pass on and you mail back the ones that weren't you're favorite and then buy the ones you want to keep. How they've picked these pieces is that there's a stylist who you'll tell all about what you like to wear, what you want to try wearing, and what you don't like. I personally really like this because it's more efficient than going from store to store to store to try on a ton of clothes and it's more successful than guessing how something will fit and taking a chance with online shopping since you have an expert deciding what you need and what size you need it in based off what you've given them. So far my stylist Lili has hit it out of the park 2/2 times so I'm personally a happy customer.

Anyways, I just found out that for any fix ordered between now and Christmas day, they'll waive your styling fee so basically you can try it for free and if you end up hating all 5 pieces (although I seriously doubt that), you pay nothing since shipping is nothing! I've read your comments from those of you who are interested in it so I thought I'd share with y'all what I got :) Just use THIS link to make sure you get the promo! Oh and side note, I got my new Echo Look in like the same week that I got these so I thought this would be the perfect excuse to get to play around with that!

Liverpool Bia Skirt

My box got delivered while I was at class so when I ran home to change during my lunch break before work, I was very excited to rip this thing open and see what workwear I got. I saw this skirt and instantly was like yep this is what I'm wearing today! I'm glad I did because my coworker complimented my skirt like literally the minute that I walked through the door. I'm in love with this skirt because unlike normal pencil skirts, this one is super strechy so I'm not stuck being all awkward climbing into my car or picking something up off of the ground because I can actually move in this thing. Not only that, I really like the black and white pattern because it's less boring than a solid color but isn't too out there of a print (you'll see what I'm talking about in a second haha). Obviously this one was a keep! I couldn't find the exact skirt, but here's a similar one.

Heartloom Chetna Cross Back Pullover

Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll on my Instagram story! For those of you who missed out, I was super torn about this sweater because it was so soft and warm and I really liked how it had the slight bell sleeves and an open back (which I found out looks better as just an open back than trying to pair it with a racerback bralette), but I wasn't the biggest fan of the stripes. This also was a little too loose on me so I had decided that if I was going to keep it then I would need to size down. In the end, I knew that the stripes just weren't happening for me so I decided to return it but I think I'm going to ask in my next box for something similar to this just a size smaller and without the stripes. I found a similar sweater here with the same sleeves that is still open back (just not as much).

Just Black Addison Skinny Jean

This is another piece that I included in the Insta story poll! In the request box on this fix I mentioned how I was looking for something for Thanksgiving and I know exactly why Lili picked these for me. These are jeggings which are super stretchy which would allow me to look cute for Thanksgiving dinner but still be comfortable with an extra full belly. I also loved these because I feel like olive-colored pants are having a moment right now so I was excited that she sent me something so on-trend. The reason why I felt like I needed y'all's help with these is that I was worried that they might be too trendy for me and also was concerned that I wouldn't know how to style it besides just with white and brown but literally every single person voted for me to keep them! If you are looking for some olive jeggings for Thanksgiving, here's a similar pair.

41 Hawthorn Valentina Faux Leather Trim Blouse

Okay so here's the backstory behind this shirt. Not only did I request Thanksgiving pieces, but just for fun I threw in there that it'd be nice to maybe get something I could wear out to the bars when I go meet my friends for drinks (wishful thinking because I like never go out anymore #old #lawstudentprobs). I've actually seen some fashion bloggers wear blue leopard so I think this might be an upcoming trend, so I have to give Lili props for trying to help me be ahead of the trends and push my comfort level. I'll admit that it actually did look pretty cute with my faux leather leggings and booties, and the fabric was really great too, but I this top was just a little too much for me. She did include a dressed-up look suggestion with this top for a way to wear this to work, but I just can't see my boss being cool with something this eye-catching. This piece also made me admit that I actually don't really like animal print that much so I went back into my settings and added that to the "I'd rather not" list. However, if you're intrigued with trying the blue leopard trend, here's a similar top!

Stitches&Stripes Emmie Lace-Up Shoulder Cutout Pullover

This sweater actually sold my sister on Stitch Fix (obviously we've talked about it before) and it went like this:
*she's picking me up and I'm wearing this exact outfit*
Her- OMG I really like this sweater!!
Me- Thanks I just got it this week from in my Stitch Fix box
Her- Really? That's the kind of clothes you're getting?? I thought they'd just send you a t-shirt or two but not something like this!

This is probably my favorite piece from this month (although I'm getting a whole lot of use out of that skirt) because it's a super warm sweater that's not too over-the-top but also not too boring so it felt like the perfect balance. It's great because I can be cozy and comfortable in class while I'm trying to stay focused in tax law haha. If you love it as much as I do, I found this sweater that's basically the same thing and on sale!

Overall thoughts

4/5 were out of the park so Lili just keeps getting better! In the request box I threw in that I'd like to be paired with Lili again just because I feel like this girl gets me and why ruin a good thing? I'm sure she has hundreds of other clients but hopefully it's easier on them that a new stylist doesn't have to learn all about me each month, but we'll see! Maybe I'll mix it up just to put their other stylists to the test haha. If you're still considering trying out stitch fix and are too lazy to scroll to the top here's the link to get your stylist fee waived so you can test it out for yourself! Also, two other clothing subscription boxes are Le Tote and Rent the Runway Unlimited and fellow law school/fashion blogger Jordyn tried those out for you in this post.

let's be friends!

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My Morning Routine

This post is sponsored by Clarisonic and Her Campus Media. While I did receive a product for free, this is my own opinion. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Brazen and Brunette!

Hey guys it's me again back from the farm! No seriously lol if you follow me on snapchat I hope you enjoyed my dad taking advantage of the free labor 😂 Anyways last week as I was making my Why You Should Be a Morning Person post I got to thinking about my morning routine and thought I'd share it with y'all so you can see what all you can be getting done if you just set your alarm a little earlier.

5:30 - Wake up

Not much to say here. But one thing worth repeating is do. not. let. yourself. press. snooze. You're not going to get in any quality sleep in the next 5 minutes and you're just wasting your time. No matter how hard it is, force yourself to at least sit up and bed and turn the lights on and wake up. It's definitely an adjustment at first but once your internal clock gets synced with your alarm clock, you'll start waking up on your own and it'll be more natural for your body.

6:00 - Workout

I workout first thing in the morning. Not only will it for sure wake your brain up before class but it also is better for your metabolism to work out right after you wake up. Obviously I prefer spin class but even just a quick walk around the block will do! The key here is to just get your body moving and it will wake up your brain. Pro tip— sleep in your workout clothes and then all you have to do is roll out of bed, brush your teeth, put on your shoes, and head off! Then you're in such a good mood the rest of the day because you started your day being so healthy and productive and those endorphins make you happy so you're all motivated to conquer the world.

Related: Spin class for beginners

7:15 - Shower

I don't do public showers so I come straight from the gym to shower. The good thing about my thick hair is that as long as it was clean before the gym, it'll absorb most of the sweat so I can get by with a shower cap and a teeny bit of dry shampoo since I prefer to wash my hair in the evenings. This shower is mostly just to get all of the sweat off of my body since I like to sit in the sauna for about 10 minutes after the workout. Most importantly, I wash my face because one downside to working out consistently is that your face is most likely going to break out real bad because it's getting more oil than it was used to back when shopping was your cardio. I've mentioned that I went and got me a Clarisonic because of this, but I think it deserves it's own section so more on that in a second. But I just keep mine in the shower since it's waterproof and then when I see it I'm reminded to wash my face.

Related: Clarisonic and 11 other of my favorites from last semester

7:30 - Breakfast

So y'all know I'm a picky eater by now. Well on my 25th birthday at brunch I was feeling all fancy so I was like sure I'll try eggs on a muffin even though it sounds disgusting because Eggs Benedict sounds fancy. I loved them! So I'm having them like 3 times a week right now (it's like when you hear a song that you like so you listen to it 5,000 times until you're sick of it) but other great breakfast ideas are yogurt with blueberries and granola or toast with peanut butter and banana slices or breakfast burritos.

8:00 - Me time

This is what I think will be the thing that surprises you. Having "me time" sounds soo clihé so let me know if y'all know of a better phrase but it's really what sets you up to have a good day! On Sundays when I'm at the library I'll write out my week in my planner with my classes, work, and meetings that I've got going on. But during this time I think of everything that I need to get done that day and what I need to do to accomplish this. I take all of this and make me a daily to-do list. I read somewhere that if you write down a task you're more likely to do it and so far I feel like that's actually true. This is also where I read my emails because a cluttered inbox drives me crazy (you people with 1,000 unread emails I don't understand you. you're on a totally different level than me). 

8:15 - Pick out clothes

Am I the only one that has to do this like first thing? It's weird I know but usually how I do my hair and makeup depends on my outfit for that day. Pro tip— check the weather first! It drives me crazy that some people don't do this because sometimes it's 50° in the morning but 80° by the time class is out so if you didn't check the weather you're going to be dying in your sweater at lunch. 

8:30 - Hair and makeup

Ok actually I do makeup then hair but it just sounds better the other way. Two reasons for this... 1) your hair can be out of your way while you do your makeup and it's okay because you're not creasing what you just straightened; 2) curls fall so you want to prolong that by doing your hair last minute. This is why it's important that I already washed my face in the shower so now it's for sure completely makeup and oil free. Side note- you sweat a little in your sleep so even if you don't work out it's still a good idea to wash your face first. 

Taking the time to do your hair and makeup may sound like a waste of time but everyone is staring at you when you're called on and when you look good, you feel good, and then your thoughts are more The model rules say this about the plaintiff's argument instead of omg everyone has to have noticed that I look tired/sick when I'm not wearing mascara. Likewise, it's also hard to get the nerve to introduce yourself to a judge who is visiting your school when you have a messy bun that's real heavy on the messy and kinda wouldn't even be considered a bun.

9:00 - Head to school

This usually gives me at least an hour to review my notes before my first class of the day (on mornings that I have to be there by 9 I just speed things up just a bit to get there on time). By the time I'm sitting in my class, I've usually been going for at least 3 hours so I'm fully awake and have my life together. We've all been there where you're trying to eat a pop tart at your desk as quietly and mess-free as possible so for sure no judgment but you gotta admit it does feel nice to be in class and able to fully concentrate without your stomach rumbling. And bonus points that you'll get a wayyyy closer parking spot at 9 than you would at 11.

So that's my morning routine! I find it's really comforting to get into a routine and be able to know that each morning you're going to get a lot done. And once your body goes on auto-pilot, waking up early will start to be something that comes natural to you. Give it a week and you'll be feeling like such a real adult and so proud of yourself being a productive member of society. 

Ok now to the Clarisonic review! I already had the Mia Fit but I know that it's one of the pricier option so I jumped at the chance to get to talk about a more I'm-drowning-in-student-loans price option. 

Clarisonic Mia 1

So the first thing to do with your Mia 1 is to charge it up. Pro tip— if you get your Mia in the morning (haha I like that alliteration), don't set it up to charge just yet and wait until the evening. I say this because I got mine at like 9 and then plugged it in and set the timer on my phone for 18 hours (how long it takes to charge) and was so excited for the timer to go off so that I could finally try it out. Then 3am rolled around and I woke up with a heart attack to my timer going off. So just put a little thought into when you start that timer and you'll thank me later.

To use it, it's basically a no-brainer and is pretty self explanatory. Remove any makeup that you're wearing and then rinse your face. Wet the brush and then add your face wash. Clarisonic does have their own face wash but you can use face wash that you already have. Then simply just push the button and turn it on. It goes for a minute so what I do is go over my T zone for 20 seconds, my chin and the corners of my nose for 20, then each cheek for 10. Then rinse off your face and the brush. How I rinse the brush is I cup a little water in my hand and then gently swirl the brush against my hand until all of the soap is gone. And that's all folks! It's just a minute out of your day but ooh you're going to love how velvety your skin starts to feel.

Here's what not to do... Don't scrub your face with the Mia. This thing is already working much more efficiently than your fingers alone so it doesn't need you to go hard like you're trying to clean grout or something. Hold the Mia with a loose wrist and just steer it over your skin and it will do the work for you. Another no-no just for safety is to wait until your Mia is dry before you charge it. I know the charger external but it's better to just be safe. In fact, what I do is just put up the charger and let the Mia run down until the battery light comes on and then I'll charge it and repeat so I usually don't even have this problem. This last don't is a big one so listen up. Don't give up and think it's not working if you don't see immediate results or even if you start to break out a little extra. The Mia is getting deep into your pores and unclogging them hardcore. Having all this crud come up faster than it normally would if you were just using your hands can make it feel like your face is breaking out because of the treatment. Trust me when I say give it about two weeks (maybe a little longer if you were having some major issues) because it'll get worse before it gets better. 

Mia 1 v. Mia Fit 

The first obvious difference is the look. Take the Mia 1, cut off the handle, and then you have the Mia Fit. The benefit of the Fit is that it's more compact than the 1 so it takes up less room on your shower shelf, but the benefit of the 1 is that it's easier to grab. If you're not sure what would be more comfortable for you to hold, hold your blow drier in one hand and a regular 8oz drinking cup from the bottom in the other and that's about the grip difference.

The Fit also has 2 speeds while the 1 only has 1 so that's easy to remember haha. The 1's only setting is the normal setting on the Fit and this is just a good every-day setting. The Fit's other setting is more like a power boost for after a particularly sweaty workout or if your face is just going haywire and you need a little extra help. I tested out the 1 for this post and I use the Fit's normal setting a lot so I feel like you really won't be missing out too much without this power boost and you most likely will be just fine with only one setting.

Another difference is the chargers. The 1's charger is a small circle that magnetically snaps on to the front. The Fit's charger is like a tea saucer that you just sit it in. Both are pretty easy and just as long as the magnets get close to each other they'll snap into place and stay put. As for battery life, I personally felt like they lasted about the same.

The Fit has these little prompts (different vibration) that will tell you when to move from your T-zone to chin to cheeks. The 1 just turns on and lets you go where ever you want for however long you want. I didn't feel like this is a big difference because it's not really that hard to just count to 20 in your head and then move on to a different part of your face. And if you're the personality type that doesn't like being bossed around then you might actually prefer the 1 so that you don't get interrupted every couple of seconds to move around.

I know price is going to be a big deciding factor for y'all so let's get straight to it. The Mia 1 is about $100 cheaper than the Mia Fit. They both come with the normal speed setting, wireless/magnetic charging, and are travel-ready when you use the brush head cap. What you're getting with the Fit over the 1 is more compact and an extra speed so it's really up to you if that's worth it or not. They also both come with free engraving which I was a fan of because we all know how I live and breathe monograms so that's a plus.

Little tips

Remove your makeup before washing your face. Clarisonic is made to clean your pores so it can't do it's job as well if it first has to strip off your makeup first. Having makeup on when you wash your face will also stain your brush into an ugly brown and then it will always look dirty. Your face doesn't have to be a clean slate before you wash it, but at least use a makeup remover wipe first to make sure your face is really getting clean.

Did you know that the brush head actually comes apart? When I first got mine I was so excited just playing around with it and thought that I accidentally broke the brush until I realized that this smaller size is great for getting right up in the edge of your nose (which is where blackheads always hide on me). About every other time that I use my Clarisonic I will take the brush apart and do a more nooks-and-crannies wash.

Try out different brush heads. I read a lot of reviews from beauty bloggers who swore by one brush and then the next review would say that a different one is the absolute best. Everyone has different skin problems and everyone has different types of skin so see what works best for you. Even then keep mixing it up! For example, when I first started working out I really used the deep pore cleansing brush a lot because I was like woah my face looks like I'm 14 again. I've also used the acne brush for those times I get hormonal breakouts from stress and need a little touch up. Since these two have helped my face get back to normal, right now I mostly use the radiance brush because I personally feel like it makes my face super smooth and my makeup just glides on there and I love it. Clarisonic has really been expanding their lineup and basically have a brush for anything you could need (pedis, facial massaging, makeup applying). Just remember to save the little cap that comes with the brush so you can have a brush cover when you travel.

Don't be afraid to treat yo' self! I completely understand that dropping $130 on beauty product can seem too luxurious after you've just paid an ungodly amount on casebooks. But I do have two good pieces of news for you. 1) use the code HERCAMPUS to save 15% off your purchase and 2) Clarisonic offers a payment plan so for less than a latte a week you can get you a Mia.

Add your brush head replacement into your calendar. Your brush will last you about 3 months and then it's time for it to go. One easy way to remember this is that a new season means you need to replace your brush head (January, April, July, October). Or if you end up like I did and order in the middle of the season, then right when you get your new brush in go ahead and make in your planner to get a new one 3 months out from now. I like to buy mine in bulk so that I save a little bit in the long run.

let's be friends!

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