10/23/2017 0 Comments Introduction[Originally published on 10/23/2017]
[Updated on 11/2/2022] Hi friends! Welcome to Ask Elle, the blog. I’m Elle! Many of you have been following me on social media for years now and I want to thank you for your continued support. This idea originated out of a conversation I had with my dad right before I graduated from university. We discussed potential writing endeavors and tossed ideas around about how I could monetize my passion for writing and storytelling. I loved the idea of turning my personal social media accounts into accounts that still reflect me but added a sense of my personal brand and lifestyle content since so many people ask me about my own routines. I wanted to reach a bigger audience but also realized it’s hard to keep to just 140 characters or photos. So here I am – blogging! As most of you know, I am super passionate about clothes and beauty, but it goes deeper than that for me. I think a lot of people have this misconception about the glamour and fashion world and how superficial it can be. While it totally can be superficial, I really want to emphasize the power it can hold if you let it. The way you present yourself to the world is a direct reflection on how others will perceive you. Whether you believe that is fair or not - I'm sorry to say that that's just how it is. Once I understood that concept, I used it to my advantage and felt unstoppable. I want others to feel that kind of empowerment, too! Growing up, I struggled with my weight, anxiety and depression. The clothes everyone was wearing didn’t come in my size or I would wear them anyway in attempt to fit in. I’d spend the entire day tugging at my clothes, going to the bathroom to make sure my tummy was hidden and stretching out my shirt over my knees in a desperate attempt to fool my classmates into thinking my clothes fit me. I was so anxious about my appearance that I often look back at my childhood with a sense of sadness for this kid that spent a majority of her childhood wanting to be someone else - so much so that she rarely let herself enjoy being a kid. Even though I was overweight as an anxious adolescent, my skin was the one thing I felt I had going for me. I can thank the women in my family for that! As I took up sports and grew into my body around the time I started High School I picked up a knack for makeup and clothes (not the most inexpensive hobby). I soon learned that the better I looked on the outside, the better I felt on the inside. A mind game of fuckery and superficiality. And while I wish I could tell you I was confident from day dot and never gave a thought to how I looked - that just wasn’t the case. With that being said though, over the years I have learned to love myself and the body I am in. I've learned to be grateful that my body is able and healthy and that tummy rolls are normal. Everyday, I continue to unlearn the damaging thoughts that once lived in my head rent free. This journey of self-acceptance is not an easy one but it's a necessary one for my soul. My goal for this blog is to spread self-love, self-confidence and social awareness through style, beauty and my own thoughts and experiences. I welcome any and all feedback, questions, concerns and compliments. Thanks for stopping by! xx Elle
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10/10/2017 0 Comments Brunette to blonde to broke[Originally published on 10/10/2017]
[Updated on 11/2/2022] I’m certain I wasn’t in the right state of mind when I decided going blonde would be a walk in the park. I was naïve to the whole process since my hair had always been just brown. I was uneducated about coloring and bleaching when I began the hair quest to answer one of life’s most important questions: Do blondes really have more fun? I’ll get to that later. My hair appointment date was quickly approaching as I was scrolling through pinterest images of hair colors and styles. I decided on a neutral dirty blonde that Elizabeth Olson had been rocking for a couple years. With a few of her images saved in my camera roll, I eagerly walked into the salon ready to bid adieu to my dark locks. Four hours and two separate bleach, wash and dry sessions later my hair was… ORANGE. I freaked the frick out. I want to be clear that this was nowhere near what I had asked for. Mortified, sobbing and $300 poorer, I drove home wishing I had the guts to turn around and demand my old hair back. I did no such thing. For the next couple of weeks, I wore more hats and more hoodies than ever before. Luckily, I found a blonding specialist near my university after writing a frantic plea for help in my sorority's facebook group. I feel as though she saved my life. Dramatic? I really don't think so. She took one look at my desperate orange hair and with a glimmer in her eyes she whipped up the bleach and toner and performed a literal miracle. Turns out the reason my hair turned orange during my first bleaching sessions was because I had dyed my hair darker earlier that year. Apparently that is information you should tell your colorist before you start bleaching (an experienced and well trained colorist should ask you though). The darker your hair is, the harder it will be and longer it will take to bleach it blonde in a cohesive and healthy way. My hair stylist took me through two separate bleaching sessions during that appointment to get me into the blonde and out of the orange zone. My hair (which had never seen bleach prior to this endeavor) had to endure FOUR separate bleaching sessions in under a month. That's like really bad. Once again, I left the salon $300 poorer but this time with my blonde head held high. It’s hard to express the reaction and treatment I received from going blonde. It was like I was a different person living a different life. From the moment I stepped out of that salon I found a new sense of confidence. I had a few people stop me on the street in broad daylight and tell me that I was beautiful… That literally had never happened before. Guys would buy me drinks and ask for my number in bars. I was going out on dates with new people and I even mustered up the courage to do something I had been wanting to do for a while... girls. It’s not that I wasn’t ever approached before but the magnitude of something as simple as changing my hair color creating this buzz around me was insane. So, in that sense it really did feel like blondes had more fun. A few weeks later my hair was turning yellow. The upkeep for unnatural blondes is quite absurd. About every 4-6 weeks you need to get a round of bleach and toner to keep your hair from turning a brassy or yellow-y shade. Once a week you need to shampoo with a purple shampoo (very drying) and it is also recommended that you use a super hydrating hair masque or oil once a week as well as an Olaplex or K18 treatment to keep your hair healthy – none of which are cheap. I’d say I had spent about $400 every two months on the color upkeep alone. That doesn’t include hair cuts or trials of products that didn’t end up working for my specific hair type – wavy, damaged, thin and hella processed. Once I started this process I was extremely dedicated to it. Every hair appointment I would go lighter and blonder. My desired end result was platinum white hair. I got pretty damn close and then the inevitable started happening. My hair was breaking off at record speed. My once long and lustrous bangs that had hung at chin length had broken off so badly that they were tickling my forehead. The length was uneven all around from the constant bleaching, heat tool usage and utterly drying products. I wanted so badly to keep it up but it got to a point where the upkeep was too expensive, too time consuming and too unhealthy for my hair. Being a broke college student at that time may not have been the best time to start anew. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But once you start that kind of self-project you have to see it through. I spent about a year and a half in my super blonde phase before calling it quits and letting my roots take over - not a pretty sight btw - but definitely necessary for the health and integrity of my hair. Since then I've had dark brown hair, light brown hair, black hair, ginger hair, balayage hair, bronde hair, curtain bangs, face framing bangs, a battle with hair fall out, AND (I can't believe I'm saying this, but) blonde hair once again. I figured after five years and a much better understanding about my own hair, the do's and don'ts of coloring and the woes of being a broke college kid behind me, I could once again take on one of life's most important questions: do blondes really have more fun? My Favorite Unnatural Blonde Products
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