February 2018 – Page 3 – L'ensemble du jour

February 2, 2018 – Ducking Around (OOTD #217)

Published on February 7, 2018February 14, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

I call this my duck sweater because it’s fluffy and yellow like a duckling.

It also sheds all over the place like a baby bird, which is a bit of a downside.

I have a lot of nicknames for certain articles of clothing in my wardrobe – there’s my Sherlock Holmes jacket, my dragon slayer shirt, my Southern soccer mom jacket, just to name a few. I have a pretty sentimental connection to my clothes (I’m just waiting for the day when I make it onto one of those hoarding television shows), so I guess it makes sense that I would start nicknaming them like stuffed animals.

Anyway, in this outfit, I paired my duck sweater with my yellow rainbows, which made for particularly duck-like results. I don’t know, maybe it’s something in the way there’s a high contrast between the dark of my jacket and pants and the brightness of the yellow tones.

I suppose the duck-centric thinking I’m doing might also be due to the fact that the dorm I’m standing near, Howard Hall, has the mascot of a duck. It’s admittedly pretty lame in comparison to some of the other hall mascots, like the Keenan Knights, but it’s also not as bad as the PDubb Purple Weasels (seriously – purple weasels.)

I’ll leave you with this – a super cute photo of me looking behind myself to try to see if anyone’s walking by who would ruin my pictures.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!

Jacket: thrifted

Leggings: The LOFT

Sweater: Forever21

February 1, 2018 – For The Love of February (OOTD #216)

Published on February 6, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Did you know? February is actually my favorite month.

I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of it – it’s normally pretty grey, cold, and in some parts, snowy. There’s also not really much to get excited for, save for maybe Valentine’s Day, which, as holidays go, is about as applicable to me as as Hanukkah. It’s nice to observe from a cultural standpoint, but I don’t necessarily participate in the festivities, you know?

I think it has to do with the way that February has always been a month that’s heavy in snow days – not that I get any of those now now that I’m in the Chicago area, where several feet of snow is just an average Tuesday. I wonder what it would take for Notre Dame to cancel classes for the weather? I feel like even in the event of a blizzard, they’d have us trudging through the ice and winds unless Mary herself descended from the heavens and told Father Jenkins to let us stay in.

I heard a horror story once of some time in the early 2000’s when, upon students’ return from winter break, the windchill was 40 below on campus. If that happens while I’m here, I think I may have to reconsider the winter’s status as my favorite season.

As for February though, I feel like no one else tends to really favor (or even like) it, so it’s in need of some love. Plus, by proclaiming it as my favorite month, I get to tell people about the time my junior year of high school that I only went to school for one week the entire month of February because Kentucky didn’t know how to handle #snowpocalypse2016.

Notre Dame’s excessive snowfall hasn’t yet hampered my love of the stuff, though. It helps that I swear it actually makes things feel warmer here. And when it’s 0 degrees Fahrenheit when you wake up for your 9:30AM, you take anything you can that’ll act as a buffer to the horrific winds.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

jacket: vintage (thrifted)

jeans: American Eagle

top: Forever21

Clairol Color Crave Hair Makeup in Rose Gold Review

Published on February 5, 2018February 5, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Hair makeup? Is that what the big beauty brands are trying to cash in for as the next big hair trend?

These were the words I thought to myself when I opened my first Influenster VoxBox with products from Clairol’s new Color Crave series. I’ve lived through plenty of hair trends – the Kool-Aid dip dye color, ombré, pastel hues – but this whole hair makeup thing is new to me. Maybe it’s existed for a while, and I’m just too behind to know about it?

Or, alternatively, maybe it’s just an old product that’s been given a snazzy new name like “hair makeup” to try to appeal to a new crowd. That’s the mystery I intended to solve with my review of the Color Crave Hair Makeup – is this really something new, or is it just something old in new packaging?

A little background on my hair before I get much farther – I have naturally dark, thick, pin-straight Asian hair that had been bleached to obscurity before, just within the last month, being chopped off into a short pixie. My hair’s definitely beginning to get healthier, perhaps due to the ample amount of root growth I have, but the lighter brown bits are definitely more on the dry side.

After opening up the box, I was presented with a small 1.5 oz tube that resembled a bottle of lotion. Pop off the cap, and there’s a little sponge applicator that reminded me a lof of the old Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser foundation applicators. It’s kind of cute, but nothing special.

The directions on the side of the box say to shake the tube, press the sponge applicator until the color begins to appear, rub onto the desired portions of hair, and then blow dry to “lock in” the color, and so that’s what I did. Minus the blow dry part – I actually don’t have a blow dryer in my dorm, and I was a little to embarrassed to stick my head under the hand dryer. Instead, I let the product air dry (which it definitely needed, as this product is 100% a liquid, with all of the wet, runny properties of liquid) into my strands.

Here were the results (with no styling) immediately after applying:

What the directions don’t say is just how messy this product is. Don’t expect to be able to apply this in white clothing and get away unscathed. In the case of my color, Rose Gold, I found my issue wasn’t so much the color rubbing off into my hands or my clothes, but the glitter. This is a picture of my hands just after application:

Speaking of glitter, this is definitely a shimmery product. In a way though, I found that that worked to its advantage. In the dark portions of my hair, the pinkish color didn’t much show up (not that I expected it to – nothing ever shows up in my pitch black hair) but the shimmer really did.

As for the color payoff on my bleached ends, I was pleasantly surprised. The pink really was very visible, which is more than I can say of any hair chalk or other wash-out temporary color I’ve used in my entire life. And it doesn’t take much product to get it to show up either – one swipe with the sponge applicator rubbed in a little with my fingers, and I got the color seen here.

On a more negative note, though, due to the liquid-y paint-like consistency of this product, I found that it dried strangely in my hair, leaving it stiff and product-y. I wasn’t really able to leave my hair unstyled after application – I had to twist it into braids in order to hide the stiffness of my hair. That did make for some very pretty peek-a-boo color, and some festival-inspired boho glitter braids, but not really something I could personally see myself wearing every day.

Summary:

Pros:

Good color payoff, especially on lighter hair
Glitter shows up even on dark hair
Easy application
Lasts all day
Washes out after one use

Cons:

VERY messy
VERY glittery
Leaves hair stiff and product-y
Glitter rubs off even after it’s dried

In the end, I have to admit I had a lot of fun with the Clairol Color Crave Hair Makeup. It wasn’t anything revolutionary, but it also wasn’t just a repackaged version of the hair chalk I played with in sixth grade – this really is something new. It’s messy, too glittery, and impractical for everyday wear, but I can definitely see it being with a try for a music festival or a summer concert, where you’re looking for something fun to try with your hair without being permanent. Don’t expect it to work very well on black hair, don’t expect it to stay very long, and don’t expect miracles, and you should be able to have a little fun with this product, and that I think is the way it’s supposed to be used anyway.

Have you tried the Clairol Color Crave Hair Makeup? Or any other kind of hair makeup? Leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions are my own.

January 31, 2018 – Maroon Moron (OOTD #215)

Published on February 4, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

I like maroon, and I personally consider myself to be a moron…so Maroon Moron? That works, right? It’s too bad I’m not a Mormon too. And that it’s not the morning. Then we could’ve had a truly alliterative title.

Okay, so maybe it’s not the cleverest blog title I’ve ever come up with. But I do this every day, so I’m kind of bound to have some misses every once in a while. It’s got to beat “petal to the metal,” which was so out there that no one even understood it.

I’m presently sitting in my dorm room’s common area watching the Super Bowl, which, presently, is going pretty well for the Eagles. I think it’s because I have my old McNabb jersey on. It’s a lucky charm that hasn’t failed me yet.

This is my first Super Bowl away from home, which if it weren’t for the Eagles playing, wouldn’t be a big deal. But seeing as the Eagles are the favorite team of my family, and seeing as my parents always put on a good Super Bowl party, and seeing as this is the first time I’ve ever actually seen them play in the Super Bowl, it’s a little more unfortunate. My dorm room’s common area is fine, and their store-bought chicken tenders were edible, but it’s nothing on my living room and my mother’s Hawaiian roll sandwiches.

I haven’t much gotten to see the commercials so far, as the people who are watching the game with me are pretty noisy, but the few I have seen have been pretty funny. I liked the one that had Morgan Freeman and Peter Dinklage rap battling each other. I don’t know what on earth the commercial was for, but the imagery at least was funny.

Welp, I think I ought to go back to watching the game. There’s a really vocal Patriots fan behind me who just groaned, so something must have happened good for us.

Fly, Eagles Fly!

Sweater: Abercrombie

Skirt: Forever21

Scarf: My mom’s closet (don’t tell)

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Go Iggles

Published on February 3, 2018February 3, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Actually, it’s tea. Blueberry pomegranate açaí tea, to be exact. I didn’t really feel like coffee today, but I knew I still needed some pictures with me and a mug for this post, so I made some tea instead.

These last few nights, I’ve been hard at work playing with my hair. You know how I was discussing getting tired of my new short, brown hair a few weeks back? That sensation never really left. It’s annoying to style, I have to put more effort into making my makeup and outfits look feminine, and it’s beginning to grow out, which in itself, is not problematic, as I want to get my hair long again, but it’s growing out in a kind-of awkward way.

So when Influenster offered me my first VoxBox with some Clairol hair color products to review, I jumped on the chance. A haircut likely won’t solve my woes, but perhaps a new, more exciting color than light brown will. Keep an eye out for a review of said products on this blog coming soon!

In other news, I’m getting temporarily kicked out of my dorm room tonight so one of my roommates can have some “friends over.” Normally, that might thoroughly annoy me, but seeing as I’ve spent pretty much all day cooped up in my room distractedly doing homework, it should actually be nice to be forced to go outside for a little. I’m thinking of headed to the haunted art building, Riley, to finish up my still life. Then, when my roommate’s party is over, I’ll come back and play with my hair some more.

In other other news, the Super Bowl is tomorrow! For the first time in my lifetime, my Philadelphia Eagles are actually playing, so I’m fairly excited. My dorm is having a watch party with typical game day food, which, while not as good as my mother’s Super Bowl party cooking, should still be a nice change from dining hall food. That’s part of the reason why I’ve been so eager to get my work done tonight rather than tomorrow – I want to give the television my full attention when the Eagles win their first Super Bowl!

Go Iggles!

January 30, 2018 – Art Student Aesthetic Squared (OOTD #214)

Published on February 2, 2018August 13, 2019 by lensembledujour5 Comments

On Tuesday, I found myself in something of a pickle – I couldn’t find a good opportunity for someone to take pictures for me.

It’s not so much that there weren’t people I could ask – I’m always surrounded by people, so in theory, I could always just ask a random stranger – but I never found myself in a good situation to get a friend to do them for me. My typical Tuesday lunch friend was too busy to meet with me, the people I ate dinner with went too late to get good lighting, and I didn’t really feel comfortable asking someone to go out of their way to help me, so I found myself at 8pm with no outfit photos.

In that case, I decided to take my photos myself. I took my phone, my watch, and a pencil case to prop my phone against, and headed to Riley, the creepy haunted art building.

I actually had some work to do on my still life for my Drawing class, so hangout out at Riley wasn’t just for this blog. When I arrived in the drawing studio, there were still some people there, which forced me to actually focus on my art for a few hours until the people finally left.

At last, once everyone was gone and I was alone in the room – around 10pm – I was able to set up my camera on top of a drawing table, and, using my watch’s remote photo-taking feature (a true lifesaver here) to take what I consider are some decent photos, given the circumstances. I even managed to get a few shots with the depth perception on.

What I love best about these shots is the giant artwork in the background. I actually have no idea what it’s supposed to mean, or what class it was for, but it’s not a doorway or a brick wall, which means it’s totally unique in comparison to what I usually get for my photos at this school. I get some street art vibes here, actually, which, if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know if my favorite kind of background.

If I ever find myself in this pickle again, I’ll definitely swing by Riley again late at night to do my pictures. Maybe I’ll even manage to get the Riley ghost in one of my shots one of these nights!

Jacket: Evan Picone

Shirt: J. Crew

Sweater: Abercrombie (thrifted)

Pants: The LOFT

January 29, 2018 – Art Student Aesthetic (OOTD #213)

Published on February 1, 2018February 1, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

I guess I can finally consider myself an “art student.”

I never expected to be able to say that, actually – I thought for certain I was going to be done with art classes after high school.

Not done with art entirely, but certainly done with formal lessons in art a part of graded classes. I always figured I would continue it as a hobby on the side, but I was pretty burnt out by the end of high school of staying up late every night, struggling to compete the numerous art classes I was never able to take the time to develop as much as I would have liked to anyway.

But then it turned out that I missed it. I had hoped Notre Dame would at least have some sort of art club, but for whatever reason, we don’t. The visual arts don’t really have a very strong presence here, which I can kind of understand, given we’re not an art school, but they’re so nonexistent it’s a little bizarre.

They do have a very small art and design department, which, now that I’m attempting to minor in studio art, I suppose I’ve joined. I’m in a beginning drawing class right now, which, while not particularly creatively challenging, is still nice to break up some of my more writing-based academic courses.

So here’s my best attempt at embodying my newfound art student identity – plaid pants, baseball shirt, my “tattoo artist” jacket, and of course, my boyish pixie cut. It’s not the sort of look that would make it onto a “preppy fashion” Pinterest board, but I think it’s interesting nonetheless.