Tag: 2018

REVIEW: BareMinerals Bare Pro Concealer

Published on by lensembledujour3 Comments

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

Look at me! Doing more beauty posts and using my blog as a platform for testing and reviews products!

The thing I love best about doing Influenster reviews is that I feel no pressure to have an opinion, one way or the other, about the products I receive. While I do try to always provide my own opinions and thoughts for the other complimentary products I’ve received for promotional purposes on this blog, it would be a lie to say I don’t still feel some pressure to emphasize the positives over the negatives. With Influenster, since the products are being sent to me via a third party rather than from the brand itself with the stipulation that my only role is to review the product, that pressure is gone.

This is my second Influenster VoxBox (the first one being the L’Oreal Color Crave Hair Makeup and Semi-Permanent Hair Color), and with my experience so far, I’d definitely be happy to get more of these in the mail. They come packaged so cutely in these colorful boxes, and they always provide helpful instructions for what to do once you’ve received the box. If you’d ever like for me to review Influenster as a service for bloggers on LEDJ, leave me a comment below and let me know!

Anyway, the product I got from Influenster this time around was a little stick concealer from BareMinerals from their Bare Pro line, which claims to have 16 hour coverage. I received color 05, which seemed like a pretty good fit for my light-medium skin with neutral undertones.

Now to be honest with you, I don’t typically wear concealer. I much prefer to simply use a BB cream all over my skin, and then dab it on in a little more concentration on problem areas. If I do wear concealer, it’s probably because I’m running late to class and I don’t have time to do a full face of makeup, and I just want to cover up some pimples. Very rarely do I ever do concealer and BB cream/foundation — only special occasions.

So the look I’m sporting here is, in truth, more makeup than I typically wear. I have on both a very light coverage BB cream and the concealer over top of a couple of pimples and scars scars I have on my temples and cheeks, as well as a little discoloration beside my nose. Otherwise, I don’t really have any huge problem areas right now (bless), so I didn’t need to wear it anywhere else.

I was pleasantly surprised with the blendability of the concealer, as its texture is harder and more chalky than some of the other stick concealers I’ve used, like the Revlon Photoready concealer. A few dabs with my ring finger, and it smoothed right in.

I think a large part of the easy blending is just how well this product matched my skin — I don’t typically find products that match me perfectly, as things tend to either look too pink or too yellow, but this concealer really fit my neutral undertones. Especially since I didn’t get to test this product in the store and selected it based off of some sample images I saw on the Internet, I got pretty lucky.

As for its claims of 16 hour wear, I did not get to test this, and I honestly don’t really care to. Who wears makeup for 16 hours straight? It’s not something that’s currently a part of my lifestyle, so whether it wears for 16 hours or not is truthfully not important to me as a consumer. Its staying power did seem pretty solid though for the full 12ish hours that I wore it — nothing spectacular or life-changing, but still serviceable.

Summary:

Pros:

  • Perfect color match (for me, an Asian with light-medium, neutral undertone skin wearing 05)
  • Blends easily
  • Paraben, sulfate and phthalate-free
  • Wears well (for an average 12-ish hour day)

Cons:

  • Costly at $25
  • Still not completely “all-natural” — though what really is?
  • Average to above-average quality

In the end, I liked the product. It’s no Holy Grail for me, but I found it delightfully average, and even a little above average in terms of color matching. Is it worth it for the $25 price tag, when you could get another perfectly serviceable drugstore concealer (Revlon Photoready and the Sonia Kashuk quads are two of my favorites) for half the price? That I guess depends on your views of BareMinerals’ ingredients — they do claim that this concealer is paraben, sulfate, and phthalate-free, and that its natural ingredients (though not all natural — there are definitely some chemical-y ingredients that I have never heard of on the label) “nourish” the skin, so if that’s something you care about, maybe it’s worth it for you.

Have you tried the BareMinerals Bare Pro Concealer? Or do you have any suggestions for your favorite concealers? Let me know your thoughts below!

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!

March 20, 2018 – Happy Easter (OOTD #250)

Published on by lensembledujour5 Comments

What? You mean to tell me that Easter didn’t fall on March 20 this year?

Yeah — so I’ve discussed this before, but I have my daily blogs on a bit of a delay, so as to never wind up having nothing to post just in case I decide not to take OOTD photos one day or in case I don’t get to take photos until late in the day. The issue with that, of course, is that when holidays roll around, I’m never able to post the blog from that particular holiday on the actual day of the holiday.

I guess I could plan my outfits in a way that it looks like I’m celebrating the holiday earlier in the week, and then posting that blog on the actual holiday, but to be honest, that’s too much work for something I don’t really think is worth it.

Anyway, so today (the day I’m posting this blog) is Easter, but the outfit I’m posting is from March. Luckily, this outfit looks pretty festive and spring-like, so I guess it works for an Easter outfit.

The building I’m standing next to is the law school building, which I have interestingly never been into, even though I’m thinking of maybe one day trying to go into law (though I’m not really sure why — talking in front of people is scary). It’s just one of those places where I don’t really feel like I belong in, since I have no classes or anything there, y’know?

It’s my goal to make it into all of Notre Dame’s buildings at some point by the time I’m done here, including the dorms. I’m not really sure how I’m going to manage that, considering I never go to parties and have few friends outside of my dorm. I’m going to figure it out somehow…probably. Maybe.

Anyway, happy Easter! I hope you get to spend the day celebrating somehow with friends and family, and if you’re at The Most Catholic School On Earth ™ like me, I hope you enjoy eating meat and breaking the Lenten fasting thing, even if, like me, you haven’t really kept it anyway. I did swear off dining hall french fries, though, which has done well for my weight. Good for me, I guess?

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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!

Sweater: Altar’d State

Shirt: Forever21

Skirt: Rue21

Tights: The LOFT

March 19, 2018 – It’s Still Not Spring (OOTD #249)

Published on by lensembledujour7 Comments

I’m still operating here until the assumption that if I dress like it’s spring, eventually it’ll come.

You can’t even tell me my logic is wrong, here. Eventually, spring will come. Will my fashion cause it to arrive any sooner? Maybe not, but it’ll come all the same, and it’ll be exciting.

I’m particularly interested to see what campus will be like with all of the flowers in bloom. I haven’t been on Notre Dame’s campus in the springtime since I first visited way back in my junior year of high school, and from what I remember, it’s very pretty. I think that’s part of the reason why I came here.

Another reason why I came was because I thought the Catholic identity was really cool — even though I’m not Catholic myself. As an outsider, I always thought the various prayers and chants were cool in a mystical, kind of creepy way, but now that I’m used to them, the appeal is wearing off.

I’m particularly tired of these meatless Fridays and the fasting leading up to Easter. While I appreciate the meaning behind it and the dedication involved, I like meat (and just like, food in general) too much to really care to participate in it myself. That’s made particularly difficult when the dining halls are barely open and when they are, they serve bread and soup.

Basically, I’m just really excited for Easter and the end of Lenten season. Catch me stuffing myself with food and chocolate eggs.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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!

Blouse: Francesca’s

Pants: thrifted (they’re actually old riding pants! Fun fact)

March 17, 2018 – Living On The Edge (OOTD #248)

Published on by lensembledujour6 Comments

Never thought “living on the edge” would take me to the edge of a building, but here we are.

#yolo, am I right?

I’m just kidding. Don’t put yourself in danger just for good pictures, kiddos. Safety first — don’t do it for the Gram.

On Saturday, the last day of my spring break, my friend Amanda and I went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant as our last hurrah before we both went back to school for another month.

Before we ate, though, we decided to hunt down a particular parking garage downtown that offers some really beautiful views of the city. We thought we’d just drive up, snap some photos, and be off to dinner within 20 minutes.

Not so much. Part of the issue was that it was St. Patrick’s Day (I know, I’m not wearing green — pinch me), and a lot of the streets were blocked off for the parade. Neither of us having any sense of direction, we ended up driving around in circles for quite some time just trying to orient ourselves.

And you know what? We never find the parking garage.

We glimpsed it from a distance a few times, but we never managed to actually figure out where in the city it was. I think the street it was on was closed, and we couldn’t figure out how to make it there there via other roads.

After driving to the top of several other parking garages and not finding the view we were looking for, we decided to stop by an opening “window” in one of them near an upper floor and take some photos anyway. It wasn’t quite the big, open view of the city we were hoping for, but it sufficed.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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!

Sweater: Hollister (thrifted)

Top: Zara

Jeans: Hollister

March 14, 2018 – Sunlit Suburban Stroll (OOTD #245)

Published on by lensembledujour3 Comments

You’d think that with a name like “spring break” I could actually get some spring weather at home.

Instead, the literal day after I arrived back in Kentucky, we got about eight inches of snow. I don’t even think there was that much snow at Notre Dame when I departed Chicago.

I guess I can’t really complain too much – winter is still my favorite season, and snow is still my favorite weather condition. The winter is getting a little old for me at this point in the year, and I’m fairly read for spring to come, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still get excited whenever it snows.

As I mentioned, we had about eight inches of snow on Monday — so why are the roads totally clear in these shots from Wednesday?

One of the craziest things to me when I moved north for school was just how long the snow hangs around. You can get snow that falls one day and stays for two more weeks afterwards.In Kentucky, the snow, when it actually sticks (which only happens a few times a year) usually only stays around for a day or two.

So here, on Wednesday, all that snow had pretty much already melted, owing to some sunshine and temperatures during the daytime hanging around 40 degrees (not warm, but warm enough to melt the snow).

I wouldn’t be sad if this were the last snow I got until late November, though. As evidenced by my bare legs and skirt here, I’m in the mood for warmer temperatures.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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: Adidas (thrifted)

Shirt: Altar’d State

Skirt: H&M

March 13, 2018 — #Skooled (OOTD #244)

Published on by lensembledujour2 Comments

As much as I resent losing sleep during spring daylight savings, I am a fan of having more hours of daylight in the evenings.

It’s particularly useful for doing photos after dinnertime. It used be, especially in January/February, that I would have to get my OOTD shots done before about 6:00pm or else it was too dark to get natural light at all. Now, I’m good until at least 7:30, which takes a lot of pressure off of me.

When I’m home, like I was in these photos, I like to make my outfits out of articles of clothing that I know I will not have with me while at school, like this coat, sweater, boots, and scarf. I feel badly when my clothes aren’t worn, and I miss the pieces I can’t bring with me to my little wardrobe in my dorm at Notre Dame.

Breaks are a time for me to capitalize on my sleep and free time so I am very appreciative of them.

Though, to be honest, I might actually prefer going to school year-round if it meant my workload was significantly lightened. I’d sacrifice a few weekends and breaks to get rid of homework. It’s been a nuisance since literally kindergarten, and it’s only gotten worse as I’ve gotten older.

I heard one of my friends talking the other day about how she enjoyed exams, how they were like puzzles for her to figure out — and I couldn’t agree less. What kind of person likes exams? Even if you know every answer, and make 100% — which probably hasn’t happened to me since middle school — what’s there to like about the actual process of sitting down and writing out answers so someone else can offer you validation?

As much as I appreciate the education I’ve received so far in my life, I still don’t think I’m really the type of person who likes school. I do alright grades-wise, but I can’t imagine becoming a teacher or a professor and remaining in this system for the rest of my life. I mean, I can’t necessarily say there’s anything better out there in the workforce, since I haven’t gotten there yet, but looking back, I think the most enjoyable moments of my life have happened separate from my education experience.

You never stop learning, of course, but I hope I do get to stop schooling at some point, haha.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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!

Sweater: American Eagle

Boots: Target

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Art Rat

Published on by lensembledujour2 Comments

Fun fact: I’ve been in Subway since noon today. It is now 6PM.

Honestly, I don’t even mind. It smells like bread, it doesn’t feel isolating like the library does, and I’ve gotten some good work done. I mean, I haven’t made nearly the dent in my work I probably should have, but I also didn’t totally waste my existence, so I call it a win.

I’m on my second iced coffee now, and I can feel it. I’ve gone to the bathroom way too many times in the last six hours, and my fingers are a little jittery even as I’m typing here. It’s probably time to lay off.

I’ve spend a lot of my afternoon working on my sketches for my next art project in my Drawing class. This is so far my favorite one. The project calls us to draw inspiration from another artist, so I chose James Jean, the guy who designed the cover art for my favorite album, My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade. That’s probably the most emo reason I’ve ever decided to do an art project, which is saying something because a lot of my high school art looked pretty emo.

In the meantime, some of my other homework has kind of fallen by the wayside, as I accidentally ended up paying way more attention to my art than the other things I should have been doing. Oh well. That’s what Sundays are for.

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!

March 11, 2018 – Shocking Pink (OOTD #243)

Published on by lensembledujour3 Comments

Now how’s that for pink and purple?

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do you have this in pink?

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Like I mentioned a few blogs ago, I’ve been trying to get more pink and purple color palettes in my OOTD posts for the sake of creating an appealing rainbow order Instagram feed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bif8A7Mlj3B/

So when I came across this bright pink wall at a Mexican restaurant, I knew I had to use it as a background for these photos. I thought at first the vibrant pink would be too much, but I think it meshed well with my more deep-toned jacket and pants.

On Saturday, the first day of my spring break, my family went out to celebrate my mother’s birthday with lunch and an outing in Shelbyville, Kentucky. We saw a distillery tour and went to some antique shops — it was, on the whole, a very Scanish family day.

By that I mean I feel that eating and shopping around little local place in Kentucky is basically what my family does every time we have something to celebrate. Just look at what we did when my uncle came or visit last summer or when we wanted something to do together before I went back to school after winter break  — it was basically the exact same thing.

The remarkable bit is that I don’t think we ever get tired of it. When I was a kid, I absolutely hated going to antique malls because there was rarely anything for me to look at, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to like antiques more.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg3tT5iH-F_/

Could it be because I’m becoming more and more like an antique each day? I’m practically an old lady at this point.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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: thrift

Sweater: Forever21

Jeans: Hollister

March 8, 2018 – Purple Paucity (OOTD #241)

Published on by lensembledujour3 Comments

Recently, I’ve been trying to incorporate more purple into my wardrobe.

I’ve been trying to be more purposeful with my Instagram post order, making it a little less haphazard and more visually appealing for someone scrolling through my feed. In order to achieve this effect, I’ve been posting photos in blocks of six that all follow a particular monochromatic color scheme, ordering these blocks by rainbow sequence.

So far, I’ve been pretty satisfied with the results, but my issue’s been that I’ve realized that I’ve worn and photographed very few purple outfits to make up the purple/pink block on my feed that goes in between the red and blue blocks.

While out over spring break with my parents, I actually purposefully searched for more purple clothes, but for some reason, I found very little. Is purple just not in this season? And if that’s so, why? I would’ve thought purple, especially in its lavender variation, would be particularly trendy due to the fact that it’s nearly spring.

Speaking of nearly spring, I’ve been seeing some buds around campus recently. I’m hoping perhaps that means I’ll be able to start bringing some more color into the backgrounds here, maybe even some purple in the form of purple flowers. We’ll see I guess; I’ve never been on campus at springtime, so I don’t actually know what kinds of plants they’ve got around.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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!

Sweater: The LOFT

Tank: H&M

Pants: The LOFT

March 7, 2018 – Like A Lion (OOTD #240)

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March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, right?

Welp, it’s definitely still leaning more on the lion side right now here in South Bend.

About a week before spring break, we got a few inches of snow, which I was not at all feeling given it was midterms week and I was already miserable. It was just the time when I could have used some sun, but of course, we got more snow.

South Bend has not yet squashed my love of snow, but I’m regardless very ready to be down with it now this season. The winter has overstayed its welcome, and the spring can come anytime now.

Come to think of it, I don’t usually have any complaints to make about springtime. Summer is too hot, winter is too cold, and fall is too short (or too long if you’re hoping for snow come Christmastime), but I generally like the spring. It’s not my favorite season — that honor ironically enough goes to winter — but I do rather appreciate it.

With spring typically comes horse racing season, but I don’t know if I’m going to at all be able to experience that this year since I’m no longer in Kentucky, Both the Keeneland spring meet in Lexington and Derby season in Louisville occur while I’m at school and end before I get back.

Not that I’ve ever been rich enough to really go out to the race track and do anything but look at the horses — but it was always nice to go and pretend you were cultured. Here, the most cultured thing I do is spend the extra quarter for the super cycle in the laundry room, haha.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life at Notre Dame! 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!

Sweater: Hollister (thrifted)

Turtleneck: Forever21

Pants: Abercrombie (thrifted)