April 24, 2018 – Accidental Wes Anderson (OOTD #270)

Published on April 26, 2018April 26, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Disclaimer: This post contains products that I received complimentary from AMIClubwear for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Just kidding — this wasn’t accidental. I’m not often this well-coordinated, but every once in a while, I manage to get a really beautiful color combination aesthetic reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s cinematography.

I’ve been attending a film series course for another one of my classes (it’s a little complicated — so basically, I’m in a regular three-credit class that’s requiring me to attend another course that’s the equivalent of a one-credit class but that doesn’t offer any actual credit), and in it, I’ve been learning a lot that I didn’t know about filmmaking. A lot of the films we’ve been watching have been on the artsier side, focusing less on plot and action and more on framing and symbolism. I’m no film connoisseur — most of the movies I ever watch are kids’ animated films — so it’s been really interesting watching some things I would never have watched otherwise.

Anyway, thanks to this series (and maybe also a little bit the beautiful color palette of La La Land), I am now a sucker for nice color combinations — like my yellow tights and this blue background.

I got this dress and these tights from AMIClubwear as a part of their fashion blogger program where, in exchange for a blog post or two, I received a few pieces from their collection for free.

At first, when I was considering whether or not to join the program, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to find anything from their store. With a name like AMIClubwear, I thought all they would have was clubwear and lingerie, which, while cool, isn’t really what I wear everyday to class.

I was presently surprised to find I was totally wrong — they have a huge selection of casual and everyday clothes that were appropriate and comfortable for me. Yes, there are sexier pieces, but there are also plenty of classier, more conservative looks that went along perfectly with my aesthetic. With affordable prices, frequent sales, and a wide selection of stylish clothes that span different aesthetics, I would definitely have to give AMIClubwear my recommendation.

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!

Dress: AMIClubwear

Tights: AMIClubwear

April 23, 2018 – Life Detected (OOTD #269)

Published on April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

This just in: evidence of life on the Notre Dame campus!

And no, I’m not referring to the students — we’re definitely pretty dead. Thankfully, there are only a few weeks of school left.

While it still gets pretty in the evenings, it’s not freezing anymore, which means the plants are finally coming to life — which if you’ve been following my recent fascination with plants, I am very excited about.

With this outfit, I also got to break out my bare legs for the first time in forever. It was like, sunny with a high of 75 — perfect skirt weather.

I think you can tell how happy I was about the weather just based on how my outfit was put together — the happier I am, it seems, the the more likely I am to put together a cool outfit.

And not to brag on myself, but I think this was a cool outfit. It’s a composition of some really cool pieces — architectural jacket, asymmetrical shirt, and structural skirt — so maybe I can’t take as much credit for the cool factor, but I still put them all together, which counts for something.

I’m a little disappointed the asymmetrical-ness of the shirt isn’t really evident in these shots, as it seems the jacket kind of covers up the hemline, which is shorter on one side than the other. Oh well. Here’s what the shirt looks like by itself — I guess you can use your imagination?

Speaking of this jacket, I got it from Yellowcake Shop, the boutique of Project Runway designer Valerie Mayen. I actually watched her season a long time ago, so getting to do this collaboration with her was really cool! For the promotion, I’m going to be doing a social media post soon featuring this jacket, so keep an eye out for that! There’s no giveaway attached, but there will be a promo code for Yellowcake Shop.

Jacket: Yellowcake Shop

Top: Psylo

Skirt: Zara

REVIEW: Clairol Color Crave Semi-Permanent Hair Color in Orchid

Published on February 11, 2018February 11, 2018 by lensembledujour9 Comments

To read part one of my Clairol Color Crave review, click here!

Welp, I’ve gone and done it – I’ve dyed my hair purple.

My best friend has declared that I look like a high school band kid, but she usually has some complaint to make whenever I change my hair. I think if it were up to her, I would have maintained the platinum blonde hair, but with the texture of my non-bleach-damaged hair forever. Wouldn’t that be nice.

The reality is that I can’t be spending hundreds of dollars a month to have my hair chemically altered every month, so I have to make do with what I have. What I had was a short, slowly-growing-out brunette pixie cut that left me feeling a bit unsatisfied with how average it was. What I wanted was something practical and affordable that could change up my hair a little and remedy my sense of monotony.

That’s where Clairol comes in. In my latest Influenster VoxBox, I was sent their Semi-Permeant Hair Color in Orchid. While I hadn’t necessarily been thinking of dyeing my hair purple beforehand, I decided to go for it when the opportunity arose.

I have a lot of experience (well, not A LOT – not as much as some people, but more I think than the average 19 year-old) with various hair dyes. I started by getting my first set of highlights way back in sixth grade, before progressing to all-over color my freshman year of high school, then bleach blonde by junior year, then a semi-permanent grey and finally a brunette pixie cut just this year. My hair’s been every shade of brown under the sun, as well as jet black, blonde, platinum, grey, orange (on accident), and now, purple.

The first thing I noticed when I openeed the box was that there was nothing to mix – just the tube of dye. I don’t know if I’ve ever had any hair color products were no mixing was needed, so that was neat. In addition, the kit came with two pairs of protective gloves and a small brush.

As application goes, it was as easy as it gets – just squeeze the purple goop out of the tube, apply, and then rinse out. I guess it also helps that my hair is shorter now that it’s ever been, so I had no worries about making sure I got all my hair covered. I ended up using the whole bottle, though I probably didn’t really need to, with hair as short as mine. If you have long hair, I’d definitely buy two.

The directions said to leave the product in for 20 minutes, or 30 for a bolder look. Given the darkness of my hair (the root growth that is), I opted for 30 minutes.

To be honest, I probably could have left in in for shorter. The color didn’t really show up in my dark hair, and it showed up too dark in my bleached hair. Not that I really expected it to make much of a difference in my dark hair, because so little ever does, but I was hopeful for a little bit of a purple tinge.

(Me after applying and rinsing out for the first time)

That brings me to my biggest complaint about this product – it didn’t really come out as the same color on the box, at least for me. I think that’s partially due to the fact that part of my hair is bleached, which explains just how vibrant it came out, but even so, I don’t even think the color I got is even close to the color on the box. The girl on the box has a medium-tone red purple, while I what I got was a very dark (almost black!) blue purple.

On the plus side, I don’t mind a blue purple – it’s just not really what’s advertised here. If you have bleached hair and you use this product, I would definitely suggest leaving it in for much shorter than 30 minutes, maybe even 15, if you’re aiming for the orchid shade on the box. Another plus is that after three washes (one week approximately), this stuff is still just as vibrant as it was when I first put it in. It’s a semi-permanent dye, which means it should wash out in a few weeks, but I’m surprised it hasn’t at least started to fade for me.

Summary:

Pros:

Vibrant color payoff
Easy application
No mixing required
No fading (within first week)

Cons:

Color is more blue-toned than what box shows
Color comes out much darker on bleached hair
Color doesn’t show up at all on my dark hair

In the end, I like my purple hair. It’s not quite the medium lavender I was hoping for, but regardless, I’m happy with what I got. It’s more exciting than the brunette I had before, and that’s all I was really looking to get out of it. I would definitely recommend it for the easy application and vibrant color payoff, but I would just be careful with how long you leave it on in lightened hair, and don’t expect to get the same color as the girl on the box unless your hair is naturally her hair color to begin with. As for lasting power, it’s only my first week with this color, but it hasn’t yet faded, which seems to be a good sign.

Have you tried the Clairol Color Crave Semi-Permenant Collection? Or any other kind of semi-permanent dye? 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!

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

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.

Watch This: Wood Watch Review + Giveaway with JORD

Published on January 30, 2018February 25, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Stay tuned for details on how to enter a contest for a $100 gift code for a wooden watch from JORD!

Welp, Valentine’s Day is coming up, and as usual, I have no one in particular to share it with.

In years past, I’ve usually gone out to eat on a “date” with my dad. This year, as much as I would love to have our usual date night, I’ll be away at school on Valentine’s Day, and we likely won’t be able to do anything together except perhaps talk on the phone. And that’s too bad, but c’est la vie – colleges and distances will do that to people.

Of course, there’s that radical and ridiculous concept that I could actually find a significant other within the next two weeks to go on a romantic date with on Valentine’s Day, but we all know that’s not particularly likely. Besides, I’m pretty content as I am, and I’m not really in the market at the moment. Seeing as Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday this year (no really – check a calendar) it seems like my only Valentine this year at Notre Dame is going to be Jesus.

Anyway, as I will likely be eating Valentine’s dinner at my university’s ever-glamorous dining hall on a date with myself, I figured I would at the very least treat myself to a gift – a new watch. That’s where JORD comes in.

The folks at JORD were kind enough to send me this beautiful Olive and Acacia wooden watch to try out, and after wearing it for a few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that it would make for a lovely Valentine’s Day gift – for your significant other, or, if you’re gloriously single like me, for yourself.

My favorite part about my new wooden watch is probably the elegant mechanical movement. The uninhibited view behind the beautiful grained acacia and velvet olive wood case shows a mechanical movement and steel grey ring, effortlessly pairing modernism with the simplicity of natural materials. It’s a dazzling way to show someone you love just how deep that love runs.

And now, for the GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

JORD Wood Watch Giveaway: How to Enter

You can check out JORD’s women’s and men’s shops over here. If it looks like something you might be interested in getting as a Valentine’s Day gift (or honestly, just for any time of the year) for yourself or for someone else, JORD and I have partnered to create a giveaway for you guys! Follow this link, enter your information, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift code courtesy of JORD! Giveaway ends February 25, 2018.