Ootd #2: 'Red'-dy to Say Hello and Goodbye {Food Snaps, Thoughts + More}

It's been quite a while, since I last posted an outfit of the day, which is weird considering that I love taking pictures of my outfits and its something that I do constantly. However, my house has really no nice backgrounds to take pictures, which makes it difficult since I'm extremely picky. 

So the majority of my outfits taken at home, will have a door in the background, because honestly outside or inside my room is sadly, one of the best backgrounds in my house. ;A;

The outfit that I  styled is what I creatively (HAHAHA) called, "'Red-'dy to Say Hello and Goodbye." And this is only because the tank top I'm wearing has the french words for 'hello' (bonjour) and 'good-bye' (tristesse). Plus the fact that the colour red is the primary scheme of colour that is in focus.

The outfit:

Hat from: Forever 21

Cardigan from: American Eagle

Tank top from: H&M

Skirt from: Brandy Melville

Taking a closer look:

I'm the not a hat person, at all. But when I saw this one, I knew I wanted to buy it. There was also the factor that it was on a promotional sale, so it was a good deal. I would have preferred a black coloured one, however, by the time I decided to buy it, they were all sold out, so I had to settle for wine-red coloured one instead. The thing about it, is that I love the floppiness. It makes any of the outfits styled with it, cute and quirky, especially (in my opinion) when girls curl their hair.

The length and colour of the cardigan is what drew me in and ultimately led me to buy it. As you know, I'm not a tall person, ._., my height is exactly 5'0", and usually the problem for me when searching for cardigans is that they lend to be long and go right past my knees, x_x. However, this one, stops right above the knees, which I love about it. The beige colour makes it also easier to match with other clothing as well.

The one thing that I didn't appreciate about the item was the price, which I believe was around $35, which is insane, considering that you can find similar ones that are cheaper, in H&M or Forever 21. All in all, in a positive light, I got 15% off since American Eagle's card allows me to, as it is my birthday month.

I`ll be the first to say and admit H&M is not one of my favourite stores, I can hardly find anything that I like when I browse around. That being said, their store is probably one of the best when it comes to their sale items. The Bonjour|Tristesse tank was originally sold for $14, but I got it for $5, talk about a good deal! The tank top itself is very comfortable and soft, and the fact that it has a heart image on it, makes it cutesy, which I love.

It may not look like it, but, the red skirt is actually made entirely from velvet, which I appreciate since it`s soothing and super soft. I bought it at Vancouver`s only Brandy Melville at Granville, and I have to say, I was very excited since it was my first official purchase from the store (....I'm such a dork :p). The store also carried a black version of it, though, I thought the red one looked classier and more feminine. The one thing that I don't enjoy about the skirt is, it`s really, really thin.

☼[[Additional Shots]]☽

{Thoughts} 

This is going to be a quick ramble, you could say. Lately, I've been thinking of what I wanted to do in life and what my career would be, and as of now, the field that I'm currently studying for, is something that I`m not enjoying. I thought I did, until I realize I only enjoyed learning different aspects of it, but other than that, I don't enjoy it as a whole

Just recently I attended an info session about hair design and skin and makeup at VCC, a field that always piqued my interest. The info session was enjoyable, however, I had to say, before going into it, I was more excited about the field, but when the session was over, I wasn't as excited, which surprised me.

I`m at the point in life that I want to study and learn something that I will enjoy and eventually make a career out of.

Seriously, deciding what my career path and to be more talkative during large group hangouts should be my upcoming New Years Resolution :/

I found this quote, and I think it applies to me:

"Just because you took longer than others, doesn't mean you failed."

||Food Snaps||

I like to take pictures of my food. So enjoy (or not)!

Breakfast special at Kyle's.

Niku Udon from Sekai!!!

Coffebar's matcha latte.

Assorted sushi from Cho Sun.

Korean BBQ!

{[Music Mania]}

Do you ever get bored of the music you play constantly?

If you are, I have a few artists and songs I would like to recommend, so hopefully, if you like the songs that I'm putting up, then thats great!

WALK THE MOON - Anna Sun

(an oldie, but a goodie!)

Scavenger Hunt - Dreamers

(heard this on a virgin mobile commercial, and I literally had to memorize the lyrics to find it.)

Jason Zerbin - In Your Arms

(Another oldie song. I love supporting Canadian artists, who should be more well known.)

DJ Okawari - Luv Letter

(Completely instrumental, but very beautiful.)

Well, thats it for this post, I'm hoping to blog more, but it will be a few days when I update, since I'm going to Whistler!!! Knowing me, I'm going to take a lot of pictures when I get there!

Thanks for reading,
Courtney ♡.

Forever 21 Makeup?! {{Haul + P.O.V}}

Ahhhh, it's been almost a month since I last updated, why does time fly so quickly?! One of my goals was to post at least 4 blog posts in November, so now I'm hoping I can post at least 5 posts in December! Sorry about the delay, after my last blog post, I had midterms after midterms and papers due the week after my midterms. But now that my finals are officially over, I have free time so I can finally update! :3

Anywho, moving on now, whenever you enter a Forever 21, do you ever wonder how good their makeup is?

Usually when I enter the store, the clothing is the first thing and sometimes only thing in my mind. Though the store sells more than clothing, as they do have various items, especially right before you're about to pay (darn those cube boxes!!! >o<).

Whenever I see the beauty products Forever 21 sells, I tend to sneer at it, I mean, for the prices that they are sell for, there has to be a deficit of the products, they're too cheap.

And so, recently I stopped by a Forever 21 and decided to buy makeup from them, since, well, the packaging was really cute. I'm such a sucker for cute or unique packaging, it's a really bad habit. ;A;

What I got:

-Red Matte Lipstick

-Rose-coloured lipgloss

-Makeup sponges

{[What I Thought]}

Starting with the red matte lipstick, I selected the colour in "Brick". The lipstick itself is not bad, when applied its very smooth and the unlike other Forever 21 beauty products, it has a somewhat vanilla essence. Although, I have to say the colouring was a bit lighter than I expected, as I thought the colour was going to be a darker shade of red. The price was reasonable as well, I got it for $4.80. Another bonus is that the lipstick does not dry up my lips and make it crack, this a huge plus for me, since the L'oreal lipsticks I use, often dry my lips.

First things first, the main reason that I bought the pink lipgloss was because....the packaging was cute, ._.,, yeah, like I said previously, I'm a huge sucker for cute/adorable packaging. The thing that caught my attention was the gold bow, and if you know me, I love bows, I adore bows. Anyways, the lipgloss only came in 3 colours, a nude colour, red colour and a pink colour. And with pink being my favourite colour, of course, I went for the pink one, which was creatively called, "Rose". What I like about the product, besides the packaging is that, like the lipstick, it's very smooth when applied on. Other than that there's really nothing to like, namely because of a few things. 

First of, the smell. The best word to describe it, is rubbery, it's very noticeable the moment you open the gloss and worse, is that I could also slightly smell the scent when I wore the gloss. Secondly, if you want your lips to achieve the same pink coating as the lipgloss itself, you have put on at least 2-3 coats. Finally, the durability, just plain sucks. I tested it one day and it can only last through eating one snack and drinking a glass of anything.

The last thing from the haul, is the makeup sponge set. Quite obviously, the makeup sponge set is a duplicate of Sephora's The Perfector and Beauty Blender. Price wise, the set is very reasonable, considering it is sold for $6.90, whereas, individually, the sponges are priced at $4.80

The most noticeable thing about this sponge AKA the duplicate Beauty Blender, is the firmness, which is a very good quality about it. The overall use of the sponge was average at best. I had no problem blending in my foundation, though there were times the blending wasn't smooth as there were patches that were a bit cakey.

This sponge....oh, where to begin? ._. Honestly, this sponge is the worse. When I was using this one to blend in my foundation, it left blotchy patches of my foundation on my face. Unlike the previous sponge, it is not firm, but instead, very porous. 

❃[[Overall Thoughts]]❃

The packaging is very neat, organized and cute.

❤❤❤♡♡

The price is reasonable and cheap, perfect for a college or high school student.

❤❤❤❤♡

The durability of the products are questionable.

❤❤♡♡♡

The use and functions of the items depends on the items itself. Some are great and some aren't.

❤❤♡♡♡

The overall rating of Forever 21 beauty products:

❤❤❤♡♡

The prices of Forever 21 beauty products are reasonable and cheap, and namely thats the problem, the cheapness. Some of the products are pretty decent, while others, in the very end of another spectrum should never be sold, since it's so lousy.

It's a gamble, really. You can find beauty products that are great and can be your secret or guilty pleasures. But, there are chances that you'll find awful ones and realize you just wasted you hard earned money.

||Recommendations||

I would wholeheartedly recommend the lipstick. Not only does it come in numerous shades, but it has a long durability, the price is reasonable and it does not have a funky smell.

I would NOT recommend the lipgloss (don't be a sucker and fall for the packaging like me ;A;) and definitely, definitely, would not recommend the sponges, particularly the duplicate of the Perfector. 

{Places of Vancouver / P.O.V.}

I know this is a primarily and considered a 'beauty' blog, but I also want to venture out and make it more flexible. Plus, I feel like the way my blog is right now, it's too structure, and I don't like that.

So I wanted to add other segments  to the main focus, that are nor necessarily beauty related, but what I find interesting and also it gives me to write a super long blog post, which I enjoy! :)

For my first P.O.V, I wanted to share the restaurant, called Marutama-Ramen

Front view.

If you live in Vancouver or if you're visiting, this place is one of the go-to places to have ramen. Marutama, is located in downtown Vancouver, along and down Robson street. It's on the very same block as another ramen place, Santouka, But unlike Santouka, Marutama is not out in the open and is hidden in a block.

Bar seat table.

Immediately when you enter the restaurant, the atmosphere is cozy. There are different seatings and the arrangements of the seatings are vast. There are a number of bar seats and many single tables. One of the better seatings, are the bar seats which are right in front of where the ramen noodles are made. Not only do you get to enjoy your food, you also learn how the noodles are made from scratch.

The service here is great as well! The staff are friendly and there isn't a long waiting period.

In my experience, the ramen is tasty and delectable, the pork is tender, the seaweed is fresh, and the soup is delicious.The best way to describe the soup is that the soup base tastes 'eggy'. But once you add the bacon bits that are provided for you, the taste changes to a more savoury base.

The Original Ramen.

A closeup.

So if you're in town, or just downtown in Vancouver and would like to have some ramen or try ramen for the first time, I highly recommend to go to Marutama Ramen!

As always, thanks for reading!
Courtney ♡

[Review]: Sephora 4 Eye Look Book Set

Hey peeps,

So recently I stopped by at a newly opened Sephora (which is great, yet bad considering it's near where I work, good-bye paychecks T-T), to check out their items and of course, I couldn't resist getting something from there. What I picked up is one of Sephora's new limited edition eyeshadow sets, called Sephora Eye Look Books. 

The first thing I noticed was the packaging as it is quite cute, as it imitates the appearance of a book set, which appealed to me. 

But also, what drew me in too was the fact that the set came with different eyeshadows to create 4 different looks. I just got into makeup, so I'm not that good when it comes to creating different looks when using eyeshadows. 

There are 4 books and 4 different eye looks: 

Book 1: Smoky Eye Look

Book 2: Nude Eye Look

Book 3: Party Eye Look

Book 4: Metallic Eye Look

All of the books came with 5 eyeshadows, a mirror, a clear sheet that numbers the eyeshadows and an illustration that guides and teaches you how to put on the eyeshadows in order to achieve the intended look, a little tidbit, that is perfect for makeup beginners!  

The "book" packaging for the palette is adorable!

Overview for all the books/palettes.

Book 1: The Smoky Eye Look

Book 1 is described as having the following: 

"A collection of 5 smoky eyeshadow shades including a modern grey, a sultry matte black, and a soft white to  highlight, for a glamorous smokey eye look."

This book also comes with a sparkling and glittery black and a gunmetal blue eyeshadow.

Fun fact: I realized they misspelled smoky on the cover, it should really be spelled as smokey eye look.

I numbered the eyeshadows on the picture below because I took off the sheet. For all the books, the numerological order stays the same.

The eyeshadows go numeric order by starting at the very top left, then going clockwise.

Book 2: The Nude Eye Look

Book 2 is described as the following:

"A collection of 5 natural eyeshadow shades, including a beige champagne shimmer, a warm brown and an intense cocoa shade for an irresistible nude eye look."

The other two eyeshadows are a shimmery dark orange-brown and a shimmery grey.

Book 3: The Party Eye Look

Book 3 is described as the following:

"A collection of 5 vibrant eyeshadows, including a deep purple, a soft pearly pink and metallic grey for a dazzling party look."

The book also comes with 2 other eyeshadows, a metallic violet and a basic beige.

Book 4: The Metallic Eye Look

Book 4 is described as the following:

"A collection of 5 metallic eyeshadow shades, including a delicate gold, an intense copper and a golden khaki, for a luxurious metallic eye look."

The remaining two eyeshadows are a shimmery dark brown and a metallic dark yellow-brown.

Some Thoughts:

Pros: 

I like the fact that there are different books to create unique looks. I love the fact that they have illustrations to teach people how to apply on the shades of eyeshadows, as its perfect for people like me, who don't know how to use eyeshadow properly just yet. The size is another great thing, because its travel-friendly. Another plus is that the dark eyeshadows are very pigmented and soft. 

Short summary:

-travel friendly size

-darker eyeshadows very pigmented

-application is very easy and smooth

-included illustration/instructions/mirror

-4 eyeshadows per book

-1 highlighter

-various colours of eyeshadows (20 in total)

The darker eyeshadows are pigmented, while the lighter ones are not so much.

Cons: 

The lighter eyeshadows are not as pigmented. Also the way the book is made, I'm not too sure how I would be able take out the eyeshadow pan when needed. That being said, as well, there is no clear answer how deep the eyeshadows are in the pan.

Short Summary:

-lighter eyeshadows not as pigmented

-unsure how deep the eyeshadow pans are

-some of the matte shadows tend to crease

Final verdict:

The Sephora 4 Eye Look Book is perfect for a makeup beginner who has no experience or is not good at putting on eyeshadow and creating different looks. With this set, a person would be able to learn how create many looks with the help of the illustrations inside each volume. 

The price is not bad, considering you get 20 eyeshadows for $35 and 5 guides to teach how you can achieve the looks.

All and all, I would most likely recommend this to someone who's starting to get interested in makeup or is having trouble creating other looks with eyeshadows. But if you enjoy the eyeshadow colors/shades or just a makeup junkie overall, then this set is great for you as well! :)

✿{Overall Thoughts}✿

The packaging was adorable, it's what caught my eye the first place.

The pigmentation of the eyeshadows were depends, some were pigmented, while others were not.

The price was somewhat reasonable for the amount of eyeshadows you are getting.

The quality is good, the eyeshadows can be easily blended and are very soft.

♔Forever 21 Haul♔

I also wanted to post a quick snip bit from my latest haul from Forever 21, (I know, ._. I already bought things there recently, but this time, the items, were bought online since shipping was $21.)

I got a striped crop top, golden heart necklace and a stripe dress, all of which are super adorable!

And why is this haul relevant?

-It's because the stripe top and necklace are going to be featured in an upcoming an OOTD, which will be related to Hirunaka no Ryuusei (it's a shoujo manga)

-I'll talk more about the outfit and what I thought of the ending of HnR in the future blog.

Here are examples of outfits from the manga that I'm inspired by:

The colouring is from http://clairme.tumblr.com/

On a side note, upcoming posts  may be less structured, and maybe more 'loose' in a way, meaning I'll probably add random posts along with the main subject of the post, just to make it more personal and welcoming. 

Anyways, if you have any questions about the palette, ask away!

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.

YesStyle Haul + Review

If you're like me, and are somewhat considered a shopaholic, (,,◕　⋏　◕,,)you may already know, the online store called YesStyle, which is one of my favourite clothing sites to buy stuff from.

YesStyle is known to be as one of the leading asian clothing retailer, they sell items from Japan to Korea, and more.

♥{http://www.yesstyle.ca/en/home.html}♥

(Link to the store!)

What I like about the store is the vast selection of items they have and the majority of the items are very cute and girly. ^-^ They also have many different brands that you can choose from as well and often have sales each week.

Another good thing about the site is that, not only do they sell clothing, they also sell many beauty products such as makeup and wigs!

Unlike other online retailers, for Canadians, YesStyle will offer free shipping with any purchases at or over $25!

(Please NOTE: I am not affiliated with YesStyle in anyway. Everything you will see, I bought on my own.)

Let's start, shall we?

The items I'm about to show you, I had bought a while ago, but I never did a review until now, since I just started the blog and now have a better camera.

Ta-da!

Yup, the order this time, only consists, of tights.

59 Seconds Bow-Accent Two-Tone Tights

(Photo courtesy of YesStyle)

Camisole: Forever 21 | Skirt: YesStyle

Pros: From the haul, these tights are my favourite! The bow adds the element of cuteness to it, but as well, the entire design, also creates the illusion of the tights, to be a garter, adding a touch of sex appeal. The tights are stretchy and once you put in on, it's comfortable and smooth. 

Cons: The material the tights are made of is very weak, especially, the top half. If you don't take good care of it, the fishnet-like material will rip very easily. DO NOT, and I repeat do not, put these tights in the washer, this will wreck the tights, and it will rip apart (Learn from my mistake, haha). Hand wash it, instead! Another thing is that the bows are not sewn, but glued onto the tights, making it very flimsy and easily to fall off. (This hasn't happened to me, but I've read other reviews in which other people have experienced this.)

These tights can easily be paired with shorts, dresses, or my favourite way, with skirts. I do believe the tights can be worn in any season, it depends on how you style them yourselves. 

Thinking of buying these tights? Click Here!

59 Seconds Rabbit Print Two-Tone Tights

(Photo courtesy of YesStyle)

Sweater: YesStyle | Skirt: Forever 21

Pros: These tights are adorable. If you're a huge fans of rabbits, then I believe these tights will do you justice. The material of the tights are very comfortable and soft. The skin tone is very realistic as from afar it looks like the skin of your legs.

Cons: The one thing about this tight is that it only comes in one size. And if you're a small person like me, the tights might go up way to high. (SHORT PEOPLE PROBLEMS, FTW! :/) I'm exactly 5'0", but luckily, so far any of the tights I bought from the store, has not gone up to high.

These tights are more casual in comparison of the bow ones. These tights can be easily matched up with dresses, skirts, shorts and sweaters. And if you're like me, have to be peculiar, match it up with a rabbit shirt or sweater! :D Which reminds me, I missed out on a cute bunny sweater that was 30% off from TopShop T_T

Want these rabbit tights? Here's the Link!

59 Seconds Heart Print Two-Tone Tights

(Photo courtesy of Yesstyle)

Sweater Dress: Angela's Store

Pros: I like the illusion the tights give, from afar, it appears like knee high socks with heart tattoos all around. In comparison of the other two, these tights are probably the most flexible, in that, it stretches easily. However, it is not as soft as rabbit tights.

Cons: Again, these tights are one size. So, if you're short the tights will look longer and the images go up will way higher. And if you're tall, the tights will look too short. Although, I'm unsure, which height is middle ground, all the tights I have bought from Yesstyle has been at the perfect length, so if you're 5'0" like me, (Hiii :D), we good.

These tights can make any casual outfit cute. Ideally, the Fall, Spring and Summer seasons are best to wear it. If you do wear them in the Winter, I would advise to pair them up with warm, tall boots.

Click Here, if you want to take a better look at these tights.

I was skeptical of shopping at YesStyle at first, since I had read reviews on their service on other blogs. But I gave it a try since I couldn't resist all the cute things they had offered *-* Overall, my shopping experience with YesStyle has been great. The free shipping price is reasonable, and in my experience, the orders at least 7-10 days to get to my house. 

Although there are things that there that I have to include that I do not like about the site and one of them is that whenever they run out of stock of the items that you want, it will either take a month for them to restock or unfortunately, they will run out, and you will not get the item that you ordered. As well, you will not get refunded in money but in YesStyle's own credits, in which if you collect 1000 points or more you'll receive a gold membership, meaning for every item you will get 10% off immediately.

If you have any questions to ask me about Yesstyle, ask away! I don't mind!

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡