[Review]: Nature Republic Soothing & Moisturize 92% Aloe Vera Soothing Gel // {Outfits + Ed Sheeran Concert?!}

What up, my buttercups?

I hope you guys all have been enjoying the month of July. So far, I haven't been doing too much after my graduation and being on a break from school, has actually made me more lazy than anything. (◍•﹏•)

Fortunately, after getting a pep talk by one of my close friends, I'm feeling more pumped up and more motivated to do and getting things done. And one the tasks I want to do, is write more blog posts, in order to make up for missing the weeks of June.

For this post, I present you with a review on Nature Republic Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel. 

Company's stock photo.

Look how clear the gel is!

Closeup of the product.

What I really like about the product is that it doesn't one usage, but instead, has multiple uses.

The best 8 ways to use the gel.

Examples of how to use the Aloe Vera Gel

1. Moisturizing cream or as a face mask
2. Makeup base
3. After shave cream
4. Hair treatment and to style hair
5. Treatment for swollen eyes
6. Protection for nail care
7. Body lotion
8. Treatment for sunburns

The gel used as a lotion.

From the list of usage, I have used the gel as lotion. The substance of the gel feels nice and soft-like, I really like the cooling effect it has on the skin. As well, I also like how light the gel is. A pet-peeve of mines, is when I find lotions feel too heavy. Another plus of the product, is the smell! It's very light-scented and pleasant.

✿ {Recommendations?} ✿

-A big, definite, yes!! The product has various and numerous use and not only does it smell nice, but it feels nice as well on the skin. It also doesn't hurt that aloe vera, itself is a great substance for the skin.

[Outfits, outfits & outfits!]

Dress: H&M
Belt: Forever 21
Oxford Heels: Payless Shoes

-An outfit I wore to take pictures with a friend, since she couldn't make it to my grad.

Kimono: Brandy Melville
Knit Crop Top: Aritzia
Necklace: H&M
Skirt: Forever 21

-One of my favourite outfits, up to date,

Halter Top: Urban Behaviour
Skirt: & Necklace: Forever 21
Purse: YSL
Flats: Naturalizer

-The outfit I wore to Ed Sheeran's concert. ˭̡̞(◞⁎˃ᆺ˂)◞*✰

Ed Sheeran Tank
Shorts: Forever 21
Shoes: Converse

-Of course, I had to style my Ed Sheeran tank top.

[Ed Sheeran concert?!]

I went to Ed Sheeran's concert a few weeks ago and the entire experience was amazing! He's great live and the way he engaged the crowd was great.

Honestly, I was about to ugly cry, haha, when he came out onto the stage and when he started singing "Photograph".

-I would add the videos I took from the concert, unfortunately the file is to big. (｡•́︿•̀｡) 

So here's some photos instead!

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡

♡Sponsored♡: Teacupcastle L.O.V.E. Necklace

Hi everyone!

Sorry for not updating and disappearing for a while, I was busy the past few days since I just graduated from college and I finally got assigned a student for tutoring. ヽ( ★ω★)ノ

This post is going to be a bit different from the usual, because I'm excited to share with you guys my very first sponsored post on this blog (hooray!). 

A few days ago, I received a package from Angela, the kind owner of Teacupcastles, an Etsy shop, which specializes in homemade & handmade jewellery and accessories.   

A variety of jewellery that Angela created.

I came by Angela's store after reading a post by a fellow blogger that I follow and was interested in her store, as her handmade items were inspired by japanese fashion, fairy tales, The Pretty Reckless,  comics and anime.

Out of interest and curiosity of her store, I messaged Angela, and too much to my surprise, Angela quickly replied back! Luckily for me, Angela was more than willing to send me an original piece of her work and sponsor me. 

Fortunately for me as well, Angela was really patient with me and kindly answered my questions right away, providing great customer service. ٩(^ᴗ^)۶ 

Here is the packaging that I received:

Cause animal stamps are the best to conceal information.

After opening the envelope, along with the necklace, I was presented with an adorable and colourful business card.

The contents inside.

Closeup of the card.

While communicating with Angela, she allowed me to pick a list of items that I was the most interested in from her store, and in turn, would pick which item matched me the most. 

And happily, I'm glad that she chose to let me sponsor the L.O.V.E. necklace, which is adorable and pink, and really matches with my blog (hahaha).

The L.O.V.E. necklace.

A different angle of the piece.

A closeup the necklace.

What stood out for me the most of the piece, was the intricate and detailed designs of the floral charm, it showed me how talented Angela is, with her craftsmanship. However, I also really like the detailing of the wording of the love charm, which was a cute touch!

The quality of the necklace was another plus, you can tell how much work Angela puts in for each of her products. (◍•ᴗ•◍)

In addition, not only did Angela send me the necklace, but she also gave me a bonus gift, a heart-patterned pin button.

Overview of the package.

Here are some additional shots of the necklace with my outfit:

I love how I can easily match the necklace with my outfit.

Despite the floral patterns, the necklace is still easily the main focal point.

As previously mentioned, the detailing of the wording of 'love' is incredible.

{Where are the outfit pieces from?}

Dress & Shoes: Forever 21

Cardigan: American Eagle

Bralette: YesStyle

Belt: Charlotte Russe

What makes the accessories from Teacupcastles so interesting and unique, is that they're one of a kind. You wouldn't be able to get them anywhere else and for the reasonable price, the excellent customer service you receive and the overall quality, I would highly recommend shopping at the store.

Furthermore, there is also an appeal to different fandoms, it's a store where you would be able to find accessories that are inspired by and from Sailor Moon, to Game of Thrones, to Final Fantasy, to Harry Potter, etc. 

I want to personally thank Angela for giving me the opportunity to be sponsored and taking a chance of a relatively new blog, that has no experience of sponsorship whatsoever and of course, for letting me review the wonderful necklace.

♡ If you guys ever need the chance to buy adorable and unique accessories, the Etsy store, Teacupcastle is your place to go! ♡

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡

Salted Nails // {Quick swatch ft. Urban Decay, P.O.V. + Outfit pics}

When it comes to nail designs, I would consider myself a very detailed person. (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و I usually tend to go for designs that are more complicated than some, but some days I feel lazy and don't want to put that much effort of my nails. That being said, I'm here to share with you, a simple, yet cute nail design that looks cool and complicated, but in reality, it's easy.

Today, I shall show you how to create a salted manicure, making your nails look cool, without that much effort.

For this design, you can pick any colour(s) you want, you can mix and match or stick with one colour. The last time I did this design, I did a pastel coloured theme, but for this one I'm going to stick with one colour.

The required products.

♢ What I used ♢

-NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in 147 Lexington Lilac

-Island Girl Top/base coat

-Salt

Getting into the TuToRiAl...!

Never skip out on applying base coat!

1) The very first step and for every nail tutorial, is to apply a base coat on your nail plates. By doing so, you can provide protection from the chemicals nail polish have and to keep your nails looking clean and nice, once the polish is taken off.

One coat of the nail polish.

2) After waiting for the base coat to dry, the next step to do is apply one coat of the nail color(s) of your choosing, make sure to wait for the coat to dry, before heading onto the next step.

3) Once the first coat of nail polish is completely dried, this is the time you want to add a second coating.

Cool nail effect by adding salt.

4) Before the second coat dries up, this is when you want to sprinkle salt all over your nails. To ensure the salt particle stays, gently press against it on the nail. You can easily shake off the excess salt if it gets in the way.

5) Finally, after you complete all the steps, finish off by applying a top coat. For me, I had to apply 2 top coats, to get everything covered.

The end ReSuLtS!!!

Let's Get Naked
-Not too long ago, I purchased Urban Decay's Naked Foundation in shade 3 from Sephora.

-What I like about this foundation is that feels absolutely weightless, just as advertised.

-Even with a pump, I was still given enough foundation to cover a large area of my skin.

-Spreading and applying the foundation around, was very smooth-like, which is great!

Overall, when it comes to foundation, I'm the type to spend a little more than other makeup products. I really like the Urban Decay Naked foundation and I have no problem, in the future, buying it again.

Spend the Day with Me!
(AKA Places of Vancouver)

Last week, was the first week of summer school for my college and since I'm not taking any courses, I decided to volunteer as an information guide for new students and tell them where to go and what do if they had questions.

This went on for the first two days of the week and while the first day was pretty busy, on the second day only 2 people came up and that was it.

I really didn't have anything to do after volunteer, so I made plans with one of my old high school friend and we went to the Vancouver Aquarium for fun and nostalgia.

So before heading to the aquarium, I made my friend take a picture of my outfit of the day, since the scenery at Stanley Park is very pretty.

(On a side note: SHOUTOUT to my friends for putting up with my eccentric ways, especially when it comes to dealing with outfit pictures).

The outfit I wore to the aquarium!

{I'm not too of a huge fan of plaid, but when I saw this dress at Forever 21, I thought it was too adorable to pass up, so I bought it. 

Also from Forever 21, are the laced flats. They're very comfortable and can be easily be matched with anything, same goes for the heart necklace (if you want to see a closer picture of the necklace, check out my previous post).

The cardigan at the moment is my favourite piece, I believe I got it from American Eagle and the belt is from Urban Planet.}

○The Aquarium Life○
[So, I realize I suck at taking pictures in my phone some of them are going to be blurry, sorry!]

Hopefully this nail tutorial inspired or helped you create a similar design. If you don't want to use salt, you can definitely use sugar as a substitute, it will still create the same effect. Although, for me, I tend to stay away from sugar, just in case it attracts insects (yuck). 

Also on another completely different topic, I cut my hair shorter! :A: it's been years since I cut it short, since I do like my length and I can style my long hair into more styles.

On a plus side though, the length is perfect, since it's getting a lot warmer, here, in Vancouver. As well, I don't need to wait as long for my hair to dry and even better, my haircut only cost $7 since I got it cut by a student hairdresser. ヾ(。◕ฺ∀◕ฺ)ノ

Anyways, I will stop rambling and I'm hoping to put out more reviews during this month because I know made promises that I would do so, and plus, I have some new products that I've been dying to tryout.

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡