Two Door Cinema Club at the Santa Barbara Bowl

Back in 2013, I made a blog post about the first concert that I ever attended: Two Door Cinema Club. It was such an iconic and special night for me and after the show, I promised myself that I would see them again, but next time in the GA pit. Well, almost three years later in April 2017, that wish finally came true at the Santa Barbara Bowl!

The opener for that night was Grouplove, who I only knew for their songs Photograph and Tongue Tied. Still, the band had a very unique, charismatic and loving energy. Everything that they played felt so intimate yet fun! When they played Tongue Tied, the whole bowl was screaming the lyrics in unison, making it feel like one big close knit event.

And of course, these guys. Two Door Cinema Club had as much energy as I remember, if not more! I have to admit, I didn't listen much to their latest album, 

The photo and video are of "Changing of the Seasons", one of my favorite songs from them.

The lighting and design of the stage was so amazing! There were extra backdrops and effects to compliment each song played. It felt incredible; almost as if we were being absorbed by the music. 

I had such a wonderful time watching Two Door Cinema Club again after so long! It had been a while since I listened to them consistently and I was especially worried since I hadn't completely listened to Gameshow yet, but the band played so many classics from Tourist History and Beacon. Of course, their encore was What You Know and it ended the concert with a bang. I hope to see them very, very soon because my love has been reignited! 

Review: Nature Republic Fresh Green Tea 70 Emulsion

Hi everyone, back with another review from my Nature Republic haul from a few weeks ago! This time, I'll be reviewing their Fresh Green Tea emulsion. I have been using this for a long enough time now to give a thorough review. For those who don't know emulsion is a later step in the skincare process to provide extra moisture and whatever other effects wanted. It should also be noted that I have sensitive, normal type skin. Let's get started!
(If you are reading this on mobile, tap on the photos for a clearer resolution)

I really adored the packaging for this product! It seems that all of Nature Republic's packaging is eco-friendly, recyclable, and printed with a soy-based ink; all of which I fully support! The colors and design are also simple and very nice to look at.

Here are the ingredients for those who are interested for ethical reasons or allergy reasons. As you can see, there are quite a few ingredients that are natural, including the key ingredient, camellia sinensis leaf water, or more commonly known as green tea extract. The product stays true to its claims and has a #1 ingredient of a tea leaf that is an anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogen, and has anti-aging properties.

The bottle itself is quite sturdy and clearly is not made of any cheap material. 

There was a safety seal in the top of bottle for protection, which I always appreciate~. Now, I have found that this method of dispense for the product has some major flaws. When I first started using the emulsion, I couldn't get the product out at all no matter how much I shook the bottle onto my hand. For the first week, I had to scoop it out with a Q-tip! This was an inconvenience, but now that I've loosened up the product, I have no problems anymore getting it out. 

The product had a slightly thick consistency, but applied on really smoothly! It spread and absorbed into the skin quite easily, no resistance at all. My skin always feels more refreshed and supple after applying. There's also little to no smell.

As for the effects, I have been using this product for about three weeks and have noticed no negative side effects. I have sensitive skin and have not broken out all. My skin has also become slightly more hydrated and clear and hopefully will continue to get better as time passes. 

With all these effects factored in, I give this product a 

8.5/10.

This product is no miracle worker and has flawed packaging, but with time, it does it's job. I recommend this product for those with normal to combination skin. Dry-skin types would also benefit from this product, but more in the warmer months. I also very much appreciate the ethical message Nature Republic sends with its products. I hope to try and review more in the future!

What are your thoughts on the product? Let me know of your favorite emulsions! Thank you for reading!

Hermit Falls Hike: Photo Album

A few weeks ago, a couple of close friends and I went on a little adventure to a hiking trail in the Angeles National Forest. We were trying to get to a little spot deep in the forest called Hermit Falls. Even though when we got there it was too much of a hassle to get to the actual falls, the path we hiked was absolutely beautiful and I had such a good time. This was my first actual nature hike and I loved every second of it. Not to mention it was great exercise! Thank you Erica and Carrie for this wonderful day~

(click on photos to enlarge)

Feeling completely enveloped in nature is something I need to do more often.

Review: Nature Republic Argan Deep Care Hair Mask

Hi everyone~! This hair mask was included in my Nature Republic haul last week and right after I made that post, I decided to use it to showcase if it worked well or not. My hopes for this product are that if it does its job, then I'll go out and get myself a full version!

The packaging was pretty straightforward. I really like the simplistic design and the materials used seems to be recyclable as well! It didn't seem cheap at all. 

Like mentioned before in my haul, the mask comes with its own shower cap for convenience. I didn't have any shower caps before buying this, so I was really pleased! As you can see, the package is split up into steps. Step 1 contains the actual mask and once you're done lathering the product evenly over your hair, you open Step 2 and put on the provided cap. Really simple and easy!

 

The treatment had a slightly thick consistency, but still watery enough to easily lather onto my hair. It did have a really pleasant scent that wasn't strong at all!

The shower cap was a paper/plastic blend and held my hair together really well, but it seems to be made for one-time use only. 

While I was waiting the 20 minutes with the cap on, I noticed that the treatment was starting to feel really warm on my scalp! It didn't sting at all, but I definitely could feel my scalp getting warmer from the treatment. I took this as a sign of the mask activating and doing it's job. It wasn't too uncomfortable, but I didn't mind it in the end.

Here is what my hair looked like the morning after I used the treatment. My tips look so much better and my hair has definitely gotten shinier! The effects have lasted for almost a week now, and multiple people have noticed that my hair looks healthier. It's not as voluminous as I want it to be yet, but I'm still very satisfied with the results. I'm definitely going to buy the full-sized tub in the future. 

However, keep in mind that my hair is naturally thick and straight, so I cannot say for certain that people with curlier, coarser, or thinner hair would experience the same amount of effectiveness as I did. If this product is used consistently for at least once a month, changes will definitely occur. Because of this, I'm giving this product a 

Rating: 9/10

I completely recommend this product for those who want to try a hair mask. The full size is available on Amazon, but if you live near a Nature Republic, try this product when you can! 

Nature Republic Haul!

Hi loves! It's been a while since I've made a blog post, sorry about that. Hopefully I'll post more this year. Anyways, I wanted to do a skincare post today because a Nature Republic opened up in my local mall! I'm really excited having a Korean skincare store so close to my house. I popped over and bought a couple of things and was even gifted some by friends. I plan on doing reviews on the full sized products soon. 

First item I got was an emulsion, which I've been needing in my skincare routine for a long time. Emulsions help supplement and provide moisture in the routine. Aside from an emulsion being great for helping make skin more supple, I chose the green tea product because green tea has a million fantastic benefits, and I'm just a huge green tea lover~. I'm hoping this will help keep my skin clear and depuff parts of my face as well add extra moisture. This cost a little less than $15. 

This product I've been looking at for a couple weeks now. It's their argan deep care hair mask. At first I was looking for the pack that came in a little tub, but they only had this version instead. This type is a one-time use and comes with a hair cap, which is really convenient! I'm hoping it'll make my hair shinier and more voluminous and if it works, I'll probably look for the full pack online. These cost about $4.50 each. 

Next is Nature Republic's Real Nature Aqua Gel mask. This mask was actually gifted to me by a friend who bought 10 masks to get another free 10 for only $30. I've used the green tea one and the difference between a gel mask and a sheet mask is definitely noticeable! It feels best if the mask is refrigerated for a couple of hours and then used. I'm excited to see how different this canola honey mask feels from the green tea one.  

Finally, I always appreciate these little samples that Korean skincare stores always give you. They gave me an emulsion from their AQUA line, a snail-based face cream (ooh!), and a green tea hand lotion from their line of many, many different hand lotions. 

I'm really excited to try these products and hopefully do reviews on a couple of them in the near future! 

Thanks for reading, be sure to follow my Twitter or Instagram to see what I'm up to!

My Plans for this Blog

So it's 2016 and I've now had this blog for a little over... 3 years now? And things have changed! Very incrementally of course, but there are still changes happening. Let's chat about what's going on.

I originally started this blog to post anime reviews for fun since at the time I was watching a bunch of different series and thought it'd be fun to post my opinions, and it was! But as time passed, I became lazy and started watching less anime. As of now, I watch about one series per season and MAYBE whatever's on Netflix. 

Lately, I've been inspired by emi's blog to explore my growing love for himekaji fashion more, notably Liz Lisa. I've been interested in jfashion since the beginning of high school, but it was only a year or two ago did I realize how much I love the casual princess look that himekaji is. I bought a few Liz Lisa pieces of my own when I visited Japan in 2014, and ever since then have wanted to buy more! It makes me even happier that there is a small community dedicated to this style and I've even made a few friends from it.

And then recently, I found Rachel Nguyen and her blog/YouTube and was just completely blown away by how personal, honest, and raw all her content was. She wasn't creating to gain popularity but to outlet her interests and imagination. Her hard work is inspiring to me makes me want to explore my own creativity.

Of course, in the end I really just want to find my own personal style, one that I can call my own. I used to find popular bloggers and want to copy who they were (like Jasmine-blu lol), but I've changed over the years and now I'd rather create an aesthetic entirely my own instead of being a carbon copy of the last "kawaii" girl. Of course, I'll still always love cute things! That will no doubt stay a part of me, but I want this blog to represent more than that. I want it to be a fresh blend of everything that is me, whether that's Liz Lisa or Japan or intense talks about whatever's on my mind. I also really want to keep this blog so I have a healthy creative outlet throughout my life. As a STEM major, there isn't much room for the arts and I want to keep the right side of my brain active! Thank goodness for fashion for keeping me in balance.

 I'm transitioning from my late teenage years into adulthood, and I'm excited to document myself to see what I create! And I hope you continue to read along to see what happens too! Thanks for having this chat with me.