Back to School Sale!

Click this link to shop here ---->> www.shopcourtalex.com

The New Branch of the Courtney Alexandria Empire

I launched www.shopcourtalex.com, on April 6, 2018 at exactly 5:11 pm. I now sell handcrafted soaps, hair/skin butters, and jewelry. The Courtney Alexandria Empire now includes Courtney Alexandria Blog (this blog) and Beauty By Courtney Alexandria. Continue reading to learn more about the birth of the new edition to the Courtney Alexandria Empire.

Growing up one of the many calming activities in my life always involved working with my hands. At the age of 12, I remember viewing other's creations in stores and saying, "that'll be me one day." At this time, I am selling my handcrafted jewelry, and in the future, I plan to add clothing and accessories. Creating anything whether it is baking, cooking, drawing, painting, sculpting, styling, or crafting always bring me joy and now I get to share that with my customers.

Cruising down the aisle, examining the labels of various skin and hair products, sitting on the many of shelves, I wonder which to take home and try. I read the ingredients of the twentieth product, phone in hand, typing the ingredients into the web page to see what it does and would it help my skin and hair receive the much-needed moisture. After settling for the products purchased, I use it, and to my horror less than halfway through my day, my skin is ashy, dry, and cracked. It is the middle of summer I am showing my ashen greyed elbows and legs to the world. My hair is covered with a hat or head scarf because the product did not moisturize my hair enough and it is near impossible to comb through. For the umpteenth time my products had failed me, and now money has gone down the drain. My eczema is crying, begging me to scratch it raw, my skin is looking like a freshly erased chalkboard, and my skin is red from something in the product the has irritated my skin. I end up beyond annoyed and working an extra shift to make up for the lost funds.

I take a shower expecting to come out feeling wonderful and smelling divine. For a while, I do feel relaxed and fresh. As soon as I get ready to moisturize my skin, I start burning and scratching. Something in the soap made my skin irritated and my skin is not moisturized. I began researching for natural remedies, and at the age of 19, I started making my own soaps and hair/skin butters. Over the years, I created and used the products offered at Courtney Alexandria. I worked tirelessly to build my brand and offer my future customers the top of the line products handmade by me.

I can finally say that at the age of 24, 12 years after my claim, I am a business owner. I am not only making products for myself but for the people whos, skin and hair struggles resembled mine. I get to share my crafting abilities with my customers and allow them to smile as they finally find the products of their dreams.

Keeping Black Clothes (Mostly) Lint Free

Most of my closet is filled with black clothes and the problem I always face is the lint! I thought that many others might face this problem, so why not make a post on it. The advice that I’m giving is not from a professional, but from my own personal experiences. Take as much of the advice as you wish. There is no need to take in everything from this post, use what you'll need!

Always wash black clothes with other black clothes. 

This is essential! Mixing colors with your black clothes can cause the other colors to transfer lint onto your black clothes. Resulting in having what I call "sprinkles" (as in dessert topping).

Separate your black clothes by fabric. 

Knits with the knits. Cottons with the cottons. Jeans with the jeans. Some fabrics can transfer lint to other fabrics. It’s tedious to separate black clothes from each other, but knits are a pain in the booty cakes. Knits easily transfers lint to other fabrics and black lint is just as noticeable as white lint on a black shirt.

Don't wash your clothes inside out. 

Washing your black clothes inside out can result in trapping lint in the creases of the folds. For example, have you ever washed clothes and noticed that big globs of lint are in the creases of where your clothes were laying flat. Well, imagine having that on the outside of your clothes.

If you have your own washing machine and/or dryer frequently clean out the lint.

 The less lint in the machine(s), the less lint on your clothes. This piece of advice also prevents fires in dryers. (Your welcome.) With Laundromats, it’s a little difficult because it’s the public's machine. I use Laundromats so I skip this step, but those with private machines this piece of advice is for you.

After your clothes are dry, hang/fold your black clothes inside out. 

Again very tedious, but I rather have lint on the inside of my black clothes than the outside. When your clothes are hanging in the closet or folded in your drawer it is possible that lint, hair, or dust can transfer onto your black clothes.

Be careful where you lay/sit/or whatever else. 

You know those jackets/coats with the fur or faux fur on the inside. BAD. IDEA. The fur or faux fur can be unintentionally transferred onto your black clothes. Sitting on fabric-cushioned seats also can transfer lint.

Not saying to sell your pet on eBay, but… 

When I lived with family they had a pet cat and I had more than enough fur on me. It was annoying. Just watch out for those furry friends make sure they don’t jump in your lap when wearing black. It’s a task and a half trying to get the fur off.

Wait to put on clothes right before you go outside. 

Saving the “get dress” part last helps keep lint and fur from our furry friends at bay. (Not completely).


Lint rollers will become your best friend. 

When all else fails use a lint roller, lint machine, or an ol' fashion lint brush. A small on the go brush works well while you are outside!

No matter what you do there is going to be lint somewhere. 

Don’t worry if you get a few lint here and there. Nobody’s perfect and nothing is 100%. You can’t get every particle off.

I hope this was a big help. It works for me and I hope it works to your benefit. Remember this is not a step-by-step guide. Feel free to use whatever you deem as useful. These are just opinions that has helped me and not everything is for everyone.

Until Next Time, 

Courtney

Starring...

My baby is two years old. Happy Birthday Love, 
 XOXO mommy.

First lets establish this: No, I don't have children. Secondly: Two years ago I started this blog and well, this is my baby. I worked hard on it and I have the right to call it "my baby". With all the revamping I've done, I couldn't be any more pleased with its outcome. Especially since I managed this by myself with two jobs and being a full-time student (I will touch upon that a little bit more in another post).

 Wearing all black has been my staple since I was 11 and at the time of this post I am 22, so yeah it’s been a long time. I noticed I've taken a liking to prints/print mixing and colors. Which is why I felt like Courtney Alexandria needed a revamp (hence the pop of red now found throughout the blog). 

This outfit was actually from a year ago, but I never gotten around to posting it. I love this T-shirt Dress, it's comfortable and casual cool. In my opinion it’s a little too short for me, so I decided to wear a pair of biker shorts underneath. I mostly wear this dress while running errands its light and the breeze always hits right! I threw on my favorite pair of converses that have been through a crap load of battles and my favorite backpack that has seen better days (like seriously, I keep having to crazy glue the flap to the closure). I grabbed my star necklace and bracelet that I made (sorry about the lack of close ups on my accessories, I'll make sure to start doing that).

T-shirt Dress 
Forever 21 ~ sold out
| Similar |

Biker Shorts
| Walmart |

Sneakers 
| Famous Footwear |

Bag
Aldo ~ sold out
| Similar |
| Similar |

Earrings
Forever 21 ~ sold out
| Similar |

Necklace
Made by Me

Bracelet
Made by Me

Until Next Time,

Courtney

Money, Power, Glory

I want to do more. I need to do more. Even though I've been extremely busy,  I feel the need to set higher standards for myself. I watch so many people around me who aspire to just stay where they are, and I know for sure that's not me. May-be I push myself way too hard, but I got a taste of the real world, and now I want it all. As Lana Del Rey says, "I want money, power, and glory". We may not be talking about the same "money, power, glory", but none the less it what I want.

In this outfit, I did feel mighty powerful with a dash of glory. What I couldn't quite get in the picture was the sheerness of the shirt. It is actually very see-through so I opted for a really pretty bra from Ashley Stewart. Since the shirt was very see-through I decided to wear my duster. I threw on the skirt, shoes, and a ring I made and I was out the door.

Blouse ~ Old Navy

Bra ~ Ashley Stewart {click here}

Skirt ~ Forever 21

Shoes ~ Just Fab

Duster ~ Forever 21

Ring ~ Made by me

Bleached R.B.D.

Ripped, Bleached, Distressed. 

My favorite pair of jeans, the R.B.D.

I would have never thought to pair these jeans with this outfit, but I'm glad I did. Lately, I've been experimenting with my style and so far I'm in love! I have decided to shop in the smaller sizes and found some amazing pieces I would have never even attempt to wear. 

This duster was a longtime item on my wishlist, but I couldn't find it anywhere. After giving up and considering making one from scratch, I had discovered Forever 21 Plus had one on sell! This was a definite bucket full of awesome sauce!

Since I was going to school, I paired this outfit with a tote bag big enough to fit my books and some comfy sandals. Of course, I can't go outside in a bra, so I just threw on a black t-shirt from old navy.

Duster ~ Forever 21+

T-Shirt ~ Old Navy

Jeans ~ Old

Sandals ~ Forever 21

Bag ~ Just Fab

 

Lace 'N Legs

I actually got a lot of complements when I was wearing this outfit, which was pretty surprising to me. My favorite complement was a classmate who said "You got some beautiful chocolate legs". The dude just cracked me up and I totally started laughing hysterically. Anyways...

I love this romper from Forever 21. The lace arms were actually pretty cool. I was totally feeling myself! lol. Of course I couldn't pass up on wearing my favorite hat.

Romper ~ Forever 21

Hat ~ Forever 21

Belt ~ H&M

Earrings ~ Made By Me

Necklace ~ Made By Me

Ring ~ Made By Me

Boots ~ Asos

Kicking and Karate Choppin'

It was a very warm day in New York City and this gal has decided to wear a jean jacket and some boots. Well in my defense, I was in school all day and the air conditioner was kicking and karate choppin'! Awkwardness aside I loved this outfit, it was understated and simple. When I decided to put my hair in a hump and wear my hand made spike accessories it added an edgy feeling to my look.

 

Jacket ~ Macys

Tank Top ~ Forever 21

Skirt ~ Forever 21

Boots ~ Asos

Spiked Bracelets (Both Wrists) ~ Made By Me

Earrings ~ Made By Me

 

Static Grunge

Jeez. It's been a month since I last published a post. Well, life happens. Being a full-time college student with two jobs is taking its toll on me, so expect huge time lapses in between posts, sorry. Just keeping real ... Anyways on to the outfit.

 

I love this romper! Its a grungy, static-y twist on the houndstooth print. With my shaved head and long box braids I think it adds an even more edginess to the look.

 

Romper ~ Forever 21

Boots ~ JcPenny

 

On the Spot

 

 When I looked in the mirror that morning, I had a moment of shyness where I almost ran for a cardigan. An extra-long bulky cardigan, but of course I put my big girl panties on and sucked it up, walked out that door with my head held up high.

 

Dress ~ Forever 21

Shoes ~ JcPenny

Necklace ~ Made by me