May & June Empties ♥

It's that time again.. time to sort though me empties and throw em out! Let's see what I've finished these past couple of months..

[L-R]

Garnier Dark Spot Corrector - I liked it at first but then it started breaking me out. Since then, all it has done is sat in my drawer, unloved and unused. Repurchase? Nope.

Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream - I won't say much on this.. review is coming soon! ;D

Nivea Hydro Care lip balm - An all time favourite, I always go back to this. I need to pick up on soon - my lips are missing it!

[L-R]

Nivea Powerfruit Refresh Shower Gel in Goji Berry - Love this stuff, it leaves my skin feeling clean and moisturised, and it smells absolutely divine! Repurchase? I already have, but in a different scent this time (^__^)

Natural Collection Loose Powder in Translucent - I've had this pot for ages, and while it did finish a while ago, I've been putting my broken powders into it when they well break. xD Throwing it away now, it's taking up space and I just don't want it around anymore. Repurchase? Nope!

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Original - This has been knocking around for a couple of months and I finally finished it when I went to Brighton for the weekend with my friends. My friends always end up using it too, they love how well it works and how it leaves their hair volumized after using it - something I would not have bothered to think about/would not have noticed being a hijabi and all >.< Repurchase? Definitely!

[L-R]

Benefit Foamingly Clean Facial Wash - Once again.. review coming soon.

St Ives Timeless Skin Review & Firm Apricot Scrub - This was a bit of a meh product. It didn't have enough granules in it for me, nor were they coarse enough. In fact its so meh I saw no point in writing up a review about it (>.<) Repurchase? Definitely not.

The Body Shop's Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash - Come on guys. Do I really have to say this? I won't because you already know my love for this. Repurchase? Already have done!

[L-R]

Superdrug Vitamin E Skincare Gentle Eye Makeup Remover - I picked this up on a whim, and from the beginning till the end of this bottle, I've freaking loved this...apart from on my eyes. I just don't like using it on my eyes, it feels weird and I'm always scared it'll get in my eyes *covers her eyes* (/ . \) I'm strange I know. after using this, my skin always felt so soft and clean! My sister, who is dry skinned, also loved it and says that it works really well on eye makeup too (as it was intended to be used, haha). Repurchase? Yep!

Superdrug Large Cotton Wool Pads - I'm not too sure why I picked these up; I think they might have been on offer or something and i was running out of my usual circular ones and happened to be in Superdrug. They're okay I suppose, but they did irritate my face a bit - they weren't as soft as I thought they would be! I'm sure they are intended for babys bums! Repurchase? No thank you.. I'll stick to my normal circular ones.

Garnier Skin Naturals Simple Essentials Soothing 2 in 1 Makeup Remover - I rave about this in every empties post. You should know by now how much I love this stuff :P Repurchase? I already have two as backup kehe!

Wow that's a lot of stuff! Glad I can finally throw it all out (^__^) *slam dunks it in the bin* 

Ahh don't you just love that feeling?

Disclaimer: All products were bought with my own money unless stated otherwise. All opinions are my own.

Mini Boots Haul ft. Benefit ☼

Well hello there you beautiful people! Hope you're all having a lovely week. I thought I'd share with you some of my recent purchases in the form of a mini haul post (^__^)

Nivea Hydro Care lipbalm  - My all time favourite lipbalm. This winter my lips dried out to the point of it being painful, something which has never happened to me before. Whilst my EOS lipbalm was hydrating, it really wasn't moisturising enough for this. I had to go back to my old lipbalm, so I took a trip to Boots on my way home from uni and bought it. My lips are much better now thanks to it, Alhamdulillah ^^

Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips (Original) - I've seen this around on a few blogs and decided to try them out. Mainly because my nose feels like it really needs to try something like this right now. I've been having such a bad skin month :[  Whilst any spots I may get on my cheeks I can hide with concealer, the stubborn blackheads on my nose are harder to hide. Even exfoliating regularly isn't helping me! *sigh* 

Anyhoo, review is coming soon..I've tried one already but won't give away my verdict just yet!

Benefit Hervana blush - AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I FINALLY GOT IT! *beams* ASOS were having a student discount deal where it was 25% off clothing, shoes, accessories etc and 20% off beauty items for 48 hours the other day, so I decided to take the plunge and order my very first Benefit blush as an after exam treat. 

This has been on my wishlist since it came out and a Benefit makeup artist put it on me - I received so many compliments that day. (>.<) I decided I HAD to have it, because even *I* thought it looked good on me, and you'll never hear me say that! I was so excited when my sister told me my package had arrived, I was literally grinning ear to ear when I got home and opened it. *SQUEEEEEEEE*

Have you been shopping lately? Found any bargains? ^^

Disclaimer: All products were bought with my own money unless stated otherwise. All opinions are my own. But if you read the post you'd know that. :P 

Modestly Stylish: Formal Dinner Party Outfit

Modestly Stylish: Formal Dinner Party Outfit by themaryfairy 

Empire line dress by Chic Nova - £24.58  / H&M Jacket - £29.99 / Black Zip Bistretch Slim Leg Trousers from New Look - £9.99  / Blink Patent Mid Heel Court Shoe from Republic - £20 / Rare London Studded Skull Clasp Bag - £20 / Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner - £17 / Benefit They're Real mascara - £18.50

Hey there my lovelies, hope you're all well~

I'm back today with another Modestly Stylish outfit for you, and today's theme is a formal dinner outfit. Black and beige are my go to colours, because they just look so classy together and they suit just about everyone too.

I'm loving H&M's blazers at the moment, I actually just bought a black blazer the other day from H&M and the quality is brilliant. My very first blazer was actually from there too, it's been two years and it still looks brand new!

For the trousers I thought they were a pretty good price for some smart but slim legged trousers. I don't particularly like the zips but they'll be covered by the dress anyway (^__^)

I love the dress, not too form fitting but gives your waist a little definition all the same. A nice simple, classy dress that you can dress up or down should be a staple in every girls wardrobe. I'd personally would obviously wear a top underneath this. 

Everyone's loving the studded craze these days so I thought I'd throw in a lovely studded bag, which I have to say I really like despite studs not being my thing! And as for the shoes.. well you can't go wrong with a pair of nude shoes can you? Plus I read somewhere that nude shoes make your legs look longer.. something short girls like me wouldn't mind having hehe.

I'd keep my makeup simple, maybe do the 'cat eye' liner style (if I ever get it right.. I can never get it even! >.<) and maaaaaaaybe a red lip if I was feeling brave. :P

What do you wear to a formal dinner party? ☺

My December 2012 Wishlist ♥

December 2012 Wishlist by themaryfairy 

Now I don't normally post wishlists.. but because a) I'm trying to mix it up with my blogposts, and b) some of my friends are stuck for ideas for a belated birthday gift, I thought I'd make up a little wishlist and kill two birds with one stone and put up what I've been wanting to get these past few months (^__^)

Plus I thought because Christmas is on the way, stuff will be on offer, and Boots are doing those points events thing aren't they? See, I'm so considerate *tweaks halo* hahaha ;D

[clockwise from left]

1. Origins Super Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Gel

I've read quite a few rave reviews about this, and have been meaning to pick it up but I don't have an Origins counter near me; and when I do go where there is one, I always seem to forget! I'm a goldfish, I know.

2. Lancome La Vie Est Belle Perfume

As mentioned in my monthly favourites post, I received a sample of this in the post and fell in love with it. I'm going to be really sad when I run out of the sample.. :[ It smells absolutely gorgeous! The one I've linked is the gift set with the EDP (30ml), body lotion (50ml), shower gel (50ml), a mini Hyponse Mascara in black, and a mini Juicy Tube lipgloss! BARGAIN.

3. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Natural

I've been wanting this for a while now, but I haven't bought it because I had so many powders to get through! I kind of went a bit powder mad once I realised I had found something to banish my shiny nose and bought about four and have been working through them ever since LOL. Luckily I only have two left now and I've hit pan on one already! :oD

4. New Look Wide Fit Tan Cuffed Wedge Boots
I think I've tried these boots on ten times now, like every single time I've been into New Look I've tried them on and left them. I don't know why I keep leaving them, but I just do. No wait I think I know why.. it's because it's something I want and not need rofl. I do that a lot.. I satisfy my cravings for something by just looking at it from afar lmao. (hash tag life of a broke uni student -__- hahaha!)

(Also side note - I'm usually a) a size four but in this I'm a size five, and b) I never fit New Look's wide fit shoes, so how on earth do I fit these?! Dya know what I don't even care.. these beauties are just toooooooo comfy! xD)

5. Benefit That Gal Brightening Face Primer

Eeeeeee I love this stuff! I've never found a primer that works so well for my dry cheeks/oily t zone skin type! The mini version I got in the Benefit Besties set is used when I know my dry/oily areas are more extreme than usual (which has been a lot lately :/ I think it's the weather..) and I get the feeling I'm going to need to replenish it soon.. *hint hint*

6. Benefit Hervana Blush
This has been on my wishlist ever since a Benefit makeup artist put it on my cheeks once day when I went to Trafford Centre, many moons ago. I'm not one to wear blush but OHMYGOSHTHISSOPRETTY (;____;) If I didn't need to buy more important things I would have gotten it there and then - I got quite a few compliments after wearing it that day, it really made me smile :oD hehe

So ladies (and gents if there are any reading this!) have you tried any of these? What's on your wishlist for this month? ☺

Mini Haul ft The Body Shop & Benefit ☼

Ayoooooooo what is up my lovely readers?! Guess what I have for you today? Why, it's a cheeky little haul ofcourse!

I've decided that there is no point in putting myself on a spending ban anymore because most of the stuff on my Project Pan has been finished and the rest are just powders or my friends have taken them off me because they like what I don't (>.<) hence this post!

Anyhoo! I decided I needed some retail therapy after a particularly bad period of time, so I headed to my two favourite shops - The Body Shop and Boots!

I browsed the aisles, just window shopping at first, only intending to buy a Love Your Body card seeing as mine had expired, but then I saw that they had some new body butters out! I already have more than enough body butters but Pink Grapefruit and Vineyard Peach really caught my eye..

.. and after catching a whiff of each, the rest as they say, was history. ♥

I forgot to mention that I brought a friend along with me. I kind of sort of inadvertently by accident talked her into buying them too. LOL 

Hey don't look at me like that, she wanted them really! I mean who wouldn't, have you smelt these?! Yeah that's what I thought :P

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyhooooo. Next I went into Boots and if I'm honest, nothing really appealed to me but the Benefit Besties set. I needed another mini Some Kind-a Gorgeous for my bag because my first one had almost finished, and was also curious about the That Gal primer too. I'll be putting up a review of it soon hopefully :o)

I also bought myself some socks but thought it would make me look weirder than usual if I put up a picture of my fuzzy pink socks..heh. xD

And on that rather random note, I shall bid thee goodbye - but not without leaving you with a question! What do you do to cheer yourself up when you've had a particularly bad week? 

Disclaimer: All products were bought with my own money unless stated otherwise. All opinions are my own. But if you read the post you'd know that. :P 

Modestly Stylish: Keeping It Casual ☺

Modestly Stylish: Keeping It Casual by themaryfairy

ASOS skater dress with lace top - £11 / ASOS Metal Keeper Across Body Bag - £15 / H&M Chinos - £14.99 / Navy dip hem crew neck trimarl top from Dorothy Perkins - £8 / Old Navy Womens Ballet Wedges - £19.51 / A|Wear Ecru Pashmina - £8 / Posietint by Benefit Cosmetics - £24.50 / OPI nail polish in Samoan Sand - £15.95

As the days get shorter and the evenings colder, and with uni starting next week, my friends and I decided to get out of the house while we could and went to Starbucks to have a nice little catch up.

I was in a lazy mood that day, so I decided to go with my fail safe colours - blue and beige. As always. I'm so edgy, I know. :P

I had purchased the dress from the ASOS sale a couple of weeks ago and I love it! The fabric is pure cotton jersey, and when worn with a long sleeved top underneath, it keeps me warm, toasty, and quite modest indeed (^__^)

When I realised I had gotten ready early, I decided to play with some makeup. I put Posietint on my lips and some winged eyeliner. I quite liked the look on me..

..until I realised that my room was a bit darker than usual (it was quite overcast outside) and I had put too much Posietint on! I ended up looking like a wannabe Adele, and not in a good way either :o/

My friends assured me I looked fine though, but I still thought I looked ridiculous - I was more shy than usual that day. Maybe it's because I'm not used to wearing a lot of makeup..

Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. Gosh Mary, calm down *slaps self*

Anyhoo. What's your fail safe colour or item(s) of clothing? I get the feeling I'll be wearing this dress a lot this year haha >.<

Modestly Stylish: Back to Uni Outfit ft Dorothy Perkins

Modestly Stylish: Back to Uni  by themaryfairy

Petite Bow Pleats Front Dress from Dorothy Perkins - £20 /  Khaki Flat Front Chinos from Dorothy Perkins - £5 / Fat Face Trinity Fall Cardigan - £20 / H&M imitation Suede wedge shoes in Beige - £24.99 /  Benefit High Beam - £18.50 / OPI nail polish in Did You Ear About Van Gogh - £11

How is it September already?! This year has flown by!

With school and uni just around the corner - unless you've already started - I thought I'd show you what I'm planning on wearing on my first day back at uni In Shaa Allah (^__^)

I got the chinos and dress in the Dorothy Perkins sale the other day, and I love them to bits! I love the cute bow print so much.. I've always had a thing for bows ♥

The chinos may look short on the model but for me they're long enough to cover half of my wedge heel. I love the fabric on this, it feels really high quality and I got it for £4 with my student discount - it was originally £25!

The wedges I have are from New Look but I couldn't find them on Polyvore - they are similar to these H&M ones, but mine aren't suede and the wedge has a bit of a cork-y kind of pattern.

I haven't worn them much since I got them last year but I love them and want to start wearing them more, so I thought I'd start straight away. :P

Also, you should all know by now that I'm not one to wear nail polish but I absolutely love the name for this: 'Did You Ear About Van Gogh?' haha, makes me grin everytime!

I've also been loving High Beam lately. It's been neglected for a while, much like my wedges, but I really have been into it lately - I mix it in with my under eye concealer when I look like I haven't slept for a week - really helps get rid of the zombie look that I've been sporting a lot these days.. xD

Have you decided what you're going to be wearing on the first day of school/uni yet? Or is this just a strange thing that I only do? >.<

August Favourites ♥

Hey there my lovelies! I'm here with my August favourites today. 

♦     Benefit Some Kinda Gorgeous Foundation in Medium - I really like the way this applies and the way it matches my skin perfectly. It blends into my skin like a dream! I've been using this more as a concealer than a foundation though: I hardly ever do a full face unless I know I'm going to be forced into being photographed :P I think I might repurchase this in the full sized version.

♦     Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner - I've been using this to do my top liner - it has really good staying power and is a pro at staying on the waterline too. I only do top liner when I know I'm going to be tired at the end of the day because I can wipe it off easily. ;D
Also, a lot of people don't seem to like the brush that comes with this. I personally like it, it's good once you've had some practice with it. :o)

♦     Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie - Ah the infamous lip butters. My younger sister randomly bought a couple for me (she knew I was on a make up ban and that I really wanted to try them, bless her (^__^)). My favourite has to be this one though, it slides on, keeps my lips moisturised, has the perfect amount of colour, and isn't a tube of glitter (unlike *some*, but that's another post for another day)!

♦     Witch Blemish Stick - My skin saviour for the month. When I woke up on Eid day and saw that my face had broken out like crazy, I actually cried, it was that bad. My whole forehead and more than half my cheeks were red with spots. It ruined my whole Eid. I was in a lot of pain and I didn't have a clue as to what had caused me to break out so badly. It was good that we had a quiet Eid at home or I don't know what I would have done.

Anyway, I applied this all over my face, and in a couple of days my whole face was half way back to normal already. By the end of the week, my face had almost cleared up! Of course, I had used up three quarters of the tube already in the process, but you have to remember that I was putting it on my whole face.. It's a good thing I had a couple of backups - this stuff is amazing! You can read my full review here if you like :D

So yeah, that happened. I didn't want to mention it in my Eid post because I wanted it to be a informative post rather than one about my face deciding to go crazy haha.

What products have you been loving this month? ☺

Disclaimer: All products were bought with my own money unless stated otherwise. All opinions are my own.

Benefit: Tan About Town Review

Now I'm not usually one to impulse buy, but when I saw this at the till at Boots when out shopping with a good friend of mine the other day, my eyes lit up and I literally jumped and squealed 'I WANT THIS!' right in front of the cashier..
And yes.. he did look (and laugh) at me like I was a 5 year old child.
Not that I particularly cared at that moment in time. I mean come on.. just LOOK AT IT!

Mini Benefit stuff! Everything is better mini-sized. EVERYTHING. Seriously. Just looking at it makes me squee. Also, with sample sizes like these, I find it easier to find out if something I want will suit me, without spending too much on something I may not end up even liking.

Anyway, onto the products! The kit includes a mini Benefit BADgal Lash mascara, travel sized Hoola bronzer, a mini Some Kind-a Gorgeous foundation in Medium, and a free maker-upper voucher.

Now, I know what you're thinking - she's asian.. why does she want a kit called 'Tan About Town' when she's already naturally tanned? Yeah.. my friend thought that too. :P But the thing is, I've always wanted to try this foundation because it seemed like it was a good match for me..

..and it is! It's colour is actually not unlike my Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream to Powder foundation in 'Dream', which is a perfect match for my skin.
That is where the similarities end though, I'm afraid; its consistency is more gel-like than cream, and it is light to medium coverage (as opposed to the medium to full of the UD's). While it is good at concealing redness, it doesn't offer as much coverage as you want from a foundation. It also has a tendency of clinging to dry patches of skin; and for this reason, I would only recommend this to anyone with relatively clear, normal to oily skin.

(As you can see.. I took no time in testing it out :P)

Next up is the Hoola Bronzer; weighing in at 3g, it is dark enough to show up on medium skin.
I have to say that this is incredibly soft and blendable.
I recommend using this lightly with a contour brush in the hollows of your cheeks - it help give just the right amount of definition to your face.

 The only thing I don't like about it is the rather cheap, plastic packaging. It feels kind of flimsy.. and I'm scared the pan will fall out if I'm not careful! 

Next up is the BADgal Lash mascara, which comes in a standard 4g/0.14oz mini tube. 

It's brush is HUGE - similar to the Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara and the Soap & Glory Thick and Fast Mascara. 

The formula is not very thick IMHO, and gives a decent, natural curl with a couple of coats. I absolutely love this - I thought it'd give me scary looking lashes like the Revlon one does, but it didn't - it looked like I had naturally thick, curly lashes. ♥

Overall, I think this is good value as it contains some of their best selling, cult products in sample sizes, which means you get to try without spending £60+ on something you might regret! I got this for £9 at Boots - definitely worth it for just the mascara and the bronzer if you ask me. 

I couldn't find the set anywhere online, but you can get the full sizes of the BADgal Lash Mascara here, the Some Kind-a Gorgeous foundation here, and the Hoola bronzer here - you even get a free Benefit Cha Cha Tint Mango-Tinted Lip & Cheek Stain Miniature worth £7.00 with any Benefit purchase!

Have you got a favourite Benefit product? 

Disclaimer: All products were bought with my own money unless stated otherwise. All opinions are my own.