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.

The Laine Blogger Award

A big thank you to the incredibly sweet Hannah over at hannahjustyne for giving me this award! She's also tagged me with the Liebster Blog Award which I shall be posting up soon ☺

Rules:

Tag the blogger who awarded you.

Answer the 5 questions below.

Award 5 more bloggers the Laine Blogger Award.

Five Questions:

1. What is your current beauty obsession?

I'd say lip products. Lately I've been loving my No7 Vital Brights Lipstick in Blossoming Pink.

2. What is one beauty item you wish you owned?

Hmm.. right now, a YSL lipstick would hit the spot ;D I'm a sucker for pretty packaging. And they have the PRETTIEST of them all!

3. What is your favourite post to read or write about?

Empties posts because the mini reviews in them are the most honest, because you've really used them all and can give a more in depth review compared to the ones where you use it for just a few days.

4. What inspired you to become a blogger?

The warm feeling of community that seemed to emanate from the beauty blogger world. I actually found it through the youtube beauty vloggers, which are equally as friendly!

5. What nail polish are you wearing now?

I don't wear nail polish unless it's that time of the month and I'm bored out of my mind. >.<

I tag:

Vanessa from Parisian Orchid

Emma from Ems-Designs

Ellie from Ellie's Ramblings

Sarita from A Hotchpotch Hijabi In Italy

Melanie from melswallofmirrors

Hope you're all having a lovely day! Stay beautiful ☺

♥♥♥

Modestly Stylish: Mustard ☺

Modestly Stylish: Mustard ☺ by themaryfairy 

SELECTED long sleeved knit jumper - £25 / Monsoon Saskia Print Top - $15 / Monsoon Jala Print Top - £7.80 / Phase Eight striped top - £13 / River Island linen pants - £10 / River Island long maxi skirt - £15 / Topshop nail polish in Bees Knees - £5 / Nails Inc nail polish in Sumner Place - £11

Well, it's August everyone. I don't think Summer is coming this year. So here's some outfit inspiration to take you from (what we wish was) summer to our reliable old friend Autumn.

I've always thought that mustard is a much more wearable colour than yellow. I've never been able to wear yellow because I'm too shy to wear such a bold colour - it's just not me I suppose >.<

And while I don't ever wear a pair of trousers and a top, I thought I'd throw together a few for the ones that do, along with a selection of different mustard coloured tops - all on sale! Love it! 

What's your favourite Summer-to-Autumn colour? :o) 

Organic Surge Gentle Cleansing Lotion and Blissful Daily Moisturiser Review

Organic Surge are a company whose products are formulated without the use of parabens, synthetic perfumes, mineral oils, aggressive foaming agents, artificial colours, sulphates the lot! Instead they are made with natural, organic, cruelty free ingredients, which are good for the skin and for animals - always a bonus in my books.

Today I'll be reviewing one of their cleansers and one of their moisturisers.

First up, the Gentle Cleansing Lotion*. You get 200ml of cleanser in a bottle that surprisingly feels more expensive than it's £5.19 price tag.

'Gentle Cleansing Lotion cleanses, comforts and hydrates all skin types. This delicate lotion gently sweeps away make-up, dirt and impurities. Enriched with organic rosemary and lemon essential oils and skin calming chamomile, Gentle Cleansing Lotion helps to soothe skin irritation and reveal a brighter, more radiant complexion.'
[source]

This cleanser is true to its name. It's very gentle, and does not irritate the skin at all. After I've used it my skin always feels very clean, even more so than my usual Tea Tree Oil cleanser, but without the tightness that comes a long with it.

I don't know about making my complexion more radiant and my skin brighter, but I have not broke out once when I've used this. Usually when I try a new cleanser, no matter how good it is, I tend to get a pimple or two. But I didn't even get one with this. Because of this, I think this cleanser would suit sensitive skin perfectly.

I tend to use a couple of pumps for my whole face, then wipe it off like it tells you to with a cotton pad. Then I wash my face because I'm paranoid about leaving stuff on my face. O.o

Next up is the Blissful Daily Moisturiser*. Retailing at £8.49, it comes in a glass jar filled with 50ml of a soft, rather heavily scented cream.

'Blissful Daily Moisturiser softens, nourishes and rehydrates normal skin. The delicate formula soothes and rehydrates with a quickly-absorbed, lightweight texture. A blend of natural hydrators and antioxidants looks after skin ensuring a healthy, smooth complexion.' 

[source]

I'm afraid to say that my skin just didn't want to agree with this one. It didn't absorb into my skin quickly, despite being lightweight and claiming to do so. Even if I exfoliated before hand, it would still cling to dry patches and not sink in, no matter how hard I tried.

Perhaps this is because it's for normal skin, and I have oily/combination skin? I tend to get dry patches around my nose and it would not help their appearance in the slightest. I don't know why it didn't work for me, because I really wanted it to after the success with the cleanser. I guess this moisturiser just wasn't suited to my skin I suppose.

The smell was quite strong too, and would linger afterwards for a long time, so if you don't like strongly scented stuff on your face, then I don't think that this is for you.

Despite the moisturiser not working for me, I can at least say that it was possibly because it was targeted towards a different skin type, and that if you are looking to try it and it is designed for your skin type, don't be deterred by my results. The cleanser on the other hand, I'd recommend it to everyone and wholeheartedly, because it kept my skin in check and didn't aggravate my skin in any way.

Have you tried any Organic Surge products? How have you gotten along with them? ☺

*PR samples, sent to me for consideration. All views are my own, I promise. :o)

Eid Mubarak! ♥

A little late. I know. Eid ul Fitr is over but I had scheduled blogger to publish a blog post about it but clearly it didn't! And now I can't even find it either =/ *puzzled* Well anyhoo! What's done is done. Onto the post!

For anyone who is unfamiliar with 'Eid ul Fitr', I thought I'd give a quick explanation! Eid, means 'festivity' and 'fitr' means 'breaking of the fast'. It is a Muslim holiday which marks the end of our month of fasting - Ramadhan - after the moon has been sighted, and therefore falls on the first day of Shawwal. It is a day that we show gratitude to God the Almighty, the Merciful, and celebrate the end of a good, hard month of fasting!

We have a special prayer in the morning at the masjid/mosque, which is (depending on who you ask) either obligatory or strongly recommended that we pray. Women however do not have to, but are definitely allowed to if they wish to do so. This prayer can only be made in congregation though, so you would have to get to the masjid nice and early! There is also a sermon at the end, where we ask Allah swt for forgiveness, and to shower His Love and Mercy upon the world. You are not allowed to speak, pray, or walk about whilst the Imaam is doing this - and besides, it's rude anyway so shush :P

We are required to give our Zakat - a fixed portion of our wealth - which is given to charity to the poor and needy before Eid prayer, preferably a couple of days before Eid. This is because if it's given early, it can be sent to the poor early so they can buy things they need but cannot afford. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and is obligatory upon all muslims, just like fasting is.

Because in Islam charity starts at home, we are allowed to give our Zakat to our family. Not our immediate family, not our parents, but extended or distant family who are desperately in need of it. My family back home is from a poor area, but Alhamdulillah they are doing well, so instead we give it to our distant relatives instead, who live in more rural areas.

After Eid prayer, we greet each other with Eid Mubarak and rejoice and celebrate and are told to try and forgive each other for any mistakes we've made against, or any bad things we've done to one another. :-)

In my culture, we call Eid ul Fitr 'Choti Eid' in urdu which translates to 'Little Eid'. Why? Well because Eid ul Fitr is for one day only, and Eid ul Adha (which is in a couple of months) is for three days. I'm Pakistani for anyone who doesn't know, and the language we speak is Urdu! :o)

This Eid, I had a quiet one, stayed at home with my family and ate a lot. Which to be honest, is what we usually do anyway :P but only because we don't have much family in England. We do however Skype with everyone back home or abroad, and call up those who don't have internet! Tis loads of fun catching up! (^__^)

We also wake up early (or stay up all night in this case - we were too used to it from staying up till suhoor!) and cook loads of yummy food to eat and share with our neighbours. The elders give the children gifts, and many give money as a gift, calling it 'Eidie'. I'm just wondering how long it will be until *I* have to start giving out their kind of Eidie.. LOL

I usually take loads of pictures, but this year I had a really bad migraine and couldn't get up till about 12 and was groggy for most of the day :-( or I would have shown you all the food we made and if I was confident enough an outfit of the day. Oh well maybe next Eid! :P

Hope you all had a lovely day those who celebrated it! May Allah swt accept all your hard work and reward your efforts in the holy month of Ramadhan, and may He bless you with happiness, in this life and the next, ameen, thumameen.

And for all of you who don't celebrate Eid, I hope you had a good weekend! :D

♥♥♥