Favorites │July 2016 Monthly Favorites

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. Can't actually believe that we are one step closer to enter month of August. Frankly speaking, I had lots of roller coaster rides this month but thank god it ended up the way I hoped. Today I'll be sharing my July monthly favorites as I have lots of things really loved. Without further due, let's get started.

SKINCARE: starting with my biggest obsession, I bought few products when I went to Dubai this Eid. If you would like to know what I purchased from Dubai then you can check out my "Dubai Shopping Haul" post. Out of these products, two products made a difference to my skin. These products are:

        i.         SEPHORA Bubble Mask – I used this product twice and I noticed that it clears out excess oil, removes blackheads, minimizes appearance of blemishes, and brightens your face. I noticed all these on my skin within two weeks and my mother complimented my skin every time I used this product. As crazy as it looks but it does a great job on my skin. One thing I don't like about it is it makes the face dry and tightens it. I recommend everyone, especially dry skin types, to apply very strong moisturizer immediately after using this mask. However I don't recommend girls with sensitive skin to use as it could irritate their skin. Nevertheless I still love this product.  

      ii.      NUXE Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm – As I mentioned in one of my blog posts, my lips were extremely dry to the point it got tears because of weather and fasting. To resolve this issue I bought this lip balm. To be honest in less than a week I have seen major improvement on my lips. It moisturizes your lips for a long period. Best times to use it is when you are chilling at home, when you wake up, and several hours before going to sleep. I highly recommend using it if you are suffering with dry lips.

MAKEUP: Since wedding season has started, I have been experimenting with lots of makeup products. Out of all products I have been using, these four products stood out the most:

A.                Sigma Brow Powder (Medium) – Lately I stopped using brow pencils and eye brow gels to define my brows. Instead I started using brow powder that has two shades, light and dark. Ever since I started using it I immediately fell in love with it. This product gives a natural look to the brows that is wearable in every occasion. Everyone has been complementing my eye brows saying that it looks really beautiful. The price is affordable and I strongly suggest you buy it.

B.                 Lubi Lashes (Royal) – Mink lashes have become so popular in the makeup industry and there are many Omani brands that are specialized in making Mink Lashes. Therefore, I decided to get mink lashes from most popular Omani brand: Lubi Lashes. These lashes are dramatic, lengthy, and have a cat-eye style. They are easy to wear, add drama to the eyes, long-lasting, and can be used more than 20 times. Moreover, they look great in photos and many people have complemented me when I wore them. It can get uncomfortable at first but later on you get used to it.

C.                 Clinique Pressed Powder – Moving on to the face, I have been using this face powder in every hangout and occasion. This powder has light and natural coverage which I was looking for. In addition to that, it brightens my face, corrects my imperfections, and lasts about 4-6 hours. Moreover it makes my face really beautiful in photos. However, without face primer the powder does not last more than 3 hours which I found a little disappointing. Nevertheless I love it and highly recommend all skin types to use it.

D.                Kat Von De Liquid Lipstick (Lolita 1) – in my previous blog post I talked about KVD's liquid lipstick (Bow & Arrow) and how much I love it. Because of that, I decided to get their most popular lipstick shade which is called Lolita. This shade is so beautiful that it suits all skin tones. It adds drama to the lips and it is compatible with both bold and natural eye makeup. If there is one lipstick shade I would recommend everyone to try out it would be this lipstick and this exact shade.

PERFUME: On month of April, I purchased this perfume from Guerlain and saved it for special occasions. The perfume is called "Santal Royal". This is a uni-sex perfume that consists of combination of Oud and French scent. In addition, the scent is musk and strong. Moreover, it lasts for a long period of time. I strongly recommend giving it a try.

CANDLE: Sticking to the scents category, I also loved this candle from Bath & Body Works. The candle is called "Dark Kiss". It is one of their permanent and signature collections, it also happens to be their bestseller. The scent is very unique as it has a combination of both sweet and floral. Moreover, it lasts for a good period of time and makes your room smell so beautiful. If you are a candle lover then you will definitely love this candle.

BOOK: In this month I read two books, a novel and a documentary. Surprisingly I ended up loving the documentary which is called "The Answer is Love". It is an Arabic book written by Karim Al-Shazly, who is an Egyptian author and writer of bestselling book called "To Lovers". This book consists of 20 different issues that most couples face in their marriage. It also explains how to resolve and deal with these issues. The writing style is amazing, brief, easy to understand, and very optimistic. This is a must for those who are engaged or married.

MOVIE: This month I watched 3 movies in the cinema and out of these movies I loved "The Conjuring 2". It is a horror movie that involves paranormal activities conducted by demons and exorcism. I will not spoil you about this movie, but I must say that it was really scary. I loved the story, content, and special effects of this movie. If you love horror movies then you have to watch this movie.

GAME: Lastly I would like to end this post with one of my all time favorite PS game, "The Last of US Remastered". I played this game before when it was released in PS3 then I borrowed the PS4 version and started playing it again on a Grounded Level. It also consists of additional story which makes the game even better. If you want to know why I love this game, then check out my "All Time Favorite PS Games" post from Favorites category.

This is it! I've had lots of favorites for this month. Thank you all for reading this post and I truly hope that you enjoyed it. Don't forget to share it with your friends and follow me on my social media accounts. See you soon in the next post.

LIFE POST │ INSECURITIES

There are times where life shocks you with events that you have never expected to go through. These events could include: Failure, Break ups, and worst of all Death of beloved ones. When these events take place you accumulate fear, depression, and anxiety at the same time. Therefore, you start to feel insecure about everything. Dear reader if you are feeling this way, its okay we all feel the same way at certain stage of our life.

When you lose a friend you loved and respected, you lose trust. When you break up with person you loved, you lose hope in love. When you fail in a course you worked so hard for, you lose self confidence. All of these are examples of situations where you start to develop insecurities. Now that you knew how insecurities exist, you need to learn how to deal with them.

Unfortunately there is no specific method that will ease all insecurities. However, there are tips that have personally helped me overcome my insecurities and they may help you too overcome your own securities. The following tips are:

1-      Let it all out: the moment you face a shock in your life, don't hold your anger or sadness about it just let it out. Complain and cry about it. Holding negative emotions within your heart will make things worst so it is best to release them. If you can't speak about it, write it down in your own journal.

2-      Get yourself busy: after letting out all your emotions, it's time to heal your wounds by keeping yourself busy. To get yourself busy, look for an activity that you enjoy doing to distract you from feeling insecure. These activities could be exercising, painting, reading, or even a simple activity like gaming.

3-      Try something new: another way to feel less insecure is to get outside your comfort zone. Try doing things that you have never done before like cut your hair shorter, go to a museum, or start hiking. When you leave your comfort zone and try new things you will be able to overcome your insecurities. However, don't start with major things, instead start with simple things first.

4-      Isolate yourself: to be honest this tip could be either constructive or destructive depending on your circumstances. Sometimes you need to take a break from social media and from people in general. When you isolate yourself from your surroundings you may be able to deal with your insecurities by mediating, relaxing and reliving from stress. In certain situations, your surroundings could be the cause of feeling insecure and by isolating yourself you will be able to relieve yourself from these insecurities.

5-      Change your routine: this is the tip that helped me the most, changing your routine. There are times where life gets messed up and you become unproductive. To fix this mess, you will have to change your sleeping schedule and plan your day in advance. By doing this, you will change your routine, making your life more balanced and become productive.

6-      Resolve your issues: sometimes insecurities take place when you face a certain issue. For example: acne and undesirable body shape could be one of your insecurities. These issues could be resolved through exercising and getting treatments for your skin. Once you manage to fix these insecurities, you will feel much better and more confident.

7-      Stay away from negative people: this is the most difficult tip to do but I assure you that once you manage to do it, you will feel better and happier. Negativity could be one of causes of having insecurities. One of the things that cause negativity is your surroundings. If you are hanging out with people that disrespect you or criticize you, best solution is to cut ties or stay away from them as long as possible. Whether these were your relatives or friends, a negative environment will kill self confidence, trust, and make you feel extremely unsecured. Therefore, you need to keep distance with them and only when necessary get them out of your life.

8-      Prayers: saved the best tip for the last. Praying and reading Quran at times where you feel depressed or insecure can help you clear your mind and calm down. Your negative vibes will be smoothed and within a short period of time it will all be gone. Skipping prayers is not good at all. Like your body, you soul needs to be fed with prayers so don't neglect your soul.

One thing I like to address as well is that don't expect to overcome your insecurities within a short period of time. Insecurities usually develop at difficult times therefore you take your time to overcome them because it is not easy to do that. From personal experience, the longest period I took to overcome one of my difficult insecurities is 4 months. Based on that, I'm addressing this point.

Well that's all I wanted to say about dealing with insecurities. I hope this post will benefit you in your life and you manage to overcome your own insecurities. Please share it to all your beloved ones who might be facing difficulties in their lives. Have a nice day and will catch up next week with another blog post.       

Makeup & Skincare │Dubai Shopping Haul 2016

Hello readers and welcome to my blog. I hope you all are having a wonderful time and you enjoyed Eid holidays as well. I sincerely apologize for delaying my blog post as you can tell I went to Dubai and I got super busy last week. So without further due, let's get started.

I spent my Eid holiday in Dubai with my parents and had lots of fun. I always say: "Oman is my country, & Dubai is my city". No matter how many times I go to Dubai, I can never get bored. I bought lots of stuff from Dubai and to make my post more interesting I decided to share stuff that fall into these 3 categories: Skincare, Makeup and Books.

SKINCARE: Because of fasting and heat my skin has been breaking out. Therefore I decided to get a few skincare products that could resolve these breakouts. Products I bought are:

1-      Sephora Bubble Mask – Face Mask: Initially I was looking for Glam Glow face mask but the sales lady recommended me to go for this mask to treat acne scars. It states that it detoxify and oxygenate the skin. I haven't tried it yet but once I finish it up will write a detailed review about it.

2-      Sephora Clarifying Booster – Serum: Along with face mask, the sales lady highly recommended getting this serum which is used to treat visible pores and imperfections. It's an oil based serum and it consists of zinc. It states that it purifies the skin from imperfections. Again, once I'm done with this I'll write a detailed review about it.

3-      NUXE Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm: Because of dry weather, I decided to get a strong lip balm that will keep my lips hydrated for longer time. Therefore I decided to get this lip balm from NUXE which I heard great reviews about. It consists of honey and precious oils. I'll let you know if it worked out for me or not.

MAKEUP: I bought all my makeup products from Sephora because you can literally get anything you want and need from that store. Along with skincare products, I got fours makeup products which are:

A.    NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer: This is one of top trending products in the makeup industry, and all beauty bloggers are talking about it. Therefore, I decided to give it a try since I heard that it provides high coverage and highlights the face at the same time.

B.     CLARINS Eye Crayon Pencil: Clarins is my favorite skincare brand as I have never been disappointed with their products. Makeup wise, I used up Clarins face primer which I absolutely love. Therefore, I decided to try out their eye pencil since I heard great reviews about it. It states that it's waterproof and long-lasting so will see about that.

C.    HUDA BEAUTY Lash Glue: Recently I bought a mink lash from Lubi Lashes and when I used it, my current glue did not last for long enough. Therefore I decided to get the best-selling lash glue which is highly recommended by many beauty bloggers. It states that I can add it to the falsies and immediately insert the falsies on top of real lashes. Once I try it out, will let you know if it worked for me or not.

D.    KAT VON DE Liquid Lipstick – Lolita: In my previous blog post, I mentioned that KVD liquid lipstick is my current favorite and for that reason I decided to get another shade. Therefore I got in shade Lolita which looked so beautiful just from a swatch.

BOOKS: Last category I will talk about it books, to be more precise novels. Recently I have been reading Arabic novels which are truly amazing and magical. Novels that I have truly loved were written by Buthaina Al-Essa & Ahlam Mustaghanmi. So I decided to get 3 novels from these two authors. Novels that I bought are:

i)                    ذاكرة الجسد – أحلام مستغانمي

ii)                  الأسود يليق بكِ – أحلام مستغانمي

iii)                خرائط التيه – بثينة آلعيسى

Once I'm done reading these novels, I'll write my own review about them in Arabic.

This is it, that's my Dubai Shopping Haul. I apologize for not sharing everything I bought; if I did this blog post would be endless. Anyways I hope you enjoyed don't forget to share it and comment below. Hope you all have a nice day.

Favorites │June 2016 – Beauty, Books, and More

Hello and welcome to my monthly favorites. Since holidays started, I have been experimenting with lots of new products. Along with that, I have been trying out new things recently. Therefore today I shall be sharing products and activities that I have been enjoying in previous month. Without further due, let's get started.

SKINCARE: The first and last step I take in the day is look after my skin. Not looking after your skin can cause breakouts and scars. That's why it is necessary to look after your skin. This month I have been going out more often and applying makeup almost every day. Three products, that I have loved this month, saved my face from breaking out. These products are:

1-      Lush Tea Tree Water: Toner Water – All Skin Types

This product consists of Tea Tree which is essential for preventing skin from acne and minimizes any pimple or zit that is lying on your face. Apply it before applying makeup and after removing makeup from your face. It is highly recommended for acne-prone skin types.

2-      Clarins Blue Orchid: Face Oil – Normal & Dry Skins

This product adds radiance and glow to the skin. If your skin is dull and it's suffering from dryness, this product will save it. If you are also suffering from acne, you can use this product as it will minimize appearance of acne scars on your face. It is best applied at night time. After removing your makeup or before going to sleep, massage it onto your face and avoide eye area. Then apply your night time moisturizer. This product will make your skin glowing and moisturized. However, I don't recommend those who have oily skin type to use this product because it is targeted for dry skins. Instead use Lotus Face oil which is targeted for combination and oily skins.

3-      The Body Shop Vitamin C: Face Mist – All Skin Types

This product adds moisture, acts like a barrier on top of skin, and makes your skin fresh. It protects the skin from absorbing makeup or any pollution when going outdoor. It is best applied on day time and before applying makeup.

MAKEUP: As a makeup artist, I always love to experiment with new makeup products that are trending in the market. This time, I was obsessed with lipsticks. I tried out few new lipsticks and these three lipsticks stood out the most:

1-      M.A.C Matte Lipstick : Velvet Teddy & Kinda Sexy

These two lipsticks have neutral shades as they can be used on daily basis and in every occasion. Although they're matte, they feel creamy during application and they do not dry out your lips. On their own, they last for approximately 2-3 hours but with lip liner they last about 4-5 hours at most. On the price side I find it convincing because of their features. I strongly recommend them for those who love matte lipsticks.

2-      Kat Von De Liquid Lipstick: Bow & Arrow

This liquid lipstick is in a medium shade and best part about it is it suits all skin tones: from fairest to darkest. It applies smoothly and the applicator makes the application very easy and flexible. It lasts about 4-6 hours after it dries out on your lipstick. It can be applied without a lip liner. I also love the fact that it does not make your lips dry or tear it apart. However it needs to be removed by a makeup remover which I'm not a fan of. Nevertheless I still recommend giving this product a try out. On price side, I find it convincing.

Another product I have been loving is Burberry Fresh Glow Face Primer. This is the best primer I have ever used. It neutralizes the face, adds natural glow to the skin, makes foundation last longer and best of all it makes the face look flawless. Even if you are using just concealer or powder, it will still make your face glow. I do recommend those with normal and dry skins to use it. However, I don't recommend using it on oily or combination skin. On price side, yes it is pricy but it's worth it.

PERFUME: In April I received this perfume as a gift and ever since I have been using it frequently. The perfume is called La vie est Belle by Lancôme. The scent is light, very sweet and refreshing, which I look for in a perfume. The duration period is medium; it lasts 2-3 hours. The scent is medium, not too strong and not too soft.

HOBBY: Moving on to my hobbies, along with blogging I have been coloring in a new coloring book. The coloring book is called Querkles Masterpieces. I know what you think, aren't I too old for this? Well this isn't like children's coloring books. In each page there are tons of circles all tangled together and numbered from 1-5. What you have to do is color these circles in different shades. Staring from 5 lightest shade to 1 darkest shade. Once you are done, these circles will reveal a famous character. It is fun activity to do when you are free, or when you want to relax and distress.

BOOK: Lastly, I have been reading this Arabic novel called فوضى الحواس. It is about a woman who is a writer, married, and lives in Algeria at a time where the country is facing political issues. Although she has not been writing for years, she has strongly admired one of characters that she has created in one of her novels. After years of not writing, she suddenly meets the man who matches the character that she admired. That's my summary for this novel and to be honest I got confused at the beginning because writing format and style is new to me. I have never ever read a novel that is written the way this novel was written. With that being said, I loved this novel so much and enjoyed reading it. If you are interested in an Arabic review on this novel let me know in chat box.

That is all for my June 16 Favorites. I hope you all liked it, and don't forget to follow me on my Instagram & twitter to be notified when my posts are published. Have a nice day.