Sunday 15 December 2013

Favourite beauty product of the month: December

Not only has this month been the beginning of a new season but it's also the beginnings of a festive and warm atmosphere. This month I've been loving browns, warm purples and maroons in general for makeup. The product I'm about to introduce has quickly made its way to my heart as it is versatile and absolutely stunning! Meet the Sleek blush by three palette in 'Sugar' a gorgeous collection of three extremely pigmented, different textured colours. 




I'm especially in love with the dark pink and middle shade (which actually looks bronze) that once you apply on the skin gives the perfect deep flushed look with gorgeous shimmer. I especially love using the middle colour in my crease to add warmth and shimmer to any look. One thing that you must watch out for is the crazy pigmentation! only pat your brush in gently and tap it off before application... unless you like the tomato face look..


What's your favourite beauty product this month?

Habiba Da SIilva x

Sunday 1 December 2013

Updated skincare routine (winter)

Since coming back from holiday my skincare routine has changed completely. I have combination skin that leans on either oily or dry depending on the weather, so in the winter I tend to make sure my skin is well moisturized. Before going abroad my skin was breaking out every once or twice per month, I used to get a couple of spots here and there. Because of my really bad habit of picking spots I used to get bad scarring too which didn't help at all! I didn't realize that the products I was using at the time only made it worse. Since changing my skincare routine I haven't even had one spot! It's been over four months and my skin has been very well behaved, thank you God. One of the products I've completely eliminated from my skincare routine is a scrub, I don't use scrubs anymore as I believe they cause breakouts, especially if they're soapy, instead now I use a mask every two days to detox the skin and break down all the dirt. Here is a step by step of my daily routine.


My skincare routine (morning)

Some people think that cleansing is only necessarily for removing makeup, when in fact cleansing removes any dirt on the skin. At night our skin is rejuvenating, dead skin cells are sitting on the skin and invisible to the naked eye, waiting for you the next morning. Cleanse girls.

1.Cleanse. I usually use either one of my current favourite cleasers. Emma Harding cleansing balm (retails for £34 - price might look scary but this product is definitely worth every penny! Great for dry/combo skin & removes ALL dirt as well as helps massage your face.) or my all time favourite Sanctuary Spa fresh faced cleanser (retails for £10) I've been repurchasing this cleanser for years - it's honestly the best drugstore cleanser as it removes makeup very well and has beneficial natural ingredients.

 2. I tap my skin dry using a towel - this keeps the moisture in as opposed to rubbing your face dry. 

3. Tone. I've been using two Clarins toners lately which I quite like, the exfoliating toner (Retails for £25) and the toning lotion with Iris (combo/oily) this one smells amaazinggggg (retails for £18). I use a cotton pad and I wipe it all over my face. 

4. Moisturize. I start by using a French eye cream which I bought from TK Maxx for quite cheap and works amazingly at moisturizing my under-eye area. Then I've recently switched to using a thick moisturizer by the name of Eucerin dry skin replenishing face cream (night) which retails for £12.50 and completely smooths out and moisturizes any dry patches or areas on my skin.


Night

My night routine is almost identical to my morning routine, only difference is the cleansing step because I usually have makeup on at this point. I NEVER EVER SLEEP WITH MAKEUP ON. That's the biggest beauty sin, you'd be literally begging for imperfections.

I usually double cleanse when removing makeup, I'll start with the Emma Hardie cleanser which is the BEST I've ever used to get rid of eye makeup easily and painlessly; I massage the balm into my skin and eyes then before washing it all off I get a cotton pad which I use to rub my eye makeup off with and it all comes off with one swipe. Literally. Then I'll wash off the Emma Hardie cleanser and proceed to double cleanse using the Sanctuary Spa cleanser.

Masks

As I mentioned above, I use a mask every two days instead of exfoliating. My favourite is the Lush mask called 'Catastrophe Cosmetic' which is made using blueberries; a great anti-oxidant. This mask is amazing for preventing any imperfections from surfacing and also leaves the skin feeling very moisturized on the long term, I also love that it doesn't take forever to dry (retails for £5.95 from Lush). When I'm in a hurry I'll use the Soap and Glory 'no clogs allowed' which is good temporarily, it moisturizes and gets rid of any dead skin and it's not abrasive enough to damage the skin so you can use frequently (£11). My third favourite is the No.7 Beautiful skin moisturising mask which is great when my skin is feeling a little dry as it leaves my skin feeling so soft and moisturized (£14). 



What products do you use? 

Hope you liked my post ^.^

Love,
Habiba Da Silva x

Saturday 30 November 2013

Purple Love: Occasional Kaftans

Firstly I'd like to apologize for the horrible quality of the photos, as you might know all of my pictures are taken using my iPhone5 and the best pictures come out great when I'm outside in daylight. But lately I've been too busy to shoot within the short hours of daylight and the weather hasn't been great. I am planning on buying a camera very soon (within the next few months hopefully). 

Anyway, I've been sent two gorgeous and VERY purple kaftans recently and thought I'd combine them in one post. I find purple to be one of the best colours that suits yellow-toned warm skin-tones and tend to wear it a lot - as it matches all skin tones alike. These kaftans are very vibrant in colour and are blinged out to impress! Why not wear one to an upcoming party, wedding or prom? Here are the humble photos. 

Hijab is from Love Hijab, I have a review for them here if you'd like to see more info about that company.

www.al-athari.com

www.al-athari.com

www.al-athari.com

www.rhondascollections.com

www.rhondascollections.com


Spice up your evening look with a bit of purple... or a lot ;)


Habiba x

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Autumnal makeup favourites + OOTD: Casual & Sleek

Hello everyone! I really apologize for the lack of posts lately - I've been so overrun with uni work and assignments. I have many posts yet to come including a few reviews, my daily skincare routine & current favourite makeup bits and bobs. How does that sound? Also, you can always request a post of your choice. Simply contact me via the contact form on the right hand-side of my blog or comment underneath this post :)

This is a very simple outfit which brings together some of my favourite clothing pieces of the month. The makeup also is my favourite November look - smokey brown and natural. Read on for more info!



Hijab decided to do something funny here..




Hijab: Bank (it's a jersey scarf with fringes - initially an  infinity scarf but I cut it up - a current absolute favourite!)

Long grey sleeveless shirt: H&M

Coat: New Look (I get compliments on this coat wherever I am - strangers are always asking me about it- great quality, comfortable and great for this weather)

Skirt: Ebay

Shoes: H&M

Infinity woolly scarf: www.etsy.com/shop/ElaKnit


Makeup: This autumn I've been loving a brown natural smokey, I usually pat on a mid-town matte brown shadow on the lid and blend it outwards above the crease (from Stila 'happy ever after' palette) I also sometimes blend in a dark brown through the crease. Or if I'm in a hurry I'll use the Maybelline colour tattoo in 'On and on Bronze' which is a gorgeous shimmery brown and lasts all day! For eyebrows I'm currently having a love affair with HD Brows kit in 'Foxy' (I think this affair might go on to something serious!). A phenomenal product; lasts all day and colour pigment is amazing. For lips I have been mixing my favourite nude 'Yash' by Mac with Sleek's 'Vamp' to create a gorgeous neatral brownish/reddish/nudish colour, it's not very clear in the above photos. My favourite blushes are featured in the Sleek Blush-by-3 palette in the shade 'sugar' - amazing autumnal colours with stunning pigment and alternating textures.



I hope you enjoyed this post, many more are to come! :)

Habiba Da Silva x



Sunday 10 November 2013

Beauty B November Selections Box Review

Beauty B are a UK based website that sell well-known international brands such as Ben Nye, Coastal Scents, BH Cosmetics, Sigma and many more as well as their own brand with free UK delivery. I've purchased many products in the past mainly from Coastal Scents, Sigma and a few Beauty B brushes. Delivery and customer service has been on point on all occasions! This month there are a few products which have been highlighted by the Beauty B team and they have chosen me to review them. Here are some photos and my thoughts on each product. 








First of all is this 'Make-Up-Matte'  which is a little handy square matte with pockets to put on the floor or whatever surface you use when applying makeup. It's funny because my mum is always nagging me to use something to put my makeup on because I work on my carpet. It's also very handy because you can put your brushes in the little pockets. The material is amazingly soft and even though its quite thick can be folded compactly. And the print is so pretty and hard to resist! (there are other patterns to choose from.)




This is the Coastal Scents concealer camouflage palette. As you can see it has 10 very versatile colours. I LOVE this palette, it's perfect for contouring and highlighting, and the coverage is amazing! I love using this for concealing any scarring or blemishes before applying foundation as it has full coverage and lasts so well. You don't need too much product to completely conceal scars/blemishes. Also, as I've already mentioned, it's great for cream contouring using the deeper colours. 




This is the Sigma tapered highligher brush (F35) an amazingly soft and perfectly shaped brush to get the highlight right at the top of the cheekbones. I've even used this for blush. Love this! 


This is the Beauty B brush cup holder, in the picture above it is closed up and can hold your brushes in - great for MUA's who travel as it can also be used as a brush holder when opened. 





This Coastal Scents glitter is the icing on the cake. This is an amazing product! Very minimal fall-out which is so surprising since its a loose glitter. It looked so vibrant on the lid and stayed looking immaculate for over 8 hours. (For more details on this look check out my instagram @lifelongpercussion) 


Overall I'm honesty impressed by all of the mentioned products and they've been a pleasure to use. Make sure you check out Beauty B for even more amazing products, I will always be a faithful customer - they are one of my favourite websites for buying makeup, especially brushes.

Check out Beauty B at:
Instagram: @beautybcosmetics

***

For further inquiries do not hesitate to contact me using the contact form on your right. 

Habiba xxx

Saturday 9 November 2013

Project Akhirah & the Spoken Silence two-day event

As many of you (who follow me on Instagram) may have noticed I am involved in a non-profit organization called Project Akhirah - I will not bore you with a long introduction on them as you can read more about PA on their blog here with a touching introduction on the core members of the group (a must read). I first got involved with Project Akhirah when they had their first charity event in June of this year, we were initially only doing a blogger's meet & greet but then decided to organize  a whole fashion show as well (all organised in under 2 weeks only! You can only imagine how hectic it was). After the event I left them feeling very attached - the girls were lovely and their passion to do good really inspired me to keep in touch. Not only did we have a successful event and learn a lot more about becoming better people but I also made lovely friendships with genuine girls. Since then we've stayed in contact and met up for meetings to do bigger and better, and other meetings just for a nice warm chat. 

We are now drawing close to a big two-day event next Saturday & Sunday (16th/17th of November) - the first day will be a free-entry workshop day ranging from life-coaching and poetry to hijab and makeup tutorials. The second day will be a fundraising day with some inspiring performances. 

On the first day I will be holding a hijab tutorial & a makeup workshop. I will be showing you two of my most worn (and most asked about) hijab styles so make sure you come along to see it! And then I will be doing an everyday makeup tutorial with a few handy tips and tricks! It will be lovely to see you guys there - as many of you constantly ask me how I do this and how I do that and since I don't make YT videos this would be a great chance for some insight & answers to your many questions. 





Watch the following trailer for more information!



Follow Project Akhirah on Twitter: @project_akhirah - Instagram: @project_akhirah - or even email them at projectakhirah@hotmail.co.uk


For more questions or inquiries do not hesitate to contact me via the contact form or my email lifelongpercussion@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Habiba xxx



Wednesday 30 October 2013

7 deadly sins of beauty TAG

I've been requested to do tag posts every now and then, this was one of the tags requested so I thought WHY NOT? Haha, enjoy.






1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

Most inexpensive will have to be my MUA products which cost around a £1 each (lipsticks, eyshadows and blushers mainly). Most expensive... hmmm I'm not sure, it'll either be my Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation which costs around £36/£38 or a big Artist Colour palette by Sephora, and my Emma Hardie cleanser (£34).


2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? 
Dark lipstick shades, I'm only just coming to terms with getting out of my 'nude' lip phase. I'm a big fan of nudes and neutrals when it comes to makeup!


3. GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products? 

My Lush lip scrubs, YUMMY! Best thing is that they're made of sugar and are edible :D


4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness? 

Highlighter, every single time. 


5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?

Probably foundation.


6. LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex? 

Respectful, easy-going and understanding.

7. ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift?

The Urban Decay Naked 2 palette :3









Monday 28 October 2013

The Beauty Box Boutique Reveiw

I was sent a few pretty items from The Beauty Box Boutique who are an instagram shop that sell accessories and some makeup items. Here are the stuff I was sent and my ideas on them.










Aren't their items really pretty? I'm loving the replica YSL rings and red pashmina, very beautiful and vibrant.


To check out this company follow them on:

Instagram: @thebeautybox_boutique


Or email them at: thebeautybox_boutique@hotmail.com


Bathroom Hair Care

Since changing up the products I use on my hair in the bath and testing out many products I've been meaning to write a blog post about it, I will try my best not to go into any visual descriptions as I am a covered woman. 

Firstly, I just want to mention that over the past year due to hair dyes my hair lost the moisture it had, it became very dry and I had a lot of split ends. When I went to Lebanon this summer I got a Brazilian Keratin treatment done which REALLY improved the well-being of my hair but I found there was still that dryness and and dandruff. I've always used Tresemme products; from my shampoo to my conditioner to my hair mask and hair oil. But I never found any improvements when using these products, in fact I felt that my hair became worse. I started trying out different hair masks and eventually gave up conditioner, replacing it with a hair mask instead. I think that was the best choice I ever made, I found that any conditioner I used only continued to give me dandruff - but when using a hair mask instead dandruff was completely eliminated and my hair began to improve. This hair mask that I'm talking about is the John Freida Frizz-Ease Miraculous Recovery Intensive Masque (phew what a long name). Honestly this is my HG hair product, I don't think I can ever live without it again. I then proceeded to switch my Tresemme shampoos to Frizz-Ease shampoos (currently using 'Straight Ahead' and the Hydrating shampoo). And honestly I can say that my hair has become so so healthy looking, glowing and so easy to manage. I'm a very satisfied John Freida customer!


As you can tell I'm well stocked up!

You can purchase all products mentioned at either Boots or Superdrug in the UK.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post :)

Thursday 24 October 2013

The Ethnicity TAG ~

I've decided to start doing fun tags now and then, beginning with the Ethnicity tag! Enjoy :) and if you have any other tags or different posts then let me know by commenting or emailing me via the contact form on your right.





What is your Ethnicity?
I am originally half Lebanese and half Brazilian. My mother is Lebanese (with Syrian and Lebanese ancestry) and my father is Brazilian (with Spanish/Portuguese/Brazilian ancestry).

When was the last time you visited your country?
The last time I visited Lebanon was less than two months ago, however I haven't been to Brazil since I was two/three years old but I do plan to go very soon.

Name one ethnic food you enjoy the most.
Lebanese food: mashawi, Lebanese barbecue including baba ghannouj and hummous and tabbouleh.

Brazilian food: My grandmother's banana cake and feijao (a sort of bean stew with meat and a side of rice).

Name one household item that best represents your culture.
Lebanon: this was a really hard one! But I've settled with ma3moul molds, ma3moul is a special stuffed biscuit/dessert usually made in Eid. There is usually a mold used to get a certain shape and design.

Brazil: a painting done by my Brazilian aunt of sunset on the beach with palm trees (there's a photo of this on Instagram). And also a crochet tissue holder.

What part of your country are you from?
Lebanon: Tripoli
Brazil: São Paulo

What song reminds you of your country?
Hahaha this was a fun one to do!
Lebanon: I chose this song because it was being played 24/7 in Lebanon this summer, it's such a funny song that reminds me of good times - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN8g8q3awtA

Brazil: This is a song that never gets old - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmI0JRcz5Kw

Can you speak the language of your ethnicity?
Arabic: Yes very fluently.
Portuguese: No, only very basic words but I understand better than I speak.




















Thursday 26 September 2013

Poem: Disappointment

You clasp your hands and wish so hard and pray
Five times a day
That I’ll be a carbon copy
Identical
With no identity
To the selfless girl with the white face,
The obedient wife, the obedient daughter, the obedient slave of God
A ‘white heart’ you said, you’d wished I’d have
But my foot went left, and you chew
Chew,chew, chew at my mind
My big, big muscle, churning in your words and fumes
A carbon copy you wished. But my hopes and dreams stepped to the left.

 Every single time. 

~

Hope you enjoyed my poem,
Habiba x

Poem: Autumn, Winter

A poem I wrote a while ago about the transition from Autumn to winter. I'm hoping to post more poetry so watch this space ;)

Enjoy!
~


Autumn has become translucent.
Winter presses its fingers onto the remaining fragments,
Condensing onto the clouds like her wet nose does on my glass.
Auburn leaves turn brown,
Their golden edges melt into the mud and their stems freeze,
My breath dances towards the clouds
Joining their mighty surround, dispersing at the sun’s command,
The trees are scraped bare by the sharp wind

Like a razor, the leaves cascade as blood.

~

Habiba x

High-end foundations: hits & misses

As my Instagram followers might have noticed by now, I am a massive base/foundation addict, I love my skin to look perfect at all times and believe that if my base looks good then my makeup is all good. It's also the most thing I enjoy when working on clients or myself, I find it amazing how I can sculpt a person's face using makeup, this also comes from my love for drawing faces. With simple tips and tricks you can easily make your face not only look flawless with all problematic areas covered, but you can also make it look so natural and almost-not-there which is a look I've been loving recently (comment below if you'd like me to do a foundation routine post!). 




In the past year I've also learnt that when it comes to foundation it's almost always best to splurge a few extra pounds for the quality of the product, rather than wasting money on a product that won't work. Now obviously everyone's skin is different and so we all look for different things in a foundation so the foundations that I might dislike, you might like and vice versa. My skin is conbination/dry and I like a semi matte finish, I used to love a completely full coverage foundation a few months ago because I had more problematic areas I wanted to cover and I broke out frequently, but alhamdulillah (praise be to God) since coming back from holiday my skin has improved a lot and I now much prefer a light/medium coverage foundation. I also like to make sure there's a perfect yellow-toned shade for me, I usually go for a foundation darker than my face because my hands are slightly darker and because I like to look a little more tanned. 








Foundations I LOVE *worth the money*:

Makeup Forever HD - This is by far my favourite foundation at the moment, it has all of the attributes that I'm currently loving - light/medium(buildable) coverage, non-cakey/very natural looking, yellow-toned and my perfect tan shade (153) and a lovely fast-setting semi-matte finish - not forgetting that it also looks GREAT on camera/flash photography. In my opinion this product is very much worth the price. (I think it costs around £35/£40 pounds - I bought it while in Dubai so I'm not completely sure.) I would recommend this foundation for people with normal/combination skin, after reading some reviews by other bloggers I've learnt that it can be a problem for oily skin-types as it doesn't hold in oil and it makes dry skin appear flakey *DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE PURCHASING ANY FOUNDATION* I'm not very oily nor am I very dry so I've not come across any problems. It also wears very well for me and doesn't end up 'separating' which can happen with some products. 

Urban Decay Naked Skin - This is another great medium coverage foundation, it's also semi-matte, natural looking and you don't need much product to cover up. I have the shade 4.0 which is a little too light for me at the moment, but the shade is a great yellow-undertone for us Simpsons. Lasts well and looks great! This retails for £27.

Illamasqua Rich Liquid: This is the perfect liquid extremely full coverage foundation I've yet to come across, it's SO pigmented and if applied correctly can look amazing on the skin. If you have a foundation which you'd like to give a little more coverage to simply mix in a drop of this and you have more coverage. It doesn't last amazingly so I would recommend it for occasions instead of a normal long work day, it sets semi-matte and I think it would suit all skin types. It also has no SPF which make it perfect for photoshoots. This retails for £22.50.

Illamasqua Skin Base - I've been raving about this foundation since the day I discovered it, I have about 6 bottles of this (that's how obsessed I am) in various shades. It's the perfect all-round foundation, great for all skin types, medium/full coverage and looks great in photos ~ I have a full detailed review here

Nars Sheer Glow - Another favourite, perfect medium/full(buildable) coverage, looks great and lasts great on skin, semi-matte finish and I would say perfect for all skin-types. The shade I have is Strombolli which is a perfect match and has very strong yellow undertones. Retails for £30.50.

Foundations that are OK:

Chanel Perfection Lumiere - This is a very decent product; looks natural, medium/light coverage, matte finish, sits well on skin and feels very light, shade 06 is a bit too dark for me as it oxidizes as soon as I apply it so I'm debating on whether to swap it for a lighter shade or not. One of the things that disappointed me is that it doesn't last very well so I wouldn't recommend it for very oily skin-types. And it is quite pricey at £36. 

YSL Touche Eclat - If you like very light coverage foundations you might really like this one, it smells amazing and feels and looks amazing on. I have a very light shade (BD40) which I only use on my cheeks (I like to use more than one foundation for different parts of my face for a 3D effect) because I don't need any coverage there and it really brightens my face. Retails for £29.

Mac Studio fix - A decent foundation, good coverage and nice semi-matte finish full review here.

Foundations that I DISLIKE *not worth the money*:

Estee Lauder Double Wear - I know a lot of people love this foundation but I have got to say this is the WORST I've tried in my entire life and I believe it's because of the change of formula recently. It's supposed to have full coverage but for me I would definitely say it is a medium/light, it look INSTANTLY cakey as soon as I apply it and I've tried every possible technique, I tried to like it but honestly it looks so hideous. It does not last on my skin at all, I couldn't find a perfect shade match, all colours ran disgustingly orange/pink, It separates on the skin and flakes around blemishes euughhh sorry but this is just a horrible re-run into my previous experience with Revlon Colorstay which I also cannot stand (I bought 4 bottles of that crap to try and like it but nothing changed). They smell exactly the same and they perform exactly the same. So if you like Colorstay you'll probably like this. Then again if you have oily/very oily skin you might like this too. I bought two bottles of this but had to return them because of the disappointment. Retails for £28.50.

Mac Studio Sculpt - This is another foundation I couldn't bring myself to love, looks way too obvious on the skin, separates, crap coverage and it just sits on the skin really weirdly and doesn't really set, not as bad as DW though. Costs £24.

Diorskin Nude - this foundation is pretty decent but I was disappointed by a couple of things it didn't do for me - although 031 is the darkest shade it is actually even lighter than my NC25 winter skin so I can't use it all over my face (I currently use it on my upper cheeks sometimes), the coverage is bad and it doesn't last very well. Retails for around £32.





Thanks for reading!

Habiba x

Sunday 22 September 2013

Answering your Instagram Questions

Salaaaaaaaaaaaam guys, so I recently told my followers on Instagram to ask me random questions since I've never done a post in which I answer your personal questions so here they are - enjoy!

- When did you start wearing hijab?
 I started wearing hijab at 9/10 years old by choice, I thought it was so beautiful and always told my mother I wanted to wear it. I found it fascinating how I had to cover up in front of non-mahrams. Alhamdulillah I haven't taken it off since.

- What type of clothes would you wear in the summer? 
I tend to wear flowy skirts and loose tops in summer which keeps me looking modest yet stops me from getting too hot too :)

- How tall are you? and how would you describe yourself in 5 words?
I am around 5'4/5'5, ermm creative, thoughtful, humorous, attentive, easygoing 

- Favourite mascara?
My makeup favourites usually alter from time to time, but my current favourite mascara is L'Oreal's Volume Million Excess, it's best used after it dries a little. 

- Where do you live now?
I live in Birmingham

- Where were you born?
I was born in Birmingham

- Is there any blush that doesn't contain shimmer?
Yes! theres loads, the cheapest being MUA blushes priced at £1 (they are really good quality) and then there are the Sleek blushes which are AMAZING, some are matte and some shimmey.

- What's your favourite drugstore foundation?
L'Oreal True Match, I'm in the shade w4 (I have a review on here)

- What is your favourite make-up? And who inspires you fashion-wise?
If you mean favourite foundation, at the moment I'm really loving MUFE HD, it is pretty pricey but I always believe that high end foundations are better quality then drugstore. The foundation is truly amazing and very natural looking. No-one really inspires me fashion-wise, I just pick and choose things from what I see, there's not a certain person.

- How old were you when you started blogging?
18, I only started blogging January 2013 :)

- Do you speak Portuguese?
Basic

- How do you tie your scarf?
I can't really answer that here :/

- I would like to see how you do your makeup so please make a video on it
Inshallah I plan to soon :)

- Can you show us your skincare routine?
I first use a good cleanser - The Sanctuary Spa fresh faced cleanser is my favourite, it really gets rid of all the makeup and impurities on the skin without drying me out. I then use the Clarins Cleansing Milk for Combo/Oily skin to further cleanse and also soften my skin a little bit, I then dry my face and use the Clarins Toning Lotion for Oily/Combo skin which is an AMAZING product and smells like heaven. I then moisturize using either steamcream or my Elizabeth Arden cream :)

- What bronzer/blush do you use?
To contour my face I use the Sephora matte bronzer in deep (amazing product), my favourite bronzer is the one in the sleek face form kit in 'Medium' or the Mac 'Refined Golden' bronzer. My current favourite blush is the MUA blush in the shade 'cupcake' a beautiful warm pink perfect for warmer skintones. 

- What are your hopes for the future? Both personally and professionally?
Personally, I would love to keep inspiring young women positively, I would love to have a loving and supportive husband who can somehow handle me and I wish to be a mother. Professionally I'm not completely sure at this moment in time, but I would love to open my own makeup Salon, maybe make my own makeup brand, keep freelancing? I also aspire to publish my written work.

- Where did you learn to do makeup? What primer do you use? What do you use to make your makeup look flawless? Are you going to start doing tutorials?
I'm self taught, mainly by research, watching videos and loads of practice. I currently do not use a primer, I just use Mac fix plus as a base and after applying makeup which makes my foundation look much less cakey and more natural-looking. Not sure yet.

- Would you ever do YouTube? 
I think I get asked this question ten times per day, lol, erm I'm not completely sure yet. But I might do :)

- What was the first makeup item you bought?
Black eyeliner

- How old were you when you started wearing makeup?
I started just wearing eyeliner at 16 then I started wearing foundation etc at 17 - so two years ago

- Do you usually reply to emails even if they're sent a month ago?
I sometimes get really busy and don't answer emails on time, if you feel like your email still has not been answered please email me again. I get a lot of emails so sometimes some emails get lost.

- What is your favourite YouTube channel?
My favourite YouTube channel has got to be Wayne Goss', he is such a down-to-earth person and I love his tips and tricks.

- Do you know any products to get rid of acne?
I've never really had bad acne so I'm not so sure, but I advise you to try tea tree oil it's really good for spots and try to steam your face regularly.

- Are you studying? Are you married?
Yup I'm studying, no I'm not married.

- Looking for a very good and pigmented eyeshadow palette, any advice?
Try Coastal Scents, they are amazing!

- Would you get married to a non-Arab guy?
Yes, definitely 

- What inspired you to study Creative Writing? Who's your favourite writer?
I was inspired by poetry and by reading stories, I've been writing stories since I learnt how to use a pencil. I started writing poetry when I was 14 and it became a passion at 16. Once we were supposed to write a creative piece for English at college, I wrote a poem and my teacher was struck by disbelief that I wrote it and accused me of copying, she then made me sit after class and write a poem on the spot to prove that it was my work. lol, good old days. My favourite author/poet is Sylvia Plath, she's been my biggest inspiration from the beginning, I'm really inspired by her imagery and her word use.

- What skincare/makeup brand would you recommend?
That's really a difficult question, all makeup/skincare brands have their flaws and their good products. It's just a matter of finding what you feel works for you. I would recommend Illamasqua, Mac, MUFE, Nars, Revlon, Krylon, Sleek for makeup and for skincare I would recommend Sactuary Spa, Clarins, Elizabeth Arden.

- Are you a student? What are you studying?
Yup, I'm studying English & Creative Writing.

- Do you ever feel like you're wearing too much makeup? Do you feel insecure about how you look with it on?
Sometimes I do when I put on eyeliner or really bold lips which I try not to do all the time, no I don't feel insecure.