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

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.

Poem: A Taste Of Lebanon

The sun and the street cars speak the same language here,

Non-stop blaring throughout the day

Kids running around; on streets, on roads, exploding fireworks;

There is no difference

There are no limits in Lebanon,

The beauty of this country has no limits

The  purple and orange sky in fajr

And the moon at night looks more magnificent than I've ever seen,

The breathtaking mountains of 3asoon and Za7le,

The clear beach in Mina, znood essit,

The people

Who have been through so much for this country yet their forgiving smile crinkles with pride,

The smell of m3assal is perfection,

No other country knows how to make a perfect argilé like here;

The men sit on tables in cafes till dawn, 

Playing card games, drinking rustic arabic coffee in tiny cups and 

ring-smoking argilé,

Nostalgic smells and tastes fire at me,

I feel at home here yet 

My long absences make me a stranger,

My tongue doesn't move as fast and

My accent isn't as deep

But it's all heart-felt.

Lebanon is a big part of me.