May Favorites!

Asslamu wa Alaykum/ Hi,

I'm hoping I get this out at a relatively decent time. I missed a few of these but I didn't really have any new favorites to put up. So, here's May's list:

1) Too Faced's Better than Sex mascara

I got a sample of this mascara in Sephora's Lash Stash to go. I plan to review all five of the mascaras I received in that set separately. This one will be the first. I will probably review it in my next blog post. Sneak peak: I love it. Obviously, it is in my favorites.

2) Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette*

My love for this palette has yet to fade. I'm not go talk about it much more detail. But, you can read my review on it here.

3) Too Faced's Chocolate Bar palette*

I've worn these two palettes non-stop since I bought them. You can read my review on this palette here.

4) Beauty Blender

I probably won't review this one but it is a definite favorite! It's worth the $20. It has become my preferred way blending out my tinted moisturizer, my foundation, and my concealer. It gives a very natural look. I remember the first time I used it with my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. A few hours later I thought that my face was getting oily but it wasn't. It was just the finish that I got with the beauty blender. Don't take that the wrong way! I didn't mean it negatively but it gave me a natural glow. It looked very much like my skin...just a better version.

5) Mac lipstick in Flat Out Fabulous

This was a wonderful find! One of the makeup artists at the MAC counter in Macy's suggested this color to me because I wanted a pink but nothing too bright and nothing that I already have. She showed me this and when I tried it on I knew I was buying it. It's a beautiful bright fuchsia perfect for spring and summer. The only thing I don't like about this lipstick is that at times it can make your teeth look a little yellow.

This a picture of me with it on:

6) Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer*

This is another favorite that I did a review on and you can read it here.
I've worn this tinted moisturizer most days when I don't want to go with full foundation.

7)NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer*

Clearly, once I find something I like I'm all about it. This concealer is just beautiful. Yes, I am raving. You can read my review on this concealer here.

8) Real Techniques Powder Brush

I was desperately in need of a new powder brush and have been eyeing the Real Techniques line for the longest. Finally, I was able to pick it up at a local drugstore near my university at a discount. I'm glad I bought it. It does what it needs to do. It's so soft and fluffy. The bottom of the handle is flat so it can stand by itself. It was little over $6 but I got a dollar off so around $5.

So, That's it.

Are any of these your favorites? What have you been loving this past month?

Until Next Time,

Aleema :)

September Favorites

Assalam wa Alaykum/ Hi,

I've been in Dubai for over a month now and I've only posted once...I think. Anyway, I love it here. I've been so busy sightseeing. But, since Eid is coming up (Eid Mubarak!!) I have off from classes and pretty much all my friends left Dubai. -_- At least I'll have some free time to post more. So,I haven't done one of these in a while so I figured why not.

 1) Benefit's Fake up: I have a separate review for this concealer. So, I'm not going to review it again now but I love it. All the evidence of my late nights disappear with this!

2) Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder: I've written about this powder before. This one is in the shade Deep, the darkest shade I believe. I bought this one just before I left NY. I originally had the shade Medium/Deep. I tanned and untanned repeatedly since I've been here. So, I'm glad I picked up Deep before I left. The powder is so soft.

3) Inglot blush palette: I originally made this palette for my trip to the Caribbean. However, I decided to bring it with me to Dubai also. I wore the darkest color on the left for my birthday. I had dinner with friends at the Cheesecake Factory. Sadly, I was slacking in my posts and didn't put up the pictures from that night. Anyway, I have a post up with the blush colors if you're interested.

4) Benefit They're Real mascara: I think I'll love this mascara until I die. I'm so infatuated with it. I just wish that they made a waterproof version of it because the heat and humidity here is really testing my makeup.

5) Revlon's Lash Potion mascara: I really like this mascara it gives my lashes a nice natural pretty look but They're Real is still my favorite.

6) Victoria's Secret palette: I'm not sure if this palette has a name but it is the first palette that I have ever owned and I'm rediscovering it. I have one main fav out of this palette for the moment. It is the mint green eyeshadow in the bottom row. I actually use as a liner in my bottom waterline because I can't find an eyeliner in this color. I've been looking everywhere! The only company that sells it that I'm aware of is Nars and there is no Nars in Dubai. They were out of stock of it in Sephora before I left too. :(  If you know where to find an eyeliner in a similar color let me know!

7) Sephora palette: I don't know the exact name for this one either but it looks like a Sephora shopping bag. I think it's the medium size one. I'm loving the black and brown gel eyeliners in this palette. Gel eyeliner is becoming my thing right now. As you can see I've started to hit pan on the black gel eyeliner.

So, that's it.

P.S. I've been thinking of doing a haul post but I don't know if I should do it as I shop like a 'Dubai Mall haul' or at the when I go back to NY as a 'Dubai Haul.' Let me know what you think.

Until Next Time

Aleema :)

September Favorites

 Assalam Wa Alaikum/ Hi,

So, I'm on day 3 of a 4 day break and it's raining outside. I decided to do a favorites post to ward off boredom. This post will be about things that I really like and a review on things I've bought recently.
1) Urban Decay Naked Palette:

I absolutely love the Naked Palette. I've had it for a couple months now. I've kept the packaging because I don't have anywhere to put it without it getting messed up.

You can't really see how pretty the colors are in this picture.

This isn't much of a help either. I'll write out the name of the colors from right to left (top row then bottom)
Colors: Virgin, Naked, Buck, Smog, Toasted, Creep, Sin, Sidecar, Half baked, Darkhorse, Hustle, Gunmetal
Also, the one I have comes with a sample primer potion and a brush not 2 eyeliners.

2)Urban Decay Primer Potion:

I just bought the original one a couple days ago. But, I already know I love it because of the sample I got with the Naked Palette. The other one is in the color Sin. I usually wear that one alone because I rarely have a reason to layer it under and eyeshadow. I'm actually wearing it in these pictures I believe.

3)Stila lipglaze tri-cool:

Sorry it seems that the camera on my laptop turn the picture backwards. Anyway, these are the cool colors. They also have warm, I think. They should. I got this because I don't really have many lipglosses.  The colors are grapefruit, seashell, and raisin. (right to left I think.) However, I must say that these are the mini version. I didn't know that when I bought it. I don't regret buying it because Stila was doing online sale called Friends and Family, I believe, and they took 2 dollars off the original price and there was no shipping or tax. So, I paid a little over 9 dollars for it and the original price was 12. I pretty much like the colors and they come on nicely. But, it's not a lipgloss it's a lipglaze so it's not as slick.

4) Clinique Acne Solutions kit:

It's a three step skincare routine. Sorry for the glare. The first one(right to left) is the cleansing foam, the second is the clarifying lotion except it's more like a toner, the third is the clearing moisturizer. It also comes with spot healing gel. My skin is ver prone to acne. I don't know if you noticed in any of my pictures, you probably have, but I breakout a lot. I've always been on this constant quest to find something to get it to stop. So far Acne Solutions have been working for me. I'm not saying I don't breakout any more, but it's less. However, it also has this drying effect. I don't have dry skin. Quite the opposite actually but somehow it manages to dry my skin, usually around my mouth. So, I end up using another moisturizer. But, I think it's good. It comes with a bag.

That's the bag. One last thing...the size. The sizes for these are

1.7 oz Acne Solutions Clearing Moisturizer Oil-Free
- 1.7 oz Acne Solutions Cleansing Foam
- 0.5 oz Acne Solutions Spot Healing Gel
- 3.4 oz Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion (Got info from Sephora).

I didn't pay attention to this when I bought it online. Yeah I really need to start paying attention to the things I buy.So, it was smaller than I expected, but I've had for at least 2 weeks and I still have a way to go. I'll probably by the regular sized ones next time.

5) 2 Samples from Sephora

-Coralista blush  & It's potent eye cream from Benefit

I got these two samples from my last trip to Sephora a couple days ago.

Coralista blush:

I so badly wanted to like this blush. Especially since I used my 100 pts to get it. I was happy with it when I first opened it. It was a pretty color and it smelled really nice. However, when I put it on I found out that it was too light for me. I couldn't see it and when I tried to build it up I was rewarded with this metallic sheen on my cheeks. I'll probably check out their blushes in a darker color...maybe. I usually don't wear blush.

It's potent eye cream:

They just gave me this eye cream. It was random but I didn't mind. I use it at night because I don't want it to mess with my primer if I wear eyeshadow. The little pot it came is adorable. I'm not sure if it's working because I've been using it for two days now. However, it does help with the dryness that happens around my eyes as a result of Clinique Acne Solutions.

6) Victoria's Secret Smooth FX Lip scrub & Balm:

I am a love of Victoria's Secret and this balm did not make that love wane :). This a lip scrub and balm in one. The scrub is on the bottom and it's made of sugar and the balm is the purple thing on top. It has a minty feeling to it. You could put lip gloss or lipstick on after the balm or just wear it alone.

7) Mia Hijabs

I recently bought two hijabs online from miahijabs.com. One was in one of my previous outfit of the days I think maybe 8 or 9 I'm not sure. So here they are:

The one on top was in one of my outfit of the day posts. For the one on the bottom, I have pictures but I have to post them. Will do...promise. Okay, the first one is mostly made of polyester so it very silky. Also, its very stretchy. I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but in the middle it looks like when you pull a string out one of your hijabs and that part gathers, it has that gathered effect but its stretches when you pull it. The second one is made of a jersey material. I love the accessories on the end! Just be careful how you style it. Put it too high and you will be constantly be getting hit in the head. One last thing the accessories are made of plastic so it doesn't hurt that much. :) So that's it. This took me all day. Hope people appreciate it. Comment...Subscribe please...

                                        Until Next Time