My Daily Makeup Routine

My signature makeup has been the same for probably about two years. Whenever I have to be ready for something I automatically without thinking do this makeup look. Sorry if you have been following me for a while and know that this isn't anything different but I feel comfortable in it and I really love all the products that I am using at the moment which have changed since my last makeup routine.

To start, I have been using my CHANEL CONCEALER under my eyes and instead of using foundation I take my Charlotte Tilbury 'The Retoucher' concealer in the shade Medium 3. I use this around my nose, chin and forehead to even out the colour of my face. I find this really handy for evening my skin colour out because I don't like to wear foundation every single day so this new method isn't caky nor heavy looking whilst still providing a flawless base. 

On my cheeks I always sweep on Benefits Hoola Bronzer followed by another colour from the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Palette, I normally choose whatever I'm feeling that day but it's usually Rockateur because I like the warm tone. I also use the Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop highlighter by Becca. This is the highlighter of dreams!!! It's such a gorgeous rose gold colour and applies smoothly and is suitable for both day (applied lightly) and night.

For my eyes, winged eyeliner is always a must! It's my staple, I don't feel like myself without it which is weird but it's part of my everyday routine now and I like the way it makes my eyes look. I use the Soap & Glory felt tip eyeliner pen which is really nice. I don't usually repurchase black eyeliners because I like trying different brands but I recently was on the lookout for another after my previous one run out. I remembered how much I loved the Soap & Glory one - it's a nice, intense black, applies nicely and stays all day. Plus, it's from Boots so it's not pricey at all! 

For my mascara I've been using the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara which has been hugely hyped up recently but in all honesty I don't like it THAT much. I still use it everyday but I find that: 1)way too much product is on the brush so I wipe most of it off 2) It's slightly clumpy but not that clumpy, it's just not as smooth as I would have liked it to be. Saying that however, I do like the shape of the brush and the formula isn't too wet nor too dry. I still prefer the Tarte Amazonian Clay Mascara though - perfect for natural looking lashes. 

I've been skipping lipstick recently mostly because it always wipes off after I've eaten then I'm too lazy to reapply! In the last couple of days however, I have been smacking this lipstick all over my lips and it's Nars 'Damned' Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. I picked this up last week in London and I bloody love it! It's the perfect 'not too dark, not too bright' pink lipstick. I love the texture, it's matte but not drying at all and if you eat carefully the colour won't budge either!! I've been on the hunt for a colour like this for ages - I've made purchases from Sephora, The Face Shop and Revlon but none of them were the exact shade I wanted so thank you Francois Nars you genius!

That's all for now folks.. Let me know if you have any blogging suggestions as I'm trying to come up with new ideas! x

I'm back + a 90's Inspired OOTD!

Hi there!

It feels so good to be blogging again and I thought I would update you about what has been going on recently. I was looking through some really old blog posts of mine and it reminded me of how much I missed it. 

Let's rewind back to September: 

I went on holiday to Dubai for 10 days. It was a much needed break and I could do a full blog post on that if you wish me to! My family and I stayed at the Four Seasons Resort which was so beautiful, the weather was boiling and I miss it oh so much! 

October: 

I've had a busy October. I started my first year of university. I didn't move out as I was originally supposed to but I'm still at home which I am happy with. I study BSc Media Production and it's completely different to what I expected it to be like! A lot of maths and science is involved which I have always tried to stay away from post high school but so far I haven't found it too bad. I'm enjoying university life, made some nice friends although I am a bit of a loner! I've joined the Media society and I'm looking forward to helping film for a sitcom show next week which will be available to watch on the Demon TV website. 

November: 

I passed my driving test first time!!! This excites me greatly firstly because:

I didn't think I would pass first time and secondly because I've ordered a Mini which is due in December so now I am so excited to pick it up! The car was ordered about 3 weeks before my test so I was so worried that if I had failed I wouldn't be able to drive it until I had passed but woo! Yay for passing.

Another update is that I don't wear a headscarf anymore. I don't want to make a big deal out of this but it's just a change I have made recently for my own happiness and safety. I haven't felt comfortable wearing it for a long time so I spoke to my parents and they told me to do whatever I feel is right. 

Back to the present day!

I met up with my lovely friend Shahista and we went for lunch and she kindly took some outfit photos for me. I bought this shirt yesterday from Zara, I love that it's denim but also that it's got these quirky little stamps all over it. I paired it with my Monki roll neck dress which is amazing! I had this before but it went in the washing machine and ruined so my mum bought me another (thanks mum :)

I stuck on this really old hat from H&M which is all bobbly and frizzly but I didn't mind it because I didn't know what to do with me ol' hair so when in doubt stick a hat on top! 

Then I realised how 90's I looked so I slapped on a brown lipstick - MAC's Whirl which I am loving at the moment. Not a fan of the matte texture but on the plus side it's really long lasting. 

Details: 

Hat: H&M

Scarf: H&M

Denim Shirt: Zara

Dress: Monki 

Leggings: H&M

Boots: H&M

Bag: Tuscany Leather

You can probably tell I am a really awkward poser, I never really know what to do or how to stand without looking like an obnoxious prat! I did get a few funny looks as I stood on New Walk but ah well. Thanks to the lovely Shahista for standing in the cold with me to take these photos.

Expect a new blog post soon! Let me know if you have any requests or suggestions :)

Maryam 

x

Update / Catching Up!

It seems like an awfully long time ago that I sat at this webpage and converted my thoughts on to my screen but here were are and to be honest, it has been a really long time so I thought I would catch up with you! 

So what's happened in my 2 month blog absence?

1) It was my blog's 2nd birthday on the 5th August, it's crazy to think I have been blogging for 2 years (mind the absences). 

2) I went to Dubai! A very very stressful year it has been so a break for a long 10 days was much appreciated! My family and I stayed at the Four Seasons Resort but there will be a separate post on that!

3) Eid. I usually do a blog post and 'Get Ready with Me' on Eid but this time round I was just not up to it. I got sick after the holiday and there was nothing glamorous about it, thus no video or blog post but it was still a nice day with the family. We bought an IO Hawk in Dubai so that was the main attraction of the day. 

4) I started university! It's very surreal to write that. University is always something I have wandered and dreamed of and after a first week of inductions, registration and random Freshers' events I feel slightly overwhelmed yet excited for the future. 

Updated Makeup Storage / My Makeshift dressing table

A few months ago, I did a makeup collection video. Since then my collection may have increased just a liiitle *she says nervously* For some reason my lipstick collection has seemingly expanded and I needed better organisation. If you saw that video you would know I kept all of my makeup in the bottom drawer of my wardrobe. However, after I finished my exams I had a whole chest of drawers that were free from paperwork *sighs in relief!* And the drawers needed filling up so what better time reorganise my stash. 

I wanted to created my own makeshift dressing table seeing as I don't have one at the moment so I did a few things to make it a little more 'dressing table-ey'. 

This is the little corner of my makeup room. I bought this mirror from Homesense for around £20. The little pots are from India as a gift from my lovely aunty Peeny and the Laduree box contains a very delicious looking macaroon keyring. My brushes are held in this cute little pot from a little independent store in the Leicester Lanes. 

I took these pictures below at night so the blinds were down but during the day I get really good lighting because of the big windows. 

This chair is actually for my desk so I take it up and down my room when I need it.

More importantly, what's inside the drawers! In the first top drawer I keep my mascaras, eyeliners, foundations, concealers, lipsticks and cream eyeshadows and gel eyeliners. These storage containers from Muji come in very handy to section everything off. I've also got a set of false individual lashes and my Real Techniques Makeup sponge on their lonesome as they fit that space nicely. 

I still need a better solution in storing those MAC Lipsticks because they are currently jumbled up in there so if you have any suggestions please let me know! 

In the drawer next to this I stare my face powders, blushers, bronzers, skincare, nail polishes and random bits and bobs such as deodorant, hijab pins and makeup remover

Then, in the 3rd drawer, I reorganised my jewellery collection in to this handy unit from Stackers which I got in John Lewis. I placed that in the middle and There was enough space for my makeup palettes to fit around it perfectly! 

And that is it folks! For now, it's working extremely well. It's so easy to keep it neat and organised as everthing has it's own place. I am thinking of a better way to store my MAC lipsticks as it's do damn annoying trying to find the exact one you want! *reminisces of endless days picking up each lipstick to find the exact one I wanted* can you relate?

Take care,

Maryam.

The Thoughts of an Introvert #3: Who Am I?

Who am I? Who are you? Do we truly know we are? Do our passions, hobbies, interests define us or is it the way we act, think or carry ourselves? What makes you the person you are?

In all honesty I do not really know who I am. I know what I am and what my purpose here is but who am I truly? At my age, I feel like I am at this awkward stage of trying to figure out who I am, whilst being told what I should expected to be and what is expected of me.  

What I most look forward to is the age where I can finally say 'this is who I am' or this is what was meant for me. I want to be happy, content with what I have achieved. I want to be loved but to also be at ease with myself (something I have not been throughout 99% of my teen years)

This awkward age where you are ending your teen years, not quite the end and entering your adult life but not quite there yet, is a difficult and confusing path to lead. Why? Because, there are instilled expectations of what you must be doing or if you are not following a social norm you can be classified as deviant. A lot of 'older' people seem to look down and frown upon the idea of not going to university, sorry but there are people out there who don't want to leave uni and start their lives in £50K debt! (I am going to uni but I'm speaking for the 'non uni attendees' here!) 

I have always wanted the 'university experience' and I am bloody excited (and nervous) to start this October but there is something about fresh starts that is so 'refreshing'? XD 

I feel as though university may be able to provide me with the chance to get to know myself and give myself the opportunity to find more about me. As I get to do a course I am so passionate about, I can focus my energy in a positive way, surely it can only bring about the best? 

Maybe not. 

But God is the best of planners and if I don't find myself at uni, I don't. It is only what I hope to expect. But sometimes expectations are disappointing (we can't always be optimistic, let's be real). Many people do not find themselves until they reach their 30's. 40's. 50's. 60's.. And that's ok. 

Do you know who you really are?

The Thoughts of an Introvert #2: Beauty Standards

What provoked this post was a chat with a friend regarding odd beauty standards and the idealised image of how men and women 'should' look. We recognised that the definition of beauty in many societies is the 'Western White' person i.e. fair skin, light eyes etc. I do believe that modern society is slightly more accepting of all skin tones but there is still this underlying idea of the superiority of being white. I'm going to point out a few of these ideas: 

Source: Google Images

- This goes way beyond makeup but I still wanted to make this point. Many many many makeup brands only cater for lighter, fairer skin tones. Is there a clear reason for this? The beauty industry is incredibly massive yet there are brands that that will only befit a fairer woman. 

- Deep down, there seems to be an ideology that fairer skin is more beautiful than dark skin. Why do women (what I've heard happens in Pakistan & India) bleach their skin to make the appearance lighter? Somewhere, somehow the idea of fairness being superior has become the supreme ideology and it has been instilled in to the minds of people who may not be as fair. Ultimately this instigates insecurities and leads to the interference of nature because we suddenly become unhappy with how dark our skin is. The way I see it, I believe we should be happy with whatever God has blessed us with because we are healthy, sheltered, with food on our plates and clean water running through our taps. 

I came across a quote today:

'If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies, how very different our ideals of beauty would be' - Unknown.

I think this is spot on! A beautiful soul is a beautiful human being and I am lucky to be surrounded by many beautiful souls of all colour and race.  Once you recognise a beautiful and fascinating soul, appearance means nothing. I am grateful to have friends of all colours, races and that we are able to 'be' friends because many many years ago that would not have been possible. We are still a long way from equality, but there has been massive progression in the past years which counts for something! 

Whether you have fair skin, dark skin, olive skin, dark or light eyes you are beautiful because that is what God has willed for you to be! And there is no questioning the beauty of God's creation! 

I admit, sometimes I wish I had lighter eyes or there are other things I wish I could change about my appearance but this means nothing when I have so many other things to be appreciative and grateful for when other people in this world have no idea about beauty standards but rather are worrying if they will be able to drink clean water or feed their children that night. 

If you would like to let me know your thoughts on this topic, leave a comment below!
P.S: Sorry my 'Thoughts of an Introvert' blog series have been 5 months apart but sometimes it's hard to get it all in writing! I'll try my best for my next one to be in the near future rather than distant!

Thanks for reading. 

Maryam

Eid Ul Fitr 2015

Eid Mubarak! I celebrated Eid on Friday 17th July this year and I hope you had a great day too whichever day you celebrated! It seems to have become a tradition for me to write up an Eid post every single year since I started blogging and an Eid post was one of my very first! So to continue this 'tradition' here we go! 

Starting with my makeup, you can watch the video here to see how I got ready. 

Details:

Face makeup

Nars tinted moisturiser 'Alaska'

Nars Radiant creamy concealer 'Custard'

Benefit 'Hoola' 

Benefit 'Rockateur' blusher

Nars Narsissist Palette - rose gold eyeshadow used as a highlighter

Eyes:

Lorac Pro Palette 'Garnet' all over my eyes and lower lash line

Etude House Brush Liner 'Black'

Stila Eyeliner 'Black' This is really old and since has been repackaged after the company was bought out by someone else. 

Maybelline 'The Falsies' Mascara

Lips:

Rimmel lipliner 'Tiramisu'

Mac Lipstick 'Captive' - my new favourite! 

Outfit details:
Thanks to Peeny for taking my outfit pictures

Jacket, dress, jeans, necklace: Zara
Scarf: H&M
Shoes: Aldo (I'm a little granny at heart so I don't do heels that often and these sandals are amazingly comfortable!)

Awkward poses! 

Eid always starts with a lovely breakfast of 'Semiya' (Vermicelli) and 'Halwa' (Semolina). My mum never fails to make it super delicious so I always go back for seconds.. 

My aunty Peeny stayed over the night before so it was really nice to have her around, she made this amazing Strawberries and cream cake *drools* and then I also made these triple chocolate cookies (Tanya Burr recipe). 

We went over to my uncles house to feast! Kebabs, spring rolls, rice, chicken... Ahhhh! And the cake and cookies for dessert. The Eid day was pretty much the same as every Eid.. Sitting and eating all day! =)

My mum wore this stunning dress from Cecile, a scarf from Anthropologie and necklaces from Tiffanys (small rose gold one) and J Crew (larger one). 

I hope you all had a lovely Eid! 

Maryam

Eid Look #3: Arabian Inspired Smokey Eyes

I love a good ol' smokey eye and I rarely get the chance to slap it all on but today I created this dramatic look for those of you who like to go all out on Eid. Personally, I don't but I love getting made up and this look combined with the Desio 'Desert Dream' lenses made me feel extra dolled up! 

Products used:

Face: 

Nars 'Alaska' tinted moisturiser 

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer 'Custard'

Benefit 'Hoola' Bronzer

Eyes:

Maybelline 24hr Studio Gel Eyeliner 'Black'

Makeup Revolution Ultra Flawless palette - olive green, black glittery eyeshadows

Maybelline 'Falsies Black Drama' Mascara

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara 

Lips:

Mac 'Whirl' lipliner

Scarf: My mum's and I think it's quite old too.

Tikka: Who Is Devi. 

 Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the video!

www.youtube.com/maryamwritesandvlogs

Red Lips for Eid!

Personally, I much prefer to exaggerate my eyes rather than my lips but for those of you out there who want to be bold and brave on Eid this year I have created this look - really simple and easy to create and it would look great with a black outfit!

Normally with red lips I would prefer to wear gold tones but because my previous Eid look was very gold orientated I decided to opt for cooler, silver tones. Below I am wearing a shawl (from New Look) on my head! I think it looked cool but throughout the video I was wearing a plain old black scarf in a turban style and the head chain I am wearing is from Miss Selfridge.

Products used:

Face:

Makeup Forever Ultra HD  Foundation in the shade 127 - this is the new foundation from MUFE, my mum had just got it in the post from Sephora and I was super excited to try it as I'd read amazing reviews. This is my mum's shade, it was slightly too dark for me so I mixed it with a bit of my trusty Nars Tinted Moisturiser in the shade Alaska and it was an almost perfect match.

Maybelline Age Rewind Eye Eraser concealer - Nude

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder 006 Warm Beige

Rimmel Natural Bronzer - 022 Sun Bronze

Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush 07 Soft Candy 

Eyes:

Makeup Revolution Flawless palette (comes in the Rose Gold packaging) - grey silver colour on the lids, lighter silver on the inner corners, light shimmery beige as a cheekbone highlight.

Maybelline Eyestudio Longlasting Drama Gel Eyeliner - Black 

Can you believe I completely forgot to put MASCARA on!!???

Lips:

MAC Russian Red

Eco Soul Kis Button Lips Matte bought from beautynetkorea.com. Check out my blog post here to read more about it

This was about the only (half) decent picture I managed to get off of my DSLR! 

I really hope you guys like this look! 

What kind of look are you going for this Eid?

Maryam

x

Eid look #1: Warm Gold

I'm so excited to start off my Eid series and today I have created a similar look to that of the one I was wearing in my current favourites video. I had filmed that look but it all came out of focus so today I've created it again but tweaked it slightly. 

I've also created this hijab style which is loose and flowy, perfect, especially as Eid will be in the middle of Summer this year! Black is probably not the best option but I thought it would just be easier to show you on a black scarf! 


Watch the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwbEsO5I0sg

What I am wearing:

Scarf: No idea - sorry! It's just a plain black scarf which you can get anywhere! 

Shirt: Zara

Headchain: Zara (Birthday gift from my lovely mum!) 

Makeup details:

Face: 

MAC Face and Body foundation - C3

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer - Custard

Benefit Cheecky Sweet Spot palette - Hoola Bronzer and Coralista Blusher 

Eyes:

Lorac Pro Palette - Gold, Taupe, Sable, Garnet, Mauve

Etude House Brush Liner - Black

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara 

Lips: 

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipliner - Velvet Beige 

Brushes:

Real Techniques Multitask brush

Real Techniques base shadow brush

Real Techniques angled shadow brush

I really hope you like this makeup look and stay tuned for more!

Maryam 

x 

My Ramadan / Summer Makeup Routine

Here I am, getting back in to the swing of things - blogging and making videos feels so much better now that I don't have exams to revise for so I have lots of videos and blog posts planned especially Ramadan / Eid themed! So, get excited! 

Today I am sharing with you my makeup routine for Ramadan. As you know, makeup isn't the most important thing when fasting and most days I dismiss it but when I have to go out or I just want to look less dull(!) this is what I do. 

Watch the video by clicking here

Product list: 

Face: 

• Nars Tinted Moisturiser in the shade 'Alaska'
• Nars Creamy concealer in the shade 'Custard'
• Rimmel '022 Sun Bronze' Natural Bronzer
• Mac 'Continental' Blusher 
• Mac eyeshadow in 'Honeylust' as a highlighter

Eyes: 

• Etude House Drawing Show Brush Liner in Black
• Urban Decay 'Perversion Bigger Blacker Badder' Mascara

Lips:

• Mac Lipliner in 'Whirl'

Thank you for reading & watching. I'll be posting a lot more now, now that I have 3 months before university starts :)

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Farewell..

Whilst the title probably sounds pretty dramatic, I am actually pretty damn sad to be leaving my college after spending two amazing years there. Obviously it wasn't a smooth road the entire way but looking back, all I can think of are the fun memories made with my friends, funny classroom moments and all around good times spent during our free blocks. 

College has probably been the best two years of my life so far in terms of meeting lots of amazing people, building friendships for life but also starting to mature, grow up and becoming more independent. I absolutely hated my five years of high school and I think this is is why I enjoyed being at college so much - it was a fresh new start and it was very different to school. 

During the past two years I have made some awesome friends doing some crazy things along the way (Chilli challenge, standing in open, moving lifts (lol Tayyibah) and my college experience wouldn't have been the same way without these lovely peeps. 

It's crazy to think that we will all be parting ways, going off to live and build our own lives. Life is one crazy adventure!

Here are some of my friends whom mean a lot to me!
It makes me sad that that I won't be seeing them much next year but that's life for you!

My cute friend Sana and I. 

Myself and the lovely Faisa

Having fun in the park trying Tayyibah's selfie stick! 

Good luck to everyone - for exams and for what the future holds! 

Maryam

The Daily Look.

I've been homebound for the past couple days, stuck in my PJ's, ill and generally feeling like complete and utter crap! So to get myself past this feeling i've put my daily face on, photographed it and uploaded it to the internet in the hope that I will feel better about myself!

This a rough guide of my go to look everyday. Some steps I miss out and sometimes I put on a little extra but this is the basics. 

FACE:

Now, my skin has been in pretty good recently and I'm putting this down to my diet - I've cut out a lot of sugar and the veggies and overall healthier diet has really helped to clear my skin. The only problem is the black bags under my eyes!

The only concealer I own, my trusty, heavy duty Nars Radiant Creamy concealer is a daily MUST! It brightens and helps my face look that much less exhausted. I'm in the shade Custard. 

If I can be bothered I will slap on some bronzer or blusher but most days I just reach for highlighter. I love me a good highlighter and I normally use the lightest part of this Kevyn Aucoin Tropical Daze Warm Bronze. 

EYES:

I cannot go a day without my signature winged eyeliner look. If I've gone a day without it, it's probably a very, very, bad day. If the wings are on point it's a great day! 

I use whatever I can find to draw on my liner, my makeup is such a mess at the moment, so today I reached for the Barry M liquid eyeliner. This stuff is pretty good, affordable and the applicator makes it easy to create a good line. 

I always get a lot of compliments whenever I wear this mascara. The Tarte Amazonian Clay Mascara is my holy grail. It lengthens, volumises and separates all without looking spidery and fake (sorry if you like that look, it's just not for me)

LIPS:

My go to colour recently has been purple-y brown lipsticks. My favourite at the moment is MAC's Creme in Your Coffee but I couldn't fish it out of my collection (told you it was a mess). So instead I grabbed MAC's Capricious which is VERY similar in colour. Capricious is a Lustre formula so it is more balmy and moisturising than Creme In Your Coffee but the lasting power isn't as great as the latter. 

I took about a hundred pictures of my face and these 3 came out the best... Kind awkward because I was lying down, but this is how I managed to get the best lighting! XD

I hope you're all having a great day. I'm currently binge watching season 5 of Pretty Little Liars. I'm calling it 'research' though, seeing as I will be writing about it in my Media exam in less than a month.. 

: )

Maryam 

Product pictures taken with: Canon 700D 50mm lens

Face shots taken with Canon 700D 18-55 mm lens(Standard lens)