March Update

march update

Hello beauts! This month, seems to have been the month of S T R E S S. I had two group presentations and three assignments and it was a real challenge. I have no idea how I’ve done with the latter, but I’m pleased and relieved to report that the group presentations both went well and I’m happy with the grades we achieved ^_^

There were however some wonderful parts of March, one being my beautiful baby cousin arriving! She is as cute as a button, with the most delicate features masha’Allah (May God bless her).

March started off with a wedding, which was really exciting because it had been quite a long while since I had been able to attend one. Here are a few snaps, I guess the main thing this taught me with my new camera was how difficult it was to get decent photos in that sort of lighting and no flash ._.

wedding roseIMG_8443IMG_8459WEDDING

To respect their privacy I’ve covered their faces but you can see how beautiful the stage was, and also the traditional wedding outfit’s that Pakistani bride and grooms wear ^_^


Palestine Conference

I was also lucky enough to attend the Palestine Conference at Nottingham University with my Uni’s ISOC. It was such a great event, as somebody who already cares strongly for the people of Palestine, who are essentially the victims of the world’s more silent genocide – it was highly educational. We were fortunate enough to attend a workshop all about the press and Palestine. The bias in the media and how you will NEVER hear the BBC utter a single bad word against Israel. The censorship within the western media against Palestine is sickening. We also were extremly lucky to hear Finkelstein speak about the current political situation, though very sombre.

palestine conferencepalestine conference

The way I see it is, regardless of your political stance, race, nationality or religion every single human being has a responsibility to stand against oppression and genocide. Palestinians are killed every single day, just for existing. The former BBC middle east corespondent told us how one time, he saw a Palestinian man asking a guard to let him pass the check point so he could see his dying mother, who was in hospital. He had heard the news that she was very ill and he told the guard he believed she only had a few hours left to live and he needed to see her. So what did the guard do? Keep the man there for a further six and a half hours. By the time the guard allowed him through his mother had passed away. The anger and grief that flooded through me, when hearing this could not even be half of his, but I felt like I was going to explode with a  mixture of fury and helplessness. HOW DARE THEY?This is the way Zionist Israelis are treating the Palestinians, with no mercy and no humanity at all. What is most ironic is that the Jews of Israel, the Zionist Jews are treating the Muslims and Christians of Palestine in a similar manner to how Hitler treated their own ancestors. Many many many people are ignorant when it comes to Palestine, or choose to turn a blind eye. If you would like to know more about the current situation, and anything YOU could do to help do check out this website: http://www.palestinecampaign.org

palestine conference

At the conference we also got to witness traditional Palestinian dancing – dabka and have a go ourselves. This was a really fun element, even though I wasn’t feeling too well it was great watching the girls all holding hands and dancing to the tune.

There was also yummy food for sale, and the most delicious and beautiful cakes which I just couldn’t resist snapping up, both through Camera and eating!

japan - g bakes brownies japan g bakes palestine conferencejapangbakes cakes palestine onference 

HOW UTERLY BEAUTIFUL?!!? She is sooo talented ^_^ so do check out her social media above, they were delicious and the ones just above are actually traditional Palestinian cake, my mouth was watering at the very sight of them!


The rest of the month as I mentioned was pretty much spent just stressing out a lot. I think sadly, today (the 29th of March) I have well and truly broken my spending ban. I wanted to go 101 days without buying makeup but today I picked up some bits from boots and earlier in the week I couldn’t help treating myself to the Ciate nail sets that were heavily discounted on fragrance direct.

I went around 70 days without buying ANY makeup, which is quite an achievement for me. But I think I’ll stick to the last month or so of no buying, I accept I’ve broken it but I did really enjoy using and making the most of what I own already. It’s taught me to appreciate everything that I have so much! I’ve managed to buy quite a few clothing bits still, and I am planning on buying a mattress in the next fortnight so it’s great to know that money that could have been splurged on cosmetics is going towards important things like getting a good night’s sleep!

minions sadly stuck in a con machineIMG_9552market flowers

I do want to try out some LUSH skincare, but realised when in the store that I simply couldn’t buy anything without doing my blogosphere research first! Those poor poor minions stuck in a con machine. And beautiful flowers at my local market. Yes I am actually making good use of my dslr slowly but surely, and I’d like to share something that has helped me do so in a post soon ^_^I am preparing to go to my uncle’s wedding tomorrow! Very very excited about that, so keep you eye out for wedding makeup posts. I’m going to try and work with a pigment tomorrow, eeek, here’s hoping I don’t end up looking like a scary mess!

 

I hope you have all had a lovely month! Thank-you for reading :)

March Update

march update

Hello beauts! This month, seems to have been the month of S T R E S S. I had two group presentations and three assignments and it was a real challenge. I have no idea how I’ve done with the latter, but I’m pleased and relieved to report that the group presentations both went well and I’m happy with the grades we achieved ^_^

Haul | French Pharmacy

french pharamacy haul

Hello! I wanted to share this haul with you today because there is still time for you to get your hands on some lovely skincare which isn’t always the easiest or cheapest to get from the UK, for up to a third off!
IMG_9659

I was reading a post from the lovely makeup magpie (her blog is here, do check it out, each post is amazing!) and she was talking about a new moisturiser she has started using which is by the brand Nuxe. It is the ‘Reve De Miel Ultra Comfortable Face Cream’ and as I have been on the look out for a replacement to my oilatum, I decided that with 1/3 off now was the time to snap it up! Especially after reading such a glowing review, I now have my hopes up for this! It is the most expensive moisturiser I have purchased, even with the third off the price tag (just over £15) but since my skincare kick I’ve decided that some things do (sometimes) need to be invested in. The second thing I just could not resist was the Nuxe Reve De Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm’. I just had to see what all the fuss was about regarding this! One of the reasons this is so loved is because apparently it leaves lips with a matte texture, so it’s good for when you want to apply lipstick in a hurry but still give your lips the tlc they deserve. With a third off this is just under £7 I believe.

IMG_9655

The final thing I bought was the La-Roche Posay Cicaplast. I was going to purchase their face cream which is targeted towards very dry skin, and just use it on areas where I am having trouble with dry patches. However it made more sense to purchase this, which is designed for flaky skin, and can be used on lips as well, rather than buying a moisturiser JUST for a small area on my face.  I’m looking forward to trying each of these properly and will report back soon ^_^

On Escentual.com they have all the French skincare brands that I’ve heard of, plus more on sale with up to 1/3 off till the end of March. So if you’ve had your eye on anything for a while, now is the time to grab it! They postage was really fast and it was free delivery over £30!

Have you tried any French Pharmacy brands? Got any recommendations? I’d love to know in the comments!

Haul | French Pharmacy

french pharamacy haul

Hello! I wanted to share this haul with you today because there is still time for you to get your hands on some lovely skincare which isn’t always the easiest or cheapest to get from the UK, for up to a third off!

Review | Accessorize Baked Bronzer Duo – BONDI (shade 4)

accessorize baked bronzer due bondi 4

I have LOVED highlighting for about a year now. It all started with my beloved Mary-Lou (reviewed right here if you’re interested) and the love is still very much alive! There is something so beautiful about adding some subtle highlighter to the face that just lifts and brightens your appearance ^_^ Highlight is good all year round but to me it’s especially pretty during spring, when makeup is generally worn light and the more light/radiance from your face the better!

Today I’m going to review this baked bronzer by Accessorize. Its the only product I’ve tried from their range, as I’ve not heard much about their makeup range and honestly I think the packaging kind of put me off?? As pretty as it is, I always thought it was aimed for early teens, but just like you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, this experience has proven to me that you shouldn’t judge makeup by its packaging either!

After a quick search online I am annoyed to report that I cannot find this on the accessorize nor the Superdrug website. However I know that I bought it on special offer in Superdrug for around a fiver and you get 12.5g of product! How very generous right?! The packaging is pretty chunky, but still lightweight considering how much product you get, so that is totally forgiven by me!

accessorize baked bronzer due bondi 4

The bronzer duo comes in several shades, I think I have the darkest/second darkest one. Honestly I don’t tend to use the ‘bronzer’ side very much because I like my bronzers to be totally matte, or matte with the slightest of shimmer. This stuff is not sparkly but it IS shimmery, so it catches the light and gives a very pretty glow (as long as you don’t over apply it!) Therefore to use the darker side as a bronzer would mean my face WOULD end up resembling an orange disco ball - and I don’t think anyone likes that look! But lets move on to the real beauty of this…the highlighter side!

accessorize baked bronzer due bondi 4 swatch

The number one thing I love about the highlight is it seems to give JUST the right amount of product. Sometimes with Mary-Lou I can over-do it as that stuff is super pigmented. This highlighter however adds just enough to properly highlight, so it’s great for when you’re in a rush and need a quick pick-me-up product! The powder feels pretty hard, but when touched it becomes soft and with no fall out which is always a bonus. Again the size of this means it’ll last for ages, and should be in my collection for a while. 

The colour itself has more of a champagne-esque tone to it than the typical silver colour (though when swatched/applied heavily silver will be apparent) and that is another reason why I ADORE this stuff, because the shade is so complementary to my NC30-35 skin tone.  If you have yellow undertones/olive skin/a tan, this will look radiant on top of your cheekbones!

IMG_9777

I think I became so obsessed with my Mary-Lou that I dismissed all other highlighters, however in the past few weeks I’ve really started to appreciate how soft and subtle this is, yet how beautifully it does highlight. I don’t own MAC’s soft and gentle but to me this seems to be a dupe and hopefully one day I’ll be able to swatch them side by side to see! I think these are really underrated, and I encourage you to check them out next time you’re in a larger Superdrug store, especially if you’re looking for a fool proof highlighter (although do be warned if over-applied you will still look a little cray). Although high pigmentation is normally always a good thing, this to me has average pigmentation which is a good thing because no-body wants to be walking around with a metallic face. On my skin this lasts fairly well, I certainly don’t notice it fading away quickly.


Final Verdict:
Product rating: 7.5
Pros: The highlighter shade is a beautiful and complimentary colour, you get a lot of product for the price that you pay, it isn’t overly pigmented, there are several shades of this duo, it isn’t powdery
Cons: I have no use for the bronzer side so a little bit of a waste there unfortunately, which is why I had to knock it’s overall rating down. Oh how I wish the whole thing was the shade of the highlight!
Repurchase? Yes! Although I doubt I’ll be out of this stuff any time soon! And I’d probably pick up another shade to try, but the overall formula/finish and price of this get a big thumbs up from me!



Review | Accessorize Baked Bronzer Duo – BONDI (shade 4)

accessorize baked bronzer due bondi 4

I have LOVED highlighting for about a year now. It all started with my beloved Mary-Lou (reviewed right here if you’re interested) and the love is still very much alive! There is something so beautiful about adding some subtle highlighter to the face that just lifts and brightens your appearance ^_^ Highlight is good all year round but to me it’s especially pretty during spring, when makeup is generally worn light and the more light/radiance from your face the better!

Honey Fried Bananas–quick, sweet AND healthy!

honey fried bananas snack diy yummy

Hello lovelies! As the warmer weather is approaching, I cannot lie, I have already indulged in ice-cream…I know I know, its STILL not even properly warm but you know what? stress does funny things to people. Today I wanted to share a really delicious addition to my ice-cream, which involved no artificial colours, flavourings, chemicals or sugars….lets just say it not only made the whole eating ice-cream thing more delicious but it also made me feel less guilty for having several bowls of the stuff.

I present to you…vanilla ice-ream with a helping of lightly fried bananas drizzled with honey…ohhhhh yeah! If that sounds good to you continue reading to find out how I made this really quick and easy dessert!

So two things to point out, when I FIRST made this and photographed it I didn’t use a non-stick pan, and so the bananas in the photos aren’t really ‘cooked’ well enough. Please make sure they are slightly brown when cooking yours, and you should have no issue with them sticking to the pan like I did because hopefully you DO use a non stick pan! Secondly I doubled the recipe because I was making it for my sisters and I ^_^

Ingredients:

  •  1 Banana which is a little under ripe
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon of Honey
  • 1 Tablespoon of water

honey fried bananas

I used this Eucalyptus honey because its what we have in the house but any honey will do :)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel and slice the bananas into 1-inch chunks.

honey fried bananas

2. Pour just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a NON-STICK PAN (something I didn’t use, silly me) and heat that oil on a low-medium heat.

3. Once heated add the banana slices and cook them for 1-2 minutes on each side until they have turned golden brown.

honey fried bananas

You can see what happens when you don’t use a non-stick. Needless to say mum wasn’t impressed.

 

4.While cooking the bananas, mix the honey with the water and pop it to one side.

honey fried bananas

6. Remove the bananas from the heat and drizzle the honey mixture over the top. The heat will make it easier for the syrup-like honey mixture to absorb into the banana, giving you a very special sweet treat!

honey fried bananas

The original recipe recommended cinnamon on top, so if that’s to your liking go for it ^_^ and that is IT! the fastest way to cook up a sweet and healthy treat, you can then have this with your ice-cream, French toast, waffles etc.;

honey fried bananas icecreamhoney fried bananas and icecream

Mine tasted better than it looks, I promise! Although I’m rather annoyed that I didn’t find a non-stick pan because I know it would have tasted much better has the bananas been able to cook for longer! I’m not a massive fan of bananas, so this was a nice way to have them instead, turning it into a very sweet treat without the extra sugars, flavours and colourings!

This won’t be to everyone’s liking but if you do try it out let me know if you enjoyed it! I have missed blogging so much, but the next week or so is going to be ridiculously busy so I am scheduling posts right now! I hope you’re all well and coping better than I am during this stressful time at school/Uni :)

Honey Fried Bananas–quick, sweet AND healthy!

honey fried bananas snack diy yummy

Hello lovelies! As the warmer weather is approaching, I cannot lie, I have already indulged in ice-cream…I know I know, its STILL not even properly warm but you know what? stress does funny things to people. Today I wanted to share a really delicious addition to my ice-cream, which involved no artificial colours, flavourings, chemicals or sugars….lets just say it not only made the whole eating ice-cream thing more delicious but it also made me feel less guilty for having several bowls of the stuff.

Review | REN Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel

ren centifolia cleansing gel review
REN Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel | LINK | £14.00

Hello lovely people! I didn’t do a weekly round up, because most of the things I’ve been wearing whilst having a cold are on my last post. Instead I wanted to talk to you about this cleanser that I have been using on and off for a good couple of weeks now :)
ren centifolia cleansing gel review

I purchased this from ASOS (using the student discount of course) and the RRP is £17. Now this isn’t exactly drugstore price, but I had read a couple of reviews to do with REN skincare and not one bad word did I come across! You get 150ml, and it has a pump, making it convenient. The packaging is very minimal and I’m sure that is to do with the brands policy of clean skincare.

ren centifolia cleansing gel review

Essentially it contains no parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, petrolatum…etc. All REN skincare is formulated with floral extracts and rich essential oils. Whilst I am no expert in what to avoid when it comes to skincare, I do know that when I read the brand’s ethos I was very happy!

ren centifolia cleansing gel review

This cleanser is VERY light weight and the way to apply is to rub the cleanser between hands, massage onto the face and then rinse off. Quite a lot of product does come out with one pump. As it is so lightweight, it’s not the most deep cleansing and so if you only used this at the end of the day, your makeup probably wouldn’t be 100% off and you wouldn’t be getting a thorough clean that leave skin feeling squeaky clean. I was sort of disappointed with this at first because when skincare wasn’t a priority, I expected this to work wonders. However since using a micellar water regularly (this one right here) which removes a load of my makeup this cleanser is much better at doing its job. Having said that, because it is so lightweight in texture, I prefer using this one in the morning occasionally rather than adding it in as a THIRD step after the MCW and cream/balm cleanser.

ren centifolia cleansing gel review

At night I like my skin to feel thoroughly nourished, something which is only really achievable with a hot cloth cleanser, cream cleanser or balm cleanser. I also find that it can be a tad drying to the skin, as it’s aimed at normal skin types. However I have been using this for a while and have at least 70% of the product left so it does last a while!

All in all, I love this for a refreshing cleanse, and I use it either in the morning, or on no-makeup days when I just want a fuss free quick cleanse of the skin. Sometimes you just don’t have the time or energy to be faffing around with flannels and massaging products into the skin, so on days like those this works a treat. I have enjoyed it as my first every REN cleanser, but I think next up I will be trying the cream version of this, and also more of the products that are for dryer skin :)

Final Verdict:
Product rating: 7.5
Pros: Cleanses quickly, is lightweight, has a pump, fragrance free, free from lots of harmful chemicals.
Cons: Can be a little drying 
Repurchase? I probably won’t repurchase this particular one, but I am going to be buying more REN in the future! In my opinion to steeper price tag is justified because of the lack of harmful products within the cleanser.

Thankyou for reading! I hope this was helpful ^_^




Review | REN Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel

ren centifolia cleansing gel review
REN Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel | LINK | £14.00

Hello lovely people! I didn’t do a weekly round up, because most of the things I’ve been wearing whilst having a cold are on my last post. Instead I wanted to talk to you about this cleanser that I have been using on and off for a good couple of weeks now :)

OMFTW #6

Hello! It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to blog, in fact I’m currently ill in bed with a fever, cold and a sore throat. After sleeping as much as I could I decided to write up the blog post that should have been posted on Sunday. These are as usual the products I’ve picked out from my stash and mini reviews/impressions on each of them. As always let me know how you got on with any of them!

on my face this week

E.L.F HD Powder // Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette // Sleek Blush-By-3 in Pink Lemonade // Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick – 8 // Fashionista Custom Design Eyeshadow Palette

IMG_8940

I purchased this powder in my first ever E.L.F haul which was a at least a year and a half ago! I never really used it much because firstly, I’m not a powder kinda girl, my skin is more on the dry side so I simply don’t need to add another layer to my face. Secondly as this is starkly white, it did produce a kind of greyish tone on my skin not a good look. On sunday the 1st of March however, I had a wedding to attend and remembered how when there is an evening event, and its fairly warm my skin can appear quite shiny. So I dug this out and have to say by applying a small amount to my T-zone I’m very happy with how it kept any shininess away and my skin looked good in even flash photography! I did use it very moderately and I did bronze too, just to even out the skin. For it’s price I think this is well worth picking up, but if your skin tone is NC35+ do be aware that it’ll probably give you a grey cast when used a little too much.

IMG_8943IMG_8946

I actually tried a lipstick out for near enough a whole week! This colour from the 2012 Kate Moss collection, is a beautiful sophisticated mauvey-pink colour. In the bullet it looks alright, nothing special..however on the lips this sort of pull my makeup together and I love how it lasts a good 5 hours on me. It’s not the MOST moisturising formula ever but I always apply my favourite and most intensive lip balm before hand (reviewed here) and it’s been nice using an actual lipstick again!

IMG_8948

For the past week I used mainly just my brow wiz, and adored how QUICK you can fill in the sparse hairs, give the brows some definition and be done. using this pencil takes half the time than using powder/pomade and although my ultimate method of getting full/on point brows is using a bit of everything, I’ve appreciated this pencil AND the perfect sized spoolie very much.

IMG_8962

For the cheeks, I decided to dip into Pink Lemonade first from the goodies I had to pick from after my sleek haul! This is the one that I was most dubious about, but as I thought it didn’t disappoint. Whilst I haven’t used the lightest shade much, both the cream and the pink on the right have been adored. I’m still getting used to the texture of cream blush in general, and have to say it hasn’t won me over, powder is still the way forwards in my books, but both colours are lovely and so universal. When I’ve got a bit of F&B on, and paler skin they look pretty, but they also look lovely when I’m using a warmer shade of foundation.

Eye’s wise I decided to pick up my custom Fashionista palette for the first time in a while! After all those hauls, I had finally made myself a palette with just the neutrals, and I’ve loved wearing them again. The first post is HERE and the second is HERE and third is HERE, where swatches, names, links and prices are all available (each shade is available for £2!)

I’m hoping to get back into a schedule of blog posts, but with being ill, preparing for presentations, writing reports and learning to drive, do bear with me! Also a huuuuge thankyou to all my new followers, I hope you enjoy the posts here on The Blushing Giraffe ^_^

OMFTW #6

Hello! It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to blog, in fact I’m currently ill in bed with a fever, cold and a sore throat. After sleeping as much as I could I decided to write up the blog post that should have been posted on Sunday. These are as usual the products I’ve picked out from my stash and mini reviews/impressions on each of them. As always let me know how you got on with any of them!

on my face this week

Primark Haul!

primark the blushing giraffe

Hey beauts, on Friday I popped into Primark with my lovely friend Ayesha and picked up a few home essentials. As I have 85% moved out the two things I was missing were a mattress and hangers. I thought I’d share with you all most of the things I picked up, including a very adorable pair of giraffe slipper socks WHICH HAVE EYELASHES!!

I should just point out that these photos have been taken in poor lighting, at around 11pm so they won’t be the best quality! However I was determined to experiment with my camera as I literally JUST got a tripod today (eeeek) so I persevered!

IMG_8869
heart cushion X2 (£3) each
IMG_8854
Non-slip hangers set of 10 X2 (£4 each)
IMG_8888
Set of three gaudy rings for when I’m feeling zat look - £3
IMG_8893
Patterned maxi dress - £13 – not sure about the belt but I’ll probably wear this as a maxi and a skirt (layered with shorter tops) I love that the material of this is great for hotter months, and not clingy in the slightest.
IMG_8908
Elephant patterned PJ bottoms - £6 – Not only are the material for these perfect for the hotter nights, but these are the cutest and possibly most chique sleep wear I have purchased to date! (they also have pockets!)
IMG_8926
Giraffe slipper socks, which were basically MADE FOR ME - £3
Basic shopper - £1.50 – Just a bag I can use for my uni library books, rather than risking breaking my main bag!
IMG_8931
Finally some ‘luxury flannels’ which came in at £1.50 for two. I use flannels soooo often these days so buying a few backups was essential!

Oh and I almost forgot, this elephant print throw was also one of my favourite Primark purchases! £5 for the softest most adorable throw ever, B A R G A I N! ^_^

I did pick up a few other bits, including a cardigan in the style of a kimono which will be so pretty for spring!   However it’s black so the camera wasn’t doing it justice. I also purchased a necklace, and only when coming to photograph it did I realise it was broken ._. but all in all Primark's home section is gorgeous right now, especially these fluffy cushions for £3 a pop no wonder they were flying off the shelf! Have you picked up anything nice from there recently?
Thanks for reading! :)