Ethical Beauty update + BDS guidelines 2023

 

Salaam (hello) everyone, I hope you're doing okay. Based on the current atrocities happening in Palestine, if you've an ounce of humanity I'm sure you're feeling all the strong emotions - anger, heartbreak, rage, helplessness, guilt, frustration...and the list goes on. Many of us have been deeply disturbed to witness the inhumanity and literal genocide on our phone screens - and never before has a genocide been seen so up close and personal. At this point, if you're trying to make excuses for Israhell you need to take a long hard self at yourself and that lump of black rock you have in place of your heart. 

ANYWAY, many people have rightly so decided to look into any way possible they have help and/or at least not help fund the genocide - which is where boycotting has been a hot topic once again. If you're a long term viewer of mine (I would have said reader, but we all know my blogging days have take a firm back seat 🫠), you'll know I've been an 'ethical blogger' for over 9 years now. I first learn back in 2014 how many companies we use daily, which are complicit in the cruelty that is happening to innocent people. I still remember looking at my brand new MAC lipstick collection, my favourite face and body foundation, my L'Oreal foundation etc. etc. and feeling sick to my stomach. So something that brought me so much joy, that I would review in detail and talk about with friends and readers alike - the profits from these items were going on to fund illegal occupation?? Absolutely unacceptable to me. Whilst the BDS list is mostly focused on brands that we use regularly for clothing and food - makeup and skincare has always been something I've enjoyed, but frankly a non-essential. We won't die without foundation, mascara and lipgloss, but our money being spent on these brands are contributing towards ethnic-cleansing, genocide and so much more. Can it ever be worth it? 

Of course not. Thankfully, whilst these 4 parent companies do own a LOT of products under their collective umbrellas, there are still many many alternatives available and as one of many who've been sticking to avoiding these for almost a decade, we are proof that if you really want to make a change within your own consumerism, it's completely possible. Boycotting isn't a short term strategy by any means, I'm not saying quite these brands till a ceasefire - naaaah. Quit these brands because you know that they are all complicit in the ongoing genocide and ethnic-cleansing - which did not start on the 7th of October! For anyone in the back who still hasn't brushed up on their history. 

See below the 4 parent companies to avoid and WHY:

I will be updating the list in the header of my blog, with brands which have been added/removed from these parent companies. For example, The Body Shop, used to be owned by L'Oreal, but happily in 2017 they were sold to Natura & Co (source here) meaning we can buy them without feeling guilty. I remember for my whole Uni years I was boycotting them and as soon as I found out they were ethical again - the cleansing balm and shampoo were firmly back in my routine. 

What about XYZ Brand?

First and foremost, I have always and will always encourage each person who is wanting to commit to boycotting, to do their own thorough research. It is pretty overwhelming when you make the decision to boycott, do a google and come across list after list after list of brands to stop buying. For anyone not in the know, the BDS which stands for: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity. (Taken from their site). They have been encouraging this since 2005! They know a thing or two about effective and long-lasting boycotting, which is definitely important to keep in mind. 

Secondly I'd like to make it clear that your money is yours to spend and so if you feel like it's important to boycott X,Y,Z brand due to their founder or CEO etc. investing in an Israeli company or having ties to Zionism, that is completely your prerogative. If you feel like you can stick to this and commit to never buying from this brand again - unless said CEO or founder denounces their support and investments - brilliant. I admire this and honestly applaud the people who can stick to this. However, from the BDS themselves, they say: 

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) calls for a boycott of Israeli and international companies that are complicit in violations of Palestinian rights. Virtually all Israeli companies are complicit to some degree in Israel’s system of occupation and apartheid. We focus our boycotts on a small number of companies and products for maximum impact. We focus on companies that play a clear and direct role in Israel’s crimes and where we think we can have an impact.

Also:

The global nature of today’s economy means that there are thousands of companies that have links to Israel and are complicit to various degrees in Israel’s violations of international law. However, for our movement to have real impact we need our consumer boycotts to be easy to explain, have wide appeal and the potential for success. That’s why globally, while we call for divestment from all companies implicated in Israel's human rights violations, we focus our boycott campaigns on a select few strategic targets. We also encourage the principle of context sensitivity, whereby activists in any given context decide what best to target and how, in line with BDS guidelines. There is a lot of information online claiming that some large companies give money to Israel, some of which turns out to be false. BDS has built a reputation for strictly adhering to established facts and producing the most accurate information.

SO based on this, I have personally made the decision to stick to Boycotting any company under the 'Big 4', as stated above any activist should decide what is best to target and how in line with the guidelines - so if for you any CEO or owner investing in an Israeli company is a boycott-able offence - I'm not here to tell you not to. A LOT of people are choosing to boycott LVMH brands for this reason. For ME personally, I am focusing on these 4 parent companies for the reasons stated. They are all either complicit in generous financial donations to Israel - to the point where they've been awarded for their contributions AND/or have factories operating on illegal settlements - therefore they are directly profiting off of the displacement of Palestinians who have been forced from their homes and ethnically cleansed. 

I've also decided to boycott brands who have only released statements standing with Israel, whilst completely ignoring the genocide and deaths of over 11,000 Palestinians and/or donating anything to Israel and again completely dehumanising Palestinians. Some brands that come to mind, which were previously on the ethical list are: Chanel and Kylie Cosmetics.

That is my stance and plan on boycotting, as I've clearly laid out, is it each of our responsibilities to decide how far we wish to go with the boycott - providing we actually stick to it. It is far better to boycott the big 4 long term, than to commit to boycotting 1001 brands for a couple of weeks, only to forget about it all and go back to our normal consumerism routines. Like I said, I've been boycotting the big 4 for 9 years and it was a bit challenging at first, but honestly after a few months it became second nature. You may not think this is enough, you may wish to boycott all LVMH brands and other parent companies - please do your due diligence, research and make a choice that is do-able for you. 

On this basis, I've created 2 lists so far with my own personal favourite ethical makeup brands. Again, you may be boycotting in a way that is contrary to this list - please don't get angry and leave me cross comments and DMs, create a list based on your own research and remember the goals are - 1. to put pressure on these companies to stop their funding and/or factories on illegal settlements and 2. to not fund the genocide through these products. Ultimately we are all on the same side of humanity - the right side, so angrily demanding for anyone to boycott the way you are or trying to shame people into boycotting, not only will not work, but it not helpful to the cause. 

My DMs are always open for respectful conversation and for clarification of certain brands - the way I check if it's ethical, is googling the parent company and if it's not the Big 4, it's good enough for me. Again, if this isn't where your perspective is sitting, that's fine, please do your own research and make your own choices. 

Thank-you for taking the time to read this post, please bare with me as I get other lists compiled and updated - skincare, haircare and bodycare faves are next and then sometime towards the end of November, I'm planning to create lists for specific shops - e.g ethical products in Space NK, Boots, Superdrug etc. Naturally it was easiest to start with the products I've been consuming, using, loving first but of course there are MANY more which I've never tried, but are still not owned by the Big 4. Researching and compiling these lists take a lot of time and so I appreciate your patience here. 

Let's keep praying, protesting, boycotting, writing to our MPs and educating people outside our echo chambers - until Palestine is free. And it will be free - but in the meantime, we need to check ourselves and what we are doing, where our money is going and how we personally are helping the cause.

Iqra | The Blushing Giraffe

Youtube |  Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Ethical Beauty update + BDS guidelines 2023

 

Salaam (hello) everyone, I hope you're doing okay. Based on the current atrocities happening in Palestine, if you've an ounce of humanity I'm sure you're feeling all the strong emotions - anger, heartbreak, rage, helplessness, guilt, frustration...and the list goes on. Many of us have been deeply disturbed to witness the inhumanity and literal genocide on our phone screens - and never before has a genocide been seen so up close and personal. At this point, if you're trying to make excuses for Israhell you need to take a long hard self at yourself and that lump of black rock you have in place of your heart. 

ANYWAY, many people have rightly so decided to look into any way possible they have help and/or at least not help fund the genocide - which is where boycotting has been a hot topic once again. If you're a long term viewer of mine (I would have said reader, but we all know my blogging days have take a firm back seat 🫠), you'll know I've been an 'ethical blogger' for over 9 years now. I first learn back in 2014 how many companies we use daily, which are complicit in the cruelty that is happening to innocent people. I still remember looking at my brand new MAC lipstick collection, my favourite face and body foundation, my L'Oreal foundation etc. etc. and feeling sick to my stomach. So something that brought me so much joy, that I would review in detail and talk about with friends and readers alike - the profits from these items were going on to fund illegal occupation?? Absolutely unacceptable to me. Whilst the BDS list is mostly focused on brands that we use regularly for clothing and food - makeup and skincare has always been something I've enjoyed, but frankly a non-essential. We won't die without foundation, mascara and lipgloss, but our money being spent on these brands are contributing towards ethnic-cleansing, genocide and so much more. Can it ever be worth it? 

Of course not. Thankfully, whilst these 4 parent companies do own a LOT of products under their collective umbrellas, there are still many many alternatives available and as one of many who've been sticking to avoiding these for almost a decade, we are proof that if you really want to make a change within your own consumerism, it's completely possible. Boycotting isn't a short term strategy by any means, I'm not saying quite these brands till a ceasefire - naaaah. Quit these brands because you know that they are all complicit in the ongoing genocide and ethnic-cleansing - which did not start on the 7th of October! For anyone in the back who still hasn't brushed up on their history. 

See below the 4 parent companies to avoid and WHY:

I will be updating the list in the header of my blog, with brands which have been added/removed from these parent companies. For example, The Body Shop, used to be owned by L'Oreal, but happily in 2017 they were sold to Natura & Co (source here) meaning we can buy them without feeling guilty. I remember for my whole Uni years I was boycotting them and as soon as I found out they were ethical again - the cleansing balm and shampoo were firmly back in my routine. 

What about XYZ Brand?

First and foremost, I have always and will always encourage each person who is wanting to commit to boycotting, to do their own thorough research. It is pretty overwhelming when you make the decision to boycott, do a google and come across list after list after list of brands to stop buying. For anyone not in the know, the BDS which stands for: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity. (Taken from their site). They have been encouraging this since 2005! They know a thing or two about effective and long-lasting boycotting, which is definitely important to keep in mind. 

Secondly I'd like to make it clear that your money is yours to spend and so if you feel like it's important to boycott X,Y,Z brand due to their founder or CEO etc. investing in an Israeli company or having ties to Zionism, that is completely your prerogative. If you feel like you can stick to this and commit to never buying from this brand again - unless said CEO or founder denounces their support and investments - brilliant. I admire this and honestly applaud the people who can stick to this. However, from the BDS themselves, they say: 

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) calls for a boycott of Israeli and international companies that are complicit in violations of Palestinian rights. Virtually all Israeli companies are complicit to some degree in Israel’s system of occupation and apartheid. We focus our boycotts on a small number of companies and products for maximum impact. We focus on companies that play a clear and direct role in Israel’s crimes and where we think we can have an impact.

Also:

The global nature of today’s economy means that there are thousands of companies that have links to Israel and are complicit to various degrees in Israel’s violations of international law. However, for our movement to have real impact we need our consumer boycotts to be easy to explain, have wide appeal and the potential for success. That’s why globally, while we call for divestment from all companies implicated in Israel's human rights violations, we focus our boycott campaigns on a select few strategic targets. We also encourage the principle of context sensitivity, whereby activists in any given context decide what best to target and how, in line with BDS guidelines. There is a lot of information online claiming that some large companies give money to Israel, some of which turns out to be false. BDS has built a reputation for strictly adhering to established facts and producing the most accurate information.

SO based on this, I have personally made the decision to stick to Boycotting any company under the 'Big 4', as stated above any activist should decide what is best to target and how in line with the guidelines - so if for you any CEO or owner investing in an Israeli company is a boycott-able offence - I'm not here to tell you not to. A LOT of people are choosing to boycott LVMH brands for this reason. For ME personally, I am focusing on these 4 parent companies for the reasons stated. They are all either complicit in generous financial donations to Israel - to the point where they've been awarded for their contributions AND/or have factories operating on illegal settlements - therefore they are directly profiting off of the displacement of Palestinians who have been forced from their homes and ethnically cleansed. 

I've also decided to boycott brands who have only released statements standing with Israel, whilst completely ignoring the genocide and deaths of over 11,000 Palestinians and/or donating anything to Israel and again completely dehumanising Palestinians. Some brands that come to mind, which were previously on the ethical list are: Chanel and Kylie Cosmetics.

That is my stance and plan on boycotting, as I've clearly laid out, is it each of our responsibilities to decide how far we wish to go with the boycott - providing we actually stick to it. It is far better to boycott the big 4 long term, than to commit to boycotting 1001 brands for a couple of weeks, only to forget about it all and go back to our normal consumerism routines. Like I said, I've been boycotting the big 4 for 9 years and it was a bit challenging at first, but honestly after a few months it became second nature. You may not think this is enough, you may wish to boycott all LVMH brands and other parent companies - please do your due diligence, research and make a choice that is do-able for you. 

On this basis, I've created 2 lists so far with my own personal favourite ethical makeup brands. Again, you may be boycotting in a way that is contrary to this list - please don't get angry and leave me cross comments and DMs, create a list based on your own research and remember the goals are - 1. to put pressure on these companies to stop their funding and/or factories on illegal settlements and 2. to not fund the genocide through these products. Ultimately we are all on the same side of humanity - the right side, so angrily demanding for anyone to boycott the way you are or trying to shame people into boycotting, not only will not work, but it not helpful to the cause. 

My DMs are always open for respectful conversation and for clarification of certain brands - the way I check if it's ethical, is googling the parent company and if it's not the Big 4, it's good enough for me. Again, if this isn't where your perspective is sitting, that's fine, please do your own research and make your own choices. 

Thank-you for taking the time to read this post, please bare with me as I get other lists compiled and updated - skincare, haircare and bodycare faves are next and then sometime towards the end of November, I'm planning to create lists for specific shops - e.g ethical products in Space NK, Boots, Superdrug etc. Naturally it was easiest to start with the products I've been consuming, using, loving first but of course there are MANY more which I've never tried, but are still not owned by the Big 4. Researching and compiling these lists take a lot of time and so I appreciate your patience here. 

Let's keep praying, protesting, boycotting, writing to our MPs and educating people outside our echo chambers - until Palestine is free. And it will be free - but in the meantime, we need to check ourselves and what we are doing, where our money is going and how we personally are helping the cause.

Iqra | The Blushing Giraffe

Youtube |  Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

A post from the heart...

*dusts, anti-bac wipes and even busts out the hoover*

Ahhh. Now we have a fresh, clean surface it is time to stretch my fingers and relearn how to blog - crazy to be saying that! There was a time where I couldn't imagine ever not blogging, it was my little corner of the net where I could write, share and connect with so many beautiful souls. And honestly, the FEAR of nobody being here anymore, the fear that I have failed with this space has really kept me away.


I've still paid the domain fee yearly and occasionally I would look back at my site and sigh, with a mixture of pride and sadness. But. No more. From the 10th of April 2020, I am committing to posting once a week, every single Friday. I envisage the majority of the posts to be beauty reviews/comparisons etc. However, I think this will become more of a lifestyle outlet too, as my Youtube has evolved into as well.

I guess the reality is, as life rapidly changes, you inevitably will too. What was once a deep and burning passion for sharing only makeup content, then became a source of help for those who wanted to go into teaching too and then...I got married! And want(ed) to share travel bits and life bits too. So take what you will, I will NOT be offended if all you care for is the makeup side of things, I get ya.

For me, the NEED to have an outlet is stronger now than ever, when I've moved far from my friends and family and especially with this lock-down situation we are currently living through, it is easy to sink into a darker place. I'm happy. But I'm also sad, lonely, my expectations are too high and my ability to be enough - good enough, efficient enough, productive enough just isn't adding up anymore. Okay this Friday isn't the best day to start, my emotions are fragile and I've cried twice already...once while cleaning and once while listening to Mufti Menk (video here), and feeling a renowned sense of hope.

Anyway, I hope if you read this, it made some sort of sense to you. My main goal with my blog is 1. to inform/advise 2. to vent/relate. Also please bare with me, whilst I learn how to blog again - I genuinely have forgotten my whole photo editing process, sizings, formatting etc D: but we will get there!

This place isn't about the number of views, or the comments.

It is, perhaps selfishly, just for myself.

But if you are into this type of writings from the heart, then I welcome you with a warm online hug.

Iqra | The Blushing Giraffe

A post from the heart...

*dusts, anti-bac wipes and even busts out the hoover*

Ahhh. Now we have a fresh, clean surface it is time to stretch my fingers and relearn how to blog - crazy to be saying that! There was a time where I couldn't imagine ever not blogging, it was my little corner of the net where I could write, share and connect with so many beautiful souls. And honestly, the FEAR of nobody being here anymore, the fear that I have failed with this space has really kept me away.

SUMMER 2018

Well hello there! I can't believe how long it has been since I've last posted on here...whilst I've managed to remain fairly consistent on Youtube, my blog did not get the same fate. I think a huge part of it was that honestly I fell out of love with blogging, which pains me to say because as I'm sat here looking at the familiar blogger layout and typing out my thoughts, I'm getting such a warm fuzzy familiar feeling again. I guess I just needed something a little different and I have LOVED teaching myself to edit. I still feel like I've got a long way to go with my channel, but Alhamdulillah it has been a great outlet for me.


This summer though I want to get back into the routine of posting on here, I'm quite out of touch with the whole blogosphere (so much so, that I can't even remember the last time I went onto bloglovin!), so I thought I would focus on fairly short posts. I think that was always a bit of an issue for me, I used to want to write and write and write and not miss out a single detail, which is fine, except when you're hurled into the world of full time work, it's not always plausible!

I plan on doing a mixture of single reviews and mini focus posts as before. I won't be doing hauls or favourites on here ofc, that'll all be found on my channel, as well as a mixture of teaching related videos - cause yes I have officially finished my NQT year ^_^

This summer is probably going to be similar to others - no plan on travelling yet, but definitely planning to later on in the year i'a. I also really want to get back to being a little more self aware of my self care ha, some basic things like; I've been slipping on not drinking enough water and some other personal things that I'd rather not type out on the internet, but just know that I am making the time for it now I'm on my well deserved break from teaching. I won't go into the ins and outs of that because I have an NQT overview video coming up. But anyways, if you are reading this I want to personally thank you and please expect a bunch of beauty related posts coming your way.

Thank-you for reading ♥

Youtube | Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

SUMMER 2018

Well hello there! I can't believe how long it has been since I've last posted on here...whilst I've managed to remain fairly consistent on Youtube, my blog did not get the same fate. I think a huge part of it was that honestly I fell out of love with blogging, which pains me to say because as I'm sat here looking at the familiar blogger layout and typing out my thoughts, I'm getting such a warm fuzzy familiar feeling again. I guess I just needed something a little different and I have LOVED teaching myself to edit. I still feel like I've got a long way to go with my channel, but Alhamdulillah it has been a great outlet for me.

Confessions of a makeup hoarder.

Those of you who have been readers of this blog for a while now, (silent or otherwise), will know that I have spoken many a times about the need for change and not buying more makeup - but this time it's a different kind of change. Let me explain. In the past, I've always set myself makeup spending bans, because my collection was growing and having a small disposable income, with not a lot of expenses meant I was able to treat myself almost monthly. The student discounts were also a convenient reason for me to splurge whenever I felt like it and lets be honest, becoming a beauty bloggers and consuming beauty related content daily definitely didn't help. I'd then essentially BINGE on buying more and more, spending a small or large amount of money and then spend the next couple of days either shrugging at the lack of savings in my account, or actually feeling pretty bad that I had managed to treat myself....again....and for what?

I was using shopping, splurging, treating myself, buying, materialism as a way to cope with stress, with being unhappy, as another form of procrastination and as an excuse for blogging too. Do you need to buy new things every month to blog successfully? Of course not! Even as a beauty blogger you don't, and if you reach a substantial following number then eventually you'll start being sent all the new stuff and it'll just become part and parcel of your daily routine and job - excuse the pun. Me on the other-hand, I was a student of psychology, and then I was a trainee teacher, so what reason did I have? Why did I keep indulging in online shopping? Why did the spending fail to stop? I guess I've outlined some of the key reasons already, shopping was becoming an unhealthy coping mechanism.

(If you're wondering how you can blog about beauty, without buying new stuff all the time, just try to be more creative with what you've got already. If you've reviewed your favourite foundation from the high-end, do a comparison of it with a cheaper brand. Or put it under different conditions, test how it wears depending on powder, primer etc. etc.)

Now fast forwards 2 years, I am a 22 year adult with a real proper job, earning 4 figures a month Alhamdulillah. I have a MUCH larger amount of money to spend frivolously, but all I can think, as I look around me is; my goodness am I overwhelmed with ALL the stuff I've gathered, collected, loving storing away in the past five years. Whilst starting my blog was easily one of my best life decisions, I can't lie and say that this part of it has made me feel good. That temporary excitement when I opened a parcel, or put yet another NARS blusher inside my precious muji storage had faded. On the one hand I had just started my little passion project: my very own youtube channel and I knew that talking about the latest things and keeping up with whatever is 'trending' is how I would really grow a following, but on the other hand, I was FED UP with squandering my money away to buy product after product, have bottles of things piling up and gathering dust and ultimately a pretty sparse bank, account despite me putting in hours and hours of work into my real job and my blogging hobby.

So when the xmas holidays were almost over and we had got the end of 2017, amongst many things going through my mind at the time, the first was HOW I could get out of this mentality and lets be honest - lifestyle, without quitting the social media world altogether. I'm not going to lie, I spend a LARGE chunk of my time on SM, mainly snapchat (before that hideous update), twitter, youtube and instagram. And I'm not ready to quit it or leave it behind. For me personally, there are far too many pros that outweigh the cons. I also didn't want to place myself on another ban, because they just don't work for me! Spending bans were becoming the same vicious 'refrain - succeed - cave in - binge - repeat' cycle, that so many people experience when they do on fad diets in order to lose weight. It. Just. Doesn't. Work. And thats when I came up with the idea of having a monthly makeup bag, and wait before you roll your eyes, I know I KNOW it's nothing revolutionary - or even particualrly interesting. But it solved so many issues that I had and 1.5 months in, I can happily report back that I am loving it.

Not only am I loving it, but I have also spent around £10 on makeup in the past £6 weeks, which is genuinely the smallest amount I've ever spent on the stuff in the last 5 years. Crazy. See what has happened is I am so focused on:

A. Using up the products in my bag for the month
B. Testing these products to really get a good idea on how they work and if I'd bother repurchasing

that I have VERY little interest in adding more to my collection. And every single time I am reaching the end of a product, and essentially getting my hard earned money's worth - I get a much bigger thrill of happiness, than I do when it comes to opening new makeup. Which is kinda bizarre for me, but that need to own more, to have the newest thing, to 'treat myself', has now diminished. And whether you're on SM yourself or not, if you are finding yourself in a similar rut of buying fruitlessly - I highly recommend you do something similar.

I think I've gone on for long enough, so I'm going to leave you with my video now:

I talk about the items I selected for my January bag, what I liked, what didn't work and more. I also did a mini demo of each item, because instead of doing a tutorial (which I'm no where near good enough to do imo), I wanted to stick to my roots of blogging and reviewing....and thats why its a longer video that usual!

And no, I'm not claiming to have invented some super unique idea, I'm sure it has been done before! But I just wanted to share with you all, how I've been feeling lately and what has been helping me out. Also this is not to say that I won't be buying more makeup in 2018, of course I will! I'll just have to really really like the product before I pick it up in order to justify it to myself. Here is to saving up more money, for more adventures, rather than just more makeup 🙏🏽

Do you manage to use up makeup products? Or are you a hoarder too?

Thank-you for reading ♥

Youtube | Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Confessions of a makeup hoarder.

Those of you who have been readers of this blog for a while now, (silent or otherwise), will know that I have spoken many a times about the need for change and not buying more makeup - but this time it's a different kind of change. Let me explain. In the past, I've always set myself makeup spending bans, because my collection was growing and having a small disposable income, with not a lot of expenses meant I was able to treat myself almost monthly. The student discounts were also a convenient reason for me to splurge whenever I felt like it and lets be honest, becoming a beauty bloggers and consuming beauty related content daily definitely didn't help. I'd then essentially BINGE on buying more and more, spending a small or large amount of money and then spend the next couple of days either shrugging at the lack of savings in my account, or actually feeling pretty bad that I had managed to treat myself....again....and for what?

Boxing Day Beauty Haul (Just a LITTLE late to the blog(!))

Hello everyone! I hope you're doing really well. Todays blog post is a bit of a continuation from a recent youtube video I filmed...my boxing day beauty haul. I ended up filming a bunch of videos that day which I then posted over the next 5-6 weeks cause...there is such a thing as too many hauls haha. So I've had a GRWM up since this and I've just finished edited the brand new makeup revolution concealer review (yes THAT one which is a dupe for the shape tape!). However I wanted to dedicate a whole blog post to the haul and add some more thoughts behind the products. Some of these things I've used more since then and sometimes it's just nice to sit and type...my fellow bloggers will know exactly what I mean haha. I don't just want to post blog posts with the video embedded, I want to actually blog when I can...and clearly since it is already February I am finding it hard to juggle everything...and that is o.k!

So the first thing I've been loving from my haul is the Brazilian bum bum cream (£18.00), which
was in the majority of youtube videos in 2016/17! I finally gave into the hype on boxing day as this three pack was fantastic value for money, but also because I wanted to step up my body care routine. Since I've opened my first post this month I have been LOVING how hydrating this is. The scent is nice, not as insaaaane as it has been made out to be, lets be honest, but the product works REALLY well. Will I still use up my more affordable moisturisers for the body? Of course, since I hate wasting product in any form. However I can see why this has been so popular, a little goes a long way and my skin drinks it up in the best way. So far, I am a big fan of this cute lil thang which is supposed to be pronounced as I said in the video haha!

Moving on to this adorable little set from Alpha-H, I couldn't resist it. Mainly because it contains a version of my favourite chemical exfoliator - liquid gold, but also because they didn't give ridiculous sizes for their sets. I know some brands are insanely expensive, so getting a mini is usually great value for money, but I noticed that a lot of brands were selling 5ml things and that just doesn't sit right with me. These sets are meant to give you enough product that you can come to a good judgement as to whether it works for you or not....5ml isn't going to cut it for me! I need to be able to use a product for a good 3 weeks - to a month at least in order to come to the important decision of if I should spend my hard earned coins or not. So yeah, anyway, this set ticked a lot of boxes. I'm currently using up a few cleansers and trying out a new moisturiser AND glycolic product, so this will sit in my drawer till the summer time I expect, since I do really want to try all three together as a separate but still consistent, skincare regime.

Moving on to this lil bougie set that I really couldn't resist, bougie for me cause I usually don't splash the cash on perfumes...ever...so this was a bit of a treat. I justified it as the end of my first term as an NQT treat haha. These will most likely last me for agesssss too because I also purchased a bunch of new Zara scents, which are much less expensive and also less strong, so I'll reach for THOSE on a daily basis. A-N-Y-W-A-Y-S all that to say

And finally I couldn't help but share this adorable Bourjois gift with purchase! Honestly to me this is one of the only advantages of actually browsing stores like boots and superdrug. I HATE how most items have been opened and swatched/touched/USED, so I generally avoid purchasing from the stores themselves, but back in uni days, I would always have a proper browse. This time around I was looking at some of the new things and I noticed that bourjois had this really generous gift with purchase offer. The contents are below!

So as you can see I managed to get my hands on FOUR free items! All I had to do was spend £15, so I picked up a beautiful rouge velvet lipstick in the shade flaming rose, the bourjois sculpt light illuminator, a pink gel nail polish and the bourjois volume clubbing mascara (which I remember reading about on a blog AGES ago and really wanting to try!). Can I just say how happy I am that all the colours and items I'm actually going to wear and use?! Bourjois did real good 🙌🏽

Now to be totally honest, the lipstick shade is a LITTLE bright, but I can mix it with deeper shade and make it work...plus the formula is delightful. The packaging is also super luxe for drugstore, I mean I know prices of lipsticks are getting higher and higher, but I feel like they're also upping their overall feel of the products - glass bottles, sturdy packaging etc.

To see EVERYTHING I picked up, have a little watch of the actual video:

And that is about it for this post! I honestly feel really guilty every time I think about my blog, because I've been pouring the majority of my spare time into my youtube channel, but it's always somewhere in the back of my mind haha.

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Boxing Day Beauty Haul (Just a LITTLE late to the blog(!))

Hello everyone! I hope you're doing really well. Todays blog post is a bit of a continuation from a recent youtube video I filmed...my boxing day beauty haul. I ended up filming a bunch of videos that day which I then posted over the next 5-6 weeks cause...there is such a thing as too many hauls haha. So I've had a GRWM up since this and I've just finished edited the brand new makeup revolution concealer review (yes THAT one which is a dupe for the shape tape!). However I wanted to dedicate a whole blog post to the haul and add some more thoughts behind the products. Some of these things I've used more since then and sometimes it's just nice to sit and type...my fellow bloggers will know exactly what I mean haha. I don't just want to post blog posts with the video embedded, I want to actually blog when I can...and clearly since it is already February I am finding it hard to juggle everything...and that is o.k!

So the first thing I've been loving from my haul is the Brazilian bum bum cream (£18.00), which

For an inspired 2018 | My diary of choice

Hello everyone, wow three posts in a row?! That is the most I've posted in over a year haha. I've definitely made the most of these holidays to record content and also ease myself back into blogging. Whilst the blushing giraffe will always be a beauty blog first and foremost,  I am definitely going to start incorporating a bit of stationary here and there. This post is dedicated to my brand new diary and I know 2018 has started already - but trust me, if you're looking for a new diary and you're into setting goals, reflecting and striving for better things, this is 100% worth picking up still.

I'm going to show you a couple of the pages and I hope the creators of the diary don't mind, but I want to show you exactly why this is probably one of the most helpful books I've ever picked up. So it starts off with a review of the previous year and I spent a good twenty minutes filling this out and really thinking about the past 12 months. It is so lovely to be able to look back to everything good thats happened, because sometimes it can be so easy to forget, am I right? 2017 has been a wonderful year for me education and career wise, but not the best on a personal level. That last point, thinking about the habits and skills which actually helped me to achieve those goals was such an insightful thing to add as well, because THAT is actually what helps you to go forwards. Reflecting on the things that I did to achieve what I have, helped me to then set goals which'll in'sha'Allah help me to further prosper in the coming year. I found the page on the right a little more challenging to fill out...thinking about those questions and I guess envisioning each one. But a really helpful activity nonetheless.

The diary has a standard whole year calendar view, which I appreciate but thats pretty usual! I do really like the blank calendar on the opposite page though - it'll probably be filled with key dates to remember as the whole overview.

Then we have the goals page and this is what I absolutely LOVE! They've divided it into four sections and given you space for 4 goals and also a line for why. Thats the most important thing, really getting you to reflect on why you're setting this goal, whats the purpose? What will it achieve? I haven't given myself a goal for each of the bullet points, but I like the fact that some are blank because if I decide on some more later on, I can always fill them in.

This is an example of the start of a monthly spread, and I am obsessed. Seriously, look at how they've firstly labelled it as a plan, because we all know that saying - fail to plan, plan to fail! I used to roll my eyes when I heard that as a 15 year old, but now a degree and PGCE later and I know it's true. Setting four goals is a great way to take the goals that we made earlier and break them down, and then the steps to reach it?! Genius! I've filled all of this in and I'm excited to see how my month pans out with frequent check ins to this page.

I was going to show you a couple more pages, but I've decided against it because I don't want to give it all away! Let's just say, not only is the monthly spread brilliant, but the weekly spread....it is just as good and I know this diary is going to make a real difference.

On to the things I'd change if I could...I don't love the 'dear diary' written on the front. Since it's more of an inspirational goal setting and tracking PLANNER, the words don't quite match! Its not a biggie and of course doesn't impact the genius design of it. Also I wish it was a little bigger - well that was my first thought when I unwrapped it. However now I've filled in most of the front part and started using this weeks spread, it's actually more than enough space. My previous planner was a ban.do one, which I snagged from TKMAXX for such a good price (£5), but I only had 8 out of the 18 months left to use it. I also used that for school and loved how much space there was to write in it. This time I've decided to just use the diary school gave me for school and keep this one for home.

I love this because it's similar to a bullet journal, but the layout has been done for you and personally I do not have the time to continuously draw spreads...I wish I did because the whole bullet journal concept is amazing, but the 'dear diary, for an inspired 2018' is going to be a lot more helpful for me personally as the hard work and excellent layout is all already done.

The seller I used on etsy and the diary can be found here. It is the most pricy diary I've purchased, but for something so functional I don't mind spending a little extra!

Have you purchased a diary this year? What do you use to organise yourself?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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For an inspired 2018 | My diary of choice

Hello everyone, wow three posts in a row?! That is the most I've posted in over a year haha. I've definitely made the most of these holidays to record content and also ease myself back into blogging. Whilst the blushing giraffe will always be a beauty blog first and foremost,  I am definitely going to start incorporating a bit of stationary here and there. This post is dedicated to my brand new diary and I know 2018 has started already - but trust me, if you're looking for a new diary and you're into setting goals, reflecting and striving for better things, this is 100% worth picking up still.

2018 Goals

 Hi all, I hope you're doing well. 2018 is here and its time for my annual goal post, which to be quite honest, I publish for myself. I mean sure, if it encourages or inspired any of you then I'm very happy about it ^_^ but by putting them onto my blog, it kind of holds me accountable for it and in the past I've done mid-year reviews on them too, which helps me to stay on track! This year I've been able to plan my goals in an even more organised way, thanks to my beautiful new planner...and I've had a couple of questions about it so I'm going to be sharing it in tomorrows post. I love planners, stationary, notebooks. It's definitely my second favourite hobby and you might know that if you've already watched my papergang unboxing.

Anyway I digress, this post will have the majority of my goals, there are a couple of personal ones I won't be typing up but lets hope I can work on them ALL consistently.

Personal Goals

1. Cut down on impulse spending (food AND makeup)
It was actually a little bit scary when I sat down in the holidays and totalled up my spending over the month. Yes it was sales galore and I'm always one for a bargain, but what shocked me the most was actually the amount of money I splashed around in supermarkets. £15 here, £25 there and suddenly a whole wad of cash built up, just like that. I'm lucky, I don't need to buy lunch for weekdays as teachers get to eat free in the lunch hall - but for breakfasts, coffees and snacks I do like to have my own classroom stash. This year however I'm definitely going to be either taking out cash and not using my card at all, in order to stick to my budget, or possibly just online shopping! What works for you? In terms of makeup, I won't go into it too much, but stay tuned on my channel to see what I'm trying to do throughout the year...fingers crossed it works 😅.

2. One line of Quran and Salah
So often I've typed that I want to increase my spiritual attachment with Allah and honestly what steps have I taken towards it? I can scroll through mindless social media for hours on end, watch netflix and youtube without realising where the hours go by. And it actually makes me quite upset how distant I have become from my deen. I can think of several reasons why, but in reality they are not good enough. They're all excuses. So I want to start off slow, yet steady. A line a day takes a minute at the most and when I set myself a target like this, realistically I'll be able to read a lot more, cause sometimes the hardest part is just beginning.

3. Start earning a little more from SM
This has never really been a goal for me before, so it excites me that I can now set it as a target for myself. Alhamdulillah I have a proper job now, a career in fact and so money is not something I need. However, seeing the potential to earn from the hard work put into social media opens up a world of possibilities. 2018 marks the fifth year that I started this blog and earning more than a tenner a month, to put towards my equipment, my channel and my blog would be fantastic. I don't know if it'll happen, but I'm putting it on my metaphorical vision board and speaking it into existence ^_^


Health and Fitness

4. Maintain my current weight
I think this is the first time I've refrained from writing 'go to the gym consistently', or something along those lines. Since I've been working full time for a whole term, I've realised that for me personally the gym is just not something that I can fit into my life at the moment. I am simply too exhausted from the daily responsibilities and routines of being a teacher, to then properly work out afterwards. And believe me I have tried! But when I got to the gym, I just felt completely unmotivated. Another reason is because I work in a two storey building and I'm continuously going up and down stairs, with heavy bags too. So because of this alone I already feel fitter and...also I'm just really happy with my current weight (not that I know the exact figure). But I've lost some chub, I look slim enough without feeling too skinny for me personally, so my 2018 goal is just to maintain it!


Work & career

5. Pass my NQT year with flying colours
One term down, two to go! So I don't know how many people know this, but you have to actually pass your newly-qualified year in order to become maintain your status of a qualified teacher and you have 5 years from receiving your QTS certificate in order to do that. The start of my year so far has been going well, some challenges here and there but nothing too difficult Alhamdulillah and I'm just praying I'm able to pass with success.


6. Get a grasp on my workload
This is somewhat related to the above, but in order to be able to pass I really need to find a way to work smart. That's kind of my 2018 motto - work smarter, not harder. Because I HAVE worked really hard and I've proven myself capable of achieving what I set my mind too, so I know I can do it. However theres got to be a smart way of organising my self and my time, so that my to-do list gets shorter and I still maintain a balance! There just has to be, and I'm really going to do my best to figure it out.

And those are my 6 goals for twenty-eighteen! Have you set goals or resolutions this year? Please share, I'd love to know ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

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2018 Goals

 Hi all, I hope you're doing well. 2018 is here and its time for my annual goal post, which to be quite honest, I publish for myself. I mean sure, if it encourages or inspired any of you then I'm very happy about it ^_^ but by putting them onto my blog, it kind of holds me accountable for it and in the past I've done mid-year reviews on them too, which helps me to stay on track! This year I've been able to plan my goals in an even more organised way, thanks to my beautiful new planner...and I've had a couple of questions about it so I'm going to be sharing it in tomorrows post. I love planners, stationary, notebooks. It's definitely my second favourite hobby and you might know that if you've already watched my papergang unboxing.

2017 Beauty Favourites - highend and drugstore

Hell everyone, not to do things by halves, this year I filmed TWO loooong videos talking you through the best of the best, from my makeup collection! I wanted to do two versions, cause I genuinely love both sides of the spectrum. Unfortunately youtube didn't let me save the products and links to reviews under the drugstore video, so all that information can be found below.



High-end favourites:

Products mentioned: Going out foundation: http://fave.co/1XulMHd 📝review - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/201... Everyday foundation: http://fave.co/1Ntktrp 📝review - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/201... Concealer: http://fave.co/2A0wodH 📝review - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/201... Powder: http://fave.co/2jnIQfD Brow product: http://fave.co/2BOEyJa 📝review - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/201... ABH shadows : http://fave.co/2C4R9s3 MUG shadows : http://fave.co/2C4ETI7 Single shadow series : http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/sea... ABH Palette : http://fave.co/2Ca5rHE Tarte Palette: http://fave.co/2C53xbz Gel liner: http://fave.co/2fqP7Jk Bronzer: http://fave.co/2zEfTUs Cream bronzer: http://fave.co/2C7oSB2 NARS Blushers: http://fave.co/2BD0ns1 NARS Face palette: http://fave.co/2C7ohiJ 📝reviews of my faves - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/sea... Wonder glow: http://fave.co/2C6OrC7 ABH glow kits: http://fave.co/2BAngMK 📝review - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/201... ABH So Hollywood: http://fave.co/2C51swh Fenty Highlight: http://fave.co/2glDQal 📝review - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/201... Lipliner: http://fave.co/2C9Nc5m 📝review - http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/201... The Balm Meet Matte -http://fave.co/21b9OF4 (committed) KVD Liquid lipsticks - http://fave.co/2dH8eJ9 (lolita, lolita 2, double dare, bow n arrow) Gerard Cosmetics - http://fave.co/2BySL9L (1995 and everything nice) ABH liquid lipsticks - http://fave.co/2C7bP2l (Ashton, stripped and crush) NARS Pure Matte lipstick - http://fave.co/2C7Uarq (tonkin) Stila liquid glitters - http://fave.co/2BAYr37 Beautyblender - http://fave.co/2B1rY5Z




Drugstore/highstreet favourites:

☀️The drugstore/highstreet favourites: 

💞Foundation - wet’n’wild photo focus in golden beige $6! : http://fave.co/2ClfmdR (this is the site I have been using for years and as long as your order is below £15, you won’t be hit with customs.)

💞UK foundation - nip & fab foundation £12.95: http://fave.co/2joxNCP

💞 Special occasion foundation - Mehron H.D £11.95: http://fave.co/2ClhgLx 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2017/03/review-mehron-celebre-hd-pro-cream.html

💞 Corrector - soap and glory kick ass concealer in medium £10: http://fave.co/2fYV8Kn 

💞 Concealer - LA girl pro conceal in creamy beige £5: http://fave.co/2C2GeM2 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2014/06/review-swatches-la-girl-pro-conceal-hd.html

💞 Wet’n’wild contour duo in caramel toffe £5.99: http://fave.co/2ClPChp 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/09/this-or-that-marc-jacobs-instamarc_22.html

💞 Topshop bronzer in Mohawk £9.00: http://fave.co/2hofOOa 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/08/top-three-topshop-beauty.html

💞 Sleek blush by 3 in sugar £10: http://fave.co/2CrzcEl

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/search?q=sleek+blush+by+3

💞 Sleek blush in suede £5: http://fave.co/2C0o5yv 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/11/top-three-drugstore-bllushers.html

💞 Rimmel lasting finish blush (on sale atm!) £2.75: http://fave.co/2ClinLd 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/11/top-three-drugstore-bllushers.html

💞 Nip & Fab liquid gold highlighter in rose gold £12.95: http://fave.co/2C1pQeZ 

💞 Lashes - these are some of my FAVE from eBay and aliexpress😍

1. pack of three - £1.65: http://fave.co/2lZqEJl
2. Faux mink lashes $2.33 each! And soo many amazing styles to choose from: http://fave.co/2C0mxom 
3. 99p - love these but they do need curling: http://fave.co/2BZRDfz 

💞 Zoeva cocoa blend eyeshadow £18: http://fave.co/2CqfQzd 

💞 Certifeye tropical wonders palette £30: http://fave.co/2izUgMQ 

💞 Topshop magic liner £6.50: http://fave.co/1HEULyZ 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/09/requested-battle-of-drugstore-liquid.html

💞 collection extreme felt tip liner £2.99: http://fave.co/2CqTYnc 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/09/requested-battle-of-drugstore-liquid.html

💞 Essence mascaras £2-£3.30: http://fave.co/2C23GZW 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/search?q=essence+mascara

💞 Sleek precision liquid eye colour £6.99: http://fave.co/2CmO4DU 

💞 Freedom makeup duo eyebrow powder £2.60: http://fave.co/2CqpKB2 

💞 Essence make me brow £2.50: http://fave.co/2rNHDBr  

💞 Kiko eyebrow fibers mascara £7.20: http://fave.co/2Cqvk6e 

💞 Colurpop brow pencils in banging brunette, dope taupe and blacknbrown $5: http://fave.co/2CqwjTY 

💞 Topshop glow highlighter in gleam £9: http://fave.co/1NfCz0O 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/08/top-three-topshop-beauty.html

💞Topshop highlighter in horizon and sunbeam £12: http://fave.co/2bpi6HN 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/08/top-three-topshop-beauty.html

💞 Rimmel 1000 kisses lip pencil in tiramisu and spice £2.99: http://fave.co/2BnMgXu 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2014/12/review-rimmel-london-1000-kisses.html

💞 Jordana easy liner in tawny £4: http://fave.co/2C0TIb3 

💞 Primark setting powder mixed with MUR banana powder £5: http://fave.co/2AZkaBw 

💞 colour pop ultra satin lips $5: http://fave.co/2ClVsPR 

                 📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/search?q=satin+lip 

💞 colour pop ultra glossy lips $5: http://fave.co/2C0G2No 

💞 ELF Alissa Ashley gloss £7.50: http://fave.co/2AcUNfW 

💞 Ecotools sponge £7.95 (currently reduced!): http://fave.co/2C1ToZW 

I hope you enjoyed this video! 

Here is my 2016 affordable makeup starter kit, for even more top beauty faves: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/12/makeup-starter-kit-affordable-edition.html 

Happy New Year everybody 🎇 in'sha'Allah 2018 is a better year in all ways ^_^ do keep me in your duas and you are all in mine 💞