Makeup Holy Grails

There are so many products that I love and that I would highly recommend however this post got a whole lot harder since I went cruelty free, however here are 5 products I can,t live without.

This is a collab with the lovely Simplymeggx so do check her post out too!

1. Laura Mercier translucent powder - £29

 The only issues I have with this powder is the price. Other than that this power doesnt make my makeup look cakey, doesn't leave my makeup looking white or ashy and makes my makeup last all day- even in the 40°C heat. I particularly love this for baking and you do get 29g of product which will last a very a long time.

2. Urban Decay Naked Palette - £38.50

There is a lot  hype about the naked palettes and I absolutely love this palette for its neutral shimmer shades. There isn't one shade in this palette that I don't use. My favourite shades are Half Baked, Chopper, Snakebite, Suspect and YDK. I would say I prefer the quality of my too faced palette however these are very close second in terms of quality.

3. BECCA champagne pop - £32

I've spoken about this previously but this is my all time favourite highlight! Take a look at my sephora haul post if you would like to find out more!

4. NYX HD eye shadow base- £5.50

This is honesty a massive make up staple. It makes eyeshadow last so much longer and intensifies the colour of eyeshadow on the lid which is a major plus for me since I have quite tan skin so a lot of colours don't show up that well.

5. Sleek brow kit - £8.49

I get this in the shade dark and this has got to be the ultimate brow product. It comes with 2 brushes, a rounded and slanted brush as well as a pair of mini tweezers. It also comes with a wax and powder however I mostly use the wax alone and I have got to say that this will last all day, in the rain and whilst I nap 

How to get a flawless base without caking

When getting into makeup I always found that my makeup would cake however I have learnt some tips overtime and would like to share them with you guys :)

1. Moisturise

I don't care if you have oily skin or whatever. You must find a moisturiser that suits your skin as use it before you apply your makeup. You will find that the more moisturiser you use, the more makeup you will be able to wear on top without it looking unnatural however this will vary from person to person. Before applying anything on top, I recommend allowing the moisturiser to absorb into the skin first. My favourite moisturiser is Nip and Fab bee sting cream however there are so many good cheaper ones too such as the simple light moisturiser 

2. Primer

There are many different primers with different purposes so its best to research before purchasing one. Primers will smoothen your skin as well as increase the longevity of your makeup. I have seen a lot of people recommending the Nivea men post shave balm however I personally wouldn't recommend it as it absorbs into the skin however primers are supposed to stay on the surface of the skin. Also overtime it will effect your skin. My favourite primer is Bourjous Paris Happy Light Luminous Serum primer

3. Powder

During the day your skin will secrete oils and sweat which may cause your makeup to cake. In order to prevent it effect your makeup, I recommend setting your makeup with a lightweight translucent powder. There are so many to choose from. My favourite is the Laura Mercier translucent powder  but the Soap and Glory Kick Ass Instant retouch powder is also great.

4. Blotting

During the day if you are going to retouch with powder, you will find your makeup may cake. In order to preventing this use blotting paper first to remove excess oils and then apply your powder. Superdrug Deep Action Mattifying Control papers work well for me although I usually don't feel the need to blot anymore since my skin isn't as oily as it was.

5. Matte look

If you do like a matte look, do not pair a mattifying primer with a matte foundation. Your makeup will instantly crease. Not only that but your makeup will feel extremely uncomfortable

Mini Sephora Haul

Okay so I'm back. I missed blogging so here I am again!  I will be posting a lot more often so stay tuned for that :)

I recently went to Dubai and in Dubai Mall there was a Sephora and obviously had to go in. I didnt buy a lot because everything is more expensive in Dubai than in the UK. I will leave the prices for the UK for convenience.

Nars radiant creamy concealer in 'Biscuit' - £22.50 

This concealer is extremely creamy and is the most high coverage concealer I have ever owned. It is extremely lightweight and lasts a long time however I did imagine it to be a lot more hydrating. Nonetheless this is a new favourite of mine.


Too faced sweet peach palette - £39.00

I don'thave a link for this because it isn't available at the moment but I have heard that it is being restocked. The quality of the eyeshadows are amazing, extremely pigmented and possibly better than the urban decay eyeshadows! The palette consists of pink hues, neutral shades and a few darker shades including a khaki shade, a black shade and a purple shade. The palette did come with a booklet with looks you can create but Ive sadly lost it :(

BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Champagne Pop - £32

With flash                              Without Flash

This is quite possibly the most pigmented and most magical highlighter ever. If you are looking for a highlighter this is the one you need. I have quite tanned skin and this perfectly compliments it. Its a perfect golden peachy shade. The one thing I will say is to be careful with the product as I've seen a lot of people break the packaging of this.

Rouge Volupté Shine Oil-In-Stick Lipstick- £26

First of all lets appreciate the packaging of this. I have this in the shade 13 and is extremely comfortable on the lips and smells amazing! It is also extremely pigmented which I often don't find with lipsticks of this finish. I am definitely going to be buying more of these!

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed this post. Please follow me on bloglovin (link on the right hand side). Please leave suggestions for blogposts too!!

Fatima xx

Full Coverage Base Routine

Hey everyone! So this is a Base route for full coverage, I won't wear this everyday but if I am going out, this is my go to routine.

1. I will first moisturise using Clinique moisture surge which is extremely moisturising and has a gel like consistency so doesn't look greasy

2. I'll go in with my Benefit porefessional primer which refines pores and fine lines, allowing my foundation to glide on perfectly.

3. I apply my Benefit Hello Flawless foundation in the shade beige using a buffing brush. This is a medium coverage foundation which will cover darker areas and acne scars. It has a quite healthy dewy finish without any visible glitter and is my go to foundation.

4. I'll apply my Maybelline age rewind concealer in nude to areas of the face I want to highlight so the bridge of my nose, slightly on my forehead, triangular shape under my eyes and under where my contour would be and blend that with a fluffy concealer brush. This concealer is medium-full coverage.

 5. I apply my Mac Studio finish concealer in the shade NC42 to any blemishes and blend that with my finger, this is probably the most full coverage concealer I've ever used and a little goes long way.

 6. I apply the Benefit porefessional agent zero shine to the areas that i applied concealer with the brush it comes with. This powder is mattifying and sets all my makeup in place, if there are any pores still visible, this will minimise those as well.

I am not sponsored for this post and everything here is my own opinion 

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions please do ask!

Fatima xx

Clinique 3 step Acne Solutions Clear System Starter Kit review

In Mid-November I bought the Clinique 3 step Acne Solution Clear System Starter kit which is sold at the retail price of £25.00 which you can get here

I bought this as my skin was quite blemished with acne on my cheeks and large pores in my T-zone. My skin is also quite dry so I find it difficult to find good acne products for my skin. This set will last you a month, which is what is claimed.

The set comes with:

• Cleansing foam- Apply 2 pumps to damp face and lather for about a minute. Then wash off. This will clear your pores and remove any traces of makeup on your face. Full size retails for £18.00 available here 
• Clarifying lotion- This acts as a toner and exfoliator, it minimises pores and gives a softer feel to the skin. I will apply this using a cotton pad, all over the face, concentrating on my most blemished area. Full size retail for £18.00 available here
• Clearing moisturiser - This is a mattifying moisturiser which I will say doesn't do an excellent job at moisturising, as I've said previously said, I've got quite dry skin so after I've used this, I'll apply Clinique moisture surge on dry areas, which doesn't come in the set. The Clearing moisturiser retails for £20.00 available here

After Week 1: Minimised pores and reduced redness

After Week 2: Less Frequent breakouts

After Week 3: Clearing of acne scars and blemishes

After Week 4: More clear skin - although still some acne on side I sleep on

I would recommend this treatment to anyone who suffers from acne/blemish prone skin. I am not sponsored by clinique and everything here is my own opinion.

Thank you for reading beautiful people. If you would like other tips on clearing acne just let me know!

Fatima x

Reasons why you don't keep your New Year resolutions

My New Years resolution was to wake up early and be more productive. On the 1st Janurary 2016 I woke up at 11.45am and had 2 packets of salt and vinegar crisps for breakfast. So I'm going to tell you why I think we never keep up to our new year resolutions

1. Chances are you've only made a resolution because everyone else is so determined to keep theirs so you try to find the first thing you think of and its eating healthy, then you wake up and have 2 packets of salt and vinegar crisps for breakfast.

2. The first day isn't the best day to practice your resolution. If it was to wake up early, you slept at 4am so chances are you're going to wakeup at midday. If it was to go for a morning run, it was too cold to go on the first day. Therefore you've already lost motivation on the first day.

3. You believe you can accomplish your goal because it's a new year so you're a new person right? Something magical clearly happens when the clock strikes midnight. But at that moment you realise you're the same lazy mess you were in 2015 so you get back to eating all the snacks in the house.

4. If you have kept up to your resolution up till February, chances are you'll share that with your friends. Then your friends will say something on the lines of "lol why are you doing this to your self, we ditched ours on the 3rd Janurary" so then you do question yourself and ditch yours too

5. Let's be honest, if you really wanted to achieve your resolution, you wouldn't have waited for the clock to strike midnight, so inevitably you were never going to achieve your goal anyway.

I hope you enjoyed this post and hope you all have a Happy New Year. Also to those of you posting on your social media "Page 1 of 365" it's a leap year. I hope this year is full of lessons and opportunities for all of you and ily all very much.

Fatima x

DIY Lip Vegan Friendly Lipscrub

Hey guys so I decided to do a post on DIY lip scrub. I do love the Lush Lip Scrubs but I feel constantly replacing them is quite expensive so I experimented with some products and home and went from "Santa's Lip Scrub" to "Fatima's Lip Scrub".

You will need:
1 Table spoon of Coconut oil, a cheaper alternative is Olive oil
4 Table spoons of sugar
1 Tea spoon of Vanilla extract
A Small container

1. Mix the coconut oil with the vanilla extract
2. Slowly add the sugar and mix until you get a non sticky consistency
3. Put the mixture into your container

I hope this has been helpful and would love to see your DIY lip scrubs, if you do try this out, tag me in photos on instagram and twitter

Instagram: @plxntsoul
Twitter: @fatimanxqvi

Thanks for reading
Fatima x