Feb Beauty Haul

With all the Sale happening I went shopping obviously, and as usual my leg have been pulled into the beauty section. These things weren’t on sale or anything, I just popped into beauty stores and got my hands on these babies.

As you can see …I got quite a number of stuff and I am excited to share it with you <3...

Batiste Dry Shampoo for dark hair

Since I cut my bangs I always have my hair straight which makes it oily superfast. I was so happy to find batiste in Egypt and in Carrefour very easily. I got it for 45 EGP.

Nivea antiperspirant deodorant invisible for black & white

In the quest of the perfect deodorant I said to try my luck with Nivea. This was like 18 EGP.

Bourjois Paris Happy Light Matte Serum Primer

I have always wanted to try a serum on my face, because I have always heard it’s better than lotion for oily skin. Also I needed a primer desperately. I loved how I found both in product and it was matte, basically it was calling my name. I got it for 124 EGP.

Essence I <3 stage eye shadow base

  I have heard people on YouTube comparing it to the urban decay primer potion so I had to try it out. It was 35 EGP.

Labello Vitamin shake lip balm

 Labello has been on top of my lip balm list since I have in 5^th grade or something. When my lip smacker failed to impress me, I had to go back to this baby. I got this for 15 EGP.

Maybelline The colossal kajal

There is a lot of rave about this product and since it is waaaaaay cheaper and much easier to find than my lord & berry eye pencil, I decided to give it a try in the shade black. It’s just for 35 EGP.

Essence maximum definition volume mascara

The wand on this one is so similar to a cover girl mascara that gives tones of volume. Since we don’t have cover girl in Egypt, I was happy to find this one. It’s for 39 EGP.

Essence XXXL shine lip gloss

The color range was nice at essence, however I wanted to play it a little bit safe. I got this gorgeous shade called “Nude Candy”. It’s for 28 EGP.

Essence Cover stick

I got the natural concealer before and I liked it so I decided to get the stick one and give it a try, I got mine in the shade “Honey Matt” which is the darkest shade I think. It was for 30 EGP.

Essence eyeliner pen

It’s getting hard to perfect the eyeliner with a brush when I am in a rush –I didn’t mean to rhyme I swear-, so I decided to give the fill tip a try. It was for 39 EGP.

Essence All about Matt loose powder

I have tried a lot of translucent and compact powders to control shine, my main problem was the color they leave. I wanted to give the loose setting powder a try. This was for 45 EGP.

Essence Stay All Day long lasting eye shadow

This one is like a pot of creamy eye shadow, I got mine in the shade “steel the show” which is a dark silver. This one was for 44 EGP.

Essence smoky eye brush

I just needed a good blending brush and the price on this one was irresistible. I got it for 17 EGP, yup you heard it right.

Essence eye shadow brush

This one is like a C shaped thick brush, I think will be a great help to tap eye shadow on my lids. This one is also for 17 EGP.

I also got some clothes, shoes and accessories in the sale and I thought of doing a haul, however I already have worn like most of the stuff so stay tuned to some street style stuff :D 

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Garnier BB cream for oily skin

I got this a couple of months ago in my New Year's Haul. I got this after I heard it's a new release after the regular one failed miserably. It's made in France, the packaging is totally different than the original one. This one is longer and thinner. It says very clearly on the packaging for "combination to oily skin", also there is the statement "miracle skin perfector". Mine is in the shade "Medium", I believe there is another shades named "Light".I have been applying this for my everyday makeup instead of foundation and I have quite a lot to say about it.

The Good:

 

As soon as you buff it on your skin or even finger spread it, this BB cream has a velvety finish on the skin. It's very light weight and smooth. As you can see in the before and after picture, It gives this healthy natural glow to the skin. In the picture as well, it shows that it has medium to light coverage. I think the coverage on this is great for a BB cream. When I apply a matte primer underneath, I don't get oily and I get pretty long stay with it. It stays on for a pretty long time, I would wear it at 8 am and it stays on till 8 pm. The shade goes great with my skin, as you can see blended on my wrist; it looks kind of the same. All in all it makes you look like you have enhanced your skin. Finally this product is @ 44 EGP which is very affordable.


The Bad:
As you can see in the swatch, this BB cream has a very runny consistency. I am not used to this kind of consistency and it's a little hard to deal with. The packaging is upside down and the product itself is very liquidy which causes a lot of waste to the product. If I wear it and have to make a phone call right away, it would leave a mark on my phone.

The Ugly:
Let me just make it clear, I don't expect my BB cream to make my skin better or anything. There was a promise -which I didn't believe- on the packaging that with use it makes skin better, and it didn't. So the product promised something and didn't fulfill it. If you apply this BB cream with no primer underneath, you will start getting oily in the T zone after 3-4 hours.

For me I am still not sure if I am going to repurchase it or not, however I would recommend it for someone with drier skin. I have normal cheeks and oily T zone, so you can call me kind of combination. I would still recommend a BB cream for everyday use instead of foundation. xx

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Top 15 Youtube Fashion and Beauty Gurus

I have been watching YouTube beauty and fashion videos for more than a year. It's becoming a daily habit for me to open up YouTube and check out what are the new videos. Whenever I am trying to do anything with my makeup or hair, one of my main search channels is You Tube. I get a lot of style inspiration from style videos on You Tube. I have narrowed down my search to these 15 "Gurus", I find myself following them on other social media hubs and I actually look for their new videos. So here are the 15 You Tube beauty and fashion gurus, who you should follow.

Andrea

 Andrea is awesome, she has amazing natural curly hair. She has her own show on the Platform called "Makeup to Breakups", Andrea has been on YouTube forever. You will find amazing and easy Halloween tutorials on her channel, she is big on DIY and her stuff are super easy, she also makes a lot of curly hair videos. Her makeup tutorials are very easy and achievable, she is so spontaneous and I wish she would make more videos.  Click here to view AndreasChoice Youtube

Nicole

 Lately Nicole had won in Ryan Secrest's best You Tube beauty guru contest. She is sassy, spontaneous and funny. She uses a lot of high end and a lot of affordable makeup, which makes it very easy to follow her. I wish she would make more style videos and take care of her blog more, because she has a great style. You will get to know about her life and cats. She has super oily skin so she is a great helper in choosing makeup for oily skin. Click here to view Nicole Guerriero Youtube

Jenn

 Jenn's videos are so professional, subtle and chilled just like her personality. She has one of the best styles I have ever seen, she knows how to put together any outfit and she ends up looking good. She throws nice giveaways. Her vlogs and personal videos are so honest and they touch me personally. Other than her Channel "Clothes Encounters", she has a show on the Platform called the "Get up".
Click here to viw Clothes Encounters Youtube

Kasey

 

 I think not a lot of people on You Tube know Kasey, her channel is named "Still Glamorus" and she has a cosmetics line with the same name. I started by watching her hair tutorials, she is very creative and versatile. She also gives options for short and long hair, because she has medium hair and she has hair extensions. Click Here to view Still Glamorus You Tube

Amy



 Amy doesn't have her own channel on You Tube, however she has a show called "The Fashion Statement" on the Platform. I am totally addicted to that show, her style is very versatile and unique. She usually chooses one theme and styles 3 outfits mentioning the places she got her clothes from. She also does interviews where she showcases her guests style. Click Here to View The Fashion Statement on You Tube

Alba

She has been on You Tube forever, Alba started as any other You tuber then transitioned to the Natural Hair community. She has 2 channels, her main English channel and another one in Portuguese. She has amazing hair styling and hair care videos for Curly hair, she is one of my main inspirations when I am wearing my hair curly. Click Here to View SunKissAlba You Tube

Sineady

 I feel like she is kind of under rated, I am not sure about how known she is. Sineady's channel is named "The Makeup Chair". She has amazing videos for makeup beginners, all the great basics from concealer to blending eye shadow. Her videos are really professional and to the point, her makeup dos and donts are amazing as well. Click Here to View The Makeup Chair You Tube

Tanya

 





She is so down to earth and enters your heart as soon as you watch her videos, her makeup tutorials are very achievable and particle. I seriously love her British accent and her looks, she looks really good and in the same time she's your next door girl and that's really important in a beauty guru. She has her own line of Nail Polish and Lip glosses. Click Here to View Tanya Burr You Tube

Huda



 Huda is an Emirati makeup artist who has her own channel and blog, her videos are in English so it's easy to follow her. She takes care of her blog more than her channel and I want to see her make videos, because what's better than learning from a makeup artist. She tackles EVERYTHING, skin, makeup, hair, weight loss, you name it. Click Here to View Huda Beauty You Tube

Camila



I got to know her from her show on the Platform called "The Beauty Pop", the Brazilian guru has 2 channels one in English and the other in Portuguese. She is very feminine and her makeup style is very nice, she makes nice hair tutorials as well. I have learned a couple of hair dos from her. I wish Camila would style videos because I love her style and I think we can learn a lot from her. Click Here to View Makeup By Camila You Tube

Michelle

 That's what I call a dream comes true, she started from her college laptop camera and now she has her own cosmetics line called EM. Her beauty transformation videos are to die for. She is very kind hearted and her videos are REALLY professional. Lately Michelle has been using a lot of her products and I wish she would be more versatile so everybody would be able to achieve her looks. Click Here to View Michelleh Phan You Tube

Annie

 Annie is Swedish and she lives in Dubai. She is really calm and feminine, I think she is such an inspiration. Her Channel has a lot more than beauty, she talks about motivation and positivity and she has an amazing weight loss story.  Her DIY beauty tutorials are amazing, I have tried a couple of them and they are really good. I wish Annie would make more videos because lately she haven't been making a lot of videos. Click Here to View Annie Jaffery You Tube

Stephanie

I think that girl is hilarious, she has bloopers at the end of her videos and they make me crack up. I feel like Stephanie doesn't try to sell the products she is using, even when she did sponsored videos by Maybelline; she used other brands as well in the makeup look. She just needs to make more videos and be more versatile in her videos, because I think she really can make a lot of beautiful things. Click Here to View SMLx0 You Tube

Carly

Carly has her own world, you enter and you get her boyfriend's fitness channel and her "inner beauty" channel, her blog, her fashion blog. I think she take You Tube videos very seriously and she is very keen on having videos up all the time. She has great giveaways and her older videos are really helpful, I have learned a lot about clipping hair extensions from her. I wish she wouldn't sell the products that much in her videos. Click Here to View Carli Bell You Tube

Chrisspy

 She is a makeup artist and I think she is really good at what she does. At first you will be kind of shocked at the crazy colors she uses and the amount of makeup she puts on, however if you look the bigger picture and see how awesome her techniques are you will release it's great. She has great videos for makeup techniques only, she is a really good teacher. I wish she would  use more practical colors so she can inspire full makeup seekers. Click Here to View ChrisspyMakeup You Tube

I hope you enjoyed this article xx

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Victoria's Secret Dazzleshine Lip gloss review

WELCOME TO MY 100th  POST!! WoHooooo!!
Who doesn’t love lip gloss? Who doesn’t love Victoria’s Secret? The beauty rush collection from Victoria’s Secret has two kinds of lip glosses, the regular edition and the DAZZLESHINE edition. It’s this soft shimmery lip gloss in a hard plastic packaging with sponge applicator. I got the flavor or color “Dazzling Berry”, here is my review

First, here is a little swatch of the lip gloss on my lips. PS It’s on my bare lips with no lipstick or lip liner

The Good:

It smells like berry heaven, and it has a sugary yummy taste as well. I always feel like I want to eat it. The color is this sheer rose with shimmer in it, glides nicely on the lips when applied. The shimmer in it is not overwhelming or flaky at all. The packaging looks slim and very unique, it’s thin and practical as it goes in my wallet. You can count on finding this lip gloss in my wallet, as it’s the only one that fits in there without looking bulky.

The Bad:

I hate spongy applicators; whether it’s eye shadow or lip gloss, I think that spongy applicators look very cheap and don’t get enough product on. I wish it had the applicator with brush bristles. The lip gloss itself is a little bit sticky which sometimes makes it a little bit heavy on the lips.

The Ugly:

I don’t find any ugly side like absolutely unbearable side, Nahhh.

I think it’s a great emergency lip gloss, because of the unique slim packaging. I would totally recommended if you are into shimmer.

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Hounds Tooth & Red Lips

I am starting my Visual Diary *Yaaaaaaay*. I am so happy to announce that I am going to start my Styling on myself with you guys. According to my research this might be the first +size Visual Diary in Egypt or the middle east and for that I am freaking excited. In my Confidence post I explained some of the things that I went through before taking this decision. I feel like I am blabbing so let's get started ...

Please welcome my guest star, Milo. He is my 3 months old puppy who was snooping around when I was shooting in the backyard, so I decided he will appear with me.

I am crazy with mismatching casual and formal pieces, I think they create a very interesting outfit. A Pencil skirt in hounds tooth pattern is considered something very formal, while a grey cotton sweater is very casual.

This outfit can be worn to work or while going out. I personally think this look can be great for a Valentine's Day date. 

I paired the outfit with these heeled Ankle booties. I think the heels add a lot of sophistication to the outfit, and the fact that they are not pumps makes it more casual.

This necklace is very feminine and classic, wearing it over a sweatshirt classed it up a little bit. Also I wanted to keep my outfit closer to monochrome to give the stage to the Red Lip.

Outfit Details:

Grey Sweater: Terranova

Hounds Tooth Pencil Skirt: H&M

Suede Black Ankle Booties: Zara

Black Pendent Necklace: Accessorize

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Confidence

Disclaimer: I am writing this for people to understand more about confidence, I believe that I am one of the most people who have been in this roller coaster. I think I am starting to solve my problem, and what is a better way to level up than to share with my readers. 7 years ago I started gaining my weight back, the weight that took me about a year to lose it. I gained that weight because of very emotional reasons, I was doing the classic emotional eating stuff. I was 170 CM and 75 kilos seemed very fat to me, I saw myself hideous in the mirror when my clothes at 60 kilos didn't fit me. Little did I know, that seeing myself that fat with no guidance and very little self-confident will lead me to more emotional eating. I became the girl known for her on again off again dieting, I am always on a different starving trend and I am always looking for new technique. From a dietian clinic to the next, I was lost between low calories and binging. I used to wear my home clothes to the outside, spend days not washing my hair or using my toiletries. I didn't feel like it would matter with how “ugly” I saw myself.

2006

All that time I thought that the main purpose was to lose weight and fit into my old clothes. I had a little secret, which Fashion Blogger Jenn from Clothes Encounters made me feel like its OK to share it. I used to have a folder filled with pictures of random girls, and these girls were what I want to be. Mostly being thin and looking happy, that wasn't who I am and I thought that being thin will help me like them … happy. Little did I know, I was sinking more and more into the emotional eating trap. For me confidence was something, only thin girls owned. Then came the ani-mia society. For you who are not familiar with ani-mia, ani stands for anorexia and mia stands for bulimia.  I was living in a world of looking at women who are starving themselves to look “beautiful” and feel “confident”, while I was binge eating just because I didn't feel I could ever be that thin or “beautiful”. I was trying to fit in smaller clothes, I took on looking off over wearing clothes my size.

2008

2009

The 75 kilos range was far gone and reached the 99 kilos milestone. I would call it a milestone, because by then I decided that I going to take confidence from my work. I threw myself inside my work, and I let it define who I am. When it was time to choose between leaving my work or leveling up, my biggest motive to level up was the question “Who am I without my work?”. Driven by my low self-esteem, my emotional eating got worse and worse. My work was starting to be effected with my confidence level and I was treating people around me out of insecurity. I started to be known for my overreaction and my awkwardness. Then I saw it, the big 119 kilos on the scale. My on and off dieting didn’t stop, in fact it got worse and worse. Stretch marks and cellulite were alerts that drove me to more emotional eating and less confidence. I summed up confidence in thin people who are cool and not awkward, basically everything I am not.

2011

Let me tell you what happens when you sum confidence in a stereotype you are not near, you start hating yourself. My last resort for confidence was the illusion of love, I had a belief that being in love will help me be confident. Maybe because I have someone who is interested in me, would mean that I am desirable maybe funny or smart or “beautiful”. I was looking for someone else to drive my confidence, and that’s one of the fatal mistakes anyone can do. When you do that, you either fall in the illusion of love with someone who doesn’t understand you and is not right for you or someone who will use your low self-esteem. I always had this one thing in mind, I wouldn’t buy nice clothes because I am fat and they will look bad on me. I always had this idea that I will buy the nice brands when I am thin and beautiful. I had so little belief in my talents as a designer, a writer or a creative.

2012

Over a year ago I started working for a new place and started this blog, it was something just for me to have a place where I can do something I love. Slowly it made me feel like I am capable of doing amazing things without pressure. When I had the unfortunate accident that created my bulge desk, I was asked to lose weight which I actually started right away. I wanted to lose weight for my health and for my confidence. My problems at work and private life drove me to more emotional eating, at this point I started clarifying things in my head. I am in a loophole, everything is leading to the other and that’s why I am not able to get out. I have low self-esteem, I struggle with my looks, and I present myself poorly, which leads to my low self-esteem. I am so embarrassed to have a full shot for myself, I always think I am too fat and I want to pretend to be think and “beautiful”. Obsession over makeup was part of it, don’t get me wrong I love makeup; however I started hiding behind makeup at least in my head. People notice insecurities and people use them, when you won’t appreciate yourself then nobody will do it for you.  

One idea can change someone’s life, my idea came from rebelling. I wanted to rebel over my standards of beauty and confidence. I wanted to rebel over the idea of being controlled or used by anybody, just because I had this kind of insecurity. I am actually feeling the difference, I am not letting anything define me and that is very liberating. If you are in a relationship and you let it define you, it will be very hard to solve your problems and even harder to leave. You being in a relationship not defining who you are, however still fighting will make you release that you are fighting for love not for security. Not letting your job or how much do you earn define you will help you in doing the right things in the right way. You won’t be scared of anybody or anything, you will have better conversations and smarter work.

I decided that I will be confident and that I am beautiful, I got myself a haircut because I needed to kill my split ends and because I like myself. I started buying myself nice clothes, and I started accepting taking full body shots. I am not scared of looking huge if I wear heels, okay just a little bit maybe. I am not fully confident yet, however I am on baby steps to confidence. I found the problem and that’s 50% of the solution, starting the solutions just to cut the BS and love yourself. Which is why I am starting my visual diary on this blog, this might be the first +size visual size in Egypt or the Middle East and I am glad. I am so glad that I will be representing these fashionistas out there and helping more people gain confidence. I want to make people feel comfortable in their skin and dressing the way they like at any size or shape.

Would I still lose weight? Absolutely. Why? Because I have desk bulge which is a serious condition that needs me to be lighter, because I don’t want to risk health problems from obesity. My goal is fit and healthy, I am currently repelled by the look of the ana-mia girls. I care about my health, and my weight doesn’t define me. I am trying, I am falling; however I am standing again. 

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How to treat dry dark elbows

I have had this problem for the best part of my adult life, like 5 or 6 years and I discovered the solution when I was 21 so you do the math. I know it's really annoying and embarrassing, you can't really wear sleeveless or half sleeve tops without having to worry about dark dry elbows. I have tried several stuff and NON of them worked, some of them would work for dryness then a week later it's ever drier. So I discovered a little routine that actually surprised me, my measure of how much something work is my mother's reaction. The woman asked me what did I do and thought that my elbows are looking better than hers -hers are perfect btw-. So without further ado here is the magical stuff.

 

Before The shower

When I dry brush my skin, I focus on my elbows. I use my dry brush in a circular move directing it towards my heat in focus on my elbows only. I repeat on each elbow for 10-15 times, in a firm manner. This is supposed to remove some of the dead skin off the elbows, this dead skin is what is causing the dryness and darkness. 

During The shower

I use my loofah in focus of my elbows and rub it on each elbow a couple of types. Then I use my scrubbing rock -I believe the name is pumice-, this thing are amazing. I move the scrubbing rock in a circular motion like the dry brush from before the shower, however I am a little more gentle with it because it's different that the dry brush. If you are from the middle east, chances are you mother already know where to get these stuff. Use a separate one because germs and dead skin is personal. 

After The shower

I get a lemon and rub it a little bit on the area before getting dressed on anything. This helps is whitening  sterilizing the areas. After I am done with whatever I do after my shower, I apply my Vaseline Cocoa skin moisture lotion, these stuff are amazing stuff. Sometimes I would apply the body butter instead of the lotion, if it happens to be winter. 

Regular Maintenance

I try not to put my elbows on any table or desk, that way I don't have the weight of my upper body on them and not exhausting them. Before I leave the house and before I go to sleep, I always apply my Vaseline cocoa skin moisture lotion or butter. 

I hope you guys enjoyed these tips, they really worked for me and I hope they work for you as well. xx

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