Monthly Archives: January 2014

Islam, Style

Follow Friday: Cover 33

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Cover33

Maryam started Cover33 to provide hijabis an easy way to shop for stylish hijabs.

Salaams my lovelies! Jumah mubarak to you all. As you know, on Fridays, I typically do a Follow Friday post on a specific hijabi that I feel provides not only fashion inspiration, but also inspiration for other qualities such as spirituality, entrepreneurship, etc. I wanted to highlight the a Texan sisters’ company Cover33 whose name is inspired by Surah 33 (Al Ahzab) verse 59 which is the verse where women are encouraged to cover themselves and be modest. The Instagram handle @cover33 features these two sisters from Texas wearing scarves from their line and is always a pleasure to look at since not only do they dress modestly, but they combine colorful elements and provide loads of hijab fashion inspiration.

The main reason that these sisters’ online hijab store is part of my Follow Friday picks is not just because Maryam and Jaserah are beautiful, but I am personally inspired by their ability to see a need for women to buy hijabs online and turn it into a business that is not only growing, but thriving. I personally can’t wait to shop their site and let you know how my own customer experience goes! I am also inspired by their collaboration as sisters. Family bonds are important and I love how these sisters are working together to lift each other up just like my other favorite hijabi sister duo Heba and Farah Jalloul. They serve as examples that sisters need to support and love one another instead of tearing each other down by being competitive.

Make sure to follow @cover33 @mfasadullah and @jaserah for more hijab fashion inspiration! Maryam also has a lovely blog called Sincerely Maryam that you can read too! Check it all out and make sure to let me know what you think!

Islam, Style

Hijab Trends: Snood Hijabs

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Snood hijab

Snood hijabs are the perfect way to keep warm during colder winter months.

I personally love being a hijabi blogger because it forces me to see what other stylish hijabis are out there doing. One new trend that has come out in the hijabi fashion world is the snood hijab. A snood is basically a scarf that is knit like a tube. While it was traditionally worn around the neck, some hijabis are taking a step further and wearing it to cover their necks and chest while rocking the turban style or wearing on top of their hijabs for extra warmth during these cold winter months. This cold weather hijab look is not only practical, but it is really cute! I personally have not tried the snood hijab, but check out this really cute sweater hijab style below:

Sweater Hijabi

Sweater Hijabs can be practical yet stylish during cold weather months.

What do you think about the snood hijab? Would you rock it during a polar vortex?

Beauty

Hijabi Beauty: Best Foundations For Women of Color

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Foundation swatches

Picking a foundation can be tricky, but Hijabilife can help!

We all dream of finding the One. The One makeup base that will take away our worry lines, erase our dark spots, and help us glow with happiness. Much like finding the One we ultimately marry, finding the One foundation you love takes time (and trial and error at times). No matter where you are from, if you are a woman, you probably dream of having smooth, flawless looking skin. It is a standard of beauty that transcends cultures, religions, and even time. If you look at descriptions of beauties from the past, there is always some mention of smooth beautiful skin that glows. Which is exactly why cosmetic companies make a fortune by selling us the promise of radiant skin in a bottle or jar.

One of the challenges that women of color face is that most foundation colors are not exactly suited for them. Women of color will find that some foundations end up looking ashy or muddy. It really is a struggle to find the right foundation for women of color. Here are some tips and tricks that I have for you so that you can get right match for you.

Since it is so hard to find the perfect color match, a lot of women of color focus so much on the color, that they neglect to think about their coverage needs. Do you need a sheer coverage formula? Do you need a heavier coverage? Are you an active person who has a lot of shine? Are you an older woman who wants to bring back some radiance? Personally, I tend to have oily skin so I prefer a powder finish even to my liquid foundation in order to combat that T-zone oily shine. Here are my picks for whatever your skin care needs are:

Heavy Coverage

For women who are looking to cover large scars, birthmarks, or even tatoos, I highly recommend Dermablend. It really covers hard to cover hyperpigmentation that women of color sometimes get from acne scarring. You can buy this line of foundations from Ulta.  Another great range of foundations for women of color that provide heavy coverage is MAC. I personally don’t use MAC, but I know a lot of women of color who swear by it. I would say as a caveat for anyone using these heavy coverage foundations is that if you wear it for too long and you don’t wash your face, you will break out. So try to save this for special occasions only. Lastly, for my drugstore mavens, L’Oreal True Match really does work wonders. If you are worried about not finding an absolute match for your skin color, make sure to buy it from a store that has a good return policy.</p>

Medium Coverage

Medium coverage foundations are not quite as heavy as the foundations I listed above. They can cover smaller imperfections and age spots pretty well but still allows the natural skin tone to peek through. I highly recommend Lorac since its light but offers a good range of shades. The line is never too heavy, but still evens out skin tone beautifully. This line’s color range is especially good for Southeast Asian women. I would have recommended Bare Minerals in this category, but I have not had any luck finding the right shade. I feel like their range is either really light or really dark. Another issue I have with Bare Minerals is that while it initially works well, it ultimately makes my skin itch and so I had to give up wearing it. If you can find the right shade and it does not make your skin itch, it really does give you a natural finish that covers a lot of dark spots or undereye shadows.

Light Coverage

I highly recommend using a BB cream if you want a very sheer coverage that allows your natural skin’s beauty to shine through. Since BB creams are newer, their color range is a bit limited. However, I highly recommend Smashbox’s Camera Ready BB Cream. It gives you a nice every day coverage that helps you look bright eyed and bushy tailed even if you didn’t go back to sleep after Fajr (the pre-sunrise prayer). Another drugstore recommendation is the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream.

Whatever your skincare needs are, my best advice is to try things out. A lot of times what works for your friend, sister, or even your mom may not work so well for you. So take my recommendations with a grain of salt and let me know what your top foundation picks are!

 

 

Style

Fashion Friday: Long Tulle Skirts

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Imaan Ali from The Hijablog rocks the tulle skirt

Imaan Ali from The Hijablog rocks the tulle skirt perfectly.

Salaams my lovelies and Jumah Mubarak to you! You are in luck because I have another Fashion Friday blog post for you today!

I don’t know about you, but in terms of modest fashion, you have to get creative if you want to keep your wardrobe fresh. I personally get a lot of my fashion inspiration from Instagram so when I saw long tulle skirts on bloggers like Imaan Ali and Winnie Detwa, I just knew I had to let you readers know about it. What I love about long tulle skirts is that it is something that you can wear not just to work, but kids’ birthday parties, special events, or any time you want to have a girly moment. My favorite tutu moment is when Sarah Jessica Parker is wearing her tutu through the streets of Manhattan in the opening credits of Sex and the City and no one bats an eyelash. While most modest fashionistas may not want to wear that exact skirt, it can certainly serve as a bit of fashion inspiration.

I promise you that if you wear a long tulle skirt, you won’t be getting strange looks because there are some excellent skirts that just have added swing, but none of that dreaded frou frou puffiness of a traditional tutu skirt.

I personally prefer long tulle skirts in neutral colors and a little heavier so that there is less of a puffy tutu factor. For example, this gray long tulle skirt by Anna Hariri is perfect for work because it looks less ballerina and more polished. For some reason, my favorite work clothes are gray and then I pair the gray pieces with more colorful accents. In the Anna Hariri skirt, you can see just how swingy and pretty long tulle skirts can be.

My favorite thing about long tulle skirts is that there is a lining in them because tulle is so sheer. So you can always stay modest yet stylish. What are your thoughts on long tulle skirts? Yay or nay?

Beauty, Islam, Style

Online Shopping Review: Simply Zeena

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Simply Zeena

Simply Zeena Winter 2014

Salaams my lovelies! I hope you are doing well inshallah and that you are having a nice Friday! I typically do a Follow Friday post, but today, I wanted to make it a Fashion Friday post because I am just over the moon in love with a modest fashion clothing line that I am sure that you will love too. Have you heard of Simply Zeena? For some reason, I had heard of the line, but I never had the time to really browse and shop their site online. Another one of the challenges of online shopping is that you just don’t know how something will drape or look on you unless you try it in person. I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet the ladies of Simply Zeena at the Fashion Fighting Famine San Francisco show and see their Winter 2014 collection in person.

The Simply Zeena 2014 Winter Collection is an array of extremely wearable and flattering pieces that can work for anyone looking for a modest wardrobe that is polished and chic. As a working hijabi mom, I need quick pieces like the ones in this collection to put on and go yet still look polished. I love that the materials are wrinkle resistant because who really has the time to iron? Not me! But I also still want to look elegant and professional and Simply Zeena allows me to look my best. I personally bought the purple hoodie and the Audrey which is a classic top in the making. When I wore the Audrey, I felt as elegant as the iconic Audrey Hepburn. I paired it with slim fit black pants, ballet flats and I know I got a ton of compliments from Muslims and non Muslims alike. A mom at Trader Joe’s actually stopped me and asked, “Where did you get that cute top?” I was so happy to share my fashion secret with her and with you. Simply Zeena has clothing for anything you may need. They even sell modest active wear and swim wear. I was super excited to see that.

Online Browsing: Their site is super easy to navigate to find what you need and more. They have a super easy to locate top navigation bar that can take you directly to clothing that are Basics, Activewear (as a gym buff, I LOVE that they have modest activewear), and other categories that make sense for easy shopping.

While Simply Zeena is an online shopping destination, I can’t really give you the good details on how fast shipping is, or the buying experience, etc. However, that gives me a great excuse to go and buy more online. I will let you know how my next pieces come and how the true online shopping experience is. In the meantime, if you have bought from Simply Zeena, what did you think? Share your comments below!

Life

Giving Back: Fashion Fighting Famine SF

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20140112-235128.jpgOne of the main reasons that I started blogging about modest fashion was because I wanted it to be something more meaningful than fashion as know it. I wanted it to be more inclusive of all shapes, colors, and sizes. I wanted it to inspire and empower us as Muslim women. I wanted it to give back something to our greater community.

That is why I am so eternally grateful to have had the chance to volunteer with Fashion Fighting Famine for their San Francisco show because that is exactly what they stand for. Not only does the organization raise money for local charities within our communities, it does it while inspiring generations of women that modest fashion can be beautiful inside and out.

From the executive members of the organization, all the way to the models, there was a collaborative spirit throughout. If someone needed help unloading a car, there were helping hands. If someone fainted, there was a sister to pick her back up. If there was work to be done, sisters would pitch in. As someone who has seen tradition fashion shows from the behind the scenes, there was no diva behavior at FFFSF and I truly believe it is because the beauty of the Adab (etiquette of Islam) of the Prophet (saws).

Seeing this beauty behind the scenes gave me my own courage to face the crowd and be able to MC the show. What a wonderful experience that was! To see a crowd of beautiful women of all ages smiling back at me made me realize that Allah (swt) made us all beautiful alh.

By the grace and mercy of God, I felt like after the first few minutes of being nervous that all my fears went away and I was able to not only enjoy the show, but feel honored to help a wonderful charity like the North American Islamic Shelter for the Abused.

So often, the Muslim community ignores domestic violence as an issue. Thanks to the amazing volunteers and the guests of this fashion show, we are able to give these voiceless women a voice in our community.

I sincerely hope that all of my readers reflect on how just one person can make a huge impact by way of example of this show. Anum, one of the executive members of Fashion Fighting Famine, pushed the group to have a second show based in San Francisco. Thanks to her, she motivated hundreds of women to travel from Dubai, LA, and all over to help our community! So never feel defeated to give back my readers. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.

PS: Major thank you to Rahat for glamming me up. And thank to all of you awesome ladies for showing up to the show!

Style

Online Shopping Review: JewelsNGems

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20140102-231134.jpgSalaam my lovelies! I hope you had a wonderful New Year inshallah. If you have one new Year’s resolution, I hope it is to pamper yourself a little bit more. As a wife and mom (but even when I was a single student), I used to put my needs on the back burner just to take care of my loved ones. Well, think of taking care of yourself as a way to ensure that you can keep taking care of your loved ones without burning out. So one of the things I barely do is actually buy any hijab accessories or jewelry. Everything I wear is actually given by someone else. Alhamdulillah I can’t complain, but isn’t it nice to wear jewelry that you personally picked out? I know I feel the prettiest with jewelry that I adore!

If you want to spoil yourself, there is an amazing online store called JewelsNGems that has the most luxurious and unique hijab accessories that I have ever seen. Here is my rundown of the site:

Online Browsing: Here I have to say that the company has done a wonderful job in terms of cataloging and displaying their high quality jewelry and accessories. Their tabs allow users to find exactly what they are looking for; whether it is hijab pins or necklaces or ornate Indian style fantasy jewelry.

Buying Experience:Their site is also easy to convert to different currencies and you know exactly what price each of the items are. You can keep adding items to your cart and browse. When you actually check out, it’s via Pay Pal and it is very easy to either check out as a guest or create a Pay Pal account.

Shipping:Given that my order came through during Christmas and this vendor is located in the U.K., I am very pleased with how fast these items came through! I will warn you that as with all U.K. sites that I have come across, the shipping may be more than the accessories you order so be sure to save up and order a bunch of items or share an order with a friend to ensure that you feel like shipping the items is worth it.

Once I received my package, I was struck by the care that went into not only the items, but how it was presented. Each item was bagged in its bag, and the site even sends you a complimentary chocolate (which was European deliciousness and gone in minute!).

Every accessory is the highest quality and each crystal placed on the accessories are held into place by sturdy prongs to ensure that it will stay intact for a long time. The crystals are iridescent and have an incandescent beauty. If you want to feel like a hijabi princess, this is the site for you.