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Beauty

Hijabi Beauty: Flower Cosmetics Review

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Flower Cosmetics is an affordable makeup line you can buy at Walmart.

I know I wrote about Flower Cosmetics before, but there are even more things to love about the brand.

Glisten Up Highlighter
First, we all know that strobing is a big trend. For those of you who don’t know, strobing is when you take a highlighter and use it to highlight the focal points of your face (versus contouring where you carve out your features with dark powder). Flower Cosmetics offers a highlighter that comes in a chubby stick that makes strobing goof proof. In fact, the Flower Cosmetics Glisten Up highlighter won the CEW Beauty award for Mass Face Product! I tried the color Honey out. When I went to pick up my kid from daycare, the teacher told me I looked “radiant.” And this was after spending the night tending to TWO sick babies. Trust me, after that compliment, that highlighter is in heavy rotation. It is finely milled sparkle versus chunky sparkles in a highlighter so it is a subtle sheen versus an obvious highlight.

Lip Butter

This is a translucent lip color versus a highly pigmented lipstick. I would compare it to L’Oreal’s Colour Riche Balm. It is very pretty and subtle. However, I will say that the packaging drives me crazy! The cap always comes off in my bag.

Eye Shadow Quad
This eyeshadow quad is the softest shadow I have ever used. I loved the soft texture and the pigmentation is rich. However, I will caution that you need to be careful when applying it since it is so powdery. Use tape if you want to do cut creases and the like. I recommend using eyeshadow primer if you want the shadows to last because the powdery texture also means it wears off quicker. I would recommend these quads for day wear; especially at the office or while running errands. The colors are so pretty and wearable.

Brushes
I really love THESE Flower Cosmetics brushes!The handles are really nice to hold and the bristles are soft yet hold enough pigment. I am one of those weird people who really don’t like many popular brush brands. I have used and broken many MAC brushes, Bare Minerals brushes actually hurt my skin with it’s stiff bristles, etc. Even my brushes from Sonia Kashuk are just OKAY. And let’s be real, brushes are what allow you to get that airbrushed/blended look that is so popular now. I actually really like Morphe brushes and Eco Tools but for now, these are my new favorite brushes!

Overall, it is nice to see a makeup line that is sold at Walmart that is affordable, yet high quality. I appreciate that it is a line that doesn’t waste money into advertising, but focuses its dollars into creating prestige quality makeup instead. As a Muslim woman, I love that she makes her makeup cruelty-free too. Check out your local Walmart and let me know what you think about Flower Cosmetics. Have you tried any of their products? Let me know in the comments below.

Beauty

Face Masks That Work

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Face Masks That Work

Face cleanser
target.com

GlamGlow clay mask
sephora.com

Who doesn’t want to wake up with fresh radiant skin that is blemish free? While we all know that makeup can work wonders, I am one of those hijabis who would prefer not to cake on the makeup in order to look good. Why can’t my skin just be as is? That being said, sometimes our skin does not always cooperate. This is when I turn to face masks depending on the skin issue I have.

This summer for me was the summer of face masks. I always feel like the masks I do at home are more effective than any facials I have done at the spa. Perhaps this is because I am not an advocate of extractions (they can harm your skin more than help). For me, I find it more effective to use a nice warm towel over my face to open my pores, and then to use a face mask.

Here are my top face masks depending on what you need. Remember, these are masks that worked for me. Always test a small patch of your skin before trying anything new in your skin regiment:

For Blemishes: I highly recommend Lumene’s Matt Touch Deep Cleansing Peat Mask. It literally pulls out the gunk from my pores for a nice blemish free face. Apply a thin layer and let it sit for 10 minutes. I prefer to towel off this mask with a warm wet washcloth to really feel the mask working.

For Radiance: I recommend Glam Glow Mask. While I am not too fond of the smell or large tea leaves in this mask, this mask will bring up your circulation to your face for an undeniable glow.

For Younger Looking Skin: You have to try Exfolikate. Not only does it smell like yummy cinnamon pumpkin, it literally buffs away dead skin cells better than any other mask to reveal fresher, younger looking skin.

For Dry Skin: This is my cheapest recommendation yet. Even as a college student, I used to use Vaseline for a variety of things. One of my favorite uses is to smear a thin layer all over my face and wipe it off with a hot wet washcloth. You are left with soft supple skin and a nice fresh glow that literally costs pennies!

Style

Follow Friday: Amenakin

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Vlogger Amena Khan aka Amenakin

Vlogger Amena Khan aka Amenakin

Salaams my lovely readers and jumah mubarak to you all! As you know, I try to do a regular post every Friday about a fabulous Instagrammer that I love to follow. This Friday, I wanted to give a special shout out to one of my favorite vloggers: Amenakin. For those of you who don’t know, Amena Khan is a YouTube vlogger who goes by the handle Amenakin. Her YouTube hijab tutorials have won over the hearts of many hijabis and helped spawn the online hijab store Pearl Daisy. She now does lifestyle vlogs about her life as a vlogger as well as makeup tutorials.

One of the reasons I love Amenakin so much is that she is just so sweet mashallah. She always seems upbeat, happy, and most of all, she tries to encourage and interact with all of her fans. I don’t think I have come across a vlogger who seems so down to earth and approachable. I only hope that I can meet her one day soon inshallah and get one of those famous Amenakin hugs! Also, her hijab tutorials have made me hate the pashmina hijab look on me a little less and has given me ideas on how to dress up a little nicer for special occasions.

Make sure to follow her @pearldaisyltd on Instagram. Also, for more pics of my own, follow me @hijabilife :).

Beauty

Perfect Pout

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hot pink and red lipstick looks

Get bold this spring with bright lips.

Spring is the perfect time to change up your winter beauty routine and try something different. I know I have been stuck in a beauty rut all winter because my eyeliner pencil is almost a nub and my nude lipstick is all but gone. Since I am definitely more of a smoky eye with nude lips kind of hijabi, I knew I wanted to change it up for spring. I started wearing brighter lip colors. While it may seem scary, it helps to tone down the makeup every where else. I also like to go sheer with a gloss at first so I can get used to seeing my lips with so much color.

Another good way to make sure your lips don’t get smeary is to use lip liner. The Joker look is just not pretty. Let me know your own lip tricks in the comments!

Beauty

Hijabi Obsession: Angels On Bare Skin By Lush

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AngelsonBareSkin

Get glowy skin with Lush

Salaam my lovelies! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend inshallah. I know that I mentioned how I moved, but did I tell you how it ruined my skin in the process? With the move, I happened to lose my Clarisonic charger. (For those of you who don’t know, Clarisonic is a skin brush that helps you clean your face and I don’t know what I did before I owned this beauty tool.). So anyhow, without my Clarisonic, I noticed that my skin started getting blackheads and I started to break out again!

I was resigned to riding out my breakouts, but then I walked in to Lush Cosmetics. Personally, I avoid Lush because I feel like the smell in the store is overpowering, and I just don’t know a thing about what to use. While I was in there, a customer kept raving about something called Angels on Bare Skin. So I asked for a sample. Angels on Bare Skin is a gentle skin cleanser and exfoliator that contains kaolin, ground almonds, glycerine, rose, lavender oil, lavender flowers, and chamomile oil. It looks sort of like wet sand with flowers sprinkled throughout. Here is my take on this skin cleanser:

It’s Natural

I liked the concept of using an all natural cleansing method. You may have read about my oil cleansing method review, and I mentioned there that one of the things I loved about the oil cleansing method is that it is all natural.

It’s Gentle

As a hijabi in her thirties, I noticed that I can not just tug my skin around. I have to be gentle and careful with my skin. I avoid anything with harsh chemicals or detergents. Angels on Bare Skin is very gentle. I used to use St. Ive’s Apricot scrub, but the scrubbing particles were too jagged and harsh for my skin at this age. The ground almonds are just the right amount of exfoliant for skin that can’t take a harsh scrubbing.

It’s Mid Priced

I can’t deny the fact that this cleanser may be a bit pricey for some readers. However, I find that when I invest in skin care, I can cheap out a bit more with my beauty products or skip some products all together. Your skin is something you should take care of since its an amana (trust) from God. If you feel like this price point is still too high, I would recommend using a DIY version of this product. Here is an Angels on Bare Skin recipe that seems promising. I personally think its more affordable than some cleansers I adored and used in the past (ahem Chantecaille Foaming Rice Geranium cleanser).

It It Perfect for Dry Climates

Since this cleanser has kaolin clay, it draws out impurities, but still has a nice lavender oil which not only acts like an antiseptic, but soothes as well. The combination has definitely helped me since I moved to a drier climate and my skin has dried out to the point where I look like a ghost. (Not a good look if you ask me. Though some desi aunties like that geisha look haha.)

All in all, I love how Angels on Bare Skin calmed my breakouts and helps me achieve a nice glow like I used to get with the oil cleansing method. So if you ask me, I may still hate how the Lush store smells, but I will brave it to try more new things. Are there any Lush product that you recommend I try? Let me know in the comment section!

Beauty, Life

Say Eye Do And Receive A Free Trial From CooperVision And The Chance to Win An Annual Supply of Contact Lenses

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People are busier than ever in today’s fast and furious world. Whether you’re a working professional by day and parent by night or stay-at-home parent balancing carpools and soccer practices, the typical 8-hour day is a thing of the past. I know that as a working professional, blogger about hijabi life, and as a full time mama, I wish I had more hours in the day!

It’s important that your contact lenses stay comfortable all day long, and CooperVision wants you to do it all…in comfort

CooperVision and Katy Atlas – well-known author of Sugar Laws, a blog about fashion, food and beauty – partnered to launch the Eye Do It All campaign, featuring a series of “how to” videos focused on providing quick and easy tips for updating your look to keep up with trending styles.

Now CooperVision contact lens wearers have a chance to tell us how their contact lenses help them “do it all” by posting on CooperVision’s Facebook page, or sending a quick photo or video.

Users whose posts are selected as winners will receive an annual supply of contact lenses, so that they can keep doing it all with CooperVision comfort.

So what are you waiting for? If you still haven’t tried CooperVision contact lenses, visit CooperVision’s Facebook page now and say “Eye Do” to the CooperVision Challenge to receive a free trial. I know I love my own CooperVision contact lenses. They are so comfortable and they last as long as I do.

Beauty

Savvy Hijabi: Deal of the Day

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As a busy mom, I find the first thing I neglect is myself when it comes to prioritizing my time. Well, Muslim moms should consider that spending a little extra time to look nice does make a difference for our husbands!

I knew I was getting bad when my Hubster would emphatically say how nice I looked if I put on a little Vaseline on my lips! I thought to myself it was time to put some effort in looking nice for both of us even with a full time job and a baby.

The good news is that looking a little nicer doesn’t have to take a lot of time either. Thanks to Tarte’s Carried Away makeup palette, I have everything I need to look a little more polished.

It has 24 full eyeshadows, 8 mini lipglosses, an Amazonian clay blush, a brush, finishing powder, and mascara.

The colors are all a nice neutral palette. I tried them all out and found that you can do an array of looks. From sparkly pastels to smoky eye looks, this palette can help you get the right look you want. I especially love how pigmented the colors are since as a woman of color, some lighter colors can fade out on my skin.

I love the finishing powder! It gives your skin a nice airbrushed look. Even if I have nothing else on, I still look well rested and glowy.

For $54.00, you are getting a whopping $512.00 value! I can tell you how I love a good bargain but this blew my mind away. You really do have a lot of high quality makeup for a great price.

The best part about Tarte cosmetics is that they are paraben and petrochemical free. They are also a cruelty free makeup line which means they don’t test on animals.

I think this palette may be sold out, but keep your eyes peeled for more Tarte deals soon!