Candy Blossom

Monthly Favourites | April

Waaaaass'upppp my lovelies! Hope all is well with you. As you may have sussed out from the title, this is a monthly favourites post. I am fully aware that it is halfway through the month but I still am loving these items so I thought I would share them anyway :D

Garnier Gel Face Wash
I love the Garnier micellar water so when I saw this gel version I had to pick it up! I personally love using it because it pretty much removes most of my makeup. Although I do feel the smell of it is quite strong but that's something I can work past. There are lots of other cleansers which are better out there but if you wear light makeup and want to remove your makeup in the quickest way possible, this gel face wash will remove most of it for you! Oh and it's super affordable too :D

L’Oréal Telescopic Mascara

I had heard many people always rave and talk about the telescopic mascara so I finally decided to get my hands on this gold one a couple of months ago. I don't know which one was supposed to be the best because there was a couple of different colours which obviously, all are for different purposes but I have been using this one which I’m super impressed with. I love it because it separates the lashes as well as adding a good amount of length & volume to the lashes.

P.S Primer Water

I'm sure many of you have seen this all over the 'gram! It's the Primark primer water. I love it ❤️

I do feel it makes my makeup last a tad bit more longer compared to if I didn't use a primer at all. I love it more for just love spraying it on my face because it makes my face feel refreshed! The scent of this isn't strong or chemically which I did find in the previous primer water I was using which was from the drugstore. Best of all it's alcohol free, silicone free & oil free.. Oh and it only retails for £2!

NEED TO STOCK UP ON THESE!

HUDA Beauty Liquid Lipstick

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen me post tons of pictures of my Huda beauty liquid lipstick purchase! I had never tried any of her lippies before this so as you can imagine I was hella' excited! I got myself the brown edition and I can not tell you how much I love it <3 My 2 fave colours to use are Spice Girl and Flirt. I was super impressed by the formula and the fact that it doesn't leave the lips feeling tacky/sticky .. ANNDDD the colours are ALL so pretty! I think I need to treat my self and purchase 2 full sized lippies in my two fave shades! <3

L’Oréal Charcoal Face Mask

I purchased the L'Oréal charcoal face mask about 3 weeks ago and I have been loving it! I don't use masks often but after trying this one out I am super impressed with how it leaves my skin looking so I am looking forward to buying and trying out other new masks! This one works wonders and helps to draw out the impurities and dirt on your face. I would highly recommend trying out the range of masks L'Oréal offer as I think they did a spectacular job with it!! These are also on sale at the moment in Superdrug so go grab yourself one if you haven't already tried them!

Maybelline FIT ME Concealer

My favourite brand of Concealer hands down has to be Maybelline! The coverage of their concealers is insane considering that they are a drugstore brand. When everyone used to first hype about this concealer, I didn’t think much of it until I finally decided to try it out for myself & OMG I love it! It is now part of my daily makeup routine alongside my other fave Maybelline Concealer, the age rewind one of course!

New Look Jacket

A while back, I picked up this long-line bomber style jacket from New Look in the sale for about £20! I’m so glad I did because I’ve been wearing it every day lately just to keep myself warm and layer up on them slightly chillier days. It’s not too thick which I LOVE and its super easy to style!

& that is everything I have for you today. I hope you all enjoyed this post. I will be trying to post more regularly from now on so, if you have any blog post ideas then do leave them down below.

Fatima
xox

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, by Fatima

In Black Jagua, Henna

Jagua Henna| My Experience

A while back, I uploaded a picture of my Jagua henna on Instagram. Many people both on social media and in real life wanted to know more about it and really liked it so I’ve finally got round to doing a post on it.

So my sister was looking for someone who does Jagua henna locally and since we discovered that there was actually a few people nearby we both got a bit carried away and have now had henna done 2/3 times (which by the way works out expensive if you keep doing it) but I absolutely love the finish tattooed look of it.

I am going to share with you 2 different henna artist that I went to and my thoughts on them both. Before I get in to it let me tell you a bit about Jagua Henna.

About Jagua Henna

Before I begin I just want to mention that Black henna and Jagua henna are NOT the same thing. They are both very different from each other and I will explain how.

Jagua is a gel which is a natural from of skin decoration. It is made from the extracts of the actual Jagua fruit which is found in Central and South America. It has also been known to be used for medicinal purposes as well. Jagua gel is 100% natural and does not contain any other ingredients that are harmful to the skin.

Black henna on the other hand contains many harmful chemicals which can cause irritation to the skin. I have read and seen pictures many times whereby someone has used black henna and have had severe reactions. This is why it is best to stay away from black henna as it can cause many problems to the skin.

Now the Jagua consistency itself is different from normal henna. It’s more like a gel which means it makes it harder to apply. You also have to be much more careful with jagua because if you make a mistake then it gets stained pretty much straight away and will ruin the whole design. So it’s one that you definitely need to be careful with.

Henna Artists
So the first time I ever got my Jagua done was by this lovely lady who goes by the name of 'Mehnainarts' on Instagram. I hadn’t heard of her before this but her work looked incredible! She mainly does bridal bookings but recently started doing Jagua too.

When I met her, she was super kind. She made me and my sister feel welcome and soon enough we were chatting away and time just flew by. She has pure talent and has been doing mehndi for many years now. Although she just started doing Jagua not too long ago she did hell of an amazing job!

Honestly I have nothing but good things to say about her and I can 100% say that my first Jagua experience was amazing and most importantly I loved the end results of the stain <3

Left side - Gel consistancy when applied.
Right side - Results less than 24 hours later

Here is the design I got done. I wanted something quite simple and I really liked this design that I came across. This was inspired from a very well known Jagua artist called fusionfashionista on Instagram! Mehnainarts did an amazing job at re creating the design and I absolutely loved the stain. I got so many compliments on it too<3

I kept the Jagua on for about 2 hours or so and then took it off. At first, when you remove it, it will look like there is nothing there and the stain is barely visible but just give it some time and within the next 24 hours the colour should change - Mines did!

The stain lasts anywhere from one week to three weeks. This just depends on which area of the body it has been applied on. Within 24 hours of applying the stain changed in to this greeny/blue kind of colour which was actually quite nice. I was so impressed at how dark it had come out! <3 It gets even darker over the next 48 hours and literally looks like a real tattoo once you get the full colour <3

The second Henna Artist goes by the name of Safina Adam. She is a beautiful, young lady who we once again came across on Instagram. She was so down to earth and It was lovely getting to know her and just chatting to her. Safina does do normal mehndi as well but as we wanted the Jagua henna the prices do vary. I was browsing around for the longest time ever to find a design I wanted and I found ton loads online.

I just couldn’t make my mind as to which one to pick! In the end, I eventually decided to go with this design. How pretty does it look?!

I loved how detailed and intricate it was! I also took some shots of the stain a few hours after I had taken the henna off. I don't know if you can tell very well but the Jagua is still fairly light and the colour was slowly turning in to to a greeny/blue shade.

Less then 24 hours later!

Colour slowly coming through

Just look at how dark it got<3

Below is another design that me and my sister got done by Safina. How stunning does it look <3

This legit looked like a real tattoo & was inspired from an actual tattoo design. I think she did a spectacular job with this one. I mean just look at the shading and everything. That is some serious talent right there!

Only thing I found with this being on my arm was that it didn't come out as dark as I would have liked it to be. I don't know if that was just the case for me but never the less the design was still beautiful <3

Longevity

I mentioned this earlier but I think this is different for a lot of people because it really just depends how much your hand or the area which you have Jagua on comes in contact with water. ( (I think)
If I’m completely honest mines didn’t last that long – about a week I would say. (If you’re one who doesn’t like having a mehndi stain for long this would be great for you)

Having said this, my sister that had the jagua stain done at the same time as me but her stain lasted so much longer than mines. I would say hers roughly lasted one and a half weeks maybe?

I don’t know why that is but I guess it’s different on everyone’s skin.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I loved both my experiences. Both of these henna artist are super talented and such lovely ladies with great personalities. As you can see from the pictures the Jagua stains came out amazing!

If you want to try Jagua out or are thinking about it, I would definitely recommend both of these lovely ladies to you guys. I absolutely loved my stain and I got lots of compliments both times. A few people even thought it was an actual tattoo!

That concludes my review on the Jagua Henna. I do hope you enjoyed reading my experience and review on Jagua henna/tattoo. If you do get it done or have got it done before leave me a comment below and tell me about it or tweet me if you want. I would love to know about it <3

Lots of love

Fatima xx

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, by Fatima

In Fashion, Hijabfashion

2017| #Fashion Wishlist/Lookbook

Heyyyyy there! Oh my, can you believe that this is my first actual post for 2017! Say WHAAATTTTT??? Crazy right?! I can't believe it myself that I haven’t blogged in that long but since starting work full time things have been a bit hectic and a lot more harder and I seriously get so tired when I’m back home after a full day. (I will do an update post on life in general soon) So I finally got a chance to sit down and do a blog post and I’ve decided to kick my first post off with a fashion look book post. I miss taking outfit pictures and haven't taken any in ages just because my sister is kind of lazy to come out and take my pictures and also complains about the weather so I have no photographer #thestruggleisreal

Anyway let’s get right in to this look book. I have put together a mini look book of two outfits featuring items that I really like/want. I love both of these outfits as they are both very different to each other. My first outfit is more for an everyday casual look where as the second outfit is more classy evening wear.

Outfit One

As mentioned above this is my more go to casual everyday sorta’ outfit. It’s compiled of simple staples but with a bit of style to it. You’ll see what I mean.. Just look for yourself. I’m totally in love with this outfit <3

Jumper

This jumper made it to my wish list as I've wanted one of these Arabic printed ones for quite a while now after seeing them trending around on insta. I feel like the arabic really gives the jumper some personality as it is customisable & on top of that, who doesn’t love a good jumper that keeps you cosy and fashionable at the same time?! This one is from @zidouriclothing on instagram.

Skinny Trousers

With this outfit I would pair these slim fit stretch trousers. I find trousers much more comfortable than jeans. I picked out these trousers which I really like, there simple and can pretty much go with anything. If you wanted something more affordable Primark does some really nice stretchy slim fit trousers which retail for about £9.00? I own a couple of pairs of them for work and I love them <3 Or if you prefer jeans then I would totally recommend the Primark jeggings too :D

Trainers

Okay so I’ve wanted some white trainers for quite some time now so had to add these on to my look book/wish list when I saw them. I mean how stunning do these Adidas Superstars look. I'm sure many of you have seen these as they are very popular. I always see people wearing them or featuring these in their pictures and they look so good <3

Hijab

Last but not least, (& of course the most important) is this hijab from Love Hijab! This hijab is called ‘Plain Jane Gets Wavey’. It's a gorgeous shade and adds a bit of colour to the outfit.

I love this store because honestly the customer service is amazing and the women behind this company is an absolute sweetheart. Love Hijab is an online store which sells a variety of gorgeous hijabs and other accessories. There is a wide selection of hijabs to choose from ranging from different colours, textures and styles so there is definitely something in it for everyone. If you want some affordable good quality hijabs or if you’re a newbie that’s just starting out with hijabs, I would definitely tell you to stop and take a look at this website. It will be worth the while.

Oh & whilst were on the topic of Love Hijab, I just want to mention that she does the cutest style of packaging ever! Love it! <3

Outfit Two

For this second outfit, I have put together a much girlier look which would be great for evening wear.

I found this gorgeous burgundy maroon jumpsuit from ASOS. Jumpsuits are one of my all-time fave pieces of clothing to style. They are so fashionable yet so simple. I just love how it is such a versatile item to play around with.

Open Abaya

To compliment the jumpsuit I paired it with a long black open abaya from Inayah Collections. Inayah Collections is another place which have some amazing modest pieces. I always see such stunning outfits styled with an open abaya and I always fall in love with them. The designs on some of the ones I have seen over Instagram are absolutely beautiful. I love how this elegant modest abaya can transform your outfit within seconds!

This open abaya I have picked is just a simple plain black one to complete the look. It has so much versatility so it can be styled with lots of other outfits too.

Heels

For the shoes, I kept it simple with these tie up black sandal heels. I went for smaller block heels because I prefer them over high heels and as I’m already quiet tall. Also I find them much easier to walk in!

Hijab

The hijab I decided to pair this with is one from Love Hijab once again. I absolutely adore this page. She has some of the most amazing hijabs and the shades of the hijabs are great. I used the hijab in the shade Coconut (which is a mink/nude) as it compliments the maroon, but alternatively I could also opt for the black one in the shade Licorice to go with the abaya and heels. I would then spice up my whole outfit with a gold clutch and accessories to finish.

So those are my two outfits. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I loved putting it together. Leave me a comment and let me know what your fave outfit was from the two. Before I let you go, check out Love Hijab's page for a bunch of stunning hijabs and go show her some love by following her on her social media :D

Twitter :-@1LoveHijab

Instagram :- @Love_Hijab
Blog :- http://lovehijabgirl.blogspot.co.uk

Speak to you very soon

Lots of love

Fatima

xox

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, by Fatima

In 2016, Barbados

Travel Diary | Barbados #3

5/12/16

Today was full of water sports. Woke up early but took my time with breakfast and then getting ready because had to wait for my cousin. We managed to get two water activities done and spend some time on the beach before heading back home. First activity was Snorkelling & OHMYYYGOSHHHHHH, What an experience!
Firstly, I can't swim and secondly I hate deep water but I decided that I would go out of my comfort zone and do something a little spontaneous! I was excited to go down the slide from the boat because all my cousins did and it looked pretty fun. (My sister warned me beforehand not to do it but obviously I just wanted to go down that slide & bring out that inner kid in me) Then came my turn... Oh boy, the slide was great but landing in the water didn't go down as I expected!

As soon as I landed in water for the first few seconds I couldn’t see nothing but water. I thought I was going to drown or something but obviously after a couple of seconds I came up - I immediately knew I wasn’t going to like this. The man on the boat then told me my life jacket wasn't tight enough so that's why it took longer for me to float back on top. I went back on the boat and the man securely tightened it for me. After that I didn’t even bother going down the slide, I just went down the steps and basically was scared the whole way through! My sister was just laughing at me because not only did I not take her 'advice' but she found it hilarious!

I did look down in to the water though to see the fishes and sea turtles which was actually quite nice, but not going to lie I was legit 'pee'ing my pants' (not literally LOL - Just a term that goes well in this case!) the whole way through because I was just so afraid of the deep water and had a fear of drowning (Even though I had a life jacket on). My dad helped me out in the water and was trying to get me away from the boat but I didn’t end up very far LOL! My cousin and my sister also helped me so you can just imagine how scared I was at this moment. But overall it was one crazy (& very funny) experience. I mean it was my first time and I did pretty well for someone who is afraid of deep water. I would do this again next time if I got the chance but maybe just take some swimming lessons beforehand so I feel a tad’ more confident.

The second activity that we did was called the Mable. This one was enjoyable and full of laughter.
It is a very bumpy ride so you gotta' hold on tight or else you will literally just bounce and fall in to the water! It's basically like an inflatable seat thing which is attached to a speed boat and as the boat forms and creates waves from behind, it makes the mable go in all directions. With the speed it goes at which is very fast you're likely to bounce up and down loads! Doesn't sound that great when described but it's one of them ones you have to sit on and experience.
It honestly was so much fun - Just look at the picture! :D

6/12/16

Today my cousin paid for us to go stay overnight at a hotel seeing as it was our second last night. We had a really nice room with a great view of the beach. So photogenic – I was absolutely loving it! The area we were in was nice because there were many people around so it was always full of energy. The hotel had a mini swimming pool as well which we went too. The day went pretty quick. Got to the hotel at 1pm and time after that just flew by!

When the sun was setting we went out to take pictures by the sunset because the view from the beach looked breath taking! I'm absolutely in love with nature's beauty - Subhan'Allah!

In the evening, we went out for ice cream at the Chefette which is a very well-known restaurant which also sells ice creams and desserts.

They also have a little playground area which is the best thing ever!! It has so many slides and it’s just so much fun! OMG haven’t enjoyed a good slide in years!
After we got back, me, my sister and younger cousin decided to go for a walk because in the evenings it’s LITT! It’s a very touristy area and there are stalls and places around for tourists to go to. They have music playing too and little fairy lights around so the vibes and atmosphere was SIKKKKK <3 Me and my cousin were having so much fun – as was my sister of course!

7/12/16

Had breakfast here this morning - I mean sounds pretty standard but just look at the view from the balcony! Perfect way to start the morning! <3

Last night here :’( Don’t want to leave this place just yet! Honestly been loving it so much here. My Aunties are so lovely and took so much care of me and my sister <3 Gonna’ miss them all lots. Went to the beach again today which was nice – managed to get a good dose of vitamin D before heading back to the cold weather. Later spent the day visiting relatives and stuff seeing as it was pretty much our last day.

In the evening went out to bowling with the fam. There was probably 10 of us but only about 7 playing. My cousin wouldn’t get the barriers put up ‘kuz he was doing well! At this point I knew I was going to lose anyway because barriers make SO much difference.

However, to my surprise as the game went on I did pretty well and I came second!
*WoopWoopp*

#proudofmyself

As you can tell, I only recorded and wrote down some days. I went out and did something every single day I was there apart from one day! (because it rained like crazy and there was flooding in some areas!) Also went out every evening too. I also had lots of dawats (invitations) at relative’s houses on most days as well. I absolutely was having the time of my life there.
Living life on the Island was so fun and visiting the beach almost every morning was awesome. Going for a quick dip and enjoying the sun – honestly made me so happy. I also tried to teach myself to swim and I kind of learnt how to! TBH, I wouldn’t even call it swimming but just to keep myself happy I’m going to say I half accomplished the goal I set when I got there: D

Honestly, if it wasn't for one of my cousins I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much! Shout out to him because he's the real G - even though he was so busy he made time out for me and my sister. Not only that, he made sure that I was enjoying my self, took me to tons of places and on top always paid for everything! (If you're reading this one kuzzy, thanks for taking care of us!)

Anyhoo, Before I end it, below are just a bunch of other random pictures – things or days which weren’t included but just some snapshots I had to share!

Hope you enjoyed reading a snippet of my Travel Diary. Feel free to leave me a comment below because I would love your feedback.
Lots of love
Fatima
xox

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, by Fatima

In 2016, Barbados

Travel Diaries | Barbados #2

30/11/16

Today was a whole day spent with the family <3 we had a day out and went to quite a few places, including a big family picnic with lots of yummy delicious food. They literally make all their own food because they don't really have any halal take away shops but all my aunties cooking was top notch! (and other relatives who made food/desserts for the picnic)

My cousin also took me and my sister for a drive around the island. We drove to the top of the island called St.Lucy. This is also where the Flower Cave is. It is a very popular tourist attraction which was very interesting. There was this flower that opens when touched and I found that super cool. Don't have a picture of it though.
Had to take my shoes off whilst going through the cave because it is very hard to walk in shoes with lots of rocks. All that walking in the cave made my feet hurt! Walking on rough rocks with some slightly sharp edges isn’t exactly fun but the views from the cave were stunning so it was worth it! <3

The views from the top of the island are just everything! Just look for yourself.
Isn't it just phenomenal!

We then headed back to the park with the rest of the family for the picnic at Farley Hill. Later on that day we went to another scenery tourist place called Cherry Tree Hill which by the way was stunning too! After that we headed back to the park and had some snacks and desserts with the fam, chilled out with my cousins and explored around - as tourists do!

01/12/16
Harrison Cave is one of the most famous and popular tourist attractions. My relatives took us there. It was a little drive there but not super far. I just love sitting in the car with the windows rolled down and having that cool breeze blow on you! 'Ahhh so perfect <3

Harrison Cave had some history to the place and I learnt a few things.

To get to the cave you have to sit on a tram which takes you there.

At first seeing the cave underneath is WOW- but then as you carry on going you see pretty much the same stuff. They take you around in a tram under the cave and at certain places it stops so you can go out and see things up close and take pictures too! It is an amazing gallery full of stalactites hanging from the caves and stalagmites which emerge from the ground. They are all so unique and come in many different shapes and sizes. If you love science and history this is definitely an interesting place to visit!

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, by Fatima

In 2016, Barbados

Travel Diaries | Barbados #1

Hey, What's up guys. As you may or may not know, I recently went on holiday to Barbados. I decided to make a mini travel diary of my time there as I recorded a couple of the days of what I did during my stay. Below I highlight some of the things I did there so I have something to look back at and for those interested in what I got up too - this one's for you!

This will probably be split in two or three parts because it will be too long if I was to do it as one.

27/11/16

Off to the beautiful island of Barbados today <3 Super excited!!!
I am currently on a 9 hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean and sipping away on some hot chocolate that I picked up from the airport. (Kind of gone a bit cold now though)

There’s one stop and then another 45 min-1 hour, so a 10 hour flight all together! So far it’s not going too bad, there’s some empty seats near me and my sister which means we get extra space to stretch or lie down which is a bonus right?!

If you don’t know where or what Barbados is, it is basically a small island which is located in the Caribbean.

(Hours Later)
Landing Soon....!

Arriving in Barbados was amazing - it's unbelievably crazy how friendly and kind everyone is over here and as a tourist that's always nice to see. Oh and care to mention the weather... So much better than the UK.

28/11/16

Went down to the beach this morning. It was so much fun! Haven't been to the beach for a dip in the water for years so thoroughly enjoyed myself. Just look at how clear and blue the water is. The views on this island are absolutely stunning <3

Once we got back home, went for a shower to got nice & fresh again! Getting ready soon to go over to eat at my aunties and then heading for dessert in the evening.

After dessert we went board walking (which is like taking a walk by the beach in the night)
It was so calm and relaxing <3

I've already started getting mosquito bites and they are ridiculously red and are itching me like crazy! Totally forgot to buy insect repellent before coming here! :'(

29/11/16

It's pouring it down here with rain! Kinda' reminds me of the UK but just not as cold. Was indoors almost the whole day. Was so much rain that there was some areas which were actually flooded! Crazy to think that much rain could fall somewhere where it’s always so hot right?! Glad it rained though because it’s slightly cooler now but hoping the sun comes back tomorrow or looks like it's going to be another day in doors.

Also, the 50th independence day anniversary of Barbados may be delayed because of the heavy rain. Rihanna and Prince Harry will be visiting too- imagine seeing them!! :O

Didn't get a chance to go out to get some insect repellent either so just been another day of me itching. Put some powder on but don't think it helped much. Honestly I hate my feet being on display and open right now because they look so bad with all those bites but don’t really fancy wearing socks in this heat!

Fatima
xox

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, by Fatima

Pages

Monthly Favourites | April

Jagua Henna| My Experience

2017| #Fashion Wishlist/Lookbook

Outfit One

Jumper

Skinny Trousers

Trainers

Hijab

Outfit Two

Open Abaya

Heels

Hijab

Travel Diary | Barbados #3

Travel Diaries | Barbados #2

Travel Diaries | Barbados #1

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