E.L.F Cosmetics

I don’t really like to admit it but I am a bit of a beauty junkie well maybe not so much beauty but skincare junkie, my reason is I have horrid skin,with that I mean combination skin which is acne prone even at my ripe old age. I try almost everything they rave on about in magazines to correct/mange oily skin that is spot prone. Basically I get a few spots on a daily basis and every one leaves a scar of some sort and the ones that do clear up take like a year seriously I’m not kidding, I certainly can’t do the bare skin look but I’m not going to moan to much about that though because there are people out there that have bigger issues than the odd spot and Alhamdulillah my issue is nothing I can’t cover with a bit of foundation and concealer.

Even so I spend a fortune on moisturiser and foundation and cleansers some work some don’t a lot of the time I don’t use them often enough to see the results and I lose interest even though most the skin care products I buy are high end, therefore a bit on the pricey side but I work to the principle that the larger companies i.e Chanel, Dior, Clarins Clinique are going to put more research and money in to getting the best product out there therefore price is justified (I know this is not always the case).  I have still  been a loyal customer to Clarins for a good few years even though the issues I mentioned above didn’t clear up I just accepted them.

BUT A year ago a came across an article on Elemis products but decided that I won’t try them as they are so expensive then I stumbled upon sister Amena’s Hijab tutorials on YouTube she couldn’t praise them enough so I took a chance hoping that I might get close to her gorgeous skin, which I will say hasn’t happened but it’s not far off. You may think what has that got to do with ELF Cosmetic’s, well after sister Amena’s review elemis which might I add I love, I  recently saw her review  of  E.L.F products and as another blogger was also raving about them I decided to try them out, well the 50% off may also have been a deciding factor.

I started placing items in the basket before I knew it I had about 25 items in the basket and they were still all 20 something  in cost, I never get a bargain so I was well impressed, in case you’re wondering I don’t wear that much makeup I just ordered some for my sister as a upcoming Eid present,  anyway  I got my delivery a little later than expected but at their prices I can perfectly understand the amount of people who must have placed order and to be fair to them they sent me a email to advise of  the delay and also sent a further email on dispatch as well as a text. If you are like me and spend a lot on your base or on the canvas as beauty gurus would say then that is sensible, but who wants to spend £40 on a blusher or buy an on trend lip gloss, lip stick, nail colour when you may use it once and get bored with it or is that just me ?

You don't have to sacrifice quality and results for a lower price point. E.L.F.'s goal is to enable all women to look their best and not have to sacrifice luxury, quality ingredients or good results. There products are made from high-quality ingredients. They do not test products on animals, nor use animal-derived ingredients in their products. Also what swung it for me is that, all products are hypoallergenic and non-comodogenic.

I have so far used there concealer which is fab as is the all over colour stick I use as a blusher and I can’t rave enough about the high definition powder keeps my skin matt but not flat, so far so good and the lesson here is that you should consider the cheaper alternatives as sometimes they are spot on.

Abaya Love -Das Collection

I came across the Das collection in magazine article love love love there abayas they just look so beautiful and feminine, I  know what your thinking of course they are going to look great on 6 foot tall,  long limbed models,  and yes there prices are on the steep side so I can only admire them from a distance.

I was shocked not to mention impressed when I saw pictures of Olivia Palermo wearing one, that girl certainly has a amazing sense of style.

Dua list

It all started following an article I read about making a dua list during Ramadan and I thought it was a brilliant idea as there is  no way I can  possibly remember to ask for everything I want from memory, this inspired me to really think long and hard how little thought I put in to my dua's so I was determined to make the most of this Ramadan and really use every opportunity to ask Allah swt and hope that he accepts my dua. My dua list was very extensive during Ramadan but I will share my current one, which is a work in progress.

The following verses from the Quran show how Allah invites believers to ask from Him:

• And when my servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the supplicant when he calls upon Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me, that they may walk the right way. (2:186)
• Call unto Me, I will answer you. Those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell. (40:60)
• Call your Lord humbly and secretly, He loves not the transgressors. (7:55)
• And call on Him, fearing and hoping, surely the mercy of Allah is near to those who do good. (7:56)

My Dua List-

I ask Allah to help me and guide me:-

·         To be able to read Quran daily

·         To do dhikr daily.

·         Read my 5 Salah with full concentration.

·         Go to more Islamic talks and understand and apply the topic in my life.

·         Select a shaykh, and learn and benefit from his tahreekah to get closer to Allah (swt)

·         Do itikaf for the last ten days in next Ramadan

·         Have whole month off work for next Ramadan.

·         Learn the 99 names of Allah swt by heart.

·         Learn to read Quran withproper tajweed rules.

·         Ask for ease in the life of people who are suffering due to poverty, illness etc

·         Learn to speak Arabic.

·         Pay off all my debts.

·         Get a new job so I can spend more in the way of Allah swt as I don’t think i spend enough.

·         Travel to Dubai, Egypt, Malaysia, Palestine.

·         Get married to a man who will help me strengthen my relationship with Allah swt (please Allah make it easy for me)

·         To have pious and healthy children.

·         I ask for help in learning and understanding the deen.

·         To buy a house and decorate it all white (love interior design)

·         To be able do umrah.

·         To do hajj with my parents.

·         Remember to give more to charity.

·         To ask for forgiveness of my sins

·         To ask for protection from hell fire and torment of the grave.

·         To remain generous, sincere and live my life the way that is pleasing to Allah swt.

·         To make friends that help improve my faith.

It is said that dua averts difficulty and dua can revert what has been destined. Although Allah decrees all things, He has given us the ability to make changes through dua.

The Holy Prophet (saw) has said: What is destined cannot be averted except through dua. Another Hadith says: Indeed caution cannot save you from what is destined, but what can save you from it is dua. Imam `Ali

Do you have a Dua list ?

New Handbag

Now you may or may not know this but I am bag girl and so love my desginer handbags, however even though I do treat myself to a couple of designer bags a year budget constraints mean I have to buy some from the high street to feed my addiction. In all honesty I think the high street shops do have some well made handbags and even some fabulous designer inspired handbags so your spoilt for choice really.

Anyway I am currently (just under a week) carrying all my worldly goods in this little beauty (River Island £40) I just hope its lasts well, as there is nothing I hate more than thinking I have got myself a stylish bargain when within days it falls apart.

My Ramadan

My inspiration came from quite a few sources but initially from these two books Ameen's Ramadan Diary and Ramadan Booster I bought these for my younger sister and picked them up in passing  this triggered my research further and I came across articles  on www. Iloveallah.com and www.productiveramadan.com. Ramadan has always been a month I enjoyed and from a early age I recognised that it was an important month with many rewards I wanted to establish how I could go about achieving the most out of it.

 “O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).” (2:183)

I can honestly say that this Ramadan has been the best Ramadan ever for me in terms of my personal effort and spiritual connection with Allah swt and the more importantly my realisation of the blessings bestowed upon me and the lack of gratitude I have shown to Allah swt. I mean don’t get me wrong I have always since the age of 11-12 maybe even a little earlier fasted during Ramadan and as I got older in the last few years I’ve tried to pray my 5 salah (not as often as i liked) more so during Ramadan but somehow I have easily got distracted, even taraweeh id try but fail miserably to keep up using tiredness from fasting all day as an excuse, and sometimes I’d do what I could due to my parents insistence, but this year Alhamdulillah I felt such a connection to every act of ibadah i did, it was just amazing.

I decided early on that I wanted to make this Ramadan different inshallah,  I really wanted to improve myself and my relationship with Allah swt so i started planning; I started out with writing a diary of what I wanted to achieve, following that I commenced my plan of action by starting to fast in the month of Sha'ban, I started doing more dhikr, recitation of Quran and more importantly praying to Allah swt to help me achieve a good an fruitful Ramadan. 

Alhamdulillah, all praise is to Allah swt he helped me and I was able to do just as I wished I started Ramadan on such a high I was overjoyed that it had finally started when so many people around me where dreading the long days, I was looking forward to the getting up at Suhur and the long days of fasting, I  prayed my 5 salah every day (Except a couple that i had to do Qada) I did an abundance of dhikr at every opportunity during the day, I did regular Istigfars, I read tarweeh every day, I got up early for tahajjud every day, I  read the Quran after most my salah, I also had two weeks off work at the end of Ramadan which was a miracle in itself due my colleagues with children being on term time and others being on pre-booked holidays,  therefore it is usually impossible to have time off in the summer, so I was so grateful to Allah swt for allowing me to have this time to spend in his remembrance  and to try and seek Laylat ul qadr in the last ten days. I spent so much time reading about Islam and really focusing on my ibadah, I even got the opportunity to attend a tafsir of surah alaq which was absolutely amazing , I attended a short lecture course on Ramadan and its benefits/blessings.

All I can say is the whole month was so uplifting for me I feel like it has really strengthened my Iman and I pray that Allah swt has accepted all I was able to do, and that which every muslim did in this month to please him, I pray that Allah gives us all the ability to continue in the good habits we learned in Ramadan and that we have another opportunity to partake once again in such a blessed month. Ameen

Peace for Humanity Conference

Peace for Humanity Conference

MUHAMMAD The Merciful 24^th September 2011

I am looking forward to this conference, I have listened to Dr Muhammad Tahir-Ul-Qadri’s speeches on TV a few times on the recommendation of my dad and he is very good very technical and through with his descriptions on the given subject, I also have listened to Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad’s talks a few times and he is also very good, I am not so familiar with the other speakers but will do a post after I have being to the conference insha-allah.

http://www.peaceforhumanity.co.uk/

My Summer Trip – LONDON

My Summer Trip – LONDON

I love London, I mean how can you not its beautiful and mulit-cultural and just so buzy and amazing did I mention that I love London ha-ha. I saw several women in Harrods with their gorgeous bags and groomed outfits, I saw at least 9-10 women wondering happily in the Harrods handbag department and food halls and the funny thing is there hijab and jilbabs didn’t seem to offend the store assistants in the slightest infact they couldn’t be more accommodating – just goes to show that there is no discrimination where there is money.

On a more serious note I went with my 2 younger sisters, it was actually the wish of green eyes (third sister down to visit-yes she does have green/grey eyes) she has this obsession with the America, she keeps telling us that when she grows us she wants to move to America and live in LA or the Hollywood hills I tell you kids these days so influenced with the celebrity culture, I mean don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t mind a quick trip to new york to shop and live the life of the KARDASHIANS but that’s not reality that’s just reality TV. In all honesty I couldn’t live anywhere else in the world except the UK, it just wouldn’t feel right and this is home.

Anyway I digress the pictures from LONDON – we had such a fabulous but expensive day, we started out in buckingham palace, london eye, big ben, madam taussauds and then finally Harrods.

My First Little Post

My first post…………….. well for many months now  I have read and enjoyed many a blogs and I  always have so many subjects I wished to discuss but thought better of it for one reason or another i.e. life, work, Islam, family, time, laziness-  not necessarily in that order. Well the main reason was that there are so many bloggers who write so well and have such a interesting life and then there’s little old me …!!!

I thought a blog would be a great way to discuss my random musings whether anyone wants to read them and finds them remotely interesting who knows but least I’ve got it out my system, the topic’s may range from one end of the spectrum to the other anything could inspire me to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard , anywhoo it’s a personal diary for me and these are my little views it’s all about my life, my dreams, my hopes and aspirations and the things that inspire me.