Sunday Swatches: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks - Holiday Sets

Sunday 11 December 2016

This Sunday Swatches (and review) post is of yet another liquid lipstick mini set, but this time two from the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks range, which I've been meaning to try for ages now, but held off knowing there would be sets like these around Christmas.
This is the fourth video in my latest lip swatches series and you can see the rest in the playlist I created on my YouTube channel here.

These swatch type videos seem to be most popular on my channel, so I decided to film these swatches too (as tedious as it can be!) so you can see more of their true colours in various angles and lighting and of course on darker lips like mine.

There are 7 liquid lipsticks swatched in this post + a Glitterati Lip Top Coat, so read on for more!

Sunday Swatches: Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics

Sunday 4 December 2016

Hi my lovelies!

So this week's Sunday Swatches post (as the title suggests) features the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics palette which you may have already seen me use in my Soft Glitter Cut Crease Tutorial or of course featured in the Rose Gold Gift Guide, but here's the palette in it's full glory, complete with my review, so read on for more!

FF: Huda Beauty Rose Gold Make Up Tutorial - Soft 3D/Halo Look + GIVEAWAY

Friday 25 November 2016

Helloooo my gorgeous followers!

I'm back with another tutorial this week, using non other than the Huda Beauty Rose Gold Textured Shadows palette (full review with swatches HERE).

Not only this, but I am hosting another very exciting giveaway with this very palette, so for those of you who missed out and can't wait until January (when Cult Beauty restock it in the UK), or you just can't afford this palette yet, here is your chance to get your hands on a brand new one for yourself.. and yes it's international!

Details will be at the bottom of this post, so read on for more info and of course this make up look, complete with a YouTube tutorial <3

Sunday Swatches: Foundation Files - Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk

Sunday 20 November 2016

For my third post in this series of Foundation Files posts, I've chosen to review the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation as I've long heard amazing things about it. This is a requested post by my Twitter poll too, so hope you guys enjoy!

The shade range is pretty great (a good 24 shades in total!) but also hella confusing as it doesn't seem to be in number order.

I'll be swatching three of the shades (6, 6.5 and 7) on my face as they are the closest to my skintone, however I do have shades 8 and 8.5 that I have swatched below for comparison too, so read on to see what I think of the foundations and who I'd recommend it for.

Saf's Gift Guide: 10 Rose Gold Beauty Gifts!

Thursday 17 November 2016

So it's that time of year again and this year I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with the amount of cosmetic gifts that are available so I decided to do this Rose Gold one as it's one I've been mentally planning for months! 
The lines are slightly blurred when it comes to the "Rose Gold" tone as some products are marketed "Copper" but are the same tone as other "rose gold" products; either way they both look beaut.
If I get time to write another post before Christmas I will do so, but for now feast your eyes on these pics of rose gold yumminess and read on for more info!

Tuesday Takeover: Halima Fashionicide

Tuesday 15 November 2016

It's been a while since I've had a Tuesday takeover (mostly because I've been so busy with my own blogging to do list, I've not had the chance to ask for them!), but over the last couple weeks I acquired a few products that I believed would be better housed in a new home with the fabulous Halima of Fashionicide, so I put together a little package and sent them off to her and she ever so kindly came up with this amaaazing post.

If you've been following my blog for a while you may have seen her fabulous self on a previous Tuesday Takeover post (here). I have to say I am obsessed with her iridescent IG feed right now, I urge you to check it out!!

Read on for her review of the Urban Decay Razorsharp Eyeliner included in this look she created and in my last make up look post here <3
Chaos-and-Structure-Makeup-look

FF: Blue-Green Glitter Ombre Eyeliner Tutorial Make Up Look

Friday 11 November 2016

I put out another Twitter poll (I clearly have a lot of material to blog about at the mo, woohoo) and this Ombre Eyeliner tutorial won, with the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics palette tutorial as a close second so I decided to incorporate both in this look and hope you like!
For my YouTube, I'm trying to keep it as simple and easy to follow as possible as I personally have never really been one to spend more than 10 minutes on a YouTube video and find it quite off-putting if a video is (sorry if you do!). I just don't have the time personally so if and when I do watch a YouTube video, I find myself skipping to the parts I'm interested in if the video is more than 10 minutes long.
Basically, I hope to cut all my videos to under 10 minutes as much as possible.. so that it's all high quality content and not me jabbering on about things irrelevant to what the video is about.
So this is the look I created with the new Urban Decay Razor Sharp Liquid Eyeliners, read on for the full list of products and the corresponding video tutorial!

FF: Soft Glitter Cut Crease Make Up Look + Tutorial

Friday 4 November 2016

In case you haven't noticed, I've been pretty consistent with my blogging this year; I feel like I have my blogging mojo back and feel inspired with my consistent posts so if you're a fan of these or find them helpful, please do comment below and let me know what you'd like to see more of!

This week's makeup look is a fairly simpler/less harsh version of a glitter cut crease that I created back in 2013 (blog post here, check out my marker pen brows though!)

Anyways, here's the final look and I decided to create a corresponding YouTube tutorial with it below (yay!), so let me know if you recreate it and if you found it easy enough to follow!

Sunday Swatches: theBalm Meet Matt(e) Hughes Mini Liquid Lipstick Set

Sunday 30 October 2016

Hi my lovelies!

I feel like I haven't double blogged in one day in yearsss (if ever?!) but here I am, with two posts in one day.. spoiling you lovely peeps ;)

This second Sunday Swatches and review post is of yet another liquid lipstick mini set, the Balm Meet Matt(e) Hughes liquid lipsticks.
I decided to get this up on my YouTube channel too so you can see it in action, definitely let me know if this is something you'd like to see more of!

I prefer to have my swatch and review posts up on a Sunday so it's all organised in my Sunday Swatches posts and hashtags; I've worked doubly triply hard to do this today (because YouTube videos in themselves are hard work!) so I hope you enjoy <3

Sunday Swatches: Huda Beauty Textured Shadows Palette - Rose Gold Edition

So I put out a Twitter Poll about which post my followers would like to see more/first and the Huda Beauty palette surprisingly won the vote (despite it being sold out).

In this review post, I will try and compare it to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance (ABH MR) palette (see my review here), and as always, will give my honest opinion and who I would recommend it for, so keep reading!
 

Sunday Swatches: Foundation Files - Urban Decay All Nighter

Sunday 23 October 2016


So this is the second post in my series of foundation posts and it is of the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation today, which is a full coverage foundation. I did briefly try out these foundations on my Snapchat (safiyahtasneem), with live swatches so if you're not following me there, I suggest you do for further mini reviews and swatches.
Before I start, I'm going to recap of the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation which I reviewed back in 2012 here. My thoughts are somewhat still the same on the Naked skin foundation but in all honesty I don't wear foundation on a daily basis as I don't feel like I need to but if I did, Naked Skin would probably be my choice more so than this All Nighter foundation or any other similar lightweight foundation.

I have however found since experimenting a bit more with different shades of UD Naked Skin, that the .0 shades aren't as yellow as I'd have liked them to be and shade 7.0 is slightly dark for me.
5.0 seems quite pink and 6.0 slightly yellower in Naked Skin and I found that in the sample of All Nighter, the 5.0 seemed pinker than the other two I was sent (4.0 and 6.0).
In this post I'll be showing the shades 4.0 (as it seemed the yellowest) and 6.0 for a possible colour match for warmer South Asian complexions.

Read on for more!

Midweek Makeovers: Estee Lauder x Victoria Beckham Collection Kendall Jenner Makeup Look

Wednesday 19 October 2016

Right my loves!

I recently got sent some of the beaut products from the Estee Lauder x Victoria Beckham collaboration and went through the products on my Snapchat/Instagram Stories (it's faster and easier to do so over there than writing up most times, so make sure you follow me!).

I decided to try and recreate this look that was done on Kendall Jenner for this campaign and luckily I had a gorgeous Kardashian/Jenner looking model (Yasmin Badi) to do so with.. and film for my YouTube channel!

It isn't my usual "style" of makeup and more of an editorial type look that I decided to create as I felt I had enough of the products to try it with.

Read on for the full list of products and YouTube tutorial and let me know what you think below.

Sunday Swatches: Foundation Files - Too Faced Born This Way

Sunday 16 October 2016

Hello my lovelies!

I've decided to do a series of foundation posts as foundation is one of the key products I always get asked about my opinion on as a makeup artist, particularly for warmer South Asian complexions.

I'm going to start off the series with a recap of the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation which I reviewed just over a year ago (here). My thoughts are still the same on the foundation (I still give it a 4.5 out of 5!) so the difference between this post and the last is just a bit more info about the shades I own and recommend for warmer skintones as well as updated swatches.. read on for more!


FF: Super Simple Soft Smokey Make Up Look + Tutorial

Friday 7 October 2016

Couldn't help alliterating there!
Soooo, after my last eye make up tutorial, I'm back with another "simple" full face one this time and I'm hoping it is of some benefit to my lovely followers out there! 

I half contemplated not putting it up on YouTube to be honest, as I had to record on my Camcorder (which doesn't record in as great quality as my SLR) and I was out of shot a lot due to my mirror, but I salvaged what I could and hope you enjoy anyway!

Again, I'm using my Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette (review in this post). Read on to see all the products used!

Saturday Skincare: Toning Pads

Saturday 17 September 2016

Following the last skincare post about Cleansers, it only makes sense that this post should be about Toners. This week's Saturday Skincare post is by yours truly and is about a fairly new type of product: toner pads.
Read on for a little intro to toners and what I've learned about them over the years!

FF: Easy Glittery Moondust Palette Make Up Look + Eye Make Up Tutorial | Eid

Friday 9 September 2016

It's been quite a while since I've done a make up look on myself but I'm indeed back and with another YouTube video too *gasps*.

If you've kept up with me on my social media channels (Snapchat/Instagram), you would have probably seen me post about this beaut of a palette I received from Urban Decay: the Moondust palette. I was obsessed with the colour "Lithium" in this palette when I first swatched it and knew straight away I had to create a look with it (see "Magnetic" being used in the make over I did here).
As Eid is coming up, I thought it would be fitting to do a simple glittery make up look and one that doesn't require eyeliner so that it's super simple.


I thought I would make also make use of my Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette as it's sooo versatile and of course is currently sold out, so I'm assuming a lot of people have this as a staple palette too now!
(If you don't, see me rave about it in this post). Read on to see all the products used!

Sunday Swatches: Top 3 Mascaras

Sunday 4 September 2016

Hi my lovelies!

So this week's Sunday Swatches post (as the title suggests) is about my top 3 mascaras.
I find that mascaras are a very personal thing; therefore it's only right I explain the type of lashes I have and what I also look for in a mascara!

My lashes
I'd say they're of medium health, medium length, medium curl and medium volume all round!
I've worked on clients who have very short and long length lashes, very curly and very straight, and very thick and some with barely any lashes (usually due to over use of lashes/extensions).
So all in all I feel like my lashes are OK, but obviously mascara helps boost them a hell of a lot more.

What I look for
I tend to look for more volumising mascaras so that it gives a false lash effect; if a mascara gives volume AND extra length however, it most likely will become a firm favourite for me.

My favourite mascaras have obviously changed over the years, but currently these stand as my top three and I'll explain further in the rest of the post!


Sunday Swatches: Kylie Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipstick Swatches + Review + GIVEAWAY!

Sunday 21 August 2016

Hellooooo my loves!

It's been a while since I've uploaded to YouTube so I thought why not upload a swatches video of the Kylie Liquid Lipsticks as I have the mini Birthday Edition set which is super pretty but also super tiny!

This will be a pretty long post as I will be comparing the mini Liquid Lipsticks to the full size and also my previous liquid lipstick post (NYX Lip Lingeries).

I'll also be hosting a giveaway at the end of this post so you can have a chance of winning a Posie K lipkit (lip pencil + liquid lipstick). Read on for the review, swatches video and giveaway details!

Saturday Skincare: Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser

Saturday 20 August 2016

This week's Saturday Skincare post is another guest post by Sam (blog here) and will be featuring the ever-popular Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser.
I quite like this cleanser personally, and would recommend it mainly for dry (but unsensitive) skin types; Sam will be giving her thoughts on it below, let me know if you've tried it too!

Midweek Makeovers: Moondust Sparkly Purple 3D Halo Make Up Look

Wednesday 17 August 2016

Hey my lovelies!

This week's midweek makeover post is featuring this Sparkly Purple 3D/Halo eyeshadow look on fellow blogger friend Tanzina of Makeup A to Z! Read on to see what products I used for this look:

Sunday Swatches: 5 Best Concealers

Sunday 7 August 2016

Hello my loves!

So this is a post I've been meaning to do for ages; if you know me, you know I'm obsessed with concealers, I'm always on the hunt to find the best concealer as my dark circles have gone beyond zombie status of late (and as a mum, night time is my time to blog/get some me-time, so the dark circles can't be helped!).

I thought I'd do a "5 best" feature on my blog as I've already done the highlighter post a couple weeks ago (here) and seeing as I have access to copious amounts of makeup through blogging and as a make up artist, I hope it's informative for you guys <3

Of course this is just my personal opinion of the "5 best" products I've tried so it's subject to change if I find the next best concealer so I'll try add edits to the posts where I can =)

I've set out the post from highest to lowest priced and of course added a discount code where I can; I won't be adding an overall lipstick rating as these are all bomb in their own ways, so read on for the full review!

Saturday Skincare: Summer SPF

Saturday 30 July 2016

If you've been following me on SnapChat, you would have seen I mentioned starting a semi regular post on the blog: Saturday Skincare
Although my blog mainly concentrates on make up reviews and make up looks, skincare is also very important to achieve flawless looks (as well as nutrition of course). As a makeup artist I always get asked what skincare I recommend and to be honest I find it is a very personal thing, however it is important to find the right product for your skin type in order to achieve great make up finishes too.

As it's (somewhat) officially Summer, the first Saturday Skincare instalment will be covering the following two SPF 50+ products: Bioderma Photoderm Aquafluide and Filorga UV-Defence.

This SPF skincare post is a guest post by one of my original blogger friends Sam (of SamRam1214) who's become more skincare obsessed over the years and encouraged me to look at more skincare products and their ingredients; so I thought it's only fitting she starts off the Skincare Saturdays post.
Read on for the full review and let us know what you think!

Midweek Makeovers: Traditional Red-Gold-Blue Asian Bridal Make Up Look

Wednesday 27 July 2016

As its wedding season, I thought I'd upload this Asian Bridal make up look I did on my friend (also featured in this makeover blog post).
She has a great eye shape to work with so I was glad to be doing her makeup again! Read on for products used in this look <3

Sunday Swatches: The Estee Edit

Sunday 24 July 2016

A couple weeks ago I received a package from The Estee Edit and unpackaged it over on my snapchat (safiyahtasneem).
I have to say Snapchat allows me to give quick descriptions of products and sometimes reviews without having to worry about editing etc but I always give time to try the product out before I write a review over here on the blog so do check out my snapchat too if you're there!

The Estee Edit is of course a (daughter/sister?) brand of Estee Lauder, based on Estee's motto "Beauty is an Attitude" and therefore The Estee Edit is inspired by both Estee and Guest Beauty Editors Kendall Jenner and Irene Kim. 
The brand is aimed at a younger market (I'd say late teens to late 20s) and thus is priced accordingly but I also love that you can customise your makeup with products like the transformer lipstick shades in yellow and black.. amazing!

I literally didn't know where to start as the package was pretty overwhelming, so I thought I'd review the colour cosmetics that interested me first; namely the Skin Glowing Balm and the Lipsticks I received.

Skin Glowing Balm

Sunday Swatches: Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks | Comparison And Review

Sunday 3 July 2016

Hi my lovelies!

Today's Sunday Swatches post is of course featuring the new Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks.
As you may know, I've been a fan of UD for almost a decade now, even worked for them briefly when I worked in retail and absolutely loved adorning my face with their products in that time.

Seeing them go from strength to strength as an original fan has made me proud and now they've collaborated with OITNB's Ruby Rose for their new Vice Lipsticks, it's a pretty epic step up.

The new Vice lipsticks collection is here to replace the all the lipsticks UD do; including the Revolution lipsticks, Matte Revolution lipsticks and the Super Saturated Lip Color (SSLC) pencils (all previously reviewed on the blog, click links for more).

I don't quite understand why Urban Decay decided to revamp the whole collection seeing as the Matte Revolution lipsticks were only released last year, but it makes more sense in terms of organised lippies/consistency in packaging.
I'll compare these lippies to the previous Revolution lipsticks and give an overall rating below.

Sunday Swatches: Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance | Full Review

Sunday 26 June 2016

Hi guys!

This week's Sunday Swatch post is featuring the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette, which I already gave a short review/swatch over on my SnapChat (it's sooo much more faster on there than typing up, but alas only lasts 24 hours; le sigh).

If you missed my mini review, I mentioned that I really didn't feel like I needed another palette when I saw this one being released; I wasn't overly fussed about the red and pink tones, however when I looked at the shades more closely I realised that most of them were matte and also were perfect for Asian skintone/Asian Bridal makeup.
Read on to see more swatches and the full review.

Midweek Makeovers: Pink Soft Smokey Asian Engagement/Nikkah Make Up Look

Wednesday 22 June 2016

One of my close blogger friends who you may have already seen guest post on my blog (Naheeda), recently got engaged (Islamic Nikkah), and she very matter of factly told me I would be doing her makeup even though I've been dying to do it anyway!
She has gorgeous features to work with and even though we had no trial she told me what she wanted on the day (a soft smokey look) and I came up with this to also match her outfit.

As it was an Islamic Ceremony, it's supposed to be a bit more toned down than a regular Asian Bridal make over, so I tried to keep it glam enough to feel like a bride but subtle enough to stay in tune with the ceremony.

Sunday Swatches: Benefit Brow Collection 2016

Sunday 19 June 2016

Hi my loves!
Soooo.. this week has been a pretty good week for post and now I have a box full of "to blog about" products that I'm testing out right now.
This post however, is a swatch and review post of four of the new Benefit Brow products that they've kept under wraps for a while and that I already got to try a couple weeks ago at the launch...

Motherhood Mondays: Baby Shower/New Mum Gift Guide

Monday 13 June 2016

Here's a requested post I've been meaning to do for a long while, so I've finally got round to doing it and it's of course a gift guide for new mums/baby showers.
Now the question at baby showers is: do you get the mum baby stuff or mummy stuff?

I'll be honest I take baby showers as an opportunity to treat the MUM, seeing as when baby comes along that's when it will be showered with its own gifts?

Anyway, I've included some baby gifts too just in case you wanted some more ideas, but mostly think it's nice for a pregnant mum to have some pampering gifts as it'll be the last time she'll be able to have time to herself in a loooong while!  

The baby gifts I've included in this post can also make good gifts when the baby is actually born so I guess this is kind of a baby gift guide too in a way.. read on for more info!

Ramadan Recipe: Matcha Chiller Milkshake

Wednesday 8 June 2016


As you may or may not know, Ramadan is upon us yet again and this year is yet another hard one in the UK (current fasting time of 18 hours!), the longest in 33 years in fact.

Though I rarely do foodie type posts, I felt this was related to my mummy blogs as all mums (let alone fasting mums) could do with a ~yummy~ healthy recipe that will give them an energy boost.. right?
This recipe is perfect for general Summer days too and tbh I buy myself a Matcha Chiller at EAT all year round (or matcha lattes in the winter) so it's a pretty versatile drink/ingredient.
yum!
I knew the weather would heat up when we would start fasting, so I already prepared myself this year with a strategy that I'm hoping will work, read on for my explanation!

Tuesday Takeover: Shazia Haque Make-Up

Tuesday 31 May 2016

Hello my lovelies!
It's been a while since I've had a guest poster and since my friend Shazia (Shazia Haque Make Up on IG) has restarted her blog, I thought it would be perfect if she guest posted her Huda Beauty Lip Contour swatches for my Tuesday Takeover as I've been meaning to review this for a while! So it's basically a Sunday Swatches post too, but you get the gist lol.
Hope you enjoy her post and show her some love over on www.ShaziaHaqueMakeup.com

HUDA BEAUTY LIP CONTOUR | REVIEW AND SWATCHES

Midweek Makeovers: Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita Eyeshadow Make Up Look

Wednesday 25 May 2016

Hi my lovelies!
I thought I'd post a look I recently did on a friend of mine using the gorgeous Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita Palette and the ever dramatic Huda Beauty lashes in Farah - these lashes are so gorgeous on her eyes!
Products used:
Eyes: 
• Urban Decay Primer Potion - Original
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade Chocolate
 Charlotte Tilbury - Dolce Vita Palette
 Urban Decay - Naked Basics Palette (to blend and intensify crease)

• Inglot AMC gel liner - 77
Huda Beauty lashes - Farah 
 
Face:
• Make Up Forever HD Foundation - 153
• Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer - SX07
• Benefit Cheekathon - Dandelion
• Motives - Shape & Sculpt Duo
• MAC Mineralize Skinf
inish - Soft & Gentle
  
Lips: 
• NYX Lip Lingerie - Ruffle Trim
 
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