Please note: this post contains some press samples gifted to me for trying (marked with *'s) and also affiliate links which means that if you purchase anything using these links, a very small percentage of the product's cost will come to me at no expense to yourself. This helps with the running costs of my blog, thank you!

< disclaimer > 

I’m not in any way a dermatologist but I’ve had KP for as long as I can remember and understand the science of skin due to my degree and being an Aveeno ambassador, so I just want to share what I’ve learned from researching and also sharing products I’ve tried myself so far.

Please do consult a doctor or dermatologist first and check the NHS website for more info if it is something that is really bothering you (most of which I’ve included in this post)!

So seeing as KP aka Chicken Skin / Strawberry Legs is very common (particularly in POC), I figured I’d dedicate this blog post to it, as it’s something I’ve had on the back of my arms for ages and would like to help anyone else who also has it and wants to read up more on it and is thinking about buying products for it.. read on to find out more!

Emolyne Cosmetics - Metamorphosis Lips and Nails

The last time I did a lipstick swatch blog post was last year and for a similar theme - nudes and reds for all skin/lip tones (by BECCA, blog post here) and because I love the idea of nudes and reds so much, I had to write another blog post featuring this British beauty brand - Emolyne Cosmetics* (*gifted).
I actually was sent this package in May but with the postage delay I received it in June and didn't realise the founder was Ugandan born and the theme of each shade is named after an African country, city or landmark - which I love! The #BLM movement has really been an eye opener and I thought it would be a perfect time to spotlight this beauty brand on my blog, because quite frankly I love the whole concept and have been super impressed with the quality.
So Emolyne Cosmetics was founded by Emolyne Ramlov who wanted to create a brand that catered to those who were looking for coordinated lip and nail colours.. which I think is genius and genuinely have found it hard to find exact nail and lip matches even within brands sometimes.
Emolyne Cosmetics offer 30 coordinated lipsticks, lip liners and nail polishes with: 15 nude shades  15 red shades 
As mentioned in my previous lip swatches posts, I've been focusing on lip swatches for the past couple years because my lips are pigmented/darker than some other people's, so I like to show people who have similar lip and skin tones to me what shades could look like (to help them decide which may suit them too). Of course everyone is free to wear what they like but if you have darker pigmented lips like me then certain nudes just end up looking ashy/pastel, which I'm personally not a fan of on myself.
Read on to see the shades I was sent and the ones I want to try next!

Mother's Day 2020.. hand care!

please note: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase anything using these links, a very small percentage of the product's cost will come to me at no expense to yourself. This helps with the running costs of my blog, thank you!
It feels surreal writing this post right now when I took the pictures of these products last year in my old home, when I was actually meant to write this blog post for Mother's Day.. but it definitely is more relevant this year at this very uncertain and strange time.
The world is being told to "wash your hands for 20 seconds or more" due to the outbreak of Coronavirus and we're being told to practise social distancing to reduce spread of the virus or self isolation or quarantining.. so I thought I would use my extra time at home to achieve one of my goals I've been slacking on for the last two years - nurturing this very blog again <3
It's quite a worrying time for a lot of people, especially here in the UK when we're on a 2 week lag behind other countries where the virus has hit hard, but if you were still looking to buy something for your mum for Mother's Day here in the UK (or just any day to show you appreciate her), then I always thought hand care options would be best (as mum's use their hands so much!), so they deserve hand care products as a treat.

Obviously now with the government advising us to wash our hands with soap for 20 seconds+, pretty much everyone is experiencing ashy hand syndrome (including myself, even though I don't have eczema like my son), so tbh if you want to treat yourself here are some options I thought I'd include [some *gifted],  starting with my faves that are most affordable and then some special gift worthy treats:

Reflecting on 2019 and going into 2020 - a new decade

I almost feel embarrassed to write this as I feel so guilty I’ve not been able to blog as much as I’ve wanted to in 2019.

Somehow this year has slipped by so fast and in retrospect I realise how and why I haven’t been able to keep up and why I feel so unaccomplished despite actually accomplishing a lot this year.

Simply put: Instagram has taken over my priorities as that’s been my main source of earning now that I’ve gone full time with this “influencing” career and it bothers me that I feel like I’ve neglected my baby- this blog.

my beauty highlights post from 2019 (here on IG)

Fragrant Fridays: Eid Gift Guide - Moresque Secret Collection*

*this post is sponsored by Moresque Parfum
If you've been following me and have never heard of Moresque before, you probably haven't been paying attention! Last year I was introduced to the parfum brand and included one of their fragrances in my Eid blog post here where I talked about the history of Oud and why it's so popular particular in the Middle East.
For those of you who haven't heard of Moresque, it is a fairly new fragrance house (est. 2015) that fuses art, history and Middle Eastern tradition and its bottles are crafted in Italy. Up until now the fragrance collections I've seen from Moresque have been housed in very distinctive thick, rounded bottles, which are each hand crafted and uniquely designed in Italy and range from £215-£310, only available at Harrods.
The new Secret Collection is being launched exclusively at Fenwick, at a much more affordable price point and I worked with Moresque for the launch event this week to pick a few girls I thought would best appreciate and fit this collection launch (saved on my instagram highlights), which I was thrilled to have the opportunity to do (thank you KGA!).
Read on to see which fragrance is my favourite and which you may like the sound of best...

Turmeric Tales: Disciple "GOOD SKIN" Facial Oil-Serum

please note: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase anything using these links, a very small percentage of the product's cost will come to me at no expense to yourself. This helps with the running costs of my blog, thank you!

I was meant to finish writing up my Kiehls Turmeric & Cranberry mask draft and post it next in my Turmeric Tales series (read my first post describing Turmeric benefits here), but life has massively got in the way of blogging as consistently as I intended for this year and recently I’ve been using this Disciple Good Skin facial oil-serum (due to my skin reacting to something), so I felt it deserved to be bumped up the Turmeric Tale list as I haven't been using much else (in a bid to make my skin return to normal).

I haven’t yet tried the Dreamy Skin facial oil in this Discovery Set that I bought, so I am focusing this blog post on the Good Skin Facial Oil-Serum, but the Dreamy Skin sounds amazing and I always look for sets when purchasing new products from brands, so I’d recommend buying this one to see if you like both, as it works out better value for money.

Read on to see what my thoughts are on the Good Skin facial oil-serum and why it may be good for you too..

Food For Thought Friday: Healthy Eating in Ramadan

So as you guys may or may not know, I graduated in BSc Human Nutrition almost a decade ago and even though I talk more about beauty, I do feel super passionate about health still too.. and the fact there's a lot more misinformation around now with social media and no real verification of influencers giving dietary advice.
Despite the fact I did graduate in Nutrition, I'm not a registered nutritionist nor have I practiced; which is why I don't openly give advice as I take giving health advice very seriously as it could impact someone's life massively!
It really does concern me that many influencers think it's ok to give unqualified dietary/health advice especially as everyone wants a quick fix and will follow someone on social media thinking it will work for them too, but it's not that simple as each of our bodies are different and therefore we should be careful copying diets and advice, particularly if it tells you to cut out whole food groups/products (unless of course you are intolerant or have specific health issues).
Anyway I wanted to introduce a "Food For Thought Friday" post this week in prep for Ramadan as many of us particularly in South Asian culture tend to go overboard with food in compensation for the fasting hours, so I've asked a registered Nutritionist friend to guest post for us today sharing her advice and tips which I hope will be of value!

Turmeric Tales: Botanical Lab Turmeric Blemish Control Clay Mask

Hi everyone and welcome back!!

I've decided to start a new series of “Turmeric Tales” after the popularity of my Instagram post last year (here) featuring the Botanical Lab Turmeric mask, so I've been scouring the internet since then, collecting some turmeric containing products to test and review for this series, which I'm so excited about!

Seeing as my grandparents were from India and turmeric is heavily used in South Asian food/culture, it made sense to start this series, especially as it has recently gained much popularity in the Western world, so read on to see my first instalment in this series and a little background information on the wonder ingredient that is also known as "haldi".

please note: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase anything using these links, a very small percentage of the product's cost will come to me at no expense to yourself. This helps with the running costs of my blog, thank you!

Tuesday Takeover: Amina Ali

So here we are in 2019 with more amazing guest bloggers I hand pick to review products.. this Tuesday Takeover is by Amina who's guest posted before a couple times because I love the honesty of her reviews and also love that she's a mummy like me who I just gel with; do check her out on her blog and socials!

In this post she'll be kindly reviewing a few Rodial Collagen Boost Lip Lacquers I was PR gifted, but felt Amina would maybe appreciate and use more, so read on for her thoughts!

BECCA Ultimate Lipstick Love*

*this post is sponsored by BECCA (eek!)
Up until now, BECCA have been known mostly for face/base products that give their signature "BECCA Glow" and most people will know about their their amazingly buttery Shimmering Skin Perfectors (if not, then where have you been?!). Opal is my ultimate fave in both the liquid and powder form, but I also had time to play around with their foundations, concealers and other glowy goodness at the BECCA trip (blog post here), where I discovered they only had lip glosses in their lip arsenal. I remember commenting saying that I can't wait for BECCA to expand on their lip ranges as I'm not much of a gloss girl and lo and behold the day has come.. and BECCA have not failed to disappoint!
In true BECCA "glow" style, this new lipstick range gives a healthy sheen to the lips that is thankfully not not overly shiny or sticky. The shade range is so on point as it covers the two most popular lipstick choices- nude and red, but with the idea that not one shade of red or nude lipstick will look good on everyone... so BECCA have created 30 shades so that everyone can find their perfect colour!
Now if you're not a usual reader of my blog then you won't know that this is exactly why I've been focusing on lip swatches for the past couple years, as my own lips are pigmented/darker than other people's, so I like to show people who have similar lip and skin tones what shades could look like, to help them decide which may suit them too. Of course everyone is free to wear what they like but if you have darker pigmented lips like me then certain nudes just end up looking ashy/pastel, which I'm personally not a fan of on myself.
So I couldn't have been more over the moon to have been approached for my first ever sponsored blog post (after 8+ years!), to be for this range.. it's so in line with what I already do! 🙌 Read on to see swatches of the Ultimate Lipstick Loves and more info...

Reflecting on 2018: Blogging Goals & Highlights!

Sooo, now that we're at the end of 2018 I thought I'd reflect on my goals I posted at the beginning of this year and the highlights for me. The year kind of feels like it flew by but also feels like a really long year coz soo much happened compared to previous years?!
Overall I feel like I achieved my most important blogging (and personal) goals, so even though I didn't achieve them all how I planned, I'm not too down about it as I prefer to focus on the positives and goals should be like guidelines in my opinion.

Tuesday Takeover: Yazmiinaktar - L'Oreal x Isabel Marant

It's been a while since I've posted but now that I'm back from a little break with my son, I plan on posting more regularly iA <3

I enlisted help from fellow mummy blogger Yazmiinaktar who expressed her interest in these L'Oreal x Isabel Marant collab lipsticks and she did an amazing job of reviewing them.. read on for more!

Tuesday Takeover: Yasmine Alom

This weeks Tuesday Takeover is from the absolutely amazing Yasmine Alom who I am in awe of because of how hard working she is!

If you guys saw my YouTube mum friendly GRWM with Yasmine, you'll know she's very experienced and knowledgeable with makeup products and someone I trust to review, so here are her thoughts on the new Bobbi Brown Camo Luxe Collection:

The new collection by Bobbi Brown Camo Luxe collection launched on September 2018. This is exclusive to Selfridges & Brown Thomas from 23rd August then launches nationwide on 6th September.

#BeccaScape - My First Ever Influencer Trip!

I started writing my Clinique campaign post but then got caught up in preparation for another huge milestone in my blogging career - my first ever "influencer" trip with none other than BECCA Cosmetics who were one of the first brands I ever received a product from back in 2012 (see blog post here).
Since then I've been a huge fan of their Shimmering Skin Perfectors which cater to pretty much every skintone (my fave shade being Opal), and I love how the powders are super soft and creamy as they're made with pearls and pigments mixed in a liquid formula and pressed into a creamy powder (unlike other highlighters!).
So many of you took time to message and congratulate me saying you felt proud to see a hijabi on a brand/influencer trip, so I felt inspired to write about it and include my experience as a hijabi for anyone who may be wondering what it could be like; ideally I hope this inspires others and gives an insight <3

Tuesday Takeover: ibreathemakeup

This week's guest post is from the lovely ibreathemakeup who has been a follower of mine for a long while and even an old client back in the day!!

I gave her the NYX Honey Dew Me Up primer as she expressed interest in it and here is her review:

Hey lovelies,

So Safiyah kindly sent me the NYX Honey Dew Me Up primer. This primer is supposed to reduce the appearance of discolouration and redness and keep your skin looking radiant all day. The primer retails for £15 which is a bit on the pricey side for a drugstore primer but it’s worth it. 

Foundation Files: Making Your Foundation Yellow - An Affordable Solution!

Here's something that may put an end to all my foundation posts (jk!).
I've been researching various ways on how we brown girls (with strong yellow tones) can adjust our foundations to match better, but each method I've read about has their cons (explained in this post), so for the longest time I've been wanting to work with a brand to create an affordable yellow foundation adjuster.
As an Asian girl I've always struggled to find the right yellow undertoned foundation, even when they say they're "golden", they still sometimes have a bit too neutral/pink tones running in them, making me look a bit ashy (who else can relate?!)
I've never understood why the current shade adjusters by the likes of The Body Shop, Nip+Fab, NYX, Makeup Revolution only really have white and brown; NYX have an "olive" shade, but that was still quite brown for my skintone so I had to give it away.
If I find the correct undertoned foundation but it's slightly too dark (for example Fenty 290), I can successfully use a "white" adjuster/mixer to help it look less dark, but sometimes risk looking ashy, so prefer the off white mixers like from The Body Shop.
The brown mixers however, make a foundation that's too light for me very muddy looking and cool toned most of the time and also tends to alter the undertone completely.
Enter: the ELF yellow undertone adjuster - the possible solution to all our warm toned problems!
I've been testing this bad boy out with a neutral toned foundation I have and have been uber excited to blog about it since I've been wanting this very product for us yellow toned girls and there doesn't seem to be any reviews on it yet as it's super new.. so here goes!

Sunday Swatches: L'Oreal Paris Les Chocolats Liquid Lipsticks

So apparently yesterday was World Chocolate Day but today is my Sunday Swatches day so I decided to post this Chocolate swatches related blog post today obvs!
Ever since I saw the preview of these Les Chocolats liquid lipsticks on L'Oreal's instagram (here), I knew I had to find out when they would be releasing here in the UK and thankfully was invited to the launch event at none other than Saint Aymes (which has been on my "to-hit up" list for a while now!).
It was a lovely intimate event with tons of chocolate and despite the heatwave we're having, the chocolates didn't actually melt (just like L'Oreal say their lipsticks don't) and I managed to enjoy an iced version of their unicorn latte which wasn't too sweet and perfect.
Anyway the actual lipsticks smell absolutely divine - especially if you're a chocoholic like me! I was blown away at how strong it smelled of chocolate that I actually expected it to taste like it if I licked my lips but alas, the chocolateyness stops there. 
FYI I have however (unintentionally) tasted chocolate when applying Too Faced Chocolate Soleil as it contains real cocoa powder.. some of the powder somehow flew into my mouth once when applying with a brush and I was pleasantly surprised lol.
The lipsticks have a great selection of "chocolatey" nudes which personally I think is great for WOC/those with pigmented lips, however some are a bit light which would be better suited to fairer skintones/lip tones.
I've had ample time testing these out since the event and even filmed a swatch video so read on to see what I think and to check out the video!

Tuesday Takeover: Sabah - MarbleRoseBlogs

Soo, this week's Tuesday Takeover is by a lovely follower of mine - Sabah of Marble Rose Blogs - who is of similar complexion to myself but just a tad bit fairer (NARS Punjab/Custard).
She's ever so kindly written an in depth review of the Makeup Revolution Conceal & Correct correctors, complete with swatches and face pics!

Read on to see what she thinks <3

Tuesday Takeover: Samina - Pretty Little Statement

This week I have another Tuesday Takeover reviewing the new Clinique Beyond Perfecting Concealer and this time it's by the lovely Samina Arshad of Pretty Little Statement who I found on Instagram. 

Samina used to work for Clinique so I thought she'd be perfect to review this with her background knowledge of the brand too, read on to see what she thinks!

Eid Gift Guide - Small Businesses

Soo, I started planning and writing this post during Ramadan but between exhaustion of fasting, salah etc, being a single mum anddd posting regularly enough on instagram etc. this post got delayed.
But it's better late than never and these gifts can also be bought for occasions like birthdays etc, so here's my Eid Gift Guide - Small Businesses edition. Alhamdulillah this year and last I've reached a point in the blogging world where I'm able to comfortably request samples for gift guides/blog posts etc, so it really does help with content I have in mind like the last Oud post. 
This year particularly, brands are understanding that there's a huge market around Ramadan/Eid and personally I am glad that they recognise this; maybe in the future there can be more Eid related/designed products like The Body Shop currently do (see the Ramadan calendars here and here). More often than not though, we forget that small businesses have also catered to our needs for Eid/special occasions and I like to include them on my blog to help support them if I can, as it's amazing that they've had the initiative to create what they have.
Last year I focused on this Stationary post from small and established businesses, this year I put a little request out on my Instagram to see what was out there and was impressed with the brands in this post, so read on to see what I came across!