Eid 2014

For anyone who is friends with, or knows any Muslims then you'll probably know that they have finished the month of Ramadan in which they take part in fasting.  During this month, food and drink is only to be consumed during sundown hours and fasting takes pace during the day.  This of course seems like utter madness considering it is the middle of summer where the days are longer and we have had a fair few heat waves!  But fear not, Ramadan is over and Eid was celebrated.

For me, Eid is a day of food, family and more food!  Seriously, my family will use any excuse to have a large, lavish feast any time of the year.  Every year, someone will take turns to host Eid at their house and everyone will do their bit of cooking, where some form of roast chicken usually features.

Eid is also a day where everyone will wear new and/or fancy clothes and will make an extra effort to look nice (for photos of course).  I decided to wear an outfit my sister Farah bought for me as an Eid gift last year.  I don't normally wear this colour pink but I thought it looked really nice with the paisley design.  As luck would have it, the weather was insanely nice with blazing hot sunshine, so it was all well and good that the material of my clothes were quite thin and light!

At one point throughout the day, my aunt braided one half of my head as the fringe I am currently attempting to grow out was becoming bothersome.  I also dug out my Naked 3 palette to take advantage of all the pretty pink colours to match my clothes.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of food, but to compensate, here is a picture of the Amazing Spider-Man bouncy castle that we hired for the day.

LOOK HOW AWESOME IT IS.

And because we're such big kids, Naz and myself kicked the children off so we could have a go.

After many a selfie on a trampoline, the kids decided to raid it -- needless to say, the trampoline broke and Naz and Zuli tumbled into the fallen corner (er, do round trampolines have corners?).

So there we have it. A successful Eid was had by all - involving scoffing a lot of food, a Spider-Man bouncy castle, far too many in the sun selfies and one broken trampoline.

Eid Mubarak to everyone who celebrated this year!

Super Gorgeous May So Far

I really need to write down some sort of schedule for posting regularly, obviously posting daily is something I am not quite used to yet!

I did have a week where I sort of went AWOL from Instagram due to work commitments but I managed to catch up!

Speaking of which, here is a catch up of the days I have not yet shown you:

Day 4 - On my Wishlist

This Wishlist makes me want to cry because I am trying not to spend any money!  This list consists of the original Naked palette (which I do not own...yet), Benefit's new cheek and lip tint LolliTint (which is a gorgeous candy orchid colour), Clinique Chubby Stick, Revlon ColourBurst Matte Balm, MAC Quad Eyeshadow and finally Sugarbomb.  I must have these!

Day 5 - Something I'm Proud of

The online news blog I started with Elena Cresci back in 2011 - The Siren was so fun to create and I really believe we made something unique compared to other university publications.  It makes me so happy that new generations of students are continuing this baby and winning some awards such as 'Best Student Media' at the Guardian Student Media Awards 2012 and 'Best Student Media' at the NUS Wales Awards 2014.  So proud!

Day 6 - Purple

I really don't own that many purple items it seems... I used Buzz from the Naked 3 palette as it has pink/purple tones to it.

Day 7 - Golden Tones

But my Naked 2 Palette has lots of golden tones, yay!

Day 8 - What I'm Reading

I started this book last year (I know) but in my defence it is a very heavy read because it is SO descriptive but that also means you need to be alert when reading it in order to take in all that information at once.

Day 9 - Storage

As my makeup storage is quite poor and not very pretty, I decided to share my clothes and book storage.  Ikea is just wonderful.

Day 10 - Nails of the Day

Spring is here!  And to celebrate, I thought a nice dash of pretty pastels (which I've only just realised that they compliment my bedspread) would be just the ticket using 17's Lasting Fix polishes.

Day 11 - Holy Grail Products

Most moisturisers are too heavy for me and cause breakouts.  I have been using Garnier's Pure Active moisturiser for years and it is perfect for me.  Vaseline is a staple of mine, especially the Rosy Lips version.  Lush's Helping Hands Cream is great for my hands but I also use it as an evening face moisturiser before bed.  Garnier's Pure Active Spot Roll-On is my magic wand in banishing breakouts.  MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown is what I use to fill my brows in with as it's the perfect colour and lasts all day, I apply this using the 266 brush. (I have Tanya Burr to thank for that!)

Day 12 - Matte Lips

I don't actually own anything that gives me a proper matte lip, so I faked it using Max Factor's Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint to cheat the look.

Day 13 - Celeb Inspired Look

I don't have naturally thick eyebrows (*sob*) so what I was going for here was to practise my strong brow look a la Lilly Collins because hers are magnificent.  Again I used MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown although I could invest in a slightly darker shade to achieve the effect better.

Day 14 - Drugstore Favourites

As I can't afford luxury products by the bucket load, my daily makeup essentials are made up of cheaper alternatives which I think work just as well.  It seems that mousse foundations are a bit like Marmite but I love how Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse looks on my face (as I fear looking glowy or shiny will just make me look greasy). Again Vaseline Rosy Lips is a favourite and you can't go wrong with it.  My Maybelline Eye Studio Lastinf Drama Gel Liner works just as well as the MAC or Bobbi Brown versions and at a fraction of the price too!  Plus it comes with a cute little liner brush.  I have only just recently started wearing bronzer and it has made such a difference to my face and I look healthy instead of washed out - at the moment I am using Rimmel's Natural Bronzer.

Day 15 - Throwback Thursday

Me rocking my curls.  I miss those curls.

Day 16 - Current Favourite Eyeshadow

*Sigh* Need I say more!?

Day 17 - Trying for the First Time

After using up all my Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer (as raved about by Zoella) I thought I would try the recommended (as by Tanya Burr) Collection's Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer.  I have to say it is not bad (if maybe a tad too light for me even in the darkest shade they do) and a little of this product goes a long way as long as I blend blend blend!

Day 18 - Recent Purchase

As I am trying not to spend money, my recent purchases are not that glamorous.  The penguin I purchased from a gift shop at Longleat Safari Park because I cannot resist buying penguin things.  Penguins are cool.  The next is Palmer's Cocoa Butter which I absolutely love because it smells like chocolate and is amazing as a moisturiser and I feel like I get a lot out of it.

Well that's about it on this very long catch up (sorry about that!).  But do check out #SuperGorgeousMay on Instagram to see what everyone is posting as part of the daily challenges :)

Super Gorgeous May - Day 2 and 3

Day 2 - Eyes

As I didn't actually manage to blog about day 2's challenge yesterday (let's just say there was a red velvet baking incident) I have decided to combine it with today's post.

Yesterday's photo challenge was 'Eyes' so I thought I would show my every day eye look.  I'm not really one for using colour on my eyes because I have really heavy, bad a** dark circles.  Instead I prefer doing nude looks as I think they help brighten my eyes and make them pop better.

I absolutely love love love Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette for creating nude eye looks.  The colours are really pigmented and I find that the shadow can last all day, which of course is really good!

I always start by using the colour Strange as a base by sweeping it all over my lid and up to my brow bone.  By doing this, it helps other colours to show better when applied on top.  I then use Burnout over my lid and really blending in it, the colour is a pale slightly shimmery pink which I think helps compliment my skin tone.  I then blend the colour Trick on the outer corner of my lid to give it a bit of extra oomph!  To finish, I use my Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner (such a mouthful!) and I like to create a thick line with a flick.  I top it off my applying two coats of my new favourite mascara from Maybelline - The Falsies on my lashes.  If you don't already know, makeup guru Tanya Burr always raves about this mascara in her tutorials and I have to say, since I bought it I haven't looked back!  I have quite naturally long lashes anyway and this really enhances then a step further.

Day 3 - Orange

As you have already read (and seen) I am not one to wear much colour and this includes clothes as well as eye makeup.  I don't know why but I am always drawn to black, blue, greys and nudes in my wardrobe.  I did however remember that I had a wicked orange jumper bought for me as a gift from Gap.  It's actually a really nice jumper and can be worn with lots of things.

For the photo challenge for today, I decided to team this with my denim skirt from Pull & Bear as I thought they looked quite cute together.  I did notice from the Super Gorgeous Matly hashtag on Instagram that a lot of people were simply focusing on makeup for the photo challenges, so I wanted to incorporate fashion in there as well.

Of course, I did my face as well!  This time I used my Naked 2 palette starting with the colour Foxy all over my lid and up to my brow bone to create a base.  Then I swept Chooper over my lid because it has a slight golden/metallic orangey colour to it.  I then blended a. It of Snakebite to to my outer corners to give it some depth.  As usual I finished it off with my trust Maybelline gel liner and The Falsies mascara.  In aid of the ornate theme for the day, I also used a bit of Benefit's Cha-Cha Tint on my cheeks and lips to complete the look.

So far, I am quite enjoying Super Gorgeous May and it's lovely to see all the different interpretations of the challenges every day and it's given me some good ideas that I would like to try :)

Super Gorgeous May - Day 1

I have decided to start doing a photo a day challenge called #SuperGorgeousMay which I have seen a lot of people participate in last month including my friend Rachel and it looked like a lot of fun so I thought I would join in and have a go!

Instagram user @SuperGoreous has posted the following photo a day challenges on her account.  These are the challenges for this month:

I will attempt the different challenges throughout the month of May on my Instagram account (@ubersupersam) but I will also try to blog about my photo a day each day if I can!

So let's get to it!  Today's challenge was to capture something that had 'pretty packaging'.  A lot of people have been taking snaps of something makeup related so I thought I would do the same (after all it's called 'Super Gorgeous May' isn't it?).

I really love creating nude looks on my eyes as I don't think colour suits my skin tone very much as I have really dark circles.  Urban Decay's Naked range is amazing (in my opinion), the shadows are really pigmented and the colours are so pretty.  Even though they are nude colours I really think they help make my eyes pop and I find that it last all day!  I do love the packaging on the Naked 3 palette the best - it kind of reminds me of melting chocolate or silk.  I have always been a fan of Benefit and I love their little kit boxes you can buy as they have small samples of lots of different products that compliment each other and work together.  This is especially great if you don't want to spend lots of money on just one product that you won't use very often and instead can have a little bit of everything and they are the perfect size to pop in your bag!  The other thing I love about these little kit boxes is that because the packaging is so pretty, after you have finished with the products you can re-use them as keepsake boxes.  I just love the cute vintage feel you get from the Benefit range, I always want to buy something from the counter whenever I walk past because everything looks so tempting!

As today's challenge was simply to do with packaging I have tried not to go into too much detail about the actual product themselves (but maybe I can do some posts in the future on those).

People mentioned in today's post:

You can check out Rachel's Instagram account on @rsgrey to see what she did for Super Gorgeous April and her blog http://nothingrhymeswithrachel.blogspot.co.uk

#SuperGorgeousMay is brought to you by @SuperGorgeous as mentioned earlier.  If you want to give it a go, do check out the hashtag and get snapping!

"That is SO fetch!" - Happy 10th Anniversary Mean Girls!

If you don't know what "fetch" is then STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING IMMEDIATELY.  Instead, I urge you to go out and purchase or borrow a copy of Mean Girls from a friend, teacher, boyfriend (trust me, someone is bound to have it), change into some pyjamas, get some popcorn and brace yourself for whole load of fetch coming your way.

I feel quite old knowing that the hit film is in its 10th year and as fate would have it, the anniversary so happens to fall on a Wednesday.  Anyone who has seen the film hundreds of times knows that it is one of the most quotable films...EVER.

This is definitely one of my favourite films that I can watch over and over and still find it funny.  I think the casting was perfect (yes, even Lindsay Lohan) and it is one of those films that I think will always be relatable no matter how much the world may change.  One thing I have yet to do is to read the book on which the film is largely based on.  Called "Queen Bees and Wannabes", it looks at the way high school cliques are formed as well as aggressive teenage behaviours and how to deal with such issues.

As a little tribute, here is me celebrating Mean Girls' 10th Anniversary...

"On Wednesdays, we wear pink!"

What are your favourite quotes from the film... are they SO fetch?

RAWR! (Bank Holiday weekend at Longleat Safari & Adventure Park)

Yesterday was my niece Nina's Birthday so we decided to go to Longleat Safari and Adventure Park.  Though I think I have been there once in my childhood, I certainly don't have any memories of going there.

Saturday really was a lovely and sunny day to start with but as we got further to Longleat (situated 45 minutes outside of Bath) the weather grew a little colder and cloudier which was a bit of a shame.  Due to the Easter holidays this meant that every man, woman and child had also up and left their nests early in the morning to go and explore the Great British outdoors.  Unfortunately for us that meant the queues when we had arrived at the Safari Park were overflowing like no tomorrow!

We had four cars full of people and as usual we had to park up on some grassy knoll near the African Village and wait for them.  Apart from the fact that we were eating out cars, it was actually not a bad picnic spot and there was plenty of scrummy food to go around (and lots of snacks too!).  Once the final car had turned up and we had a chance to chow down, we went on our way into the Safari.

There was an immense amount of traffic through the park that stretched for miles on end.  This also meant that the line was slow moving and I don't think I touched third gear the whole time I was in there.  As you can imagine, the hold up wasn't helped by the fact that cars would want to stop and take pictures of all the animals they could find, my car included!

One of the best areas of any Safari drive would have to be the Monkey Drive Thru!  Though, you are warned prior to entering the area that not only do the monkeys climb on the cars but that they will cause some sort of damage.  Of course, this didn't put anybody off.  My little sister and cousin were quite disappointed that no monkeys wanted to climb on my car (maybe they have a thing against Nissan Micras?) but I did get some great shots otherwise.  Can you spot the monkey in the first picture?

I always find it quite cool to see exotic animals just roaming about minding their own business, and though safety is imperative you can see that the animals are so used to seeing humans and cars that it has become the norm for them to be ogled at.

The longest of the queuing was spent in the Big Cats section.  Everyone wants to see a big, beautiful and powerful animal in the flesh.  Of course you are warned that you are strictly not allowed to open your windows or get out of your cars (though some people did sneakily open their windows) because tigers, lions and cheetahs are dangerous and unpredictable.

The thing I was the most excited to see was the penguins!  They are by far my most favourite animal.  They are awesome!  When I found out you were allowed to feed them we went and inquired but they had run out of fish to sell us!  How could they run out!?  I was almost tempted to kidnap a penguin... But don't worry, I didn't!  Pretty sure that's a felony (please don't go kidnapping penguins!).

Little yellow trains can be rickety too!

Shameless "outside the dodgy toilet" selfie.

Beware, big cats can be dangerous - RAWR!

And finally, Madame Butterfly (who looks a tad moody because she was tired out) on her Birthday.

Did you guys do anything fun this Bank Holiday weekend? :)