Lush Oxford Street

Last weekend, I made the trip to Oxford Street and of course, I had to pay a visit to the new Lush store that had opened. In simple terms, the store is amazing. It's set out over three floors, with products stocked from floor to ceiling and across every possible surface. Lush Oxford Street has all the usual Lush products as well as many more that are exclusive to this store. I did pick up a few goodies (which will come in a haul post soon!), but for now, here are some pictures from inside the store. I'd also like to mention that even though it was a very busy Saturday afternoon inside the store, the staff were very friendly and available to talk through the products to help you choose the ones best suited for you. I walked out of the store with a bag full of goodies and my purse a lot lighter =)

 

Some of the products I tried out =)

If you're in and around London, then you can find Lush at 175-179 Oxford Street, opposite Uniqlo and next to Marks and Spencer. The closest station is Oxford Circus and it's less than a 5 minute walk from there.

 

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#frootimasterclass

Last Saturday I attended a masterclass held by MUA and Blogger Safiyah (Frootibeauty). Even though I don't wear full makeup everyday, it was a great to be able to pick up tips and to actually see how makeup would be applied by a professional MUA. The main theme of the class was to able to create a party makeup look, similar to the one in this blog post. 

And this is the finished look!

I obviously didn't use green eyeshadow as I was wearing purple on the day, so instead opted for a more neutral but still a little dramatic look (for me anyway!). I didn't manage to put lashes on, and I think they would have completed the look and brought it all together. Bearing in mind that these pictures were taken at around 10pm, the makeup has stayed pretty much in place =)

Products that I used were:
Eyes:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer
Urban Decay Naked Palette - Sin (Highlight), Toasted (Middle), Darkhorse and Hustle (Outer corner and crease)
Sleek Au Natural Palette - Toast (Skin tone shade), Noir (Outer corner)
Illamasqua Brow Cake (Gaze)
Laura Gellar Inkpot Gel Liner (Black)
Avon Supershock Gel Liner Pencil (Black)
No7 Extreme Length Mascara

And here's what I used on the rest of my face:
Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation (SB12)
Sleek Contour Kit (Medium)
NYX Powder Blusher (Desert Rose)
NYX Lip Liner (Coffee)
MAC Lipstick (Twig)

Myself and Naheeda (StreetPrincess) at the end of the masterclass =)

Some of the key tips that I picked up:
- Apply eyeshadow first so that any fall out can be wiped away (and not ruin your base makeup)
- Apply lighter coloured ones first and then darker colours.
- Use a light hand when applying darker shades, as it's easier to build the colour up, but not so easy to take it away.
- Blend, blend, blend! Use an eyeshadow that is the same shade as your skin to blend the edges of the eyeshadow between the brows and the eyelid. This creates a seamless finish with no harsh edges.
- Use a makeup wipe/cotton bud to clean up the edges of the eye makeup. No fiddling about with tape =)
- When contouring, use a darker shade to contour, a middle shade to blend upwards and then apply highlight. This gives a more natural finish and just looks a lot nicer =)

There were so many hints and tips given during the day, but I didn't manage to write them all down. I'm definitely looking forward to the next masterclass =)



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(this is way more pictures of me on the blog than I thought I would ever have but oh well!) =D

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Date for your Diary: Smoky Not Smudgy 2013

Smoky not Smudgy (SnS) is back again this year on Sunday 3rd November 2013! This year it's going to be bigger and better, with a larger pampering and souk area and not one, but two fashion shows. InshaAllah I'll be doing henna once again, so make sure to come and say hello =)
Visit the SnS website here for more information =)

 

Details:

 

DATE: Sunday 3rd November 2013

Where: Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ

Ticket Price: £4 entrance. (fashion show tickets: £5-£8)

 

 

I'm looking forward to being there! Are you?

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A date for your diary: Shimmer and Shine 2013

Shimmer and Shine is back again for it's annual inter-university ladies event! The beauty and fashion event of the year includes a fashion show, showcasing a wide variety of modest outfits, as well as a charity auction and a bazaar area. All money raised will go to Islamic Relief towards helping orphans and needy children across the globe. For more information about the CW program, visit: www.onecharityweek.com.

 

 

 

Details:

 

DATE: Saturday 2nd November 2013

WHERE: St George’s University of London, SW17 0RE

TICKET PRICE: £8 (Including fashion show seats)

You can purchase tickets here 



If you're following me on Instagram, you'll probably have noticed all the sneak peeks as I'll have a stall again this year, selling my hand painted canvases. There are also a lot more stalls including henna, hijabs, abaya's, jewellery, makeovers and most importantly, food and cupcakes! Come and raise some money for charity week and enjoy a ladies day out. Why not come with a group of friends and have a day out =)

 

I look forward to seeing you there =)

 

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Chocoholic Hijabi at: The Halal Food Festival

Last weekend, my family and I went down to the Excel exhibition centre for the first ever Halal Food Festival. I had pre-booked all the tickets beforehand so all we had to do was turn up, get the tickets scanned and make sure we had a wristband each (fluorescent green was the colour on Saturday). We arrived at around 11:30, which I think was good timing as there were a few queues at some of the stands, but it wasn't really much of a problem. As the day went on, more people started arriving and there wasn't much room to move around in the hall, especially with some of the queues going around corners and across the walkways. At one point, we were queuing for about 45 minutes (my aunt, cousins and I took it in turns), which was worth it in the end, but it wasn't ideal. I did enjoy myself (and so did the rest of my family) and we managed to try a lot of different foods that we may not have been able to try otherwise. I also picked up goodies from Pearl Daisy and Halal and Organic Skincare, plus some chocolate truffles and jelly sweets =)

I didn't take many pictures (got a little distracted and forgot-oops!) but I put up a collage on IG of the ones I did take =)

 

I think if there is another food festival, it should definitely be held in a larger space!

If you went to the Halal Food Festival, what did you think? And would you go if there was another one?




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Cake International 2013 at London Excel

[Note: Picture heavy post]

On Saturday, I went to the Cake International Show at London Excel (with my mum, aunt and cousin). I didn't buy much as I'm not a professional baker, so I didn't need to pick up tools, equipment, supplies etc. (although I did get a cake pop kit and some cupcakes to eat). I'm glad that I did go as there was an exhibition of cakes that people had decorated and to put it simply, they were amazing! Instead of me babbling on, I'll let the pictures do the talking =)

An embroidery inspired cake. So delicate and pretty.

 

Macarons in neat rows and columns, make up the outside design to this cake =)

This one was my favourite! All those miniature cakes, biscuits and desserts must have taken ages to make!

Another favourite design! I love the colours on this cake =)

Mendhi on cake! Two of my favourite things combined =)

This cake looked like it had tiny caviar beads stuck onto it to make the pattern (not sure what technique was used to create the texture)

Handmade flowers. Extremely fiddly to make and so delicate.

This is actually a stack of biscuits! Makes such a cute little layer cake (look-a-like) though =)

 

I didn't manage to take pictures of all the cakes, but there were plenty more amazing pieces of art that didn't resemble cake and icing at all!

See any cakes you like? Which one was your favourite?



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Cybercandy - Saving the World from Dull Candy [haul]

Whenever I'm out and about in Central London, I always try and stop by at one of the Cybercandy stores that are dotted across the city. I'm not sure when exactly I came across Cybercandy, but I can't seem to stop taking a detour whilst on my way to uni/lunch/shop etc. Cybercandy is the UK's largest retailer of American sweets, drinks and more, as well as stocking favourites from Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan (and a few other countries too).

My most recent purchase comes from the Cybercandy store in Covent Garden, conveniently located near the London Graphics Centre (where I get my art supplies) and the Beadworks London shop (where I go for jewellery making supplies). A rather small purchase but it was enough to satisfy my craving for Wonka Nerds and I got to try out the Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses (two of them got eaten before I had even made it to Leicester Square Underground Station).

Giant Gumball dispenser in the middle of the shop floor

 

Mini Cybercandy Haul

I also had a 20% voucher to use on the Cybercandy website. Having never ordered online from them, I thought this would be a great opportunity to save the travel fare (and spend it on more goodies of course). And here is what I bought (although this should probably be classed as a haul!). If you follow me on Instagram (username: asmaa17) then you'll have already seen my box of goodies =)

 

 

Goodies!

 

What I ordered: Flipz (large and small packets), 2 x turtles, Wonka Nerds and a Mystery Parcel

What's inside the mystery parcel?

All of this!

Personal favourites: Reeses cups, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans and Wonka Nerds.

Looking forward to trying: Milka with Oreo and the Hello Panda

 

 

The great thing about the mystery box is that you don't actually know what you'll recieve! This is great for me because I never know what new treats I should try out, and always end up buying only my favourites. This mystery box was great because I've actually tried a few of these products before and I'm looking forward to trying the one's that I haven't. Unfortunately, the Pop Tarts contain gelatin, so these will be going to someone who can eat them. The small packet of Flipz and the Reeses cups have already disappeared (as well as one of the Turtles packets).

Cybercandy also have 3 other stores in London (located in Islington, Camden and Shoreditch) as well as stores in Brighton and Birmingham. Of course, if you can't get to any of the stores, then there is always the option of ordering online and having your goodies delivered to your door =)


Also, I'll be doing a giveaway for my 2nd blog-versary soon, so check back near the end of the month to see what's being given away =)




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