Hi Guys,

I have noticed of late that facial oils and lip oils are starting to get quite popular. I already use a facial oil by Aldi, which you can read about in my Skincare post here. However, I was recently contacted by a brand called Queen of Oil who specialise in Argan Oil products - from lip balms to shampoos.

If you don't already know, Argan Oil, which originates from the Argan tree, is an organic substance which is high in Vitamin E and fatty acids. It can be used as a moisturiser, is said to have anti-ageing properties, can tone skin and can also reduce the appearance of stretch marks. If used on hair, it gives the hair moisture and shine and when massaged into the scalp is said to promote hair growth! People also use it on their lips, cuticles and chapped feet. Basically, it has so many uses and benefits, we should probably be bathing in it!

We've all heard of Moroccan Oil, right? Well, guess what? A lot of their products contain Argan Oil, as well as a few added extras. The great thing about pure Argan Oil is that it's 100% vegan and organic. Because of this it can also be added to other products like body butters. It may not be widely used by people, but that's largely due to its price - a 100ml bottle can cost upwards of £30. However I like the fact that Queen of Oil sell a 10ml bottle for £7, so you can use this as a tester before deciding if it's worth investing in.

I was sent a few of the 10ml bottles by Queen of Oil and decided to use the Argan Oil on my unruly, curly, frizz-prone hair a few times and the result left me with soft, hydrated hair, which makes a change to the usual straw-like mane I am left with. I have also been applying it to the stretch marks across my belly that I have been blessed with after having two kids, and it honestly leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth. The only down side, I would say, is the smell. It can only be explained as a nutty, warm type of smell (if a smell can be warm), but isn't to my taste. Luckily Queen of Oil also sell fragranced Argan Oil in cherry, coconut, and citrus scents. Coconut was definitely my favourite! I am tempted to buy the coconut Argan Oil and think it makes a nice change to what is offered on the High Street.

Have you tried Argan oil before, or any other essential oil? What are your experiences of it? Leave your comments below!

Amina xx

Hi Everyone,

Last week I attended the International Make-up Artist Trade Show (IMATS). If you aren't familiar with this, it is basically a convention held at the Kensington Olympia Conference Centre in London, where lots of make-up brands attend and sell their products at discounted prices to make-up professionals and the public. There are brands like MAC, Bobbi Brown, YSL, but also retailers attend like Love Makeup and Beauty B Cosmetics, where you can purchase harder to access cosmetics like L.A. Girl, Ben Nye, Milani, and Lime Crime. Even though some of these are accessible online it gives you the perfect chance to try out products that are raved about before you buy!

I attended with a few friends and had such a great day. I caught the train to London at the crack of dawn and was so excited when I got there. We headed for NYX first as I had been told there is always a big queue and there was. I was disappointed however that there wasn't any testers for the products but I still made a few purchases! Other stores that were popular with the crowds were, Love Makeup and Beauty B cosmetics, mainly because they were carrying  brands like Zoeva, Lime Crime and L.A Girl.

 There are two stages where make-up artists do talks and live demonstrations and throughout the event the make-up companies are doing demos on their stands. There was some amazing make-up and prosthetic work that caught my attention.

Now for the exciting part, my purchases! I set myself a limit and definitely went over! When I look at the amount I bought it hardly seems like much. Some of my favourites that I had been after for a while are the Beauty Blender, Z palette, Ben Nye Banana Powder and L.A. Girl matte pigment gloss. I also got myself a new make-up trolley from Ingot, which has been a long time coming! Another amazing buy were glitters from Eye Kandy which I will definitely be featuring on the blog in the future!

Hi!

I recently attended the Selfridges Beauty Event (post here) where I treated myself to a few purchases. A couple of those were at the Dior counter, where I bought the DiorShow Mono eyeshadow in the colour 'Pulse' (£24.50) and the DiorSkin Nude Air Summer Glow Radiance Powder (Limited Edition, £36). Now that I have had the opportunity to use these I thought I would share my experience with you.

There's no point beating around the bush, I'll just tell you now that I was blown away by these products. They carry a hefty price tag, but you honestly get what you pay for. I was drawn to the eyeshadow straight away because of the sparkle - it literally caught my eye as I walked past. When I then swatched it in store it was like a 'you had me at hello' moment. I was in love! The sparkle on this eyeshadow is incredible because the base of the eyeshadow is gold in colour and the glitter particles vary in colour (gold and silver) and in size. It just gives the most amazing effect.

When I applied it to the lid I used a primer, just to get more out of the colour and length of wear. The only slightly negative thing I can say about this product is that there was a little bit of fall out when applying. However, this may have come from the brush, as after a few hours of wear there was no glitter anywhere but my lids. I created this makeup look especially for the eyeshadow. It's the perfect gold to go with black as the contrast is just fab. The end result feels like I'm channeling Cleopatra, which I love for a dramatic night time look. 

To create this look I applied Maybelline Color tattoo in 'Creme de nude' as a primer, all over the lid and up to the brow. I then applied Dior 'Pulse' all over the lid. To get the 'cut crease' effect, using a slanted eyebrow brush I applied MAC 'Backtrack' gel liner in a line through the crease of my lid and following the shape of the eye. Next, using MAC eyeshadow in 'Carbon', I blended upwards from the line. To soften the black I blended through with MAC eyeshadow in 'concrete'. I then reapplied 'Pulse' to the lid. I finished by applying my gel liner to the upper and lower lash lines and applying false lashes.

The DiorSkin Radiance Powder is just as amazing! It is nude, so it gives your skin a naturally flawless look and is so light to wear on the skin. It's so nice when people comment on you rather than your make up and this is exactly the effect this radiance powder gives. It makes your skin glow without looking obvious. Because the colour is nude you can wear it in the day, but you can also layer it to get more of an effect. The consistency is so smooth that it also leaves your skin feeling really soft. All, in all, another great buy I'd definitely recommend. It is limited edition guys so grab it while you can!

Hi Guys!

Last week I attended the Selfridges Beauty Event. As you know, I love anything to do with makeup and beauty, so when I saw they were having an event I had to attend. Tickets were £10 but fully redeemable on any items bought on the night. I invited my gorgeous sisters to join me and we made  an evening out of it!

When we arrived we picked up our wrist bands and were ready to go. The beauty event consists of brands giving special offers, demonstrations and goody bags!! There were drinks and snacks being offered all evening and all in all it was a great night.

Particular highlights were getting a face gym demonstration from Chanel's national makeup artist. Chanel is one of my favourite luxury brands - they just epitomise elegance. We had a chance to sample some of the products which of course felt super luxurious and smelled delicious! You can tell a lot of expertise goes into making these products. 

Now onto my purchases! At the Dior counter my attention was gripped by a gorgeous gold eyeshadow. It is a new release and is part of their Diorshow Mono Eyeshadow Range, in the colour Pulse (£24.50). The sparkle on this eyeshadow is indescribable and no photo is ever going to do it justice. I just had to have it! I was then also shown their new Limited Edition Diorskin Nude Air Summer Glow Shimmering Loose Powder (£36). This is the most beautiful highlight. It leaves you glowing and gives your skin a radiance. As if I don't have enough highlighters! I had to buy it to add to my collection.

 I had also said to myself that I was going to buy my first Charlotte Tilbury product. What I did not know, but in the end I didn't have to because my fab sister Sophia offered to buy it for me! So having tested a few products I chose her Swish & Pop blusher in The Climax (£30). Such a gorgeous blush that I will have to dedicate a post to it all on its own!

Last week I attended an event at The Body Shop hosted by The Bloggers Parlour's very own Abbigayle Warner. It was a great evening full of cocktails (mocktails for me) and pampering. As always, it's really great to get out and about and meet fellow bloggers and vloggers to share our interest in beauty.

I have always shopped in The Body Shop, they are a high street brand that have managed to stand the test of time - possibly because of their quality, affordability and ethical grounding. Whatever the reason, they have been around since I can remember. I tend to purchase from the skincare and bath ranges and occasionally use their fragrances. The Japanese Cherry Blossom scent is delish - love it. However what stole the show for me on the night was the new Instaglow CC creams that are launching on the 20th May. We were lucky enough to be given an exclusive sneak peak of these (another benefit of attending these type of events) and that is what I am going to share with you.

Colour correcting is very much in fashion in the beauty industry at the moment. And what I found great about these was that they are so easy to use and give such a flawless finish. The creams have been separated into light skin, light to medium and dark skin. However there is nothing stopping you using the light one as a highlighter if you are medium to dark skinned.

After browsing the shelves I had a thorough look through the makeup on offer and was really impressed by the range of products. Naturally, I made a few purchases! As I mentioned, I tend to purchase from the skincare and bath ranges, so usually by-pass the makeup section, but won't be making that mistake again. I was also lucky enough to be given a goody bag full of beautifully scented products. The Strawberry Body Butter is already one of my fave products, so that was a bonus!

I thought these lashes would give a doe-eyed feel to the look. I didn't apply any liner to the lid as I wanted it to look as natural as possible. However because of the style of lash, with gaps in between the lashes, you will need to make sure you keep the strip lash very close to the natural lash line or fill in the gaps with liquid liner, otherwise you will be able to see where the lashes have been placed on top of the natural lash. Because of this, this style of lashes did take me a little longer to apply, but that might just be me. However, the quality was spot on, which is most important.

For lips, I opted for Rimmel Moisture Renew in Saved by the Bell (£6.49). I have spoken about this lipstick before on my blog and it is just such a lovely metallic lipstick with hints of orange in it - perfect for spring or summer. With the blush I used Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Reflex (£31). Finally, I highlighted using The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer (£17.49). I have only detailed the main parts of the look, as things like the lip liner and powder are personal choice.

Hi everyone!

 I have been getting lovely comments about my skin recently and thought I would share my skincare secrets with you. First secret.... there is no secret! Haha. It's probably all that lovely vitamin D I got off holiday :oP. To be fair I am quite lucky, in that I have never really had problematic skin. I would class my skin as normal to dry, combination skin. So occasionally I can get a bit oily in my T- zone, but never too much.

Today's look is natural. Still working my tan from holiday! 😄😄 #bbloggers #bblogger #bbloggersuk #beauty #beautyblogger #makeupartistbirmingham #mua #muabirmingham #naturalmakeup #fresh #spring #springbeauty #highlight #highlightandcontour #contour #contouring #vibes #saturday #weekendvibes #weekend #birmingham #birminghamuk #nofilter

A photo posted by Amina Ali (@aminaali_mua) on Apr 16, 2016 at 4:42am PDT

My skincare routine starts with me washing my face in the morning with water. That's right, just WATER, nothing else! This might be a shock to some and quite normal to others, but I prefer to just cleanse my face with water every morning and exfoliate twice a week.

Once I have done this I then apply my Lacura Renew, anti-wrinkle, daily face cream with Q10. Which is a whopping £3.49 from Aldi! Yes, you read right - Aldi! Lacura have award winning products and I can absolutely say I love this cream. It is just perfect for me, not too greasy and not too absorbent. It is just want I'm looking for. Plus the anti-wrinkle and SP15 are both a bonus. As I am getting older (27 now) I am buying more anti-wrinkle products. We age much quicker than we used to because of all the pollution in the air, so I advise you to start thinking about it much earlier. I have also recently purchased some anti-wrinkle products from Avon and once I have tested these out will be posting, so watch this space.


If I am going to be applying my everyday makeup, I then apply Olay anti-wrinkle firm and lift hydration primer (£9.99) I love this product because it has a 2-in-1 purpose. It hydrates your skin, as well as priming it ready for makeup, leaving your skin feeling soft. I then apply my makeup as usual.




Before I sleep I usually remove my makeup with a makeup cleanser and wash my face again. Once it is washed and dry, I then apply Lacura face treatment oil (£3.99) from Aldi. Now you might ask why do I need a facial oil if my skin is normal to dry. Well the fact is oily skin ages much slower than dry skin. Take my eldest sister, for example, she has oily skin and out of all four sisters she is always mistaken for being the youngest! So, any oil that nourishes the skin is good. I have also heard facial oils can be good for oily skin as the oil on top of oil can cause a counterbalance, but don't quote me on this. After using this product for two months I can definitely say I am hooked. I apply a few drops, warm it through my hands, and apply all over the face before I sleep. When I wake, my skin has absorbed the oil and my skin is left feeling youthful.



And that is it. Quite simple, but effective. Do you have any skincare secrets? Sharing is caring, as they say! I would love to hear any tips.

Amina xx