Friday, November 19, 2010

Eid al-Adha 2010: smokey eyes makeup & desi outfit

Last Tuesday my family & I celebrated Eid al-Adha (also known as the Festival of Sacrifice), which marks the end of Hajj (1 of the 5 pillars of Islam: a pilgrimage to Makkah).

Eid just isn't the same in Canada as it is in Muslim countries where you get tons of days off to celebrate!

I was at university in the day & when I got back home, I only had enough time to change & rush off to an Eid party. So yes, I did sport this smokey eye makeup at university.. eek, people probably thought I was a freak! The following pictures are taken after I got back home since I was rushing too much before to take pictures.. booo.

Outfit: shalwar kameez (material bought in Dubai & stitched in India)

The sequins show up better in the pic below
Excuse the blurry outfit pics, but the lace & sequins showed up better without flash, however, by that point I couldn't stand still - had an assignment to do that was due by midnight , so all I wanted to do was change & get to work.

A belated Eid Mubarak to all the Muslims! Hope everyone who celebrated Eid had fun.
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SkinCareRx.com 25% off (friends & family coupon code)

SkinCareRx.com is having a 25% off friends and family sale (excluding some brands).

Coupon Code: FF25
Expires: December 01, 2010

SkinCareRx.com carries brands such as Korres, La Roche-Posay, and Sun Laboratories. Check out the site for Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals as well.
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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Pink Leopard Print Nail

Last week's nails.

These pictures were taken after I had sported these nails for 5 days, so excuse the chipped nail paint, but you get the idea.
I got asked why I chose to do the design on just one finger. My answer was that I feel like leopard prints with a hot pink background on all my nails would look overpowering.

I also got asked why I had the design on my ring finger. Well, if I chose to do it on my thumb, index finger, or little finger, I thought it would look weird & a design on just my middle finger would look a bit vulgar in my opinion.

I used a base coat, 2 coats of pink nail paint (it was actually a hot pink, but the colour is so off in the pics!), silver nail paint, black liquid eyeliner, & finished it off with a top coat.
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Friday, November 12, 2010

Opening their hearts, opening their jewelry boxes

Ever since I can remember I've noticed that when women (who are relatively close family members or family friends) get together, they show each other their jewelery collection and new clothes. When I was younger, I thought this was just a brown thing.

I remember going to people's house and the girls would show me their jewelry, especially their big earrings, which most brown girls like. I have quite the collection of big earrings, so I used to do the same. Those were moments filled with oohhh's and aahhh's.

I've worn this the most so far
Then I started browsing through beauty blogs and noticed various bloggers sharing their jewelry collection. Not many bloggers shared their collection of big earrings in particular, but the posts were filled with some beautiful pieces, some of which were focused toward a particular fad at the time, such as statement necklaces, big rings, etc.

This shows that women all over the world like sharing pieces that they have collected over the years, however, I haven't seen anyone open their jewelry boxes the way the women did when I was on vacation this summer (2010). These women are my aunts.

I spent time with these women even before I was a teen - that's how long I was seeing them after (except for 2 of my aunts who came to visit my family in Canada for a month each). I was nervous before going because I didn't know what kind of expectations people would have from me or if I'd "fit in." Living in Canada, I haven't had the chance to experience close family relationships because of the lack of close family and family friends we have here. The close relatives and family friends that we do have don't live very close, so we don't see them as much as we would like to.

Even though I was seeing these women after years, when they opened their jewelry boxes in front of me, each one made it a point to tell me that I can take anything I want. In no way were they obligated to do so, but they did it out of love. I was very hesitant at accepting gifts this way because I'm not used to it.

Imagine someone liking a piece of jewelry that you own while you are showing them your collection and you notice this so you offer it to them. Would you be able to part with it? Would you think twice before offering it to them, especially if it's something that you've worn and it matches an outfit of yours? I don't mean to put anyone on the spot when asking those questions, but I'm just trying to make the point that for most women, parting with something that they own, especially their jewelry isn't an easy thought. These women did it without any hesitation though.

Receiving jewelry from these women meant so much because they didn't just open their jewelry boxes, but they opened their hearts to me. It was a way for them to express their love and acceptance of me by offering me something of theirs, as if they had not done enough for me already while I was there.

Knowing that these pieces were something that these women probably wore before made it even better. It's like I have a piece of them with me. Every time I look at or wear one of these pieces shown in this post, I am reminded of their kind hearts and that sense of a strong support network of family and friends. Never thought I'd find so much love in cities that I left almost 9 years ago from people who I felt like I hardly knew before I left.

And just like that, with a small act of kindness, they have touched my heart.. forever.
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Saturday, November 6, 2010

Black, Gold, & Green with a Bold Wing

Here's a look that I rushed through. I wasn't neat at it, it's not blended well, & the wing is extended too much, but I liked the colours together.

Without flash
With flash
Products Used:
  • Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (aka UDPP)
  • NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean (this doesn't suit me or I just don't know how to use it properly yet)
  • 120 palette - black, gold, & green eyeshadow
  • Senna Cosmetics CreamLine in Jet
  • Annabelle Cosmetics Smudgeliner in Ohmygoth!
  • Rimmel Glam Eyes mascara in Extreme Black
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Friday, November 5, 2010

Winner of the $25 Apothica.com Gift Card Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who entered my $25 Apothica.com Gift Card Giveaway & thank you to Apothica.com for sponsoring this giveaway for my lovely readers! I have gone through & sorted out the entries, making sure that everyone followed the rules. I also picked a winner using random.org.


& the winner is... JEAN! Congrats hun!! I have sent out an e-mail to you so please reply within 48 hours or I will have to choose another winner.
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Fringe Benefits


5 reasons why I loved having a fringe/blunt bangs & went back to it twice:
  1. I had been wanting a fringe for years, but would get talked out of it each time by the lady I used to go to for my haircuts. Finally, I got so annoyed that I decided to go to a different hairdresser to get it done. I'm so glad I did because the result was superb! I've never felt so good after a haircut. I loved it so much that it gave me a confidence boost like nothing had ever before.
  2. Since the fringe covered my eyebrows, I didn't have to worry about doing my eyebrows too much, especially since my eyebrows grow out fast.. haha, sneaky! Hidden messy eyebrows is always a plus when you don't want people to notice that you're growing out your eyebrows to get them reshaped.
  3. I felt like I could sport bright or coloured eyeshadows on a daily basis without looking like I went overboard since the fringe tones it down a bit.
  4. I've never really liked side-swept bangs on me, especially when I have my hair up. I feel like a fringe allows you to play around with updo's, while looking cute & flirty at the same time.
  5. Most people know that I haven't coloured my hair, instead I experiment with hair lengths when I want a different look. A fringe changes your whole look without you having to do much.
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