January is always a good month to look out for bargains, as it is prime sale season. The things in my haul are not your usual things to buy. I must admit they are a bit blingy blingy. I bought these for weddings, as I had a few to go to. So here is my …
I recently went to Keythorpe Manor for a summer wedding and I must say it was the perfect location! They have fabulous grounds, beautiful arrangements and tucked away areas!
We were (my family and I) lucky to have some great weather that day too. The wedding venue is in Leicester, which I must admit isn’t the usual place that I have been, so it was all the more nicer!
There was a lot to do there too, from crocket and skittles (with coconuts no less – being that it was an Indian wedding) to just walking around the grounds.
While driving down you could also possibly miss a hidden location which is just breathtaking and where you can hear the live peacocks while walking through.
There is also an amazing swing with flowers wrapped around it, just ever so picturesque for the perfect wedding shoot!
This being a Desi wedding meant wearing traditional and ethnic clothing. I wore this bright blue and green shalwar kameez.
Here are some photos from this breathtaking place with borrowed shoes (my mum’s, as I had kicked mine off) and my son.
Enjoy!
Last weekend we celebrated Eid; a Muslim festival after the month of fasting.
We celebrate by giving charity, appreciating food and spending time with the family. The festival of Eid occurred during the weekend, meaning we had more days to celebrate which was a bonus!
Typically the day will start with the men going to pray. The women can also go to the mosque, pray and be more social, however some women tend to stay home an prefer to organise the home and food that needs to be prepared. It is also tradition to make a sweet dish called seviyan, which is made out of vermicelli, a bit of butter, cream or condensed milk and normal milk. This is eaten in the morning after prayers and my son really loves this sweet dish!
It is a time to have family round and have a lunch or dinner party. This year my family came to mine for dinner. It was very nice to have them round, as that’s what Eid is all about.
This Eid I had a great time, with my family as my brother came down from Bristol. My husband’s brother and new wife also spent their first Eid with us after they had got married which was nice.
I had ordered a suit from a site, but unfortunately it wasn’t like the picture and was slightly big for me, so I didn’t end up wearing it, which was unfortunate. I did however, luckily have another option which I had bought through my mum which she thought would be a good idea as an Eid present from her (from my Eidi). Eidi is usually in the form of a present which can either be a gift or money. So the outfit I wore on Eid was a gift from my mum. 
I wore a blue outfit with pink embroidery. I liked it because the pink really stood out and suited my complexion.
I also curled my hair using the BaByliss (2285BU) hair curlers. My hair is dead straight so doesn’t curl easy. I used the Umberto Giannini Princess Purrfect Hot Styler Spray, which not only curled my hair with ease but also allows the hair to curl with great hold (for at least 2 days).
I also used the extras I got for Eid (in my last post) and I used the L’Oreal Paris Infallible Matte Foundation, which is just brilliant!
I had a wonderful time on Eid, it is a time to celebrate, have fun and dress up!
I hope all my family, friends and readers had a great Eid too!
How did you spend your Eid?
No Eid is without it’s little extras. The outfit and accessories – which I will blog about another day! Of course there are also the extras, like the makeup and beautifying products. Here are a few that I have recently purchased.
So I recently added a few make-up items to my collection, partly due to Eid and partly as there is a wedding coming up.
I was umming and ahing for a long time on whether to get the Soar lipliner from Mac, made famous by Kylie. I did decide to get it, call it a sneaky Eid purchase, if you will. I also got Velvet Teddy from Mac in the same order.
Debenhams were doing 10% discount off beauty and the deal was just to good to resist. Within that order I also wanted the Aqua Lip liner from Makeup Forever. Unfortunately, my Makeup Forever lipliner didn’t come through as the site wasn’t updated and it had sold out. I was thoroughly disappointed, but, I did order it the next time Debenhams had a 10% off. LOL, but alas they sneakily omitted both Mac and Makeup Forever from the discount.
Makeup Forever is a Paris based brand that has some amazing products. The foundation and powders have rave reviews. Note though that Makeup Forever is only sold in the Oxford Street branch if you wanted to sample the makeup upfront. This particular Aqua colour of lip pencil is worn by Huda Beauty and I must say that it looks so good on her. However, when I tried it, it didn’t look as good. More darker pink than the light pink I wanted it to be. Perhaps I need to blot my lips with foundation first. The colour of the lip liner is 2c, for those who want to know.
I also heard so much hype and good things about Mary Lou Minizer, so I thought it would be good to use on Eid and at weddings. It is a great highlighter and I am very pleased with I bought it. I bought mine from Birchbox where you can get some great brands!
I am looking forward to using my new purchases on Eid! What are you looking forward to?
I wanted to get the perfect red lipstick for my skin tone and I have been loving the Sephora lip stain in 01 on many a You Tuber. Unfortunately, we can’t get Sephora in the UK. So I was very envious at those who could get their hands on it stateside (or France, as I heard that you can get Sephora there too).
I was very happy to have tried the following MUA luxe velvet lip lacquer. I tried it on my hand first and thought maybe it was a bit light. The price is so good at £3 that I decided a risk had to be taken. I was very glad that I did, as when I wore it to a wedding recently I was very impressed.
The colour I bought was Reckless and here is what it looked like:
And here is the swatch:
Overall, I am really happy with the colour and happy that I didn’t spend too much on getting the perfect red for my lips! It is in my opinion a good dupe for the Sephora lip stain in 01.
This is the end result.
A little effort goes a long way. A lovely gift bouquet can be achieved using a woven basket that you may have specially bought or just happen to have laying around 😉 Line it with tissue paper and fill it with a few lovingly packed gifts.
I made my own bouquet recently for my new sister-in-law as a wedding gift. I added a case of makeup, a perfume gift pack, some minuture and choice makeup including some skincare products.
My lovely cousin Saadia kindly helped me pack the bouquet using flower wrapping or colourful cellophane topped with a great big bow!
The outcome was an amazing gift basket lovingly packed with thoughtfulness and not just shop bought. This also makes a unique gift.
All in all a gift that can be treasured.
You can’t beat a good wedding, whether a family one or one of your friend’s.
Sometimes dressing up can be such a chore and on other times it can be a joy, especially when it is a close wedding and you are dressing up with all of your cousins.
The beauty of wearing an Asian / Pakistani shalwar suit is that it can look elegant and transport you into a whole different world.
The dress I am wearing here is from Karachi, Pakistan. My mum bought it and I was really happy with it when she bought it.
It was different to the traditional dresses. It sports an almost maxi dress look that is in fashion now in Pakistan.
The leggings were also great, I haven’t come across anything like it in the UK. It is almost like lycra, but with a dazzling glittery material. It is out of this world, but was I must admit difficult to put on!
I hope you like it, I added a slicing effect, which gives an interesting look.
