Day Trip to Cambridge!

Hey Dolls! Hope everyone is well and safe during these unpredictable times!

Can I just say, I have weirdly enjoyed this lockdown experience…I’m sure I’m not the only one! I was really bummed when my holiday plans got cancelled this year but I told myself that I will still try to make sure I enjoy my summer one way or another – and that I did!

My pandemic summer has been filled with picnics, long walks, exploring hidden gems in London (say the Hampstead Pergola – Google it!) and countless day trips. I can definitely say I have grown a better appreciation for the many beautiful towns and cities we have in the UK and some are just a stones throw away from London. Cambridge was one of them!

I went to Cambridge for just the day as it was only an hour and a half drive away from where I live in London. I would highly recommend to try and spend a weekend break there if you get the chance!

Harley Teeth Whitening

In recent times, teeth whitening has taken a huge interest in the beauty world (after contouring), albeit being around since the ancient times. Ancient Romans particularly had an interest in teeth whitening (why doesn’t it surprise me?!) and would use urine and goat milk in an attempt to maintain white teeth – extreme levels or what!? Phewww, we don’t have to do that anymore!

During my travels to Bangladesh earlier this year (March 2016) I have noticed how highly commercialised and readily available beautifying ones teeth has become; available in big towns, larger districts and of course highly skilled dentists available in Dhaka.

In London, we have Groupon/Wowcher promotions with Teeth Whitening deals being drilled to our inboxes, which I know some of you have either tried or thinking about getting.

Mind you, I have tried a “Wowcher” deal on teeth whitening before and it was not the best service, especially if you are a first timer! What you pay for is what you get!

We all crave for a beautiful pearly smile, personally for me, my teeth are highly important and I do take good care of them – it crowns our smile 😀

If you’re a bride to be, hopefully this post will give you an insight of what you’re looking for!

The treatment details:

• Clinic Name: Harley Teeth Whitening
• Name of Treatment: Pro-Advanced White (Recommended best option on most 1st treatments)
• Price – please enquire directly

Before your appointment:

I recommend brushing your teeth at least 40min/1hr before your appointment.

The Process:

Consultation: I had undergone a free Professional Consultation on my teeth. They assessed to find out habits (Smoker/Coffee drinker) and if I am suitable for the treatment. I enjoyed this part as you learnt a few facts about your teeth and service levels were great and very professional.

If you’re a first-timer, service and quality of care during treatment does matter a lot; Harley Dental clinic satisfied the excellent services.

During the assessment period, the dentist had a look at my teeth to find the current colour I was on via the Teeth Shade Sampler (below) then compared to the likely colour of teeth shade I will be on post treatment.

Purple: Rough current shade | Pink: New shade

Getting Ready: Relax yourself on the Dental Chair, UV red coloured goggle placed over your eyes to protect from rays of the laser. A teeth guard is placed in the mouth to keep mouth wide open (in a comfortable way) while the dentist uses a Dental Suction to take away the excess saliva.

A protecting gel is applied to the gums and petroleum jelly on the lips then teeth are coated with a “specially formed hydrogen peroxide solution” – this is the teeth cleaner.

Once the gum and teeth preparation have been complete, a high energy Blue Spectrum LED light is distributed to the teeth.

I’ve had three of the 20-30mins cycles, whereby each phase the dentist checks on progress, adjusts comforts or adds more whitening agent to the teeth.

In total, the treatment had lasted me 70mins, pain free (for me); however after effects may vary  person-to-person and will be discussed during initial consultation.

Completion stage: Goggles are off, the world looks brighter (after dimming your visibility for over an hour :p ). The dentist provides you with a solution and water to wash your mouth out with.

When the mirror is provided to look at your teeth, you are in awe to see your teeth up in whiteness levels, the result is instant!

The dentist shows you the Teeth Shade Sampler again to see what colour you originally were, what they predict you’d be on (based from the consultation) and what it actually turns out to be. So, the colour the dentist predicted I would be on was correct, their expert “predictions” are always correct due to experiences with working on different clients with different habits.

Aftercare:

Teeth Whitening clinics will advise you:

• Don’t Smoke;
• Drink less Coffee (preferably from a straw);
• Adjust Diet to include white foods i.e. pasta, rice, apples, cauliflower etc…
• Please use Normal Toothpaste (I know! Normal is fine, don’t bother with whitening toothpaste)!
• Harley Dental Clinic also provided an aftercare helpful guide;

Try avoiding coloured foods for 48hrs as the pores in the teeth are open, so why pay so much money and give in to coffee (I am guilty, I had to drink tea right away, but drank out of a straw!).

My feedback:

During consultation, when the dentist shows you the Teeth Shade Sampler and tells you what shade you are currently on – usually this is not 100% accurate (they tell you this themselves) only because everyone’s teeth shade varies across the spectrum; especially of your lifestyle.

 Verdict: It was a full smile treatment, which means that the laser treatment will try reaching as far back as well as front. I loved the high quality of service and care shown by the staff of Harley Dental Clinic; when something involves your health even cosmetically you always would want the best. The dentist ensured the treatment was followed with precise specialist process and ensured I loved the final results.

Was I satisfied with my treatment – Yes. I am always on social media, so when I run a cheesy smile, I know I have my pearly whites gleaming through the filters 😉 Not only photography which looked great (perfect for brides) but also in reality had many compliments. It has been a month since my treatment, I drink tea twice a day and the colour has not died down; which is excellent. But of course, if you want to maintain a white smile you also need to be somewhat watchful on your food intake.

Was it painful? The laser treatment itself is not painful (unless you have sensitive teeth, please consult with dental practise before undergoing any whitening treatments). After the treatment however, my teeth became a little sensitive and was throbbing throughout the night; it was not an unbearable pain, but you may suffer a little sensitivity. It will vary across different people!

Harley Teeth Whitening – The clinic was immaculately clean (as expected), classy decor (which I loved) with friendly and professional staff who were so welcoming and gentle. The staff did provide a personal tailored service with utmost care to ensure you were satisfied with your results. Conveniently, Harley Teeth Whitening have also followed up on an after care treatment at a reduced rate after 3months of treatment.

For any questions, I advise you directly contacting the clinic you’re planning on going, or enquire at my one: harleyteethwhitening.

With Love,

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Ladies only Spa in London?!

The Beauty Lodge. Image taken from their website

Tucked away in the quiet neighbourhood of Glendale Avenue in North London is The Beauty Lodge. They call themselves a “hidden gem” of North London and I cannot agree more!

The Beauty Lodge is a ladies only luxury spa – “run for women by women”. As a Muslim woman, this was an icing on a cake WITH a cherry on top of course! I have always longed to go to a spa to wind down and “let myself go”, especially to get away from the hectic life of London. In a desperate attempt to find a suitable place I Googled “women’s only spa” and the Beauty Lodge was first on the list. Before anything else, I was ecstatic that this spa was located at a convenient location and more so dumbfounded that I have not discovered it earlier!

I decided to bring a friend along to the spa and enjoy the “spa party package” which includes one hour use of the spa along with a number of treatments from which you can choose from – we decided to go for the express facial. This totalled to £40 for both of us – not bad!

Finding the spa would have been a bit difficult if I did not use my navigator (citymapper app is a lifesaver!). I have to admit, I was very confused when I entered Glendale Avenue as it was a residential area of houses. When I found the entrance to the spa, I was slightly worried thinking the spa was in someone’s house! However, little did I or my friend know of what was waiting for us behind the seemingly plain entrance of the Beauty Lodge.

As I opened the door, the first thing I heard was the gentle sound of running water. We followed the neatly laid red carpet in front of us which led to the source of the sound. Here, I discovered the cosy lodge-style seating area surrounding a cute pond which I felt so tempted to sit by and just fall asleep to the sound of the water!

As we checked in for our appointment we were greeted by the owner of the spa and the friendly staff who offered us refreshments. Upon entering the spa area, my friend and I were really impressed with what stood before us. In a beautifully decorated room, filled with exotic ornaments and candles was a hot tub, an infra-red sauna and two treatment couches where we would be getting our express facial. An hour in the hot tub flew by very quickly! Next time I will probably have to pay a bit extra for a two hour use! The facial afterwards was sooo relaxing and my skin felt rejuvenated!

The verdict: I will be definitely returning to the Beauty Lodge but this time with more friends as the hot tub can facilitate up to 8 people! It will be a fun place to unwind with your girlfriends as extra upgrades can get you and your friends to enjoy a chocolate fountain with fresh fruits or even an afternoon tea! The private setting of the spa area was indeed the main Brownie point for me as it made it that ‘extra’ bit comfortable. Not forgetting the friendly staff who always made sure to check up on us. So, would I recommend the Beauty Lodge? The answer is, yes!

With Love,

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Modest by Haute Arabia 2015

We have attended the most awaited event of this year – Haute Arabia Modest Fashion Awards 2015 held at The Shard; The Shangri-La hotel. This is their third year running of this event.

Belle Amour at The Shard

We were the Haute Arabia (HA) competition winners of 2015 and were very ecstatic to be a part of this year’s show.

Haute Arabia is an online fashion advertising consultancy, or an ‘incubator’ for established and new businesses. They ‘cherry pick’ products globally and across different brands to bring Arabian inspired fashion to their audiences. Do give their website a look as their merchandise ranges from home-wear, clothing to beauty.

My sister and I have been following Haute Arabia since their launch on Social Media. As we both adore Arabian modest fashion, HA host many inspirational modest fashion ideas for the wardrobe. We love the fact that HA brings the community of talented Artists/designers all onto one platform!

Each year, the designers come together to showcase their talents on the catwalk to fashion enthusiasts, prominent bloggers, fashion journalists, stylists and many more!

What I wore:

Choosing a dress for this years HA event was a challenge. However, with the help of bloggers and guests who have attended previous events was very helpful. I wanted an outfit which would compliment the theme of this event (Modesty & Modest Fashion) and secondly the location of course!

So, I present to you *drum rolls please* this custom-made dress I have designed 😀

Sir Nearly Headless Nick! XD

This was a very comfortable yet effortlessly chic dress which complimented the elegance of the event. Initially, I was having second thoughts as I felt I would be too over-dressed for the event and did not want to look like a fool *blushes*.

The weather that day was beautiful but temperatures started to drop later on in the evening. Luckily, my dress kept me warm as the material was thick!

I paired the dress with a medium sized off-cream clutch from Miss Selfridge and kept jewels to the bare minimum with a hand candy from Monsoon Accessorize.

I could have opted for a different colored Hijaab, however was running out of time and played it safe with my favourite black Hijaab from Qatar (gifted).

Beautiful jeweled hand candy ❤ By Monsoon Accessorize

Familiar Faces:

You may recognise Habiba Da Silva (Life Long Percussion) from Instagram and Youtube. It was lovely to meet you Habiba 🙂

lifelongpercussion AkA Habiba Da Silva

These two made the event a comfortable and an enjoyable experience. Sheuly (Editor, bottom left) from Your Personal Bridal Dreams (YPBD) online magazine and Rumena Make-up Artist of YPBD and Youtuber (bottom right), were also at the show. We enjoyed meeting you both and for the after-party too 😉

Far Left: Sheuly, ME, Far Right: Rumena

Bina from Aura Collections – it was lovely to meet you – finally! Bina has an online collection of beautiful kaftans; they are stunning! Do have a look! 🙂

Bina from Aura Collections

The two beautiful ladies from Rosasha (Creative Director, Right and Managing Director, Left).

The Rosasha Girls ❤

Rosasha retails Pashmina scarves from Turkey and of very fine quality too. Both ladies looking elegant in their scarves and were a pleasure to network with. Do check their Facebook and Instagram out!

In a deep conversation with the Rosasha girls as they show interest in my dress 😀

The Catwalk:

We attended the second catwalk show @ 4:30pm held in one of the boardrooms turned into a make-shift catwalk. The stage was set in front of the angled glass panes of The Shard, mirroring the clouds and beauty of London.

The designers who were showcasing at this time were:

• Aywa London by Waqaas – Winning designer (Competition sponsored by Monsoori)
• Monsoori Official – Official Sponsor of Haute Arabia Modest event
• Nisaa
• AlJawhra
• Aab Collection
• Duaa Boutique
• Noorsaab Accessories
• By Soufyan

Nisaa had an elegant catwalk of contemporary modest dresses for the modern Muslimah. If you look online here, you will notice that they are evening/semi-formal/party dresses. Brides will also look stunning in these outfit as shown below.

Clothing by: Nisaa

Clothing by: Nisaa

By Soufyan – Ahh yes! Loved the catwalk with his urban trendy jumpers and Tees which send out a loving political message for different causes like Gaza, Syria and Falestine! We LOVE Palestine – Viva la Palestina #PeaceOut

We LOVE the Tees and jumpers By Soufyan

Mizaan & Noor Saab – Just wow! Noor Saab being very formal (that is formal in a stylish way) chic and classy. Mizaan taking the catwalk with their pooffy dresses, glitz and glam for all occasions.

(Far right and left) Mizaan and (Middle) Noor Saab

Whilst sipping a glass of juice and enjoying lobster canapés with a forefront view of London, we were networking with like-minded people in the industry, who like us, were interested in creativity, modest fashion and enterprise.

It was interesting to learn about the perception of ‘modest’ fashion and designer’s interpretations of this through the clothing lines as show-cased on the catwalk.

These gorgeous treats were too cute to eat!

The verdict:

It was a pleasure to win (VIP) tickets to a prestigious event – Thank you Haute Arabia! Our VIP tickets also contained a gift bag perk which unfortunately was not received. A few other paying visitors were also at a similar position. However, Haute Arabia reacted to this situation very well and maintained professionalism. I personally love businesses who deal with issues small/big in a professional customer-centric way.

Could not stop staring at the view of London. Trying to see my Borough from up here XD

Nonetheless, it was a prime location which offsets the experience; that is the purpose of this event- elegance of modest fashion and great guest appearances.

Looking forward to (hopefully) attending the Modest Fashion Awards this year (In shaa Allah – if God wills).

With Love,

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Pakistan Fashion Week

(Far right) Bombay Stores (middle) Shariq Textiles (far left) Fatimah and Sam Dada PFW7

Pakistan Fashion Week (PFW) was an amazing high fashion catwalk event held at the prestigious Hotel Russell in London’s Holborn. Being at the forefront, myself and Rima captured a spectacular view of Pakistan’s great fashion designers. The ‘glitz and glam’, design and intricacy really caught our eyes as we were stunned by the art of fashion produced by the talented designers 🙂

Recently, I have become a sucker for Pakistani and Indian traditional fashion and have been hoarding all sorts of Salwaar Kamees from Birmingham to Southall! The PFW had exhibitions to include this season’s exclusive ‘fresh off-the-catwalk’ clothes from the designers we saw at the catwalk. If you are a bride-to-be attending these types of exhibitions will give you an insight of what this year’s bride is ‘expected’ to look like (that’s if you really care…), what the trends are to what makeup looks to opt for.

As we attended the last catwalk show, we missed the glitzy bridal-wear however, as pictured on this blog post, we were presented with semi formal party and occasional wear Salwaar Kamees, Lengha and trendy culottes outfits (as seen below).

Alizay Khan: PFW7

Just to clarify, a Salwaar Kamees is a two piece suit consisting of a dress like top paired with light loose trousers; the two together called a ‘Salwaar Kamees’. As fashion trends on, the Salwaar Kamees becomes a hybrid attire to suit all types of surroundings.

Momins by Wiq: PFW7

As the models walked down the catwalk, the focus was of course on the dress. Striking a pose, turning, hair waving, hands on the hips then sashaying down the runway. It all looked very GLAMOROUS (Fergie taught me how to spell: P) as you stare with a poker face admiring the outfits.

Fatimah and Sam Dada: PFW7

The models really gave these South Asian attires personality, it framed the look and also empowered the viewers (like me) with an insight of how you would look if you were to own a piece of haute couture – which obviously was/is the point to entice us: D

After the end of the show, viewers and visitors had the opportunity to grab a bargain at the fashion exhibition which included the clothes seen on the catwalk. Some Pakistani fashion designers flew in from Pakistan to showcase their exclusive pieces.

Shabbir Textiles: PFW7

It was an opportunity to bag one of the ‘latest in trend’ Salwaar Kamees for upcoming events and was a chance I did not want to miss! I did purchase a Naurang Lengha (not pictured) which I am truly in love with. I will post photos of myself in my gorgeous lengha very soon!

Many potential brides alongside their bridesmaids made a proactive approach in purchasing their bridal outfits from the show. The main reason for this is because it is cheaper than the (Asian) high-street (by almost a half), plus the exclusivity of these attires means no one else will have these except you!

Fatimah and Sam Dada: PFW7

The stalls showcased all their outfits as mentioned above from the catwalk and they were all at a very reasonable rate. On average (from asking around most stalls) you would find yourself spending £80 + on designer outfits (exhibition price only).

Bombay Stores: PFW7

Bombay Stores had a ‘wearable’ formal collection. This is practical for most dolls as we still want to look effortlessly glam whilst celebrating formal events; esp. for the mummies!

Bombay Stores: PFW7

I absolutely adored the catwalk with ALL of Bombay Stores outfits. These Nude Kurta tops stole the show with most guests as they scurried to the exhibition stall to purchase. As usual, (typically) my size ran out, but, I treated myself to a gorgeous purple stoned Multan Mala necklace and earring set (not pictured) which is only exclusive to exhibits by Bombay Stores (yes… I do feel special :P)!

Bombay Stores: PFW7

The Pakistan Fashion event was a great event as it educated many on style, looks, aesthetics and ideas to be creative. Countless of times, we know mainstream designers, but there are also emerging/new talented designers unheard of. Shows like this compliments the established and newcomers very well as you get to learn more about cultural fashion.

I recommend and encourage for all my bridal dolls to visit these bridal exhibitions; as mentioned previously, you will get a good deal off the rack if you find something you love. What more – it’s designer outfits for a very reasonable price, exclusive, just for you ❤

With Love,

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A special thanks to @AsianBridesBlog for the tickets!

The National Asian Wedding Show

Need inspiration for your 2015 wedding? The wedding season is only around the corner for many and everyone wants that little extra touch to make their big day that little extra special. Take a look at our post as we show you our day at The National Asian Wedding Exhibition @ London, Excel.

The National Asian Wedding exhibition was in October 2014, however thought now was the time to post the eventful day as with every New Year new vows are made and fresh ideas are sought after.

Myself and Rima Belle wanted to know what is out there on the market for weddings nowadays. How can we add that extra oomph, extravagance or somewhat follow the likes of Great Gatsby style parties. We have come across many creative vendors and was blown back by the decadence of ideas, styles and features made available; all you need is the £££ to of course make anything possible :p.

Love Great Gatsby? RWS London has created an elegant floral display for whatever event you’d love to go ‘all out on’. Planning an engagement, mendi, wedding, walima or even a private do? Please choose this theme!  If you have watched the film (The Great Gatsby) you would have noticed the extravagance, floral decor and the classical 1920’s theme. As much as I have enjoyed watching the film, I have a buzz for the Jazz Age. I would really love this classical look for my very own wedding! Bring on the crystal balls, vintage glamour and the golden opulence ❤

Pricing: Roughly, the table display (flower with vase only) can cost £300-£400 each. You can of course opt to add additional features in, or take some features out which will determine your quote. Best to see what works within your budget and speak to their friendly advisers.

I am standing beneath the crystal droplet tree (costs £400 per tree). Pair it up with the roaring 20’s theme and it will go magnificently. This is a feature most Hollywood A-list stars add to their weddings and always wanted to know where they got it from! Well, now we can add the Hollywood glam to our weddings as a feature. Stun your guests with an iced themed event and you’ll notice how the #selfies roll in 😀

Photo-booths are becoming a common feature in today’s modern wedding. There were plenty of vendors with cute photo-booths with the opportunity to try out props and obtain a (free) photograph – even with a choice of your own photo background… funky eh? The photo-booths come in all shapes and sizes; from a standing photo-booth to the traditional Tuk Tuk Taxi booth to go with your theme.

Photo-booths are a ‘fun’ experience as it takes you through the nostalgia of owning a photograph…I’m thinking your first ever passport photo as a baby :p. Whichever vendor you choose for a booth, they come in hourly rates. You may want to go for a trial-run to check for quality of photo, how many photos you can have alongside the options with props.

Here is another (very cute) flower display ❤ Although something like this would cost you £400 per display, perhaps you can have such displays spread across a few tables with a mixture of different displays? Hmmm just a thought…  Unfortunately, I have forgotten the name of the vendor, however they are associated with Indus Catering and you could enquire about their association at the National Asian Wedding Exhibition.

I am in love with Panache Event Wedding Decor; how beautiful is this floral Mandap? Whoa! I am seriously blown back by the fresh flower intricacy. This is a must have for a stage which is certainly unique to others. Me and Rima Belle were welcomed by the friendly team as they toured us through their stage and showed us additional special features they could add (not photographed) to your high class event. You can change the colours of the flowers around and oh oh, they also do the crystal droplet trees! Check out their Facebook page for further projects. This is bookmarked for my special day 😉

Let’s talk fashion. The National Asian Wedding event hosted many Indian and Pakistani fashion designers from Manish Malhotra to Sabyasachi semi-formal and Asian bridal wear. Not to forget to accessorise in style with Amaya London.

Photo isn’t so great here as the crowd shaked me -.- but you get the idea. Heavy thread/cotton work opposed to the bedazzled gemstone work you would commonly find on most brides. You can look sophisticated and ‘unique’ (as all brides chant) in a traditional red gown like these.

Excuse my sun kissed look, it was roughly 3 weeks in October when I came back from Morocco. Anyway, here I am with Simayas London model whose posing in one of their black Autumn/Winter collection Lengha.

Everyone loves black; c’mon New Year’s resolution of ‘being fit’ comes early for us girls with a little black dress. This is an Asian Great Gatsby attire, seriously take a look at their Autumn/Winter campaign , I love that black dress. Pop on a red shade of lipstick, vintage sleek back hair with daring eyeliner. Oooft! You are already winning the show in my mind 😉

If you love Hindi, English or Punjabi music, then you must know of Navin Kundra. Yes, he is THE man to hire for your wedding day, on the dance floor singing romantic songs like John Legend “All of me” to the well-known ‘Tere Liye’ hit song. He is an all-in-one man with special entertainment talent which will have your guests singing along and enjoying themselves. Me and Rima Belle were lucky to watch Navin Kundra perform live on the dance floor to all his latest music 😀

There are many who prefer instrumentals opposed to vocal music. Well, if vocals are not your thing your choice is not limited as you can opt for elegant fiddlers, harpist’s to Daff players. Many Muslim weddings have Daff players as it’s an ancient Arab tradition, still used today for events. Band players can certainly add an extra touch to your event whether it be a small, medium or big function.

Finally, to wrap up this blog, here I am sitting on a Middle-Eastern style stage. Decor, choice of colour and size/type of cushions are all interchangeable. Whoever you choose for events stage decor, always ask for the options available. If you don’t ask, you will not get guys!

The Belle Amour team have kick started 2015 with many upcoming wedding and fashion events. We will be posting further events experience to show you what the fashion and wedding of 2015 is ‘expected’ to look like.

Stay tuned with Belle Amour while we incubate more beauty and trendy feeds to only bring you the best!

With Love,

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My Love for Eyeko Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner

A part of being a Make-up Artist means investing in the right cosmetic brands that’ll aid your creativity with the provision of ease. Every doll looks for that ‘one’ eye-liner to help them with that perfect flick and seamless finish. Effortless, yet a quick fix to look great – just like a little black dress, but on your eyes…

A product which has been subliminally passing me by on Instagram and Space.NK has been all of Eyeko’s cosmetic ranges, especially their eye-liners which I could not resist!

Make-up Artist or not, us dolls who wear make-up, our basic cosmetic staple IS an eye-liner. This is the basic tool which empowers women to look effortlessly great !

I am (I am sure you are too…) always on the look out for great eye-liners, esp to help me with bridal make-up. I love the whole intensified black seamless finished look eye-liners create when worn on top of eye shadows.  Asian bridals in particular have a common traditional signature style; that is a bold, smokey framed look!

Popped into Selfridges to purchase the Alexa Chung Eye Do eyeliner £15. Whilst doing a tester, I was quite impressed by the swatch (yo…first impressions count). The intense black swatch grabbed my attention instantly and I had to ultimately own one.

Alexa Chung Eye Do Eyeliner for £15

The colour pay off is intense and as the description goes (on their website), it does provide a carbon black stroke. What more is that it is waterproof!

Eyeko Eyeliner: Swatch and the design of nib

You have room for creativity and flexibility with this pen-eyeliner mainly because the aesthetics of the nib allows you to either create the perfect cat-eye flick or subtle eye-liner to accentuate the eye OR those dramatic cat-eye look for the night out.

However, with the good and brilliant, there’s also a drawback. Funny, because previously I mentioned how the “aesthetics of the nib” is brilliant, but it is also its own drawback. The nib is not designed to be a bristle, but a felt-tip nib. Bristles is what provides you flexibility. Flexibility of creating thick/thin liners and control. As the nib is felt-tip, you have to control your eye-liner carefully ensuring the tip is used to create your liner and not the sides of the nib. If I make no sense ( I don’t blame you) see for yourself and test it before splurging that £15.

Now… could not resist the ‘freedom’ this eye-liner provides so took the liberty to create this dramatic cat eye-liner look. I have outlined my eyes with Eye Do Eyeliner then filled in the lid. I wanted a bit of shimmer so dusted a little shimmer on top for the evening look.

Belle Amour, My dramatic cat-eye look with Petrol Blue waterline and black shimmer

Honestly, I did not have to use concealer at all to ‘fake’ the sharp edges/crease lines as it was all done by precise application of the nib which glided on smooth. Remember – to use point of nib only.

Hope you liked this dramatic look and if you own any of the Eyeko range, please comment and leave your feedback below as I would love to hear from you.

With Love,

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My Review of the Lime Crime Velvetine: SuedeBerry

Hey Dolls,

I hope you are all doing well today and enjoying the Vitamin D (hoorah!).

Thought I should do my first product review (on the blog) on a lip product which is hyped about, this is the Lime Crime Velvetine in Suedeberry. It is a matte coral red with a slight orange tone – love colours like these! A beautiful colour and statement lips for summer 2014 me thinks.

The packaging: Opaque matte feel instrument.

What I envision when wearing a colour like this – A high clean pony tail, dewy skin with a highlighted face and a pair of shades to accessories. Sometimes makeup can partake and influence what you’ll wear 😉

Full face shot of wearing the Lime Crime Velvetine in SuedeBerry coupled with brown/bronze smokey eyes

I have purchased the Velvetines (Suedeberry & Pink velvet) from the UMAE Expo 2014 this year after reading sound reviews, but wanted to trial the product myself as everyone has their own unique experiences; especially for the colour of their skin tone, lip tones or the shade against their skin tone.

As I am South Asian, the natural pigmentation of my lips are dark, so this review is particularly for my dolls who have dark pigmented lips like myself.

Lime Crime Velvetine in SuedeBerry lined with NYX lipliner pencil in Orange

In the photos, I have lip-lined my lips with NYX Lipliner Pencil in ‘Orange’.

Now swishing over to the points of what I personally like and dislike about the product:

Que j’aime {What I Love}:

• Love the colour, perfect for summer and can be worn on its own should you wish for the bare minimal makeup look;
• I love mattes, this is matte!
• Smells buttery, soft to wear;
• Liquid lipsticks are just innovation and creative;
• The swatch (below) doesn’t wash off my hands – so it is waterproof and ‘touch proof’ {as indicated on their site}.
• Even if you have dark pigmented lips, just slab foundation over them to get a true shade!

Lime Crime Velvetine swatch

Ce que je déteste {What I dislike}:

• From the photo below, I still feel you can see my natural lip pigmentation peeping out of the Velvetine. This indicates that this shade is not hyper-pigmented and is quite sheer when applied. Yes, before you think it, I washed foundation across my lips to prime, lip-lined to aid colour intensity, still didn’t work as I thought it would. Therefore, you may have to top-up or wear a full coverage thick foundation on your lips;
• Depending on how intense you want the colour to appear, you may have to keep reapplying until you are happy with the vibrancy. Even if you dislike this colour anyway, Lime Crime do other shades i.e. Red Velvet which are dark in shade therefore the pigmentation of your lips will always show a different shade;
• Leaves streaks, so you have to apply consistently.

Lime Crime Velvetines

Overall, I don’t think I will repurchase if it ran out, as I need to use more products to aid the vibrancy which means = more effort. I LOVE coral shades and own plenty – ask my sister (hehe) she can even mime my love for it – it’s my absolute fave! However I am quite disappointed how I have to reapply just to cover the dark pigmentation; I am in awe how cool fair skin toned dolls look on their Youtube tutorials!

If you have dark pigmented lips like me, or any thoughts on this product please do let me know as I would love to hear your feedback.

Belle Amour x

Where to purchase from:

• Lime Crime Official website:

http://limecrime.com/lips/velvetines-39.html

• Cocktail Cosmetics:

http://www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk/prod/lime-crime-clueless-witch-velvetine-collection

• Love Makeup

http://www.love-makeup.co.uk/lime-crime-velvetines-p-5621.html

• NYX lipliner Pencil:

http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/p-117-slim-lip-pencil.aspx

With Love,

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