Highlighter Haulage!

As you can tell I have hauled too many highlighters since I've returned from Kuwait! I initially wanted to replace my Sue Moxley Baked Highlighter in Miami as it was almost finished. I had researched a few and had my eye on a Dior one however I was gutted that it was limited edition and had sold out so back I went to researching!

Then I came across Laura Mercier Baked Radiance Powder in Highlight 01. It looked silky, smooth and provided a gorgeous glistening glow. I wanted it! As I was due to replenish a few Laura Mercier beauty products I headed down to my local Space NK store. I have to rate their customer service at the Solihull store as the assistant manager was just so lovely and caring. Well to cut a long story short I bought a few products however the highlighter wasn't in stock but the lovely sales assistant directed me to 'Indiscretion' by Laura Mercier. I had seen it before and thought it looked pretty but wasn't sold. Anyways, she applied it to me and I really liked how warm and subtle it looked so I bought it.

A few days later my mum took me out for birthday treat shopping and we ended up at Space NK again. I still wanted to try out the Laura Mercier Baked Highlighter so I asked if it was in stock and it was! I was SO happy and when I swatched  it I fell in love with it. The previous highlighter I bought also from Laura Mercier mirrored this product. It was silky smooth with good pigmentation and colour payoff. So my mum bought me that along with some other goodies.

I used them both on and off switching on what kind of look I wanted and was pleased with the glowing effect they gave but also during my research I came across the best seller Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. Aah! Again I fell in love with the swatches but read mixed reviews about it, mainly saying that it was too glittery and shimmery. I went through a phase where I loved really shimmery and sparkly bronzers but now I am into more of a subtle glow. So I tried to hunt it down but it is only stocked in the larger Space NK stores. Earlier this week I trekked to Space NK on Warren Street and was SO happy to find out they stocked the pressed powder version (although opal was out of stock ). So I went in and was greeted by some lovely sales assistants who told me that Opal the best seller was unfortunately out of stock. I swatched Opal and Rose Gold and loved the finish if them both. I actually didn't find them although shimmery as people made them to be and I also leaned more towards Rose Gold. It felt much warmer and natural against my skin tone so I decided to purchase and since then I have been using it since and I LOVE it!

All in all, yes I may have gone highlighter crazy but they were all worth it and I won't be running out of a highlighter anytime soon!

Love & Blessings,
Sara xx

L -R: LM Baked Highlighter, LM Indiscretion, Becca Rose Gold

Top to Bottom: Becca Rose Gold, LM Indiscretion, LM Baked Highlighter 01

Eid Henna ♡

Yesterday was the start of Eid-al-Fitr, Eid Mubarak to those who are celebrating. On Thursday evening, it was the usual debate of what day is Eid?! Luckily at 5.30pm, Saudi Arabia announced the sighting of the moon and confirmed that Eid would be celebrated on Friday.

I decided to henna myself this time around as I haven't used henna in a while. I used to make my own henna a fee ears back and I really enjoyed the whole process of finding out how to get a good colour release to ensure the outcome of the henna was a deep dark stain. However since I started teaching, whenever I wanted to henna anyone for an occasion I would order it. I've used 'Henna by Afruza' for my own personal use and for school fairs and I highly recommend her. The henna is reasonably priced and she offers kits as well as the powder and glitter and mica glitter gel to decorate it too.

However this time I came across Riffat Bahar who is a professional henna and makeup artist. Her stain of henna is what caught my eye and I was interested in trying her henna mix out. So I ordered one tube and the aftercare kit which consisted of a lemon sugar -orange blossom infused spray and a lemon henna balm. The delivery was quick and I stored it in the fridge until Thursday. The tube itself is thinner with less henna than 'Henna by Afruza' and it was more expensive. Also, ordering one cone was a one off as she messaged me that usually it was a minimum order of 5 cones. So in comparison I think 'Henna by Afruza' is more flexible with how little you can order.

So on Thursday evening I decided to henna myself. I used a design I saw on 'Nail Station Kuwait' and then amended it to what I wanted. I usually end up doing floral patterns freehand so this easy a change and I really like it. On the right hand because it is obviously trickier to do I just decorated my fingers with patterns and wrote my name in Arabic.

On Eid day, my sister wanted me to henna her so I hennaed her, again using a design from 'Nail Station Kuwait' but amending it to suit my sister's requests. Overall I really like that pattern too as it's branching into trying out new patterns.

I have included a few pictures for you to see how henna looks when it is first applied, then with the lemon seal spray, scraped off - light orange, after a few hours - bright orange, 24 hours - brown and 48 hours - dark brown.

I'm also going abroad for a family wedding next month and because the henna won't keep or last I have decided to make my own henna for everyone as it will be more fresh. Fingers crossed it will come out with a beautiful stain.

Love and Blessings,
Sara xx

The Review: 'The Fifth' Watch in Peach & Rose Gold ♡

I came across the brand 'The Fifth' on Instagram about 3 months ago and was quite intrigued by them.  Now this is news for me as I am not and have never really been a watch person as I would rather wear an ornate bangle than a watch. However over the years my style is changing to more of a simplistic and minimal look. By no means have I ditched the jewellery bit I'm changing my ways a little.

So here's the lowdown. They are a company based in Australia who specialise in watches. Now this is the cool part. The exclusivity of the brand. Every month on the  5th day at the 5th hour they release 5 styles of watches for 5 days or until they sell out and you can only access the shop if you sign up to their mailing list. I think that is a pretty darn cool idea but more so because the style of their watches are designed to suit everyone. They are unisex and come in black/gold, peach/rose gold, tan/silver, black/black and tan/black (I'll have to double check on this one!). They are a simple style with a large dial face fastened by a real leather strap, which would suit every day wear. Now these watches are sold for approximately £66 which is a very reasonable price. I would definitely recommend having a look at them on instagram.

After deciding that I wanted to invest in one I eventually chose the peach/rose gold watch. I liked the tan but the feminity of the rose gold watch stood out more. So I actually signed up to their mailing list and received VIP access to the store on the 5th July. It was an easy process to pay and they informed me that I would be able to track my package once in the post. They also specify how long delivery will take. From Australia to the UK they stated between 8 - 20 working days. I was super impressed how I was emailed along the way from the status of my order to the package being delivered. My watch took 10 days to arrive which was great!

I have included a few photos below of the watch from opening the package to trying it on. I absolutely love it and I can see myself wearing it quite frequently. It's got a weighted dial along with a durable strap and I love the colour combination. Well done and thank you to 'The Fifth' for my gorgeous watch!

UPDATE: The lovely guys from THE 5TH recently contacted me and have given me a discount code for my readers. Use' SARA' and you'll get 10% off your first order with THE 5TH! What are you waiting for? Go and have a browse now at : www.the5th.co and buy your first amazing watch!

The Reality of Teaching in Kuwait

As you know last summer, I decided to take a break from teaching in the UK and teach in Kuwait. After teaching there for almost a year, I felt it was necessary to blog about my experience. 

*Please note this is my own personal experience and I understand that everyone teaching in Kuwait or the Middle East may have had different experiences.

So rewind back to August 2014, when I touched down in Kuwait and was excited at the prospect of teaching in a Middle Eastern country. I have always been drawn to the Middle East since I travelled to Jordan and now I have travelled to a few more countries, I am in love!

But let's get back to my teaching experience, so initially all was okay until about November/December when I started to get a feel of the Principal and how she was not equipped to deal with people. She had poor management as well as poor communication skills. I raised a number of issues with her and the response I always got back was "What do you want me to do?" which I thought was not very helpful let alone professional! 

Actually I should have mentioned prior to that, what shocked me the most were two things:

1.  The negative attitudes of most teachers really shocked me. I could not believe I would sit at the table in the staffroom whilst marking my books and hear them say 'Oh my kids are just dumb...thick...stupid'. They also used the excuse 'They don't get it...and they are slow because they're ESL learners'.

Sorry but I've taught children who had no English at the start of the year and are conversing and writing basic sentences by the end - so that was just a cop-out!

2. Serial complainers - again a lot of the teachers would just complain day in and day out about literally anything they could. Even my flatmate who eventually left in December, used to ask why they moaned about everything.

Anyways, I was still trying to be positive about the school at this point and I was meeting my deadlines, working overtime and at the weekends. I was then asked if I would be interested in attending a COBIS Middle Leaders Conference which was exciting but I was a bit apprehensive as it came with a condition. It was to stay with the company for 2 years so that certain issues could be implemented. I understand the point of implementing what was learnt but I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in Kuwait for 2 years. 

Kuwait as peaceful as it is with amazing weather and beaches and endless malls there isn't much else to do. There are some quirky markets along with some cool bespoke markets too which I enjoyed but they aren't really advertised as much and you do have to go on the hunt to find out about them unless you hear it from word of mouth. Kuwait is fine for teaching for perhaps 2 years but any longer I don't think so.

So I kind of got forced into going to the COBIS Conference which was great, it was so useful and eye opening to hear other leader's experiences and advise on how to tackle difficult situations too. However when I returned that's when I noticed a major change in how I was treated. I found out during my absence that the Principal had scrapped all the planning the  Maths Committee had done for 'Maths Week', so I was very annoyed as each member knew their role and what was expected. I won't go into all the details but I had a very long meeting with her that day and voiced my concerns about issues within the school and changes that needed to be made in order for the children to learn effectively. She had no strategical answers which really baffled me. A principal who doesn't truly believe in her school or the children and did not even attemp to acknowledge or deal with problems caused ultimately by her.

Just to give you an idea of what problems were in the school:

• Unqualified staff ( including the Principal!) Some teachers only had TEFL!
• No support for NQT's 
• Most staff ( including the Principal and Vice Principal) had no idea about the National Curriculum
• Most staff had no knowledge on how to level children
• Consistent negative attitudes and comments teachers made towards children
• Lack of knowledge of how to plan
• No communal ethos
• Expat teachers rude to the local Arabic staff
• Lying about levels and marks
• Teachers spent their free periods planning parties rather than marking and then complained after they had no time!

You might think well who am I to list these problems but the fact is, knowing what you are teaching and assessing are fundamental to teaching. The other factors are also important too and I have to say I didn't feel as if I was working in a school this year at all. There was no communal feel whatsoever. 

I was annoyed with myself as I wish I had not been naive and let her use me for a lot things like CPD, parent workshops, assessments, etc. At this point I knew I would not be happy staying another year but wasn't sure what to do but I was to stick it out until the end of my contract.

I am relieved  I finally made the choice to leave the company and it was most definitely the right choice. If I had stayed, my CPD would not have been developed and I perhaps would have learnt bad habits something I steered very clear of this year. I would not have progressed to become an effective and excellent teacher.

It's sad because the parents put so much trust in the teachers and school and are of course paying fees for high quality education and they are not getting it. 

I think the company in general needs to reassess it's priorities. Does it just want to be a  low quality daycare provider? Or does it actually and genuinely care about the children's education? 

Overall,  I didn't have a great experience of working at the school/for the company but I made some lovely friendships with the local Arabic staff and 2 expat teachers at my school along with some lovely teachers at the sister school/branches. But I will miss the relationships I formed with my parents and of course my children.

So if any of you are considering moving to the Middle East for the sun, sea, sand and tax free salary as well as easy teaching - think again. You may want to research well into the school you are interested in. Be aware that a lot of them are similar and will sugar coat the school before you arrive. 

Love and Blessings,

Sara xx

My Birthday Beauty Haul ♡

Last Thursday I celebrated my birthday by treating myself to some makeup. My sister recommended that I should pop to SpaceNK as I wanted to repurchase some products from Laura Mercier that were not in stock in Kuwait.

So off I went to my local Solihull on a lovely sunny afternoon. After doing a large toiletries haul too ( not so exciting so didn't think it would be worthy of a post  as they were pretty much essentials), I went for a mooch in SpaceNK, I was greeted by a lovely beauty advisor who was nice and friendly and not at all pushy. So I asked if my tinted moisturiser was in stock and unfortunately it wasn't. I also asked for the LM Baked highlight but they were out of stock of that too. I was feeling as though I wouldn't be able to a hold of my prized LM products. Although they did have the oil free primer which was good!

After we got talking about how I shouldn't have been recommended previously an oil free primer with an oil free moisturiser as my skin is actually normal with a little shine on my T Zone. I have to admit I was little sceptical as I didn't want to be talked into buying an alternative to what I normally buy when it was doing the job just fine. So she offered me a makeover which I agreed to plus it was nice to pampered a little :)

I won't go into every detail but she was lovely and talked me through everything she put on. She tried the LM Oil Free Primer with the normal LM Tinted Moisturiser in Sand. Then to conceal she used LM Secret Concealer in 3.5. I asked her to try out the new LM Face Illuminator in Indiscretion as I fell in love with the swatch on my hand. She applied that together with NARS blush in Luster and I have to say I really liked the look. However I had to do the test of checking my makeup in the natural light. Afterwards I was sold!

The original LM tinted moisturiser felt much more lighter than the oil free and also oxidised less. It was an exact match to my skin tone which was fine too. I maybe would have gone a little darker but I wasn't too fussed. I have been using it now for over a week and I think I do prefer it. I may opt for the oil free version in the Winter to add more warmth but I will see.

I ended up purchasing the LM original Tinted Moisturiser in Sand, LM Oil Free Primer, LM Secret Concealer in 3.5 and the LM Face Illuminator in Indiscretion. A very heavy LM haul :)

She was kind enough to give me a sample of Caudalie Oil which smelt divine and can be used for hair, skin and body which I will try out soon. Even though for the next year I won't be based in the UK, I signed up for the Ndulge loyalty card where you gain 1 point for every £1 you spend. Then for every 100 points they reward you with £5 incentive to use in store. I was lucky enough to get the £5 incentive straight away :) which I am saving for another purchase before I leave.

I was really pleased with the customer service and will definetly visit SpaceNK again very soon.

On that note I did (haha!) on the Saturday as my mum wanted to take me out and treat me. I initially went to John Lewis as they had Clearance and last time I bought a beautiful top from Mango. However this I wasn't satisfied as they had quite a bit of junk!

My mum was like how about some makeup so I agreed. I had just cleared out my makeup and didn't want to buy anything unnecessary but then I remembered that I wondered if they had received the LM Baked Radiance Highlight. Luckily they did so I got that and then my mum (bless her) was like get something else too.

I initially had my eye on the LM Caviar Eyeshadow stick in Amethyst but it was out of stock. Then another beauty advisor recommended By Terry Ombre Black star shadow stick in Misty Rock which was a very similar match just with more sparkle. So I also picked that up too. This time I gave my points to my sister :p as she would have more use here.

I've been treated to a lot of makeup recently so I am thinking that is all for now :p unless anything else catches my eye ;)

Although I do need to get some essentials for when I move to Oman as I don't think I'll be able to find them there. They include Collection Liquid Liner, Barry M Lipgloss in Coral and Bold Eyeliner in Black.

That's all for now. For some reason I can't add the photo from my phone. So I will do it later.

Love & Blessings,
Sara xx

A Belated Ramadan Kareem and an update :)

So I am finally back in the UK, well I've been back now just over 2 weeks and it feels great! I spent a few days in London as I wanted to sort out some things out as well as have a much needed haircut! A few days after arriving home home ( back in Solihull) with my parents and brother, Ramadan started.

I love the month of Ramadan as it's a time for everyone to nourish and strengthen their relationship with God. I believe everyone has their own connection and relationship with God that no one should interfere with or judge.

So far I have kept all but one and alhumdulilah they have actually  been fine. I eat 3 dates and a banana with a glass of milk and also a glass of water and it keeps me going until about 8pm, an hour and half before the fast opens.

Although the day before yesterday I found hard but I think it because I only ate a banana with not enough water. Honestly dates are magical so the day after I went back to them and felt much better!

For those who are fasting and read my blog I hope all is going well for you. I can't believe tomorrow will be the 15th fast. The month really does go quite fast!

Regarding losing weight, I lost like 3lbs in the first few days but since then I've stayed the same which I guess is better than putting on weight. I actually didn't realise how much weight I had put on since returning from Kuwait ( a stone and half) and I'm trying to stay motivated even though the progress is slow. I haven't over eaten at all during these fasts but it could be that I eat so late and don't exercise afterwards. After Ramadan I'm going to have to kick start my exercise routine again to at least lose half a stone.

I've also been helping out at my mom's school 3 days a week with  art planning and also teaching KS2 which has been good. The other 2 days I've been doing odd jobs and getting things ready for my own class.

I hope you all have a lovely summer break and Ramadan Kareem. I have a few posts which will focus on my birthday haul and a review of teaching in Kuwait.

Love and Blessings,
Sara xx