What Look Am I Rockin'...Pakistani Wedding Makeup!

This Summer, my family and I ventured over to the States as my cousin was getting married. It was a big occasion as he is the first out of all of us cousins to get hitched. It was a really fun event and was nice spending time with my family over there. I spent most of my time in Ohio and then roadtripped to Philly and New Jersey for the wedding which took place over 2 days.

The couple decided on 2 days out of the traditional 3. The groom actually wanted a small and quiet affair but because the bride was the only girl on her side, it had to be lavish!

So, the first evening was the Henna night and it was lovely and colourful. I actually wore a suit I have worn before but I wasn't bothered. I am not so into new suits and designers but into dressing it up with accessories and make up. I chose a mustard and bronze suit and teamed it with bronzy smoky eyes with a glowing base. I wore a 'tikka' for the first time and absolutely loved it! It was so pretty but had to keep making sure it was straight for photos! I have included a few pics so you can see in different lighting. I also wore my HudaBeauty Giselle lashes which really gave my eyes a dramatic look. I love how easy it is to apply these lashes too. I am so going to have to stock up on them being in Oman, I'll have to pop over to Dubai soon!

Me :)

One of my cousins and I

My sister, me and family friends.

 The next day was the Barat which is where the Nikah ( Islamic marriage ) takes places. It confirms the marriage through a few passages of the Quran and consent from both families. They had a lovely Imam who explained it all in English and made it humorous too. The bride and groom looked stunning together and it was really sweet seeing them married :)

For this day I bought I suit from the UK, I remember going out for the day and not finding anything I liked until we came to the last shop and I saw a few suits but this one stood out. I wasn't sure if it was too bright to wear to the wedding but ah that is what Pakistani weddings are all about! I tried it on and fell in love! It was SO heavy to wear and sadly on the day because my scarf was so long the baubles on the ends broke as I kept standing on them lol. Anyhow the dress was lovely and I was glad I ended up buying it. I will definitely be wearing it to another wedding for sure!

In terms of the makeup, I opted for a more glowing based  and used some of my new USA makeup purchases and also had smoky eyes again with my Huda Beauty lashes to give my eyes the 'wow' effect. I was really impressed with how my makeup and hair turned out considering I did it all myself. There was a makeup artist and hair stylist on the day for our family but I didn't think she was all that great without being rude. I have to say I was so pleased for those 2 days my makeup stayed on flawless for the whole evening and I did not even go to the bathroom to retouch!

My sister and I :)

The groom's mother, my cousin - the groom, my sister and I

Photo bombing the entrance to the Nikah ceremony

I hope you enjoyed reading - more blogs to come soon :)

Love & blessings,
Sara

Update: My Summer vacation & moving to Oman

Aah! It has been TOO long since I last blogged. Honestly it was a crazy summer. I arrived back in the UK in June and then had a break for a week or so and then I ended up working at my mum's school doing all the planning for Art and also for Design & Technology for the whole year for all of the year groups! That was a mission but actually developed my planning more which was great.

After that it was crazy getting together my outfits for my cousin's wedding and sorting things for my move to Oman. I am not sure if I mentioned in any of my last posts but I decided to leave Kuwait after working in a terrible school with some terrible teachers. I found a lovely school in Muscat, Oman and accepted a job offer there. I still felt I hadn't fulfilled my travelling itinerary and wanted one more year of a work/life balance so that's why I decided to stay out here in the Middle East.

After all the madness was over my family and I were in the States for about 2 weeks spending time as a whole family. We also threw in a spontaneous trip to Canada which I am in love with! I love Toronto! Anyways back to the wedding so Asian families are huuuuge not to mention we had lots of family friends over too! It was a lovely time and seeing my cousin get married was really nice. He is actually the first out of all us cousins. Whilst we stayed in Toledo, Ohio it took place in Philly and was very beautiful.

 I miss being in the States! I literally flew back to the UK the day after and then repacked my stuff for Oman and flew out to Oman the day after! I was SO jet lagged and I went into work that morning! Anyways 2 weeks have passed and I feel more settled. Honestly, when I arrived to the apartment ( which I took over from a previous teacher) it was in a terrible state and infested with cockroaches. It was definetly not what I wanted when I arrived from my flight. Anyways it's all been deep cleaned by me and I think I have got rid of the little creepies. I still have a whole bunch of things to sort but it will get there in time.

So that's my update for now - I will be posting blogs on my makeup haulage from the USA, my makeup looks from the wedding and how I prepared my new classroom :)

Keep reading and I will be back very soon - now off to make presentation to welcome my parents/children to Year 2 :)

Love & Blessings,

Sara xx

What Look Am I Rockin'?... Summer Special!

I realised I haven't really posted any makeup looks recently but luckily last week I snapped a few photo's of my makeup before I headed out. I have made a few changes to my summer makeup in comparison to last year and I will list all the products used below. I will list my skincare as well as the makeup used. Remember that products that work for me, may or may not work for you. It is all about getting to know your skin and nourishing it with what it needs. It has taken since June for my skin to feel plump and smooth since my return from Kuwait where air conditioning really impacted my skin by drying it out. I am not sure how my skin will change from being the USA for 10 days and then back to London for an evening and then onto Oman :S I hoping by hydrating it well, it should keep soft and supple. Please find below details of my 'Summer Special' look.

Skincare Regime:

1. Cleanse my face with Soap & Glory 'Peaches and Clean'.
2. Sometimes I tone with Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water.
3. Pat Soap & Glory 'Puffy Attack' eye gel around my eyes.
4. Moisturise with Soap & Glory 'Feel Good Factor' which is a translucent BB cream onto skin in upwards motions.
5. After 20 minutes or so, I apply LM Oil Free Primer to prep my skin for my makeup application.

 Makeup Regime:

1. Apply LM Tinted Moisturiser in Sand by blending with fingertips.
2. Conceal blemishes lightly with Secret Concealer No 3.5 and apply MAC Prep and Prime Illuminator in Peach Lustre as my colour corrector under my eyes.
3. Reapply/pat on a layer of LM Tinted Moisturiser in Sand and conceal any blemishes.
4. Apply MAC Prep and Prime Highlighter in Bright Forecast under the eyes, above the cheekbone, along the ridge of the nose, cupids bow and chin. ( I used to contour too but now I strobe/highlight more in the summer months).
5. Dust LM Baked Radiance Highlight 01 above my cheek bones, cupids bow, ridge of nose and forehead.
6. Sweep Sleek Blush in Suede to my cheeks for a pop of colour.
7. Use Collection 2000 Liquid eyeliner to draw a cat eye liner on upper lid and UD 24/7 Eye Pencil in Crave on the lower lash line.
8. Curl lashes with LM Eyelash Curler - pump for 10 seconds and lift.
9. Use Benefit Rollerlash Mascara to separate and hold curl to lashes and then apply UD Cannonball mascara to intensify the look.
10. Apply Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Rose Gold to highlight those key areas again.
11. Dab Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream on lips to prep them for lipstick application.
12. Swipe Natural Collection Lipstick in Rose Petal onto the lips and then L'oreal Cream Gloss in Protest Queen.

*If I was going out for the evening I would use my LM Translucent Pressed Powder and gently buff into the skin to ensure my makeup holds for the evening but for everyday wear I leave it like this!

Et voila the look is complete :)

I know it is lengthy writing down each and every product I apply it makes each process clearer. I can also now apply my makeup in 20 minutes which is a turn around for me!

I hope you enjoyed reading.

Love & Blessings,
Sara xx

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