Clarins Pure Melt cleanser

  
There is nothing better than having a clean, smooth and soft face..I got this cleanser 2 years ago and I used as described its was good but ended up on the back of my skincare shelf, but 2 months ago I started using the hot cloth method to clean my face and things got better..a lot better.

It’s not a hot cloth cleanser but I tried it and the results were fantastic..I don’t think that you should get a special cleanser for the hot cloth cleanse..any balmy, jelly oil cleanser could work.

The how to: 

After removing my makeup with biodrema or any other makeup remover, i squeeze a quarter coin size amount and massage it to a dry face for 30seconds including my eyes (it doesn’t sting the eyes) then wet my hands and continue massaging it will turn into a milk and followed by the hot cloth to remove it into a circular motion “I prefer the small ikea wash cloths since they are not as soft as common hot cloth materials, so they exfoliate too” and that’s it your face is cleansed, fresh and most important feels comfortable since this cleanser is very moisturizing. 

I just purchased another one so I highly recommend it 

As for my Egyptian followers you can find it in Bloom for 290 L.E

Have a good day 

Aliaa xx

My Favorite Reds

When it comes to red lipsticks i like them rich cool toned, matte or satin finish reds, if you checked a previous post of mine about how to choose your perfect red shade https://lucidmakeup.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/your-perfect-red-lipstick-and-how-to-choose-it/, in my opinion if you want a perfect hollywood kissable lips, put aside any glossy poorly pigmented lipstick that you have because they look cheap, stick to strong true reds whether blue, orange or pink undertoned depends on your skin tone and what suits you.

As you see i don’t own that much of reds because i don’t think that i have to have tones of them, it took me a while to find and spot my perfect shades, so i grabbed my favorite ones and thats it, since a red lipstick is a statement on it’s own..if you know how to pull it off you’re set for a good look.

Loreal exclusive collection in JLo and Blake they have the same matte finish but not drying also not hydrating ”as usual preferably moisturize your lips before applying the lipstick”…they look similar in color but they are different specially if you are wearing red you will notice the difference that one of them will suit your out fit more…for me they are my go to red lipstick..very beautiful.

Art Deco in #428 is a true red with a satin finish it’s not fully opaque you have to apply it few times to have your full on color, so it can be worn a bit sheer, it’s also hydrating.

Mac Dive it’s the most popular vampy lipstick shade to all everyone, dark browny red, matte finish, the only thing is it’s a bit drying..but who doesn’t love diva by mac.

Lord and Berry crayon lipstick in #7279 tulip red a dark blue red, hydrating when it wears off it leaves like a stain..also love it

enjoy your day

Aliaa xoxo

Dior Skin flash primer

  
So I went to the Dior counter to pick up the glow maximizer as you know of any of you tried it..one of the most beautiful highlighters, but this skin flash primer caught my eyes and gave it a try..loved it and now it’s in my kit.

The skin flash is a non oily radiance primer comes in a universal light pink color that goes sheer and gives a pearly sheen finish. 

  
Use it under the foundation, it has a clickable brush, distributed on your face and blend/smooth it on your face but do not rub it..”as a general tip if you have a dry skin don’t rub neither your moisturizer or primer because that will cause a micro exfoliation or some primers will roll, and that will not give you a nice foundatalways smooth it on the skin”.

  
The skin flash will leave your skin hydrated and looks smooth and healthy..specially the high points of your face. 

It’s goes beautifully with the Mac face&body foundation you will look fresh like never before..I give it 9 out of 10.

Take care 

Please follow this blog and follow me on https://instagram.com/looahmed/My Instagram

Aliaa xoxo

Elizabeth Arden skincare

  
I’ve always wanted to try Elizabeth Arden’s skin care, I have the 8hr cream but never tried anything else till I got this travel set from the airport..and maybe a quick tip (when trying a new range get the travel sizes because if you didn’t like it, you didn’t waste your money on a full size)..

It contains Visible difference skin balancing exfoliating cleanser for combination skin 50ml: it has a foamy texture with very very tiny grains..on a scale from 1-10 I give it 6 it’s ok you will feel your face is clean but it’s a bit drying, actually after using it for several time I feel that my forehead became dry..weird ha

– VD gentle hydrating night cream for dry skin 30ml: as a start I’ve never had a problem with smells in skincare products as long as it’s subtle but this cream the smell is horrible, the first time I tried it on I was gonna wipe it of and start my routin all over again..I don’t use it anymore and on a moisturizing level I didn’t see a difference, it sinks in the skin as if you didn’t apply anything..

– VD hydration boost night mask 30ml: also nothing impressive but the smell is better.

-VD Refining moisture cream complex 30ml: a bad smell as well, any drug store moistruzer does a better job than this.

– VD moisturizing eye cream 5ml: I use it in the morning before applying makeup, it hydrates the under eye area and it’s fine.

As a conclusion Elizabeth Arden have a serious problem with the smell of their products and I’ll never repurchase this range again..maybe I’ll try a different range and tell you about it.

Aliaa xoxo

Phytophanere (the hair pills)

  
Few months ago I posted on my Instagram page a photo of these pill and a strengthing shampoo..this bottle contains 120 capsules for 2 months=2 pills a day preferably after breakfast. 

Usually I become a bit hisitint when it comes to that kind of pills, fearing that it might increase my weight or increase the hair all over my body or it doesn’t do anything..but I bought it and crossed my fingers….

I can say that these pills are part of my life now I can recommend them by heart to anyone who needs to grow back their hair quickly..I mentioned before in an old post about the ecrinal hair ampoules about a syndrome that I suffer from called trichotillomania (the hair pulling disorder) and it gets worse when I get stressed..and my crown area is missing a great amount of hair..so I starts the pills coarse and within the first month I realized my crown are is full of hair again and the second month my hair got longer..no weight increase and it didn’t effect the hair in anywhere else on my body though my eyebrow and lashes got a tiny bit thicker. 

On a scale from 1-10, I’ll give it 10 and I’ve already repurchase it..

Try it girls and tell me what do you think 

Aliaa xoxo

Lancôme Miracle Cushion

First I want to tell the reason behind my disappearance this long, I inrolled in the Val garland school of makeup online coarse and I’ve been busy with assignments and projects the coarse is still on till August so I might be a bit late with blogging…

So finally I got the new Lancôme’s invention..The amazing Lisa Eldridge the new makeup creative director of Lancôme came with the lightest foundation, as back in the days when they invented the compact powder  so women can retouch their makeup..Lisa did the same with foundation she had the liquid in a cushion so this product is mess free..

I got it in the shade 03 it was a bit dark and orangy for me but when I blended it well it turned to be ok with my neck because my nick is also a bit darker than my face but with this shade I don’t need bronzer..usually the sponges and brushes that comes with any products are useless but the sponge that comes with it is antibacterial and washable and useful it blends the foundation well.

How to use it: you press the sponge in the cushion lightly or heavily it depends on the amount that you want and dab it on your face.

How it feels: very comfortable as if nothing on your face, very light coverage but it leaves a nice veil on the face and the skin doesn’t feel tacky.

The finish: healthy dewy not sticky dewy.

Bottom line I loved it and loved the idea, the finish but I’ll have to decide whether to buy a lighter Shade and mix them or to get a a tan.

And here how it looks on me..I didn’t use much only one coat.

Take care

Aliaa xoxo

My No skincare routine

So as any beauty blogger both my bathroom shelf and skin is loaded with skin products, spending time in morning and evening routines piling up serums, moisturizers, eye creams, having exfoliating and nourishing masks during the week..the funny part is that i forgot how my skin used to be (don’t get me wrong this post is not against skincare) i’m just wondering if we are over doing it and spending a lot of money on an external factor of how our skin is looking or gonna look like and forgetting about many other factors that are more important like lifestyle ”healthy diets, non smoking, stress free environments, good sleep, healthy habits” i know these are cliches but it’s the truth….SO i decided to leave my skin a month without anything only i make sure to cleanse it well if i wore makeup and apply sunblock if i went out in the morning my diet was full of fruits and veggies and that’s it, and you know what..my skin was just fine however when the weather changed i experienced some dryness around my chin area and that’s it…

so to recap what i’m trying to say.. i think that we should give our skin exactly what it needs and ignore any dreamy advertisement of the one and only product that will prevent us from aging because realistically the most beautiful, powerful, rich, healthy people in history they age eventually..it’s the truth and we have to accept it, so the idea here is not not to age is to age gracefully and to know that if we eat junk, smoke and got the latest invention youth giving elixir our skin will still look like shit…

As for my skin care routines i’ll still have them but in their basic form ” cleanse and moisturize”..i’ll only use rubbish free products whether they’re for 1$ or 100$ and i’ll do my best to have a healthy life style and that’s what’s gonna make my skin glow.

30s and 40s skincare

  
   

This is where a lot of what you did in your teens and twenties is gonna start appearing and you are gonna be surprised by but aging happens that’s part of life we can’t control it, we just need to age gracefully.

First signs of aging starts to show on some people at age 35 or late 30s, the dermal layer gets thinner primarily through sun damage, the skin become looser and the epidermal layer gets thicker causes dullness in the skin.

Your life style affects your genes, as I mentioned before genes has a role in your skin type but how your skin looks this is your job and how much care you give to your skin..

• Gentle cleansers: don’t use a detergent cleanser, you can find more details in my previous post “20s skincare” and what to avoid in ingredients of cleansers. 

• Moisturizers: for fine lines and wrinkles you want to add a hyaluronic acid it absorbs the water from your surrounding and will puff up the wrinkles to make it look less deep, you should apply this twice a day. 

• Serums: you need to rebuild the DNA in your skin, keep the collagen and elastin by applying a topic antioxidant like vit.C or vit. E, also look for ceramides in your serum, use it at night. 

• Eye creams: since the eye area is thinner than the rest of your face and usually first signs of aging appears starts showing in this area, applying a moisturizing eye cream is enough unless you have dark circles problem you’ll need a different kind of eye creams..apply the cream with your ring finger and gently pat the products on your skin, don’t rub or pull the skin.

Try to relax and reduce stress, I know it’s hard specially if you are in a stressful job or a new mom but try because the happier you are the happier your skin will be. 

Wear sun screen on a daily bases 

Sleep well 

Consume a lot of fruits and vegetables 

Fenugreek hair mask

  Fenugreek is a magical seed with a bitter taste and their benefits are countless and some of these benefits concern hair health they are essential in the Indian kitchen..no wonder they have beautiful locks.. But since I’m not a big fan of drinking fenugreek “it has a bitter after taste” , I used it as a mask instead..this mask will help the growth of any new hair and add thickness by Time, it also has antibacterial purposes so if you have any scalp problem it will fix it and the coconut oil will add shine and moisture. All you need is:

• Half a cup or a handful of fenugreek (it depends on the length and thickness of your hair)
• Coconut oil

Boil the seeds until they are very soft and then mush them in the food processor till the become a paste,add the coconut oil “preferably on its solid form”..mix till it becomes a paste and apply to the roots and then work it down the length of your hair. Hold it in a bun and wraps your hair in cling film or any plastic bag. Leave it not less than an hour or personally I leave it overnight. Important facts to know: This mask will help the regrowth of your hair if you have hair thinning or sever fall downs but if you already have naturally thin hair this mask is not gonna help..realistically nothing will because this is the nature of your hair it’s how you were born. Being consestant is important to see results but don’t wait for dramatic changes with the mask on its own, a healthy diet plus hair supplements will help you to have better results. Don’t worry about the smell because one you wash your hair the smell will disappear. Aliaa xx 🙂

Skin care in your 20s

  

 

In your twenties your skin is strong, resilient it’s amazing but don’t take it for granted because aging happens and anything you throw on it now, it’s gonna come out later..even if it bounces back for now..

Cleansing: I can’t express how important to cleanse your face specially at night from makeup to prevent your pores from getting clogged..your skin doesn’t has to be squeaky clean as recommended in the industry or in some medias, it’s for marketing reasons..use gentle cleansers no detergent cleansers it will only strip your face from its natural oil (lipids) which are good for our skin..so look for (sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, succinate, sulfonate, sulfosuccinate, sulfoacetate or betaine) and off coarse parabens and phthalates..if you see these In your cleanser don’t get it..these detergent cleansers will cause dryness, irritation to your skin…never use hot water “your face is not a dirty dish..girls!!”, cool water is the best for your skin.

SPF: I’m sure that you red and heard everyone recommending using a sun screen..and I’m also sure that most of us SPF is a beach accessory only..as if there’s no sun rises in the rest of the year, well..sun is one of two enemies that damages the skin. So use a mineral sun screen that contains (zinc dioxide, titanium dioxide) NOT Avobenzone (parsol 1789), Octinoxate, Octocrylene, PABA..and if you are worried about the white cast caused by titanium dioxide, many brands now do a translucent sun screens..no more lady Casper effect.

If you have a dry skin use AHA and if you are oily skin use BHA.

Exfoliating: is a very important step in your skincare routine, when dead skin accumulates our faces will look dull and older, stay away from harsh scrubs and use instead AHA( Alfa hydroxi acid) or BHA( beta hydroxi acid) and don’t be afraid from the word acid..our skin is acidic and these are acids from fruits and veggies so they are gentle on the skin. 

Moisturizers: I’m not gonna say much in this but a moisturized skin will always look fresh, don’t go too crazy with it, respects your skin’s natural moisturizers and try to keep your skin balanced with the amount of moisturizers.

If you have a zit in my opinion it’s fine to pop it but gently, because the more pressure on the skin the more damage and scaring might happen and as a blemish treatment use something contains cholidel sulfer not benzoyl peroxide. 

So remember girls taking care of your skin is not luxury it’s a must, invest in your skin, we only have one face, your only enemies are sun and poor diet/lifestyle 

• No junk food or processed 

• Reduce smoking and alcohol 

• Never wash your face with a bar of soap

• No alcohol based toners

• Reduce sun exposure 

• Never a tanning bed (unless you are interested in experiencing a skin cancer)