dalal tahira

I've never had acrylic nails before mainly because of the fear of them ripping my natural nails off and the fact that my school doesn't even allow light pink nail polish, let alone these talons. One day before I went on holiday (I'm in Morocco now) I decided to take the plunge and finally get my nails done, along with Ambra. The process wasn't too lengthy, around an hour each, including chit chat with the nail artist so it's quite quick. I decided to keep it simple and chose this mauve/taupe colour with lilac shimmer running through by Orly in the shade 'Sweet Dreams'. I prefer more muted, neutral colours, although it's summer, as they look more sophisticated and aren't too out there. The formula of this nail polish is amazing- it was opaque with one coat but to ensure full coverage we done two, it was super shiny even without a topcoat and it has lasted 5 days with no chipping at all!

The LUSH Mask of Magnaminty is my go-to face mask!

Behold the superhero product for my skin, the Lush Mask of Magnaminty. I bought this mask back in May and have been using it religiously every week, as it is self preserving it means I can use it for as long as I want without having to worry about it losing its freshness. This is the type of mask you can apply all over your face or just to those pesky spots that decide to make an appearance, it is said to help fight any spots and prevent any breakouts so this is great for all skin types whether you have acne or are like me and just get the odd (unwelcome) spot. It has a moussey texture and also smells really nice- it's earthy and minty and kind of reminds me of mint choc chip ice cream, making the mask feel very refreshing on the skin. LUSH mask of magnminty is a creamy, textured masks as it contains ground aduki beans  evening primrose seeds which help exfoliate the skin and reduce any redness; the mask also contains peppermint oil, honey, Kaolin clay and bentonite gel which all help to draw the dirt and grime away from your pores and stimulate the blood cells under your skin to leave it looking bright and glowing.

Rimmel BB cream radiance-Seeing as the more highlighted and glowy look is the makeup craze at the moment, this BB cream really appealed to me as it's said to not only brighten the skin but prime, smooth, conceal, moisturise and minimise the apperance of pores. This BB cream is full of shea butter to moisturise and vitamin C complex to brighten the skin so there aren't any harsh chemicals in there that could be drying out your skin. As the texture of this is amazing as it's super creamy, easy to blend and has quite high coverage for a BB cream! It claims to do 9 things in 1 which are to prime, smooth, conceal, minimise pores, provide a natural finish, moisturise, awaken dull skin, brighten and give a radiant, dewy finish to the skin. I don't really use primers so I can't exactly judge whether it'll be better with a primer or not however it does smooth and conceal your skin, giving it a soft and flawless finish which isn't too air brushed and fake. It didn't last for the longest time but I wouldn't expect that from a more dewier base however to prolong the staying power, lightly dust some translucent powder. Overall this is ranked second!
Maybelline dream fresh BB cream-
Maybelline have got to be my favourite drugstore makeup brand so when I picked up the Dream Fresh BB cream I had high expectations of it's 8-in-1 properties. It did live up to the majority of them which were to smooth, even out and conceal any discoloured areas on my skin as well as be a lightweight base however the formula isn't the best- it's far too runny and wet although that does help it blend into the skin really easily. The product itself is quite sheer so it is quite flexible, you could easily build it up for some more coverage around spots and any hyper pigmentation or use one application for a more quick but toned look. As it has an SPF of 30, it's the most sensible base to wear on a sunny day so you don't have to worry about applying a sun cream beneath it. I find that if I don't set this with a translucent powder, it's a little too dewy for my liking and almost makes you look like you've been sweating so as a result, I don't think this is the best option if you have oily skin. This is ranked third!
Garnier miracle skin perfector-
I usually see Garnier as a skincare brand so when my mum bought the BB cream, it was a bit of a surprise! Of course I went to the Internet for some reviews to see what others thought of it but there weren't many so I was left even more unsure on this product. I still decided to try it and as soon as I did all my doubts were magically erased(dramatic much?) The lightly whipped mousse consistency helps to make your skin look more naturally radiant, even and smooth as well as contains hyaluronic acid which is said to be a great moisturising agent. This products contains an SPF of 15 so not only does it beautify your skin, it protects it too. Although it doesn't coneal a dark circles it does a heck of a good job at blurring any blemishes and spots to give you more healthy and glowy looking skin. It blends like a dream, leaving no harsh streaks behind unlike the Maybelline BB cream making this my favourite BB cream of all three.

First outfit has a more laidback, scruffy but still put together vibe. I felt like those cute skater girls, even though I can't even balance on a skateboard properly but you get the gist, I wore a white ribbed crop top from Topshop and I love how well fitted this is and how it is fully opaque so you can't see your bra as you normally would with other white tops. My most worn pair of jeans have got to be my "black" joni jeans from Topshop, they're very comfy and are incredibly versatile however they do fade after being washed a couple times. As a cover up I decided to throw on a light blue chambray shirt by, you guessed it, Topshop as it's so simple, lightweight and easy to style making it perfect for the summer. Last are a pair of shoes that I have worn to death, my Vans slip ons, these are very comfy and once again are so easy to wear with anything- both daytime and nightime. I feel like these are the type of item that get better with age, a bit like wine, they seem much more "you" when they've been broken in and have some ownage showing.

This outfit is more formal than the other one but you could dress it down by replacing the shirt with a loose cami. I'm wearing a flowy, off white shirt from H&M and I like how it's quite greek goddess like too, it makes me feel 10x elegant than I actually am. As for trousers, these are some patterened jeans which I got from Zara during the sale, I really like them and have received compliments on them already despite having worn them only once! They do help to implement some colour to my otherwise dull closet which I like whilst still being subtle, and these fit very well. Ankle boots are normally associated with the colder weather but I somehow managed to make them a bit more summer appropriate by pairing it with the following pieces, they're very comfy -once broken in- and are very effortless too, these are also from Zara.  Last is (my sisters!) watch which I've been wearing a lot more lately, it's a white Ice-Watch but it's not as chunky as the normal ones and has swarovski crystals around the clock face which makes a little more sophisticated than the traditional ones, this has been my go to watch lately as it's so basic yet eye catching.
Ambra and I ended up having an amazing time and it was nice that we were able to develop our photography skills as well as hang out together, I really enjoyed doing this post which could mean I will be doing more fashion posts on my blog in the future!