Getting To Know Me Pt II -- Beauty Edition

Hey ladies=)

I hope everyone's doing great. I'm coming at you today with a different kind of post, i. e. beauty-related. People seemed to like the 'Ramadan & Makeup' post, and I like makeup myself, so I might do more of these in the future insh'Allah=)

The following questions are a tag featuring on YazminAkhtaar's blog. I thought it was kind of fun, and a good way of sharing my makeup habits, so there you go!

How many times do you wash your face daily? Twice- morning with water and toner, evening with face wash.

What skin type do you have? I've been told I have combination skin, but my skin is pretty normal, I guess.

What is your current facial wash? Laroche-Posay's soap for dry/sensitive/dehydrated skin.

Do you exfoliate? Yep=)

What brand do you use? Right now, I use Laroche-Posay's face scrub for dry/sensitive skin, but I find it a bit abrasive. I like St Ives' Apricot scrub a lot better.

What moisturizer do you use? Right now, I use Laroche-Posay's mattifying moisturizer mixed with Argan oil for the daytime. At night, I use Shea butter.

Do you have freckles? Nope, but I think they're cute^^

Do you use eye cream? Shea butter's my eye cream -.-

Do you/did you have acne prone skin? No, I did have oilier skin when I was younger though.

Ramadan Recap Pt II -- What I Read, Saw & Wore

Salam=)

The last post was about my overall feeling for this year's Ramadan. This one is going to be about what I did, and how I lived, during the month.

Books first.

1. The Noble Qur'an. I've never read it in its entirety, I got to about a third of it, but I could already tell it's amazing! I really felt like I had a connection with it, every time I opened the Book to read it, I would always find something for me there. Intellectual and spiritual food, all in one. Insane! This definitely motivated me to try and read it more=)

2. Rubâi'yât by Mevlana Jalal-ud-din Rumi. This book is a collection of quatrains which deal with the author's experiences that have paved his spiritual path. What Rumî talks about in this poem is Love. What can I say, it's for the people of the heart, very inspirational and moving <3

Ramadan Recap

Salam ladies!

Insh'Allah this post will find you in great spirits! I hope everyone's Ramadan went well. Also, Eid mubarak=) May Allah SWT allow to reep the fruits of our fasting and make of the saliheen (someone say ameen ;)

I feel a little bad that I've neglected my bloggie this month, I'd actually thought of publishing Ramadan-related posts similar to the 'Ramadan & Makeup' one, but I honestly had neither the time nor the energy to do that. Still, I wanted to have a little recap of the month, 1.to keep you guys posted; 2. to draw conclusions as to how to use Ramadan time more effectively and enjoy it more.

First of all, let me say I didn't meet all my requirements for the month. I think I've had set myself too many goals, and combined with worldly occupations, it was impossible to go through my program. I only completed a third of the Qur'an, and didn't contemplate and cook as much as I wanted.

Also, the lack of sleep and food invariably turned me into Super Lazy Bum. After Maghrib, you can be sure I was either praying/doing zikr/eating/sleeping the heck out of me. And this took a toll on my willingness to take care of me. In a month, I did zero face masks, one poor face scrub, and moisturized when I felt like it- that is, half of the time. Hairwise, I've used the' no-fuss method', consisting in reduced hair washing and manipulation> wash, condition, put leave-ins, detangle, put hair in four braids, and be free :) But the thing is, fuss-free hair turned into fuzzy hair LOL there's nothing like bi-weekly washes!

However, I'm quite happy with my Ramadan. I've learned tons of new things, I've been able to meditate and ponder things a bit. Also, I've been given the opportunity to work on my character, which is a lot of work =.=

Ramadan was like an intensive Taqwa training. You use most of your time for Allah, and a tiny fraction for 'foolish' things, so you cut out the extra food, the stupid TV shows, etc. Honestly, this is the best schedule, and I think we should implement this in our lives to a certain extent: more for the akhirah, less for the dunya.

But, I'm not gonna lie, I'm happy to eat throughout the day and to have my music back- actually, I'm jammin' to RHCP's latest tune as I type=)

Overall, I was really happu with my Ramadan, may Allah give us many other Ramadans to enable us to elevate ourselves spiritually!