Ramadan Beauty Tips

Hey ladies!

As you all know, Ramadan is a holy month, during which we fast and put an emphasis on spirituality and prayer. It's also a time for sharing and conviviality, and food plays an important role, ironically enough, from sadaqas to iftars and dinners.

Although this equates to a pretty busy schedule, we don't want to neglect our appearance. So, these past few days, I've decided to tweak my beauty routine to fit my daily activities. That's how I came up with a few tips who will work perfect for lazy, tired, busy, and/or people who are on a budget!

1. Moisturize you skin. Since our water intake is greatly reduced, moisturizing from the outside is even more important. Use a moisturizing body wash, and team it with an emollient lotion. I find that natural oils and butters work just as well, if not better, than manufactured lotions. My favorites are coconut oil and Shea butter, I would use either or and apply from head to toe.

2. Keep it odor-free. As for deodorant, I actually use lemon juice*. It might seem crazy, but lemon juice has great antisceptic, firming, anti-bacterial and anti-odor properties. It reduces perspiration and smell without leaving your skin scented. If you want to stay away from scent during Ramadan, but still want to be fresh, I highly recommend it!

3.  Get long-lasting smooth skin. If you want to be free of unwanted hair, I suggest waxing. Yes, it's painful, but worth it: you'll have smooth skin for weeks, i. e. until the end of Ramadan, without having to shave, pluck, use creams everyday. Less hassle = one happier you :)

4. Don't forget about face masks and exfoliators! One product that really did the trick for me was plain yogurt. It's known to be moisturizing, soothing, tightening, AND exfoliating! This is killing a thousand birds with one stone :)

5. Fancy some makeup? If I don't get out of the house, I don't bother with it. If I do, I'd use a minimal amount. Check this out for more info.

My 2012 Ramadan Plan

Salam ladies!

First off, let me say Ramadan Kareem to everyone! Hopefully, we'll make the best of this month and work on ourselves - that's what I intend to do incha'Allah. Like I did last year, I came up with a Ramadan plan, and although it has started already, I wanted to share it with you :)

1. Read the Qur'an. Sadly, I didn't get to finish it last year, which is a little disappointing, but I still benefited greatly from the reading. So this year, I won't set anything in stone, I'll just try and read whenever I can.

2. Fast with all members. Basically, that means not doing things I'm not supposed to do, plain and simple :)

3. Contemplate. Taking time to think will enable me to sort some things out, to maybe change my outlooks on them, and achieve a better understanding on what is happening around me incha'Allah.

4. Retire from social networks during the day. That's mostly Tweeter :) I don't want it to distract me from the goals I'm trying to achieve for this month. Also, I use it often, maybe a little more that I would want, so Ramadan will be the perfect opportunity to keep that growing addiction in check!

5. Extra dhikr. Goes hands in hand with pt 1 and 3.

6. Seek knowledge. As for books, I don't have any to read, except from the Qur'an, so I will search online for my favorite shaykhs' works.

What are your plans for this year? Let me know in the comment box :)

How To Deal With Hardship

Salam=)

Long time, no blog - you're used to it, I know. I've been busy lately and I'm trying to provide better content, God knows it takes times, but thank you for visiting and bearing with me :)

These last months were a little tough on me, it seemed like nothing was going my way. I've had my share of ups and downs, but I know it's all Allah. Things aren't really looking up, but along the way, I've discovered a few things that have helped a little.

1. Know that you're not alone. Everyone has to face difficulties at some point, even though they don't mention them spontaneously.

2. You're supposed to face problems. Yep, that's right. This world is the place for trials and tribulations, you get out of a situation, and you jump right into another. That's the nature of the world, don't except a trouble-free, easy-peasy kinda life.

3. You're pretty lucky. It might be odd to think this way, but we're quite priviledged. If you're like me, you're Muslim, alive and healthy, you have close, trusted relatives, and live in a land where your own person and goods are protected. A lot of people are severely abused, sick and/or destitute, and cannot access some of the things that God gave you and that they wished they had. Whatever happens, I guarantee you it could be a lot worse.

4. Think of examples. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, the one person who comes to my mind is Seydina Ayyoub (PBUH). He's the epitome of courage, when he's been tested in his wealth, his family, his health, even his friendships, he remained patient and faithful until God removed all his afflictions and rewarded him. When depression and despair are around, I try and get inspiration from him (PBUH).

5. Keep busy. The best way not to think about problems is to be active. It can be anything, chores, hobbies, whatever keeps you busy during the day.