August 2017

The Draping technique

Published on August 24, 2017February 6, 2018 by Sahibah.AliLeave a comment

Otherwise known as contouring with blush and was the technique created by the founding father of contouring, Way Bandy

The legendary celebrity makeup artist of the 70’s worked with the likes of Cher, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor amongst other high profile Hollywood celebrities and was once called one of the greatest makeup artists of our time. As well as being the highest paid makeup artist for film and commercials, Bandy also wrote books explaining his techniques to achieve heavy yet clean looking makeup (books that i really need to get my hands on😩). I would recommend anyone who enjoys vintage makeup, a bit of history or wants to delve into old school makeup then these books are a great choice!

One of his techniques that was recently brought to the public eye by Marc Jacobs in 2016 was the Draping technique. In simple terms, its contouring using two different shades of blush, one light and one dark to create a contour. It focuses on sculpting your facial features and not your face shape, which is why people contour. Its a way to bring out the natural “drape” of the face and “draping” the angles of your face with colour. So without further ado, i shall stop obsessing about Way Bandy and show you what products i use, what sort of occasion i would wear this and how it looks on me.

The key to this look is using TWO blushers, one light and one darker. If you dont then it really will look like you’ve been slapped (not a good look, i assure you).

This took me about 3 minutes, i have no other makeup on except two blushers and cream highlight. I used the Fleur power blush from Mac ( any pink blush would be fine too) as my “contour”. Sucking my cheeks and applying it in the same way as i would contour. Then i used Peaches from Mac and applied this higher and blended them two together to create a flushed, chiselled look. You can also use a cream blush and create a line with your ring finger, blend that out and use powder blush thats a shade lighter to blend the two together. A blush palette would work great too instead of using seperate compacts.

The draping technique has been a god send over the summer, i tan really quickly and i dont necessarily want to contour on top of it (because im that rare person who HATES getting a tan). I normally drape when i have that “i only have 5 minutes” to do makeup and its worked beautifully. So using blush to chisel my potatoness (a made up word) has become a much loved technique and its become my mission to get everyone else to drape! You can definitely play around with the intensity from looking fresh and summery, as if you were running across a field to looking like you’ve come out of a 70’s disco. Either way, Bandy has created a beautiful natural alternative to contouring❤

Let me know if you’ve tried the draping technique and make sure to enter your email on the homepage so you never miss a post

See you in my next post!

Love from Sahibah x

A pictorial of my signature eyelook

Published on August 20, 2017February 6, 2018 by Sahibah.AliLeave a comment

My signature eyelook changes from time to time from one day only wearing winged liner to now falling in love with a smoked out eye. Whenever i dont know what eyelook to do i always go for this, its my comfort zone and a look i will probably do again because Eid is coming at me fast and i have 0 preparations for it🙃 So i created a pictorial that hopefully simplifies this look for you guys to try out at home.

So firstly, the trick is in the tape to create that winged smoked out look. You need to apply the tape close to your lashline leaving enough space for eyeshadow and in line with the tail of your brow so it follows the shape nicely. Practise this a couple of times if you havent used tape before to make sure its in the correct place. I’ve already concealed my eyes with a concealer to cancel out any darkness. I used the Morphe 35A Palette and i used all the shades in order, expect the grey shade (which ive crossed out too)

My transition shade is shade number 1, using a fluffy brush i created an upside down C shape from the inner corner to the outer corner (where the tape is). I used a tiny amount because this is just a base for the other shadows
Mixing 2 and 3 i deepened the crease, but i packed on and blended these shadows right under the transition. I do this because i dont have the strongest crease (how i wish i did), so if i go in with these two shades right on my crease its hard to blend out.
Building shadows and blending each one is the key so i used a deep dark brown shade again to add more depth to the outer corner
Using a dense pointed brush i mixed dark brown and black right on my outer corner, i really want the outer corner to be intense, dark and smokey. Remember to blend this out using the same transition shade at the start. Everytime you need to blend, either use a brush with no shadow or a tiny amount of transition
As you can see at the bottom, the outer corner is starting to take shape. Keep blending girl

6. Normally i dont put anything on my lid, but here i patted on a copper shade. Again using the transition shade i blended this out to “blend” in with the outer corner

7. Using the Bobbi brown gel liner i drew the tiniest wing, but stopping right where the black shadow is at the outer corner. Using a small smudger brush i smudged out the liner backwards and forwards and a little upwards towards the shadow.

8. Next is the fun part. Using shades 1, 2 and 3 i smoked out the lower lashline. The using a dense packing brush i used dark browns and black in the lower outer V, connecting the upper lashline shadow to my lower lashline. This is really important if you want that connected smoked out V. After you take the tape off, its messy to fix the outer V, you can always clean it up with concealer, but its better to take some time and make sure its connected. I also used a small definer brush using black shadow to draw a line along my lower lashline to intensify it.

9. I filled in my waterline using a brown eyeliner, it gives a softer look than black. Thats my top eyeliner tip. Apply your favourite lashes, i used Huda Beauty Samantha and went for a clumpy lower lashline with mascara (i love doing that😩). After the eye is done you can clean up with foundation and concealer afterwards.

And thats the final look, a beautiful sultry smoked out eye. It took me quite some time to practise this and make it work for my eyeshape. So if it doesnt work out the first time, fear not because in my first time i looked like a panda (not even exaggerating) I’ll be posting more eyelooks and video tutorials soon so keep an eye out and make sure you sign up to recieve an email whenever i post🖤

See you in my next post!

Love from Sahibah x

A review of Jouer’s Skinny dip Ultra Foil shimmer shadows

Published on August 11, 2017March 11, 2019 by Sahibah.AliLeave a comment

Hey my loves! I’ve been meaning to review the new Jouer summer collection, which included this beautiful shimmer eyeshadow palette for a while now. I wanted to test every shade on myself as well as others to give you my final verdict!

I got this from Cultbeauty for £35 as a little treat because i dont really play with glitters and pigments and i thought this would be a great place to start. It claims to, ” deliver an intense, shimmering metallic finish thats long wearing and crease resistant”

Left to right – “Starlight” ( Foil shimmering platinum) “Bikini” ( Foil shimmering champagne pink) “Skinny dip” (Foil shimmering champagne gold) “Tan lines” ( Foil shimmer antique bronze) “Magic hour” (Foil shimmer antique bronze) “Midnight swim” (Glitter cocoa bronze) Also pictured, Jouer’s lip topper in Skinny dip

First of all, the packaging is absolutely beautiful and the palette itself is really lightweight and easy to carry around in a handbag or my kit for clients so im pleased with that. The palette and colours itself is a real joy to see because its just so stunning, doesnt it just look like a dream!

Application and swatches

So in the product description it says the shadows can be used wet or dry meaning you can use setting spray onto a packing brush and then apply onto the lid, but after how strong the swatches came out on my fingers i thought to pack that onto my eyelid instead of a brush. I did try using a dense packing brush but i just didnt feel comfortable with it. The swatches came out beautifully, there was a strong deposit of pigment, it feels creamy and smooth, not glittery or chunky at all which is a good sign!

On the eyelid when using my ring finger and lightly packing it on, it was very pigmented and very little eyeshadow was left on my finger. Sometimes in some palettes a shimmery pigment swatches amazingly on the finger but it just doesnt show up on the eyes which defeats the whole purpose of the palette i guess but its great for the ‘gram😂. I was so pleased with how it looked on my eyes, it was so simple and very little product got wasted so im really in love with how well this palette worked for me

Final Verdict

Overall, ive used this palette time and time again, i fall in love every time, and if you do decide to get this ( i highly recommend to do so) just TRY the shade midnight swim or Tan lines on top of a matte brown or copper shade on your eyelid and you’ll get my obsession, trust me.

I think its a great alternative to using glitter thats quite intimidating and messy, i made a gigantic mess over this eyelook i posted on my instagram but i managed to save it (just about). Its also a great alternative to the Stilla Magnificent metals which you just get one shade of whereas these are 6 gorgeous pans! Theres also great swatches on Jouer’s instagram and you can see the full skinny dip collection. I really hope they create a holiday edition of this with greens and golds and lovely warm tones (im drooling) But fingers crossed!

That wraps up my review, im really pleased that i have it and im quite impressed with Jouer and i can see why beauty influencers regularly promote Jouer for its great quality and aesthetic and i cant wait to see what more they have to offer❤

See you in my next post!

Love from Sahibah x

All about Elf Cosmetics!

Published on August 2, 2017February 6, 2018 by Sahibah.Ali2 Comments

Elf Cosmetics has finally launched in the UK, and its about time. I know im probably the last person reviewing them, i know😩 BUT i made a trip to the local Superdrug back in May and now its August… But hey at least i took some time reviewing it😂

Ive heard all about Elf from American youtubers raving about their products and how its such good quality for an affordable price. They’ve been praised as, ” Quality cosmetics at affordable prices” and “quality skincare selling products largely at $1, $3 and $6 price points”. Fun fact alert: ELF stands for Eyes, lips and Face, and not the Elf movie, oh well😂😩 But ive heard so many good things about their primers and face products so thats what i dived into!

There was SO much to choose from, so many primers, foundations, concealers and a whole ton of different types of powders for skin types. To be honest, after the horror ive had with the NYX setting powder for not doing anything and making me look ashy, (i’ll link it here so you can see), i’m a little skeptical of drugstore powders. They looked incredible but i’ll have to do my research first and then have a go. I must have spent an hour deciding on what to get. Finally, i chose the primer that would suit me best and a cute little brush and bronzer kit to start with.

Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer – Out of all the face primers catering for redness and correcting bloctchy skin, sensitive skin, uneven skin and for brightening, i felt this one would work best for me because it claims to “combat against excess oil, flaky dryness, enlarged pores and fine lines…. so makeup goes on evenly for a long lasting finish”.
I first used this on a very hot day it must have been about 26 degrees. It was boiling. The primer comes out of a pump so 10 points for that, i hate fiddling around. It felt quite thick and siliconey (if that makes sense) a bit lighter feeling than the Benefit porefessional but heavier than the Loreal Infallible Primer. I got a bit put off as it was so hot and i wasnt keen in a thick primer. Once rubbed in however and fanned down a bit, it melted into the skin. AND MY NOSE LET ME TELL YOU. The pores were gone. It really covered the giant craters on my nose. The grand canyon was gone!
Throughout the day, i made notes on how my makeup looked because as a reminder i bought this in may. The foundation applied smoothly as it claimed to and throughout the day i really stared closely in my mirror. With powder on top to set it of course, it did a pretty good job. My makeup stayed put. At the end of the day, i did notice the sides of my nose spread out to my cheeks getting a little oily but it wasnt a huge deal for me. I must have used this about 10 times and overall im quite pleased with it. I tend to reach for this rather then my porefessional so thats saying something!
My sister who doesnt know much about makeup thought the primer cost, in her words “Like £50” because it looks expensive. Little does she know that this baby cost me ONLY £7.50. *Mic drop*. I think shes right to think it looks expensive because look at that packaging, the frosted glass that oh so reminds me of the Marc Jacobs coconut primer. Its beautiful.
Finally i give this primer a good 9/10, my only concern is that i wish it was a lot lighter feeling but overall, its a great buy

Elf contouring Blush and Bronzing powder in Fiji – Again, there was a lot to choose from and i definitly will be diving into their contour kits, their highlighters, blush palettes and eyeshadow palettes. This little duo appealed to me the most, i really like the colours its in my lovely little comfort zone
It claims to create, “a healthy and natural glow… for a pop of colour and contour for a beautiful definition”
Lets talk about the price first. Its a fiver. Its only £5.00! I cant say enough how pleased i am with this kit. I really love blush, i would always choose blush over contour any day
The blush is exceptionally lovely its a fresh pop of colour, a gorgeous light pink. I use the bronzer mostly for a quick powder nose contour. Its not a warm sun kissed like bronzer, it actually works beautifully for a subtle nose contour which is strange but it does the job!
I dont always wear foundation, we have those days when theres just no time. So, i stick some concealer under my eyes and i use this kit for the no make up make up look and its perfect. You cant really tell i have blush on or a bit of bronzer, it really is a staple makeup product for me now and doesnt the packaging look like NARS!

Overall, its top quality, great makeup that doesnt break the bank. Love it love it love it. I will be diving into more products from ELF and i really recommend to try them out. It wont dissapoint!.

That concludes my review, see you in my next post!

Love from Sahibah x

(Pictures taken with my nifty little S6) x