Products that got me goin’ crazy right now!

BIOEFFECT Body Intensive Serum

Icelandic skincare brand, BIOEFFECT is definitely a luxury splurge, unless you are fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy the age-defying serum on a regular basis (I wish I could re-purchase immediately, however, I do have to save up to treat myself to the face serum as well as the body serum).

I have been using the Body Intensive serum for around six months, only a few drops are needed and I can indeed share with you that my overall skin tone has most certainly improved

RRP £80 for 75ml.

You can buy BIOEFFECT online here or at Selfridges.

Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush

Bourjois is one of my favourite brands and they can do no wrong in my eyes, the healthy mix serum is one of my favourite bases, the intense eyeshadow pots are ridiculously highly pigmented (better than most designer brands) and now these -petite pots of cream to powder blush! They are amazingly similar to the YSL cream blush pots. They blend in effortlessly, perfect for all skin types and can be worn sheer or intense. I can’t stop wearing No.2, a beautiful coral.

RRP £7.99 Available from Selfridges.

Neal’s Yard Rejuvenating Frankincense Facial Oil

I have been using this facial oil for the past 2 weeks and have to say I am in LOVE with this, I am actually going to by mum a bottle because I think this will be perfect for her skin which is dry and she is desperately after a dewy glow. I was using Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery, but I much prefer this one and will be sticking to it as well. It sinks into skin instantly and doesn’t leave a sticky residue on your pillowcase.

RRP £26.75 Available from Neal’s Yard online or in a store near you.

Dr Lewinn’s Instant Beauty Radiance Booster

I am rather annoyed with myself for not discovering the Dr Lewinn’s range sooner. This product is a brilliant make up base, instantly smoothing and brightening skin, with over 70% Aloe Vera, it makes sense why my skin is instantly soothed upon application of this orange cream/gel. It can also be used as a face mask for an intense moisture boost.

RRP £26 Available from Dr Lewinn’s online.

NARS x Pierre Hardy Limited Edition Blushers

Blushers are my staple make up item, so the moment these bad boys went live online, I placed an order for BOTH! How can I gal be forced to choose between a magnificent warm orange (Rotunde) and a stunning pink grapefruit (Boys Don’t Cry)? I got mine a few weeks ago, so not sure if there are any left.

RRP £30 Available from Space.NK and NARS online.

Philips Sonicare Toothbrush

Nothing like good clean teeth, which is why I invested in this toothbrush, it’s on offer at the moment in Boots, half price! I believe prevention is better than cure, especially with the cost of going to a dentist these days! This gadget even comes with a UV light unit to sterilise the heads (perfect for OCD freaks like me).

Was £200, now £100 from Boots.

My baby boy, King

OK, OK, I know King isn’t a product and I love him the same as my other dogs, always and forever. However, last week, I got some bad news about King, he has a heart muscle disease, common in his breed and big dogs in general. He could drop dead at any moment, literally, on a walk he could collapse. He is on meds now and the vet will monitor him, so I’m grateful to have more time with him, which is why I have been giving him even more love lately, because I don’t know how long I will have with him.

So, just some advice to fellow dog lovers/owners, if you feel like the slightest thing is wrong with your dog, check it out. I know my dogs and the moment I saw King limping, I had him checked out, never expecting to hear it was a disease of his heart, the same thing happened when my other boy had cancer, the vet assured my it was an age lump, I made him send it off to be analysed to be sure….and yep, it was cancer. They can’t tell you if they are not feeling too good, they rely on us to keep an eye on them.

Ps, King is in my blog header, have you ever noticed him? He he.

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . .

Step back in time at the Rose & Co Apothecary

Last weekend, my sisters and I took a road trip to the famous village of Haworth, also known as Bronte Country (home to the  literary greats, the Bronte sisters). I’m also certain I saw a sign in the village that Haworth was the very first fair trade city in the WORLD!

As much as I am a huge fan of the Brontes’ work, my primary purpose for visiting this picturesque village was to finally step foot into the magical world of the Rose & Co Apothecary.

Cobbled streets lined with independent shops welcome thousands of tourists from all over the world on a daily basis. We were in Haworth on a Sunday and were surrounded by Chinese, Spanish as well visitors from other UK cities. As soon as I step foot on the Hight St of Haworth (Main St) I made a bee line straight to the Rose & Co Apothecary, clearly everyone else did too because the shop was jam-packed!

Formerly an old Druggist shop (where Branwell Bronte bough his Opium), the apothecary was everything I had imagined plus more, I felt like Tom in ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ upon discovering the Victorian era garden when the clock struck the 13! The walls and floors are lined with mahogany with vintage glass cases full of delicious edible and non-edible treats.

Everything about the store was intriguing, exciting and alluring. I was in awe of all the jars and drawers full of quaint and cool brands, both non-edible and edible such as the Patisserie de Bain range, Paul & Joe cosmetics,  locally produced preserves, condiments, fudge and biscuits.

This ‘bin’ was full of DELISH Milk of Roses bath salts.

Pretty bath fancies.

Preserves in all sorts of scrumptious flavours

One of my HERO products, Zam-Buk ointment.

Don’t be fooled, these are SOAPS! YUMMMMM

Panties in the ladies fitters dept

Retro packaging.

After spending a good hour in Rose & Co, we decided to visit the other stores and bought SO many sweets and fudge from the retro sweet shop across the road from Rose & Co and then headed over to Cobbles and Clay for a tasty home cooked lunch.

It started raining.

Farrah’s…of course you’d find my name on sweets!

I highly recommend a tasty lunch at Cobbles and Clay. Kids come here to create pottery and paint it, totally getting involved in that next time.

After our day in Haworth, Caroline Rose, founder of Rose & Co invited my sisters and I over for tea and to meet her charming little pack of chihuahuas. Caroline is such a girls girl, so warm and welcoming with charisma and she has this aura which exudes happiness and elegance. We all chatted for hours about how Caroline and her mum started the business (in their kitchen), how the bath salts are STILL to this day made at her home, exciting plans for the brand and of course dogs!  The chi’s are just toooooo adorable, they all have their own quirky little ways which was so entertaining to watch.

I absolutely adore the Rose & Co brand and I am so glad I finally got to visit the famous Apothecary, if you love all things pretty, vintage and quirky then you MUST visit the shop. It really does feel like you’ve stepped back in time.

My sisters enjoying tea at Caroline’s.

The Rose & Co Chi’s

Queen Bee of the pack

Totally inappropriate attire! My sisters bullied me throughout the whole day!

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . .

Bite me Zinfandel!

I picked this lil beauty up from Selfridges’ fancy schmancy beauty workshop area over a month ago – I think (could be longer, can’t remember). BITE Beauty is a Canadian brand, specialising in all-natural lip care…and apparently healthy enough to…EAT!

I was ecstatic to see the BITE display in Selfridges, I saw it in Sephora in LA and kicked myself for not buying anything from the range. I selected a couple of lipsticks and lip conditioners but they were out of stock, so the only item I got to buy was this highly pigmented matte lip pencil in Zinfandel.

I would own every one of these pencils if I could, I am so impressed with how moisturising and long lasting this pencil is, you also have the added benefit of using it to line your lips as well.

A big bugbear for me when it comes to lipsticks in this form is the need for a bl@@dy sharpener, well, the clever folks  at BITE thought about this and made sure you wouldn’t need a sharpener, you just wind the pencil up when it starts to blunt.

Made with a double-dose of premium micronised pigments and super antioxidant resveratrol, (which fights free radicals). Apparently, each lip pencil contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of wine (does this mean you’ll feel tipsy if you eat the whole pencil?).

The colour is a ‘typical me’ colour of a warm orange/red, similar to my old fave, NARS Red Square (but the need to sharpen that pencil wore me out after 6 years of wearing it).

I hope the lip tints and the lipstick colour I wanted are in stock next time I am in Selfridges. This brand has a lot to offer!

RRP £24 from Selfridges (London) or Selfridges online.

Oh, also, I popped into my local Space.NK today to check out the latest NARS satin velvet lip pencils, which are luuuuuuuurvely..but……THEY DON’T COME WITH A SHARPENER!!!

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . .

Smooth-V

I started having laser hair removal back in 2011, however the place where I started my treatment became unreliable, my appointments were sporadic, I was having treatments way after I was due for a session, which resulted in the hair becoming strong again, so it was like I was starting all over again…as well as wasting all that money.

I was determined to find (a) a brilliant laser machine and (b) a reliable salon/clinic to carry out my treatments. After months of research, reading about all types of laser and laser machines (I won’t lie, a lot of it went way over my head), I finally found a machine I wanted my treatment with, elos technology by ‘Candela’. Elos technology is the next generation of safe and effective hair removal, it uses combined energies to effectively and gently remove hair of many colours (and wait for it) for ALL skin tones!

The next step was to find a salon (in Birmingham) offering this service with this particular laser machine. So, I contacted Syneron-Candela lasers direct. I was ECSTATIC to hear that the Outline Clinic in Solihull have this particular laser hair removal technology.

I have purposely waited until I was almost finished with my course of treatments to write this review, I only recommend products and treatments I truly believe in, which have given me visible and satisfying results. Also, I think the reason I could never get an appointment at the first laser place I went to was because so many of the readers of my old blog started going, which meant – no appointments for me.

Since September last year (I think) I have had 5 (full bikini and underarms) sessions of laser hair removal and WOW – I have had superb results, especially for my hair type. My wonderful, thorough and super professional therapist, Jo advised me I could need up to 8 sessions to permanently reduce hair growth. For you lucky gals with ‘normal’ hair, you should only need 6 sessions.

This particular machine penetrates the hair follicle with light energy , destroying it at its root while preserving the surrounding skin. It’s high frequency/low energy technology make this treatment very bearable (underarms, completely with some intimate areas less bearable). When contact is made with the skin, cooling begins with the blast of cool air, the laser pre-heats the target spot and then both energies work to attack both inside and outside the target spot.

I actually can’t remember when I had my last treatment, I think it was around 8 weeks ago and I am actually due in for my sixth session tomorrow even though I have no re-growth, but I am going to ask Jo what to do, she usually advises me to wait until some re-growth occurs because the laser needs something to ‘hit’ in order to be effective. This is another reason I highly recommend the Outline Clinic, Jo is so honest and sweet, she is always asking if I’m OK or need to have a break during my sessions. She is also SO thorough, she politely gets in all the nooks and crannies, I am so comfortable with her, I’m like ‘pull and stretch whatever you like, just pleeeeeease get every last grosse hair’.

I HIGHLY recommend this particular laser and Jo at Outline, it only costs £64 per session for full bikini (including the a$$ crack) and underarms (in Birmingham, I assume London prices will be double). I am so pleased with the results that I am now going to start on my face! Woohoo! Bye bye threading!

I am going to continue to have one off treatments, to keep the hair away for good, I just won’t need to go as often, maybe once a year. Laser hair removal (like laser eye surgery, which I have also had) is LIFE CHANGING. Imagine not having to worry about waxing/shaving the vag/underarms before a holiday/hot date? (*cough cough *wink wink at Faye) Why waste all that money and time on waxing every month? I only wish I could have my full body done! (*dreams and sighs)

What are your thoughts about laser hair removal? Would you have it?

Thanks for reading and email me if you have any questions about my treatments.

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . .

Ex-fo-li-ate

 

 

I have got to start this post saying that I HAAAAAAAAAAAATE dull, lifeless skin, which is usually always as a result of not using a good exfoliator. I just cannot comprehend how some girls can spend £X amount on their hair and nails..and even clothes but their skin is…lifeless, in need of a good ol’ scrub! I’m no skincare expert, but my ma taught me to ALWAYS include a good exfoliator in my skincare routine.

There are different types of exfoliators such as scrubs, enzymes and chemical exfoliators. I won’t be going into detail in this post, I am  only going to cover my favourite exfoliators, which happen to be in the form of a ‘scrub’.

1. Kate Somerville’s Exfoli-kate (unfortunately only available in America)

I was recommended the body version of this by Beauty Mouth – Caroline (thanks for making me fall in love with this brand and it’s not available in the UK).

I picked up the Kate Somerville exfoliKate scrubs when I was in LA and I have been using them very sparingly. I was suffering from some super annoying in-growing hairs on my thighs and the body scrub sorted them out pretty quickly, thanks to the fruit enzymes.

The face version is a dark green gel with microsphere beads, also includes fruit enzymes which polishes skin, fades discolouration and renew skin…yep, yep and yep it sure does! I totally need a replen! *as if I needed an excuse to go back to LA.

2. Dr Renaud Mineral Powder Exfoliating Cream (I bought this from my ACE facialist Judi Gilbert)

The wonderful and talented Judi Gilbert recommended Dr Renaud’s Mineral Powder Exfoliating Cream (*Judi, I am totally due to book in with you for my CACI). Created by the same people behind Nuxe I believe (one of my other fave brands).

This scrub is super gentle, containing pumice stone powder and clay powder, it has a very slight grainy effect, similar to how Dermalogica’s Microfoliant feels. I do think this is more suitable for an oily skin as it absorbs excess oil.

RRP £22.50 here

3. Pai Skin Kuikui & Jojoba Bead Skin Brightening Exfoliator (BeautyBay.com)

If you want organic, then Pai is for you. The 100% natural micro-beads exfoliating gel is rich in essential fatty acids to lock in moisture (so more suitable for dry/non-oily skin *hate using the term ‘normal’ skin, I disagree with it). I love the product but dislike the pump, because the gel is quite thick, I find I am pumping hard to get the product out.

RRP £20 here

So, there you have it! My Top Three Exfoliators. now go and scrub, scrub, scrub.

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . . 

Lime Crime Velvetines Vs Stila Liquid Lipstick

I first came across the AHH-MAZING Stila Liquid Lipsticks via my lil buddy, Kaush, she posted a picture on Instagram of Bellisimo, a stunning milky pink/beige. I just HAD to have it, so I instantly went to Selfridges online to check out the other colours, (I am planning on buying them all), but went for Tesoro (intense orange based red) and Bellisimo (dusky beige/pink) for now.

I have not been this impressed with an item of make up since the Tarte Cosmetics Amazonian Clay blushers. WOW! These lipsticks knock YSL, Chanel and Tom Ford lipsticks right out of my favourites list.

The hardest quality for any make up brand to achieve when designing matt finish lipsticks is to keep lips hydrated. Stila have created a long lasting matt lipstick which does not dry lips out, the colour pay off is intense, so you only need a little. I’ve always been a massive fan of OCC lip tars because of the rich pigmented colours, but the packaging is not the best, you need a lip brush to apply them and too much product drips out.

I can’t recommend these enough, I am in LOVE!

The Stila Liquid Lipsticks cost £15 from Selfridges online  (LOVE Selfridges service and super speedy delivery).

Also, if, like me, you were after the Lime Crime Velvetines collection and you really want a velvet, matt finish red lipstick, go for Stila!

My sister posted a picture on Instagram of her new Lime Crime Red Velvet lipstick and now it is sold out! Someone is selling one on ebay for £53 (and people are still bidding), what craziness!

Have you wanted something so badly that you would pay over the odds for it?

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . .

RIP Minaj

Today started off with good news about Minaj and soon turned into bad news. I don’t know if I should even be writing this post right now with how I’m feeling but I owe it to all of you kind people who asked me to keep you informed on my search for her.

A lovely man called this morning, after seeing the advert we put in the paper. He instantly recognised Minaj from her picture and said he saw her at a car wash, the kind people there knew she was lost, so they were taking care of her, feeding her until her owners came looking for her, they thought she was a local dog. This village/town is around 40 minutes away from where we are and nowhere near where she originally went missing. Anyway, we arrived at the car wash, we saw the bowl of water that must have been for Minaj, I was so excited, yet nervous.

Our translator spoke to one of the workers and then turned to my husband and said “I don’t want to say what he said”….the man at the car wash said they had been feeding her since Monday and she ran into the road yesterday and got killed by a car. I could have just died at the moment, I felt so much pain, my heart was actually hurting.

We were a DAY LATE! and we hadn’t ventured that far out from the village she went missing in! I should have known she would travel far, because she was such an intelligent, resilient dog.

Julian refusing to believe it was her, drove to the spot where she was killed, because it rained yesterday, there are stains in the road but not sure if it’s blood. The people at the car wash also said that the council came to collect the body, they usually leave dead dogs and cats in the roads over here until they are driven flat into the road, but I’m guessing the car wash people called them to move the body, especially as she was a big dog.

So, there you have it. Only 2 years old with so much more to give and she dies in a foreign country by getting run over.

Beautiful, loving Minaj came into my life at just 4 weeks old, she was rescued from a life of dog fighting. Funny thing is, we didn’t plan on keeping her because we had 3 dogs already, so we agreed to take care of her until she was old enough to go to a proper home. She obviously never wanted to leave us, nobody wanted to take her because of the false and negative perception of the pitbull breed.

Pitbulls, are not dangerous dogs, there is no such thing as a dangerous dog, only dangerous owners. The reason these evil horrible people (who should burn in hell), use pitbulls for dogfighting is because Pitbulls LOVE people, their aim is to please you and they will do anything to make you happy, therefore making them victims to evil people as I’ve described.

I feel so lost without her now, she was a part of my family and now there will always be this big gaping hole and I don’t know how long I will feel like this.

I have hundreds of pictures and videos of her, every time I look at them, my stomach gets all knotted up and I can’t stop crying, because I wish she was right next to me, laying on the floor, snoring (and sometimes dropping sneaky smelly bombs).

Friends and family, even twitter friends, you all know how much I love my dogs and I regularly say, I am most happiest in the company of my dogs. They are loyal, loving, genuine and the best companions, so this is so hard right now. Minaj was like a child to us, we raised her by feeding her out of a bottle, she acted up by chewing through doors and eating walls. Most people would have gave her away or dumped her in a home, she has caused thousands and thousands of pounds in damage but we raised her as if she was our child, we tried to solve the behavioural problems.

When Minaj came to Cyprus, she was like a different dog, so well behaved, as good as gold. So, it breaks my heart so much that we finally, after 2 years, solved her behaviour issues and then she dies, only 6/7 weeks later. The picture above is the last picture I ever took of her, I have so many great pictures which I’ll share in this post.

Minaj, you were truly one of a kind, the Houdini of dogs, always finding an escape route, this proved to be your downfall. I never understood why you used to hump me and pee like a boy, it freaked me out, but also made me laugh. I am going to miss those big brown eyes and weird half bark that you hadn’t yet mastered. I’ll never ever forget you for as long as I live, I’ll miss you so much. Everytime I listen to Nikki Minaj, I’ll think of you as this is why you got your name. You were crying when I went to collect you from the boy who saved you from a life of dog fighting, I was trying to calm you down, nothing was working, until I put the music on in my car, it was Nikki Minaj. You chewed my car key and the second person you met was Jack, she wanted to call you Minkz because you were like a silky smooth mink. I’m sorry for making you a bit chubby by feeding you peanut butter, I knew how much you loved it. I hope there’s lots of cheese,peanut butter and dentastix for you in Heaven.

Here’s to Minaj, resting in peace, in Paradise. I love you.

Sept 2010 – 4 January 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I won’t be blogging for a while, I just can’t think of anything else right now. I hope you understand.

Thanks for all your support, prayers and kind words.

xxx

YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat – The Next Generation of Foundation

I have waited patiently to write about the latest offering from YSL, Le Teint Touche Eclat. The blogosphere went nuts and there were new reviews everyday. It was important to me to really test this foundation out before I write about it.

I have been using Le Teint Touche Eclat everyday for the last month. Before I give my review, I think it’s necessary for you to understand why this is such a big deal.

Every girl in the world knows about the infamous ‘gold pen’ – Touche Eclat, probably the most iconic product in the 00′s. I think at one point, the claim was, one was sold every second (powerful and genius marketing).

My first experience with the Touche Eclat was when I was 16, I was watching some Spice Girls documentary and watched how the make up artist transformed Geri Halliwell’s tired eyes. The next day, I hunted the product down and used it religously for around 8 years, (until I needed to conceal my dark circles not illuminate them).

The new YSL foundation (Le Teint Touche Eclat) is a new type of foundation, it is a light gel type formula which gives skin an illuminating effect, same principe as the Touche Eclat.

There are 22 shades for all skin colours, I am not certain the man on the YSL counter in Selfridges, Birmingham matched me up correctly (the worst YSL counter I have ever visited and usually avoid but I desperately wanted to try this foundation). He insisted he matched my colour and took the cotton bud out of my hand when I attempted to swatch the colours myself!

So, the colour I have is not a perfect match, when this bottle runs out (which it doesn’t seem to be moving at all) I will try to find my exact match..MYSELF.

My review

Le Teint Touche Eclat is a lovely light fluid which glides on effortlessly, disappearing into my skin instantly. This coverage is perfect for me, I’d say this is a touch more than tinted moisturiser coverage. If you want more coverage, then you could try layering and use the YSL foundation brush (which feels and looks lovely).

I must say, when using this, I felt like I was using Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, they are SO similar.

I have ‘normal’ (HATE this skin type word) skin, not oily, not dry. So this foundation was perfect for me. However, I’m not sure how someone with oily skin would get on with it. During my hormonal days when my skin was a little bit oily, I noticed I looked shiny (not glowing/illuminating) by the end of a work day.

As my review is mixed, I’ve done a score sheet to help you make up your mind about trying this out, because it costs £28, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for someone buying it and then being disappointed based on my review.

Coverage: 9/10 (perfect for me because I like light coverage)

Staying power: 7/10 (this will last you during work hours but may not last if you want to go for drink after work)

Packaging: 9/10 (will look very nice on your dressing table)

Value for money: 7/10

Would I buy again? YES, definitely.

Have you tried Le Teint Touche Eclat? What are your thoughts?

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . . 

50 Shades of Gray – Part 3

I’ve left this installment longer than I intended, been a busy bee with my dogs and organising my beauty room (I had a good clear out and will be sending my products to an ace charity called Give and Make up.)

Anyway, moving on. Have a read of the next lot of 50 Shades of GRAY..enjoy.

(21 – 30 are from Vicky Truman, Head Educator for a premium Spa skincare brand. Thanks Vick.)

21. DON’T sit with crossed legs, this impairs circulation and may cause varicose veins.

22. As you get older, swap your mechanical exfoliator for a chemical exfoliator (less skin movement = less sagging).

23. Meditation is the elixr of life, by compartmentalising your problems through meditation, you will frown less, which of course means, no wrinkles! (Yippeeee.)

24. Take your supplements! Omega 3 and Vitamin E are the key to youthful skin.

25. Body brush everyday. Don’t ask why, just do it! Too many benefits to list.

26. Review your skin care regime each season. Your skin will change with the weather, so you should adapt your regime to the environment.

27. Only 6% of allergies are caused by cosmetics, the rest? Due to pollution and the environment.

28. Want the best sleep ever? Burn Lavender essential oil while you bathe by candlelight (in Kneipp Lavender mineral bath salts/herbal bath). Leave the TV OFF! (try to avoid having a TV in your bedroom).

29. A bit of an English lesson next;

You don’t have ‘pits’, you have underarms.

You don’t ‘pluck’ eyebrows, you tweeze.

You don’t ‘fake’ tan, you self tan (I’m guilty of saying this one)

30. Life begins at 30….a woman is most confident this age onwards.

(31 – 40 are my penultimate installment of 50 Shades of Gray)

31. NEVER pick spots..uh uh..STEP AWAY from the mirror and PUT those tweezers DOWN! Picking spots will cause scarring and even possibe infection of the surrounding area.

32. Your eyebrows should look like sisters, not twins.

33. Yay, it’s Summer and you know what happens when the sun comes out….crusty feet tend to come and join in too. Urgh, nothing worse than having to be exposed to crusty, ungroomed feet. Get a pedi or prep feet at home BEFORE whipping out the flip flops.

34. SPF is an acronym for Sun Protection right?…Vicky’s SPF stands for Stay Pretty Forever, use sunscreen to prevent premature ageing! Love this one.

35. (*puke face) YELLOW NAILS* (not the polish, which I also don’t like) are a NO-NO! oh and add in uneven nails too. I hate when I see long, uneven and yellow fingernails. You want to grow your nails? Well, clip them off and start fresh, use nailtiques for nice, strong and healthy nails.

36. Want glowing skin….firstly, invest what you’d spend on a Topshop bralet (which will end up in the bin next season) on a monthly facial…

37. Second tip for glowing skin, mix a bit of highlighter with your tinted moisturiser/foundation (MAC strobe cream/Lustre Drops are two of my faves).

36. Contouring..DO NOT SUCK YOUR FACE IN AND DRAW BLUSHER ON LIKE YOU’VE USED A RULER!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. This is sooooooo 80′s! If you want to make your face look longer (a la Kim K, place blusher lower down your face). If you want J.Lo killer cheekbones, use something like NARS South Beach multiple and blend into the hollow parts of your cheeks and layer on a bright highlighter like Copacabana on the top of cheeks.

37. Curl eyelashes before using mascara. I like Shu’s and Space.NK’s eyelash curlers.

38. Oily skin? Foundation slipping all over during the day? Use a primer, try Laura Mercier’s and use a mattifying setting spray like Model in a Bottle. Also, avoid cream blusher, powder blush is better for oily skin.

39. Want your neon nail polish to POP? Use a white basecoat or ORLY’s ridgefiller, this will make your neons GLOW! (ouch, my eyes)

40. Give to charity!

That’s all folks! I’ll be back soon with the final installment of 50 Shades of Gray, hope you’ve liked the double dose this evening.

F A R R A H  T E L L S . . . 

Ramadan Mubarak

The main event this Summer for me is not the Olympics, it is Ramadan.

I have been practising Islam for the last four years and fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam.

It is a month of spiritual reflection and worship which is why I will not be allowing myself to buy any beauty products during this month. We are encouraged to be charitable in everyday life, whether it’s through smiling at a stranger or donating to charity, so I will be donating what I would spend on beauty products to charity.

Choosing not to buy any beauty products for a whole month will be even harder than fasting for me (not eating from sunrise to sunset). So, I hope I can be successful in both this month.

I wish all of you who are fasting, a happy and successful Ramadan.

F A  R R A H  T E  L L S . . .