Tag Archives: summer2022

2022, Burberry, Chanel, Dior, Jo Malone, Perfumes, Uncategorized

The perfect scents/perfumes for winters

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Hey gals! Okay so I am obsessed with perfumes have almost 3 dozens of different fragrances and I always get my stock when travelling. If you’re from Pakistan, I would never recommend you investing in perfumes out here, I highly doubt they’re selling first hand perfumes except a few selective shops. Highly selective. But it’s still risky investing in anything expensive here. Anyways the best place to get perfumes from is when you’re abroad and travelling.

Autumn has started and winters are right around the corner, I have a few particular scents I specifically use during fall. Most of these aren’t the sweet or fruity (fresh) perfumes you’d use in the summers (but there are a few exceptions). These are a bit woody, chocolatety, vanilla, warm florals and spicy scents and tiny bit sweet too. And honestly I don’t know about you but I don’t like fresh floral throughout the year or even a scent heavily smelling like roses, it’s a huge no. Ew. I rather go for jasmine than roses.

JO MALONE MYRRH & TONKA COLOGNE INTENSE

This is my Top Favourite perfumes for winters! I am literally obsessed with the scent and how amazing it makes you feel. This is definitely a compliment getter as well. Everyone asks me what i’m wearing when I have this perfume on. This is unisex so it can be used by men and women both. Perfect for the winters. It has warm almond and vanilla notes. It’s not sweet. It’s just intense and woody (a perfect balance). My number 1 favourite perfume. I got my first bottle of Jo Malone perfume from their shop near the Louvre in Paris’2019 (and I just checked it’s gotten permanently closed now; post Covid).

Chanel N5 EDP

This is powdery, Vanilla yet a tinge of spice in a bottle. This is a classic favourite and almost every girl/woman has this on her dresser. But for me in particular this perfume holds a very special place. My Late Beloved Grandmother gifted me this perfume a year before she left us, this scent just is very close to my heart. This perfume I can use summer and winters, or whenever I miss her I just wear it. It gives me a feeling of warmth and comfort.

Chanel Chance Eau Tendre

Absolutely love this perfume since 2019. This is something you can use throughout the year summer, spring, autumn and winters. This is sweeter than all the other perfumes mentioned here. I don’t like the fragrance of rose and I was just reading about the notes this has and as surprising it can get, rose notes inside of it. But Thank God they aren’t obvious. It’s sort of fruity floral. If you like something with the perfect sweet balance definitely go for this.

Kayali DÈJÀ VU White Flower| 57

This again is a warm floral scent. It doesn’t blow on your face but it’s subtle yet very captivating. I had been wanting to get my hands on this amazing scent and I finally got it right before we flew out of LA these summers. I went rushing to the nearest Sephora(Pasadena) which was about 5 minute walk from my hotel and got it. This scent just grabs your attention. A must have if you’re someone who wants to invest in good perfumes.

GUCCI GUILTY POUR FEMME EDP

This has been my signature scent since 7-8 years now. I went for this new one this time (got it from LAX on my way back home)! I have used 2 bottles of their original gucci guilty and this was something I thought was a safe investment considering how much I really like this line of perfume from Gucci. Perfect for everyday! This again has a warm floral scent.

DIOR SAUVAGE Edp

Okay so this is a perfume for men but I use this in winters. This is woody with vanilla and bit of citrus. I just love this in winters specifically. It gives you that cozy and warm fuzzy feeling. Perfect for winters. Would recommend this to all the ladies if you like strong woody perfumes for winters.

MY BURBERRY BLACK EDP

This is yet another compliment getter. Yet again; I cannot explain it but this is a very strong, warm and spicy scent. That is what I exactly prefer for winters/autumn. This has floral notes but they aren’t as obvious as the original My Burberry this is a bit more intense. It’s not all girly girly type of perfume with sugary hints, it’s quite woody. I have 3 My Burberry perfumes; The Original, Blush and this black. Black is perfect for winters.

DIOR ADDICT EDT

This again is one of my my signature scents since I was 20. It has the perfect balance of sweet, citrus, fruity, woody, warm florals and vanilla. I would buy this over and over again. I know it’s an EDT but this stays on and has a very enchanting scent. I have no words for this scent except that it’s unique and beautiful.

I haven’t been regular at posting blogs! I’m coming up with new ideas and will definitely be working on them. Stay tuned for more!🤍

Full Coverage, huda beauty, mac, Makeup Review, NARS, Primers, Sensitive Skin, Sephora, Skin Care, Top Favorites

My Favourite Foundations

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Hey guys! I hope you all had an amazing summer, today i’ll be listing my top favourite foundation I’ve previously used and currently i’m using.

P.s I always go for the same line(brand) for the primer and concealer. Just to make sure everything goes on well smoothly.

I have been in love with makeup since I was 5. I used to take my cousins metallic purple lipstick and put it on myself and do my nails metallic green. I was a baby. And metallic purple is a very ugly shade. I don’t know why I was obsessed with purple when I was a kid. Fast forward to now I still do love makeup (occasionally) but nothing as dramatic as a metallic purple lip shade, I’m more into subtle pinks and nude shades.

Moving on to my favourite foundations;

Huda Beauty Faux Filter Foundation: $42

This foundation was a game changer! This is a complete full coverage foundation yet it felt so much like my normal skin. The shade I got was Amaretti (it was quite yellow for my skin but the concealer evened out the look). I got their primer as well(which was heavily perfumed). I personally don’t like to put heavily and artificially scented cosmetics on my face because I have a sensitive skin, and artificial scent doesn’t go on well with my skin. This foundation is quite heavy and I would not recommend this to anyone with an acne prone skin. This will probably clog your pores and cause more breakouts. But it’s perfectly fine for normal skin. I remember I used this foundation at a family gathering and it didn’t even move a bit, got asked a lot on what foundation i’d used. There are immense number of shades and undertones to choose from. I would always recommend buying your foundation before your skin gets tanned while on a vacation and the people at Sephora end up giving you a shade different than your normal skin tone. I won’t be investing on this foundation anytime soon, it’s just not my cup of tea anymore.

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation: $39

So I got this foundation when it first launched (on my first trip to The States) and I absolutely loved it. It was the big thing back then because it was Rihana’s first makeup launch and everyone was gaga over this brand. I remember when I wanted to buy it they didn’t have my shade and the lady at Sephora gave a shade darker than my skin tone. I don’t understand this obsession with a tanned look but well I got it and I liked it. I used it mostly on my trip and I got it along with their primer. It’s good for someone with a sensitive skin, it won’t clog your pores. I however will not be buying it again. I have probably had better stuff so I would rather stick to that. I love fenty setting powder, Lip gloss (universal and fussy) and their diamond bomb highlighters.

Mac Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15: $39

This is an amazing foundation the coverage isn’t that good, but it’s perfect for anyone with a sensitive skin. I usually mix it with my Estee Lauder foundation to give that full coverage. I use their pink strobe cream as a primer underneath my foundation and later use their concealer to give that fully amazing glammed up look. My tip with this foundation is mix this it with any other foundation(which has more coverage) if you want something with fuller coverage. My Mac shade is nc25.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation: $48

Okay I ordered this foundation online and the shade was a bit lighter than my skin tone, I cannot solely use it by itself. I mix this foundation with my Mac foundation to even it out. I do 2 parts of mac and 1 part of Estee when doing my makeup. The results are amazing. Mixing this particular foundation with my Mac is something I still do and I restocked on these foundations as well. Both these foundations are perfect for sensitive skin. They don’t clog your pores and the formula is amazing yet easy to apply.

Nars radiant long wear foundation: $49

I have been waiting to get my hands on this foundation for a very long time and I ended up buying it on my last trip to Los Angeles (july’22). I got the corrector, foundation and the concealer all matching my foundation shade. I use my Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niancinamide dew drops as my primer, this is my holy grail (previously reviewed in my updated skin care post). They had those cameras at Sephora which would help you choose your matching foundation shade according to the undertones and color. My shade was Santa fe. This is such a light weight yet medium to full coverage foundation. It literally feels like skin. This particular foundation has a shelf life of 24 months which was amazing. This is perfect for someone like me who has to throw away half filled bottles just because their shelf life has expired within 6 or 12 months. Usually foundations have a shelf life of a year and you need to throw them away after that. It’s not perfumed, it’s oil free, easy to apply and transfer proof (Well I use a setting spray). I don’t know about you but my Urban decay all nighter setting spray didn’t go well with my Nars foundation, so I got the Charlotte Tilbury setting spray instead. I’ve been using Urban decay (original) setting spray since 2 years now but I guess the formula didn’t really work. Specially in corona times when you need a face mask, my urban decay literally locked in my makeup and there was absolutely no transfer.

In the end i’d like to add is that your makeup will only look good if you take care of your skin. No matter how full coverage or expensive your foundation may be, it won’t help in doing much. If you have a beautiful skin, which is well taken care of, your makeup too will look amazing. Don’t ever forget to use an SPF in the morning (at the very end of your skin care routine) and don’t ever sleep with your makeup on. Remember to drink plenty of water and keep yourself hydrated specially in this humid and hot weather. Please refrain from buying foundation which does not match your skin tone, getting foundation lighter than your skin tone will make you look like casper (grey ghost). No offence.

Stay tuned for more!🤍

2022, Face Kits, mac, makeup, Matte Lipsticks, Nyx Cosmetics, Primer, Sephora, Uncategorized

NYX cosmetics Favourite products!

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Hey guys! I hope you’re all having an amazing day and getting on well with 2022. It’s September already, 4 months for this year to end. Anyways, today i’ll be sharing a few super cute and amazing products from NYX cosmetics. It’s basically an American company and owned by Loreal or in other words its a subsidiary of Loreal. Their products are sold in 70 countries via thousands of retailers.

I absolutely love some of their products and I think it’s not given the hype it deserves. The products arent too expensive and way too reasonable than what you would find at sephora. You can literally spend 100 dollars in NYX and get tons of products whereas you honestly can’t count the amount of money you spend on buying basic makeup products from Sephora. I absolutely love sephora. Have been to multiple Sephora stores (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Paris, Barcelona and Dubai) my favourite one has to be the one on Champs-Élysées (Paris). NYX is a quite decent brand too. I have a particular products which I absolutely love from them and you should definitely try these if you haven’t tried them as yet. Lets start with the list;

3 STEPS TO SCULPT FACE SCULPTING PALETTE: $13

I love face palettes. My most favourite face palette has to be the Huda Beauty 3D Highlighter Palette (pink sands and golden sands) and it retails for $45 whereas this super convenient palette retails for way less ($13). I don’t use the plain powder and I hardly use the highlighter and I rather use my Fenty or Huda Beauty highlighter. The contour/bronzer powder however is amazing, absolutely love it. This is super pigmented so you need keep a super light hand when applying it. Contouring and giving yourself a bronzed up look is quite in since a couple of years now. People usually skip blush and go for a more bronzed up look to define their facial features. I absolutely hate cream contour and I ended up buying The Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Contour palette used it once hated it and threw it away. It was a complete waste. And every single celebrity was crazy about this palette. Don’t ever believe these so called influencers on social media, all they do is speak falsely about companies which send them free products. I have 3 favourite contour powders first one is NARS laguna Bronzer (Retails for $38), Benefit Cosmetics Matte Hoola Bronzer Powder (retails for $32) and lastly this particular NYX bronzer in this $13 palette. NYX has the price edge here (obviously).

HONEY DEW ME UP PRIMER: $17

This is an amazing primer. Best for all sorts of skin and it gives you such a plumped up and dewy look. The Gold Flakes inside it are so cute and eye catching. I love everything about this product and it is one of my personal favourite primers. Doesn’t feel heavy when applied and makes my foundation get applied smoothly. This goes on well with every foundation. I would either use this or my mac strobe cream (pinklite). Mac is obviously more expensive than NYX, retailing at $36 where as Nyx Honey dew me up is for $17.

SUEDE MATTE LIPSTICK (In Rose a day & Free Spirit): $8

I absolutely love their Matte lipsticks. I’m more into subtle pinks or nudes and nothing too dramatic. My personal 2 favourite shades from this entire line is Rose A Day & Free Spirit (both of these shades are quite similar) while retailing at only $8. You go to sephora and you wont find anything at a full size for less than $25. My other favourite go to lipstick is Too Faced melted matte in the shade Sell out (Amazing shade and lasts super long) and it costs around $26. I don’t invest much on new lipsticks since I have a particular favourite shade from a particular brand and I don’t like going for something new. Would definitely recommend both these shades if you want something other than reds or bright colors.

THAT’S THE POINT EYELINER: $11

Okay So I have been using NYX liners since 2019, I don’t usually use liners, only use it occasionally. If you’re someone who’s super bad at doing their own liner this marker is super easy. The marker is easier to hold and the liner dries out super quick too.

JUMBO EYE PENCIL: $5.50

My Go to look is definitely a white pencil in my waterline or smudged out black pencil in the outer ends of my eyes and mascara. It’s super quick and more convenient. I absolutely love this pencil and honestly there is no other alternative at such a good price. So if you’re someone who wants white in their waterline definitely get this. Overly dramatic eyes are way too old school these days, and people opt for a more natural/simple makeup than ending up looking like something they’re not.

CONTROL FREAK EYEBROW GEL: $7

I absolutely love Brow Mascaras/gels because they don’t give you that fake dramatic look and again they’re super quick and easy to use. That is it. This is perfectly fine for someone who doesn’t want to add more color to their brows (because this is transparent). If you’re someone who has thin brows and wants more life added to them then you should definitely not get this and rather go for something more pigmented!

At the end i’d like to say that it’s not always about the price tag, just because something is expensive it doesn’t make it good and just because something isn’t that expensive and reasonable it doesn’t make the product bad!

Stay tuned for more!🤍

California, Cleansing, Favorites, Gucci, los angeles, Moisturizers, Sephora, Skin Care, The Glow Recipe, Top Favorites, Travel, Travelgram, United States

Glow Recipe Obsession✨❤️

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Hey girls, I hope you’ll had an amazing summer. Previously on my skincare blog post I wrote about a few glow recipe products I used religiously, well I recently added two more amazing products to the list. If you’ve read my previous blog post regarding my skin care routine you can tell how much I love their Watermelon range, Particularly their Niacinamide. Well I was in Los Angeles and I literally stocked up on all my favourite products from them, and added two new amazing products to my routine from the same range.

Glow Recipe PHA+BHA Pore Tight Toner

This amazing toner hydrates and tightens your pores, while giving you an amazing and plumped up glow at the same time. I use it right after my cleanser, and before my Glow Recipe Dew drops (Niacinamide). It just makes everything absorb in so well. A little goes a long way, so this one full size bottle will be enough for 2 months or even more. I got the mini bottle (40ml) for 15 usd and i’m still using that bottle right now (for over a month now). Got the full sized one too, will use it once I get done with the mini.

Watermelon Glow Niancinamide Sunscreen SPF 50

I cannot tell you how much I love this product. I have been using this particular sunblock right after my glow recipe dew drops(in my morning routine) and my skin feels amazing (MashAllah🧿). When I went into sephora and asked for a sunscreen recommendation this is what everyone suggested and i’m so glad I listened to them. This is their new product in the watermelon range and is completely worth investing on. I got 3 extra bottles for myself, considering how much I love using my sunblock everyday regardless of my plans.

The thing I love the most about this particular brand, The Glow Recipe, is that they don’t use harsh chemicals or artificial scents which makes them highly suitable for someone with a sensitive skin. It’s all natural Korean beauty line manufactured in USA. Korean are known for their amazing skin care.

You should definitely read my updated skin care routine for 2022 featuring more of The Glow Recipe products;

https://sehrreviews.blog/2022/05/16/skin-care-2022%e2%9c%a8/

Stay tuned for more!🤍

California, Coffee, Coffee Addict, Favorites, Food, Food Enthusiast, Foodie, In-n-out burgers, Salt & Straw, seafood, starbucks, The Boiling Crab, Travel, Travelgram, United States, Urth Cafe

Places you need to visit in Pasadena/Glendale Los Angeles, California.

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Hey guys! I write this while I still fight my jet lag! My routine is still not on track. Anyways, we stayed in Pasadena, and were located in the heart of Pasadena about 5 minutes walk away from their famous Colorado Blvd. I opt for walking my way around places when on a vacation because we can’t do that back in my country. LA is known for its weather, it was pleasant during the days and got super chilly right after sunset (Similar to what it was in December 2017).

Salt & Straw

I cannot put into words on how much I loved their chocolate gooey brownie ice cream. The ice cream had brownie chunks in it and was super yummy. I have always been a Haagen-dazs kinda person but this ice cream was just AMAZING. Definitely worth every calorie. I wasn’t really calorie conscious on this trip. Also this is only Available in the States and was previously introduced in Portland, Oregon first.

In-n-Out burgers

This chain of burgers, fries and milkshakes is only available in the State of California. NO OTHER STATE or country. I’ve never really liked beef burgers but their burgers are an exception. The texture and they’re very basic yet taste amazing. At the end it all comes down to quality maintenance, something they’ve managed to do so well. Due to covid and monkeypox we just got it via Drive Thru instead of going in the outlet. The line at the drive thru used to be crazy, easily took us 20 minutes or more each time. You definitely should try their Burgers. Fries aren’t that good but the burger just melts into your mouth. So it’s definitely worth it.

Starbucks

Okay so starbucks is everywhere! But I have some favourite drinks which I would definitely recommend. Previously I had only tried their basic unflavoured latte but this time due to the summer and heatwave going on I opted for cooler drinks instead. I would definitely recommend strawberry creme frappe & cookie frappe. These two were my favourite. Plus I don’t know about you but I hate flavoured coffee. Makes me sick. Coffee itself had such an amazing and strong taste, why would anyone want to change to into caramel or any other pathetic taste? Just blows my mind. So if you want a hot drink just stick to their basic latte. Also before you order any new drink from them just ask the person taking your order if they would recommend that particular drink to you, and just tell them what you actually want/ or like, if they’re kind enough they will definitely recommend or suggest something. Atleast they were super sweet in Pasadena (Colorado blvd) Los Angeles. They even told me they’d change my drink if I didn’t like it. So shout out to them for being extra sweet.

85c cafe

They had an amazing collection of pastries, cakes and a huge variety of bread. The coffee was just average, but the hype regarding their bakery items was on point. This was a 3-4 minute walk from my hotel and a go to place due to the convenience. The funny part is that I actually went to this french crepe cafe near this bakery first (for breakfast) but their menu didn’t really fascinate me so I left that cafe and stumbled upon this cute bakery.

The Boiling Crab

Let me tell you one thing. I never liked seafood just because I grew up watching Little Mermaid. And I always believed that if I eat fish i’m causing harm to the mermaids. Yes! That was me growing up. And guess what? I never bothered eating sea food until we traveled and the first time I ever had sea food and king crab was in Amsterdam. My entire idea has completely changed. Number one there are no mermaids (as of now) and number two you definitely need to try seafood when travelling because Pakistan has the most pathetic quality seafood ever. I loved Fried COD and King crab, but this time I actually ate shrimps for the very first time and I LOVED IT. We got fried shrimps, boiled shrimps & king crab, fried calamari, corn on the cob and cajun fries (absolutely loved these). You don’t need anything except a crab shell cracker and your hands! This was definitely very unsophisticated but the taste was still worth the experience. Just make sure you wash your hands before and after the meal thoroughly. We went here twice. For the first time we ordered the spiciest sauce for our crabs and shrimps, I literally had tears in my eyes while I ate my meal. I couldn’t even wipe them off because my hands were a mess!! They literally give you a bib so you dont ruin your shirt and they lay out a disposable sheet on the paper on which you actually eat your meal! If you are ever travelling to LA you definitely need to try this!

On our short trip we also visited 4 Indian restaurants 1 in LA, 1 in Minden (Nevada), 1 in South Lake Tahoe and 1 in Oakhurst. Ended up ordering the same thing; Yellow tarka dal, chicken tikka masala (extra spicy), Palak Paneer(spinach and cheese), garlic naan/ green chilli naan and Vegetable samosa. My top favourite one would be the one in Tahoe, the best food. I am big fan of Dal. I mean who isn’t. Specially when you’re away from home and you want some good desi comfort food. We had also ordered barbecue but it was nothing like what you get in Pakistan, there was no taste just a red color added to the meat, so didn’t really give that barbecue vibe. Just remember ordering the food extra spicy when you’re travelling in the west, otherwise your desi food will be more towards a dessert. Thank me later.

Urth Cafe

Okay apparently this was the first time I had cucumbers in my veggie cheese omelette and it was so weird. Literally wasted the entire thing! I only thing I loved was their coffee. The lady serving us complimented me and told me how pretty I looked, so it made me forget about the cucumbers in my omelette. The croissant however wasn’t that fascinating either, Idk maybe my expectations were super high. The only thing I loved was the ambiance and how sweet their staff was. The breakfast was just okayish.

Porto’s Bakery And Cafe

This place had an amazing variety of breads & desserts. Personally I loved the Tres leches cake and their egg bread. The egg bread literally metled in your mouth, it was super soft and airy. While the Tres leches cake was just perfect. I absolutely love milk cakes and this was a good find.

Raffi’s Persian Food

I don’t eat beef. I prefer having lamb kebab’s over beef. When I was here in 2017, they had Lamb Koobe’deh which I loved but this time they only had beef koobe’deh and it was so disappointing. I ended up ordering their chicken option instead. If you’re someone who doesn’t mind having beef then this is definitely a place to go. This is a Persian restaurant and quite famous in Glendale.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts 🍩

Have you even lived your life if you haven’t had Krispy Kreme doughnuts? I’d been craving for these doughnuts since the past 4 years now (since my last trip to US). These aren’t available anywhere in Europe, which was shocking. Personally I don’t like doughnuts with fillings, I prefer the ones which are plain from the inside and loaded with flavour on top. My personal favourite will always be classic glazed, strawberry glazed with sprinkles and chocolate glazed with sprinkles. The strawberry glazed has a legit strawberry flavouring and would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves doughnuts. They’re always freshly made, super soft and flavourful.

Absolutely hated the Chinese food in Los Angeles. Though we went to one restaurant, Panda Inn (Glendale). It was overly priced and had no taste at all. The only thing I liked was Edamame wok fried. That is it. We had ordered vegetable chowmein, egg fried rice, sweet & sour chicken, orange beef and crispy garlic chicken. We ordered way too much food and it got wasted. I had high expectations for some reason. This is an old restaurant and was recommended by my father since it there since his college days. If you’re someone who wants to spend a lot on food which has almost no taste, you should definitely go there. Portions in America are huge so order accordingly.

Will be posting more from my trip! So stay tuned for more!✨🤍