Summer Makeup & Skincare | Zafira

Hi!

I had a lot of aspirations of glowing up this quarantine in preparation for summer, however it just wasn’t in the books for me this year. My skin and I have gone through a roller coaster of events. From breakouts every week or so to scaring like no other, it’s made me simplify my skincare and change a few things in my makeup routine which has led me to find some amazing products I want to share with you this week.

I’ve also filmed a little get ready with me because I haven’t done one in forever and I know a lot of you like when I film videos.

Here’s the products I used in this video as well as some other skincare and beauty bits I’ve been in love with recently:

Hyaluronic Acid

If you aren’t already on this Hyaluronic Acid kick then you are well and truly missing out on your skin absorbing all the moisture it needs.

I actually stopped using this for a bit because I was using a different serum that already had the hyaluronic acid within it but I’ve stopped using that and simplified the entirety of my skincare routine.

I had a really bad breakout on both cheeks over the past few weeks ago and with acne medication that dries your skin out like no other, moisture and hydration was something my skin definitely needed. I go in with a facial mist after cleansing and then I’ll apply this just before my moisturiser. It has brought back so much life into my skin.

You can buy this here.

GLOSSIER - INVISIBLE SHEILD

This was the only reason I was excited to go start going outside a lot more now that restrictions have eased up is this.

This might be the best thing I’ve ever put on my skin.

Since I do have a lot of acne scarring, one thing step in my daily routine that I’ve learnt is vital, is sunscreen. Exposure to your skin without suncreen can actually cause your scars to darken so it is incredibly important to add this into your routine.

I love this one from Glossier because not only does it smell amazing but it has more a gel texture and no white cast like your generic sunsreens. As a darker skinned girl, putting on sunscreen has always been a nightmare but this blends into your skin like a regular moisturiser or serum and leaves no residue whatsoever.

I was a little shocked by how small this was at first but you’d surprised how far one pump of this can go.

You can buy this here.

kiehls - ultra facial cream

As I said earlier, my skin has been suffering so simplicity in my routine has just been incredibly vital. This cream is the best because it just does what you want a moisturiser to do which is moisturise.

This is ideal if you have oily/combination skin because it isn’t greasy or really thick but still hydrates you skin.

I will never put another moisturiser on my skin ever again because this is perfect.

You can buy this here.

clinique - even better glow foundation in cream caramel

I’ve never been a full coverage foundation girl so when I tried this and realised it was basically a tinted moisturiser, obviously I fell in love.

It applies so smoothly and is pretty light so it doesn’t feel like you’re actually wearing anything but the glow and dewiness this foundation has is beautiful and has pretty decent coverage for a foundation that is so light.

Even after powdering, my skin has this subtle dew to it that makes it look healthy and makes me look awake and fresh.

You can buy this here.

estee lauder - double wear concealer in

6N Extra Deep

This is supposed to be an excellent concealer however, this shade is too dark for me to use as a concealer. So I’ve been using it to cream contour instead.

I know for contour, you’re supposed to use a very cool toned brown but I personally prefer something that is a little on the warmer side and this shade is spot on.

I apply this under my cheekbones, my nose, sides of my forehead and a tiniest bit on my jaw and blend it in with a beauty blender.

I also adore using this as a base before my everyday eye shadow. It’s a great primer and base and intensifies whatever shade of brown I decide to put on my eyelids that day.

You can buy this here.

mac - studio finish concealer in NW40

On the topic of concealer, this Mac Studio Finish concealer has been my best friend when it comes to covering scars and blemishes as well as my under eyes.

It’s a little more heavy duty than any concealer I’ve used before but I think that’s what makes it so good.

You can buy this here.

nip + fab - contour palette in dark

I was contemplating whether even photographing this was a good idea because it’s the most beat up thing in my collection.

I use this for everything.

I’ve hit pan on pretty much every shade because I use them all. I’ll use the two middle brown shades for contour/bronzer as well as eye shadow. The darker brown on the right for a more intense contour or in the crease for my eye shadow. I’ll use the pink shade as a blush but also will blend a little into whatever lipstick I’m wearing that day.

This is literally the most efficient and useful palette I’ve ever bought.

You can buy this here.

Nyx - ultimate shadow palette

I’ve slowly started incorporating more and more colour into my routine these past few months and the easiest ways to do that is by getting an eye shadow palette like this.

It has so many colours but my favourite at this moment is the lilac. I did a little look with this a few weeks ago. You can check that out here.

You can be subtle and use these are liners for a tiny pop of colour or you can be bold and use these all over your eye lids. The options and colour combos are endless.

You can buy this here.

smashbox + vlada - petal metal shimmer drops

This is amazing for any of you who love glitter but want something a little more subtle and easy to wear everyday.

I use this as a highlight sometimes, on top of eye shadow and even on top of my lipsticks.

It’s basically a glitter top coat but for your face. It’s truly great because it doesn’t mess up your makeup when you apply it, it dries so fast and has the prettiest sparkle.

I like to squeeze a few drops onto my finger and pat wherever I want to put it.

You can buy this here.

barry m - lip liner in chocolate

I will never in my life buy another brown liner that isn’t this.

I think I first bought this when I was around 15/16 and nearly five years on, it’s become a staple in my everyday routine.

I usually love using this as just a lip liner to fill and line my lips but recently I’ve loved using this as an eyeliner too. I do a little flick on the outer corner of my eyes with this to elongate my eyes.

You can buy this here.

Nyx - Matte Lip Liner in Alabama

At some during the beginning of this year, I decided I needed to change my everyday lip colour and went out and bought this liner.

On the rare days I do decide to switch things up a little, I’m a big fan of using this lip liner with either a nude/mauve lipstick blended in.

It looks like a red lip liner but it’s got this orange-y brown tone to it which I love.

You can buy this here.

If you’re curious about the products I used in the video that I haven’t listed in my current favourites then here’s a list of everything I used!

everything I used in the video:

• Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

• Clinique Even Better Glow Foundation in Cream Caramel

• Mac Studio Finish Concealer in NW40

• Revolution Conceal and Define Concealer in C10

• Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer in 6N Extra Deep

• Laura Mercier Translucent Powder

• Nip + Fab Contour Palette in Dark

• Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette

• Barry M Lip Liner in Chocolate

• Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara

• Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Rome

Thanks for reading!

Movies That Changed My Perspective on Life | Zafira

I'm a huge movie person. I'll pretty much watch anything, same with TV series but I think I'll save that for another blog post. As you can tell, photography is kind of my thing but cinematography is also something I've always had a keen interest in. It's like photography but it moves. I love it.

I don't know what it is but recently, I've had a thing for movies that make you rethink your entire life. Maybe it's because I'm in such a fast paced changing era of my life where every decision I make seems to affect me in someway or another or maybe it's just because I want a new perspective on life in general.

Here are a few of the movies that 'shook' me and made me want to change who I am.

1. American History X

For anyone that knows me irl, then you'd know I think skinhead culture is so fascinating. It's strange that it was even a thing but I still think it was quite cool minus the whole racism thing. Anyway, this is sort of on the same lines of This is England for those of you have seen that. It's set in America and is focused on the character of Derek who was a very popular neo-Nazi skinhead and how he tries to prevent his brother from following in the same footsteps as him. I don't really know why this affected me so much. I think maybe it's because I have a younger brother too and I don't want to do anything that reflects onto him badly. It's also made me appreciate my family so much more, I'd do anything for family if it was the best for all of us in the end.

2. The Matrix

This summer I wanted to watch all of the 'classic' movies and the Matrix was one of them. I sat and watched it until about 4am with family and it just messed with my head so much. I'm a huge conspiracy theory fan. Sometimes I'll sit on YouTube all day and watch one conspiracy theory after the other. Obviously, I don't believe most of them because they're just so wtf most of the time but they're still very entertaining to watch. Anyway, my main point here is the Simulation Theory. It's all about how reality today is all fake and we and life around us is nothing about a simulation (you can read more about it here PUT A LINK IN). It really messes with your head, and for a 2nd year college student running on little to 0 hours of sleep, it was probably not a good idea to watch this movie or read about the theory. In the Matrix, a computer programmer by day and hacker by night begins to question his reality once he is contacted by a group of rebels. It's literally the weirdest concept ever. Even the CEO of Tesla, a well known company, heavily believes in this theory. It's a such a good movie, just strange.

3. When Marnie Was There

Oh.My.God. This movie made me bawl my eyes out. I'm not a crier. I don't cry at any movies ever or anything really but this was so sad. A young tomboy gets sent to live with relatives in the countryside and becomes obsessed with this old mansion. The story unravels as you get more into the movie but the last 10 mins or so are the most shocking and upsetting. I don't really want to say much about it because I think it's better if you just watch it and feel all the feels. It just made me feel so sad and appreciative of everything really.

4. Her

This is such a hipster/indie movie but it made me feel so lonely after watching it. It's set in the future and the writer Theo starts a strange and unusual relationship with his operating system. Firstly, it's filmed so beautifully. In some scenes you can truly see the isolation that Theodore is feeling just by certain scenes. I love love love movies where they focus on small things like this, it makes watching not only an 'entertaining' experience but a pretty beautiful one too. The operating system is voiced by Scarlett Johanssen and it's so weird how real the operating system seems. It almost feels like she's a real person. The audience connects with the operating system 'Sam' just as much as Theo does. It's such a good movie and I've watched it so so so many times. I consider myself an independent person much like Theo, like I'm not one to get out much or to spend a considerable amount of time with friends so in some ways, I can sort of understand where Theo's loneliness and isolation comes from.

5. Every Wes Anderson Movie Ever

I love love love love love love love love Wes Anderson, I think I've watched all of his movies except from 2 maybe? I'm huge fan. I think the amount attention to detail is insanely beautiful. Some scenes are so so pleasing to the eye. The colours, the symmetry and the 60/70s vibes to every movie he makes is what drew me in. His movie ideas are so original, I think my absolute favourites are The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tennebaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel. All such amazingly filmed and constructed movies. I feel like movies like this are quite good if you have like artist's block or photographer's block or anything along those lines. You feel incredibly inspired. I think the first Wes Anderson movie I watched was Moonrise Kingdom and I remember all I wanted to do was paint and go out take pictures and that's what I did for about 3 weeks straight. I had never felt so inspired before.

JUST LOOK AT THAT PINK

6. Whiplash

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to watching this but it was so amazing. It's based on the character of Andrew who is a young drummer and he gets chosen to be mentored by a mentor who pushes musicians beyond their limits to realise their potential. I quite like Miles Teller in movies because he's quite a natural actor and pretty quirky too which I like. In this however, his character is a bit more serious which was very different. I watched this pretty late at night and you know when you have those really deep thoughts at like 3am? Well they got pretty deep after watching this. I think when it comes to my potential, I usually stop at what feels comfortable, if whatever it is I'm doing becomes harder than I would like then I just give it. But maybe it's time to change that. The mentor of Andrew pushes him so hard and at the end he becomes an amazing drummer just like he had always wanted. So, I think it's time for me to cross my boundaries and maybe after watching this, you should try to too?

7. American Psycho

Everyone that knows me knows that I've become so obsessed with this film and the book too. It's not very healthy. I'm actually writing about this for my A Level English Literature coursework and even writing about the subject manner of this book and now movie is so gruesome. American Psycho is based on the character of Patrick Bateman who is very wealthy businessman based in New York who has an alternative ego where he's basically the most psychotic and craziest serial killer I've ever seen. The movie itself is nowhere as graphic and violent as the stuff in the book but it's still pretty unsettling. Patrick Bateman looks and seems like a trust worthy man. After all, he's wealthy, well dressed and is well groomed but I think this heavily enhances how you should never judge a book by it's cover. (Christian Bale is Patrick Bateman btw 😉)

"I'm into murders and executions mostly."

8. American Honey

This I literally watched yesterday. I think I found the trailer on the A24 channel which I've become to love because the trailers of movies they upload are so original and just so beautifully filmed. American Honey is an amazing coming of age movie about Star, a teenage girl who joins a a travelling magazine crew where she begins to travel around the US, party and makes new friends. When I first watched the trailer, I was  blown away by the cinematography. It's what made me want to watch it in the first place and I was not disappointed. Some scenes filmed of the American South are breath taking. It's insanely beautiful. I liked how the whole movie was focused on Star. We become so close to her and see everything from her perspective and overall get to see her find out who she is. Also Shia Labeouf is in it who's character is amazing in this and fun fact of the day, Shia is the only 'professional' actor in this. The main actress Sasha Lane was spotted by Andrea Arnold, the director of the movie, whilst she was in Florida for spring break. This definitely made me want to be more adventurous. The character of Star is so free spirited, fearless and wild. She embraces life.

If you like blog posts like this about movies and TV series let me know because I love writing about this stuff!

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Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette Review, Swatches + Looks! | Zafira

Hi!

For my birthday, I was kindly gifted the Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette from my cousin and since then, I've pretty much been using it everyday which is why I thought I that I would share it on here! I've never been an eyeshadow kind of girl, I usually just put a bit of bronzer or my contour shade on my eyelid and blend it out but once I started playing around with this palette, I fell in love instantly.

From what I've learnt in the makeup world (which honestly is not a lot) is that Zoeva is mostly really popular due to their brushes which I haven't tried but from the using this palette and seeing how good quality it is, maybe I will have to give them a go.

The packaging is super cute, but the one thing that stood out the most was how thin and lightweight it was. It's not bulky whatsoever which makes it perfect for travelling and on the go. There's no mirror which is kind of annoying but the eyeshadows definitely make up for that.

The product contains 10 shades which are:

• Bitter Start - Palest matte nude.

• Sweeter End - Shimmering duo chrome nougat.

• Warm Notes - Glittering cranberry purple.

• Subtle Blend - Metallic deep bronze.

• Beans Are White - Deep cocoa brown matte.

• Pure Ganache - Pure and luxurious metallic gold.

• Substitute For Love - Toffee brown with subtle shimmer.

• Freshly Toasted - Rich mahogany brown.

• Infusion - Matte dark brown infused with golden glitter.

• Delicate Acidity - Berry toned brown shimmer.

I think these are all quite versatile colours and can be used either day or night and for any occasion. My personal faves are Freshly Toasted and Infusion. All these colours are pretty warm toned and would look amazing on any skin colour. On the website the palette is described to be inspired by '

warm truffle colours, delicate nougat shades and shimmery marizinpan tones for a seductive glamour look

' which is very evident in the range of shades,

The colours are pretty pigmented especially for the price but nothing crazy which makes them really effortless to blend. They aren't chalky at all and swatch and apply very very very smoothly. They have no fall out whatsoever which is amazing and is the perfect affordable high quality palette!

Just look at how beautiful that pink looks! As you can tell, I've been trying out this palette and I'm pretty much in love with it.

'Pure Ganache' is another one of my favourite colours, it's such a pigmented and lovely gold shade.

The two shades I use the most are definitely 'Subsitute for Love' and 'Freshly toasted with the tiniest bit of 'Pure Ganache' in the inner corners but most of the time I usually use a bit of my Mary Lou Manizer in the inner corners also for a less intense look. A warm orangey/brown eye has been in since Autumn and I still see so many people with this look and the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette is a great way to achieve it! I've pretty much been wearing this look everyday since my birthday. It's the perfect everyday eye.

Another look I've been adoring and wearing especially when there's a special occasion or event is using 'Freshly Toasted' in the crease and 'Pure Ganache' all over the lid as well as the tiniest bit of 'Subtle Blend' on the outer corner of the eye just to darken the gold shade. Throw on a bit of eyeliner and some mascara, maybe even some falsies if you're in the mood and it's the easiest look for any special occasion.

This is a look that I've been dying to wear but I've just not had the occasion or the chance to but it's so so so pretty, look at that pink! The shades I used for this look were a mixture of 'Substitute for Love' and 'Freshly Toasted' in the crease and then I packed 'Warm Notes' all over lid. It looks really cute and fun and girly and the pigmentation is amazing.

Overall, I'm blown away my this palette and I can't wait to start trying out a lot more Zoeva prodcuts, I'm thoroughly impressed!

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