Revamp Your Summer Look For Autumn!

Summer has officially ended and we welcomed autumn wholeheartedly. While nature during the season of autumn is absolutely gorgeous and you might really enjoy the cooler weather, this is also the period when your skin might start to act out. What’s more, you probably don’t need to use full on autumn clothes just yet. This transition can be really cumbersome but with a few tricks, you can relax, and enjoy this colorful time of year to the fullest.

Minimize Exfoliation:

Exfoliating your skin is absolutely essential throughout the year, but during summer months you might have gotten used to exfoliating daily, or every second day, depending on your skin type and, of course, due to very warm weather. Bring your exfoliation regime into the fall, but since the weather is a bit colder, you probably don’t need to exfoliate as often as you did during summer. Twice a week works for most people. If you think that you need to exfoliate more than that, switch to a gentler scrub because you can still dry out your skin.

Maximize Hydration:

Again, hydrating your skin is a must all year round, regardless of what skin type you have. But, most people use gel creams and lighter consistency moisturizers during the summer, which simply won’t cut it in the autumn. Once the autumn is here forget about the gels. You need hydrating creams and generally products of richer texture. You might not like to use these during the day, but make sure to apply a generous amount of rich hydrating product to your face before you go to sleep. 

Keep Drinking Water:

This is truly a strange phenomenon, but most people really start neglecting their water intake once the summer’s over. Even though it’s colder and you might not engage in many physical activities under the sun, your skin and body still need water for looking and feeling good and healthy. Therefore, remember to keep drinking water in the same manner you did during the summer. Water is not a seasonal beauty trick, but essential health and beauty step all year, every year, forever.

Switch The Colors:

In all honesty, there’s no rule that explicitly tells you that you can’t use makeup colors that you used during the summer, but autumn opens up a lot of new possibilities for those who like to stay on trend. In that respect, warmer and sultry eye shadow colors as well as darker bold lips are all the rage in this period. What’s more, there is a high possibility that your summer foundation won’t work for you during autumn, so if your face doesn’t look the way you wanted, it might have to do with a foundation that is too mattifying.

Wardrobe Organization:

It’s clear that you’d want to get to the task of organizing your wardrobe for the new season as soon as possible, but if the weather is still far from cold enough for jumper dresses, sweaters, coats and similar, some of your summery clothing bits and pieces can still prove useful and practical. Basic tops can be used for layering and evening dresses for important occasions with jacket or cardigan on top. If you’re set on organizing your wardrobe as soon as possible, make sure to separate clothes that are versatile and keep them in your reach.

When seasonal transitions take place, it’s important that you have good knowledge of how your skin reacts and what it needs to stay healthy and radiant. Most people know what suits them for extreme and specific seasonal conditions, but period “in between” can be slightly problematic. So, don’t ditch your previous regimes and styles quickly, but simply change it up a little. 

Peter Minkoff

Hello Beautiful!

Peter Minkoff is a beauty & fashion editor for High Style Life magazine located in Brisbane, Australia. After graduating from Australian Institute of Creative Design, he worked as a stylist for few fashion events in Brisbane. Beside fashion & beauty, he loves reading, making DIY cosmetics and traveling around tropical destinations. He plans to create a business for beauty & style advising.

As winter still hasn't hit us here, these are the perfect tips to make sure you make the best of Autumn when it comes to fashion and beauty. Don't forget to follow his writings on the High Style Life Magazine.

If you want to guest post on my Blog, feel free to contact me at thegulezehrablog@gmail.com. I'd love to have you over.

Until next time, Good Luck & Ciao!

Why Liquid Lipsticks have serious Game? | Guest Post |

Hey!

Let me start by formally writing this down that there is no such thing as “too many lipsticks”. Be it a traditional black bullet of MAC lipstick or Kylie’s liquid lipsticks, we need them all! Remember those days when hunting for the perfect lipstick meant browsing the kiosks at Agha’s or D.Watson with a friend or sister? Well the scenario has completely changed, 

Enters Sephora and Super Drug products in Pakistan! *drum-roll please*

The lipstick market has diversified and spun around 180 degrees with hundreds of international brands like YSL, Stila , SMASHBOX ,Inglot, HUDA beauty, Jeffree Star at our disposal right away. A big fat THANKYOU to all the Cosmetic pages on Facebook and Instagram doing the noble deed of reducing the gap between makeup hoarders and a ton of new stuff everyday!

Last year many high end brands introduced us to a more “revolutionized” and “modern” version of lipstick, they called it a liquid lipstick. “Ease of a gloss and pigmentation of a lipstick!”, chanted every brand. All the YouTube beauty bloggers were thrilled while we had our reservations. Soon after, YouTube was overtaken by this product, I still remember each and every one of the beauty bloggers I followed on YouTube raving about it. What’s so special, after all?  I Wondered. I started noticing a huge number of price quotes being requested by masses on various social media makeup supplier pages. People have gone gaga over an over-priced celebrity makeup item again! Soon Drugstore brands like Revlon, Rimmel, Maybelline etc followed and resurfaced with affordable and better formulas that gave serious competition to their higher end competitors.

Weeks later I decided to test out the hype and got my hands on two shades of the Rimmel Provocalips 16 HR lip color and boy was I impressed! I LOVED IT! Intense color payoff in one swipe, stays put all day, totally comfortable on the lips, no feathering or turning into a melted mess in higher temperatures, survives eating and drinking and perfectly matte! BAM! I didn’t expected such genius formulas from the drugstore but boy I was wrong.

In the couple of months after I ordered a few more from the drugstore and higher end to test the theory and I had my fair share of hits and misses. Some drugstore formulas were totally comparable to their higher counterparts, some were opaque on single pigmentation but feathered after some time while others didn’t dry matte at all and kept staining coffee cups.

The very concept of a liquid lipstick had me impressed and perplexed at the same time. Impressing because it delivered long wear intense color payoff on every application and perplexed because there was no fixed definition of a liquid lipstick. Every brand came by their own names, lip lacquers, cream sheens, velvet mattes etc. Unfortunately every good product has a downside too. Here is what I gathered from my experience.

PROS

• ·         5 GOLD stars on providing intense color on your lips. The color you see in the bottle is the color you get on your lips every time in one single swipe! Now how amazing is that!? They definitely are melted lipstick in a bottle. Jeffree Star liquid lipsticks tops the list.

• ·         No need for reapplication or those frequent visits to the washroom to fix your lipstick. Most of the formulas out there ( the ones that specifically say all day wear, etc) donot budge for upto 8-9 hours straight. Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick and Rimmel Provocalips get you through the entire day.

• ·         Since it is a melted lipstick in a bottle no need to toss them in the fridge during summers. Throw them in your handbag and you’re good to go. No spills and no melted mess.

• ·         No need to wear a lip liner underneath. Try the trusted Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick.

• ·         The design of the doe-foot applicator ensures easy application. The tapered brush helps you apply the liquid lipstick easily with precision especially in the cupid’s bow and the inner corners of the lips.

• ·         Comes in Mini- versions or in value sets and gift packs during the holiday season. You can invest in either of these to try different shades and formulas at a lesser price tag. Log on to Sephora’s website to grab these goodie packs.

• ·         The matte ones set under a minute and when it does it doesn’t budge. Only a makeup remover can take it off!

CONS

• ·         Some brands have jumped onto the bandwagon without perfecting their formulas unfortunately. Look out for such “Big Claims”. Always read blogger reviews before investing your money.

• ·         EXPENSIVE! Higher price tag doesn’t mean superior formula. Watch out! These babies can burn a hole in your pocket hence do your homework before buying one.

• ·         Since most of the formulas out there claim to be absolutely matte hence they can settle into the fine lines and make them your lips look parched. Always exfoliate your lips and moisturize them before applying your liquid lipstick.

• ·         The formulas can be unforgiving on your lips. Some products are dual ended, with liquid lipstick on one end and a clear balm on another. The balm can be applied on top of the lipstick whenever they feel dry.

• ·         Some formulas like the Vivid mattes and Ultra HD’s do not dry matte at all. They will transfer throughout the day and re-application will be required.

• ·         Some formulas stay put for upto 8 hours but can start to fade in the inner side of the lips and corners of the mouth. Some will start to bleed hence back them up with a lip liner underneath.

• ·         Some are strongly scented. 

Wet Application

After it sets to a Matte Finish.

That was quite a post but let us know which products have worked for you and which ones have been disappointed. Love to hear back!

Fatiha.

Hello Beautiful!

Fatiha is 27 and obsessed with anything and everything beauty and fashion related. She has a Masters in Project Management and work as a freelancer but writing and beauty blogging is what makes her happy! Currently she is setting up her own blog but you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

This, for sure was an interesting read! I hope ya'll find it as interesting and informative as I did. I'd love to know what are your takes on Liquid Lipsticks also which ones are your favorite? 

If you want to guest post on my Blog, feel free to contact me at thegulezehrablog@gmail.com. I'd love to have you over.

Until next time, Good Luck & Ciao!

Spring Detox & Skin Care Ideas | Guest Post |

Spring has always been the season when you can wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Some people like to enter this season with new clothes, others by cleaning their homes thoroughly, and me, I like to enter it with a clean and glowing skin. And who could blame me? Winter has always been terrible to my skin, and I suppose to you too. I cannot stand when my skin is dry, dull and damaged, so with the first blossoms of spring, I do a full blown skin detox and nourish my skin according to the season. Let me share some of my ideas with you.

Step 1: Eat Your Way to Clean Skin

This step will benefit not only your skin, but also your overall health. I do not know about you, but one more reason winter leaves my skin devastated during the winter is all the fatty and sugary holiday food. So, when spring arrives, I change my diet and drink more water (at least 8 glasses). Some of the best detox foods around are hazelnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, tahini, citrus fruit, cabagge, beets, sesame, pomegranate… I found a lot of food inspirations at Dish For Diet health magazine.

Step 2: Exfoliate

Time to take off your skin’s “winter coat”. Now, it is important to remember that for a proper exfoliation you will need a wholesome scrub, not just for your face and neck, but also for lips, chest, arms, hands, legs and feet. If you feel too lazy for the good old honey+ sugar + oatmeal scrub, then you can buy shelve products or tone down the DIY part with simple baking soda + water recipe. No matter what your choice might be, it is important to rub that scrub in circular movements for several minutes.

Step 3: Steam

Put some distilled water on the stove, pour a couple of drops of essential oil (I prefer lavender but you can choose from a bunch of them), and leave to boil. After pour the water into a glass bowl, grab yourself a towel, place your head above the bowl, put the towel over your head and stay over steam for 7 to 10 minutes. Just rinse, and voila! Your skin is clean of the dead cells remaining after exfoliating and the dirt that was once trapped in your pores is gone.

Step 4: Moisturize

This is a major step that should never miss out on. Especially because one of the main reasons you are exfoliating is to help your skin absorb moisturizer and other skincare products. Now, the choice of moisturizer will depend on your skin type and the body part that is being treated. I have very sensitive skin (to say at the least) but I have discovered that Dermalogica skincare products suit my needs the best.

Face – Find the one (nighttime and daytime) that suits you the best, do not try anything new right after the scrub. Daytime moisturizer should have at least SPF30.

Body – It is enough to use simple body butter or even olive oil to retain the moisture.

Lips – Use balms rich in ingredients such as essential oils, jojoba, lanolin and vitamins.

Feet – Find a medicated feet cream designed to heal cracked heels, a lotion that matches your level of skin dryness or simply moisturize with petroleum oil. After, cover the feet with cotton socks and sleep on it.

Step 5: Establish a Healthy Skincare Routine

All of your efforts will worth nothing if you do not continue to take proper care of your skin. So, here is a little trick, after you establish your skincare routine, write it down, hang it on the bathroom wall, and arrange all of your products accordingly. It should go something like this (depending on your skin type): wash, cleanse, tone (apply a toner) and moisturize. Exfoliate once in two weeks.

Those were my skin detox and care tips: nothing too difficult, nothing too expensive, just a natural way to return your skin to its previous glory and make it smooth and gentle again. 

Hello Beautiful!

Peter Minkoff is a beauty & fashion editor for High Style Life magazine located in Brisbane, Australia. After graduating from Australian Institute of Creative Design, he worked as a stylist for few fashion events in Brisbane. Beside fashion & beauty, he loves reading, making DIY cosmetics and traveling around tropical destinations. He plans to create a business for beauty & style advising.

It was a pleasure having Peter contribute his precious time and effort. I love how thorough and informative this post is and so helpful specially for this time of the year. Don't forget to follow his writings on the Hgh Style Life Magazine  I'll definitely be looking into detoxing my skin. What's your favorite way to detox your skin? 

If you want to guest post on my Blog, feel free to contact me at thegulezehrablog@gmail.com. I'd love to have you over.

Until next time, Good Luck & Ciao!