Summer Countdown 2013 Epiosode 2. Healthy Summer

This is the second episode to the official Summer countdown. I will try to post at least once a week and make sure to complete all episodes. So, spring is getting to an end however summer is on its way! I don't know about you guys but I love summer. It has got to be my favorite season and time of the year. Summer 2013 means beach. Sand. Water. Ice cream. Tan. And ofcourse a swim suite! I have been keeping a close eye to H&M for nice bikini tops. But not everyone is confident in a bikini wear, for that reason I will present you tips to feel confident this summer. 

Being healthy is the most important thing to begin with, not being skinny. Keep that in mind!
♥ Aim big: Start with making little goals, for example; eating salade everyday WITHOUT dressing. Just little goals can make a big difference. Make goals to keep you going, and don't make them unreachable for example dont make a goal to lose 5 kilos in 1 month, that will unmotivate you and you will be dissapointed if you work on it for a week and then give up. So start small but make it big. 
♥ Motivate yourself!: Motivation is the key ingredient to leading a healthy summer(/life). Start with making a calender or timetable and customize it. Buy new sport gear and you will be excited to go to the gym. Be comfertable doing excercise, and start by doing simple things like jogging on the treadmill for 5 minutes and then running for 1 minute, do not start by running for 20 minutes because you will be exhausted and next time you will not be looking forward to it. Make it exciting so you can stay motivated to do more. 
♥ Start to make Diet changes: Just start simple, adding healthy things and cutting off fatty things. Start adding greens to your meals. I realised I eat when I am bored, or while watching tv series, so try to eat smartly by not grabbing chocolates and crisps but grabbing a bag of carrots or strawberries. Your brain tells you you are hungry, you tell yourself I need a snack, and then it is up to you what you eat, so eat something good and healthy. Stay away from greasy food and go find fresh and healthy food. You can always change little things like instead of adding chocolate sauce to your pancake, add fruit,it gives it a nice cold taste. Instead of eating ice cream you can make your own popsicles; 
1. Cut up the fruit of your choice into cubes (E.g Strawberries, Watermelons, Kiwi's)
2. Place fruits in a plastic cup and add water to the cup.
3. Add a popsicle stick into the middle and place the cup in the freezer
4. Let it freeze, and once frozen completely enjoy your very own HEALTHY popsicle!
Little recipes like these can make a very big difference, you can eat healthy and stay on the healthy side. 
♥ Exercise! : I am so sorry, there is no way out of it. You got to get up and go to the gym twice a week at least and work out on the other days at home. I watch Blogilates on Youtube, she has the long exercising videos which you can do 4 days in a week, and 2 days go to the gym and take 1 day off. Keep this going for a very long time to see change in progress. (http://www.youtube.com/user/BlogilatesTV?feature=fvst) She has great videos, and not just videos but also little recipes that are very healthy but still delicious and the ingredients are so simple to find at home! She is a great way to snack but in a healthy way. 
♥ Watch what you eat! : There is an app that you can download for free, it is called Eatery, you can upload everything you eat and then people can rate your food and you get your overall week and what days you ate better than other and then comparing weeks. If you you don't have an iphone, you can always just write down what you eat or make a photo and just check what you eat. But keep a close eye to your food intake. 

These are just a few tips you can keep in mind, but remember stay healthy and happy. 

Love,
Ramsha xx

Countdown to Summer 2013 Episode 1. Aim for the Best Summer of all

It has been too long, I miss blogging, but I have been so busy, summer 2012 was amazing. Now it is time to get ready for Summer 2013, which will be even better. To get ready for summer, I have created a series of 'Countdown to Summer'. This is the first 'episode' to this series, this will be focused on aims for summer. 
Everyone has aims for summer, long hair, tan, skinny body, music etc. 
To me, these are very vague aims, and there is not much to them. Aims need to be realistic and easy to obtain, so I will start this series with aims, and one by one we will together catch each one of them and successfully have the best summer ever. 
♥ Skinny Body for Swimsuit Season: Everyone wants to be skinny, especially when its the time around summer to show off your body. Once a year everyone gets the opportunity to wear shorts and feel confident and I will make sure that you and me, together will make it through!
♥ Long Light Hair: In the summer, having black hair can be very annoying, since black absorbs heat, and having black hair can make your head extremely hot and that is never good, so for this summer season, we will make our hair light and long, I will present you tips and tricks to obtain the best possible hair for summer 2013!
♥ A fresh face of Summer: Make-up can be extremely annoying to apply during the summer because it melts off and it can stick and just be very irritating, for that reason I will give you tricks to make your face fresh and still look beautiful on your way out.
♥ Music Playlist and Movie Night Choice: Every summer there is one song that sticks up to your summer expectations, and I will present you a whole list of songs that will make your summer go crazy. And some nights you just want sit and watch a movie, for that reason I will give you a whole list of girly summer movies to watch and enjoy.
♥ Dresses, Shorts, Tank Tops, yep its summer fashion: Looking through magazines, shops and just looking around, I will be having a close eye to every fashion update I can get, and present you looks that can be obtained with simple tips.
♥ Make up: Just because make-up is annoying doesn't mean you cant look fab, I will give you many looks for the bronzed up summer. 
♥ Holiday Packing and Traveling: If you are going on holidays, right before Summer Holidays actually start I will give you a brief look into my traveling bag, and also tips for traveling, to do's and not to do's always help. 
♥ Fooooood: Summer means ice cream, starbucks, ice tea, frozen yogurt, to be honest anything to do with the word ice will work. Just a whole list of recipes and ideas to make your summer tasty.
♥ DIY Summer Journal: I am a Visual Art Student at an International School (ibdp), and for that reason I want to create a summer journal, and I will provide you with a DIY to create your own personal summer journal so you can look back and be happy that you had the best summer ever. 

This was the list of episodes for Summer Countdown, I hope you stick with me and read through my blog and get the best summer ever. I promise I will post each and every episode and then we will both have the best summer ever. 

Love, Ramsha xx

The Naked Pallete Review

I recently bought both of the Urban Decay Naked Pallete's since I have heard way too much about them. I am going to review the first one. It is the ultimate first Naked Pallete. It is in one word, amazing.I love Urban Decay for its eyeshadows, they are expensive but I believe worth the money. I think this pallete is a great invecment since in The Netherlands, one eyeshadow from Urban Decay costs 18 euro. Now this palette has 12 shades, for 50 euros. That is a great deal I think!

This Palette comes with one Primer Portion and a brush. It has perfect twelve shades, some nude while others a bit more glittery. You can make great looks from each color and each look will be unique. It has a mirror included and it comes in a velvety clothing back cover since

it is very soft. Each eyeshadow color has a different name. All the names are interesting and quiet random to be perfectly honest.

Here is a look that can be obtained from the naked pallete,

Step 1. Apply Virgin as a high light color right under your eyebrows and move it towards the inner corners of your eyes (near our nose).

Step 2. Apply Sin all over your eyelid, except on the area Virgin has been applied.

Step 3. Apply Hustle as a V-shape as the outer corners to give it a smudgy look and a bit of a smokey look.

Step 4. Using the color Half Baked and a blending brush, brush in Half Baked into the Hustle so that there are no harsh lines viewable on the outer corner.

Step 5. Apply an eyeliner. (The one I used is the Maybelline 24 hr Drama Gel Liner)

Step 6. Apply kohl pencil in your water line. (I used a local one from the shop Hema)

Step 7. Apply mascara. (I used Max Factor False Lash Fushion)

    - And you are done:)  

(There will be a video soon on this look!)

I hope this helped. I give the naked palette 5/5 stars.

Love,

Ramsha xx

Nude Colors for this spring!

So, Nude colors have been my favorite for a while now. I have been looking at many palettes and lipsticks and nail colors that are natural. I found a couple of things in my own make up kit that I thought are great for this spring and summer 2012. I will review each of them in this blog. This is going to be the following for each product :-
♥ Name of the product
♥ Picture(s) of the product
♥ Review about the product
♥ 1 pro and 1 con of the product.
♥ Recommendation
♥ Out of 5 stars 


Product no#1 M.A.C Satin Lipstick A91 Spirit 

♥ Review: I just got this product as a present from my special someone. It was 18 euros. A bit pricey if you ask me but after using it for a couple of days, I really think it is worth the money. The color is pink/brownish. It is quiet natural. I think is it similar to the color of our natural lips but then more intense. It has a soft moisterising texture. When I was looking through the MAC lipstick stand, there were many colors, I had swatches all over my hand but this color stood out the most to me, I think it is the intense pink look. While standing beside the lipstick stand I realized because of the heat of the lamp on the lipsticks, they were melting which gave the lipstick more of an intense look. However while I got it, it was in a dry cupboard and that made it harder for me to apply the actual color. 

♥ 1 pro & 1 con: I really love the fact that this is MAC, so the quality is extremely high. The lipstick is long lasting and that is what is great about MAC. However, it makes my lips much dryer than they are. So without vaseline or any other kind of lip balm, it makes my lips look really dry which is again, not so good. 

♥ Recommendation: I recommend this lip color for an everyday spring/summer shade as the color as well as the quality is very high. It might be an issue for the pricey-ness of this product, but believe me, it is worth it. Just make sure you have a lip vaseline at all times;) 

♥ Out of 5 stars I will give it a : ★★★★ 

Product no#2

Rimmel London Natural Bronzer 

♥ Review: I got this a while ago, but seriously this is a MUST for the spring/summer! I mean, bronzer is something I cannot live without and I know many of you girlies can't either. It is a very light brown shade, because I am naturally tanned, this can be a headache to reply as I have to use about 20 times as much as my normal blush. It was about 10 euros (I think..). I got it as a present so I am not too sure. It makes my cheeckbones get a much better shape and it gives my whole face a better look. My cheekbones are like flaps, I don't have a good shape, so this bronzer really makes a shape for me. It is great for a day at the beach!
♥1 pro& 1 con: It is a beautiful color and it makes my cheeks appear much higher. However, it takes a lot of time to settle in, I mean I have to really dip up some powder to get it in. 
♥Recommendation: I would recommend this for people with a bit lighter skin, however not too light. About cheryl cole's skin tone, it would suit the best. 
♥ Out of 5 stars I give it a ★★★.


Product #3 
Catrice Ultimate Nude Nail Polish

♥ Review: I have an obsession for nude nail colors for some odd reason. This one caught my eyes as it was such a light color. It was very cheap, for two nail colors I had to only pay 4 euros!! Deal it was, I got this one and a very bright yellow. This one really matches my nude/natural make-up collection I guess. It is quiet liquidy is you ask me. The brush is think and allows the nail polish to get on to the nails easily. It is light which I think is great for a summer day!

♥ 1 pro& 1 con: I really like the fact the nail drys so quickly, believe me, I put it on and I think about a minute or two later it was completely dry! However it is quiet liquidy and watery which causes it to come on very lightly and then only two coats are not enough. I really think about 3 to 4 coats will make it better.

♥ Recommendation: This product is not one of the first choices I must admit, I mean the color is great but if I had a choice I would rather chose a different brand because maybe it might be not too watery.

♥ Out of 5 stars I give this product : ★★

Product no#4

L'oreal Paris Blush 

♥ Review: I got this blush as a present from my mum about a year ago for my 15th birthday. I fell in love with it, because of the fact it suited my face and it gave my cheeks a very pink intense dark look. It is still about 12 euros as it was last year! So I think is has a good deal because the shade is very nice. 

♥1 pro& 1 con: The color gives the cheeks a very nice pink shade however I think that is not very long lasting, I bike to school and that causes it to simply not stay on my cheeks so I usually put it back on when I am at school. 

♥Recommendation: I recommend this blush a million times because it is my favourite one and if you chose the right shade, it will look great as an evening or night look! So get it NOW!! 

♥ Out of 5 stars I give this product a: ★★★★

Product #5

Catrice Ultimate Color 010 Be Natural Lipstick

Note: The one on the bottom is the MAC satin A91 Spirit, it is mentioned at the 1st product!

♥ Review: I got this lipstick as a everyday natural shade from Catrice. It was for only 4 euros, which I thought was a great deal. The color is very natural and the shade it gets is very light. However only one light coat should be enough for this lip color because if you add more than one layer, it will look like foundation lips which is not bad ofcource, but if you are looking for natural looks it might not be the best idea! 

♥ 1 pro& 1 con: It is cheap and one layer is enough for the natural look however too much of it can make it look not so natural anymore, so be careful.

♥ Recommendation: I would recommend it for a day where you are wearing tons of foundation so it can blend in and maybe a transparent lip gloss will make it much better looking! 

♥ Out of 5 stars I give this product a: ★★

Product #6 

Maybelline SuperStay PowerGloss 12 Hour color shine

♥ Review: I have seen this color on so many front covers of magazines when I got this. The month I got it, Jennifer Aniston was wearing it on her front cover of Glamour Magazine! It was about 11 euros. It is double sided, in which one is the color and the second or back side has the top coat I could say which gives it an extra shine. The color looks quiet dark on the pigment but in real it is much lighter and neutral. 

♥ 1 pro& 1 con: It has the gloss to shimmer up the whole look and the color itself is great for any occasional really. But, I realised that after wearing this for two to three hours, it dries out and there is no shimmer or shine at all to the lips so if you do buy it, make sure you have it with you 24/7 incase the shine runs out! (y)

♥ Recommendation: I would recommend this shade for a person who works at an office, as it can give the glowing effect. It is not very school like, but I mean if you have a prom or whatever, this is a great way to lighten up your whole outfit!

♥ Out of 5 stars I give this product a: ★★★

Product #7 
Maybelline 24 Hour SuperStay 049 Liquid Foundation

♥ Review: This is one of my first foundations that I started using, since I got serious into make up. I started last year when I was almost 15 and just moved from England. I really got inspired by YouTube videos and searched up some good foundations. This one had many positive comments about it, I mean I did not want to straight of jump into MAC and Urban Decay if you know what I mean. So I got this from my mum again, it was about 16 euros, and now I believe Maybelline has it on sale and it is about 10 euros. It is a bit lighter as you can see than my actual skin. I think it looks even lighter because I did not smudge it about on this picture. This foundation is great ones it suits your skin. I really like it because it is very light and does not cake up my face. It helps me to conceal my dark circles and since I sometimes wear my glasses, I have lots of dark spots around my eyes and nose. And this foundation really helps me cover it up. One layer is enough for me really, but I mean for an everyday it is more than enough but if you are going out maybe two or three layers might give it a better glam.

♥ 1 Pro& 1 con: As I mentioned, one layer is more than enough for full coverage however, this foundation well not just this one but any liquid foundation looks better with a bit of powder to it. 

♥ Recommendation: I recommend this foundation for all of you who just started taking make up seriously like I did a year ago. It helps you to cover your dark areas and it keeps your face even. 

♥ Out of 5 stars I give this product a: ★★★★★ YES FINALLY 5 STARS!!

Now, these were all my products that I think are very neutral and light for the summer/spring 2012. Make sure you keep it natural, because the more natural the better! 

Aria Montgomery Fashion Style (Detailed & Updated)

If you scroll down, I have an Aria Montgomery Fashion Style but I wanted to make a new one, REALLY detailed and quite updated to be honest. So here it is, hope you like it!

Background on Aria:

Aria Montgomery is a character from the the book series; Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepherd. Now, Pretty Little Liars is a very famous TV series in which Aria is played by the beautiful Lucy Hale. Lucy Hale has been compared to Mila Kunis and Selena Gomez many times. She has also played in one or two episodes of the hit disney show; Wizards of Waverly Place. 

Aria on the otherhand is described as beautiful, unique and calm. Aria has long silky thick black hair, (in the books) tall, and loves to knit and write. Aria has one brother, Mike and lives with her both parents, Ella and Byron Montgomery. Aria was one of the best friends with 'the missing girl' Alison DiLaurentis. Aria is keeping a secret from her Mom about her own Dad, Byron. He has been a naughty father and had an affair with one of his students and Aria caught him in his car making out with his student, Merideth. Aria and Ali were both laughing and walking but then Aria caught her dad and everything started to change from then for Aria. 

Aria, following her dad's footsteps also had been having an affair with her young, handsome English Teacher, Mr. Ezra Fitz. However, Aria moved away to Iceland before she dated Ezra and as soon as she comes back she falls in love with Ezra. And sooner she finds out he is her new english teacher! :O 

Aria however does have a great sense of fashion, and it can seen through the series!

Hair:

Aria, has thick black silky hair. On the show, they obviously use a lot of hair products which makes it look so perfect! But at home, if you have a curling iron, you can obtain this look. !WARNING! curling iron, straightners and all the other products can damage your hair, so only use it if you have to.

Anyway, if you have blond hair, that is fine too, you don't have to look exactly the same. But having black hair can be a bonus! And when it comes to styling it, Aria has curles from inside out. So curl your hair with the curling iron from inside out, and also giving a little wave to the front fringe. Using a thickning shampoo can do great, and washing your hair now and then should also be fine, as you can never see Aria with greasy nasty hair. Aria and Spencer Hastings (also a character from PLL) both wear quite a lot of hats, and they can be a great fashion accessory. 

Products that can be used which are cheap but also good:

* Herbal Essence Hair Shampoo - They smell really good and moisturizes your hair in such a way that it does not look thin or greasy in a very long period of time.

*Studio Line Hair Mousse- This one smells good (a bonus point!) and it lets your hair have a bit of waves, which you can use without having a curling iron if you are lucky though. 

*Remington Studio Pearl Curling Wand- This one can be a headache to use, but the result is always worth it. Just wrap your hair around the wand and let it fall down and wallaaah- a beautiful curl.
*L'oreal Paris Elnett Latin Hairspray- This has been my favourite hairspray since like forever. It is avalialable in many sizes, the smallest size can be easy to use for school, I take it with me for incase. You can not really tell when your wearing it, but it is really strong and keeps your hair in place for a very long time. 
*A cute berret hat! - Aria has worn about 3 already, and they suit her. Don't wear them just for Aria, if they don't suit you; don't bother! 

Make up:

Aria's face is overall light in skin tone but her makeup varries. Before Aria left to Iceland, she had the classic emo chick look, pink highlights, almost every piece of her cloth was black and her makeup was overall simple but black. But now that she is the 'new'Aria, her makeup has gone a bit neutral. I have seen in some episodes, her eye makeup usually matches with her clothes or her jewelry. For example on the picture in the left, Aria has matched her brown coloured dress with her eyeshadow, light brown. She always wears some good blush to make her face lighter and more heavenly. Her eyebrows are perfectly thick and very nicely shaded. So get your tweezers girls and start plucking! Her eyes on the otherhand, are brownish/greenish colour which makes her eyes pop out. So the makeup neautrolises that by adding a lot and a lot of mascara to her lashes. Her lashes appear very big and very nicely curled, so comb, curl and apply tons of mascara to get that look. And she always have an eyeliner on. It is like her signature look. Her lips are very natural, most of the time they are very indepth with a not too dark colour. So pink, light brown, skin all these colours could work out. Her face is also very soft and light, so get some good face moisterizer and keep cleaning your face.
Here are some products that could be used to obtain the look from the picture in the left up:
*Nivea Moisterizer- This is quite cheap but still keeps your face soft, and protects from all the makeup you add on your face.
*Urban Decay Naked Palette a mixture of 'hustle'and 'buck'- these two colours are very soft and speak for themselves. Very nice tones and very soft.
*M.A.C Matchmaster SPF 15 Foundation- This one will stay on your face for a long time and won't damage yyour face as much because it is quite expansive and the SPF 15 keeps your face from damaging it.
*Rimmel London Soft Colour Blush- This is very soft pink shade. It keeps the face very fresh and just a little bit is enough which also means it won't finish that quick.
*Maybelline Volume Express Collosal Cat Eyes- I kind of like Maybelline for mascara a lot, it has very easy brushes which are easy to apply and get on all of your lashes. It also does not come off that quick and makes your eyes look for intense.
*Maybelline Eyestudio Gel liner- This gel liner can be hard to apply for some people who are not used to applying eyeliner with the brush, but ones you got it, this eyeliner will be your best friend. It stays on for until you wash your face, it comes off easily ones you do so. 


Finally, clothes!:


I think Aria has a very risky way of dressing, She combines all sorts of styles and they still look great on her. You have to look at the dark side, if you want to obtain Aria's look as I have not seen her with bright colours as much. She has the body to die for and can wear any combination she wants to. Aria usually wears lots and lots of layers and dresses are her thing. Knee high socks is what Lucy Hale described as Aria's signature style in one of the interviews, and I agree, I mean I have seen her with so many different type of knee high socks! 

And another thing about Aria is that she is not afraid to mix and match a couple of colours and textures! I know, you might feel uncomfertable wearing something different than the rest of your school mates but if you have got the confidence like Aria, everyone will apreciate it. I mean, do not over do it- but keep it simple and classy. Aria wears a lot of dresses, so for example, the picture on the right, Aria is wearing a dress with yellow flowers and what she added to make it her own? A leather jacket and knee highs. Now that looks like an Aria original. But Aria did not keep it till there, she also added a lot of layers, for example a simple white top underneath a brown dress with some brown mix-matching boots. Yes, Boot! Aria is not afraid to show it all, and neither should you be!

Her confidence surprises me each time, but it still looks normal. Her bags are usually very casual, just a shoulder bag or a little school bag pac. It matches her outfit and makes it look very simple and still sexy. Her shoes, she can wear those big black boots with a cute flowery dress and a leather without making it look weird. 
Also in one of the episodes, Aria wore a cheetah print cardigan which got a lot of viewer's attention. Her look made her all unique and still hot. She wore a purple tanktop, with a cheetah print cardigan, matched up with tights and shorts. Her shoes were simple black boots and a long necklace to add up the whole look. I thought that was genius, it has style and an Aria Original. Her makeup stayed nuetral. 

That look is right on the right of the page. I have seen Aria with a lot of nailpolishes, dark colours such as brown, dark blue and black. But when I say dark colours, it does not mean just black, it also means colours like brown. Overall Aria has used a lot of different textures and mixed them up quite frankly. And a lot of different prints. In the brand new episode (Season 2 Episode 17) she wore a black and white stripy dress with tights. She had a very nice coat on as well, which made her whole look much more calmer. Her whole look over all is amazing. 


This is what I have got so far, and I hope it helped. Next will be Spencer, Emily and ofcource Hanna! So keep tuned for more detailed fashion tips from the 4 pretty little liars. 


Only two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead. ssshhh ;)




Love,
Ramsha xx

Simple School Hairstyles!

Hello guys!
It is a Sunday evening, completing a lab report for chemistry so I thought why not take a break and write a lovely post before Monday cause then it is going back to studying-.-
Anyway, I got a couple of hairstyles that should be good for school and they are easy!
Cheap and easy. All you need is, bobby pins, clips, hairspray (if needed for your hair type), some hair accesorry and ofcource some hair.

The videos will be just a very quick and fast forwarded with some music but down below will instructions on how you can get this hair. They are easy and even fun! So get ready and keep going! 2012 should be great!!

By the way, my hair is completely natural. No heat is used or nothing really, if you think these hairstyles look better with little curls/waves go ahead and use some heat. But just that you guys know.. I have not used heat throughout all these hairstyles because I would rather keep it natural for school. Just sometimes I straighten it or give more curls for volume. Anyway! Hope you like them!!

1) Side messy bun.
   1.Put all of your hair to one side.
   2.Twist the end and secure it with a clip
   3.Pull up some other strains of hair and clip them up.
   4.Make sure no hair is hanging out and fix your fringe.
   5.Add assecorry if you want to! And your done:)

2) Hanna Marin (PLL) Inspired messy bun.
   1.Pull up your hair in a high ponytail.
   2.Seperate your fringe if you want a Hanna style!
   3.Grab strains of hair and pull them up and secure them with pins
   4.Secure all of your hair up and make sure it is messy!

(the video will be up soon!!)

3) Side messy lose ponytail
   1. Grab all of your hair to one side.
   2. Back comb the crown area for some volume.
   3. Twist the both ends of your hair and secure them with pins.
   4. Add any accessory if you want! And your done!!

Hope you guys liked them! They are very easy and perfect for school!
See you guys!
Love,
Ramsha xx

P.S ignore the tongue guys:P my worst habbit is that whenever I concentrate, I HAVE to stick out my tongue.. this has been going on since I was like 3? LOL, I am 16 in like 4 months and still do this:D and I usually do it when I am writting something, painting or even doing my hair LOL. bare with me !!

Inspiration

Hmm. I made this photo lately about depression.. I got inspired with a couple of songs and just some lyrics.. So here is my final piece! Please let me know what you think:)

Love,
Ramsha xx

P.S this picture is mine and I am the person in this photograph:)