My Skin Journey: Oily Skin

My Skin Story & the how the YouTube/Blogging world helped me + Tips for oily/acne prone skin

Hey there! I wanted to share my skin journey as it includes several of my discoveries about skincare and tips which you could also benefit from. It is a long read so you might want to get a cup of tea first LOL, I just felt the need to add a lot of detail, and especially since i haven't written a blogpost in a looong time! Enjoy!

~
When I was around age 13/14 I had really bad acne and blackheads around my forehead area and it just stood out from my face. I had no idea what was causing it or how to get rid of it. Initially, I wasn't so bothered until my siblings specifically pointed it out to me, and I quote: "your forehead does not belong to you".

Around that time, my sister introduced me to the YouTube channel of Dina Tokio which really intrigued me as I didn't even know that anyone could start up a channel. I started watching her videos which lead me to discover several other YouTubers such as Amenakin, Zoella, and many more. Many of them were/are makeup and skincare experts from which I started learning about skincare. I soon figured out that my skin type was very oily due to which I had all these spots and blackheads. So now I had to find a solution to help get rid of all of that.

With the help of some blogposts written by skincare experts, and YouTube videos from people who had experienced similar skin as me, I started to look after my skin more carefully; I started using a face scrub to help with the removal of blackheads, and also to get rid of excess oils produced by my skin. I even ensured to moisturise my face everyday which I didn't usually do before because I didn't think it was necessary to moisturise non-dry skin (I know right - seriously Safiya?). Exfoliating with an apricot face scrub made my skin feel amazing afterwards, and it even brightened up my face. It helped reduce whiteheads and faded hair follicles around my nose area, which made me so flipping happy!

After a couple of months (or maybe a year!), I started seeing a difference in my skin - the abundance of blackheads had halved and my forehead looked slightly more clearer. What a feat. I kept on top of my skincare routine; the amount of blackheads continued to decrease, except for the odd few short-living pimples and really tiny skin spots which weren't very apparent. My forehead and chin still appeared substantially darker than the rest of my face, due to the marks left behind. A year or two after I began looking after my skin, it felt almost like a revelation when I read that caffeine from coffee (which I drank every morning) was the cause for all those tiny skin spots dotted around several areas on my face! So, the only solution was to reduce my intake of coffee or even better, totally cut off all intake of coffee and tea.

That proved to be quite a difficult step. Without drinking coffee in the morning, I felt really tired and lacked energy throughout the school day. I really needed that kickstart provided by coffee. So I resorted to only drinking it once a week. That seemed to work and I felt really proud of myself (and so did mum, lol she always thought coffee was bad for you - silly me, I should've taken her more seriously). After a few months of that, I was able to totally cut off my intake of caffeine - no coffee in the mornings, and I didn't like tea anyway (sounds like a joke to the current me). Soon, pretty soon I must say, I saw a difference. My skin looked much more clearer as the tiny spots were making their way off my skin. At this point (aged 16), my skin had clearly been through a long journey over the recent two years, but this is not all my friend, the story continues.

Now the challenge was, and still is, to maintain a minimum of spots. The obvious way to do that is to find a way to tame the oiliness of my skin. However, the not-so-obvious solution is to use an oil. Yes, you read that right. From what I've learnt from blogs and YouTube videos, the idea is to use an oil in order for it to balance out the natural oils produced by my skin. Using a face oil saves your own skin from having to compensate for dry skin by producing its own oils in excess.

Now this is when I first started my blog - my first blogpost (linked here) describes my discovery of coconut oil (ft. Amena AKA Amenakin) and my experience of using it - highlighting its benefits. Once I began using coconut oil, I found that it isn't intensely moisturising so it's a pleasantly light oil which doesn't feel too heavy on the skin. I learnt from some internet research that it doesn't particularly work too well with dry skin though, as it could be drying - thus it works amazingly for me and it isn't even expensive and so I still use it today.

So that's all for my skin journey my friends! Congratulations if you've made it this far, I know it was a long one but I hope you've enjoyed and learnt a bit about skincare. Keep an eye out for a post on my skincare routine, in which I will include when I use the coconut oil and other products.

Thanks for reading!

Safiya x

Freelance Professional Henna Mehndi Artist | Safiya Amodi

Here is a slideshow showing some of my designs. To view all my designs, click to go to my Instagram page or my Facebook page

For any inquiries regarding mehndi, contact me by email at safiya.mehndiartist@gmail.com

The Friendship TAG

I did this tag with my friend Shazeda over on her blog. It's written in her narrative view, and must I mention - she is HILARIOUS. Here's a lil snippet:

***

"Who's gonna be your friend?" - My friend everybody!!
(It's okay she only meant it for the blog... I have friends)

(...)

I have not met her yet, but I saw her backpack in yr 7 (12yr olds) in science class. It was such a great bag I hope she still has it. Basically... Read more >>

***

P.s. I asked "Who's gonna be your friend?" because she randomly said "Hey! I'm gonna do the friendship tag!". So my question was just for the blog post.

Skincare | Review - Lush lip scrub Mint Julips

I had heard a bit about these lip scrubs so I thought I would try it out. The Mint Julips flavour inrigued me because its smell is just ah-mazing since I love the smell of mint.

So. Is this 25g  mini tub - mainly consisting of sugar and costing £5.50 - worth it, you ask? The simple answer is YES. This little glorious bundle of very few ingredients works wonders on chapped lips - and that too, in just a few seconds! Simply using a regular lip balm takes several minutes to make an affect and also doesn't even have half as good results as using the lip scrub. What makes it even more better is that it tastes delicious - literally like Aero Mint chocolate so you can simply lick it off your lips once you've given your lips a good scrub! It may seem pricey for a small amount but trust me, it lasts way longer than you can imagine. Initially I had thought it would last me a month, but after using it a few times I realised I was far off.

On average I probably use this lip scrub every 1 or 2 days. I make sure to apply a bit of my favourite lip balm afterwards in order to maintain my baby-soft lips. Using a lip scrub also increases blood flow in the area, causing your lips to look more plump temporarily, and makes your lips look more red/pink-ish. This Mint Julips tub is half full and so far has lasted me half a year (I know right, that's crazy!). Having this lip scrub as part of your routine would make your lip balms last longer too, as you wouldn't only rely on them to do the job.

The only disadvantage is that it is not easy to use on the go when out and about as it can get a bit messy. You may think you have completely wiped it off your mouth but instead you've just spread sugar all over your face. Not a look to be proud of. But I guess that cannot really be helped since it's a sugar lip scrub and seeing as I just use it in the morning or night as part of my routine, it's not much of a problem.

Until now (approximately 5 months after purchasing and using it) I always thought it was called Mint Tulips... well I guess it doesn't match my blog name after all hehe :)

Once this tub is finished I cant wait to try out other flavours which I'm sure wouldn't disappoint me as Mint Julips has already made it to be one of my holy grail lip products. I'm looking forward to trying out the Bubblegum flavour since it seems to be many peoples favourite.

Overall rating: 10/10 

Check https://www.lush.co.uk/products/mint-julips for information on the seven ingredients and more!

Hope you found this useful! x

Have you tried any Lush lip scrub?

What do you think?

CREATIVE WRITING | Prose from Poem - Pomegranates Of Kandahar

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13771767/?claim=d473cenwnmb">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
So, here is a piece of work I did a while ago which is based on a poem as mentioned in the title of this post.  The author is Sarah Maguire. 

You may want to go read the poem here first so you can understand and link it to my prose piece. There are slight hints of the poem in here - see if you can notice it!

***

Landmines exploding all around her, destroying the bright green fields. Dust floating in the atmosphere, blurring her vision. Many sweet pomegranates hitting the hard ground, caught by the shouts of barefoot children. Squelch! – bleeding jewels.

The bright red poppy fields stand out amongst the dull looking rubble. Screams echo in everyone’s ears. Along with the dominating sound of bullets.

The screeching shouts of confused children could be heard at a distance. She’s crying, crying her heart, until no more tears remain to express her grief. Cruel heartless men, betting for the respect of women. Their husbands are helpless, they rage with anger – she could sympathise with their sorrow – the only thing is that she has no more tears to cry. Her heart screams, weeps, shouts and begs, but there is nothing she could do, other than wish for all this to end and peace to commend.

The awful smell of ash smothers past her nose as she walks between the collapsing buildings. Destruction. She could see the devils teasing the innocent children – like a jellied cell. Just then she sees a despicable man snatching a woman’s scarf. The mirrored shawl splits open and dozens tumble down. Pomegranate Galore!

She catches a glimpse of a bomb rolling along the ground with the pomegranates. Explosion. Nothing nearby remains, nothing to see, nothing to describe…

By Safiya Amodi ©

***

I hope you enjoyed it! (Well it's not exactly a positive topic, but you get what I mean) It's the first time I've written a prose, so please tell me what you think, in the comments below :) x

Textiles Fashion Show 2015 | BTS

Our school showcases the GCSE Textiles students' dresses at an annual school fashion show catwalk. My friend Azmin designed and created an amazing piece for which I was to model for. I was so excited since I've never modelled before and I was really looking forward to it! On the days leading up to the event we struggled with the fitting, however after making some adjustments with the dress, we finally got there in the end.

The event was held about an hour after school so we had very little time to get ready. I was panicking ten minutes before the event started because I still hadn't figured out how I was to wear my hijab! The designer and I decided to do a simple turban look to show off the neck detailing of the dress. Surprisingly, my hijab was sorted within just a few minutes. I applied minimal makeup and was ready by the start of the event.

It was only then we were informed that the catwalk wasn't scheduled until an hour later so we had to wait backstage in a classroom. The event began with a performance by music students. So we had plenty of time to practice for the catwalk.We only realised that the catwalk had begun when we heard the cheering from the hall for models from other classes backstage. Soon it was my classes turn and that's when anxiety hit. All models had to go on individually. Once I walked onto the ramp, I immediately heard cheering and was it freaking loud?! This boosted my confidence and gladly it went well. The catwalk was repeated but this time we went on with our dress designers. We hadn't practiced this one so I was so confused! I just followed the others, (that's when my friends sister took a slip of us) and soon enough it was over.

Plashet Fashion Show Catwalk 2015 ©

Overall it was an exhilarating experience and I wish I could do something like this again!

xx Safiya ©

My Henna Story

In 2013 my sister had been a Professional Henna Artist for 7 years. I was always awed by her work which inspired me to try it out for myself since I'm a creative person if I can say so myself, therefore artistic things intrigue me. In the Summer of said year, I began practicing a variety of designs. I found that the hardest part was learning how to handle a henna cone and I'm sure all henna artists would agree with me here. It was just so difficult! My mums constant motivation helped me maintain my patience and after several occasions of failed attempts I was able to hold a cone accurately. During all the practice, my hand became more steady so my pace increased and I began to feel more comfortable with applying henna.

What made it all the more convenient was that whenever I wanted to practice, my mum would offer me her hand to practice on. I must say, my skills were not at all great at the beginning, yet my mum never complained about my hideous designs on her hands. Not long after, in January 2014, I created an Instagram account in which I posted images of my progress in the art of henna from which I received further motivation, support and inspiration. I haven't yet deleted my very first pic on instagram so head over to instagram.com/safiya.mehndi to see the transformation of my work!

It has been 1 year that I've been on Instagram and it has most definitely kept me going and helped me improve a lot. I eventually began taking bookings in Summer 2014 as a Freelance Henna Artist.

I hope My Henna Story has inspired you. If you are an aspiring henna artist, and want advice, tips etc. comment below or email me - tealtulips.s@gmail.com - And for booking enquiries, email: safiya.mehndiartist@gmail.com or message me on my Facebook page

xx

Safiya :) ©

SKINCARE | Coconut oil - Oily/Combination skin

I have very oily skin and struggled to find a moisturiser that doesn't make my face shiny and greasy throughout the day. Unfortunately for people like me, there isn't many products to help with the oily skin as we find that the majority of creams and moisturisers in the shops are aimed for dry skin which is not fair at all!

After watching many skincare videos on YouTube, I came across Amena's (Amenakin aka Pearl Daisy) video which featured coconut oil. Although she uses it for a different purpose than I was looking for, it intrigued me enough to try it out for myself.

Putting it to the test, I have modified my night skincare routine and use coconut oil on my entire face instead of my moisturiser. I began this last week and when waking up in the morning I noticed that my face wasn't very shiny as usual . I have continued this and am so happy to see that my face doesn't go shiny throughout the day anymore and it has hardly been a week!

From the first day of using coconut oil, my skin has been feeling so soft and healthy - I can sometimes go without moisturising my face during the day.

So, if you have oily skin or even combination oily skin and want to tame it, I recommend you try pure coconut oil for a few nights and trust me, you wont be disappointed. I personally use the parachute brand in a blue bottle. The packaging is quite inconvenient as I have to melt it in the microwave each time I use it, so I transferred some into an empty lip balm container which is just perfect for use as the oil immediately melts in your hands, so if you want to try out coconut oil, you should do the same.You can buy a Single Cream Jar from Superdrug here which is only £0.99 and seems totally worth it.

Hope this helps!

Safiya :) ©