My Gel Liner Experience

For the last 10 years I have been using the same eye liner, it is my favourite. It is the collections 2000 liquid liner. I love it, the brush tip is super thin, so you can create a really thin wing and you can thicken the wing for a more dramatic look.  I have used other liners, but nothing compares. It is to say the least the unsung super hero of my makeup bag. 

Like most people I watch a lot of YouTube video’s. I’ve noticed that more and more makeup artists have started using Gel liners so I thought I’d give it ago.

I picked up a pot of Rimmel Gel liner – I chose a drugstore brand because I didn’t know if I was going to like it and didn’t want to spend a fortune on something I won’t use. – I found the gel liner easy to use. It glided on to my lid. It dries matt, but to when wet, it can easily smudge (speaking from experience). Also, the first time I used it, I didn’t know that it doesn’t dry straight away so I ended up having a faint line on my eye, for most of the morning – oops.

I used the brush that came with the liner, so I had a fairly thick wing, I might have to find a smaller tip brush to create a smaller wing. Also, because the brush it comes is so thick I felt I had to create the wing first and then join the liner to the inner corner of my eye, using small strokes to complete the wing. I don’t have to do this with the Collections 2000 liner – one stroke and it’s done. But that could be down to experience.

Over all, I will continue to use the Gel liner, but if I want a more subtle look – its liquid liner every time for me.

Collections 2000 Liquid liner is still my super hero.

Which do you prefer, liquid, gel or pencil?
Which brand do you think I should invest is for my next eye liner?

Top - liquid liner
Bottom -Gel liner

My eyebrow issue...

Firstly I’d like to apologise for my lack of posts lately, I have just been overrun with work and being ill – it’s somewhat drained the energy out of me. I’d like to say I’m back and fully ready to just post and post, but I don’t think I can just yet…but that aside…

Let’s jump right in, this might seem a bit odd but I’m trying to get my eyebrows to grow.  My eyebrows are a real issue for me. I get my eyebrows done about 5 to 6 times a year. The hair is really fine and they just do not grow, now I know most of you will think that’s great, and so do I to an extent. But my eyebrows are really light and considering how dark my eyes actually are, I feel they look a bit odd. I do colour them in but brown is too light and black it too harsh. Ideally I just want them to grow perfectly… not all over the place.

Recently Zukreat (who has lovely dark eyebrows) uploaded a video on YouTube, about a mixture of oils that she uses to encourage hair growth. So I thought I’d try it.

She mixed castor oil with coconut oil and combs it into her eyebrows. I’m going to give this ago. I’ll post an update of my eyebrows in a few weeks. Wish me luck.

This is what my eye brows look like at the moment, and I’m sure most of you will wonder why I’m bothering, because they do need to be done, but just to fill you in, I’ve been growing these since the start of October.

If you guys have any suggestions on how I can improve the growth, then please comment below.

Thank you x 

Zukreat's Tutorial...

Hi all! I’m sorry for my recent absence with lack of posts I have just been lazy (oops) anyway I thought I’d share a makeup look I did using Zukreats makeup tutorial.

Her work is fantastic… and it’s so easy to learn from her channel.

I used the 28 colour neutral eye shadow palette for the crease and high light. For the lid area I used gold and pink shimmer shades, from an unbranded Arabic 120 eye shadow palette which I won on an IG giveaway,


To colour in my eyebrow I used the dark brown MUA eye shadow. I lined my eyes with collections 2000 liquid liner (my fav) and a black eye pencil. I used rimmel mascara, I should have applied eye lashes, but guess what… yes I was lazy (notice a pattern here)


I did this look late at night; the colours don’t stand out as much under the light (I really need clear light bulbs)

Let me know what you think, I’ve also put the link below, if you wanted to follow Zukreat’s tutorial.

Also, you can find me on Instagram under BobaleenaA. (Follow me for a glimpse into my life – yes I post pictures of food)





Zukreat's tutorial link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME0nHYBWYEY&feature=c4-overview&list=UU8yQ5-S2FTm-8cD3B8eML_g

I'm back....

I’ve been away from my blog for a while, due to being so busy with weddings, work and life. Lol

But I’m back now…

So, today I thought I’d tell you about a few things I purchased and love at the moment.

Lip liners - I’ve brought 3 over the last few weeks, all Rimmel. Two are from the “EXAGGERATE” range and one is from the “LASTING FINISH” range.

Let’s start with the “lasting finish” one, boy does it last. It is amazing. It stayed on my lips all day. I picked up the colour 060 which is a pinkie brown colour.

The two “exaggerate” colours I picked were, 020 which is a red/brownish colour and 005 which is the brightest pink ever. Both of these also lasted all day, especially the 005, I swear there was a still trace of it on my lips the next morning.

I also picked up two lipsticks, one was a Rimmel, “moisture renew rose shimmer” 370 colour… it’s a lovely pearly pink. It feels lovely on your lips, Rimmel were not wrong to name this “moisture renew”. The other lipstick was a N07 “moisture drench” range, colour “perfection”. It’s a bit of a peachy colour. It’s not moisturising as the Rimmel one, but lasts much longer.

The last item is a Rimmel gel eye liner. It’s meant to be waterproof, but I can’t even stop it from being smudge proof, do you guys have any tips on how to stop my eye liner going everywhere? It’s very annoying, I’ve heard mixing toner with it works, but I’m not sure I want to try that.

None of these items are expensive, and most of the time you’ll find great offers on them, so don’t hesitate – just go out and “buy n try”.

Argan Oil and Shampoo

This is going to be very quick…

I have started using a new shampoo and hair oil, which I picked up at a bargain price.

Argan Oil shampoo, the bottle says it nourishes and moisturises you hair leaving it shinny smooth and healthy. Now, this doesn’t sound any different from any of the other shampoos out there. 

But I noticed a difference in the texture of my hair after the first wash. I was extremely surprised at the outcome – no shampoo has ever had an instant affect like it. My hair felt so light and amazing, I highly recommend this shampoo and I also applied the oil while my hair was damp (like it advises to do so).

If you can get hold of this shampoo - then do not hesitate in buying it - it is amazing!

First time I've ever won anything... yay!

Fatemah Ali is a professional hair and makeup artist based in the UK. She has worked with many publications such as Asiana and Vanity Magazine.

I have been following Fatemah on Instagram for a while now and when I saw that she was announcing her 1k follower’s giveaway, I entered – and won.

The prize was an Arabic eye shadow palette. After winning I eagerly awaited the arrival of my palette. It finally arrived a week later – and boy, it was worth the wait. It came in a nice neat package but when opened it had the most amazing colour range – I fell in love with it in an instant and couldn’t wait to use it.

The colours were extremely pigmented, soft creamy shimmer shades. I’m really looking forward to using this palette more often. The palette is not the type of palette you would use every day, but you would definitely use as evening wear.

Here’s an example of the first look I did using this palette.





You can follow Fatemah on instagram @makeupbyfatemah

28 Piece neutral (sometimes known as the warm) palette review.

This is a quick review of the neutral eye shadow palette that I recently purchased.

It is a 28 piece palette I brought from eBay for about £6. It has a great mix of matt and shimmer shades, in an ideal world I would have preferred more brown shades. Out of the 28 colours I love about 6 and will use about 20. The remaining 8 are a bit light for my skin tone, so I don’t think I will use them as much but I am not ruling them out completely as they can be used for highlighting the brow bone and the inner corner of the eye.

The pigmentation varies, sometimes there is a lot, sometimes there isn’t. The darker shades are definitely more pigmented – as for the less pigmented ones, there’s nothing stopping you from double coating and building the colour up. Also, I find that applying a white eye shadow base before hand and patting the colour on the lid using a flat end brush helps.

The colours are very good for every day looks and suit any skin tones. The matt black is very dark so a little goes along way.

For the price I paid it is a decent palette and I defiantly recommend it. Again, this is another palette that came slightly damaged despite the packaging, but for the price and one colour, I don't mind. I would have preferred it if one of the lighter colours was damaged instead of the dark one... but it’s still fine.

My Bargain shopping…

Like most people I absolutely love a bargain, so today I thought I’d share a few bits that I recently purchased at amazing prices…

The first item is a large clutch bag, from Clarks, its red satin material with love little gold stone work on it. I brought it for £8; it was reduced down from £24.99. Wow!!!

The second item is a pashmina scarf I purchased from TKmaxx for £4, reduced down from £12.99. It’s a large oversized pashmina, lovely material for the summer time.

And the last item which surprised me the most, an eye shadow palette from Next. I picked it up because I thought the colours were lovely looking and it just looked very cute. It was £6. When I tried it on I found the colours to be creamy and very pigmented. I wasn’t really expecting anything from this palette as it was £6 for I think ten natural warm colours, that’s 60p per colour. But when I tried it on, I fell in love with it. The texture is lovely and I will definitely be putting it to good use.

I will let you know if I find anymore great bargains… but in the meantime, enjoy shopping.

Smashbox BB Cream Review

I’m the type of person that likes to research a product before I go out any buy it especially if I’m going to put it on my face.

Recently I have noticed a craze in BB creams, which got me wondering, what is a BB cream…

Here's what I found -


A BB cream is 'an all-in-one product that combines the function of a primer, anti-ageing serum, moisturiser, and light foundation- plus many contain added benefits like SPF.'

So, as I was wondering though boots when I noticed the Smash box counter, I’ve heard a lot about smash box products so I thought I’d have look.

(Smash box range is designed to be used in front of camera's and bright lights, as you can imagine the heat from these lights could cause your makeup to melt, but this range is designed to prevent melting of makeup - and from what I found, it works)

Anyway this is when I discovered they have a BB cream range and number 3 looked like it was the right shade for me.

So I thought, let’s try it…

Ok so onto the review.

Pro's-

I love the way it goes on and makes my skin feel.

It’s matte with moisturiser in it so it doesn't leave your face all dry or greasy. I have sensitive, combination skin and this works great for me.

My face feels really smooth and it stays on all day – leaving a glow. (That I noticed)

Con's-

I don't really have anything bad to say about this product yet because I've only been using it for about a week.

It doesn’t give much coverage but then it’s not a foundation.

Its £27.

I don’t like to wear my makeup really heavy no a normal day so this worked well for me. But if you are an everyday foundation wearer, then you can team this product with a foundation.

Overall…loved it!

Would you consider switching to a BB cream?




If you have, which one do you use?

Do you like it?

More eBay items...

After a long wait (over 3 weeks) my items finally arrived. WOOHOOOO.

This time I purchased a 15 piece brush set and a 15 colour concealer /corrector palette.

I have been meaning to buy the concealer palette for a while now, so as I was shopping for my blusher palette (which is great, the colour lasts all day) I thought I’d order one of these too and as I was on eBay anyway I got the brush set – cause…why not?!

What interested me most about this palette were the 3 corrective colours.

• Green corrector: Green is used to cancel out redness
• Lavender corrector: Purple corrects yellowness and acts as a brightener.
• Yellow corrector: Yellow cancels out purple shades and dark circles.

I have a few old acne scars that turn purple as they fade and wanted to see if this would work.

So after priming my face, I dabbed a bit of the yellow where I thought I needed it, not going to lie, it looked a bit odd. After I applied my foundation I could still see the scars, they were fainter but still there. Applying an extra bit of foundation on that would have corrected that anyway.

So, the corrective shades, didn’t really work for me. The palette also comes with a highlighter; I didn’t really try this as I love my Body shop radiant highlighter.

Then there are 11 different shades of concealers, I can see this being very useful when contouring your face as you have many different shades. I cannot wait to try these out. The product itself is very creamy, so perfect for blending into your foundation.

Overall, the product doesn’t really do what I wanted it to do, but it still has a purpose and I’m glad I got it.

The 15 piece brush set, I have lots of brushes that I use but thought I’d invest in some more.

All the brushes come individually packaged. They are about 15 cm long and are made of synthetic hair. They are soft but not as fluffy as I would like. I will be using all the brushes apart from the “eyebrow mascara 855” brush…the name is confusing me, and the brush part is actually tiny, I don’t know what I would use it for…if I ever find a use for it, I will blog it.

I will use this brush set, its fine for the price I paid for it...it think about £6 and the quality of it reflects its price.

eBay Blusher Palette Review

I don't have much time to write this review but I just had to as I have been waiting weeks for this palette to come through (alongside with some other stuff that I'm still waiting on).

Many of you may have seen this 10 colour blush palette before on EBay and like me, have been wondering whether to purchase it or not. I had spent the best part of a few weeks contemplating whether to buy it, it was only when I saw a you-tuber using it in a make-up tutorial that I decided to get it.

I can't say I was expecting much considering the price of it (£4.68, no postage) but...

The palette comes with 10 different blush shades, ranging from pinks, to corals to more lilac-toned colours which are all gorgeous. There is also a mixture of semi-matte and shimmer finishes which is perfect. The palette is supposedly very similar to the BH cosmetics and the coastal scents blush palettes, but I haven't tried them either.

The colours are highly pigmented and look like they cater for all skin tones. I was worried that the more red orangey colours would look strange; they come off more of a coral colour. 

The palette itself it made from black plastic that feels a little cheap, but what do you expect for its price. 

As it comes from Hong Kong I was a little worried it may arrive in pieces, when I opened the parcel the palette was covered in pink dust, which I was very annoyed with, considering it was bubble wrapped. After opening the actual palette I found the damage to be very minimal and I don't see the point in kicking up a fuss about it.

Delivery wise, for me it took about 2 weeks to arrive but it can take up to 23 working days, so I shouldn't really complain about it.

Overall, I'm ok with my purchase, I wouldn't have paid more for it - and the damage to one blusher doesn't bother me. 

As Bright as the colours seem in the palette, they either give a bronze effect or a rose effect - which is exactly what you want from a blusher.

So, yes, it’s a good buy - and if you’re thinking of experimenting with different blushers, this is a good point palette to start with. 

Mr & Mrs Khan's wedding outfits...

After Amir Khan and Faryal Makhdoom’s lavish engagement last year, the lovely couple tied the knot at the historic Waldorf Astoria in NYC earlier this week. The walima ceremony is due to take place in the UK later in the week.

The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw their wedding photo's was Jodhaa Akbar – full on Indian royalty theme. No surprises there, considering they are in the Asian community considered royalty. Many have been eagerly waiting for this day like many of us were eager to see Will and Kate tie the knot.

Faryal wore a deep red/orange, heavily embroidered lengha choli – I’m sure a lot of people loved this outfit, I personally felt it had too much kaam, maybe a contributing factor for my opinion was, Amir also wore an equally heavy embroidered outfit (including a sword to complete the Mughul look). Maybe if his outfit was toned down a little I would have preferred hers, but because the outfits were so similar – the eyes just see one (if that makes sense?!)

Faryal is stunningly beautiful, it does not surprise even for a second that she is a model. She has a beautiful face with an amazing smile. We can clearly see why Amir fell for her and why a lot of girls dislike her (but that’s all I’m saying about that).

There is no denying that she wears a lot of make up on an average day – so for her wedding day, there was no holding her back. She has received mixed reviews on her choice of “look”, ranging from “far too much make up” to “she looked amazing”. I will agree with some on the view that, yes her makeup did make her look a lot older than she is. But all that aside, I myself, loved her Arabic inspired cat-eye look – paired with her peach coloured lips and extremely contoured cheek bones. The highlighting was done perfectly to draw attention to her face as her outfit could easily have over powered it.

When looking at her photos, you can’t help but think “wow what a beautiful bride”. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have planned for the walima outfits, I hoping it with be a slightly more elegant, even simple, with a western twist look then the full on Mughal-e-Azam attire.

Let’s just wait and see….

Body shop's Radiant Highlighter

This was an impulse buy, I don’t like to buy things without reading about them first but the sales assistant in the shop recommended it.

Once I got it home I read a few reviews, some were really good, some were really bad.

I was even thinking about returning it after I read that it was most suited to lighter skin tones but for the sake of this review I decided to try it.

I now understand why it is most suited to lighter skin tones. It’s a pearly pink colour but when worn it does leave a nice glow to your cheek bones (or anywhere else you want to draw attention too). The only problem is, when you look at it up close you can actually see product – It looks silver.  On lighter skin tones, I imagine that it wouldn’t stand out as much.

Looking at it from a far… its lovely – It slightly catches the light. It lasts all day unless it’s a hot day. I feel it works better in artificial light then bright sun light. I found the best way to apply this, is on top of your liquid foundation with a sponge - Blend in well by tapping the product on. Then apply blusher. This way, you can tone down the sliver while keeping the glow.

Would I buy this product again? – NO. One, I don’t think I will run out of it and two I prefer the shimmer power – which cost slightly more but I’m happier with it.

Bit of a confusing product for me because I’m still unsure about it. The good thing about body shop is they will give you testers – ask for one and try it out - let me know what you think.

In hindsight, I should have asked for a tester instead of paying £12 for it – but the sales assistant was very good at her job.  :)

Beauty Tip...

I came across an interesting home-made mask recipe today... It seems very simple to make.

You will need:-

1 table spoon of lime juice

1/4 cup of papaya

1/4 peeled cucumber

Blend together in a blender until a paste is formed. Apply a thick layer to your skin for 30 minutes and then rinse off with cold water. Moisturize as normal afterwards.

This should be done every few days and you should notice your pores reducing in size.

I'm a bit weary of trying new things on my face as I suffer for sensitive skin, but as there's no chemicals used in this, I will give this a go.

Why don’t you guys try it too and let me know what you think..?

Superdrug's MUA brand :)

Recently,I have been hearing a lot about Superdrug’s own brand of make-up, MUA. Today I decidedI would check them out. I brought a few bits (Lipstick and eye shadows).

Let’sstart with the eye shadows. Theyare available in palettes (with about 10 colours) and single shadows. I pickedup a few single eye shadows.

So, I’mimpressed with these eye shadows, they blend easy, don't crease but the bestthing about them is the intense colour that lasted all day and still lookedfresh when I washed my makeup off.

They’rea bargain priced at just £1 each. They come in 34 shades from bright to naturalcolours (Not all the colours were on display). The shadows don’t actually havenames, instead numbers. They come in either pearl or matt colours. I picked up coupleof pearl shades and am very impressed. The lighter shades can be used to highlightunder your brow bone or the inner corner of your eyes.

Ilike them, I will buy more but I defiantly will not buy them all. The store I wentto mainly had pearl colours out – would like to have seen more of the mattshades -as I don’t like too much shimmer on hole of my eye.

Overall, the shadows are very good… go and pick up a few. And if you don’t likethem, they wouldn’t have cost you much.

Ihave a real problem with lipstick. I can never find one I like and when I do, it doesn't seem to last on my lips.

Ipicked up two of MUA’s shades; again they are numbered and not named. I pickedup shade three, which is a very bright pink and shade ten, which is a red. Thepink does look like the colour on the tube but the red one doesn’t.  Although I prefer the red shade.

I’mnot sure if I like these lipsticks. They both look like they have a glossfinish to them but when worn, the pink looks matt. Ilike matt lipsticks. But this one doesn’t feel nice on your lips – it makesthem very sticky. You become very aware that something is on your lips. On theupside, it lasted all day. Maybe if I had moisturized my lips throughout theday, I’d be happier with it?!

The redone, I haven’t tired properly. It is more of a glossy lipstick. And I liked theway it felt on my lips. I get the feeling it will wear off quicker.

Overall,they cost me a £1 each, amazing price. I will have a look at (and buy) othershades.

I’mpleasantly surprised with this brand, on my next trip to Superdrug I will bepicking up some blushers (they have a few shades) and maybe an eye shadow palette.The foundations and concealers didn’t look like they would match my skin tone -to be honest; I didn't really want to use them. I have combination skin – and liketo stick to what I know works.

Eye Liner

There are so many different types of eye liners on the market at the moment, from pencils to gels.

For somebody new to make-up, this can be very overwhelming. Depending on the type of look you want to achieve, you will need to use different eye liner.

Today, I will list a few types and the ways in which they can be used.

Pencil Eye Liner

This is the most commonly used eye liner; it can be applied to the top of your lid and on your water line. It, like all pencils will need to be sharpened, the sharper the pencil, the thinner your eye liner will be. To apply on your lash line, slightly pull the end of your eye and draw a line, use a light hand, and then build up, don’t go apply to thick straight away. To apply to your water line, you need to slightly pull your bottom lid down and again, just draw a line.

The good thing about the pencil liners, are, they are very easy to use, every brand does them and they come in so many different colours.

Gel Eye Liners

This liner was mainly used by professionals but recent years have shown a trend in the demand for it by the general public.

It comes in small pot and you will need a brush to apply with. You can either use an angled brush or a tip brush (similar to the liquid eye liner).

This is slightly difficult to use, as you will need a steady hand. It is a creamy product, so it does glide on pretty easy. Also, the gel takes a little while to dry, so can smudge. This is fine; if that’s the look you want.

Eye shadow as a Liner

This is not a way that I have tried.

But you can apply this with an angle brush, and the colour choice is endless. I don’t really recommend this, as the liner will not last as long and cannot be used on your waterline.

This is more of a subtle daytime look.

Liquid Eye Liner (my favorite)

This is the most difficult eye liner to use; I do not recommend this for beginners, unless you have a very steady hand and a lot of patience

It generally comes in a tube with a brush tip, I have seen a few with a felt-tip end and to be honest I haven’t tried these. Only, because I love the thin line that the brush gives and the felt-tip end looks a bit too thick for my liking.

Liquid eye liner is great for Arabic style make-up, cat’s eyes and in general, dramatic looks.

The liner needs to be applied as close to the lash line that you can get it; this will make the lashes look slightly longer and thicker. Small brush strokes will be needed, start in the middle of your eye and work your way out, then create the “wing” on the end. Then, with very small strokes, take the liner as close to the tear duck as you want it.

My favorite liquid eye liner is one I have used for many years, the collection 2000 one; it’s about £3 and lasts ages. 

How do you apply your eye liner?

Hey Ladies,

Welcome to my blog. 

I'm just an average girl who loves make-up and beauty products. 

I love bright colours and dramatic looks.

My absolute must have make-up item is eye-liner; I never leave the house without it.  I recently went on a make-up course where the tutor thought liquid eye-liner is only for "evening looks" - I disagree! 

Eyeliner, if applied correctly can dramatic change your look and make your eyes pop without being over powering. 

 I'm going to write reviews about products, what I'm love or hate, things that are over-rated or under-rated. If you have any suggestions on what you want featured - then comment and let me know. 

I hope you find my blog helpful and I hope you will keep coming back to see what looks I'm working on. 

Make up is an art form... So let's get creative! :)