Hey guys,

This week I am reviewing a fabulous product I have been trying out over the past few weeks. If you follow me on Instagram (@aminaali_mua), you may have seen me raving about it in my stories. It's the Bio-essence 24K Bio-Gold Miracle Finisher. This product is used like a primer and, as the last step in your skincare routine, it is applied before make-up. From what I have seen so far, I am sold!

Let's start with the packaging first of all. The holographic shine is enough to get anyone's attention, but the sparkle doesn't stop there. Contained within this 30ml bottle is something that is going to get your skin shining like never before. I first wondered why this wasn't labelled as a primer. But its because this is not just your average primer. It does all the things a primer does, like giving you a fabulous base for your make-up and making it last that little bit longer, but also does a whole lot more. Not only does it work as a barrier to protect your skin from every day pollutants in the air, it also locks in the skincare you have already applied, allowing it to continue to work, without being disturbed by your make-up.  Finally it gives you added skincare by reducing the appearance of wrinkles with continued use.

I have used this product on myself and on my clients as I wanted to see how it works on different skin types. What I liked was that it gives all skin types a matte effect, but without taking away the dewy glow. The way it does this is because within the cream are tiny particles of bio-gold (contains added minerals), which when rubbed into the skin are easily absorbed and give a radiant finish. I love the effect it gives so much that I have actually worn this without any make-up over, as it gives you naturally looking flawless skin.

At £29.99 it doesn't come cheap but is worth the money in my opinion. If you like the sound of this, there is actually a whole 24K Bio-Gold range that I can't wait to get my hands on and is available at Superdrug now.

This little bit of luxury is something that I am definitely going to keep in my kit as the comments I get when I use it are fabulous! In the picture above I am wearing it under my foundation, but it has given me a perfectly matte base with underlying radiance and this is what I strive for in my make-up application. Have you used anything from the Bio-essence range? What do you use to get that glow?

Amina xx

*PR gift. All opinions are my own.

Hi Guys,

This week I went along to the Paperdolls Handmade Market which takes place at the Custard Factory in Digbeth, Birmingham, twice a year and I just had to share with you what a fab time I had! I absolutely love all types of craft, so I knew I was going to fall in love with everything at the market. The Paperdolls Market was founded by the lovely Jo and Carolyn, who themselves are craft makers. They thought it would be a great idea to bring craft makers of Birmingham to one place. And they weren't wrong!

Not only were there rows of beautiful jewellery and home accessories that had all been hand made by independent artists and designers, but they also had workshops available so you too could take part in the craft making. As well as the market, they also had Circus Mash - a circus skills workshop running for the kids who wanted to escape the market - and some lovely food stalls. Myself, my husband Aaron and the girls all took part in a necklace making workshop with the lovely Kat from Bebop Boutique. With a little help, the girls made beautiful pom pom necklaces, which they were showing off all day. 

Another stall I was drawn to was Charles Candles. You can probably tell why by the name - my obsession with candles continues They had the most beautiful scented candles, which are hand poured. I particularly liked the fact that they contained a wooden wick, which has a lovely crackling sound! I opted for Lime & Basil! I think I may have found my newest candle retailer and the fact they are made in Brum makes it that more special to me. 

One workshop I would've loved to do was the Geometric Terrarium-making with Bloom Collective, but I just didn't have time! The beautiful miniature botanicals in a glass frame would look amazing in any house, so I need to be sure to book onto their next workshop!

One quick note - although most retailers accept card, make sure to take plenty of cash with you, as a few retailers didn't and then, like myself, you will be gutted when you miss out on the most beautiful ceramic plates by Janice Fellows Ceramics. A few other stalls I would like to mention are Tahira Jewellery, the most intricate, beautifully embellished jewellery you will ever see and KT Robbins Ceramics, their hanging planters were one of my favourite items in the whole market! I could go on about all my favourite stalls, however, it would be a very long post so please be sure to visit the Paperdolls Handmade website, where you can read more about all the makers.

 I have to say, just to see the beautiful handmade objects and the amount of hard work that is put into some of them, made spending money on them so worth while and easy (unfortunately for my bank balance). The market is usually held twice a year, so make sure to look out for the next one, as I know I will definitely be going!

Amina xx

1. Mens Square Leather Engraved Bracelet by Under The Rose - £35

The perfect mens bracelet which can be personalised too. Perfect for a first time daddy. Could be engraved with a special date or name!

2. Personalised Fathers' Day Photo Message Card - by JG Artwork - £5.75

I love personalised cards and this is such a lovely way of reminding your dad of a special moment.

3. Personalised Father's Day Enamel Mug by Sophia Victoria - £14.75

My dad loves his tea, so drinking it in this personalised cup would make it extra special.

Hey Guys,

I thought I would do a post on what I use for my 'everyday' make-up. That's if I choose to wear make-up, as I love going make-up free as much as possible. So this post will include some staples in my make-up bag especially for the upcoming summer months.

If you read my blog regularly, you should know by now that I love a dewy and glowing look, and the products I use for my base reflect this. For my skincare routine click here but for everything else keep reading. Once moisturised, I have been applying The Body Shop Instaglow CC cream in Peachy Glow. This is the perfect corrector for my skin and also contains SPF20 which is a bonus. It seems to even out my skin tone and gives me that glow I love. I also apply the NYX Dark Circle Concealer in Medium under the eyes. If I feel my skin needs that extra coverage I tend to apply MAC Face and Body foundation. This foundation is very light weight and perfect for that 'no make-up' look. It's the perfect foundation if you don't have problematic skin. I don't usually set my foundation with powder as I like to emphasise the dewiness. I make sure I brush the foundation over the under-eye area too and then conceal using Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in shade 20. You may have heard about this concealer before but I can't emphasise enough how fab this product is. It is the perfect creamy texture and gives very good coverage!

When it comes to eyebrows I'm a total 'Benebabe'! I love my Benefit brow products. I use the Goof Proof Brow Pencil in 5 and it's just so easy. The shape of the pencil is a diamond so you get one really sharp side for outlining and then a slightly wider side for filling the brows. It's self sharpening, you simply twist it up, and it also has a spoolie on the other end to keep those brows tamed. I set my brows with the Ready, Set, Brow Gel as they have a habit of falling downwards. This stuff is strong. They don't budge all day, which leaves me feeling great, as I am kind of lost without my brows!

Moving onto the eyes, at the very least I will curl my lashes and apply mascara. But the question is which mascara?? Long gone are the days where I literally had one mascara and would replace it when I was finished. I now have about five but I tend to go for L'oreal Miss Manga when I want a bit of drama as it adds a lot of volume, or Lancome Hypnose when I want a more natural fluttery look.

For blush, I can't stop using my L'oreal Infallible Blush Paint Palette in Ambers. It has every colour I need for whatever mood I'm in. It made an appearance in my Spring Favourites post (click here) and I haven't stopped using it since! It smells amazing too. My everyday highlight is always Mary-Lou Manizer from The Balm Cosmetics. Actually this was just my everything highlighter until Huda Beauty's 3D highlight palette came out (click here for post). However now I tend to use it more for everyday! It's the perfect gold and suits my skin tone so much. I love that it's not too obvious.

Finally, we come to the lips. My favourite lip pencil that I use most regularly is Spice by MAC. I always apply Sebamed SPF 30 Lip Defence to the lips. It contains Vitamin E and Jojoba oil and just leaves your lips soft and ready for whatever you want to put on top. Most of the time I wear this on it's own and blend the liner into the lip for a super natural look. However, when I want a bit of colour on top, I love wearing L'oreal Infallible Lip Laquer in Gone. It gives a really natural looking finish on my naturally darker lip tone. Occasionally I will set my make-up depending on how long my working day is going to be. I really like the Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day Setting Spray, as your make-up really does last all day. That and it smells beautiful! They have a whole range of scents too. It just finishes of the make-up routine perfectly.

I also just want to touch on brushes. For my everyday day make-up I always use Real Techniques. There's something about these brushes that oozes good quality and they're decently priced. I use the expert face brush to apply foundation, the contour brush for contour or highlight and their blush brush for blusher. These are a great set to start with and will last you a very long time!

It's actually quite surprising to see all these products together as I didn't realise quite how much I am applying to my face! These are all products I have used almost daily and would highly recommend. Feel free to comment or ask any questions below.

Amina xx