5 confidence tips for wearing shorts

My legs have always been a massive issue for me, so wearing shorts has always been a no-go area until this summer. And although I can still feel a bit awkward in them, these tips really help. 

1: Make sure your legs are prepped 

If I know I'm wearing shorts I always make sure my legs look as good as possible. I tend to do hair removal and exfoliate the day before and moisturise on the day. 

2: Badass shoes

I always feel like wearing interesting shoes take the attention away from my legs 

3: Cover up until you feel confident

When I first got my shorts I wore them with fishnets or stockings for the first few weeks until I felt confident 

4: pick the right pair

Picking shorts that are right for your body is really important. These are from topshop and I made sure to get them really oversized for the fit and length I wanted. 

5: Wear them alone first

I had more than a few practice try-ons of these, trying on tops and shoes that looked best, and making sure I was okay with them from every angle. 

Let me know if this was useful and what your confidence tips are! 

Hubble Bubble Bath

I mentioned Hubble Bubble Bath in my June favourites post, but in case you didn't read that I wanted to make a seperate post about it. 

Hubble Bubble Bath is a new part to my online store selling amazing handcrafted bath bombs for magical use. On July 1st we released our first collection, the 'Solstice' collection inspired by the amazing summer solstice this year. 

Merlyn/ Sage and Sea Salt/ Sanguine/ Witchy ways 

Merlyn really brings to mind old tales and legends from the days where magic was every day practise, the base of red wine blended into spicy cinnamon, amber and sandalwood is simply magical. 

Sage and Sea Salt is the perfect bath bomb for full body cleansing, getting rid of negative energy and revitalising. Sage has long been used for cleansing properties and the salt adds an extra something to the mixture, bringing an element of sea witch power. 

Sanguine is both a representation of the strawberry moon and a reminder of dark power. This deep scent is wine based, deep and dark, the perfect scent for a witch before a ritual. 

Witchy ways is another magical scent exploding with ethereal spices, cannabis flower and a slight scent of tea leaves. The scent of spells being cast and fortunes being told. 

The solstice is such a focal point of my year and was just the perfect theme for my collection, I love all the products and the collection. 

This collection really is my pride and joy, I've been working on this launch for a few months now and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you! 

Urban Decay De-Slick setting spray review

If you've read some of my other posts you will know that I recently purchased the Urban Decay De-slick oil control setting spray, this was a bit of an impulse buy because it was starting to feel like I'd tried every single 'oil control' and 'mattifying' foundation under the sun and still not managed to keep my makeup firmly on my face because of my pesky pores and I was getting sick to the back teeth of constantly having to cake on powder.

I have combination to oily skin and wear quite a lot of makeup on a daily basis so I was really curious to see if this worked for me, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed.
This for sure helps with oil production as I'm no longer facing the dreaded 2pm shine and it really creates a barrier over the face, almost like a hairspray. It doesn't solve my makeup disappearing problems totally but it means that I only need to re-powder once during the day rather than three or four times a day.

But the main thing I love about this product is the versatility, as well as using it to set my makeup I have had amazing results using it before my makeup, mixing it into my primer and using it to wet my beauty blender to apply my foundation, all of these methods have worked really well and I definitely recommend using this as a base product as well as a setting spray.

I think if you have really oily skin this may not be as effective for you, but you could use this as an oil controlling base and set with the all nighter setting spray as well.

I definitely want to repurchase this product as it is so easy to use and effective enough to justify the cost, I also find that all of my makeup looks better and lasts longer (even my eye makeup) and my skin has improved since using this product too!

Let me know if you've used this product and what you thought!

5 ways to make fashion hair colour last longer

I feel like anyone who has dyed their hair has faced the frustration of feeling amazing for the first week then realizing just how much the colour has faded.
Luckily, as a hair dye veteran, I have a few top tips to keep your locks looking luscious.

1- wash your hair less often
Ideally don't wash your hair more than every other day as this will cause the colour to fade, invest in some dry shampoo or check out my Instagram for some cute second-day hair style inspiration.

2-wash your hair in colder water
Cold/ lukewarm water will remove much less colour than using hot water to wash you hair, it will also make your hair look shinier when it's dry too. It might be a bit unpleasant to wash your hair in colder water but I opt for putting my head upside down so the water doesn't drip down me.

3- avoid heat where possible 
This doesn't just go for the temperature of the water you wash your hair with but also styling methods, make sure your blow dryer, straighteners/curlers are on a low heat setting and try to use heatless styling methods when you can. Make sure you use a good heat protection method when styling and going out in hot weather.

4- use gentle or colour preserving products
Using products formulated for coloured hair is something I never did but it's really worth it as it has made such a difference to me. Products made for coloured hair will be gentle on the colour and will add moisture back into your hair which will help your hair grip the colour for longer.

5- Don't shampoo immediately after colouring
After having my hair coloured I like refrain from washing it again for at least 48 hours to let the colour settle in. This is a super easy tip but definitely one of the most effective.

If you have any more haircare tips and tricks I would love to know!

collective haul

Before I left to go to download festival I treated myself to some lovely goodies and bits I needed so I thought I'd show you what I got.

Sunglasses

Primark Black round sunglasses  - I see so many cool alternative girls looking amazing in round sunglasses so I decided to try them to see if they'd suit me, I really like them and they're a bargain at £1 which is great as I have a habit of leaving sunglasses in silly places.

Black and red sunglasses- mum actually got me these as a treat so I'm not sure where they're from, they're a black and red tortoise shell design with a cat-eye style frame which makes them feel quite vintage-esque, these are much brighter than the picture and as they match my hair they create a real statement look. 

Beauty/ hair

Lush 'lava lamp' bath bomb - as the Mr and I were headed off to download and knew we'd be feeling really grubby and disgusting we wanted to pamper ourselves before we left with a nice bath. This one is gorgeous and citrus-y which is our favourite kind of scent, and it makes for an amazing bath (other than having to clean the purple stains afterwards)

Fudge Urban Iced raspberry and vanilla hairspray - Normally I go for a cheap hairspray, probably superdrug own brand or something but this was on sale and after smelling it I just had to have it. It has great hold and lasts for ages as well as leaving a lingering smell. 

Schwartzkopf live ultra brights hair dye (pillar box red)- I really needed the red in my hair topping up so bought two boxes of this dye for £7.50 it's worked really nicely and is incredibly vibrant for such an affordable dye. 

Biore baking soda cleansing scrub - I really rate Biore skincare products so decided to branch out and try something new, I'm still a bit unsure about this product as it feels very drying but I think it could be good to use before a conditioning face mask or something. 

Luxury purchases

Ghost Deep night eau de toilette- I've been itching to try a new perfume and I was drawn in by the bottle of this one but the scent is just perfect, I will be posting a full review pretty soon!

Paperchase planner-  I've been trying really hard to get on top of blogging recently so decided to treat myself to a fancy planner to help with that and generally keep me organised, this one comes with so many useful sections and additions! 

I hope you enjoyed this collective haul, I posted a sneak peek of this on instagram (@sabina.salemx) and you can follow me there for more behind the scenes action! 

Quick and easy natural remedies for blemishes

Blemishes are the bane of my life, but having suffered with terrible acne for years, here are some quick and easy fixes hopefully using things you may already have that are all natural and kind to skin.

Tea tree- you can put a drop of tea tree oil onto the spot to dry it out, tea tree is used in many anti blemish products but can be very drying on the skin so only use it where you need it, otherwise you will dry out the skin and make it produce more oil,

Witch hazel- this works on the same principle but I find it to be kinder to skin

Toothpaste- a small blob of toothpaste on the spot will dry the spot out, making it reduce in size, redness and more.

Tea- holding a cold wet teabag over the spot can help to soothe it and calm any redness

Download festival makeup bag

I'm off to Download festival pretty soon and this post will be going up while I'm there, but I thought it would be really interesting for you to see what makeup I'm taking.

 I know some people wouldn't really take makeup to a festival but I like to have the option of putting on makeup, that said, I didn't want to take too much so I've narrowed it down to this!

Maybelline 'matte maker mattifying powder' // MAC 'Coppertone' blush

 Revolution makeup 'mermaids vs unicorns' palette // Collection lasting perfection concealer

Collection extreme liner // Urban decay de-slick spray (travel size)

MAC smoke and mirrors palette

Download festival doesn't allow glass bottles, and while I'm sure they mean alcohol bottles. I didn't want to risk taking a foundation so I've opted for concealer as a lighter and more practical option, I want my makeup to stay in place so I have taken my usual setting spray and powder, the setting spray will hopefully be nice and refreshing if I need to top up. I also wanted to take products in sturdy packaging, so I'm hoping my MAC products are up to the test, the Coppertone blush can serve as a blush and contour shade and also looks amazing on the eyes and the MAC palette has everything I need in for eyes and eyebrows which is a great bonus. For some variety I'm taking my Revolution mermaids vs unicorns palette as I enjoy doing colourful festival makeup, the pigmentation isn't the best but the colour selection is good and I didn't want to risk my beloved urban decay shadow box.

I'm also taking some adhesive gems, but I wanted to take as little as possible.

What would be in your festival makeup bag? 

Lazy girl hair care routine

Since getting my hair done it's been a bit dry due to bleaching and dying it so I've made extra effort to look after it to keep it in good condition. But, being a bit lazy, I don't have a particularly complicated hair-care routine so I thought I'd share some tips and tricks as well as the products I use.

Herbal essences bee strong shampoo // herbal essences bee strong conditioner

Herbal essences hello hydration intensive mask

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not sponsored by Herbal essences, I just like the brand!)

This shampoo and conditioner are my absolute favourite, I much prefer these to all the overpriced crap I've tried throughout the years, they are so soft and creamy and leave my hair shiny, soft and smelling delicious. But this mask, oh my goodness, it's absolutely amazing and I fully believe that this mask is to thank for the softness of my hair. 

Before I get in the shower I apply a generous amount of the mask all over my hair and then tie it up or put a shower cap over it and leave it while I scroll through Facebook for about half an hour. I then  get in the shower and rinse it off and shampoo my hair twice, once to wash my hair and the second shampoo activates the properties within the shampoo. I then thickly lay conditioner on, and leave it for a few minutes while I wash my body and do some in-shower skincare. I then rinse it out and get out of the shower.

I towel dry my hair by patting it lightly to soak up excess moisture, rub some coconut oil into the ends then leave it to dry naturally, I don't use any heat on my hair apart from occasionally my fringe. After having my hair bleached from black to blonde at the tips and dyed red four weeks ago my hair is in the condition it was before it was bleached due to this hair-care routine.

Skincare favourites (oily/combination mixed race skin)

Right now I'm in a pretty good place with my skin and it's definitely down to these products. 

Garnier Micellar water // Body shop tea tree toner // Body shop seaweed mask 
Olay complete lightweight day fluid
I wear a lot of makeup every day so my skincare is really important to me after suffering so long with acne,and this is the first time my skincare has really worked for me. I have combination skin that contains a lot of oil but not enough water, my skin is sensitive and blemish prone so I have to be vigilant about my skincare and makeup removal.
I used to have to use so much makeup remover to take off my makeup but now I use a tiny amount of garnier micellar water, it can be used on the whole face and on sensitive skin which is such a bonus. I find my makeup just disappears when I use this so I'm no longer scrubbing at my skin to remove my makeup. I absolutely love body shop skincare, I think it's a great price point and their products really work for me, I am in love with the chamomile cleansing oil I've had no dry skin since using this despite previously really suffering on my cheeks and forehead and my skin is noticeably softer, less spot prone and my scarring has slowly started to fade. 
I've been obsessed with the tea tree toner for a while now, I love how clean and refreshed this makes my skin feel, I think this is one of the main reasons why I don't get as many blemishes, it's also great for oil control but can dry out my skin a little, but since I have started using the chamomile cleansing oil I've had no dry skin issues whatsoever and I've not had particularly oily skin because the combination of the products works really well to balance out the oil production. But when my skin does need some extra TLC I've been religiously using the seaweed face mask, it feels so nourishing and my skin looks noticeably better since using it. To combat any dry skin I've been loving the 'Olay complete lightweight day fluid' for sensitive skin. This is really smoothing and for a lightweight product it gives my skin a great amount of moisture that lasts throughout the day, this product also makes my makeup sit really well.

Let me know if you use these products or if you have any other recommendations!

Mini makeup haul

Recently I went and had a little browse in debenhams and boots and ended up buying a few little bits! Urban Decay Oil Slick Setting spray, I've wanted to try an urban decay setting spray for absolutely ages and they didn't have the all nigher spray in a travel size so I opted for this and will have a review up later this month when I've used it more as I'm unsure about it Collection lasting perfection concealerr, this is a staple product with me but I go through it ridiculously quickly! I'm shade 4 (the darkest shade) Natural collection loose powder I have never tried a loose powder before so thought I'd get a cheap one to try out. Maybelline matte maker powder , as my laval powder has run out I have the perfect excuse to resume my search for the perfect powder

May Favourites 2016

This month has been pretty uneventful and there haven't been too many new things but definitely some firm favorites in the mix! 

Films/ TV and books! 
I've been really obsessed with the 'alien' films this month, they terrify me but I love them! I've also watched 'Star Wars: the force awakens' far too much! 
As for television and books, I have been loving the new game of thrones series and have began reading the books which are incredible. 

Skincare:
I've developed a love for coconut oil, I know everyone raves about it but it's made the condition of my skin so much better! I've also been using the Body shop cashmere cleansing oil which is absolutely divine and makes my skin feel so soft and moisturized

Makeup:
I have a love/hate relationship with Urban Decay Oil slick setting spray but I definitely love  Lime Crime 'black velvet' velvetine liquid lipstick, I purchased this second hand but unused just to try it out and I absolutely love the formula! 

Fashion:
I have been glued to my necessary evil coat from Kate's clothing ever since I got it because it's so warm and soft! I'm planning a full review and some outfit posts of this soon.