Lina Khalifa: lifestyle

Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts

23 April 2016

The Liebster Award

Lina Khalifa 4/23/2016 29

I've been nominated by the lovely Nataša for the Liebster Award, and she wrote down some really interesting questions for me to answer! Sora also nominated me for the award, but unfortunately, I saw it after I had already wrote the post.. However, thanks for the nomination, girls!

I'll leave all the details for this, along with my questions and nominees down below! I hope you enjoy getting to know me a little better!

1. How did you decide to start a blog?

I've always been into makeup and beauty, it was something I had so much fun doing, and so I felt like I needed an outlet to share my love with the world, which is why I decided to start a little blog and write about my interests.

2. Are you proud of your blog right now or you think you could do it better?

I'm proud of my blog but I do aim to make it better and better. I want to grow and be able to produce more content with great quality, and I'm on the path to do so now!

3. Is there anything you don't like about blogging?
I don't think there is? I thoroughly enjoy doing it and being a part of it!

4. What motivates you to write posts?
I always imagine myself creating content that I would enjoy reading, which is what motivates me to do good on this blog! I wanna always be proud of the posts I write.

5. What is something that you always wanted? And did you ever get it?
I can't think of something specific right now, haha. However, I will say that I feel really blessed with everything that I do have, even if I don't have everything I want!

6. If you could have a dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
Hmm, tough question! I think if it was someone alive, it would be Benedict Cumberbatch, haha! That's the first person that came to mind. I love his acting, especially on Sherlock (aah, one of my favorite shows), and I think it would definitely be an interesting dinner..

7. Some of your most favorite lyrics?
The first thing that I thought of is "Head in the clouds, but my gravity's centered" (that's actually my Instagram bio) which is part of Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood. I love those guys so much, they're one of my favorite bands! The lyrics, to me, mean that even though I dream big and want to achieve some amazing things, I have to stay focused and deal with reality and actually make it happen. Overall, music is a really big part of my life and I definitely get attached to songs and lyrics a lot.

8. Is there something you’ve always wanted to try but have been too scared to?
Definitely dyeing my hair silver/platinum blond! I see everyone doing it these days, and they look amazing with that hair colour, but I can't imagine myself ever doing it!

9. What is your favorite Disney movie?
I don't think I really have one :( They're all great but cartoons aren't really my thing..

10. What's your dream job?
I'd love to work in the makeup industry, but something that also relates to business/marketing.. Maybe PR? I'm still trying to figure it out! If any of you reading this has a job related to those things, tell me what you think of it? Help a little girl out, haha.

11. If tomorrow was the end of the world what would be your last meal?

That's a cool question.. I think I'd go for a nice yummy burger! Or some boneless buffalo wings with chili cheese fries! I think I'll be dreaming about them now..

So that's all for these questions! That was actually so fun, I loved doing it! Here are my questions for the nominees.

For Nominees:

Dear nominees, to accept your Liebster Award you should thank the Liebster blog presenter who nominated you and link back to their blog.

Okay, now we would like to set some rules for the nominated bloggers.

Here are the rules you have to follow:

1 - Show your gratitude towards the blog that has nominated you and link back to that blog in your post.
2 - Answer the 11 questions posted for you by that blog.
3 - Nominate 11 new bloggers in your post, who have less then 200 followers.
4 - Ask 11 unique questions to new bloggers.
5 - Inform them by commenting your post link in their comment section.

My Nominees are:

Questions For Nominees:

Who's your favorite beauty or fashion blogger/vlogger?
If you could change one thing about makeup, what would it be?
What's your favorite makeup product?
What motivates you to write posts?
If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, and have a conversation with them, who would it be?
What's a thing you must do each morning when you wake up?
What's your favorite song at the moment?
If you could have one thing in the world, anything you want, what would it be?
What's one thing you want to achieve before this year ends
What is the last movie you watched?
What is the last song you listened to?

Thanks for reading, guys. I can't wait to see what all the other amazing nominees will answer! Also, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me reach 100 followers on Bloglovin'! I know it's not a big number, but it means a lot to me. Hopefully, our little family will continue to grow.

q&a Read more

2 April 2016

This Month's Music Favorites #1

Lina Khalifa 4/02/2016 31

Hey guys! Since it's time for a monthly favorites, I thought I'd try something different than what I normally do. This month, I decided to combine some of my favorite tunes into a playlist and share that with the world, since music is one of my favorite things for sure!

I had a look at what music I've been listening to the most in March and what I've really enjoyed, and so I ended up with a playlist filled with a combination of House tunes. Give it a listen and let me know what you guys think!

Here's a list of the 10 tracks that are on the playlist:

The Him - Feels Like Home (feat. Son Mieux)
Major Lazer - Light It Up (feat. NYLA & Fuse ODG) [Remix]
Mike Posner - I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Seeb Remix)
Shaggy - It Wasn't Me (Le Boeuf Remix)
DJ Snake - Middle (feat. Bipolar Sunshine)
John Newman - Come And Get It (Embody Remix)
Freedom Fry - Shaky Ground (Feast. Remix)
Kygo - Stay (feat. Maty Noves)
Michael Calfan - Nobody Does It Better
Klingande - Losing U

I also wanted to add some more songs I've been loving (in case you really enjoyed the tunes from the playlist). These are a mix of different genres, because my music taste is all over the place, it's okay...

DNCE - Cake By The Ocean
G-Eazy - Me, Myself & I (feat. Bebe Rexha)
ZAYN - PILLOWTALK
Sia - Cheap Thrills
The Chainsmokers - Don't Let Me Down (feat. Daya)
WALK THE MOON - Shut Up And Dance

Okay, that's enough. (Unless you still want more songs, then my SoundCloud account is always there).

Thanks for reading guys! Let me know which song was your favorite and what you think of the playlist!

remix Read more

24 November 2015

Skincare Routine: How I Cleared Up My Acne

Lina Khalifa 11/24/2015 65

Ever since I was a little kid, I've always had problems with acne. It was just something I struggled with and was quite insecure about. I used to have acne all over my face, especially on my cheeks, and it just wouldn't go away! So, let me tell you, I've tried my fair share of skincare products, trying to figure out which ones worked best for me. And as a disclaimer, I'd like to add that we all have different skin types, I have acne-prone, combination/oily skin, so not everything I use that works for me would also work perfectly for you, but these are the products that I've used and loved.

Here are some tips I live by for making my skin feel more alive:

One thing that I find really beneficial for my face is to let it breathe. Meaning trying to give it breaks and not use heavy makeup products everyday. That really helps with letting your pores breathe and not get clogged.
Use a face primer, it seals your pores and makes the makeup look better while still creating a barrier between your skin and the makeup.
Go for a base-less makeup look. If you really want to put some makeup on, opt for some eye makeup and a nice pop of colour on the lips, and all-in-all just skip the face products! This will help you look put-together while still giving your skin the break it needs.
No matter what you do, never sleep with makeup on. I'm sure you've heard everyone say that, and that's because it really is important! When we put makeup on, our skin absorbs the nasty chemicals in it, so removing your makeup every evening, like I've said too much in this post already, helps your skin to breathe!
Always be gentle and try to keep your skincare routine hydrating, this will help the skin be healthy, moisturized and less prone to taking in the bad chemicals found in products.
My last tip is don't stress over it. Of course we will all get breakouts every now and then, and till this day my skin isn't always clear, and that's 100% okay, so don't worry about it.

Here's what I use to (try to) maintain acne-free skin:

I use this Neutrogena Deep Clean Wash/Mask to remove all my makeup, it's one of thee greatest products I've ever used. I've tried a lot of different face washes from different brands, and even other products from Neutrogena, but this one is what I found worked best for me. I use it as a face wash, by wetting my face, then lathering this up in my hands and washing all the makeup away. It even works great with removing my mascara and eye makeup. One bonus thing about this product is that it also double up as a mask! So after a long week, I put this on my face and leave it on for about 5 minutes or until it dries up, then I wash it off and let me tell you, it's one of the best feelings ever! My skin feels so fresh and alive after I use this product. It's definitely a must-have in my skincare routine.

This is also a well-loved product of mine, the Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub by Lush Cosmetics. It's one of the greatest scrubs out there, and I know a lot of people swear by it. It's used for all skin types as well, however, opt for a more gentle scrub if you have really sensitive skin. I use this scrub gently on my face to remove any leftover dirt or dead skin, and it makes my face as smooth and bright as ever after. It also helps get rid of blackheads and allows the skin to feel almost refreshed after. I use this weekly, or twice a week, and it gets the job done perfectly. I surely recommend this!

After making my face feel amazing with that scrub, I go ahead and use this Dark Angels Face and Body Cleanser by, again, Lush Cosmetics. I got this cleanser not so long ago, but I've definitely been loving it. I have to say though, the only downside about it is that it can cause a mess, since charcoal and black sugar, as you can probably tell from the picture below, are one of it's main ingredients. Taking a piece of the cleanser, you add some water and mix the cleanser into a paste, which is very pleasing to do, massage it into your skin then wash it off. What does this cleanser do? For starters, it's perfect for my skin type, the oily and acne-prone skin. It helps in reducing the redness of the face and breakouts while leaving the skin glowing and hydrated. Love it!

So that's all that I use for my face! You should also certainly moisturize your face after to keep it hydrated and loved. I exfoliate first using the scrub to open up my mores and let the cleanser do an even better job.

I also wanted to add this in here, since it is somewhat considered skincare, right?

I use this Mint Julips Lip Scrub by (wow, what a shock!) Lush Cosmetics. Ahh, I can't tell you how much I love scrubbing my lips. I use this honestly whenever I feel like it. It's especially great to use before you apply any kind of matte lipstick, since it makes it look so much better on those soft lips. It removes the dead skin on your lips and leaves you with the softest, pinkiest, most kissable lips. I then use a lip balm, the one in the picture is an H&M lip butter I got ages ago, but any lip balm would work.

Now I'm done, I promise! I hope this was helpful and you guys liked it. It was quite fun to write about my skincare routine, honestly. Let me know in the comments if you use any of these products, and what's your favorite skincare product? Thanks for reading!

skincare Read more

9 November 2015

What's on my iPhone: My Must-have Apps

Lina Khalifa 11/09/2015 96

I love my phone, and let's be real, it's a big part of my day. Not just for the social media, for that matter, but I love using my phone for productivity as well. So today, I decided to gather up some of my favorite, must-have apps to share with you guys.

I just want to point out that my phone is an iPhone 6 Plus in Gold and my phone case is a gold, mirrored one that I got from Virgin Megastores in Dubai by a brand called Laut. They have some of the coolest cases!

Side note: my phone wallpaper is one I found through Pinterest here.

Wunderlist:

I actually just started using this app a few days ago, but it's one worth sharing. It's an app that helps you stay on track with your to-do list to make sure you're staying productive. You can add notes, set due-dates, and the best part is, you can sync it with all your devices, even your laptop! You just download the app to your laptop and you have your checklists whenever or wherever you need them.

Muslim Pro:
This app, I'm in love with! It's all you need as a Muslim in one app. Everything from the Holy Quran, the Qibla, the local prayer times, to the Islamic calendar.. You just have it all in one place. It also has some prayers to say for whatever the situation you're in, which always helps me when I need it. Couldn't recommend this app enough!

Forza:

This is a bit out of the blue, but since I'm a football-lover, this app is one of my favorites! For all you football fans out there, you can stay on track with your favorite football teams, match times, and live updates during the match itself. Cool, huh?

Merriam-Webster:

I just added this in here because it's a life-saver when you least expect it. It's basically an offline dictionary, for when you want to lookup the meaning of a word on-the-go. There's nothing really special about this app, but it's one I need to have on my phone!

8tracks:

If you're a music-fanatic like me, you'll love this app. It's one I use all the time to discover new music.. What you do is you just open the app, type in what mood you're in right now, or what type of genre you want to be listening to, and it'll bring up millions of playlists tailored to your search. It's also available as a website, so if you're on your laptop, open it up and listen to some cool tunes.

I hope you enjoyed this post, it was definitely fun to make. Let me know if you use any of these apps, if not, would you want to use 'em? Thanks for reading!

tech Read more

1 November 2015

October Favorites

Lina Khalifa 11/01/2015 57

It's that time of the month! Yep, you guessed it (or did you?)... Monthly favorites! October has been a hectic month since I had my GCSEs and had a lot of studying to do, which is what took up most of the month for me. But luckily, after I was done with those, I had a couple of days to enjoy the rest of the month freely! And let me tell you, catching up on my favorite TV Shows has been so much fun! I started watching House of Cards the other day, still just 3 episodes in, but so far so good! Honestly, TV shows are life.

Alright now let's get to the point of this post! Here are some of the things I loved this month:

---

This Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water has been a go-to this past month. It's just such an easy way to get rid of your makeup, especially eye makeup, before using your facial cleanser to properly clean your face. I heard that this is a dupe from the infamous Bioderma makeup removing thing.. (No idea what it's called to be honest). I personally haven't tried the one by Bioderma so I can't give my personal opinion about it, but this Garnier one definitely does get the job done!

Next up, the Wet n Wild eye shadow trio in Silent Treatment. I love this because it's so easy to use, since there are only three shades and each one is labelled 'Brow bone', 'Crease' and 'Eyelid' so you can't go wrong with it. It's also suitable for traveling, so if you're in a rush just pop it in your makeup bag with some eye brushes and you can get your eye makeup sorted on the way. Wet n Wild eye shadow trios are pretty good in general. Love 'em.

I can't tell you how much I love this MAC lipstick in the shade Twig. It's such a pretty color. It has a satin finish and goes perfectly with every makeup look/outfit I happen to choose, so whenever I have no idea what lipstick to go for, I pick this one!

Another lip product I've been loving, not only this month, but for as long as I've started using it, is this Essence lipliner in the shade 12 Wish Me a Rose. It's this lovely nude-y soft pink kind of color, it's gorgeous! Essence lipliners are creamy and really easy to apply, and they have some of the most beautiful shades! And they're so affordable, I definitely recommend you try them out, you just can't go wrong with these.

I wrote about this Bourjois eyebrow pencil in the shade 07 Noisette in my last post, which was a 5-Minute Makeup Look. It gives a nice natural look to the eyebrows and it's the perfect shade for my hairs, I just love it!

Lastly, this is one of my favorite perfumes! It's the Alien perfume by Thierry Mugler, which was a birthday gift to me by my amazing best friend. I've had my eyes on it for so long since it was listed as one of the best long-lasting perfume, which is true, it's the perfect blend between amber, woods and vanilla. So good.

I also wanted to add a favorite song of mine for this month, which I have to say is The Beach by The Neighbourhood, one of my favorite bands of all-time. Honestly I won't talk about this song too much, but I just genuinely love it. And I listen to a lot, and I mean a lot, of songs, so to pick one out of all these great tunes, is saying something!

So that's it, folks! I hope you enjoyed this post. Have you tried any of these products? What are some of your October favorites? Let me know in the comments. Oh, and don't forget to follow the blog to stay tuned for future posts! Thanks for reading x

lifestyle Read more

17 July 2014

Nostalgia

Lina Khalifa 7/17/2014 4

Do you ever sit back and think about some of your favorite memories? That's been happening a lot with me lately. I went on my computer and looked at some of my old photos during previous summers and decided, why not share it with you guys?

Sunsets are my favorite thing, if you've read my previous OOTD post, you would've heard me say that before.

Pretty little ladybug!

BBQs, just look at the food! Doesn't it make you hungry? Because it sure is making me!

Another sunset... Shocker. But how beautiful? I just had to put this on here.

This was a bit random, but when you have nice pictures saved somewhere on your laptop, you just have to put them on the internet for people's viewing pleasure!

What was your favorite summer memory? Let me know in the comments down below!

Thanks for reading xo

travel Read more

30 June 2014

Bath & Body Works Haul!

Lina Khalifa 6/30/2014 9

I discovered a couple of days ago, as I was shopping with my mother, that I get really excited over scents and body care products. So when I found out that Bath & Body Works had a sale on, I just couldn't walk past it and not pick some few things up!

So first off, we got some shower gels. These smell... amazing! As soon as you open it and put some on your shower loofah, the smell of both of these fill the whole bathroom. They honestly make me want to stay in the shower for hours smelling them! They also linger on your body after a wash, making you smell good and making everyone around you know it!

Next are these amazing foaming hand soaps, these are probably my favorite out of the haul. They are in a liquid form, but when you pump them out of the bottle, they turn into a foam structure, so you massage them into your hands, wash your hands, then end up smelling them every 5 seconds. Both of these smell so fruity and wonderful. I wish I bought even more of these!

Last but not least, is this cooling foot spray. Now, I don't have much to say about this since I've only tried it a couple of times, but it does smell good, and it is soothing for your feet. So, if you've had a long day and want to just rest in bed and not move at all, spray this on your feet and it will help!

Aaand, that concludes today's post! I hope you guys liked it. Sadly, I didn't find any candles on sale and that was upsetting, but nonetheless, I'm glad I got these stuff!

Have you checked out Bath & Body Works's sale? What products do you like most?

spray Read more

19 June 2014

Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence

Lina Khalifa 6/19/2014 6

One thing you should know about me is that music means everything to me, whenever I'm sad, happy, or in any weird mood, I automatically open my music library and listen to something that suits my mood.

So as soon as Lana Del Rey's new album came out, I had to give it a listen since Lana is one of my favourite artists! And let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed at all. All the songs on this album are great, and her voice is amazing as usual!

This album isn't that different from her other two albums, but it's just as good. Her voice makes me feel calm as soon as I listen to it. One of my favourite songs on the Ultravoilence album so far is Brooklyn Baby which was a track written by Lana and her boyfriend Barrie-James O'Neill. Other than that song, I also really like listening to West Coast which is the lead single of the album. Fun fact: Lana debuted West Coast live at Coachella!

Of course, I love every song on that album, how can I not? It's Lana Del Rey's album! If you'd like to know what else I've been listening to lately, check out my SoundCloud account.

Have you listened to Ultravoilence yet? What's your favourite song of Lana's?

west coast Read more

11 June 2014

The Summer Tag

Lina Khalifa 6/11/2014 4

Since summer's around the corner, I saw this tag and I was like, why not? Summer is definitely my favorite season (when it's not 150 degrees outside), so here I am about to tell you some of my favorite summer related things. This tag was originally created by makeup-pixi3

1. What's your favourite thing about Summer?

My favorite thing about summer is definitely feeling free and having no school or work and just going out whenever you'd like.

2. Do you have a favourite Summer drink?

My favorite drink is Lemonade all year long, so yes, lemonade.

3. Is there a location you like to go to each Summer?

Probably to visit my dad since he works in another country, so that's what I do each summer.

4. Favourite makeup look for Summer?

Honestly, I just go for mascara (which is a basic of mine), some colorful lipgloss, bronzer, and concealer to hide the imperfections. I like a minimal makeup look as an everyday routine.

5. Dresses or skirts?

Skirts because you can always mix and match.

6. Sandals or ballet pumps?

Ballet pumps. (I don't like showing off much of my feet)

7. Do you prefer to wear your hair up or down for Summer?

Mostly down because it's fun, but if I'm running some errands then I wear it up.

8. Deep smokey eyes or bold lips?

Definitely bold lips for me.

9. Favourite perfume for Summer?

I love the perfume Shock by Calvin Klein, it's such a nice fruity scent!

10. Last but not least, favourite music for Summer?

Ahh this is probably the hardest question for me cause my favorite songs change probably everyday, but generally I like loud catchy songs. Thank God for SoundCloud though! (Check out my account here *wink* *wink*)

So that's all for my summer tag, I hope you guys got to know me a bit better, and I hope you all have a nice, fun, unforgettable summer!

tag Read more

26 May 2014

What's In My Bag?

Lina Khalifa 5/26/2014 6

First blog post! Finally! I decided to make this blogpost about something very popular at the moment and that is the "What's In My Bag" tag as you can tell by the title...

So I opened my bag, took some pictures, and I'm bringing you these pictures right now.

First things first..

This is my bag, a simple black one from Forever 21, it's not that big but it fits everything I need so that's good enough for me!

Next up in my bag is my lovely wallet, and this is from Charles and Keith. You can't really say much about wallets but I love this.

I always like keeping some sort of body splash or perfume in my bag, and I chose to keep this small-sized Shock perfume by Calvin Klein, and let me just tell you, this smells so good... so good. And look at the packaging, how good does that look?

Even though I wear eyeglasses, and most of the time I'm too lazy to take them off and wear sunglasses instead, I keep these sunglasses from H&M in my bag just in case, and I got this when it was on sale, and it looks dashing, so you can't really say no to that.

I can't leave the house if these aren't in my bag, and I always buy some as soon as I finish a pack and these are the mint flavored tic tacs. I just find that these are the best way to keep my mouth refreshed and smelling good when I'm out and about!

Last but not least, are my lipgloss/lipstick collection. I always throw these in my bag depending on which one I'm wearing on my lips that day, and I barely remember to take them out. Those were the ones in my bag at the moment; a pink lipgloss by H&M called "You and Me", another pink lipstick by love & beauty from Forever 21 in the shade "Pink", and lastly, a sheer lipgloss in the shade "Baby Pink"

So that is all for this blogpost. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I'll see you next time!

what's in my Read more