The Summer Lovin' Tag

I was tagged by the wonderful Salma of UmmbabyBeauty.com to do the Summer Lovin' Tag. We're pretty much in the middle of the season here in Britain (even though some days the weather can't decide what it actually wants to be) and summer vibes are most certainly present, so for the days (or brief moments during the day) when the sun wants to beam brightly down at us, these are my selected picks! 

Favourite Perfume(s)

When it comes to choosing my fragrances in the summer, I tend to go for light, fresh, sprightly or uplifting (enough adjectives for you there?) scents, especially if it's particularly warm that day, fragrances are a must (as well as deodorants) to keep you smelling good all day in the heat!

For my everyday affordable-need to smell good in a jiffy-without breaking the bank scent, I adore the Crown Perfumes Al Rehab EDP Natural Spray in Lovely 35ml. I've spoken about this before here. This is a lovely scent that I enjoy using especially in the spring and summer months, it's a pretty and pleasant scent, definitely lovely by nature, a nice balance of fresh, sweet, floral and musky, not too much of either. Wait let me look for a description online... Okay so I was pretty close, apparently it has notes of citrus, floral and white musk. I don't smell much citrus in there, if there is then it's a sweet citrus(?), defo some floral (but not overly florally) and yes indeed there is a soft musk essence in there too. They come in different sizes, largest being 35ml (around £6-7), prices for the smaller sizes start around £2-3 but differ depending on where you buy it from (online or Islamic stores), definitely affordable and the best thing is the scent lasts aaaaages!

For daytime special events in the summer I love soft fresh scents, nothing worse than a strong perfume that stings your nostrils and gives you a headache on a hot and humid day. I've been enjoying the Ralph Lauren Midnight Romance edp. It's a soft, delicate, girly, slightly floral, tinsy bit sweet with a hint of expensive type of scent. Here's the actual description :D :D : Raspberry, Italian bergamot and juicy litchi in top of the composition; the heart encompasses seductive peony, sambac jasmine and freesia warmed with a sexy blend of black vanilla, ambroxan and iris absolute. It's a lovely safe scent but I find this doesn't last very long on me though...? If you've smelled YSL Parisienne, the original Romance, Dior's Miss Dior and Valentino's Valentina, it's basically a mix of them all!   

For evening special events in the summer, I like something a little richer and deeper but still keeping to the cool and fresh vibes. Without wasting a complete second my hand instantly reaches out for Roberto Cavalli's Acqua edt. The very first time I saw this in store I was strangely magnetically drawn to it, like I had a sixth sense or instinctive feeling telling me this was made especially for me. I don't know if it was the striking vibrancy of the turquoise bottle (one of my favourite colours) but it was absolutely, 100%, without a flicker of doubt, love at first sniff. It was definitely a "me" scent! It's fresh, it's zingy, it's uplifting and it's rich and musky all at the same time. I love how this develops with time, you don't need to use a lot and it most certainly lasts a long time! The amount of "you smell really good"'s I have gotten with this perfume...! If you haven't smelled it before then please go check it out. I swear this was made for gorgeous summer evenings! Description: Roberto Cavalli Acqua is a sparkling floral eau de toilette inspired by the eternal allure of the Mediterranean and the irresistible sensuality of the Roberto Cavalli woman. It opens on a fresh jasmine note, the addition of lily of the valley lightens the orange flower heart, while notes of musk leave a soft sexy trail on the skin. Yesss....!

I seriously need to do a Top Ten Fragrance post or something and this ones definitely up there as I'm feeling all sorts of things right now! Let me know if you want to see one.

Favourite Lip Colour(s)

I'm not gonna lie this was difficult. You're asking ME to choose a favourite lip colour for the summer? Honey I chop and change my lip colours everyday and I'll wear any colour from any side of the spectrum regardless of what season it is! Haha! Okay but to be honest I have noticed a pattern with myself this summer.

My go to lipstick all day err day is the cheap and cheerful MUA lipstick in shade 11, which I've depotted, mattefied with translucent powder and repotted into an empty lip balm tube. It's a pretty peachy pink shade that I can wear even on my no makeup days and it won't look ghastly on my pigmented mouth area. I've worn this and people have thought I've had nothing on my lips, it's the perfect mlbb for me which I struggle to find as many colours don't look right on me unless I have concealed the hyperpigmentation around my mouth properly. This one reached HG status super fast!

I adore a bright POP of colour on a sunny day and my go to POP is Inglot AMC Lip Crayon in number 22. It's a beautiful berry reddish pink, my friends love this on me and always take it off me and put it on themselves! It's a fail safe bright berry pink for my complexion, long lasting, pigmented and very very matte! I love Inglot lippies, best investment ever!

I love love love wearing red lips in summer, it's the perfect weather to wear it as the sun seems to brighten and blur the garishness of a red lip especially if you're not a regular red lip wearer! I've chosen MAC's Ruby Woo, I don't know about you but this screams summer to me, it looks great on everyone and it's retro-matteness is a winner! Perfect pouty red lips. 

Favourite Drink

My niece makes a bangin' Strawberry, Lime and Mint Mojito (non alcoholic of course duh!). It's refreshing and zingy and really hits the spot on those warm sunny days especially when your throats feeling a little parched and you need a sweet jolt of energy because of the lethargic weight of the heat. Let me know if you want the recipe, I'll defo get it off her if you're interested! 

Otherwise it's water! I'm a water drinker, my first choice of drink is always water. Water water water! Water all the way! In all seriousness though nothing quenches my thirst like water does. Do you find this as well?

Favourite Blush(es)

If I'm not in a neutral mood and grabbing my Sleek Blusher in Suede (bottom left) it's definitely going to be a bright pink or peachy shade. For the longest time my absolute favourite blusher for the summer has been Sleek's Rose Gold (top left), it's peachy tones with that stunning gold shimmer running through it has always pulled at my summer heartstrings. It always looks ah-mazing! If not its MUA's blushers in Marshmallow (candy pink-bottom right) and Lolly (light peach-top right) or Rimmel's Cream Blusher in Sunkissed Cherry (middle right- which I love pairing with a red lip)! It's gotta be a bright shade for summer makeup! Bright, fresh and youthful!

Btw, swatches are NOT doing justice to Sleek's Rose Gold or any of them for that matter!

Favourite Clothing Item(s)

I love wearing light layers and loose drapey clothes when it's really hot, I don't cope well with the heat and am always the first one to whinge about it. I love wearing cotton maxi-dresses on hot days, it's both modest and light. Primark have some beautiful cotton maxi dresses out at the moment!

Otherwise it's Pakistani lawn cotton suits/kameezes (long cotton tunics and trousers). Ohmagash, they are my other weakness apart from makeup! I can have enough makeup but I can never have too many lawn suits! So many beautiful designs are out this year and I don't want just the one I want them all (insert wailing emoticon). Lawn kameezes are lightweight, very modest, easy to wear and I assure you, you'll be spoilt for choice, they come in an array of designs and prints, from boho to floral to geometric or even a combination haha, usually put together with a flattering selection of tones and shades! 

Favourite Movie

This I found a bit difficult to answer as I don't have a favourite "summer" movie. But this does take me back to my past though, my earliest memory of enjoying movies at summer time were the Disney movies, especially Lion King! Maybe it's the warm tropical climate of the Lion King that reminds me of summer but the family definitely enjoys reruns of the classic Disney movies when we're lazing around on a warm summer evening.

Favourite TV Shows

If I'm not catching up with my usual programmes, I love watching the food channels in summer. Alongside makeup and cotton lawn kameezes, food is my other weakness, if I'm not eating it I'll be thinking about it, if I'm not thinking about it I'm watching it! Especially in the summer time I find it difficult to decide what to eat, so I get a lot of inspiration from the cooking channels in this season as it's usually light, fresh and healthy.

Favourite Food

Which brings us to our next and final section. Food glorious food! I'm a massive herbivore, you wouldn't understand how happy fruit and vegetables makes me feel inside when I see it, it seriously fulfils me! Especially in warm weathers, I find I have an appetite loss when the weathers too hot or I simply just want to drink gallons and gallons of water. I find meat and carbs way too heavy in hot weathers so I prefer light meals of lightly seasoned fresh veg and salads. I love snacking on different types of fruits as well like crisp grapes, sweet cherries, juicy nectarines, pineapple, pomegranate, tangy sweet tangerines, watermelons, kiwis, blueberries...okay the list is quite literally endless and I'm legit salivating right now! And of course it's not surprising, ice cream! I love milk, vanilla flavours and mint and chocolate combos, I'm currently enjoying a salted caramel number...yum!  

I hope you enjoyed this post my lovelies, I didn't mean for it to be so long and detailed but you know me I can't shut up especially if you're asking me about my favourites! I'm passionately descriptive, I can't help it! I tag you all so please let me know if you take on the tag. Much love and peace! Xxx

P.S. What did you think of the backdrop? Isn't it just gorgeous MashaaAllah? I LOVE colour, and summer screams colour! Perfect hues for this weather! Xxx