This is going to be very long post so grab some snacks before you dive into it.

I started my blog on this notion that I will share my skin care routine with girls like me who are struggling with acne or acne scars and then I got lost. I wasn’t lost to be honest ( a lot must be thinking that she took the flag of clear skin but vanished), I was trying to build a solid consistent routine (A much needed disclaimer:You know whatever I’ll be suggesting won’t be working for everyone). A huge shout-out to celebrities, famous bloggers, not so famous (me) bloggers, and nearly everyone who is finally getting comfortable in their own skin and coming forward with bare face selfies.I in no way am discouraging girls who love makeup (keep doing what you love), I am appreciating girls who are finally confident  enough to post bare face selfies (initially were scared). Here I won’t be suggesting any products to brighten skin or make you fairer. My journey is and was to fight acne and its scars. I have come a long way and I am proud of it. Enough episode build up- I am sure you have got the idea of  what exactly I am about to share.

Let’s start with the basics (morning routine or skin care routine is a lifestyle and you need years to build it). I swear by my morning routine, I often skip or miss my night skin care routine but morning is a must.

Wake up early (this is the best, you feel a lot energized in the morning than any other time of the day). It’s okay if you are not morning person, you still can have morning routine after waking up no big deal. Drink two glasses of water (you’d see a lot of people will suggest you to hydrate yourself). Hydration is essential but don’t overdo it. Start day with two glasses which doesn’t mean you take another 2 glasses in one go after 30 mins. Spread out the water intake to stay hydrated. The purpose of two glasses in the morning is to flush out toxins out of the body. Anyway, done with water then do breakfast or skip it (not my area). After breakfast and brushing teeth- here I jump in with my products  hehe.

Step 1: Face wash

 Wash face with a gentle cleanser (nothing beady or scruby). Don’t kill yourself by buying  a very pricey face-wash.Also, don’t confuse yourself with terms cleanser and facial wash (both are same). A normal would do, I am currently using facial cleanser by cetaphil (you can never go wrong with this brand).

Step 2: Toning

After the face wash, toning- now this step can be skipped or not (depends on you). You can skip this step,I don’t know why some people make big deal out of it-it’s  completely normal to skip this one. However, I choose to tone with alcohol free toner by kiehl’s (it’s fragrance free too). A toner with alcohol and scent  has tendency to irritate your skin instead of adding glow so be careful while investing in a toner.

Step 3: Serums

Currently, I am using five serums. I know the morning routine seems very lengthy which can lead to inconsistency. Try to form a routine that you’d do without feeling lazy. Initially I was lazy too so I was skipping my routine but once I got used to it (for my own better) , it got better.Anyway, it’s been a year since I am using the ordinary serums. I have currently added the glow duo by drunk elephant (since march).

Serums I am using include:

Vitamin C (for scars)

B hydra intensive hydration serum(hydration)

Alpha Arbutin (for scars and hyper-pigmentation)

Niacinamide+ Zinc (hydration)

Hyaluronic Acid (repair)

I can totally vouch for vitamin c and alpha arbutin for scars. They have helped in fading my scars. I was told by my dermatologist  that only laser would help in minimizing my scars but seems like alpha arbutin proved to be my mini lazer in a bottle. However, my skin still has redness and some scars but I haven’t lost my hope. I have seen so much improvement in my skin Alhamdollilah that I am willing to work on it further. At the same time, I have made peace with my skin and face right now so it’s like I am working without going crazy for results.

Enough with my testimonial, let’s google a bit about these serums. Vitamin c is a potent antioxidant that has proved to help in collagen production which leads to lightening of scars. I’d like to say how drunk elephant puts it for b hydra serum: it is a cool drink of water for your thirsty skin (taken from drunk elephant site). Alpha arbutin is a bio-synthetic form of arbutin (that’s what my google is telling me)that derives from bear-berry plants. It lightens the scar and promotes an even skin tone. Niacin-amide is basically vitamin B3 and additional 1 percent of zinc. This serum helps in reducing blemishes and congestion.  It balances your natural sebum levels for healthy looking skin. Hyaluronic serum helps in reducing redness and can make your feel look supple and fresh.

Step 4: Moisturizer

Once, I am done with all serums, I apply a tiny amount of moisturizer by cetaphil. Whether summers or no summers- you need the moisturizer. Never ever skip it. It contains Vitamin E and B5. It has three levels- light,medium, and heavy. I am using the light one. Non-comedogenic and fragrance free properties are the reason why I am using it.

Step 5: Sunscreen

Since it’s summer- it means this step is very crucial. However, it is also suggested to use sunscreen after using alpha arbutin (if using in daylight) and vitamin c(regardless of summers or winters).  I can’t believe majority of my twenties I ignored the importance of sunscreen. I am using sunscreen by  Neutrogena but ill switch to some other brand after I am done with it. It has scent and I am not very big fan of scented stuff when it comes to skin.

I hope this blog proved to be helpful for beginners. It is not necessary that you use all serums I have mentioned. You can mix and match. Do all steps but you can form a routine according to your skin needs. Just remember to have all these steps-no matter what products you use (except for toner-if you want to skip you can by all means). I know many of you must be thinking this much hassle but trust me get used to such hassle because in the longer run you’d fall in love with your skin and you’d feel super easy in flaunting the bare selfie. Let me know which steps you follow and what routine you have? I’d love to know.

I can’t believe that we are about to enter in to the best month of Ramadan! This is that time of year when we are given a chance not just to detox our physical bodies but also spiritual. This is the month that lets us say “this Ramadan ill perform better than last one”. I am just tad bit sad that I am not in Pakistan to get connected to the preparations and everything. However, I am here to share nothing new or out of world. Just sharing common basic stuff to create a vibe. Ramadan is not for just fasting by not eating whole day, it’s for trying maximum to avoid other stuff too which we do throughout the year. Also, desirable is that develop a good habit and carry on with it. I know I am not saying or sharing anything new, we all know this pfft.

My point is that despite knowing , we fail to do so what Allah expects from us. Now that I think of I am glad that I am not in Pakistan and I don’t have Pakistani channels to come up with some super lame stuff and trend of every Pakistani hyping it up over the media. Well I am on social media platforms so I’ll get glimpse of it anyway but won’t be part of it. Every Ramadan I see we get obsessed with an add or campaign in any-way possible. I hope this time I see people getting obsessed about helping someone or feeding someone in need instead of focusing on what to wear or which game show has better gifts than the other. This Ramadan I am hoping and praying to create an environment which my mom promoted which is ibadat and focusing on good deeds. Also, it’s okay to eat simple or lavishly for iftars-I’d personally prefer simple but cooking for the whole family is also considered an ibadah. Try to do everything in Ramadan with the intention of naiki and I am sure by the end of month we will feel good about it. Here are few things that I have promised to at least try doing it:

1: Try not to quit 5 prayers- I like this about Ramadan that we get chance not to miss fajr- imagine having sehri at zuhr time? We all would have defo missed fajr.

2: If can’t do more, then at least try to read one ayat and understand it’s meaning.

3: Try to play quran in the background while doing chores

4: Exercise at appropriate time

5: Try to initiate iftar with water instead of roohafza (I am doing this for years now). Try to have maximum water after iftar to balance the water intake

6: Try to keep iftar light like fruit salad without sugar and occasional samosa or pakora. I come from family where we celebrate iftars so I have grown up eating all kind of junk but when started being conscious, I didn’t stop everyone to eat iftar, I focused on my plate so my mom used to make a separate fruit chat for me and after shadi (the one time) I was with in-laws my mother in law used to make separate for me. Eat light so you feel better if you perform taravih- last year I did it for the first time. I have no idea ill be doing this year or not but ill try.

7: This one is going to be super difficult- try to eat khajoor (dates). My mom  tried all her life and I didn’t but I am going to try to do this because its Sunnah and other benefits too.

8: TRY TO SLEEP AT NIGHT. God I hated this habit back in home, I want to sleep instead of wasting time away on social media. I am not a tv person but I waste a lot of time on instagram or anyother social media platform so I am equally accountable for wasting time and being part of all campaigns passively.

9: Continue to work on blog (in your case whatever it is that you fancy) and stay positive.

10: If possible arrange an iftar for guests, for its barakat and you’d get plenty of sawab for it.

11: Try to reflect upon what good or bad stuff you have done and ask for forgiveness. For change this time, try to be empathetic and let go of negative vibes. Try it and you will be surprised at how much Allah loves us for making an effort.

12: Also, I’ll try to minimize my telly time(by this I mean seasons). I have this no movie policy during Ramadan but I often end up watching telly(same thing anyway) so this time I am gonna try to not watch telly- this is going to be real tough for me because of GOT finale.

I am sure I have missed a lot of points but I shared whatever was on top of mind. I pray daily to be a better person than I was before. We constantly need reminders that we are not perfect, we make mistakes but what we can do is to avoid to repeat them and ask Allah for forgiveness. Try to be nice to people even at some point they have pissed you off and you will feel so much better- I have done it and I feel a lot happier.

I love it how Instagram has enabled all of us to become models even after not having perfect height or figure for it! I like it how everyone who goes like oh you don’t have to put everything on instagram or take pictures of food all the time yet you’d see them taking outfit of the day pics or food pictures! I just love how Instagram has changed our lives Do you think Instagram is good for you or it’s just an app for pretentious people showing off? Anyho, that’s not the topic of my blog post today lol. For past few days, people have been asking me questions (lol meaning that people are interested in me, I thought this was the best time to post random facts about myself). Some of questions were very personal I’m not even gonna go there for instance idk whether it was question or complain but it had question mark at the end so imma gonna take that as question but not answering it hehe:You don’t have kids kia???? (I mean lol why does it matter behen).

I always wanted to do a random 20 facts about me but I was like nah, no one is interested but recently people have shown some interest so here it goes:

1. I’m happily married (so no franship messages please)(last year in may which reminds me it’s gonna be year soon wow). I got engaged and after three years got married so if I’m posting picture of my engagement anniversary that says this much time already, doesn’t give you liberty to message me up four years and no kids. Hello that was engagement 😛
2. I’m an engineer (from NED) who ended up doing masters in marketing (Szabist). I’m markingeer! 
3. Lol this fact is very childish but man I love zodiacs. I’m a Virgo and whatever you read in horoscope of this sign it’s totally true . 
4. Recently someone asked me about my height lol in DMs. Lol why why why?? Anyway, I’m 5.1. Eligible only for Instagram modelling hehe.
5. I love reading and Dan brown has to be my favorite but recently I’ve stopped reading as much as I used to because of this sudden guilt that I don’t read Quran as much so once I start reading Quran in detail then I guess I’d feel all normal while chugging down all those books. Doesn’t mean I have completely stopped reading. I recently got done with perks of being wallflower.
6. I started reading in 7th grade. Harry Potter was first ever series for me. Hence, I love J.K Rowling.
7. I’m a cry baby (yes yes now I accept it openly). 
8. I look super shy but when you start to know me, I’m the funniest person around. I love compliments like you’re funny over you’re pretty/cute. 
9. I love love collecting funky stuff even if I don’t know how to use it hehe. Lol for instance I’d buy certain makeup because of its funkiness not usefulness. 
10. I’ve been bullied all my life but now everything has changed  phew. (People who have bullied me would say no they did not but this is the whole sad part that people don’t even realise the damage they do through their useless jokes). 
11. I’m caring as hell. I can stay up for the loved ones for the whole night and pamper them even if I’m tired as hell. 
12. I cook the yummiest spaghetti . This I wrote after getting it approved from people because apni tareef khudi would make me an ass. 
13. I can eat spaghetti for the rest of my life. 
14. I’m a kind of person who’d share everything if I feel comfortable with the next person. Like literally everything lol. I’m like an open book (cheesy but true) 
15. I love dressing up but don’t know much about make up (not that I don’t want to but it’s like no matter what I do YouTube videos or tutorials don’t help at all ) 
16. I love skincare stuff esp after the horrendous acne experience in life. 
17. I love candles and  everything scented  so if planning to gift me then consider something in the line of scented stuff. 
18. I’m a fitness freak. I love gyming and keeping a control of my diet. I try to include as much greens I can. 
19. I’m shit scared of dogs! I’ve ended up offending a lot of goras because of my reactions to dogs while walking. 
20. My laugh is very weird but luckily my husband loves it so now I freely laugh while watching any sitcom lol.

This is all that you need to know about me lol and also all insta stories are there for daily updates . 

Love,

Your wannabe blogger P

Hey gorgeous readers,

I decided to keep it as mainstream as possible before I surprise you guys with the cooler content I have in mind but hey this is cool too because we all need some positivity in our lives all the time. It’s very essential that we stay grounded or positive towards various situations we encounter on daily basis. The first step towards positive perception is letting go. Letting go of certain things that irk you and keep you awake at night is the best way to start the positive life. It’s easier said than done, honestly. You might think easier for me to say but trust me once you start doing it (take the first impossible step-if that word makes any sense) then nothing can stop you from being happy all the time. Let’s dig in to the blog…

Is it okay if I insert some teachings my mom tried to instill in her kids to keep them positive? (well yeah I think you might like it). My mom always taught us (me mostly because I was the complicated kid…wait no Mustafa(younger brother) is like me too, anyway that’s not the concern) to see positivity in every situation. I was known as whiner who’d always come up with complain every time and mom would try to calm me up to see the positive aspect of the situation.

Let’s consider an example (oh yes I can give ample of examples regarding that). For instance, Parus whining xyz person has been mean to her and mom telling her maybe that person was under some stress or maybe I did something unintentionally to receive such behavior. It never calmed me lol. It made me more agitated. I never got the logic behind mom’s way of not letting me think too much about someone else’s behavior but to focus on my own behavior and how I can better myself. I’m glad it did sink into me. Better late than never. What I’ve concluded is that mothers shouldn’t lose hope that their kids aren’t learning from the lessons they’re trying to teach them. Kids learn but they implement once they enter in the practical field. I thought I was never gonna change but when I left the comfortable bubble of my parents home, that sense of seeing positive in every situation started to come naturally to me.

How I observed this change in me? (You may ask)Recently, I visited my hometown and saw myself evolving and not whining about people’s behavior. I didn’t whine to mom or created a scene out of it (trust me Parus in past would have thrown a fit over some people’s attitude towards her this time) but instead I decided to let it go and repeat the mantra I’m here to enjoy which I did btw. I won’t say because of people, I had fun because of me! Mom would be proud of me but hey I’m still not the perfect daughter, we all try and try to achieve at least better version of ourselves.

People change with time (some would disagree to this but it’s true) and they learn from mistakes. What I’m trying to say is that in order to be happy and positive you’ve to let go of things that anchor you down. If you fixate over the memories or arguments that made you feel worthless then you’ll never be happy.

I’m gonna give you some more instances from my own life and how I’ve come long way. It’s not like I’ve changed completely, I still fixate over conversations which I think I shouldn’t have had in first place but it’s not obsessive like before. I remember someone told me once I should live with them because I look Ethiopian (due to poor diet). I didn’t know how to reply that individual but I did fixate over it for long time till my husband told me to let go of it (at this point you might be thinking she still remembers it that means it still haunts her at night and it’s such a pity-no I remember this because I like to tell myself see you’ve come long way, it used to bother you and you didn’t like to tell this to anyone but now you’re sharing it with people). There was another person who took pleasure in seeing me struggling, for instance he/she’d shamelessly tell me how happy he or she was to see me in situation where I couldn’t be myself. I’d whine about it to my sister and she’d tell me to ignore, again easier said than done. All such examples and people teach you to be the best version of yourselves.

Another useful step towards being positive is to stop blaming yourself. It’s okay to think but overdoing is not okay. Don’t blame yourself for thinking-it’s natural we all think and feel bad about certain encounters. Try to get over such encounters and tell yourself that you are not going to be around such people who made you feel whatever you felt at that particular time of incident.

I shared all this with my husband and he told me it was normal for me to fixate, anyone would have done the same but the possible positive outcome of it, is to let go of all such memories and start a new. Of course me being me, I didn’t buy any of it unless recently and I’m the happiest one alive. There are some things which you’ve to keep in mind in order to be  positive/happy (tried and tested):

1: This one is pretty common: Surround yourself with people who love you for who you are and bring out the best in you.

2: Don’t blame yourself for thinking too much (it’s natural but you should take control of it if it’s going out of hand). Don’t let someone else get to your head. Don’t give them this much importance.

3: Be with people who laugh with you not at you. There’s a huge difference guys! If you react to someone who laughs at you, he/she will say don’t be serious man, take it easy it’s just a joke- such people are worse. Stand up to such jerks, honestly.

4: Indulge in self-care activities and give yourself importance over anyone. Pat yourself on the back more often.

5: Do what makes you happy. Develop a hobby to occupy yourself. Be it blogging, eating, cooking, gyming, and even sleeping.

6: Think high of yourself (don’t over do it otherwise you will end up narcissistic). Tell yourself that you are doing amazing.

7: Keep yourself busy and set up a routine. Setting a routine also keeps you busy which leads to less thinking about idiots you encounter. Tire yourself in your routine so much that by the time you hit the bed, you end up sleeping quickly.

8: Important of all,let go of the thoughts that keep you awake at night- initially it will be difficult (I don’t expect you to magically do all this by reading my blog) but slowly and gradually you will get there.

If you even follow one of tips, you will instantly feel good and might end up all positive. I learned a bit late but I am glad that I eventually did it. I shared something I never wanted to or it’s not easy putting myself out there for people to dissect me or seeing me in vulnerable state but you know what it does not matter to this new positive Parus because she doesn’t care about people anymore.

Love,

Your wannabe blogger P

Hey I hope you don’t take offence in the title of my blog hehe,

Trust me I don’t think them as shit masks, it’s just for the sake of title (this is a very nice and appreciative blog post about sheet masks if you’re wondering).It wasn’t long ago when I wasn’t much impressed from the sheet masks, in fact you can scroll down to few posts(on Instagram obvio hehe) and see how little did I think of sheet masks -my bad.

I have recently started to see the effective side of sheet masks and I am not complaining. The first ever thing that comes to mind when you think of sheet masks is cost saving. You can purchase a sheet version of pricey masks and try them before you decide to invest in them. However, now that i think of, very few pricey masks have sheet version of them (brands take note here and make sheet version so people can decide better).

I know for sure that the brand too cool for school has sheet versions of their full masks. Same goes for body shop (well not sheet but little sachets), Neutrogena, Burtbees, Victoria’s Secret, and Bliss. I am gonna enlist some more benefits of the sheet masks but before lets see the technical side of these masks and some history linked to them (If it gets boring then skim-i know it’s gonna get boring a bit if it involves history but I promise I’m gonna keep it as brief as possible).

I am not gonna bring something entirely new and my research is limited to google so I am sure you have read somewhere else whatever I am about to write. Sheet mask is basically fabric soaked into nutritional packed ingredients that help in an instant result but not to forget temporary. The sheet masks were made basically to improve and boost the hydration levels. Anyhoo, you can’t overdo them especially acne prone skin *sighs-heavily*. Also, when it comes to skin trends the first country that comes to my mind is either Japan or China.

Sheet masks were first promoted by Japanese and South Korean beauty gurus. Due to their promising benefits they became popular real quick. Nowadays I’m reading a lot about compressed sheet masks (let’s leave this for another blog). Before you start yawning let me start on the benefits. Other than cost saving, they are portable which is so cool. While traveling, I kept sheet masks in my purse so that my husband or my parents didn’t fail to recognize me because of my tired face (that’s another thing that I didn’t get chance on my flight to indulge). They are coming in various categories now, sheet mask does not mean just for face, you’d see sheet masks for hands,eyes, feet, and lips.

Sheet masks give instant glow or whatever they promise.There is so much variety in terms of sheet masks-like you can get it for any thing like literally. Sheet masks for hydration, detoxifying, glow, instant boost, pigmentation, and what not. Have you guys seen the variety of tony molly masks? What about sephora? Every shop is filled with sheet masks you can’t even imagine! Like I didn’t know that there exists a green tea mask for the instant glow- how cool is that? And imagine if some sheet mask didn’t suit you, you don’t have to worry about the whole jar since its just one time use. Do you know some other benefits then let me know? I am here to learn!

Your’s

Wannabe blogger P

Hey,

I am glad that you clicked that link and landed on my blog. First of all I am not a professional blogger but I try you know! We all try, some succeed, and some don’t-that’s how life works. Since I have been trying for a while and I believe that now is the high time to start working on WordPress and give my amateur writing side more space. The Instagram caption limits us to an extent that you end up being bored. Hence, here I am trying my luck. Umm that sounds like I dragged the introductory post lol, well bear with me I am like that.

Let’s begin with the mandatory and usual introduction: My name is Parus and here I tell people (mostly goras because you know can’t be lame in front of people like me) my name as Paris. I have done engineering (god knows why I tired myself up for 4-5 years) and masters in marketing (again I think I’m in dilemma whether this was correct for me or not).

I recently (well not that recently) got married and moved to States. Before you start thinking why she doesn’t work while she is in the land of opportunities, honey let me tell you that I am on a visa which doesn’t allow me to work (yeah i know that sucks). Meanwhile I get a visa that allows me to work, I decided to run a blog. I know in the longer run I am gonna hate the name of my blog but hey maybe the reverse happens if you guys ended up loving it, I am sure I’m not gonna regret.

Love,

Your new blogger on the block: Parus (well I wont mind if you read that as paris)