Monday 17 February 2014

My skincare regime


I have had a very bad past experience with eczema, which lasted for the first 16 years of my life, until I started following a good skin regime. I had tried everything possible, from various steroids to different emollients. Nothing at all seemed to work on me, until I decided to accept that this was the fate of my skin condition. However, when I got used to a good skin routine, which I carried out daily without fail, my skin condition improved. Today, Alhumdulillah I have no eczema on my body or face.
It took me a while in finding the perfect moisturiser, cleanser and toner for my skin type. I experimented with a few products until I got to the perfect combination of products which best maintain my skin. This routine works best for me, there may be some products in my regime, which do not suit other people’s skin type. I have dry skin, therefore most of my products are aimed to keep my skin soft and hydrated.

Daily Products
Carrying out my skincare routine in the morning helps me wake up and feel fresh. It also motivates me for the rest of the day.

Initially, I wash my face with the Simple facial wash. This feels very light and moisturising on my face. I use this product daily, as it has no harsh chemicals, which may cause adverse effects on my skin. This product lasts long and is easy to massage your skin with, as it glides over your face smoothly.



After patting my face dry, I use the Simple cleanser on my face with cosmetic pads. This product is my favourite in my entire skin regime. It gives a nice cool feeling on your face, which is absolutely perfect every morning. This product plays a major role in helping my skin recover from breakouts. I highly recommend this product more than any other product. It also gives your skin a natural, radiant glow. It is perfect for removing face makeup. Rather, than investing on makeup removers, I would recommend this product for daily cleansing and makeup removing.

Thereafter, I use my Simple toner, with cosmetic pads to close all open pores, which may result in outbreaks. I have experimented many toners on my face and this toner has worked best for me. This step is not essential for everyone. Most people miss the toning step; however toning has improved my skin, which is why I make sure I tone daily.

Finally, I moisturise my face with Vitamin E illuminating moisture cream in the morning. However, before going to bed I use the Vitamin E night time moisturiser. This is the most important step in my regime, as I have very dry skin. This means that I have to take time out to moisturise my skin efficiently. These moisturisers are great, as they are not too heavy on my skin and at the same time they keep my skin moisturised throughout the day. After using these products I noticed a huge difference with my dry skin issues.

Weekly Products
I exfoliate my face weekly with the Clean & Clear Exfoliator. This thoroughly cleanses my face, and leaves my skin soft and clear.


I do not apply makeup on my face daily, therefore my skin does not require a thorough cleanse with a foamed cleanser, but I do apply makeup probably once or twice a week. If I apply face makeup, I need to ensure that it is removed properly, before I retire to bed. The product that has worked the best for me is the Simple foamed cleanser. This works best for removing all traces of foundation, powder etc.

In order to remove eye makeup I use the Simple eye makeup remover. I have only recently started using this product. So far it has worked well for me.

Miscellaneous Products
Besides the above mentioned products, there are some products which I do not use on a daily or weekly basis. Instead I use these products, when I am travelling or when I do not have the above mentioned products available. These products are used very rarely.

I use Nivea cleansing wipes when I am travelling, to remove my makeup. These wipes do not give me any adverse effects on my skin. They remove makeup quickly and leaves a cleansed surface on your skin. I would not use these daily, as using wipes do tend to irritate the skin.

I also use the Vitamin E face mist, which is an essential for travelling. I use this product when I feel tired or when my face feels dehydrated. This product instantly gives my face moisture and leaves my skin fresh. This is definitely one product which I would always keep as part of my travelling essentials.



This is my complete skin care regime, which I have followed for the past year. This has really helped my skin condition. For anyone out there who has eczema, I would really advise to not give up on finding the cure. Different things work on different people. The skin condition will improve one day. Jazakallah for reading this post. I hope it is beneficial for those people who are looking for a good skin routine.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Time and being Productive


By time, (103:1)
Indeed, mankind is in loss, (103:2)
Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (103:3)

After looking at this Quran ayah, it becomes evident to us on how important time is in our religion. If we look at the five pillars of our deen, we can see that they are also at a fixed time. For instance, salaah has a fixed time and amount. Similarly Ramadan and hajj is also in a fixed month. This is a constant procedure that has been carried out for the past 1400 years without fail.

Therefore, it is also essential for us to bring in a procedure for our daily lives, with our ibadah and humane activities. This will help us save time and also help us run our daily lives in a smooth manner. We often complain that there is no barkat in time and that we do not have time to fit in certain actions into our daily schedules. However, the reality of the situation is that if we stay organised with time and not waste time in futile activities, there would be time for a lot more productive things.

Below I shall mention a few tips from my personal experience that have helped me stay at the top of things and have helped me in running my day smoothly.

1. Initially, we must ensure that we wake up early for Fajr salaah. What better way can there be of starting our day other than in the worship of Allah. Thereafter we must spend 10 minutes in praying surah yaseen. I cannot emphasize enough on how much these two things help in running your day smoothly. If we pray surah yaseen with full conviction that it will help us in getting our needs for the day completed, then without doubt your needs will be completed. This is one action that will never let you down, no matter how bad of a situation you are in. After carrying out these two essentials, make sure you have a good healthy breakfast. Breakfast is definitely the most important meal of the day, as it will give you energy and concentration that will last you throughout the day. Therefore, make sure you wake up 15 minutes earlier, giving you time to prepare a good, healthy breakfast.

2. Pre-plan your day from the night before. This will ensure that you wake up knowing where your day is heading. It is better to stay alert  than to stay oblivious, on what you need to get done throughout the day. For example, get your outfit for the day ready from the night before, as this saves you from hassling on what to where first thing in the morning. Set alarms for activities to be carried out at fixed timings from the day before. This helps you in keeping in track of time. Make to do lists daily or weekly and tick off the things that you have completed. This will avoid you from forgetting about things that need to be done.

3. Get the things that you dread done first. This is the best advise I can possibly give when it come to doing things that are difficult. Once the difficult tasks are done, you would tend to feel more relaxed and calm throughout the day. It would reduce stress and you would feel a sense of accomplishment. Never leave tasks last minute. This would only cause you to panic more and mess up more on the task. You would end up not giving the task enough effort and concentration that it requires.

4. Do not waste time in futile activities. For example, do not spend two hours talking to a friend on the phone when you have an assignment to hand in the following day. If you really do need to talk on the phone, then do it while your cleaning, so in this way you are not wasting time and you will also not feel guilty by the time you end the phone call.

5. Keep your workplace organised! I don’t know if its just me but when I see my workplace nice and neat, I actually feel like working. Make sure all your work is filed and labelled, as this will avoid you losing work. A messy and unorganized atmosphere does nothing but put you off working.

6. Do things in groups. Do not decide to do everything in one day, as this would just end up in you feeling awfully stressed and tired by the end of the day. If you have a lot to get done, divide the jobs into groups and then carry out each group on a different day. For instance, if you have lots of cleaning to do, set one day of the week for all the vacuuming and set another day for all the recycling. If you have an assignment to do, then set one day for research, one day for writing a draft version and another day for the final neat version of the assignment, rather than doing the entire assignment in one day.

7. Wake up early and sleep early! This is the key to having a productive day. I personally think that I can get work that takes up to 4 hours in the evening done within 2 hours if I do it in the morning. Waking up early helps in giving you more barkat in time. Also, the Prophet (S.A.W)  had a habit of going to sleep straight after Esha salaah, therefore we should also try and adopt this habit. Adopting this habit brought in lots of benefits into my life. I started getting good sleep and it helped me wake up earlier. Waking up earlier starts your day off really well, as it avoids you panicking about being late. It give you enough time to have breakfast. It helps you carry out all your morning activities calmly and keeps you boosted for the rest of the day.

Well, that is the end of my first post. These are the tips that have always worked for me. I hope these tips are beneficial. Jazakallah for reading this post. Comment below on tips that help you stay organised and productive so that I may benefit from you wonderful people out there.