The writer of this blog is truly talented and very up-to-date with just about everything! I think this post is extremely inspiring to those who are just starting out as well as well as helpful with all of the new store launches coming out – so have fun reading and please check out her other blogs – I couldn’t pull myself away!
With summer coming and the majority of people over here having thick, heavy and not to mention beautiful long hair, this offers a variety of fantastsic hairstyles for the knock-you-flat-on-your-back heat! Thanks for this – it’s great!
Now, please don’t get comfortable with the fact that I’ve posted two days in a row because, well, I’m not a daily poster. I used to actually write for a living so I learned the hard way, how to balance out my schedule.
The previous post was unisex – as will be many – so that both men and women can read this blog but I figured with this blog just starting out and with a makeup picture at the top, I should do a girly post but men are still more than welcome to read!
You Live In One Of The ‘Stans? UNAVAILABLE!
My first makeup post is a problem that I’ve run into here that has to do with one of my favorite makeups: Urban Decay – even though there is not a huge selection like you would see at Mac or Sephora, I still miss it. My problem is that this stuff is not sold here and unlike Mac, where you have to pay half of your salary for a 
SINGLE concealer, this product is not found anywhere!
While Urban Decay is not available in this region unless someone from the States or another available country gifts you with it, they have allowed people from all over the world to steal their face makeup looks! How much fun is that?
Before you think you can’t achieve most of these looks, I’ve done my research – and shopping – and the products needed to achieve the looks ARE here!
I’ve looked through most stores and most colors can be found in Pakistan, especially colored eyeliners (people cannot do without their black eyeliner here, so I’ve learned – so applying some color will be a cinch), blushes, eye-shadows and lipsticks. Believe me, I have visited many, many, stores to find decent makeup at a decent price and I have found a few great places.
Something I have n
oticed here is that Pakistanis are naturally beautiful! They have those large eyes with thick, luscious lashes, full lips and long, dark beautiful hair – all of the traits we, Americans, try so hard to make with makeup in the States.
Because of this natural beauty (no, not jealous at all, nope!), mascara is rarely used and unless you’re going somewhere like a party, dinner or event, the basic look is eyeliner and a some kind of nude lip gloss. Then again, this goes with culture and style that’s been worn year after year – much the way Americans wear shorts and tank tops.
When I have done women’s makeup over here with colors on their eyes and blush on their cheeks, they are truly amazed at how much brighter their eyes pop and stand out or how high their cheekbones actually are!
How To Make It Available To You!
What inspired me to blog about this is that one third of my trio, Sanam, never wore makeup too often in the beginning (the whole natural beauty thing) and then BAM! – all of the sudden, she had the Urban Decay Naked Palette!
I didn’t know whether to knock her unconscious and run out of her house with it or just admire from afar. So I did what any great friend would do and clonked her in the back of the head. Nooooooo, just kidding! That didn’t happen until she got Urban Decay Naked Palette 2 – again just kidding.
Truthfully, I told her how much I’ve been missing certain makeup products and we’ve spent a lot of time talking about how she actually has to wait for someone to leave the country, give them the money and bring it back.
After another palette and a few Sigma brushes later (not to mention my constant ooooo’s and ahhhhh’s) she realized that there had to be a better way to do this which is why she has now opened a page on Facebook called Cosmic Fashion. She will be a guest blogger soon, herself, to explain it in more detail but to sum it up, she is basically bringing back the 
limited amounts she gets to sell these brands and more to you at the price she spent.
It still may seem a high price for makeup but it’s not because A) they are unavailable here; and B) they are full palettes that can last from 6 month’s to a year depending on how much you use it or not. It’s worth way more than the price that they’re being sold here. I’ve even said so to her but the sweetie she is, said that it wasn’t her point to make money off of it but to bring something that people like me and many others want but cannot get.
How can someone like that not be one of my closest friends?
Makeup is magic!
I want people to learn how makeup can bring out your best features without hiding behind the makeup, not limiting only to Pakistanis but all over the Middle East and Southeast Asia (or if I’ve left a place out, feel free to correct me in the comments section!).
So without further ado, here is the only gift that Urban Decay has been able to give us so far to begin experimenting with different makeups and thinking outside of the box!
If you try these looks (even those who have their own take on the looks) and would like to share them with others, just send them to me at toucheglamour@live.com and I’ll post them in the Gallery!
* First, I am still new with some of the updates so please excuse the extra pictures at the bottom of the gallery. Second, I’ve tried hyperlinking these pics straight to each picture’s page but it’s not saving so you can find all these looks with a quick illustration by clicking: Urban Decay – Steal Our Look
As a foreigner, I honestly believe these cosmetic industries would bank off of at least supplying by delivery to unavailable countries since these are considered luxuries. I understand in some cases why they don’t but I still think they’re sitting on a gold mine and don’t realize how fast their products would be bought!
What do you think?
Do you ever have those mornings where you just wake up from crazy dreams, feel just a little off your rocker so try to think of something normal to drag yourself out of it?
If I’m the only one – maybe I should find a good therapist but chances are, it’s a pretty sane thing!
Anyhow, this morning I woke up from some really weird dream about water Olympics and how someone had taken the most important thing (please don’t ask because I don’t remember, nor do I know much about water Olympics) and it caused all of these chaotic things to happen.
To shrug it off, not to mention my recent bout of homesickness (yes, this hyperlink is my educational blog 
with my first name, not the middle name I use – Elise, for modeling and Touche` Glamour) since my parents just sent a birthday/care package, I started thinking about playing catch with my dad.
In the U.S., most of you know that we play baseball or softball compared to your cricket. Me, I fell in love with baseball at the age of 7 when my grandfather to me to watch the Orioles at Memorial Stadium (now Camden Yards) where I fell in awe of Cal Ripken, Jr. – which up until this day, my parents still send me stuff on him.
This blog has a point which I’m getting to so just bear with my little story first!
So I began to really miss my parents; especially practicing and warming up before a game with him or just playing catch to practice and have fun. He was actually drafted to be a 
pitcher for the Minor Leagues so he never held back with how hard he threw, his knuckle pitches, curve balls, you name it, he threw it. And I wish I had him here right now to play catch with. Not to brag (okay, just to break a stereotype), but for a girl, I can throw at around 70 mph thanks to him so it’s fun and definitely, a stress release!
Getting to the point of this blog, I began thinking of how there’s no way to play that here. I’ve played cricket and while I enjoy the game, it isn’t as fast paced for me nor can I play shortstop, third base or right field.
You can’t even go outside and play outside the way we can in the U.S. because it’s just not safe – at least for me since I’m unfamiliar with a lot of things and places and only go where recommended. Even worse, I can’t find the equipment needed for playing the sports that I 
love.
I began pushing those thoughts aside and started thinking about general exercise in PK.
You cannot easily go jogging around the block, nor can you just let your child play outside alone unless there is an armed guard with you, a driver or some nanny. In the U.S., we do not have such things unless you live in the Hamptons.
Men can go jogging somewhat safely in certain parks and I’ve even seen couples walking together in safer parks but close to a year ago, there was that huge murder in the new Benazir Park. It’s a lovely place but it makes most suburban living people now even more wary.
Now this is not to say that no one goes outside; because there close to 20 million Pakistani people living in this country so there are millions of people walking around outside – laborers, maids, gardeners, cleaners, sweepers – but they are of another class (which I am still having a hard time understanding the whole class system).
So sticking to those who will be reading this, yes, many boys and men can go outside because they’re able to defend themselves much more than women can. But how can we find ways to stay healthy in Pakistan?
Some people do buy treadmills or those exercise bikes but since I worked my way through 
college on my own, I did so by working in a gym so I know that these are pretty unsuccessful as there isn’t much motivation nor is it the best way to exercise! Treadmills pound on the shin bones after long amounts of time, sometimes leading to shin splint. Both are good for cardiovascular exercise (of cardio, for short) but the bike doesn’t always get the heart rate up fast enough.
Not to mention that it’s hard to get the latest equipment here and if you do, then you probably have to take a loan to get the latest elliptical trainer.
It’s ridiculous how hard it is to find ways to exercise here!
And just sitting outside is not a weight-loss burner! Sure, the hot, humid air knocks you over every time you step out and it definitely does drop a pound or two but all it does is take moisture out of your body which will be refilled as soon as you get a glass of water!
With all of the greasy foods that are made here, there is no way around changing cultural food. It’s the food of Pakistan! You can recommend cutting down on the amounts of oil put in food but it doesn’t change much because culture is culture. Although as a side note, I will say this: Oil has a lot to do with acne and added on to the heat and humidity; you do leak excess amounts of oil through your pores and who wants an oily face?
So now that we 
have all the reasons why it’s so hard to sometimes maintain a healthy lifestyle, we’re going to go through a couple of exercises that can be done within the home that will help with burning calories!
This will be ideal for men who want to bulk up or women who have to stay inside. If you want to see real results, then you must understand a couple of things:
Before any exercise, always warm up first! If you don’t do a bit of stretching, you can pull muscles or cause joint or tissue damage.
doing cardio to begin with, all you’re doing is pushing the fat out and building muscle underneath.
be strictly protein without any carbs – tuna fish (without all the dressings), protein shakes, baked chicken without oil, etc., since it helps build muscle and lose the fat.Here are some great exercise videos to help you get started!
This first video shows you how to warm up for exercising at home:
This second video gives you a full workout routine for beginners –but do remember, it takes endurance to build up to a full workout!
And lastly, here are 2 more advanced workout videos for those who are past the beginner stage. This is a video I’m totally hooked on:
And:
Stay healthy,
Ellie
P.s.
I do try to hyperlink words you may or may not be familiar with but if there is anything I am saying that you don’t understand, please feel free to ask away. I forget sometimes how to slow down my English so I’m well aware that there will be times when I need to explain something better!
Hi everyone!
This is a brand new blog that will feature everything beauty – ranging from makeup, nails and beauty products all the way to modeling, clothing and hair – so please bear with me as I work on getting this setup!
What I want from this blog is for people to realize that there is beauty in third world countries! You may not have all the tools needed to make you believe this but it takes work and learning how to work with the supplies you DO have. Everyone is beautiful with or without designer clothes and makeup so why not have some fun feeling even more glamorous or learning how to dress up on a big night out?
I want this to be a comfortable place where any question can be asked, photos can be shared, techniques and your own tutorials can be shown and whatever else it is you’d like to have as part of Touche` Glamour!
As from my side, I’ll be adding in fun stuff along the way: Makeup or nail tricks, tips, techniques, Western and Eastern clothing, hair styles and other great stuff!
For example: I know that products such as Urban Decay, Sephora, Sigma Be
auty, Nars, Nyx and Mac are unavailable especially where I am. I’m not going to lie – IT SUCKS not being able to find this stuff! But I have a very close friend who is working on helping people out on this and soon, this blog will be one with her company when it’s launched.
So for now, I’ll be showing you how to make the best out of what you have at home and looking just as great as if you were wearing the perfect makeup.
Lastly, this blog is not just for girls. Many men I’ve met in the modeling business also use makeup. Photographers need to have their lighting just right which requires some touch-up, you never want a greasy-faced male model showing off the latest designer wear nor do you want dark circles under the eye and sometimes need a little contouring to help shape the features.
Until we get the ball rolling, I will post some pictures for you to have a look through in the meantime!
Happy Makeup-ing,
Ellie
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