Just Me
Hi, and welcome to my little corner of the Internet. I’m a British Bengali Muslim mum of two (sorry, that was a mouthful), who writes by day – I’m a PR consultant and author – then writes a little bit more at night. The latter is mainly this lifestyle blog.
A lifestyle blog? What do I know about that?
That’s the whole point – I don’t. I’m not a makeup artist, chef, lifestyle guru or stylist. I’m just me. And like you, I’m trying to live my best life. Only I’m sharing my warts-and-all thoughts along the way.
There’s one thing I can promise. I aim to do things a little differently with HalimaBobs. You’ll find that my pictures aren’t filtered and neither are my words.
I’m not into airbrushing. I don’t believe in portraying a filtered, unattainable life. We all inhabit the real world so there’s no point pretending otherwise. Also, more recently, as homage to my heritage, I’ve started to focus on things that affect women like me. So there’s lots of makeup tutorials and review for brown skin, Bengali recipes, halal-friendly holidays and Ramadan recipes, content and inspo.
You can always expect honest reviews. I’ll rave about what I love, and also what didn’t work for me. It’s important you get a balanced picture.
Why I started HalimaBobs.com
Despite working as a professional wordsmith – I am broadcast journalist turned independent PR consultant (hkcommunications.co.uk ), and author (my debut novel is called The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage) – I don’t often get to write for pleasure. So I see this as an outlet for just that.
So in the interests of clarity if you’ve stumbled across my little blog, here’s a brief lowdown on what to expect:
What you’ll get with me…
Food
- Easy Bengali recipes (mostly stolen from my mum).
- Some non-Bengali recipes too (I don’t eat curry everyday, obvs.).
- Halal restaurant reviews for all budgets and palates, from Michelin star to street food (read: I eat a LOT).
- My main focus is on halal restaurants in London and Manchester, though I do occasional go off the beaten track, such as that one time went on a halal food hunt in Thailand.
Beauty
- Makeup tutorials for brown skin that are quick and easy (I’ll often shoot in real time).
- Some detailed ‘special occasion’ makeup tutorials for women of colour for when you’re feeling fancy (but they’re still easy).
- Some how-to and beauty hacks that even novices like me can master (lipstick concealer, anyone?).
Travel
- Travel reviews of halal-friendly holidays and hotels that I’m lucky (or unlucky) enough to stay in.
- Travel tips, i.e. where you can find halal food, or plentiful seafood and veg options in places you wouldn’t expect. Such as our trip to Iceland where we surprisingly didn’t starve. (Note: if there’s a kebab shop anywhere we holiday, my husband WILL find it).
Finally, I occasionally rants about life in general (warning: I write as I speak, which is like a total stream of consciousness). Whether it’s when I got conned in London, or when I had a really unpleasant experience at the beauticians, you’ll know about it.
What you won’t get…
- Back to school hair and makeup tutorials – I’ve not been back to school in a looong time. And as a fully grown women (of sorts) this seems kinda wrong. Sorry tweens.
- Super sophisticated and complicated makeup tutorials where I no longer look like me. Makeup should enhance what your mamma gave ya, not mask you.
- Short and sweet reviews which don’t give you the full picture. With the exception of gift guides, I will often write at length. Consider yourself forewarned.
- Lots of smiling and bubbly YouTube tutorials. It’s just not me. Though I am very nice in real life, I assure you.
Congratulations if you have read to the end without being put off. You are officially fab and I’d like us to be friends.
PR’s, if you’d like to know more about working together, you can see my media pack here.
And this is how you can keep in touch:
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