Happy New Year Warriors! The chime of a new year brings about a time of reflection and resolutions. While most of us are busy setting goals and implementing changes you hope to achieve this year, we’re here to cheer you on and Warrior Up to make 2018 a smash hit.
As a little throwback to 2017, we need to give a huge mention to the winner of our Spooky Zahara Halloween 2017 contest whose amazing story we will share with you now as our first Zahara Warrior of 2018.
The ultimately delightful, Alya Osman (@alyaosman94), was the proud winner of our Spooky Zahara 2017 who walked away with over RM300 worth of Zahara goodies.
What a stunner! We asked her to share a little bit about herself with us and boy, aren’t we so proud to have a Warrior like her on board with us! Check out her winning look below. Creepy isn’t it?
She did such a great job, I'm sure you can agree!
Alya is a fantastic role model for us Zahara Warriors. She’s not a one, two, but a TRIPLE threat with her killer dance skills, makeup skills and…. You’ll have to stick around to figure out what this beauty’s third set of spectacular skills are!
Read on to know what Alya spoke to Zahara about.
Zahara: Describe yourself in 3 words.
Alya: An Optimistic Unicorn!
Zahara: What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Alya: Despite having a dancing background, I really have poor knowledge in music!!! I’m one of those people who'll go 'I love this song!' ; tries to sing along to it and not know the lyrics! And not know the title of the songs or the artist!!! - shocker
Zahara: How did you start getting into makeup?
Alya: I actually got into makeup because of performances I did when I was younger. The first time I had to apply my own make up was a full face stage makeup when I was around 12 years old - I ended up looking like I got punched in the face!
Zahara: What’s the one makeup item you can’t live without?
Alya: Concealer!!! I have panda eyes, so concealer is a must! Whoever created this magical item is my hero!
Zahara: Do you have any makeup tips you would like to share?
Alya: I'm pretty sure everyone knows this, but just in case there is somebody out there who always suffer from ashy or grey-ish under eyes even after they apply concealer; use an orange colour corrector before your concealer. It really is a life saver! It may seem scary at first, but give it a try and see if it works for you.
Zahara: We also heard that you’re a dancer! Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Alya: Yes! I started doing ballet, tap and modern classes at the age of 6. Not very long after that, I knew that dancing is what I wanted to do professionally. So I dedicated my life to it. I was at the studio everyday of the week including Saturdays and Sundays. I used to eat my lunch in the car, after school, and sometimes even changed in the car to make it on time to class! When I was 16, I left for England to continue my full time dance training at Performers College. Spent around 12 hours a day for a total of 3 years for a Diploma Course. Unfortunately, during the end of my 2nd year, I injured my knee.
Zahara: What was the main thing you learned from your experience with your injury?
Alya: It was one of the most challenging times I’ve ever had in my life. It really does make or break you. The main thing that I learned from this whole thing is the value of perseverance. Lots of hours dedicated to one part of the body, to rebuild its strength to get myself back on my feet. It really was a roller coaster ride, I got stronger but when I thought that I’m almost there, my knee would buckle and I’m back to square one. It happened more than once but I refused to quit. So I pushed through blood sweat and tears right through till the end of my 3rd year, and earned my certificate.
Zahara: Tell us a little about Lily & Lola Cakes (@lilylolacakes)? How did you and your sister get into baking?
Alya: My sister actually wanted to buy a cake for her then boyfriend, he was into music and wanted to get him a Fender guitar cake for his birthday. She looked around but everywhere was out of her budget. So being from the art background herself, she thought she could challenge herself by making one from scratch. So she did some research online got all the things she needed, had her laptop on the kitchen counter and watched a couple of Youtube videos on how to bake and decorate fondant cakes. It took her all night but the cake turned out really good for a 1st timer actually. After that, we started doing cakes for friends who had seen the guitar cake and the rest was history!
Zahara: The cakes you create look super unique! Especially that chandelier one! What’s been your favourite cake to make so far?
Alya: Oh no, this isn’t fair! It’s like having to choose your favourite between your children. But I think by far we have two favourites, the first glow in the dark crystal cake which is a first ever in the world and that upside down chandelier cake covered in swarovski crystals. But we love all our cakes!
Zahara: How can we get our hands on your delicious treats?
Alya: We are currently active on Instagram only and we take orders via Whatsapp. You can check out most of the different cake’s we’ve made on Instagram so far or send us a whatsapp and we’ll be happy to accommodate to create a cake based on your theme and what you’d like too!
Zahara: Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
Alya: Honestly, I have no idea! I know you're supposed to have a goal, and have a vision of your future so you have something to work towards. Like, I would never have thought I’d be doing a cake business in my life, but it turned out to be great turn of events! So I’m just going to go with the flow. Take it step by step. I'd want to do some travelling eventually, just got to find myself a travelling buddy. Haha. So maybe I can make that happen in 5 years’ time!
Zahara:What should every woman try at least once in her life?
Alya: Try something that scares you! Don't want to grow old and have any regrets with 'what if's' or 'I wonder what that'll be like'. It could be as simple as cutting your hair super short or skinny dipping, to something extreme like going skydiving! Just go ahead and try something that gets your heart racing.
Zahara: Complete this sentence: A beautiful woman is someone who ________.
Alya: is humble and has a kind heart. If she has a kind heart, she'll never be ugly. How could she? She who can see the beauty that lies within others even if they themselves cannot see it.
---- End----
Once again, a huge congratulations to Alya Osman, indeed a wonderful and beautiful girl inside and out.
Could you have guessed her amazing skills at baking cakes? She and her sister definitely out did themselves with both their multiple tier glow-in-the-dark cake and legendary chandelier cake! You girls are the true definition of an artist and a Zahara Warrior. We hope you continue to grow and achieve huge milestones in your endeavours.
Be sure to hit up Lily & Lola cakes to get your sweet tooth satisfied! We sure can’t wait to get our hands on their lovely treats!
Well, there you go! Our first Warrior feature of the year. Think you could be the next?
We’re so excited with what we have in store for everyone this year. 2018 will be a major year for Zahara and we can’t wait to share all the juicy details with you. Be sure to keep your eyes out for all of our latest posts to make sure you don’t miss out on any big news!
Till next time Warriors, you battle on!
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