PENDA SARR

Zanzi

10:53:00 AM

The word "Zanzi" signifies extreme happiness, excitement, and energy someone is feeling. It's also the name of this set f...

The word "Zanzi" signifies extreme happiness, excitement, and energy someone is feeling. It's also the name of this set from Tongoro Studio (https://www.tongoro.com/). The name is fitting, because I felt so happy when I was wearing this bright, colorful, and unique ensemble. Plus, Beyoncé has the same one so I felt like a queen.

The set itself is a tie crop-top and high waisted flared pants. You can wear the top on your shoulder or off of it (we love versatile pieces). Out of everything in the look, what really caught my eye was the colors and the print. Different shades of blue and brown, mixed together to create a lovely pattern.

The set was gifted to me back in December. As soon as I tried it on, I just knew I had to shoot it back home in Senegal. And luckily, I spent my Christmas vacation there so it all worked out. I feel like this is a an outfit that's meant to be worn in a tropical city that's full of creative and artistic energy, and that's exactly what Dakar is.

When I was putting together location ideas for this shoot, I had two things in mind: 1) I wanted one location to be in a busy area where most "car rapides" (the equivalent of buses) were parked and 2) for the second spot to be in a quiet, secluded area, to contrast with the business of the streets with the buses.

Like the outfit, the designs on the car rapides were unique and colorful. Some of the bus' colors even matched the ones on the set. The bus drivers were nice enough to let us lean against their cars, and some even asked if they could be a part of the shoot haha! That's one thing I really like about Senegal, everyone is always welcoming and willing to lend you a hand.

The second part of this shoot was near a beach in downtown Dakar. I wanted this area specifically because I knew we would really be able to capture the outfit without any backdrop distractions. Sometimes busy backgrounds are nice but I wanted the outfit to really stand out, without anything taking your eye away from it.

This place was quite peaceful. We were surrounded by calm water, and a few locals who were either chatting amongst themselves, or taking care of their boats.

At one point, I got on top of some rocks and admired the view around me, it was spectacular ! I saw small and cute pirogues on the water so I asked the photographer if we could get on one to get some cool shots.

Now, here's the thing. I didn't just want any regular shots haha, I wanted nice angled pictures, which would require the photographer to get on top, have his feet spread apart so they could be on both ends of the boat, all while we were moving. This wasn't an easy task, but he was willing. We wanted a boat for about just 5 minutes, so we had to negotiate with the fishermen there to "rent" it for a fee (I respect the hustle). Immediately after getting on the boat, I fell into a pile of freshly caught fish (legit showered like 10 times that evening when I got home). I was a bit discouraged, but I thought to myself that the end result would be worth it, and it was:

Everything about this shoot was amazing. I loved the outfit, the energy I was around, the passion and creativity of the photographer, and of course, the fact that I was at peace, and at home.

Thank you for reading and see you soon :)

Connect with me:

Instagram: @pendasarr

Outfit details:

Set: Tongoro Studio

Get the look!

Set:

https://www.tongoro.com/shop/zanzi-set-7

Photographer: Aldi Diasse (

https://www.instagram.com/aldidiasse/?hl=en)

15-min makeup look

7:33:00 PM

Doing my makeup is one of my favorite things, I find it therapeutic. Whenever I have a bit more time, I like to go to my beauty corner and p...

Doing my makeup is one of my favorite things, I find it therapeutic. Whenever I have a bit more time, I like to go to my beauty corner and play around.

I'm much more of a lipgloss than lipstick person. However, I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone and not always do my go-to nude lip combo. I had some free time this weekend so I decided to do a quick look, with a cute red lip.

To make sure my skin was well-prepped, I first applied some hyaluronic acid to my face, and then I sealed it with a Korean moisturizer. I wanted my look to be minimal so afterwards, I applied one coat of my Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation in the shade “amber honey”. To make my base more seamless, I then put some of my Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r concealer in the shade #320 with the help of my beauty blender. I applied the concealer on my chin, cupid’s bow, and under my eyes. I didn’t want to conceal my forehead, so I left it out.

Afterwards, I set the areas I applied the concealer to with the Laura Mercier translucent loose setting powder in the shade “medium deep”. Once I finished that, I applied a bit of fix plus to blend out all the products. Afterwards, I used some of my Ulta contour kit to bronze my nose and cheekbones. For my last touches, I added a deep rosy blush from my Elf kit, and then highlighted my nose, cupid’s bow and upper cheekbones with my shimmering skin perfector from Becca in the shade "topaz". To finalize and set everything in place, I re-applied some fix plus, and then I used my NYX matte setting spray.

Once my face was done, I focused on the lips. I first moisturized them with the Laneige lip sleeping mask. Then I lined my them with a deep red lipliner from NYX. Finally, I added two coats of the Fenty Beauty stunna lip paint in the shade "uncensored".

I definitely need to wear more red lipstick, especially in this shade. It's a beautiful, bright color, and it ended up matching my beret and red nails ;)

Thank you for reading :)

With love,
Penda

Lady in Red

10:30:00 AM

Red has become one of my favorite colors because it's so bold, and you definitely stand out when you wear it in a monochromatic outfit...

Red has become one of my favorite colors because it's so bold, and you definitely stand out when you wear it in a monochromatic outfit. During my vacation back home in Senegal, I was really keen on wearing bright colors to sort of match the city's vibrancy.

I opted for an all-red look. I wanted everything to match, even my heels. Interestingly, most people who saw me that day asked me where I got this set from. This actually isn't a set, it's a separate top and bottom that I put together because the colors were very similar.

What I love most about this outfit is how comfortable it is. The top has a stretchy feel to it, so it's easy to move around in, especially in a busy city like Dakar.

(I'm sitting on this beachside restaurant's couch like I pay rent)

Also, we know I'm a sucker for all things off-the-shoulder so of course, the fact that that I got to wear this beautiful top made my day 100% better. Thank God I wore this on that particular day too, because it was so hot. If I had worn anything else I think I would have melted haha!