MARCH FAVORITES

It's been a long time that I hadn't blog about my monthly favorites and that's because I'm dealing with some personal issues and been focusing on that more but I will try my very best to post blogs again. 

For now.. let's see the things that I had been loving for the whole month of March.

LAURA MERCIER SILK CREME FOUNDATION 

Laura Mercier was available now in Abu Dhabi and I'm over the moon excited when I saw their counter in the House of Fraser in World Trade Center Mall. I was dying to try the Silk Creme foundation as I have to cover a lot of breakout this month because of my hormonal imbalance. This is a very good full cover foundation and really gives you a luminous skin. I can say if you have a very oily skin you need a very good primer for this and also if you are living in a very humid place you have to skip this because it tends to slip on your skin after 5 hours if you have oily skin.

LAURA MERCIER TRANSLUCENT LOOSE SETTING POWDER 

Along with the foundation I also grab the Translucent Powder. I was going to buy the Brightening powder but when the lady on the counter told me to try the translucent powder and she tried it on me I was sold. It wasn't like the usual translucent powder that you can see everywhere that is white, it's more of like a beige-y color that actually for me looks more translucent than the white because this doesn't give you that white cast on your skin. That's why when she applied it on my face I was sold. Best translucent powder ever!

MAC SELECT COVER UP CONCEALER 

As I've said awhile ago, I had been battling with breakouts so a good concealer is a must to cover those breakouts. I had been switching between this concealer and the Make up Forever full cover that I purchased last December. But I felt like this covers my blemishes more specially when it's on the stage where it started to dry and the skin is darker which is very hard to cover. This really covers it so well more than anything else.

LUSH HERBALISM CLEANSER

I got few samples of this facial cleanser when I went to purchase fresh face mask. I was in a hunt for a good facial cleanser and after using it for a week I'm hundred percent sure of buying the regular size because it's so nice and my skin doesn't have a bad reaction to it and I think my skin likes it. My rashes and redness on my skin had stop after using this it was incredible. I just hope that this expires longer than it should. Because it's fresh it expires after 4 months so you have to consume it in 4 months which you can but if it was available on the store since January and you have to purchase one and it's already march so you have to spend a month trying to consume it or else it will be a waste which I'm trying to do now.

LUSH FACE MASK IN COSMETIC WARRIOR
I had been using the Cupcake fresh mask before I discover the Cosmetic Warrior and since this is good for oily skin and troubled skin I tried it and now I'm on my second tub. For some people they may not like it specially if you don't like the smell of it but for me I like it because it doesn't smell like garlic it smells more like a tea tree. This calms my skin specially on days where they just decided to appear on my skin and on days when I stayed up late. I love this and I will continue to use it.

REVLON LIP BUTTER IN LOLLIPOP
This lipstick was in my purse for almost 2 months now and I had been wearing it almost everyday. I don't know why I'm loving it but every time I use it I felt more "alive" shall we say or my face looks more alive than me. It's a fuschia toned color that you can apply light or heavy as you like or whatever you feel that day. I just love the texture the color and the feel on my lips.

LA ROCHE POSAY EFFACLAR DUO 
This is somehow works on my skin well. It helps my skin control the breakouts on areas that are breaking out a lot unless I stayed up late the night before. I noticed that I breakout a lot whenever I stayed late I don't know why. I use this as a moisturizer but it's not enough on areas that are normal because I have a oily combination skin so I need another moisturizer on areas that are normal or else it will be dry and flaky.

LA ROCHE POSAY EFFACLAR CLEANSING GEL
I had been using this cleansing gel as a replacement for my old Seba cleansing bar of course because of breakouts again. And since I had been using the Effaclar Duo and fell in love with it I thought I had to give the Cleansing Gel a try. It's amazing and I use it in the morning and evening and also helps my skin to calm down as well. It's gentle and after you wash your face with it your skin feels smooth and clean.

CLINIQUE SPOT GEL TREATMENT
I decided to switch to a Spot treatment that targets breakout because the Benoxyl peroxide really dries my skin out so I went to Clinique and tried the Spot treatment. This really helps but doesn't do it's magic overnight it will take days to see the results which is fine than burning your skin with harsh chemical.


Till the next monthly favorites! Have a great day!

SKIN CARE HAUL

I had been battling with breakouts this past few months and was worst last month since the breakout looks like an acne for me.

I never had an acne before however there will be 1-3 breakouts here and there but never stayed for a long time. I had an oily-combination skin and normal to dry during winter but this past few months my skin was acting so crazy that I was a bit depress and moody because I don't know what to do anymore.

So I did a research and experimentation on few products that might help me. Makeup Alley was a great help because of people's review and reaction on products that I wanted to try. So I narrow down the options to try and ended up with these items. Clinique was my trusty skincare regime ever since I had been with Clinique for years now and I'm still loving it. Additional to Clinique was the La Roche Posay Effaclar line and Lush for a more natural solution and Kiehl's to treat the scarring.

CLINIQUE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT MOISTURIZING GEL- 
This is my all time day moisturizer to battle my oily skin. It's designed to suit combination to oily skin. This makes your skin matte and helps your skin with too much secretion of oil. So I still kept this whenever my skin is clearing up and behaving well.

CLINIQUE  ACNE SOLUTION CLARIFYING LOTION - 
I had been with this toner for years to help me maintain a balance skin and controls the oiliness. This is a medicated formula that also unclog you pores. If your skin is a bit sensitive I advise you to use it only at night since you need thorough cleaning at night compared to morning because it dries your skin a bit.

CLINIQUE MOISTURE SURGE EXTENDED THIRST RELIEF MOISTURIZER -
That was a mouthful! Even though I have the Dramatically Different moisturizer I still kept this in case my skin was acting dry in some areas like my chin, around my nose and between my brows which tends to be drier because of the treatment that I'm using. And also for some areas that peel I need an extra hydration for them.

CLINIQUE SPOT HEALING GEL - 
This is my treatment for spots that are showing up. It helps minimizing the spot though it's not an overnight solution specially if it's an angry spot but if you catch it while it's starting it will minimize easily. I like it because it's a clear gel that you can put under your foundation you just need to let it dry for 30 sec to a minute before doing your makeup. I use it at night and sometimes in the morning if the spot is really bad.

LA ROCHE-POSAY - EFFACLAR DUO-
I heard this item from Tanya Burr and was eager to try it because of tons of good reviews from Makeup alley. It's a treatment for acne and blemish prone skin. This is a very good one. If you wanted to jump into calming your face for breakouts you have to try this.It helps you control the breakouts and unclogs your pores. I've heard that the formulation of the one sold in US was different because it contains Benoxyl Peroxide. I'm using the one which is made in France that is gentle to use as a moisturizer. So if my skin is acting bad I use this twice a day and if it's fine I use this only at night to maintain the treatment.

LA ROCHE-POSAY EFFACLAR PURIFYING CLEANSING GEL - 
I bought this after buying the Effaclar Duo because I feel like my Clinique Foam Cleanser was not working with my skin any more so I decided to try it. It says that it's a gently cleanses impurities while respecting the ph balance of the skin. Well I find it gentle and not drying. I think this also helps my skin control the breakout compared to the Clinique that I'm using before and it leaves my skin soft after washing. So far I'm loving this and will make a review about this if it continues to work with my skin.

LUSH FRESH FACE MASK IN COSMETIC WARRIOR- 
I was a fan of the Cupcake fresh mask but I wanted to try something more that really targets the acne prone skin. So although  I have doubts about this because of the garlic I still decided to get it. Actually that day when I reach home I clean my face and applied it to see if I'm going to like the smell and I noticed that the smell wasn't that bat after all. It smells more of a tea tree than the garlic and I'm still loving it and will definitely switch to this from now on.

LUSH HERBALISM CLEANSER- 
When I bought the Cosmetic Warrior I asked for a sample of the Herbalism because it says that its for troubled skin, thinking that maybe it will help my skin because it's all natural and maybe my skin will not get irritated for sure. So I also use this switching from the Sulfur soap to this. I noticed that my skin was softer and the bumps was slowly disappearing. This was like a heaven sent to me! Once I finished the sample I will definitely buy the regular tub. 

KIEHL'S CLEARLY CORRECTIVE DARK SPOT SOLUTION - 
After those spots invaded my skin I need to find a solution to clear the scars they left so I decided to try the Kiehl's and since I read a lot of reviews about this as well even if it's a bit expensive I still wanted to try it. As of now the scars on my left cheeks was lighter I had been using it for just 11 days and it was not as dark as they were before knowing that my skin heals very slow and usually it takes months to lighten. This doesn't break me out so it's a good thing.

I will soon make a skin care routine that works for Acne Prone and that was helping my skin right now. I still need to observe some of this items for my skin.

COLLECTIVE HAUL (PARIS GALLERY, SEPHORA, AREEJ & ILLAMASQUA)

Hi Everyone!

I got another haul for you guys :)

I had been hold for buying beauty products for a year and this is what happens. Some of  the things I bough was really needed and some are...something new to try on.

We went to Dubai Mall during the Eid Holiday. Dubai mall is where we go whenever I need to find something not sold in Abu Dhabi because most of the brands can be found there it's a very very big mall. And because I haven't been there and also I was supposed to meet with my sister that time but she was at the airport from 1am till 5am waiting if she will be pulled out for a flight and because we we're avoiding crowd we went there around 10am when everyone I guess is still sleeping so as my sister. My husband also need to buy some work out clothes and shoes so even meeting up my sister was cancelled we still decided to continue the plan.

First stop I discovered an Illamasqua store in Dubai Mall, It's new... I think because I'd never seen them before. It's a UK cosmetic brand and their skin base foundation was so popular but unfortunately I didn't try that one because I still have 1 more foundation to try and I bought a new foundation also to try, which I will show or tell you in a bit. There's not much products to try like most of their lipsticks are like 3 same shades on the tray so your just picking up the same shade you like repeatedly. And it's quite expensive than MAC so I decided to try their blush and of course I can't go out there without buying a lipstick.

I choose a blush called Nymph and it was like a soft pink with a bluish tone on it. Perfect girly blush. Then I grab a safe nude lipstick called Test. Both of them are highly highly pigmented. As of now I love both of them and I kept on using the Nymph blush ever since I bought it. And I also used the lipstick on my shoot which will also be posted soon.

Then I went to Sephora. Every time I go to Dubai Mall I make it a point to stop by Sephora and snoop for some new things to try plus I really needed to buy another Urban Decay Naked Palette. I gave my old one to my younger sister because she was asking me to buy her an eyeshadow palette when my husband and I were in Hong Kong for our honey moon and because I can't find anything nicer than the Naked Palette I just decided to gave it to her and will just buy a new one when I came back here in UAE. So I bought that and then I also wanted to try the Urban Decay Oil control make up setting spray called De Slick because my face turned to be very greasy now because of the weather here in UAE and I swear it's disgusting. So I wanted to try that if it works better than the All Nighter one and it actually does I'd been also using it everyday. 

Then I pass by the Bareminerals section and I love their eye shadows so much most specially the quad called "The Truth". So i decided to try the Bareminerals matte foundation because it will suit my needs now specially it's summer so a mineral loose powder might work for me I bought a shade Light because It has a yellow undertone and I'm more on yellow than beige and pink I'm so excited to do a full review on this because it's a very good foundation I can say for everyday though I still love my MAC Face and Body foundation also for summer.

Then the last item that I wanted to pick up in Sephora was the Huda Lashes. I used Huda Lashes on my wedding last April and I love it so much that I promised myself to buy another one. I bought a more dramatic one called Gisselle, the one i used on my wedding was Coco Jo. Coco Jo is a more natural looking lashes. It's just quite a bit expensive for my opinion and since I'm not wearing lashes everyday it's fine for me to buy this and keep it for a more important event.

Then I went to Areej to check the Estee Lauder because I wanted to actually try the Blush called Tease but unfortunately It's out of stock so my husband told me to choose another item that I wanted to try and I always love Estee Lauder Lip glosses because it's very pigmented but I can't find a nice color. Then when I look down I saw this duo eye shadows. It's called Pure Color Eyeshadow Duo in Rasins. Which is a very very nice color even my husband likes it I also like the Vanilla Pods but I choose the Raisins more because it's more interesting. I will come back there for sure and buy the Vanilla Pod and a 5 Eyeshadow palette because they're also lovely. Also the wonderful lady who assist me gave me a cute tote bag for free. Yay!

Then the last stop was at Paris Gallery because Clinique emailed me that they will be giving away a Eid Gifts which is a bag full of goodies when ever you prurchased 2 items. Since I needed to repurchased my moisturizer and I wanted to try a new skincare steps I went there and grab a few items. So I had been in the Acne Solution Clear Skin System for years now and since my skin is clear now. I wanted to try the 3 Step Skin care #3 for Combination to Oily Skin Type. Clinique has a trial kit or starter kit for their skin care which consist of toner, facial wash and a moisturizer in small bottle and tubes and I usually purchase a starter kit when I'm trying a new skin care routine, practically because I don't know if it will work for me or not so why spend buying the bigger sizes if you're just on trial. Then I still wanted to keep my Acne Solutions Clearing Moisturizer oil free to at least control some pimples coming out specially when your period is arriving. Another reason is because I love how it feels on my skin. I usually apply this all over my face at night. I also asked the girl at  the counter if I can still use it and she said it's fine as long as it still works on your skin. And as I've said they will be giving out a bag with goodies for their promotion, I got one which consist of High Impact Mascara, 7 day scrub cream, youth surge moisturizer, dual ended lipgloss and lipstick, black eyeliner, take the day off make up remover and pore refining solution correcting serum.

So that's it! That's  my haul from few beauty shops i trusted. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I will be doing full review on some products mentioned on this blog.

Have a great day!

JUNE FAVORITES

Another month had passed so quickly and every June I'm thinking that it's a half way to Christmas.. you'll never realize it's already December and you're pulling out your decorations :)

I love Summer because you tend to play with colors and wear colorful stuff like clothes, bags, shoes, nail polish and makeup. Neon is in this year but because of my complexion I'm kinda avoiding them. I love pastel though and that's what I'm wearing most of the time during spring season and summer right now I'm exploring with bright  lipsticks:)

So here's my favorites for the month of June with lotsa colors:)

1. MAC Face and Body - I had been using this since I bought this. It's a very lightweight foundation so it's good for Summer and hot weather because I always switch up to a lightweight foundation during summer because I can't justify why wearing a full coverage foundation when after 2 hours all is running down your face. I also have a review on this foundation if you wanna see an in depth review about MAC Face & Body Foundation.

2. RT Expert Face Brush - I'd been using this brush everyday to apply my foundation. I had been using my F84 Angled Kabuki Brush from Sigma which is also a good brush for applying foundation so when the RT Expert Face Brush arrived on my doorstep I'd been comparing them. For now i'm really impressed with this brush. It's so soft and blends the foundation so well with out leaving a streaks. If you want to see more information regarding this brush click here.

3. Burts Bees Refreshing Lipbalm with Pink Grapefruit - I bought this lipbalm during our honeymoon last May in Hong Kong for 45HKD. I heard so many good thing about this so I decided to try it out. I never been a fan of lip balm I feel so lazy applying them but when I had this I'm absolutely addicted with it. I can't stop myself from applying it from time to time. I think it's because of the scent. I can say it wasn't that moisturizing at all but it's just so addictive. So I ask my dad to buy me more in and give it to my sister when she fly to Hong Kong. I use it before applying my lipstick and it's sheers the lipstick application a bit.

4. Maybelline Vivid Lipstick in Shocking Coral - Ohhh! This is interesting. It's June so it's DSS (Dubai Summer Sale) where most of the stores are on sale with really good discounts. So when my friends and I passed by a store called Lifestyle and checked out some lip products I saw this on the Maybelline shelf and was so shocked with the colors. I never grabbed this color at first because it's quite "shocking" like I know from then it will not suit my complexion so I bough the Vivid Rose and Hot Plum which is so gorgeous as well. Then when I went home and check some reviews on the you tube I saw a lot of people likes the shocking coral so I went to the mall to check the color again and still have the same impression from the day before so I just bought it together with the Neon Red and then my husband complemented it so it was a surprise. My husband btw complemented my lipstick just twice since we'd been together and that's the Angel from MAC and this lipstick and he bought me one more from this collection it's called Electric Orange.

5. MAC Highland Honey Blush (limited edition) - This blush is a limited edition from the Tartan Tale collection. I love wearing this blush during summer because it gives me a nice summery glow that I like. It's a peachy orange color with a little sheen to it. I love peaches blush and really complements my skin. Whenever I wear this blush I feel like it was so natural and I feel so happy whenever I wear it. It's like the feeling when you're wearing something like your favorite color dress or even your favorite dress and it makes you happy, That's the same feeling when I'm wearing this blush. It's just lovely!

6. MAC Select Cover up Concealer in NW25 - I had been using this for quite a long time now and I haven't reviewed this yet. This is a great concealer perhaps the second to my list of wonderful concealer I had ever used. It's stays there and never moved till I end my day. I can say it's great for normal to oily skin but not to dry skin. If you're a normal to oily and looking for a great concealer that cover's well then you should give this a try.

7. Burjois Eyeliner in Bronze - I had been obsess with this eyeliner for a long time and now I can't find it anywhere it makes me feel sad because this is my go to eyeliner whenever I feel lazy on doing my eyes I just smudge this on my lids and make a thick line near the lash lines, up and down. So this might be my last Bronze eyeliner. 

8. Revlon Grow Lash Mascara - When I bought this mascara for my wedding last November I never was impressed with it because it's very liquidy but the more I used it the more it becomes dry the more I'm liking it. This is a good mascara I can say it holds up curls so well and gives your lashes a volume. I like this mascara compared to my Benefit they're real mascara.

9. Rimmel Eye Brow Pencil in Brown - I had been struggling with looking for an eyebrow pencil to replace my Define a Brow from Maybelline which was discontinued. This is a descent Eye brow pencil but I'm still in the search of an eyebrow pencil that I will feel in love with. I hate the waxy feeling of some eyebrow pencils and most of those eyebrow pencil on the market now is waxy. This Rmmel on the other hand is not as waxy as the other but the color doesn't match my eyebrow so what I do is put my Missha Eyebrow kit on top of it.   Until I find something that I love, for now I'm going to stick with this.

10. Clinique Happy Perfume - I had a problem with perfumes and I can't stop buying perfume if  I smell something that I like I'm absolutely taking it. But there are few perfumes that I kept on repurchasing this is one of them. Most of us love this scent and I think because it's something that's not so overpowering it's just a calm scent. Scent that will make you "happy" hahahaha! I'm really bad in describing scents.

Random Favorites for the month

1. The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts - This book has been on my Kindle for quite some time now so I decided to start reading it and it's nice it's not. I just like the attitude of each person in this book. Plus there is a mystery ghost involved in this book. I can say It's a simple story and a book that you can read when you feel you wanna be loved.

2. Loose Sleeveless - I had been loving this kind of tops where it's big and loose and has a big arm hole where you need to were a spaghetti strap underneath or a nice bra however you can't to that here because you have to follow the rules and you can't wear revealing clothes here. So if you want to wear something like this you have to wear something underneath to avoid more skin showing up. But this is a good summery clothes it's not tight and it just feel so light and comfortable to wear.

3. Lacnor Juices - I don't drink sodas anymore unless there's nothing to drink than a soda but as much as possible I am avoiding it so it's either I drink Juice or water. So this month I decided to start drinking more juices so I kept on stocking juices on my fridge and whenever I feel like I wanted something sweet after a meal I grab a juice instead of chocolates which keeps me away from consuming unreasonable bar of chocolates because I'm also trying to cut away some sweets.

So that's all my favorites for this month I hope you guys enjoyed it :)
will blog soon:)

MARCH FAVORITES

I haven’t done favorites for a long time because I had been juggling my time between work, wedding and being a wife. I’ll blog some details about my wedding soon :) for now I want to share with you some products that I had been frequently using for the whole month of march.

1. RIMMEL STAY MATTE FACE POWDER - I saw this from Tanya Burr a youtube guru and she kept on saying that this powder is so good. I had been using MAC’s careblend powder for years now since it was released 2 years ago so I’m a bit hesitant for trying something new product specially to replace something that I love for years. So one day when I was doing some shopping I decided to grab some Rimmel Products and I grab this powder. I had been using it for a month now and it was so damn good. My face stays matte for the whole day compared to my MAC careblend. So I’m giving a thumbs up for this product plus I saved more than half of the price of my usual powder.

2. RIMMEL KATE MOSS LIPSTICK in 08 - I had been using this product almost everyday for about 2 months now. It’s a perfect shade if you want to pull up a nude pink lip for an everyday look. It has a creamy texture and a bit moisturizing on the lips not drying. The smell is good compared to some Rimmel lip products. I’m planning to try few more shades but as of now this is my go to everyday lip color.

3. UD NAKED BASIC PALETTE - I love Naked Palette whenever Urban decay is releasing some products from the line of Naked. I’m so on the hype of getting it. Unfortunately UD release the products few months late here in the UAE so im purchasing it online. With it’s very basic colors what I do is put a cream color base on my lids and top it with colors from the palette and define it with the dark colors. It’s more convenient to use it and throw it on your make up bag instead of carrying different shades of eye shadows. It’s perfect for day to night look.

4. MAYBELLINE METALLIC COLOR TATOO in INKED IN PINK - I love Maybelline line of color tatoos. I purchased this pink color online because it’s still not available here in UAE I think it will be after 6 months or so. It’s a perfect pink base for me. Sometimes when I’m so lazy I just put it on my lids alone. The only thing I don’t like about this product when you put more on your lids it’s really hard to blend because it dries do quickly the good thing is it stay on my lids for the whole day but not 24hrs. It creases a bit after 10 hrs. 

5. MAC EYE KHOL in TEDDY - I was in a MAC store and was trying to

purchased POWERSURGE eye khol when I saw this teddy and fell in love with it instantly. I even dropped the Powersurge and grab the Teddy when a MAC representative told me that the powersurge was out for a long time now and might be out soon so I just grab both of them. But since I bought them I’d been using teddy everyday and the powersurge for I think twice. It’s very creamy and glides on smoothly and so easy to apply the color was describe as intense bronze but I think it’s more of dark chocolate brown with bronze. If you want to try a more than the basic plain brown eyeliner try this teddy.. It’s just perfect!! 

6. ESSIE NAIL POLISH MINT CANDY APPLE - I was so hesitant to choose this color because I never used pastel on my nails because I don’t think it will compliment my skin tone but when I tried ahhh… i feel so  springy so ready for the spring. My husband like it too. It’s the perfect spring mint shade. A must try for spring.

7. CLINIQUE MOISTURE SURGE INTENSE SKIN FORTIFYING HYDRATOR - I had been using clinique for about 3 years now and It has been my HG when it comes to my skin routine. This winter my skin became to dry and flaky so I went to Clinique with my husband and they gave me a sample for this Moisture Surge Intense because I don’t want to purchase new products and if it didn’t work i’ll just throw it on my cabinet with the other products that didn’t  work for me. So I still do my Skin routine and after my usual moisturizer I put a layer of this as well and after 2-3 days i feel my skin more moisturized and smooth unlike before that it was so tight and uncomfortable. So maybe by summer my skin will get back to its normal condition as before.

So that’s it for my monthly favorites. Till next month. :)

xoxo - chel