Life Lately #9

Wow I did not take enough pictures this week. I mean really there is about 50 photos of Mate, Yalla and Zulu and about 5 of other things. It was just one of those weeks I guess. I still wanted to make the post so here goes..

1. A lovely little dinner party with my favorite ladies Laura and Simone. There was food, a lot of loud laughing and all around midweek merriment. I am so so grateful and happy I have found these people in the sandpit as I dont think Dubai is the easiest place to make friends. Acquaintances sure but friends not so much. As usual I urge you to take a look at Simones super awesome vlog to get a glimpse of this festivity.

2. I had a work lunch at Eataly in Dubai mall. I have passed the place many times but never made it in. Well I almost fainted once I saw the cheese selection. It didn't feel right to go full on cheese shopping crazy at that time but I will so be back. They make their own mozzarella to top it all off! Italian food is high up of my favorite cuisines list so Im excited to go back and try out some more items on their menu.

3. Whats your favorite item to buy when sale season hits? One of mine is pretty bedding and I'm a huge fan of West Elm. Zara home does some beauuutiful bedding as well but sales at West Elm are always way better. I have gotten into a habit of picking up at least one set ever sale and this time was no different. Love the ikat pattern set I got for 50% off! The furry accessories on the bed are priceless.

4.-6. The bottom row of pictures are all taken yesterday at a new pop up style Surfers Market I had the pleasure to be part of. Surf House Dubai is such a cool place with a great vibe and I was excited to take part of the market with my sisters New Vintage by Kriss jewelery. There was loads of other  vendors. I especially loved the super cool yoga gear by HotBoxKit and beautiful pom pom trimmed beach and lounge wear by Nikki Vass. I came home with a few pretties and the white crop top is my favorite. I think this is a beginning of a pompom mania for me. Already searching for more pieces with that detail.

Thats it. I promise to be better this week although today marks the beginning of holy month Ramadan and life in Dubai slows down remarkably.

Hope you are having a lovely Sunday!

Current Skincare

I will start this with a spoiler- I know very very little about skincare. I like reading about it and I love testing out new products but my actual knowledge about this subject is rather limited. So please keep that in mind.

I have mentioned before that my skin is normal/combination and blemish prone. A month ago the humidity hit Dubai and my skin went extra bad- normal became flaky dry and T-zone became proper oily. So I have switched up a few products for the summer months and it seems to help. My make up sits good and the blemishes are slowly disappearing. Something is working and I intend to keep most of this routine up.

So here goes my daily evening skincare routine.

1. Dermalogica PreCleanse oil to remove my make up. I had never ever used a oil based skincare product before and was worried it will give me breakouts but non of that nonsenses happened. Instead I fell in love with it. It melts away the impurities and the makeup so easily. It smells lovely. I give my face a little massage working the oil into dry skin and then wetting my hands I work it in more. I wash it off with lukewarm water.

 2. I follow with Vichy Normaderm Deep Cleansing Gel. This range is for combination/oily skin which is acne and shine prone. It has a little bit of Salicylic Acid which works well for my skin and it still feels gentle enough for use daily. Its nothing special but I have enjoyed using it.

About twice a week I use Dermalogica Skin Resurfacing Cleanser instead of the Vichy one. Now this one I love and felt an almost immediate change in my skin. This is an exfoliating cleanser with one of my favorite skincare components- Lactic acid. Lactic acid helps to accelerate cell turnover and really keeps my skin smoother and bump free. Its a highly active formula so I dont use it more than 2 times a week. I think this product made the biggest change in my skin. Its all kinds of fantastic.

I keep Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pore & Shine in my shower. I love the citrus scent and the gentle exfoliating bits in it. I use it once in a while. Its good value for money and feels great on the skin.

 3. If I wore waterproof mascara I will generally do a quick wipe down with Loreal Paris Make-up Remover Eyes & Lips Waterproof. I have used this for about 10 years and its in my books the best value for money when it comes to waterproof make-up removers.

4. The Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 for combination/oily skin is a brand new addition. I admit I should have done a bit more research before I picked this one up as one of the main ingredients is alcohol and you can really smell it. The strong smell is not pleasant and I think the formula is a bit too harsh for me. I just wanted to reduce the shine and figured maybe this one helps but now I'm not sure. I cant use this daily so have been switching between this and Herbaline Essentials Cucumber & Rose Water Skin Tonic. Herbaline one is mild, lovely and fresh. It has spring water and rose water and other organic ingredients and I like it a lot but I dont think it does anything in the matter of helping reduce the shine.

5. I have been trying to pin down the next "best ever" serum and moisturizer. Until I make my decision and part with the pile of money it will inevitably cost I have the trusty Bodyshop Vitamine E Overnight Serum-in-oil and night cream to finish up. I especially like the serum-in-oil. It really plumps up my skin. I have my eyes on Khiels Midnight Recovery Concentrate or one of the Claudaile serums? Have you tried these?
For eyes I have been loving the Dermalogica Ultrasmoothing Eye Serum.

I would really appreciate recommendations for serum and toner if you have combination skin like I do. Is there something that your swear by? I'm a bit lost in the world of skin care.

OOTD- The Dress That Makes You Twirl

I assume you are all readers of my lovely friend Laura's blog and therefor know the immense enabling power the girl has.

She sent me a picture of her new ASOS Debutant Full Midi dress before she posted anything online and I immediately went and ordered it. I knew that it will be sold out in minutes if I dont get to it before her blogpost goes live. And that is exactly what happened.

Its has since come back in stock and now is almost sold out again so act fast(or keep checking back as Im sure it will come back in stock in no time again).

 In the world of navigating between ASOS hits & misses this dress is a big time hit. The fabric is great, the fit and flare cut is soo flattering and its a midi (!!).But like exactly right length midi-ending just above the knee. Im happy I got the black(there is no such thing as too many black dresses. I mean there is but I choose to believe different) however I badly crave the nude version as well.

I admit the neckline (aka boobage) is a tad too reveling for day time but its a perfect perfect evening dress. I have a lot of cocktail events with work and this will probably be my favorite go to for a while. The pleated skirt has structure and quite frankly the dress just makes me want to twirl. Like a lot. Like when we were taking these photos about 80% of them is me twirling until Morgan told me to stop.

 So to sum it up. I LOVE THIS DRESS! A lot..thank you Laura!

And I also wanted to show you how the Maybelline ColorSensation Vivid lipstick I recently bought looks on. So here is the Vibrant Mandarin in action.

p.s. Expect to see a lot of OOTD pictures with the same background now. Our sand filled balcony is as far as I can venture to catch the soft evening light and not look like I ran a marathon prior. I have probably mentioned "a few" times..its hot and humid here!

Life Lately #8

Lets do the usual recap right? The bits of my week that I managed to capture with my iPhone.

- A very fun girls night with Laura and Simone. We went to Jamies Italian for food and made our way to Shades pool bar for shisha and a glass of wine after. The first picture is the view of that pool bar which really is the main attraction of the place. Its doesn't fail to impress me even after 2 years. To get a better idea of the view and what we got up to I urge you to take a look at Simones latest vlog. Our clip involves a lot of giggling.

- I was all strong and determined to not go check out the sales right when they started. I'm going to NYC in August and the only smart thing to do until then is save my hard earned pennies. However as you could read in my last post I somehow ended up in Mall of Emirates on Thursday anyway. The only dress I wanted was not on sale so I just got some bits at Boots. I know its just a simple white dress but it has pockets (why is that always SUCH a selling point for me?) and would be so easy to wear.

- it rarely happens that I can get a photo with all my animals together. The cats kind of hate each other and Mate is scared to get in between them hissing so he keeps away. For some reason the cuddle needs on Friday morning made them overcome all differences and they were all in bed for extra morning attention. I just love them soo soo much! My little zoo!

- there is soo many cool places and events happening in Dubai. We went to a pop-up shop at Capital D photo studio. It had loads of new online stores showing their merchandise and I could have left a lot poorer had I not forgotten my wallet home. It was a cool vibe anyway, with yummy mexican food and I picked up loads of business cards from the new stores. That should satisfy my never ending online shopping need for a while.

- every weekend me and Morgan talk how much we would like to go to the beach and how our tans have faded to nothing but by the time we wake up and finish breakfast its over +40 degrees. I mean I'm not gonna fry myself in that heat, I dont need that tan so bad. But Saturday morning we got up earlier and were at the beach at 9:30am already. An hour was doable even if it meant mainly being in the water and using SPF50 of course. We were home by 11am and by noon the temperature was 43c. I dont think there will be many trips to the beach in the cards.

How was your week? What were the highlights?

Tiny Little Non Haul

You see I only bought 3 things that surely doesnt count as a haul right? So lets call it a non haul just so I feel better.

It happened cause I "needed" to go check out the Zara sale which surprisingly didn't end up with any purchases. Instead there was a white dress in Gap that I really really want but it was not on sale so I numbed my heart and left it. To ease my pain I walked straight into Boots cause that's always a great idea.

My previous felt eyeliner has tragically dried up and Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner looked promising. It has a ultra thin felt tip which is what I was looking for so that went into the basket. The Dream Touch blush came as a gift because I purchased 2 items from Maybelline. Im not hugely into cream blushes but will give this one a try out of curiosity.

Now to the good bits. I have been stalking the Bourjois counter for a month now and the Rouge Edition Velvet in Red Pepper is always out of stock! The pink version is pretty much my favorite matte formula ever and I really wanted to add this bright red one. I snagged up the last one according to the sales lady ( lesson- its always worth checking into Boots)

Dreaming about orangey lips is also a new hobby of mine.  Its all red and full on pink for me most days and I would love to switch it up. Maybelline ColorSensation Vivid range looked like they are worth a try, will not break the bank and there is sooo many shades available, so I chose Vibrant Mandarin. There was a few other shades that I might need to investigate if I will love this formula. I will post some FOTDs soon so you can see the lipsticks in action.

So this is it- my non haul! Well I did make a detour into Bath&Bodyworks but will not bore you with pictures of hand-soap and candles.

Have you tried any of these products?
I would especially love to hear if you have any favorite shades in ColorSensation range that I should check out?

White Chocolate No-Bake Cake

Its time to eat cake. Well first you have to make it but the good news is this particular insanely good white chocolate cake doesn't even involve baking. Because if it feels like you are inside an oven daily anyway I really dont feel like turning up the heat in my kitchen.

The recipe is from one of my favorite Estonian food blogs so if you can read Estonian and can get all the things in the original recipe, lucky you!  Its so super easy to make and totally fool proof and I will translate it to English for you as I assume your Estonian is less than fluent.

You will need:

Crust:
250g of chocolate or cacao cookies ( I chose to use Oreos because well.. If you have ever tasted Oreos you know why!)
75g of melted butter

 Filling:
 400g of ricotta
300g of white chocolate
200ml of whipping cream
Strawberries ( original recipe uses frozen berries but I went with fresh ones)

-Crush the cookies and mix them with melted butter. Press the mixture evenly into a 22cm cake pan. Pop into the fridge.

-Melt the chocolate in a water bath (even the slightest bit of water in your melting chocolate will ruin it so look out).

-Whip the cream and mix it with ricotta. Add the melted chocolate.

-Slice the strawberries and cover your crust with them. Then pour the filling in.

This is the first gif I have ever made. Excuse me if I'm a tad over excited about it.

You have to leave the cake in the fridge overnight which is basically the only hard part about this. Everything else is so easy and fast. And the cake is super delicious I promise!

I have never been very into no-bake cakes but this one made me a believer so I will be trying out more. Let me know if you have any go to recipes?

OOTD - Pale Pink and Faux Leather

First of all before you get shocked on further scrolling I need to tell you something. Im wearing faux leather shorts in this post (!!??). Me- the girl who almost never wears shorts and whose wardrobe is made up of flowy, feminine dresses actually owns a pair of those and wears them out of the house! This is just cray-cray I know.

But lets ease you into this by starting with the top. Remember in this post I told you how I enabled myself into buying some tops from Mango. The pink strap top is one of them. It is now on sale and I'm tempted to pick up a few more colors cause its great. Thick material that falls nicely, it has inner lining so its not see through, great length to also wear with jeans, pastel colors to choose from- ticks all the right boxes if you ask me. Mine is a very pale pastel pink but as the pictures were taken at sunset the sky was a bit pink as well and the right color doesn't really show on these photos.

 Should we address the shorts next? They are a few years old from Blanco so I cant give you a link. I tried to find something similar that is in stores atm but everything is too short( like these..soo teeny tiny!). You see the thing I love the most about these fake leather shorts is their cut. Its high waist, slouchy leg and its end almost mid thigh. So even if the leather material suggest an edgy sexy vibe the cut is not ass skimming or tight.

Honestly I dont wear these shorts very often but once in a blue moon I feel like it and this weekend was one of those times.

The cuff is from COS. I dont see the exact one in stores now but this is pretty similar. Earrings are tiny rock crystal squares from Rocking Halo collection by NVbyK. They go with everything and are at the moment my most worn earrings.

Whats your "faux leather shorts"? I mean do you have an item in the closet that doesn't really match with the rest of your style but makes you feel great once in a while?

Life Lately #7

This is whats been going on in the past week:

- I finally got to meet Rose (the Batdog) a chihuahua rescue and newest member of Lauras pack. She is adorable and has come a long way in the few weeks she has been in her new family. She is still wary of strangers and humans in general but I got to hold and stroke her for a bit. Seeing her and Lauras other dog Roger play made me want to rescue a second pup soo soo badly. Mate deserves to have a buddy, he cant be forced into only chilling with crazy Arabian bin kitties for the rest of his life. All in good time but its happening one day I know it!

-there was a fun Thursday evening with champagne and sheesha and lots of girl talk. I think it was also the last time this summer I will sit outside for sheesha. It wasn't really all that pleasant anymore (I mean temperature wise.. staff brought us cold towels at one point. I think they felt bad for us) but you power through these things if you live in Dubai. Its just soo hard to come to terms that next 4 months you are bound indoors when the whole city is full of amazing terraces, rooftops and fantastic views. I'm not ready to give it all up yet.

-a catch up with my pretty friend Diana who is leaving us behind for a few months to enjoy the perfection that is Estonian summer ( I couldn't be more jealous and happy for her at the same time). Reem al Bawadi is the place for those mid week dinners for us usually.

- Alphabetbags is my new obsession. I had been following them on Instagram for a while but now that my first order arrived I just want so many more cute bags. I got a small makeup bag you saw in the previous post and the "You look lovely today" tote. I really want this canvas pouch next. It would look great as a clutch right?

- me and the husband are making an effort to eat healthier. By no means are we on a diet but less bread and pasta and more veggies and salads. This can only be achieved if we eat at home more cause I can never choose the healthy option when eating out (and there is always that bread basket that I cant stop reaching for). I just dont have the willpower. So I have been making the weekly dinner menu ahead and we do a proper grocery shopping on Saturdays. Salads are the easiest to whip together after a long work day and this one is our current favorite- spinach, cucumber, avocado with halloumi cheese and homemade pesto sauce. YUM! (p.s. I know having cheese on a salad kind of defeats the purpose a little but one thing I can never ever give up is cheese! Cheese is my BFF!)


If you would like more daily snippets of my life or just want to nosy around for more pictures join me on Instagram (@thelauracarlson) and Twitter ( but be warned..Im new to Twitter!).

I Like You

There is a few newbies in my make up routine that I have been meaning to share with you. Things I have picked up or been gifted and I have really enjoyed using as the weather gets more silly by the day (Hello +42c!).

Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream- I think I saw Lisa Eldridge talk about this in a few videos and made a little note months ago. Now as all my favorite bases just felt too thick and mineral powders didn't sit well due the weird dry patches I have going on I was on a hunt for something new. Noticed it at Boots and decided to give it a go. Bourjois foundations are my favorite from the drugstore make up . I always have a Healthy Mix in my stash and I like Happy Light as well. And the CC cream did not disappoint either. I really love this. Its lightweight and luminous yet has way more coverage than I expected. Let is be stated that this is the first ever BB or CC cream I have tried. It really evens out the red and feels super hydrating. I will seal the T zone with a bit a powder but if it wasn't this hot I think I wouldn't even need to do that. All in all I'm so happy with it and if you like a dewy, luminous and smooth base for summer I cant recommend this enough. Oh and it has SPF15!

By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock- a much raved creamy eyeshadow stick that I had been dying to try. I got my hands on the shade Misty Rock thanks to the lovely Stacey. First of all the consistency is so silky and easy to blend and this shade is totally up my alley as well. A gorgeous shimmery plum-taupe with flashes of pink and silver. Its just a joy to wear (I do always use primer under it so it wouldn't crease). A swipe over the lids for a light shimmer or built up for more color. I'm also still in love with my Mac Sable eyeshadow and Misty Rock works so well over it. I will try to post a make up look with it asap as I think its a bit difficult to explain how pretty this shade is. Thank you Stacey!

YSL Gloss Volupté in No19 Rose Orfevre- this was a gift from Simone and I dont know how will I ever repay it because this is my favorite lip gloss formula.. like.. ever! Its so light weight and non-sticky but insanely glossy. It smells like apricots and I have been wearing it almost daily! The shade is a pretty light pink with small golden flecks in it. I feel a strong need to pick this up in many many more shades.

Clarins Eclat Minute Natural Lip Perfector in 01- this is one of those perfect lip products that feel more like a balm but have a little bit of gloss to them. The shade I picked up is a pink but it looks more like my own smooth natural lips rather than painted ones. It feels very nourishing and is a products that always comes handy in your daily makeup. I really like the tube packaging also.

Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief- I got this sample a while back and only dug it out recently as my skin is playing tricks on me. Its such a refreshing cream-gel moisturizer. Feels lightweight and really puts the moisture back into my drenched dry spots plus its oil-free. Works well under make up. Will go into my 'must purchase' list once the sample runs out.

Last but not least is my new little makeup bag with a glittery L by Alphabet Bags. Perfect size for the small amount of products I carry around daily and just pretty to look at as well. I think I might do post about my daily make up bag and whats inside. What do you think?

Have you discovered any must have summer products lately? Would love to hear..

Polished / For the Love of Essie

Its been ages since I wrote about nail polishes and that only like one of my favorite subjects. 

I was just being extra good and did not buy any new polishes for well over a month. And all the old favorites you have already seen. So June rolled around and I figured I have been a goody-goody long enough lets just get shopping. Sephora in City Walk mall stocks Essie and..well I went there to "check it out' (read: with a mindset of "buy everything"). So didn't exactly ease myself into nail-polish shopping as not one but three polishes just felt NECESSARY. I will say it right now- these might just be my TOP 3 current favorites.

Lets get to it shall we. First up is this beauuutiful pastel that I had been eyeing on different blogs- Lilacism. It has more of a grey undertone than my other purple pastels and it feels much more work appropriate than a pastel green or blue. I absolutely love this shade! I know I say this about every new pastel polish I get my hands on but this one is my favorite. For now.

Next up is what I think might be the most perfect nude ever - Topless&Barefoot. I dont buy many nude shades as its easy to get it wrong and I never wear it later. In the bottle they all look so similar but on the nails they often don't compliment the skin tone and make the hands look a bit drab. They are either too brownish or the shade is too cold but this one is everything a nude should be. Its subtle creamy pinkish nude that makes your hands look great and nails look healthy. How perfect a nude looks on your nails has everything to do with your skin tone and Topless&Barefoot is an all around winner in my book!

And then we come to The Perfect Red- Fishnet Stockings. This is a polish I have owned and loved before and I missed having it in my collection again. Its just one of those reds that will instantly make you feel like a lady. Here' s a fun fact for you- It is apparently one of the favorite nail polishes of Dita Von Tees. If anyone knows a classic feminine red nail that's her right? Its not too blue undertone and I think it would look great on any skin tone because you know..its perfect ( oh did I say that word in this post already?)

I am wearing 2 coats of polish + Essie Good to Go topcoat on all the photos. Essie polishes are super easy to apply and they stay looking good on me around 4-5 days which I consider a pretty good deal.

Oh and here is a picture of Zulu for no reason other than I think she is so pretty.

Whats your favorite Essie polishes at the moment? Do I absolutely NEED to get some more shades?

The Benefit Bits

Ohh I was soo excited to get my Glambox last month. I have been wanting to show you the new toys but needed some time to play around so I can write down my thoughts. It was a Benefit box with tiny "can-barely-handle-the-cuteness' sized samples of 5 products and 4 of them were on my wishlist. So this couldn't have worked out better.

Big Easy Multi-Balancing Complexion Perfector- Its a liquid to powder formula that is somewhere between a BB cream and a tinted moisturizer. Unfortunately the shade I got is a bit too dark but as one of its promises is adapting to your skin tone I gave it a go anyway. It does blend well and definitely has a powdery finish. The coverage is light, so something I would only whip out on my very good skin days and even then I need help from a concealer. The evening of skin and blurring of pores is excellent. Now lets just put it out there, my skin seems to be going through an identity crises at the moment. We are talking mega oily T-zone, dry patched on the cheeks and overall confusion.Not sure if its just freaked out by the constant combo of +40c or full blast AC. Big Easy is aimed for oily/combination skin and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't cling to my dry patches however in about 2 hours my forehead was shining like a disco ball. Not cool!
Would I purchase- Maybe. I feel there must be something better for light coverage summer skin but its not a definite no.

the Porefessional- this is a balm that's supposed to minimize the appearance of pores. Kind of a primer really and you are supposed to blend a light layer just over your T-zone and where ever else you want to smooth the texture of your skin and blur imperfections. After layering on my foundation I could really see the difference. It works very well and does what it says. It also kept the shine away noticeably longer.  The issue for me is -first of the two ingredients in this balm is silicone and I just dont like the feel of silicone primers. The silicone texture feels unpleasant to me and I much prefer my water based primer even if it doesn't give as smooth of a result.
Would I purchase- No. Again only because of my aversion to silicone primers, otherwise this is great.



fake up concealer- the product I have been meaning to try for ages so I super thrilled to get the tester. Benefit claims "This is a hydrating crease-control concealer - with Vitamin E & apple seed extract - hides dark circles & diffuses fine lines for a silky smooth, ultra-natural look."
Whats special about it is that the inner bit of the stick contains the color correcting concealer and the outer edge is a hydrating balm. It feels super creamy and soft so I was worried it would settle in the fine lines under my eyes but nope..its kind of sensational. Cant get enough of it! It looks so natural on the skin, it conceals well, doesn't cake and is all around awesome and unique product.
Would I purchase- YES! When the tester runs out I'm getting a full size asap.

they're Real! mascara- The only one from the bunch that I already have and love. Has been my favorite for a few months. Stays put like nobody's business, gives great length. What else is there to say about a mascara really?
Would I purchase- Yes. If my current one stops going strong I will definitely repurchase.

they're Real! push-up liner- newest launch from Benefit that had me itching to give it a go. Eyeliner is easily one of my favorite make up items and I use it a lot so the new innovative rubbery tip and the promise of a 'matte black gel that won't smudge or dry out' sounded right up my alley. I am usually pretty opinionated but this time I dont know what to think. I dont hate it but it's not an instant love affair either. I think it takes time to master it and I am far from it at the moment. Instead of getting into all the details I send you over to Simone who has written a post that is my exact thoughts about the push-up liner.
Would I purchase- no. yes. maybe. I dont know. I'm confused!

So here we are.
Two loves, one 'meh', one no and one confused ramble.

Have you tried any of these products? Which one is your favorite?

Life Lately #6

Transferring the photos from my phone made me realized I was a bit bad at documenting this week. There was much less to choose from but some of the lovely moments of my week are still here:

- Amazing beginning of the week breakfast with Laura at Mo's in City Walk mall. I had never been to City Walk which is a fairly new mall and boy is it a lovely one. Beautiful water features and loads of restaurant to choose from. We had some great food at Mo's. I mean starting a day with banana pancakes + maple syrup + cinnamon butter can only be marvelous! If you are in Dubai I very much recommended to check it out. Their lunch menu seemed pretty impressive as well and I fully intend to go give it a try.

- sunset walk at the Marina because there can never be enough of those. I have never really wanted to live in that area but I very much enjoy going for dinner and talking a stroll around. The sunset colors on those skyscrapers are so pretty.

- a friends birthday party at Bounce. Bounce is a brand new massive indoor trampoline park in Dubai and it is SO MUCH FUN! I mean who doesn't like jumping on trampolines and now think of a warehouse filled with them. The place is huge. It was the easiest and funnest hour of cardio ever and you get a proper workout. In addition bouncing around together with your friends inevitably puts the biggest smile on your face and I would say its almost therapeutic. Cant wait to go back!

- a friend of mine who has excellent taste and 9 double door closets full of dresses had a small clearance and I scored a dress that can only be described as 'what dreams are made of'. Its a Mad Men style tailor made raw silk beauty that at the moment I have nowhere to wear to. That means I have to prance around at home with it- which I totally did this weekend.

- maybe you have noticed I haven't made any nailpolish posts in ages. That is because I didn't allow myself to buy any new polishes last month. However June is a whole new story and to celebrate it I might have gotten not one but 3 new Essie polishes. A post about them is going up next week.

- today we did a little bit of shopping for home again. My favorite buy was small plates from Crate&Barrel with slogans like " Let's celery-brate", "Peas on earth", " I dont carrot all" etc. I couldn't choose so I got one of each. Breakfast is about to get all kinds of fun from now on.

We are finishing the weekend with a trip to the cinema so I must go and watch X Men now.
Hope you have a great one and see you very soon.

FOTD- My Everyday Bold Lip Look

Do you have a signature "look"?
I dont think I do.

But one look I will never grow tired of- the bold lip. Let it be a screaming fuchsia or any red from orange to dark, I'm always willing to give it a try. 

I especially love wearing a bold lip during the day but in order to pull that off without looking over done I have always paired it with practically no eye make up.

More often than not I dont even wear blush just a good swipe with a bronzer to make me look alive.

Its minimal effort in the morning. On my eyes I have two coats of Benefit They're Real and a bit of Benefit High Beam in the inner corner of my eyes. That is it! And a good coat of Benefit Gimme Brow combed through the brows.

I do spend a bit longer to make the base as flawless as I can. Clinique Superprimer Universal and Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet take care of that on my good skin days. For this look I will usually add a bit of Collection 2000 concealer (that stuff is the bees knees!) around my nose and blend some Clinique Airbruch concealer under my eyes.

 Now on the days there is a pesky blemish and I still want to rock this look I tried something my makeup artist friend Diana once suggested. Try drawing a beauty spot on it! You see that little one on my cheek- yep that's the drawn one. I have to say I felt all sneaky and great with this fun addition. I dont know why it makes you feel all different but I really loved having one for the day! Give it a try and see how you feel.

On my lips is my current love from Chanel. The Rouge Allure in Pirate is a great addition to your collection if you are on a lookout for classic long lasting red.

I have red options plenty but really want to add a great orange lipstick into my routine for this summer. Something with a slightly red undertone but still orange. Do you have any suggestions?

Weekend OOTD

Its getting hot in herre! (obviously you need to sing this in Nelly voice)

The thing with Dubai summer is that even though I am fully aware its the desert and it will be unbearably hot for months, the first weeks of true heat and humidity still shock me. To the point where I have to moan about it daily until I can accept it and the life that it brings. I will be spending all my days indoor and running from one AC powered building to another for the foreseeable future.

Keeping that in mind- this weekend we made sure to use the sweet golden hour of sunset to take some picture outdoor. The pavement was still not burning the soles of my feet so I considered this a mild evening. Mate got to come along and we had lovely (read: short) walk that called for a shower afterwards.

 Let me just tell you in advance. I would never wear anything like this to a mall. Showing off ones midriff in a public place in Dubai is in my opinion rather disrespectful. This is something I wear around my house, to the beach or a BBQ party at friends place.

The sleeveless palm tree print shirt from Pull&Bear is one of my current favorites. The material is linen mix making it so lightweight and a pleasure to wear. I love the subtle print and the muted colors. Also it works perfectly totally buttoned up tucked into a pencil skirt and that's how I have worn it to work.

The skirt is ASOS Midi Skirt with Bold Pleats. Its thick ponte fabric that falls nicely and I do like the peach color. However if you are thinking of ordering I would say size down. My usual size 10 sits on my hips whereas I would have loved it to stay put on the waist. Other than that it has good quality and no surprise that Im still all about the midi length.

 

 I have high hopes that next weekend would let us go for one more early evening walk but we shall see.

Hope the summer has arrived in a bit milder manner to wherever you are. Have you bought any summer clothes you are especially loving? Do let me know.