Get In My Closet ASOS Skater Midis

So tomorrow is a boring day as it involves a lot of airports and flying. What is entirely not boring is the destination- New York baby! Ohh I simply can not contain myself!

Regarding my vacation to the big apple I was on a spending ban until I can buy (as Simone would say) ALL the things in NYC. However Simone also wore a superduper pretty skater midi dress to our last get together which swiftly sent me to browse ASOS the next day.  I hadn't opened the site for a month so I was kind of taken by how many gorgeous midi dresses are in stock.

The only thing I could do was play window shopping with you guys. So here is my currect 'I want them all' skater midi dresses:

1. The dress that started it all Textured Midi Skater Dress with Floral Print (Link)- take a look how gorgeous Simone looks in it and you see why I want it. In real life this dress is so good quality, it has beautiful weight to it and I love the color!

2. Picnic Skater Dress in Texture (Link) - The V-neckline and the way it nips on your waist is what get me with this dress. Plus I always feel so pretty in white dresses (until I spill my lunch on them but still).

3.  Crepe Bardot Prom Dress (Link)- this is a dress I never thought would catch my attention. I dont own a single item of red clothing and generally never gravitate towards them. But every time I look around on Asos I end up looking at the catwalk video of this. I think I could totally work this with a red lip for an ultimate feminine combo. And it ticks all the boxes of fitted waist, box pleats etc etc..

4. Pleated Cami Midi Dress (Link) - we have addressed my obsession with pleated anything before. This beauty has been in my Save Items folder for some time. I love the bright color and the back detail equally as much as the spaghetti straps and the thin pleating.

5. Premium Embroidered Skater Dress With Blue Flowers ( Link) - well this one is just swoooooooon. Be sure to zoom in on it on ASOS to see the pretty embroidery. Also lets not forget to address the existence of pockets which instantly rockets any dress on top of my wishlist. Top this off with a collar and the details of a button down front and I will have some midi dress dreams for days!

6. Sunflower Bardot Midi Prom Dress (Link) - lets finish it off with this total babe of a dress shall we. Mad Men all the way this one is a bit more on a costume side of things but I personally love that. Its freaking expensive (95£ / 135Eur) which is why you dont see it hanging in my closet. Its a special dress but I dont think I would get to wear it enough to justify the splurge. Still a girl can dream..

So which one is your fave? Like in the case i dont find anything to buy in New York (hahaha yes I know this is fantasy talk) and I return home with all my money in the bank. Which one should I order?

P.s. there will probably be a bit of a silence next week. I will try my best do a few posts but its New York you know. So I urge you to join me on Instagram ( @thelauracarlson ) as it will get much more regular updates.

High maintenance much?

I got nothing to say to defend myself.  I am high maintenance and in beauty related subjects there is two that need to be perfect. Nails and lips- thou shalt not go out of home with a chipped nail or a smudged lipstick. Its just how it is for me.

For this reason I never used to wear bright lipstick. I would wishfully stare at women who wore full on red or fuchsia pink in the middle of the day. For me it was always about the fact that every damn lipstick I bought would sweep into the fine lines around my lips in a matter of a hour- lipliner or not. At that time I was in university so I couldn’t afford to try out Tom Ford and the likes but still. For example no red formulation of Mac lipstick would ever stay put. If I tried wearing it I would have to constantly check my lips and sure enough they would be a mess at some point. Oh those days of struggle..

So about 3 years ago I figured its time to give this bright lip thing another go and picked up NARS Red Square while in London. It actually looked flawless hours later and I couldn’t belive it. As my love for reds grew I started looking more into other products that would help me make any brand lipstick look perfect and stay without bleeding.

Nowadays I wear a full on red or pink lip to work most days of the week. I totally get if this is way to much hassle for most but I use the following products to make it perfect.
My lips are always dry so I make sure to scrub them twice a week. My favorite being the Lush Mint Julips Lip scrub. Its made out of caster sugar, jojoba oil, vanilla extract, tagates oli and peppermint oil and its lovely. I am soon out of it and next my eyes are on the Fresh Sugar Lip Polish.

Nuxe Reve de Miel is one of those cult products everybody loves and I can't fault it either. Best lip balm I have ever used and I dont go to sleep without a thick layer of this on. Its not sticky and has a thick matte consistency so works well under a lipstick as well. I will never be without it!

Mac Prep + Prime Lip is my main secret weapon and something I always wear under bright statement lipstick. This is a color free base that smooths lips and stops the lip color from bleeding. Its very lightweight but feels a bit sticky once applied, however once I put on lipstick you never feel it. It makes the color go on much more evenly and I think it helps with the longevity as well.

Too Faced Borderline Anti-Feathering Lip Pencil- this one is the latest addition to the lineup and I am so happy I decided to give it a go. Its a waxy colorless pencil you use as liner and it "creates a resistant barrier around the lips to perfect the shape and provide precise definition".  The pencil comes out when I want to wear the creamier reds as those are the fastest to bleed. I kind of half expected it not to work but it does exactly what it says. The barrier is there and no color bleeds past it.

Needless to mention I almost always wear a lip liner as well. You see..high maintenance.

Is there something you have tried that I dont know about? Another secret weapon?
Do you wear brights during day time at all?

Gimme More Neutral Eyeshadows

There are two products I have been meaning to tell you about for a month now. I bought them in July and have been using daily as both are fantastic. I have never done monthly favorites on the blog (only for nail polish) but if I did these two would be in it.

 Too Faced Natural Eyes palette (Link) and Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray (Link) are what this post is about.

The setting spray is something I was excited to try if only because the weather in Dubai is totally insane. In addition to the high temperatures, humidity in the last weeks has been just off the charts and everything melts of my face slowly but surely. No actually not that slowly..it melts off with one 7min walk to get coffee. I was between the All Nighter or De-Slick spray and ended picking De-Slick as my combination skin definitely needs help staying matte at the moment. There is not that much to say about it besides that it works great. I spray it all over the face once I have finished makeup and I love the results. Its weightless and keeps my foundation from melting into the fine lines. Its a must-have for summer months from now.

So the Natural Eyes then. Its an updated version of the old Natural Eyes which I never owned but always wanted. I also held back for a while when the updated version was released repeating to myself that I have too many natural/browny eyeshadows. In the end I just made up a reason because I wanted that pretty pink tin to be mine. I convinced myself my Naked palettes are just too big and bulky to travel with (weirdly this was not a problem before I started lusting after Natural Eyes) and having the vacations to Estonia and New York ahead I just REALLY NEED something more compact that covers all the bases. If you are rolling your eyes at this point I understand. But a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

Luckily this does actually cover all my needs. For the past month I have barely used anything else and I'm still not bored. These 9 shades go from matte to shimmery, cold to warm and are all super easy to blend.

Top row has the mattes:
Heaven- a pretty ivory that is just perfect under the brow.
Cashmere Bunny- one of my favorites from the palette. Such a terrific soft taupe crease shadow to define the eyes ever so subtly.
Sexpresso-  deep matte brown. Super pretty smudged into the lash-line for daytime or used for a smokey eye.

Middle row is my most used shadows:
Silk Teddy-shimmering soft pink that blends so beautifully and works great in the inner corner of the eye.
Push-Up- my favorite. Slightly lilac toned bronze shimmer that is just perfection. Equally good as all over lid or blended into crease.
Erotica- a charcoal brown with gold flecks. Total beauty.

Bottom row gets the least use at the moment but there is no reason for it. The shades are gorgeous.
Nudie- matte greige I have mostly used to fill in my brows.
Honey Pot- very shimmery warm gold shadow. Maybe a bit too shimmery for me so I haven't used it that much.
Chocolate Martini- deep espresso with gold shimmer. Pretty but I prefer the other two dark browns.

Excuse me if I got a little too excited over a natural eyeshadow palette but I really really like this one. Im just saying that I will be going to my 20days vacation with only this with me and feel totally confident I can do any look I want. Thats pretty good for a tiny little pink tin isn't it?

What's your all time favorite neutral palette? Would love to hear about your gems..

Estonia Vlog #2

Second part of my vacation vlog to Estonia is now online.

Tallinn in the summer is kind of unbeatable if you ask me (yes I am probably biased but whatever). There is of course so many places in Estonia that are great but I like the city summers. It's jam packed with street food festivals, concerts, rooftop and other parties, picnics and outdoor dining. Tallinn is small so you can walk to most places. If you are super lucky like I was, all this will be accompanied with warm and sunny days and chilly but lovely evenings.



Hope you enjoy watching it and I cant wait to vlog again from New York.

Have a lovely Sunday! x

YSL Souffle D'Eclat Powder

Getting excited about new lipsticks is obvious, pretty eyeshadow gets my heart rate up easily as well. Heck sometime a great new foundation does it.

But getting excited about a powder has never happened before. Until Simone introduced me to YSL Souffle D'Eclat. Its a loose powder that promises to provide a luminous and lightweight finish. Now usually I would sum up a powder with something like- it mattifies and does the job.  Extra nice if it doesn't cake and stays put all day.

But this one..I think YSL Souffle D'Eclat contains a bit of a fairy dust because it has actual magic powers. It blurs the skin (I know it sounds crazy but reading reviews by other bloggers reassured me I'm not the only one that sees this effect) to make it look even and glowing and mat at the same time. I dont know how that is possible hence I suspect magic. Because in theory it doesn't make sense that your skin can be glowing and mat at the same time does it? However that is the only way I can describe it. It takes away the greasy shine but leaves a beautiful light reflecting veil that feels super silky. Apparently the special ingredient is micro Mother of Pearl particles in case you were wondering.


Not a day has gone by without using this powder and swooning over the results. It really works well with my combination skin. Lets just say how it is. This is hands down the best finishing powder I have ever used. Then again note that I haven't used that many. In any case it comes in 4 shades and looks pretty translucent once applied. I have the shade 02. 

I think I need to wrap this up because how long can one rave about a product like this. Do try it if you are on the lookout for a new loose finishing powder.

You can find it online at Selfridges (link).

Tom Ford Wild Ginger I Love You!

Yes I have just confessed love to a lipstick but I feel comfortable with you guys. You wouldn't judge would you?

I have longed to get this baby since forever and it has been on both of my lipstick wishlist posts(first and second). I finally caved at Dubai Duty Free on my way to Estonia and I think this will be my favorite summer makeup purchase of the year. I have worn it a lot and you can see me sporting it every other day in the vlog as well.

Wild Ginger is a super vivid orange red. I can only repeat myself here but the quality of TF lipsticks goes above and beyond. I mean its certainly a splurge item and due to price can only be placed in the luxury category of makeup but at least its totally amazing.

When reading reviews of Wild Ginger I noticed it seems to translate a little different on everyone. Its pulls more tomato reds on some skin tones and more orange on others. Im happy to report the orange hue is definitely there when I wear it. Its very pigmented and the lasting power for such a creamy consistency is great. I generally do a touch up 5-6h in but often thats not even necessary. Many reviews say the staying power is not all that so I'm not sure if my success has to do with the next purchase.



The lip liner. With such a look-at-me shade I want the lips to look and stay perfect. So the hunt for perfect liner started promptly after Wild Ginger was mine. And when I say promptly I mean at the very same Duty Free. I really did try to find a match at Mac or any other brand that was a bit more budget friendly but in the end the perfect liner was of course at Chanel counter. I could have been a sensible person and waited til I arrive back to Dubai and have much more options but what fun would that be? Instead I just bought the Chanel Le Crayon Levres in 56 Orange Intense. I actually haven't had one regret purchasing this. Its a perfect match and smooth to apply but stays put for ages. It has a great quality brush on the other end and it comes with its own sharpener. And as mentioned I think it really adds hours to the staying power of the lipstick. I also choose to have a memory of a goldfish when it comes to dwelling on the price.

This duo is making me very very VERY happy.

Do you own a Tom Ford lipstick? Which shade is your favorite?

New York Shopping List Makeup

So there is not long left til New York. We are talking less than a month and the excitement is real people!
I have been before since my sisters used to live there but its 3 years from the last trip to my favorite city and I miss it dearly.

Dont you worry the above products is just a few from the long long list I have been putting together. And in true Virgo style I have separate list for skincare and for lipsticks. I will of course not get everything on all the lists but I like knowing what I'm looking for. These 6 products have been on my mind for a while.

1. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (Link)- I have never had this and I have always wanted it. I have chosen countries to live in poorly cause they often dont stock NARS and I'm scared to order online as I dont know which shade will work best. NARS is coming to Dubai in October but there is no way I can wait that long.

2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Link)- It says you can define your ideal brow shape with Brow Wiz. I want to do that!

3. Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hours Blush in Natural Beauty (Link)- I love the formula of this blush I have it in a nude pink shade called Exposed. Its so long lasting and I keep reaching for it over my other blushes. This rosy red shade is missing from my blush collection.

4. Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish in Dusty Rose (Link)- ohh I dont know. Its a foil finish eyeshadow that had a rose gold finish. Does it need more explanations?

5. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner (Link)- I love eyeliner and I use it most days of the week. Even if I dont feel like using eyeshadow a little eyeliner will often be there. I also love the videos of Claire Marshall from Hey Claire and she has raved about this liner numerous times. This is one of the first things that will go into my basket at the holy day that will be forever refereed to as The Visit to NYC Sephora.

6. NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Dione (Link)- Yeah lets just say one of the NARS stores in NYC is gonna get hit bad. You can believe me this is not the end of my NARS wishlist. But its high on the top of it. Based on swatches these new eyeshadows that you can use dry or wet look pretty amazing. 

 Me and my sisters are discussing of doing a little spa day in Mario Badescu and I am still not decided if I should focus my shopping on a new pair of shoes or a new handbag?

Also makeup wise please do suggest amazing you-must-buy-this products I should be looking out for while in New York? And is there anything on my list you have tried and it didn't impress you? 


Recommendations are highly appreciated. 

Life Lately- Estonia Vlog #1

Yes your eyes are not mistaken. I actually vloged!!

Before getting to this point there was a whole process of doubting if I can and should. Then convincing myself I will never know how to use iMovie. Then convincing myself that nobody will ever find it interesting to hear my Estonian accent English on camera. All the same time loving my
friend Simone's vlogs and wishing to give it a try.

So the vacation in Estonia seemed like a perfect opportunity to start. I had a lot of fun filming it and I hope you enjoy it as well. I got so into it there will even be a #2 next week! I dont think I will vlog in Dubai after that but I will most certainly try my best to vlog in New York at the end of August. So maybe I can be a sort of travel vlogger.

Please excuse that only after I filmed all the clips did I realize my camera video quality had been set on the lowest possible (such a rookie mistake!). I have managed to get it a bit better (had no idea how to do it so did an abundance of googeling) so do choose a higher quality from YouTube options once you start watching.

Let me know what you think and have a lovely Saturday.

A Holiday Haul That Was Not Supposed To Happen

First of all sorry about the radio silence. I have been on a vacation in Estonia for a week and it has been amazing. I have barely opened my laptop. I couldn't tell you I'm off because I wanted to surprise some of my friends and they read the blog.

Anyway I will tell you more about my vacation soon. This post is about the things I bought while in Estonia. I was not supposed to buy anything as the New York vacation is in less than a month but you know how it goes..sometimes (read:always) you dont have willpower to resist.

Clothing & Accessories

- 2 new stripey tops from Lindex. Its a Swedish brand that has very affordable prices and I love their basics. I always pick up some tshirts while in Estonia. This time I was all about stripes so a basic cut tshirt and a comfy cotton top with 3/4 sleeves.

- I haven't found anything in Dubai H&M for about a year. I almost never go in anymore because the layout and the stock just dont interest me the slightest. The H&M in Tallinn is a brand new and huge store that has great displays and pretty things catch your eye much easier. I picked up this pink dress that will be perfect for work and requires minimum effort to look put together. I will try to take some outfit pictures soon.

- I obviously had to go to my sisters studio and do some damage at New Vintage by Kriss HQ. I came home with a black agate necklace called Metal is My Muse. I have the same style with a green stone but just love the black with gold as well. I also got some opal earrings and a plain golden necklace I will have engraved.

Skincare

- Lumene Gradual Self Tan Lotion is something I always used when I lived in Estonia. Its a Finnish skincare and makeup brand that has lovely natural ingredients and loads of good products. I like the gradual tan lotion as it builds up slowly and fades evenly. It is paraben free and smells nice. Excited to have it in my stash again.

- I wrote in my last skincare post that I didn't put enough thought into the last toner I bought and ended up purchasing a alcohol containing Clinique one that is just way too harsh. I picked up the REN Clarimatte toner to replace it. Its alchokol free but has all the good stuff like glycolic and lactic acid and salicilin. Very much looking forward to give this one a go.

- Khiels Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado was on my wishlist for awhile and I picked it up at airport Duty Free. I have been using it for a week and absolutely love it. Its perfect if you have fine lines and dry skin under the eyes.

- Joik soy wax scented candles are one of my absolute favorites. Its an Estonian brand and I always pick a few up because I cant resist. This time I got the Strawberry's & wine scent.

Make up

 

- I havent been to Estonia for a year and during that year something awesome has happened. They have started selling Real Techniques brushes here! Who knew!? After convincing my sister to get the Blush brush I stood umm-ing and ahh-ing at the stand for ages. I ended up leaving with the Starter Set for eyes. So overexcited about this one!

- I ran out of my Healthy Mix Serum while here so decided to switch it up and get a bottle of Bourjois Happy Light instead. I have had it before and like it just as much, its just a good staple and does the job nicely. 

- saving the best for last of course. I allowed myself a sneaky Duty Free purchase at Dubai Airport and Tom Ford Wild Ginger is finally mine. My-oh-my is that a beauty. I have been wearing it most days and have so much love for the orangery red shade, the fancy packaging and the perfect formula. I didn't have any lip liner to go with it and even thou I made an effort matching it to Mac ones in the end the closest shade was from Chanel counter. Whats a girl to do? The girl is to buy that Chanel lip liner (shade 56 Orange Intense).

Im flying back to Dubai tomorrow so will be on track with regular posts before you know it. Expect to hear all about my vacation.

Life Lately #11

This week went past faster then ever. Somehow it was weekend before I could even blink but I do have a few photos of my favorite moments.

- a few weeks ago I decided I miss yoga too much and made my way to Yoga Room Dubai for ashtanga classes. I go 3 times a week and absolutely love it. I do enjoy bikram and that was my yoga of choice for many months but now I just could not make myself enter a +42c room when its so scorching hot outside. Ashtanga is awesome and I cant wait to go again tonight. Im always in such a great mind set after a class.

- the beautiful lanterns are spotted after a sheesha session in Movenpick hotel again.

-Mr. Mate the border collie finally got his summer cut. He looks like a puppy now and I love that they always tie a bandana around his neck after he is done with grooming. He also smells like roses (we do ask them usually to go light handed on the dog perfume they use but generally he smells flowery for a few days after). There is a cool mobile dog grooming concept here- a pink van comes to your house and inside it is a fully functional dog grooming salon. Hopefully the shorter cut will make it a bit easier for Mate to handle this desert summer.

- We had a lovely dinner party at a friends place who lives on 35th floor of a highrise in the Marina. I made a brave face for the picture but to be honest I did feel a bit queasy that high up. The views are amazing but I'm way too paranoid to ever be able to live that high. I instantly have scenarios from fires to earthquakes run through my mind and prefer to stay closer to the ground. Have you ever lived in a highrise?

- ahhh.. and then the most perfect Saturday arrived. It was hot but not too humid and we were determined to have some book + pool time. We drove to the beautiful Desert Palm resort and laid in their temperature controlled infinity pool for hours. A while back I actually made a whole post about Desert Palm and you can read it here. It was absolute bliss. I also started a new book Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene and its great. So if you are on the look out for a easy reading and witty novel do check it out.

Enjoy your Sunday and do let me know what you have been up to. x