The July Bloom

“Gossip Girl, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.”
I’m sure whoever watched the last episodes of Gossip Girl season 4 went gaga over Serena and Blair’s dresses.

Here are my favorite..Absolutely stunning..

Serena’s dress by Jenny Packham

Blair’s dress by Jenny Packham

Blair’s dress by Alexis Mabille

Cocoon at The Dubai Mall has some of the Jenny Packham dresses, and its coming soon at Boutique 1.

Honestly, and until now, i have never heard of someone with a ‘normal’ skin type, its their oily, dry, or even worse, a combination skin.
So if you’re one of the ‘normal’s please stand up 🙂

I’m not a big fan of foundation, yet i cant imagine my vanity table without it. I tried few products which most of them ended badly on my skin, until i got introduced to MAC Mineralize Foundation with SPF 15. Its the perfect foundation for combination to oily skin i’ve ever used so far.

Let me tell you more about mineral make up and why is it better than the chemical based make up.

First of all mineral make up is non-comedogenic, means it does not block the pores of the skin, which allows it to breathe.
If you have a problem with your skin, whether its too sensitive, acne prone or very dry, mineral make up does not make it worse. Its very gentle on the skin. Let’s say its a skin friendly product 😉
Mineral make up is inorganic, means it will not allow bacteria and microbes to live in the make up, and it doesnt include preservatives which means a longer life of the product.
They even say that you can sleep wearing mineral make up because it improves the appearance of your skin by hiding wrinkles, crow’s feet and fine lines.

bareMinerals is one of the famous mineral based make up line in the industry, you can find it at Sephora stores in Dubai.

MAC also has an excellent mineral collection of loose powders, eyeshadows and blushes.

MAC Mineralize Foundation SPF 15

MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation

MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Foundation/Loose

MAC Mineralize Blushes. Best used with 187 Duo Fiber Brush

Convinced to go buy mineral make up? Let me know your experience with it, whether its good or bad.

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.
I’m a bit surprise to choose Clarins as my first product to review, but its no coincidence since i used 2 of its products today. I didnt think much of what i was going to write about, it just poped into my mind.

One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser

Its name simply says it all, it’s a gentle daily exfoliating cleanser, you can cleanse and exfoliate your skin in just one step instead of using a separate cleanser and then an exfoliator. The reason if its orange colors because its made out of orange extract, dont worry it doesnt smell like orange at all and it wont make your face turn orange either.
I’ve been using this product for about 3 months and i can swear by it, it’s pretty much like any daily gentle exfoliator but what i love about it that it creates a foam at the same time. Again i will have to repeat that its a cleanser too.
My advise is never use an exfoliator if you have breakouts, you will basically injure the pimple and it will leave a mark later. So better wait until it goes away, or try not to touch the area while exfoliating (you have to be really careful while doing it).

Bronzing Duo Compact

I’ve always favored bronzers over blushes, it used to be my addiction years ago until i expanded my make up collection. This bronzer is one of the best if you are looking for a natural sun kissed skin. It doesnt have a glow or shimmer, it’s the perfect matte bronzer. From the first look at it you will think that it gives a dark shade but on the contrary, the color is very smooth and sheer. The mixing of the light and dark color does the trick of perfecting the shade.
I spotted this bronzer in one of my shopping sprees around 2 years ago, and its one of my favorites. Its only downfall is the plastic packaging, it feels kind of cheap.

Dont only rely on a bronzer, you always have to use a blush to blush up your cheeks, you only have to add a hint of blush on the apple of your cheeks, do not pull the color all the way to your cheekbones or temples like you usually do. Think of a Geisha blush style. For best result use the small contour brush – F05 by Sigma, or 109 brush by MAC. Dont intensify the color of the blush so you wont ruin the beauty of the bronzer.

Left: MAC 109, Left: Sigma F05 (Image courtesy of Temptalia)