Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Currently Loving-November 2013


It was pretty easy to pull together the things I am currently loving right now-these are all quite new to me and I have fallen for them all!


Now we are in 'winter' (I say that loosely as it's still 32 degrees in Dubai) I have moved to a slightly heavier fragrance for going out in the evening.  Vanilla is always a fragrance I am drawn to at this time of year, I just love it!

This perfume from Jo Malone is divine.  It's not sweet at all or overpowering which I was worried about from the name.  It's quite a complex formula with top notes of bergamot, along with neroli, wild fennel and star anise.  It's base notes are vetiver, Bourbon vanilla absolute and tonka making it warm and inviting-perfect for this time of year.  This is a fragrance I would only wear at this time of year and I'm really enjoying it-however, it doesn't seem to last very long on my skin.

I really fancy the home candle in this fragrance too!  I have just finished up a Bath and Body Works Vanilla Vetiver candle that was DIVINE (and would have been in my favourites if I hadn't finished it) and even my non-vanilla liking friend Sylvia who visited us last weekend liked that candle.


I rarely blog about hair products because I am so rubbish with my hair!  I have very fine, long hair that I abuse with the hairdryer and GHD's daily, rarely protecting it!  This is a sample size Style Extender from Living Proof.  The first thing I have tried from the brand, it was in the Space NK goody bag earlier this year and got thrown in the back of a drawer.  I am very cautious about using creams on my hair because it's so fine that creams always make it greasy.  When I went to Cairo a couple of weeks ago I threw it in my toiletry bag to try it-and it is a fabulous product!!

Firstly it smells amazing!  I use a tiny tiny blob raked through damp hair with my fingers before blow-drying.  It's very light and isn't sticky at all.  My hair is so smooth and sleek afterwards but without looking at all greasy.  I almost don't need to use my straighteners.  My hair stays tangle free and smooth and shiny all day.  I'd love to try their thickening cream now.


I bought into the hype surrounding the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer and it really is worth every bit of praise it gets!  I would even say it's better than my YSL Touche Eclat which I must have purchased more than 20 times over the years.  It's great under the eyes, concealing and brightening dark circles well.  It's easy to blend and it doesn't crease.  It's marvellous and much better than the Benefit The Fake Up concealer I reviewed in my October empties.  I have a Nars Radiant creamy concealer in my stash so I will be interested to see how good it is compared to this Rimmel one.



I am totally in love with this vivid fuchsia lipstick from Christian Dior.  Part of the new Rouge Dior range, the formula is incredible-opaque, glossy, hydrating and long lasting.  I have a full review on my blog of this lipstick here.  I have a couple more from the range I haven't tried out yet but am excited to!  This is 775 Darling.


A couple of weeks ago my lips were really suffering-they just seemed to have a mini nervous breakdown.  They were chapped, dry and sore and whatever I put on them seemed to make the problem worst and made my lips feel really swollen and uncomfortable.

I told my best friend Danielle and she suggested I try Blistex on them-warning me it would sting but it was good.  She was right, OMG did it sting the first time I applied it but the next day my lips were almost back to normal.  I've been applying this once a day since and my lips have now recovered!  Thank goodness as you know how much I love my lippie!



The YSL City Drive 'Classy' palette was part of the Autumn collection from YSL.  It was limited edition but if you're in Dubai it's currently still available at all department stores.  The colours are by no means unique-there are 3 neutral shades and a shimmery grey.  But this is an excellent neutral palette was an exceptional formula.  The colours are all quite warm toned and less shimmery than I usually wear and all have a kind of satin-y finish apart from the grey tone.

The darkest brown in the top left is a plum toned brown, great for blending out at the crease.  A beautiful rich deep tone with a satin finish.

The shade next to it is a peachy beige with a satin finish.  The colour pay off on this one is the worst of the four and takes a bit of packing on to the lid-a Mac 239 brush is perfect for this.  Again the formula is a matte satin with no shimmer.

The bottom left shade is a medium, warm toned bronze and is really complimentary to my green eyes.  I have been smoothing this all over my lid and blending out the darker brown colour through the outer corner and crease.

The final shade in the bottom right is a silver metallic pewter with a touch of shimmer to it.  This is the only cooler toned shade in the quad.

All of the colours have quite a thick 'velvety' texture when applied, even when dry.  They can also be used wet for a more intense effect.  There is very little fallout when applying these shadows-they are excellent quality and blend very easily.

Sara from Color Me Loud did a beautiful look with this palette here.  I love her idea of patting the silver shade over the browns-I will definitely be trying that out!  If you love eyeshadow you MUST follow Sara's blog, it's amazing and her eyeshadow reviews are the best I have come across.

Also, the packaging is divine with the embossed gold Yves Saint Laurent on the lid.



Finally I am addicted to Milky Ways at the moment!!  These are the Arabic version (you can see the Arabic writing on the wrapper) and are slightly bigger than the UK version but they're just so delicious!  I tried one about 2 months ago after not having one for about 10 years and was instantly hooked!

And I love the packaging on these Choc Stars bars of chocolate.  Who wouldn't like a cat dressed up as Clint Eastwood?  If you have a look at my instagram you will see the Audrey Hepburn and Lady Gaga versions.  I have kept all the packaging (#crazycatlady) and the chocolate is pretty yummy too!  I got mine from Candylicious in Dubai Mall.

What are your current favourites?  These are one of my favourite types of posts to read so please leave me your link if you've done one recently!

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