Makeover with Lancôme Middle East!

∼ "I'm not beautiful like you, I'm beautiful like me"∼

 I've been a Lancôme fan from over 8 years now, from fragrance to moisturizers to Mascara - I'm in love with all their products!

Lancôme's Middle East skincare expert Fayrouz Najdi and makeup expert Daniya Bawab were in town and Lancôme invited me last week to meet them for a 30 minute facial treatment and a sophisticated makeover session! I was super excited as I had never got makeup done by a professional makeup artist (than my mom of course), so this is essentially my first "makeover".

I went in straight after work last evening, pretty exhausted but felt like a kid running into a candy shop when I reached the Lancôme counter at Paris Gallery, Lagoona Mall. I was expecting a regular session of "facial" where they cleanse, exfoliate and massage products on to your skin for half an hour, but to my surprise it was a simple cleanse-tone-moisturize session with various Lancôme products. Unfortunately I could not meet Fayrouz Najdi as she was busy with another customer when I walked in. Nonetheless, another skincare specialist, Nelia prepped my skin and suggested some skincare products from Lancôme she thought will help my skin. After cleansing, she massaged some really soothing Genefique Yeux Light-Pearl Eye Serum around my eyes. I felt so calm and relaxed, I wonder why you never get the same feeling when you massage it yourself :) Though the entire skincare session only lasted for about ten minutes, my skin felt soft and rested after the session. Nelia's tip to BG readers : Never go to sleep without removing your makeup. Always use a serum, a day cream with SPF and a separate night cream to save your skin from ageing!

Skincare done, I was ready to meet the gorgeous Daniya Bawab, she was definitely tired after a long day of doing makeovers but still I was welcomed with her beautiful smile. I felt privileged as I sat there as Daniya is the Best Lancôme makeup artist worldwide, and also the winner of the golden brush. She has quite a few celeb fans is what I hear and having my first makeover done by her is something I can always brag of!

After discussing the kind of look I wanted, I decided to go for a gold-brown smokey eye with bold lips. My main concern were my dark circles, however Daniya promised me she'll hide it with her magic. I patiently sat there for the transformation as she explained the various products she will be using on me. Here's a quick look of my dark circles before the makeup:

She went for a rather thick base of corrector and concealer around my eyes and a matching yet thin layer of Lancôme Visionnaire Foundation on the rest of my face as I don't have scars or redness of any sort on my skin. I was pretty impressed by the packaging of the foundation as it also comes with a high coverage color matched corrector on the lid, so you can skip buying another corrector - Brownie points! :) This is definitely in my shopping list for next month.

As she worked her magic on me, Daniya told me that she has been in the beauty industry for almost 20 years and having worked for so long she says her blood is no more red, but colored :) She is definitely an expert and I realized that after she showed me how the base makeup sat perfectly on my face, not every makeup artist can do this - FLAWLESS is the only word that could describe how my skin looked!

After the makeup was done, I felt nothing less than a celebrity! Absolutely loved the smokey eyes and the bold red lips :) You can also see how she transformed my eyebrows into neatly filled thick brows! She used Lancôme Caroline de Maigret Fall Collection palette to fill in my brows. I'm already hinting hubby darling for my birthday gift ;)

Daniya working her magic on me!

Where did my dark circles disappear?

My makeover would never be complete without her reaching out to BG readers. So here's Daniya's tip for everyone who'd love to make skin look lighter - Never buy a foundation that's lighter than your original skin color. This will make your makeup look grey! Instead, choose a lighter shade powder to set your foundation, this will make your skin look lighter while not making you look like you're wearing a mask!

I was really happy with the whole look and I can't tell you how many heads I turned as I walked out of Lagoona Mall last evening! It was an amazing experience and a privilege to learn beauty tips from such talented ladies.

Thank you Lancôme, Nelia and Daniya for such a glamorous evening!

Ways to glowing skin!

Welcome back gorgeous!

Wondering what's the secret to such supple glowing skin? Let's find out!

It took me quite a while to figure out the skincare regime that really works for me. Thankfully I am blessed with acne-free skin and the only acne I really had was one nasty pimple on the tip of my nose that left me feeling awkward back in college. So I can totally imagine what you acne prone girls might feel everyday!

Well, we all know the cleanse-tone-moisturize slogan every beauty guru tells you. Our skin is still screaming for help, so let's take a step forward and get to the roots of the problem to see how we can help!

First things first

The first step to great looking skin is not the cream or serum you use, but what you eat! I know, who can resist some yummy donuts and those sugar coated cookies that melt in your mouth, but you should be able to hear your skin scream a few days later. Ask me why? Regular intake of sugar results in more insulin production which in turn causes to produce more oil and hence clogging your pores and flaring up the acne (Ref.- Dr. Valori Treloar, MD, Dermatologist and co-author of The Clear Skin Diet)

Also, regular intake of caffeine and booze can break down collagen - the protein that helps skin's strength and elasticity, hence causing wrinkles!

So eat smart, switch to a fibre rich nutritious diet and save your skin!

Cleanse-Cleanse-Cleanse before you sleep!

We all have been there - you come back home very tired after a night out and the cozy bed looks so welcoming! But let me tell you - there is absolutely NO excuse for you to go to sleep without removing even the last trace of makeup and dirt from your skin. Your pores need to breathe, so clean them well before you hit the sack!

You may use a oil based cleanser to break down the tough waterproof eye makeup. But make sure you follow up with a gentle cleanser to wash off for a squeaky clean feel. Oil can clog your pores, cause excessive dry skin and worsen your acne.

Ask me why? Makeup contains sugar-like molecule that can grow yeast over night - Yeewwwww!! Also, you would have invited a whole bunch of free radicals onto your skin during the day, often from pollution. So when you do not clean it well, they can cause collagen breakdown, hence causing fine lines and wrinkles!

Use makeup only when you HAVE to

Your face is what people look at the second they see you. So you wanna protect them like your baby. You don't have to use heavy coverage foundation when you have a clear skin, you might only need some compact powder to look great. You don't need to look like a disco ball when you're at work. Let's face it - Makeup comes with lots of chemicals and on the long run it definitely takes toll on your skin. I'm not asking you to forget makeup, but make sure you use only what you need - no more, no less. Consult your makeup adviser to see what products you really need.

Choose products wisely

There are tons of beauty gurus online with product reviews of never ending list of brands. But you have to choose what you need. What works for them might not work for you. You cannot buy any product because the lady on YouTube said it was her life saver. So you need to ask your skin what works for you - Unfortunately the only way is trial and error. Get samples from the store before you purchase your new moisturizer. I always do this before splurging on any skincare product. It can be time consuming, but trust me it's gonna save your time and money later and definitely worth it! Like I mentioned in the beginning of the post, it took me a while to figure out my regime and I'm extremely happy with it.

So once you know what works for you, get started with a skincare routine for the morning and night. Yes, train your skin to behave! ;)

Checking Ingredients and Antioxidants

I can't tell you how important it is to look for the ingredients before you buy anything you would slather on your skin. Don't always fall for what the brad claims about the product. You don't want any pesky chemicals risk your mission!

Ha! I love the word "antioxidants"!! I can just go on and on telling you about the skin benefits of anti oxidants. They act as anti inflammatory, skin firming, wrinkle reducing, scar minimizing agents just to name a few. Oh wait - Did I tell you they also repair your skin's sun damage? Oh did I also tell you they also protect the skin again free radical damage?

So next time you buy any skin care product, be it moisturizer, serum or eye cream - look for antioxidants in the Ingredients. Hints to look for : Tocopherol (That's Vit E for you!), Locopene, Green tea, Resveratrol, Grape seed, Genistein, Niacinamide (Olay products often come loaded with this one), L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Coffee berry

Exercise!

I'm guilty, I'm lazy as well when it comes to this! But as crazy as it sounds, exercise is very important to maintain your skin healthy.When I say exercise I don't mean push-up's or weight training or to hit the gym every day. Physical exercise of some sort is great to keep us fit and look healthy. It could be some indoor exercise, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, playing with your kids, dancing to your favorite beats or even taking your dog for a walk!

Again, ask me why? Physical activities boost blood and oxygen flow to the skin cells that in turn neutralizes the effects of oxidative stress and helps in flushing out cellular debris from our system. See how you are cleaning your skin inside out now! :)

Water and Hyaluronic acid

Thinking of an expensive detox programme? Save your bank account and drink WATER! Water not only hydrates your skin, but also gives you supple, glowing, WOW-looking skin!

If you're looking for a hydrating cream or lotion, you may wanna look for something that has hyaluronic acid in it. Wondering why I'm suggesting all acids in skincare? Well, these are the beneficial acids in your skincare, so don't think twice! Hyaluronic acid hold 1000 times it's own weight in water, thus attracting water to the skin and holding it. So you don't wanna skip this if you have dehydrated skin!

So all you lovely ladies - Perfect skin is just a step away! Are you ready to flaunt your smooth, supple glowy skin? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next post! :*

Revive your skin: Lancôme Absolue Precious Oil

I've been searching for the perfect facial oil/serum from quite a while now! As dynamite 30 is dangerously closing in (just a couple of months to go - NOOOOOOO!!) I thought it's time I start protecting my skin with barriers of oils, serums and moisturizers. Not to mention what the air cons do to my skin as I am ALWAYS surrounded by them. My skincare routine is never complete without an oil or serum (or both).

As you may have seen in my November haul post, I got a sample of the very tempting Lancome Absolue Precious Oil. This is a SUPER expensive oil, retails at QAR 1070 for 30ml (almost USD293 AND GBP197 -Pheeew!!!) here in Qatar - though I noticed it sells for USD 185 on the Lancome website, wonder what makes it 100+ dollars more expensive here. Anyway, I wanted to test a sample before I splurge.

The one I have is the sample size - 5ml. But a little goes a LONG way for Absolue Precious Oil! How long you may ask - Well, I've been using this from four weeks now mostly at night and I still have enough oil to last me for another couple of days.

Ingredients:

CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, OLEA EUROPAEA OIL / OLIVE FRUIT OIL, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL / JOJOBA SEED OIL, CAMELINA SATIVA OIL / CAMELINA SATIVA SEED OIL, ZEA MAYS OIL / CORN OIL, TOCOPHEROL, ORIGANUM MAJORANA LEAF OIL, PELARGONIUM GRAVEOLENS FLOWER OIL, LIMONENE, LINALOOL, GERANIOL, CARROT OIL / BETA CAROTENE, ROSA CANINA FRUIT OIL, PASSIFLORA EDULIS OIL / PASSIFLORA EDULIS SEED OIL, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS LEAF OIL / ROSEMARY LEAF OIL, ROSA DAMASCENA FLOWER OIL, CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS PEEL OIL / ORANGE PEEL OIL, CITRONELLOL, CITRUS LIMON PEEL OIL / LEMON PEEL OIL, ANTHEMIS NOBILIS FLOWER OIL, CITRAL, PRUNUS ARMENIACA KERNEL OIL / APRICOT KERNEL OIL, COUMARIN, LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA OIL / LAVENDER OIL, ORYZA SATIVA BRAN OIL / RICE BRAN OIL, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE

Take a look at that - So many emollient, skin repairing oils that are also moisturizing and healing. Lancome definitely has come out with an impressive oil blend. Maybe that's why they decided to call it "Precious"? ;)

Lancome Claims : 

Absolue Precious Oil reinforces the skin’s barrier function, helping to maintain moisture. Radiant skin is unveiled, softer and suppler.
This golden elixir is applied between the moisturizer and serum. Absolue Precious Oil melts into the skin in an intensely luxurious moment to deliver moisture and luminosity to the skin, leaving a satiny finish, delicately scented with the Absolue signature fragrance: Majestic Rose Heart, inspired by the Lancôme Rose.

The Golden Glow is immediately revealed.

Were they lying like most other brands? Let's find out.

My experience with Lancome Absolue Precious Oil:

The first thing I noticed when I saw it is the beautiful, elegant golden bottle! I'm a sucker for cute bottles :) The tester is even more cute with the tiny glass bottle with glass pipette, I just can't get over it! Guess what? I can even reuse this tiny bottle when I travel.

The oil is rather very light and runny. It gets absorbed into the skin in a jiffy! The oil smells like rose-y essential oil, yet very pleasant. The floral scent is not too strong, however I was quite apprehensive about the fragrance irritating my skin.

I used this oil for four weeks and it has not caused any sort of irritation or break outs on my skin. I use it only at night, used it during the day once but my makeup looked oily after a few hours. It glides on smooth on the skin and leaves a nice sheen (not to be confused with oily). Lancome claims of a Golden Glow, well I wouldn't call it Golden Glow. It's rather a nice soft sheen.

 

Oils do not stay in one place like creams, they slide to surrounding areas, thus spreading itself over the area. So I'm not too bothered even if it gets absorbed before I spread it over the area. The smell does not fade very fast once absorbed, so if you're not a fan of the smell then you might not like this. I use about two to three drops to cover my entire face. The dropper is really tiny, so you won't need three drops if you buy the full size bottle.

This oil is very moisturizing! I use this on top of my Estee Lauder Advanced night repair serum. Since I have dry skin, I also use my moisturizer on top. I had very dry skin and dry patches on my face before I started using this and in four weeks I must say I have almost no dry patches. I still have dry skin, but it doesn't feel as stretchy as before after using this. My skin is also much softer to touch, I'm very impressed.

However I did not notice any visible changes in my skin texture overall, pores remain the same, no change in my skin tone or fine lines either. No magical glow or difference. I wouldn't complain because the brand doesn't promise it. I don't have wrinkles, so can't comment on that.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the product, but definitely not worth the price. Will I purchase the full size? Hmm.. Well  I wouldn't spend 1000+ riyals on this. Maybe this is not worth so much money after all. I would have definitely purchased if it was a bit more affordable, or if it at least had a good quantity for the price.

Here's a quick highlight:

Pros:

• Moisturizes very well
• Great ingredients
• Does not cause skin break out
• A little goes a long way
• Pleasant fragrance
• Non irritating
• Skin is much smoother
• Leaves a soft sheen on the skin
• Not greasy
• Beautiful packaging

Cons:

• Super expensive
• Does not make skin glow golden as it claims

Have you tried this product? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Salam Stores Doha Beauty Haul

Hello beautiful!

Guess what? My lovely husband took me on a surprise visit to Salam Stores straight after work yesterday! It was quite a hectic day at work, but how amazing is it when you can forget all your stress and indulge the minute you enter a luxury store!! Haha

It was my first time at Salam Stores and we chose to visit the branch at Gate Mall as it is closer to my workplace. The store itself is luxurious and I loved the ambience! They had a fairly wide range of brands to choose from. The display areas were not at all crowded, obviously because they only sell high end brands. I managed to survive the coaxing sales staff ( I was surprised one of them even told me breakouts happen ONLY because of fragrance in the product! I did not react to her comment and then she derisively asked me if I've even heard of the brand Clinique.. haha) and took my time to test and try various skincare products from Lancôme to Clinique to Estée Lauder. However after browsing for about 30 minutes I picked up everything I wanted, especially from the one counter where the lady was helpful and knowledgeable.

Here is a quick look at the products I purchased:

Salam Stores Doha Haul

My husband also picked up a Montblanc perfume set with after shave balm and shower gel which was also on promotion and my favorite 1 Million!

Mont Blanc Perfume Set

The Montblanc perfume reminds me of the L'Occitane Divine Youth Oil, yet so classy! Absolutely love it :)

I was only planning to buy a good moisturizer, but luckily the Estée Lauder Advance Night Repair which I've been eyeing for ages was on promotion. It came with a free moisturizer and an eye cream - Yay!

I fell head over heels for the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Lotion the minute I tried it on my wrist. My wrist felt like satin after the skin absorbed this lotion. It's absolutely heavenly! And the product comes in a 200ml bottle which will definitely last me for a good few months. I can't wait to try it on my face! :)

I also wanted to buy the Lancôme Absolue Precious Oil as I have been seeing my friends raving about it, but I had already exceeded my budget, so thought I'll consider buying it later. However the sales lady was kind enough to give me a sample of the oil, which I am super excited about!

Lancôme Absolue Precious Oil

See how cute the packaging is! I absolutely love the tiny golden bottle and the tiny dropper. The oil smells like heaven!! The sample size has 5ml and it looks like this will last me at least two to three weeks considering I only need a drop for my entire face. (Update: Review of this oil is up on my blog. Do check out!)

I wish they had given me samples of other products too that I wanted to try before purchasing, but the staff on the other counters did not seem  very friendly and I didn't feel like asking them.

I am as excited as you are to see how these products change my skin! All of the above products were super expensive, but I hope I won't regret the purchase. I will try these products for a few weeks and write a detailed and honest review on each!

Stay tuned :)

Update : I went to Salam stores again last Thursday and this time the Clinique lady was very friendly and kind. Did she read this post?? Anyway, I then decided to try out Clinique moisturizer for her sake (Review coming soon!). Guess what? She even gave me a tiny goody bag of some samples. So now you know you should give everyone a second chance! :)

Skincare: Dry Skin Vs. Dehydrated Skin

Welcome back beautiful!

Here' s a topic many are very confused with. Trust me, I have been in your shoes!

For many years, I thought I had dry skin and ended up spending a fortune on anti drying skin creams, lotions and a whole bunch of skincare products which never worked on me. I would wash my face with the most gentle cleansers, use the best moisturizers and still feel my skin stretching from "beneath". My skin felt so stretchy even when the surface of my skin was loaded with oil. I used a lot of products that was otherwise raved by everyone who's used it, but somehow it never worked for me.

I then discussed the problem with my mom who is a skincare specialist and she immediately pointed out that I did not have dry skin but DEHYDRATED skin! As much as it sounds like the same thing, let me tell you there is a massive difference between the two.

I researched a lot on this and found out that I had dehydrated skin as my skin lacked the water content it needs to stay supple. I barely drank one glass of water everyday (I still can't believe it) and this clearly this took toll on my skin causing my skin to have a transepidermal water loss. Another factor that contributed to my dehydrated skin was all the air conditioning. I live in the Middle East where it's hot almost nine months a year, so the air conditioners are ON all the time, day and night. We spend our lives under these moisture sucking machines. The worst part is, living in AC's never made me thirsty, which I thought is okay - I was so wrong. For ages, everyone around you advise you to drink plenty of water and you ignore it and think it's okay, like I did. Your skin and body can get so dehydrating if you don't drink enough water! You can look up on the internet and you'll see millions of other dangers you will project yourself onto without enough water in your body.

You skin can appear dry because you're not consuming enough oil in your diet - Yes, oil! You skin need oils too. Try to consume good oils in your diet. Fish is a great source of such good oils. You could also take fish oil or Vitamin E oil supplements to see visible difference within just weeks. It is also found in dairy products, meat, eggs, cereals, nuts and green leafy vegetables. Mine was however due to the lack of moisture aka water between my skin layers.

Dehydrated skin has nothing to do with your skin type. So your skin could be oily, but still be dehydrated! This could get you confused if you don't know the difference between dryness and dehydration.

I started monitoring my water levels ever since, okay I admit I don't drink two litre everyday, but my skin has shown a massive difference after I started taking lots of water. I don't get the stretchy feeling anymore after washing my face. Skin looks much more supple and hydrated! It's amazing what water can do to your body :)

Another trick that helped me were humidifiers! The AC's are still on during the night when we sleep, but the humidifiers in my room really helped keep dehydration at bay. My skin feels so much better in the mornings.

So next time you feel your skin is stretchy, check if you're having enough water. For all you know, your skin could be dehydrated! My skin is so thankful I figured this out sooner.

Have you had a similar problem? Do you have other tricks to combat dehydration? Tell me all about it in the comments below :) And hey, don't forget to fill your water bottle

Stay tuned for more skincare posts, tips and tricks! Thank you for passing by :)

New Skincare Series!

Hello all you gorgeous ladies!

I'm excited to announce the launch of my new skincare series!

I've always been interested in skin care from my teens, possibly after I learnt my first skincare lessons from my mom who is a skincare specialist. I thought it would be fantastic to share all the info I've researched over the years. I will be posting info, tips and tricks on skincare and do everything I can to update you on new products I use, what works, what don't and what not! :)

Let me know if there is anything specific I shall add to my skincare posts, I'll be happy to include them for you.

Stay tuned for more posts and thanks for passing by!