June Favourites

Time for another round up of my monthly favourites. I've stuck with beauty this month as there's been some real gems that I have loved using throughout June. 

Bath & Body Works Hawaiian Summer Collection

I love Bath and Body Works and I love Summer, so when they reached out to me to sample some of their Hawaiian Summer collection, I practically snatched their hands off.    My love for Bath and Body Works candles is no secret. I have a cupboard dedicated to the cause. They are the most scented on the market, in my experience and one candle is enough to leave your entire home smelling fabulous, but I have never thought to dabble in their bodycare. 
Boy, was I wrong.

The Not Quite Dress

So, there's a back story to this dress. 

And no, it has nothing to do with me prancing around like an idiot.
I spotted it in Zara several weeks ago and although my initial thoughts were that it was far too sack-like to ever shuffle towards being flattering, I tried it on anyway and fell in love. 

Husband Appreciation

Flowers from the hubster.

After almost seven long weeks of hammering and drilling coming from the apartment below, I finally broke down and sobbed at my husband over the phone. And by sobbed I mean, screamed profanities, declared that I was going to need to either move into a hotel or return to the U.K. until the work was finished, and finally broke down in tears like the sane and rational woman I am. 

The Must-Have Morphe 35O Palette

I feel like this eye shadow palette is old news. Yes, trying to get your hands on one is like trying to find an uncut diamond in your Cheerios but, surprisingly, I managed to nab one by chance whilst I was ordering some new make up brushes (haul post here) from Morphe's online store in the U.S.
So, thoughts?

Shit My Husband Says #9

It's been just over two months since my last Shit My Husband Says post which, by my reckoning, is about 60 days too long to be without funny, man jibber. 
Perhaps I've started to zone out of my husband's ramblings or I've been preoccupied with Mr Gin and Mr Tonic, but after significantly longer than usual, I've managed to scrape together a bunch of daft comments from my one and only. 
Enjoy!

BECCA Cosmetics - Opal and Camellia

Yes, the above title still gives me little tingly feelings. Ever since Laura (BuyNowBlogLater) snapped about the cult, Aussie brand making its way to the UAE, I was poised in anticipation, waiting for stock to drop in Abu Dhabi. And it finally has - In YAS Mall's Sephora!
I tried to act all nonchalant as I walked in but quickly dissolved into a fit of girlish squeals once I clapped eyes on the stand itself. YAS Sephora is only carrying a small amount of stock currently. There's the infamous highlighters in powder, cream and liquid forms, the luminous blushes and in all honesty, not much else noteworthy. I'm hoping Sephora are looking to expand their counters soon as I can't wait to get stuck into the foundations and primers.
Anway, waffle aside, after swatching everything, I bought these two.

Abu Dhabi Eats - Sportsman's Arms Family Brunch

Last Friday, Scott and I were very kindly invited to try out the Family Brunch at The Sportsman's Arms gastropub in Zayed Sports City. 
The first thing I noticed when I walked through the door was how much it reminded me of home. The casual vibe teamed with comfy leather couches and window booths for dining at, reminisced of an upmarket Wetherspoons. But you won't find any sticky floors or tattered furniture here!

Summer Wishlist

It's not officially Summer for another week or so but I thought I'd throw together a few of the things that I've been lusting after for the warmer months.
We'll just gloss over the fact that when I say warmer months, here it quite literally means 'melt your face off' weather, but you catch my drift. 

Abu Dhabi Desert Safari Tour

A couple of weeks ago, I was hurtling around the desert in the back of a 4x4. If you follow me on Snapchat, (effortlesslyexc) then you may have witnessed the bum-clenching moments we were teetering at the top of huge sand dunes and heard high-pitched, girlish screams - mostly from my husband.
We had family over to visit us and in true touristy fashion, we planned a desert safari tour with Abu Dhabi Desert Safari to head out of the urban jungle and hit the dunes hard. 

Morphe Brushes Haul

I finally did it. I went and ordered a bunch of new make up brushes from Morphe. 
I've been using the Sigma F80 kabuki foundation brush for the longest time, and love it, but when the bristles started depositing themselves on my face and giving me whiskers that my guinea pigs would be proud of, I decided I needed to get myself a replacement. 
And then because it would be rude to only order a single foundation brush from Morphe, and I had to pay shipping from the US anyway, I ended up walking away with nine brushes and an eye shadow palette. 
Winner.

Too Faced Melted Metal Liquid Lipstick

I went onto Pinterest. Saw this image and decided that I needed to go out and purchase a metallic lipstick immediately. 
This is pretty much how all of my make up purchases come to be. Pinterest, blogs and Instagram. Just imagine how much better off I would be if my Internet broke. Wait, don't even joke about that!
So anyhoo, I did a bit of dithering in Sephora and decided to pick up a Melted Metal Liquified Lipstick from Too Faced in the shade Melted Metallic Peony. 

The Mystery Folder

A really shitty thing happened to me the other week and I'm just over it enough to sit down at my laptop and write about it.
I accidentally deleted all of my iPhone notes. 
Well, apart from some random folder that I didn't know I had which contains the following:
- The title of a book I intended to buy several months ago.
- An email address.
- Pet name ideas for animals I don't own.
and rather embarrassingly,
- A massive Pizza Hut order. 
They say you should never judge someone by the contents of their iPhone, (or at least this should be a saying in my view) but I feel like this folder has successfully summed up my entire existence in a handful of sentences. 

Top Tips To Make Your Make Up Last All Day

Looking for tips on how to bulletproof your make up? You've come to the right place. 
As the Abu Dhabi Summer creeps in, so does 'sweaty weather,' with off the scale humidity and soaring temps. Measures need to be taken in order to stop your face sliding into your handbag by lunch time so here's some of my top tips to make your make up last all day.

Life Through A Lens 2016 #5

Goodbye May. Another month has flown by and now it's June which is the start of scary weather times in the Middle East and also Ramadan which is due to kick off in a few days. 
Things will quieten down a lot over the holy month as people begin their fasting and take more time to pray and reflect. My only experience of Ramadan in the Middle East took place when Scott and I lived in Qatar; however this year I'd like to get more involved. Whilst you won't see me forgoing food and water during daylight hours, I really want to attend a traditional Iftar meal (to break the fast) and hopefully experience some of the Ramadan activities going on around town. 
Anyway, let's take a look back over May and see what I got up over the last month.