Mac Liptensity, Marsala and Toast and butter.

Online shopping in Dubai has gotten a whole lot more interesting since Mac launched it's website for the Middle East. Especially, since new collections have been releasing at a much sooner date than before. Otherwise you would have to wait ages, for the Spring collection would arrive in Summer, way overdue, if you would agree...

However, the good news is Mac launched the Liptensity collection in Dubai within a couple of months of it's launch in the USA. Yay!

Ever since I saw the promo on the Liptensity lipsticks, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them, and they finally arrived in a black bubble wrap bag. 

Not sure whether I'm more excited about the bubble wrap or the lipstick.

Mac has changed it's classic black bullet packaging to one with coloured caps matching the lipstick shade. Thank Ye Lords! It was simply annoying having to look at the bottom of every lipstick to find the right shade with the kids shouting in the back.

However the lack of the pointed tip does make precision in application a little difficult, especially if you're as inept as me...or have a toddler hanging on to your legs when you're doing your makeup. Sigh! The joys of motherhood!

 Mac claims on it's website, "Each lipstick holds intense amount of pigment resulting in extreme colour intensity, clarity and vibrancy."

Mac delivers true to it's claims. The liptensity lipsticks are highly pigmented and most swipe opaque in one stroke. However, the lipstick does at first slightly tug on the lips, but delivers rich colour and applies smoothly as it warms up, and dries down to a creamy to a glossy finish.

Mac doesn't claim on it's website to have a hydrating formula, but these were definitly not dehydrating, and very comfortable to wear, especially on my lips which are normally super dehydrated and very flaky after wearing lipsticks. 
So I absolutely love this formula which lasted a minimum of 6 to 8 hours, which in my opinion is super great as even Mac's matte formula needs reapllication with me after one hour.

There are 24 shades in the range, going from classic nudes to edgy greys and blues. Favourites are Marsala, Toast and Butter, Medium Rare and Smoked Almond.

Retailing for 130 AED each, the lipsticks are probably the best Mac lipsticks I've tried of the lot. Mac has definitely upped the lipstick game with this formula!

Marsala is a deep magenta-berry colour which dries down to a satin finish. It went on opaque in one swipe and lasted atleast 6 hours with me, which included eating lunch. Some bloggers do say it lasted for 8 hours but that's as long as I can go with out having to take it off for wudu. It's a beautiful warm full coverage colour and looks great with desi skin.

Toast and Butter is a dark brown with warm orange undertones. It dries down to a cream finish and is extremely comfortable to wear lasting about six hours on the lips.

I love the rich, creamy formula of these lipsticks and the range of colours, which are suited to all skin tones. Being more into subtle shades, good lipsticks which last long are hard to find.
Have you tried any of the Mac liptensity lipsticks yet?

#Maclipsticks, #makeup, #beautyblogs, #Dubai, #Lipsticks, #Mac

Sneaky fruit for fussy kids!

Are your kids as fussy about eating fruits as mine? I tried bribing them. I tried forcing them. Basically I tried everything and it didn't work. the younger one pops all fruit out like a vending machine.

Since it's mostly hot in Dubai all year long, (We had slightly cold weather for all of three days last year.) I stated making them fruit popsicles. They're healthy, are given as a treat, and both of them just gobble them up! Plus since they're sugar and dairy free, they're a perfect guilt free substitute for ice cream, so my healthy eating efforts remain undisturbed.

Ingredients:

1) fruit ( I had some sweet melon on hand)

2) coconut water (Not necessary, but it adds extra minerals for the kids)

3)1 tsp of honey.

Method:

1) Blend all three ingredients together until smooth.

2) Pour into moulds. I used ice-cube trays as they help in portion control and limit wastage.

3) Cover tray tightly with cling wrap and stick in the tooth picks.

4) Pop into the freezer for 4 to 6 hours at least.

Honey is a great alternative to sugar, sweetens it up enough for the kids and doesn't add calories to ruin your diet.  you can use all kinds of different fruits for this. The upside is the kids simply gobble it up, whether it be blueberries, strawberries or mangoes. You can layer the fruits one over each other and creat multi-fruit popsicles too.

#Pickyeaters, #healthyeating, #fruit, #recipes, #healthydessert

Gooey Dulce de leche cookie bars.

Cheat day dessert time!
There are cheat days when a perfectly decadent, unhealthy dessert can be totally guilt free! Here are my favourite cheat day dulce de leche cookies!

When you're juggling a toddler while cooking, all food has to be stress free. However most desserts require a lot of work and that is not easy when you have a baby who is a curious cat! So while testing some recipes out from Pinterest, I found an easy, stress free Caramelitas recipe. 
Now anyone who lives in Dubai will tell you that if you buy an item once from a store, you will be lucky if you find it again. So yes, I ran out of caramels, and couldn't find them again. So if you know where to find good quality caramels in Dubai, please let me know.
So I decided to substitute the caramel sauce with my home made dulce de leche sauce, method for making it is down below.
Caramelitas are soft cookies , with sweet, gooey caramel oozing out of it when you bite into them. Is your mouth watering yet?

Now, easy, stress free and quick means you only need 3 ingredients.

Prep time:15 minutes  Cooking time: 30 minutes
 Ingredients:
1) Ready made chocolate chip cookie dough
2) Dulce de leche sauce
3) Semi sweet or dark chocolate chips.

Since I used cookie mix instead of ready made chocolate chip cookie dough, I required the egg and butter to make the dough. Ready made cookie dough would save you even more time and work.

Method:
1) Layer half the cookie dough into the pan.
2) Pour over the dulce de leche sauce.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

4) Cover with the remaining cookie dough, so the caramel sauce is sandwiched between the cookie layers.
5) Bake at medium flame in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or till the cookie dough is done.
Let the dough cool down and set before you cut it into bars. it might be a good idea to refrigerate, but since I like mine warm, I let it cool down to room temperature only.
Now, some of you may not like the high level of sweetness here, therefore salt can be added to the dulce de leche sauce. The semi-sweet chocolate helps to off set the sweetness, and I used salted butter for the cookie mix, so the sweetness is balanced over all.

Dulce de leche sauce:
Take a can of condensed milk. (I used the low cholesterol one) and pop it into a pot of boiling water, making sure it is covered in water all over. Boil it on the stove for 2 hours, keeping the can evenly covered with water all the time, otherwise the sugar will crystallize. Let the can cool down, before use.The milk should have turned a golden brown caramel colour and solidified considerably.

This can be made ahead of time, as unopened this can stays fresh for 2 to 3 months. The dulce de leche sauce is a scrumptious substitute for caramel sauce,and I prefer this version, because it's effortless, can be used for various desserts, and the store bought dulce de leche tastes just horrible!

Hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I did.  Let me know if you tried it! 

#caramelitas, #dulce de leche, #recipe, #food, #dessert

Ruby Pumps by China Glaze

So while Dubai was in Halloween mode, this pretty little colour called to me from the grocery store and fast forwarded me straight into a Christmassy mood. This beautiful colour is a bright red with silver glitter in it which show up as a beautiful red sparkle.
The colour is called Ruby Pumps by China Glaze, and looks like Dorothy's ruby slippers in a bottle from The Wizard of Oz.

My nails looked like little red Christmas ornaments on my hands which kept me pretty happy until I had to take it off.

Never tried China glaze before, but surprisingly the quality was good, it applied smoothly and did not chip off until day 4, despite a whole lot of dishwashing.
Quite a happy Christmas find!

Queen Bee by Too Faced

A few months ago I fell prey to the liquid lipstick craze. However, for people like me who are looking for more subtle shades, instead of bright reds, corals and pinks, there are very few options. 
Then I came across the new Too Faced melted mattes, and this gorgeous colour called Queen Bee. Thank youRachhloves for recommending this. I didnt like the previous Too Faced liquid lipstick packaging. the applicator reminded me of the 90's lip balms, and the creamy lipstick squeezing out of on the fuzzy applicator didnt appeal at all. Infact it seemed more like a toothpaste than lipstick...*_*
Too Faced have now changed their packaging to a lovely glass container with embossed gold labelling, and a doe tip applicator which is perfect for lipstick application.
                       

It's a beautiful pinky mauve, perfect for my highly pigmented lips and Desi neutral to warm toned skin.
- The formula is nice and creamy, dries down completely matte without dehydrating the lips, lasting for 4 to six hours. Slight reapplication was needed at the edge of the lips after lunch.
- It takes a few minutes to dry, but then transfer is negligible.
- Infused with Avocado Oil and vitamin E.

Looking for dupes I found the Huda Beauty Liquid Matte in Muse is a perfect dupe for this. However, since my lips are highly pigmented, Muse looks a little bit greyer toned on me. 

                           The left swatch is of Muse, and the right one is Queen Bee.
- Kat Von D's Lovesick and Colour Pop's Dopey are slightly darker.... but then Colour Pop is almost always out of stock!!! 
Best thing about this was I could remove it with a wet tissue for wudu. Otherwise you need to carry makeup wipes to remove all other brands. Not very handy
All in all, a lovely colour and a beautiful formula. Thumbs up to the Melted Mattes!
 #TooFaced #liquidlipstick#meltedmattes #HudaBeauty #liquidmattes#lipsticks #makeup #beauty

Irresistables!

Walking into the grocery store I promised myself; "I shall not buy anything silly. Especially no nail polish."


I kept on repeating that and I was pretty successful. 
I didn't go near the make up aisle.
Didn't even TOUCH the books in that aisle... not that Carrefour has a great selection of books... Hmmm... Should bring that to the attention of authorities....

Then... I remembered that I needed cotton balls and nail polish remover. So repeating the mantra to myself...I will not buy nail polish I walked into the nail care aisle and (there should be a danger trumpeting sound here)
I was stuck. I was mesmerised. How could I walk away from all those pretty colours? There were pinks and reds and purples and such pretty blues.
So you know what?
I bought nail polish! Sigh!
The sane voice inside my head TOLD me: You have that same colour already....
But who listens to those sane people?
It told me that I DON'T wear red polish much...
But it was so pretty! And it was sitting there on the shelf calling to me "Buy me!" "Buy me!"
And it was so lonely.
So now, (drumroll please).
Now it's in my nail polish drawer happy will all those other bottles.
Really need to find more storage space for my polish collection...
Does this happen to you? Or is this just me?🙈

Adult colouring...???

I was going to give in and buy myself a Harry Potter colouring book, then, I found a better alternative.

Last night I realized how much embroidery is like colouring. You just fill in the lines and spaces with thread, and when you're finished, you have something useful, instead of just a paper filled with pretty colours.
I did find this combination of navy blue and peach quite unique, and very pretty.

So I finshed this, and have started a new project. Though the new shirt is taking considerably longer.

I haven't given up on the idea of a Harry Potter colouring book yet though... Problem is I need to find a way to stop my toddler from eating the colour pencils and crayons...Any suggestions?

Cauliflower toast

You know what I hate the most about healthy eating?
It's the amount of cooking it requires!!!!
First there's the prep, then the cooking and the dishwashing and the clean up....All done with a clingy, cranky toddler hanging on to your leg through out!
If only I had managed to get the lunch done as well I'd feel like SuperMom!

So enough with the ranting.

In an effort to cut out processed carbohydrates from the diet, I made cauliflower toast. Yay Me!
(Did anyone notice I'm cheering myself on a bit too much?)

So recipe...

Ingredients:
1 Cauliflower head 6 inches
1 egg white
Low fat cheese
Salt
Garlic powder (optional)

Method:
1) Rice the cauliflower in a food processor. Don't turn it into mash. A couple of pulses should work just fine.

2) Transfer to a microwave proof dish and microwave it for 2 to 3 minutes

3) Transfer to a muslin or cheese cloth and squeeze out all the moisture from the cauliflower.
There's a LOT of water there!!!!!

4) Add the rest of the ingredients to the dried cauliflower. Transfer to baking paper on an oven dish. Pat it out , shape into slices and bake at 200 for 15 to 20 minutes.

5) Spread with guacamole or avocado or your favorite topping.

Whoof!

Was your morning as chaotic?

Work out woes

In the eternal quest to lose weight, I am unable to take out 30 minutes during the day to excercise. And the fat thus refuses to go away. So a friend of mine told me to suck it up and just wake up earlier in the morning when the kids are asleep to work out. Isn't that an easy solution?
Day 1:
Alarm rings 30 minutes earlier....(which is 5:00 A.M, mind you)
5 minutes into the routine you hear a voice: "Mama, what are you doing?"
Me: "Excercising Ammar. Go back to bed."
Ammar: "But I want to excercise too! It's morning, that's why you're awake."
Me: "Sigh!"
Five minutes of trying not to bump into a 6 year old who is energetically jumping and flailing his arms about EVERYWHERE, and the toddler walks in!
Five more minutes of desperately trying to workout, while avoiding bumping into a 6 year old, a clingy toddler and his toys, and I resign myself to calling it a day.

Day 2
I decide to get up even EARLIER.
10 minutes into the routine, and the toddler walks in.
Gurgling, crying and baby talk for 5 minutes while trying to continue the routine when you hear a voice.
Ammar: "I saw you awake and excercising before also Mum. Can I join in?"
Five minutes later, I'm shouting at Ammar to go back to bed instead of bumping into me on every aerobic step.
A whole lot of crying ensues from Danial, when I finally give up and try to make up with the older one who was shouted at. Poor fellow.

Day 3:
Danial wakes up before my alarm even goes off.
Work out over before it even started.

How does the rest of the world manage to stay fit with kids???
I'm at the end of my tether! Any suggestions anyone?