Confashions From Kuwait

ILIA , the contemporary line of natural and organic beauty products that combine superior color performance and nourishing organics, has launched in Debenhams in the Avenues! I'm currently loving my shimmery bronze stick called Sway , it doubles as a beautiful cream shadow to illuminate the eyelids and contour the face. You can apply to cheekbones and bridge of nose, I personally use it as a highlighter because it has a good staying power and gives that warm nice color to tanned skins.  Thank you @apotheca_beauty for this lovely gift 

If you've been following me on instagram ( @confashions ), you have probably seen my post about Net-A-Porter's surprise package that was delivered to me.  I received a limited-edition beauty set called The Holiday Kit . It contains 14 selected luxury travel and full-sized makeup, haircare, bath, body, and skincare products. I didn't want to post about it immediately because I wasted to have sometime to try out the products and give a brief review of each item. Unfortunately, as I checked their site today, the kit is already sold out! BUT! You will find the products sold separately if interested.  Tata Harper's Rejuvenating Serum (15ml/0.5oz.) Erno Laszlo's soothing Phelityl Pre-Cleansing Oil and Sea Mud Deep Cleansing Bar: I haven't tried the cleansing oil yet but I did try the soap bar only and felt it deeply cleansed my skin, the only drawback is that it can get a little bit messy in the bathroom because of its dark texture Verso's Retinol 8...

I was browsing shops in Salhiya Complex in Kuwait when I found this under-construction shop called Apotheca . With a little help from Mr. Google, I came to know that this is a new beauty supply company which will offer a selection of premium natural beauty products in not only in Kuwait, but also the GCC. Their selection will include skincare, haircare, cosmetics, and supplements. They'll be selling stuff like UK-based beauty brand Bloom and Blossom , which are perfect for health conscious mommies. All products are natural and chemical-free with a number on each bottle representing the total number of ingredients used in each product. Also they'll be stocking New York's hippest men's grooming and shaving products line Called Blind Barber ,  (MALIN+GOETZ) , Anastasia Beverly Hills make-up, and so much more.  Not sure when is the launch date or the opening of the store but once I find out, will keep you posted of course! 

As of today NET-A-PORTER.COM is shipping beauty to Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Plus, introduce them to the site's carefully curated edit of the world's most coveted beauty brands including Charlotte Tilbury, SK-II, Hourglass, Anastasia Beverly Hills and many more. Shop here . Will Kuwait ever be part of this? I highly doubt it. Sad but true. 

Spotted this gorgeous golden hairband by Jennifer Behr at Harvey Nichols Kuwait the other day. I liked how this Grecian headband is adorned with a vine of gold-tone brass leaves and tiny pearls, now that the weddings seasons have kicked in, I'm thinking of getting it to style my hair with it. I think will work beautifully with loose tresses or a tousled messy updo.  You can find similar styles here . 

Messy high-bun? Sleek ponytail? undone side fish braid? Been there, done that. So, this summer I'm going to try out these fun and unexpected ways to keep my hair off my face when the humidity is on or when I have a really super duper bad hair day, which is 90% of the time.  What's your go-to hairstyle for this Summer? Photo credit: Style.com

The other day I got the loveliest surprise from   Eat and Glow , a Kuwait-based business that makes nutritious food and healthy snacks to fuel up the right way. Inside the recyclable wooden box, they’ve beautifully arranged some of their favorite gourmet/organic treats, including super nutty granola,  energy bars, a box of yummy truffles, Arachidi spread, and Gianduia spread. I've never heard of the last two spreads, so the first thing I did was called my family members and gave them a quick test. The Gianduia spread actually tasted like a mix of dates and chocolate but not so sweet, after further research I came to know that the Gianduia is an Italian dessert paste made from hazelnuts, cacao and natural sweetener. We tried it with fruits and crispy bread and it tasteed so good! Actually, if you like Nutella, you will love this healthier version. As for  Arachidi spread, it was more peanut-buttery type, and it tasteed just as good. I ha...

Inside every woman is the power to feel beautiful, confident and radiant, according to a first-of-its-kind social experiment conducted by Dove . The social experiment illustrates the ongoing conflict women have with recognizing their beauty and the results are documented in the short film  Dove  Patches that you can view here.

I was invited to a private tour of Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel's recently open spa, Talise . The spa has exactly what you need to truly relax and unwind; including saunas, massage rooms, hot tubs, jacuzzi, steam room, plunge pool, ice room, and salt room, which I'll explain more about in a few. The place smelled nice and I felt instantly transformed into a serene and tranquil environment. At the reception area of the spa, they had 3 line of beauty products on display, and if my memory serves me right, I think they're exclusively sold at Talise spa: Natura Bisse , which is a complete beauty cure that greatly improves the skin's ability to protect itself from stress and help prevent the damages caused by our modern lifestyle, Aromatherapy Associates , which is known as the world's leading expert in creating aromatherapy treatments and products at a professional and therapeutic standard for your complete physical and emotional well-being, and finally  ila ,  an...

A few months ago, I have received from Beauty Essentials WLL a sample of  Glam Glow Tingling & Exfoliating Mud Mask after reading on my instagram that mine was finished. I later found out that it's being sold at many hair and beauty salons in Kuwait. Basically, it's a ten minute at home facial mask that works to create radiant, glowing skin. It activates moisturizing collagen synthesis which provide gentle resurfacing exfoliation, and helps to leave skin smoother, brighter, and softer. I first got introduced to this product in Dubai last year. So I decided to give it a try. The goopy green stuff made my skin feel good, look goof, and smells wonderful! As it dried there was a burning sensation but it was bearable. I can't tell if I imagined it but my face did appear to feel tighter brighter and glowy... at least for the first couple of hours. I'll keep using it for now until I find a better option. What about you? What's your favorite beauty face...

The other day we were walking around AlHamra Mall, when we came across a fragrance and beauty boutique called Parfumerie d’Exception . The hard to pronounce boutique is a new fragrance concept  store launched by Beidoun Trading Company . I was quite impressed by the elegant interior and the selection in-store. According to the salesperson, the boutique combines 24 of the world’s top niche fragrance brands, all new to Kuwait and all exclusive to Parfumerie d’Exception . Although I should be highlighting my favorite perfume, what really caught my attention is a make-up brand called BECCA , I've heard great reviews about the quality of this brand. For example, while most cosmetic companies offer 3 to 7 concealer colors, the BECCA range features no less than 34 concealer colors and 30 foundation colors, enabling ALL women to achieve a flawless look and finding the right shade, a problem which I have been struggling with on-and-off depending on time of the year. Weird I know! T...

If you dare, then head to Mixage boutique , located at Shuwaikh, to get them now. The eyelashes can be worn in different style. Watch this tutorial for more.

Jo Malone is a UK-based fragrance boutique which will open its first freestanding store at the Avenues Mall late October. The brand is renowned for its huge selection British bespoke fragrances. According to Jo Malone's rep, they will be stocking perfumes such as the original modern classic Lime Basil & Mandarin to the new on-the-scene scents such as Velvet Rose and Oud . They will be also selling their famous luxury bath and body products, home fragrance, candles, and gifts.

Last week instagramed ( @confashions ) about Comme des Garçons's competition to celebrate the launch of its new unisex fragrance AMAZINGREEN . Basically all you have to do is take a photo using Instagram that illustrates your interpretation of AMAZINGREEN and upload it with the #amazingreen hashtag. Comme des Garçons will then select the Top 10 Instagrams which best evoke the blast of green energy that defines AMAZINGREEN and reward them with a bottle of AMAZINGREEN fragrance. The deadline of the competition is September 28th. And today I received a nice surprise from the representatives of Comme des Garçons , They have sent me a bottle of AMAZINGREEN to try. And I instantly fell in love with its beautiful smell which I can only describe it as a mix of smoke and spice. The perfume bottle was uniquely packaged in a small green box filled with cut-outs of the bottle's shape. Scroll down to get my drift....

While I was out of town, this lovely package sent by Mawa3eeed.com was delivered to our home. And now that I'm back and done with sorting out things at work and at home, I finally managed to properly go through it and find out more about Mawa3eeed.com . Mawa3eeed.com is a Kuwait-based website that offers you the ultimate convenience of searching for beauty salons, nail spas, or even massages through their online directory, by service or/and by location, then book appointments directly with your chosen salon, and receive an immediate booking confirmation anytime and anywhere. Easy peasy! No busy telephone lines, no clueless receptionists, no " shoot! It's 8pm already?!? Now I have to wait till tomorrow to book an appointment!!! " kind of situations. And that's not all, you can find out what kind of services offered by each salon, the name of their staff and a brief about what they're specialized in, and the exact location of the salon (thanks ...

Several weeks ago I have shared a photo on instagram (@confashions) displaying samples I have received from M.A.C Cosmetics , as part of their latest make-up launches titled Heavenly Creatures . A lot of you thought that they were candies or cupcakes at first glance. I agree! They do look very tempting to eat! And their colours look amazing, like pieces of colorful marble. I'm not sure if they've arrived Kuwait or not, because I receive my samples from Dubai. If you do know, please leave a comment and share your experience. I wasn't so sure how these colors would actually look on my skin, but when I tired them on they blended in really well, at least for the one featured in the first photo which is the Mineralize Skinfinish, it gave a luminous and sheer glow to my skin with a hint of bronze. The texture was not very powdery, which gave me a somewhat natural lightweight application. I'd say it complemented my skin tone nicely... for now.. as I'm still tanned...

I have just received by e-mail these images of M.A.C cosmetics ' latest collaboration with three renowned illustrators to hit stores sometime in September 2012. The illustrators Julie Verhoeven, François Berthoud, and Nikki Farquharson transformed classic M·A·C makeup bags into mini masterpieces. My favorite illustration goes to Julie Verhoeven, featured here. Her bold colours and outright wit come alive, featuring an array of abstract faces swept with vibrant hues. The limited edition make-up bags will be available in two sizes, one scaled for just necessities, the other for total beauty.A great gift idea for your fashion-loving/art-appreciating friend/relative.