Gourmet Abu Dhabi Opening

Last Tuesday night, I went to the Gala Opening of Abu Dhabi Gourmet, a 16 day event where International Masterchefs from around the world host exceptional dinners and teach masterclasses.

The opening was held at the brand new Ritz Carlton Hotel and the ballroom was filled from end to end with 16 stands each serving the yummiest but strangest food. Each stand belonged to a hotel or restaurant in Abu Dhabi, and featured one of their resident chefs or visiting International Chefs. Sometime in the upcoming 2 weeks, these chefs will be cooking gourmet meals to which you can buy tickets. All I can say of the opening is that the food was utterly DIVINE and tasted incredible! 

All of the food that we ate was bite sized but full of flavour. The best part was that everything was so beautifully displayed in tiny containers or bite-sized plates. Lots of things were on sticks, push-up cups, in cones, and had condiments in little squirters for you to season your bites.  In one night, I managed to eat camel meat, quail eggs, shrimp, veal with truffles, meat, fish, venison, duck, fois gras, fois gras ice-cream, lobster, yellowtail ceviche, passion fruit bubbles, truffles galore, and a TON of dessert. It was definitely a night to remember, but not one I would repeat till next year when I've recovered! 

The weirdest thing I ate all night was quail egg cooked in nitrogen at -200 degrees celcius! It actually wasn't bad! (See pic on the left)

GOURMET ABU DHABI will be running from February 5 to 20 with various events, culinary promotions, demonstrations and themed dinners. If you have a real appreciation for food, love experimenting with your meals, or simply want to try dishes by Michelin Star Chefs, then I highly recommend you buy tickets. It's not everyday that Abu Dhabi offers something so amazing and different! Click HERE for tickets and more details. 

Almay Makeup Eraser Sticks

I recently came across a WONDER makeup product that I HAD to share with you! You know when you are doing your makeup and it looks fabulous and then you accidentally slip up?! You mistakenly flip out the eyeliner of one eye more than the other, or your mascara smudges on your eyelid, or something so trivial but you panic? I used to use a cotton bud soaked in a little makeup remover but would end up with a big bare hole soI had to improvise and do that eye all over again.

That's until I found ALMAY makeup eraser Sticks. Each stick is like a cotton bud but with a much narrower cotton than a regular cotton bud. Inside the plastic part is Almay oil free eye makeup remover. You dab it on the mistake and poof, its gone. With BARELY any damage! Its amazing and I completely understand how it made the list for Allure Best of Beauty in 2011 & 2012! I can't do my makeup without it anymore! 

The only negative thing I found about this product is that the remover dries out fast so you can only use each stick for one application. I combat this by stocking up on 3 boxes of 24 sticks at a time! :)

Are there any beauty products you LOVE and would like to share?

Outfit Du Jour - Mywardrobe.com Event

Dress: Scuba dress by TIBI (Link here)
Necklace: Anton Heunis (Link here) 
Bracelets: Kabiri (Link here and here)
Clutch: VBH
Shoe Boots: Valentino

MY Wardrobe Shopping Event Chez Moi

On Monday night, I hosted a FABULOUS fashion event at my house! My-Wardrobe.com from the U.K. brought over a selection of their Spring/Summer 2013 collection to showcase to my nearest and dearest friends. The clothes were absolutely amazing, the vibe was fantastic and everyone seemed to have a blast shopping the rails.

I luckily have a sister who is a party planner and she recreated a store atmosphere so everyone felt like they were browsing in a real shop and not just an online store. The overall effect was AMAZING! We had a nail bar from Sugar Urban Nails where the ladies could get a colour change and there was delicious finger food from Circle Cafe in Abu Dhabi.  Each guest left with a My Small Obsessions goody bag filled with fashion cookies from Partiperfect Catering and an exclusive discount to use on My-Wardrobe.com. 

I would like to thank everyone who attended and made the event such a great success and I can't wait for the next one! :)

Don't you LOVE fashion events?! :)

Outfit Du Jour

Sweater: Markus Lupfer

Leather Trousers: Helmut Lang

Wedge Trainers: Guiseppe Zanotti

Necklace: House of Harlow

Clutch: Maison Du Posh by Azreal Sky (Link here) (Absolutely OBSESSED with this bag!) 

BUBBLEGUM Pink Lipstick anyone?

Cara Delvigne at Giles S/S 2013 show

(Source: beautyeditor.ca)

You know its Spring when the makeup stands start displaying pastel-ly colours - light pinks, light blues, light greys, and bronzers to waken up dull winter skin. This season, Giles Deacon's Spring/Summer 2013 show at London Fashion Week sparked a new trend of makeup- bubblegum coloured lips! Models walked down the runway with dewy faces, barely-there makeup and deep fuchsia lipstick. The beauty of this shade is that it suits almost every complexion, works on all ages, and if you are running out the door with no makeup on, with fuchsia lipstick you will instantly look better!

How to PERFECT this look

STEP 1: Put some of your face foundation or nude lip liner all over your lips to absorb the moisture

STEP 2: Apply the first coat

STEP 3:  Blot with a tissue

STEP 4: Apply a second coat. This will ensure that your lipstick lasts longer

Keep the rest of your makeup minimal. Mascara, light eyeliner, subtle eyeshadow and blush. Your lips need to POP!

Lipsticks on the market

MAC lip pencil in EMBRACE ME (link here)

This was the colour used at the GILES fashion show

NARS FUNNY FACE in Semi Matte Fuchsia (Link here)

This is a strong, bold colour

ILLAMASQUA BRIGHT BUBBLEGUM PINK (Link here)

This will look good on those with a fairer complexion

NYLON LIPTAR 

CLASSIC BUBBLEGUM PINK WITH A NEON TWIST (Link here)

DIOR ADDICT LIPSTICK in ESPIEGLE (Link Here)

If you want something less bold

Celebrities with Bubblegum Lips

Jessica Alba

(Source: www.helloonline.com)

Emma Stone

(Source: www.helloonline.com)

What do you think - will you be sporting bubblegum fuchsia lips this season?

Getting Organized!

I am a very organized person- I like things categorized and in their specified place. Shoes go in the shoe cupboard, handbags go in the bag cupboard, towels in the towel cupboard and my many toiletries also have their own cupboard! Batteries go in one drawer, bulbs in another etc. You get the gist - I can be quite obsessive about it! 

My towels are organized in coloured wicker baskets from ZARA HOME according to their function: 

bath for me, bath for my hubby, floor mats, guests, gym, kitchen, and makeup 

Items in my office are organized in these IKEA baskets. 

One for me, one for my hubby and one for Miscellaneous

Lately though, I've been getting extremely frustrated when it comes to choosing my accessories. I usually save the small dust bags that jewellery come in and if they are more expensive items, I like to save the boxes. Jewellery is my absolute favourite accessory to buy so you can only imagine how many boxes and bags I have collected over the years! Somehow, they all suddenly piled up and I can't differentiate new items from old ones or find any of my favourites. I end up wearing the same pieces over and over.

Today I went to DAISO at Al Wahda Mall, a Japanese discount store that sells everything under the sun! There I found really cute coloured baskets that I felt would be perfect to organize my jewellery and  that I needed to share with you guys! 

The multi-function baskets are ADORABLE and are available in many colours and sizes:  

white, pink, fuchsia, purple, beige, black, and dark blue

I categorized the baskets by necklaces, earrings, and bracelets and rings and hung the very delicate chains on a stand so they don't tangle. 

The baskets were each arranged in 3 columns so that I could find things more easily

The best part about this whole exercise was finding things I completely forgot about that I used to love! I feel SO much better now that my jewellery is organized and I look forward to picking out accessories for my next outfits!

How do you like to organize your things?