My Dubai Beauty Haul

My Dubai Beauty Haul

I made a goal of publishing 2 blog posts a week on each of my blogs and that’s really quite a challenge. With a full-time job, driving/travel time, quality time with the kids, some adult conversation with the husband, a side hobby, and everything else in between, I don’t actually have a concrete plan on how I can squeeze in my writing into my already hectic schedule. But that’s the plan and I will stick to it as long as I can.

So while thinking of topic to discuss, I prowled my favorite lifestyle blogs to have some ideas. Well, I can be like Divasoria and take inspiration from her Glossy posts. I can share the current beauty products I’m using. But, but, but… would I look so superficial? And who cares what shampoo I’m using, right?!? I’m not a celebrity or anything. But then, I realized it’s my blog and I can just write anything that I can think of. And I need something to write for goodness sake!

Anyways, I am often surprised when colleagues and strangers compliment my skin. Like, really? Me? Flawless? I don’t think so. How come I can always find something on my face to fuss about? Then again, as I grow older become more mature, I learn to appreciate my skin. I would like to thank my genes for that as I don’t recall having pimples when I was a teenager. I don’t think my siblings had skin issues as well.

But now that I’m getting older more mature, I notice that all kinds of zits and whatnots appear on my face overnight. I suspect it might be due to lack of sleep, or I’m touching my face often (subconsciously) or simply because I’m aging 🙁 . I now became more conscious in taking care of my skin.

With the schedule that I have, shower is like 10-15 minutes max everyday. I don’t have the luxury of time to buff and scrub for that smooth, soft, silky skin. But working women (or even stay at home moms) should never forego using beauty products that will help maintain our youthful appearance. I know that beauty is skin deep but be honest, you don’t really want to look older than your age. Besides, taking care of your appearance will boost your self confidence. It doesn’t mean being superficial but just telling yourself that you are worth caring about.

Please don’t think I’m justifying my post! Hehehe.

Let’s start with what I am using on my crowning glory. Aside from my skin, people always tell me that they like my hair. Well, it’s really not naturally straight as I go for re-bond treatment every year or so. I also don’t wash my hair often to avoid hair loss and dry scalp. That’s quite unusual for Filipinos since we are used on shampooing and conditioning our hair every single day.

Glossy

Dove shampoo and Dove Conditioner – I select the one for dry/damaged hair because I feel that my hair is dry and damaged. There was a time that I used L’Oreal products but I feel that Dove is milder so I changed.

Palmolive Conditioner (the pink variant) – they always tell me that my hair smells so nice and I attribute it to this conditioner. The smell lasts all day.

Celeteque Clarifying Shampoo – they said that this removes the residue buildup on your hair that was caused by shampoo, gels and whatever hair products you’re using. Suggested use is once a week but since I don’t shampoo my hair everyday and I don’t apply anything on it, I only use this once every two weeks. In fairness, I notice that my hair feels softer after every use.

Now for my body, as I said, shower time is always a no-fuss routine for me. We used to be loyal users of Dove soap and I’m not sure when it happened but we gradually started using shower gels. I guess the convenience of just putting the gel onto the sponge won us over.

Glossy

Bioderma shower gel – my everyday body wash. It has a clean smell and I don’t feel my skin drying.

Bioderma White Objective Lightening Cleanser – i used this specifically on my arms since I can see some discoloration there, and my underarms as I want to achieve that deo underarm model-kind of armpit. Heh!

Victoria Secret – I use this only if I can afford to take longer shower. It smells heavenly but I need to rinse longer so I avoid during weekday. I.DONT.HAVE.TIME.

Now for the face. As all girls know, the products we are using depends on our mood and requirement on that moment. How many times we were enticed with that eye gel that promises to remove our eyebags or that cleansing milk with all the vitamins & minerals for healthy looking skin. I used to have many facial creams, ointments and scrubs but learned to stop hoarding them. I don’t have time to spent 30 minutes every morning and night to wash my face, exfoliate, moisturize, and then apply all these beauty secrets. I just can’t. So now I only have the basics. I can maybe add few more if I can find products that can minimize my open pores. It’s my current issue as of the moment.

Glossy

Bioderma Makeup Removing Solution – As with most Bioderma product, this doesn’t have any smell and removes easily the concealer, eye-liner and blush-on I applied in the morning. I  used to wash my face at night but stopped doing it as I’m scared I’m damaging my tired eyes. It might just be some grandma’s tale but I’d rather be safe than sorry. With my current vision, I could go blind if I don’t take care of my eyesight. Scared!

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash – This is what I use on my face during my daily morning showers. I prefer the one with grapefruit scent and I love the tiny small grains.

Olay Natural White (Day and Night creams) – I’ve been using these facial creams for years. A lot of my beauty regimen come and go but this one remains. I could be their endorser.

For lotion, Jergens is a fix staple in our home. I use the Ultra Healing variant, again because I have dry skin. There are days that I will switch between my Victoria Secret’s lotion and Bioderma nourishing cream. I always try to apply lotion even at night.

Glossy

I have very simple make-up routine and I don’t wear foundation for everyday make-up. I also stop buying products on a whim since I just end up throwing them to the bin. This is now my current haul.

G;ossy

I have a small stash of Bioderma sun cream testers. I’m getting more conscious of skin damage nowadays and I don’t want to regret not using this sooner. I also apply them on top of my hands. One more important make-up product for me is the concealer. I was on the look-out for the perfect concealer for years and I think I found it in Mac. It’s not cake-y and matches evenly on my skin. On days that I need extra coverage, I put L’Oreal concealer after applying Mac.

Glossy

As I have chinky eyes, i feel that eyeliner is important to make it appear brighter and bigger. I tried Mac and in fairness, it doesn’t smudge so I think I’ll stick with this one. I also shape my eyebrows with Maybelline eyebrow pencil. It has the pen and tip for you to make that perfect brow.

Glossy

I cannot live without a lip balm. I have to have one wherever I go and apply every few hours or risk having a headache. Yes, it’s true! I get headaches if don’t apply it often. I don’t have any particular brand but I prefer non-glossy. I can forego without lipstick but since I’m an adult now, I bought several just for me to have something on days that I want some lip color. You might notice that the Body Shop lip & cheek stain tubes are almost empty. This is my current fave and I mostly use this on my cheek. It really stays longer and it suits my lazy ‘no-retouch’ personality.

Glossy

To finish it off, I just dust my face with Body Shop or Maybelline face powder. And that’s it. I’m ready to face the world!

i’m not sure if my beauty haul is just normal, less or extreme compared to non-celebrity, regular working women. What’s your beauty regimen? I would love to know.

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2 comments

  1. Liezel says:

    Hi! Where did you buy your Celeteque? I’m currently here in Sharjah, UAE and I can’t find celeteque products anywhere! I badly need a moisturizer but I’m only hiyang to celeteque moisturizer, and I forgot to buy it before flying here in UAE. My skin is getting dry and I’m starting having pimples since it’s winter here. I will appreciate it if you share it with me. Thanks a lot!

    • wavatar
      Filipina Expat says:

      I actually bought that from the Philippines! And I would buy in bulk whenever I go home or some family members to buy it for me. Including several boxes of ampalaya capsule, diatabs, biogesic… 🙂

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