Mid-year makeup haul from Sephora ME

A hundred years ago, on this very day, a series of events broke out that touched the lives of people in many, many countries - definitely throughout the British Empire. A moment of silence for those fallen in the Great War, please. My family and I are marking this by visiting two memorials - one here, and one in my Gramps's hometown - with flowers (see photo at the end of the post). On to lighter topics now.

Have you noticed the near-absence of haul posts on this blog recently? Blame Memebox for it. On the other hand, Memeboxes may come and Korean products may go, but Sephora goes on forever. I managed to find time despite a super-hectic schedule - which included football-watching - to pick up a few things from Sephora Dubai, Boots, Al Shop (I know, right), Bloomingdales, Pari Gallery, Karisma and a couple of random stores whose names I don't even remember. Here is what I bought during my trip, except for drugstore products and a couple of items missing in the depths of my suitcases. I tend to be a super-organised packer but disorganised when it comes to unpacking. Some of these are a bit squashed, as a result, but no real damage, thankfully.  You have seen the gifts with purchase and samples I received here, now take a look at the haul itself.
Apart from one repurchase - Lancome Advanced Genefique - everything else is new to my stash. Lots of lip products there, I know. It has been difficult to move on from Chanel Rouge Double Intensite, but now that I am trying other things, I want a few options. The Benefit counter in Sephora had Lolli Tint, which I had lusted after for a while. A beautiful pink, which I will swatch for you soon, this is my favourite among the Benefit tints. I also picked up Bene Balm and Lolli Balm. I might regret passing on Cha Cha Balm at some point, but, for now, I am anti-orange and pro-pink enough to be pleased.

Sephora's own brand is always a favourite of mine. I picked up some rather innovative/gimmicky products - do not judge me, please. That torture device below is a mascara which I dare not open yet. I will talk about the lip product another time, since even naming it is going to be a legal hassle, thanks to Sephora Dubai not changing the name.

I bought my first Rouge Volupte and will swatch it soon. Two more Givenchy Le Rouge lipsticks are joining my collection - I already own two, of which Brun Vintage is reviewed here. Mostly similar shades, but I refuse to think beyond dusty roses, subtles and neutrals. I bought my first Burberry lipstick, as well as two Rouge d'Armanis and my first Tarte LipSurgence Power Pigment. Two, really, but one is too bold for my liking and has been taken off my stash. Unless one of the girls wants it, it goes into a blog sale.

I was delighted to buy three of the new Lorac Pro Matte Retractable Lip Colors. More on these later. LOVE the matte dusty-rose-neutral goodness!

I was not going to buy palettes at all! Pinky swear! But the Kat Von D packaging was too good to resist, as also the purple goodness inside. Reviewed here. They did not have Lorac Pro 2, which is why I bought v.1, reviewed here. Ah well, you don't travel all the time and I will go back to being a haul-free, Memebox-buying girl from now on. And I prefer matte eyeshadows any day and rue the overdose of shimmers in neutral palettes. The IT Cosmetics palette is all-matte. What more can I ask for, apart from world peace and food for all?

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomades were only 90 AED each - for once, I actually remember the exact price of something. I picked up Chocolate and Deep Brown. Both are seriously deep enough on me; I skipped jet black since we do not want the astronauts in the International Space Station making snarky comments upon sighting my already too-thick eyebrows.

I also have brushes from Sonia Kashuk and IT Cosmetics, apart from the Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer. I forgot to take a picture of the last named, since I dropped it into my travel-bag over the weekend.

For the third time in my life, I actually BOUGHT a blush. Two, really. I was at the Givenchy counter in Sephora, swatching Le Rouge lipsticks and looking for a back-up of my favourite compact in Shaping Honey (OOS. I have a nasty feeling they are about to stop production), when I saw these blushes. I fell in love with the design and the colours and told myself it was all part of trousseau-building. I will do a post on the only other two blushes I bought another time. Apparently they are about to hike the prices thanks to improved packaging, so I was just in time. The SA also managed to talk me into picking up a moisturising lotion guaranteed to mattify oily skin. I end up falling for this each time....

With more than 300 bottles in my stash now, I had not planned on buying too many nail polishes. Kits were an exception. Even so, I picked up only two - Orly Cosmic FX from Karisma and Ciate Flower Manicure, which I have wanted ever since it launched. Turns out Ciate is really big in Sephora ME, bigger than O.P.I., whose latest collections are yet to launch. Boo!

I had also picked up sundry drugstore products and visited good old Boots (where they still do not accept my UK Advantage Card), but that is all for another time.
Before I go, here is a photo of the commemorative plaque in Gramps's old village. This, for me, is the best picture in this entire post. Hopefully, I can get to Flanders, Somme and Ypres, and Gallipolli itself, within the next four years. Stay tuned for more WWI commemoration updates.

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