April 2016 – The Blush Diaries | A Dubai Based Fashion and Beauty Blog by Rania Esper

Wanderlust Collection

In December I shared with you a post called Wanderlusting with my friend Sara Japanwalla who gave me the full scoop on her latest venture into fashion design. She has finally launched The Wanderlust Collection, which captures the essence of each beautiful city (Paris, Venice and Santorini) on a canvas of wearable art for different tastes. Sara is an innately talented artist and now she has proven that she knows what looks good on women. The pieces range from playful midi skirts, capes and dresses all in a flattering scuba material. I got to work with a team of amazing ladies to create an editorial photoshoot for the collection, and we each were able to showcase our unique styles and how we would wear the outfits. Since the general vibe was colorful, fun and slightly retro, we decided to go for vintage hair and makeup. Some of the pictures were shot at Magnolia Bakery at The Beach in JBR which really was the icing on the proverbial cupcake. I don’t really like to play favorites, but the Paris Midi Skirt I got to model felt like it was made just for me because it really fit like a glove. I think The Wanderlust Collection has enough variety of prints and styles that work for different body types and will appeal to anyone with an affinity to something bold and cheeky. You can see the pictures from our photoshoot below, and I highly recommend you head to the Sara japanwalla biddi store and get yourself a wanderlust piece for the summer! I would love to know what you thought of our shoot and which outfit is your favorite.

xo Rania

Photography by Mrunmayi Pandit.

Hair and Makeup by Nina Ubhi and her team from the Nina Ubi Beauty and Hair Institute.

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Spring Makeup Favorites

I haven’t done a beauty blog post in a while and so I decided to show you how I’d create a simple look using some of my spring makeup favorites for this year. My everyday look is usually the same, but I’m always into trying to incorporate new products especially as the seasons and trends change. At the moment I’m still using the same base for day-to-day outings which is the Tarte BB Tinted Treatment, but I’ve added the Nars Loose Powder (in ‘Eden’) to the mix which helps with keeping everything in place without looking caked on. The shade is too dark for around my eyes but adds a lovely and natural warm tone to my very pale complexion.

For the next step I pulled out my current favorite palette by Too Faced, the Chocolate Bon Bon. The shadows and highlighters smell like actual candy and there’s a wide variety of shades from neutrals to brights, and mattes to sparkly to please everyone’s taste. I applied the shade Cashew Chew all over my lids, and a mixture of Almond Truffle and Cotton Candy to the outer corners of my eyes. I finally used Satin Sheets on my cheekbones to give me that shimmery glow I love so much. The application is just enough to add pigment without looking over the top, so you can control how heavy the look turns out.

Mascara is so relative from person to person and is something I’m constantly experimenting with. Right now I’m using Urban Decay’s Perversion and it’s been working perfectly for me since it separates the lashes and gives length and fluffiness. I love using a lash primer or maximizer but it’s been a while and I’m so glad I picked up this False Lashes Maximizer by MAC because I was pleasantly surprised by the impact it makes.

For my final step I applied my go-to lip shade for the season which is Stila’s All Day Liquid Lipstick in Baci. I can’t get enough of these liquid lipsticks, and in pure Stila fashion these come in tons of gorgeous shades and are incredibly long lasting without the extra drying factor. They’re also easy to remove which is plus since I hate looking like my lips have been mauled at. I saw this particular shade on my cousin and ran straight to Sephora the next day to pick it up, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I hope you liked this look and will be trying some of these products yourself. Let me know what your Spring Makeup Favorites are for 2016!

xo Rania

Spring Makeup Favorites: Nars Loose Powder in Eden | Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bon | Urban Decay Perversion Mascara | MAC False Lashes Maximizer | Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick in Baci. Photography by Natelee Cocks.

Spring Tweed Jackets

I still remember the first time I saw tweed pieces during Spring and the sheer excitement I felt over a mint pencil skirt and the creamy tweed jackets. While we’re still clinging to remnants of a breeze here in Dubai, I thought I’d remind you to put your pretty tweed jackets to good use, without the need to overdress. Tweed is such a beautiful and elegant texture (thank you Ms. Coco Chanel) and I love finding the pieces with a little shine in the threading. I debated over how I wanted to style this jacket since I usually tend to reach for dresses and skirts, but I thought it carried its own weight pretty well and was confident it would turn a simple look into a chic ensemble. Since this blazer is in my favorite shade of cream I was not about to shy away from pulling out all my soft pastel accessories, but I would definitely keep my eyes peeled for all the dark and smoky tweed jackets out in the market right now.

I adore my simple and meaningful jewelry but I knew I had to add a bit of sparkle to complete my ‘Sunday brunch on the upper westside’ vibe, and this necklace from J. Crew was just the right amount of gloss I needed. When it comes to investment pieces, tweed jackets go a long way in the eternal style department. You’ll see them make an appearance during the fall and last all through winter and spring. You can pair them with a simple shift dress, over a pleated skirt and even tailored shorts and channel your inner effortlessly stylish parisian. Let me know what you think!

xo Rania

Photography by Natelee Cocks.