Our guilty pleasure is watching Youtube Gurus talk about their monthly favourites and we’re excited to bring you our first at Arabian Umami ! Can we hear a whistle? *Woot! Woot*

Before proceeding, a little Disclaimer – You’ll want to buy most, if not all of these. We apologise in advance, but think of these as an ‘investment’ in your general well being and glee !

Let’s commence. * Happy dance around the lounge * Have your cup of tea or coffee? If not, quickly go make some. 🙂

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Makeup Favorites:

It’s a great day when Mr. Aramex Man arrives at your doorstep holding your prezies. It’s odd, he doesn’t seem to be as childishly excited as us on the receiving end. It’s not odd actually. Few get as excited to add new makeup and skincare items to their dressing tables. Please refrain from judging. Anywhoo, here’s presenting our first monthly favourite. The Wayne Goss Anniversary Brush Set. To say they cost you a kidney would be an understatement. But as we discussed earlier.. the word to remember throughout this blog post is INVESTMENT. Phew

These brushes are of the highest quality and pick up twice the amount of pigment from your eyeshadows. You literally have to sneakily dab your brush into your cream or powder eyeshadows, and blend away. Start with a light hand, you can always build up to your desired end result.

The 8 piece Anniversary Set by beauty vlogger Wayne Goss has been meticulously handcrafted by traditional artisans in Kumano, Japan with the softest, 100% cruelty-free natural hair bristles.  Unfortunately, these are not available to purchase in Dubai. We purchased ours from http://www.beautylish.com. If you’re lucky, they’ll still be in stock.

• Brush No. 01 The much-loved Brush 01, now three times larger for fast, flawless application of your favorite foundation. This elegant duo-fiber Brush makes blending creams, liquids, and powders to a poreless finish quick and easy. This one is limited-edition and exclusive to the set.
• Brush No. 02 A soft-as-silk Brush that seamlessly buffs powder products—blush, bronzer, highlighter, or setting powder
• Brush No. 03 Fluffy, slightly pointed bristles make this Brush ideal for sweeping pigment all over the eyelid.
• Brush No. 04 Perfect for blending and distributing color into the crease of any eye shape
• Brush No. 05 The fine-point tip and supple bristles allow for the utmost precision when applying pigment to the eyes and lips.
• Brush No. 06 Effortlessly blends and softens eyeshadow in a single stroke. Use it to apply concealer to imperfections for a natural, even finish.
• Brush No. 07 Designed for lipstick or eyeliner, this small, flat Brush has just the right amount of stiffness for ultimate control
• Brush No. 08 A tiny Brush with a short, flat tuft, ideal for tightlining the eyes with ease. Its unique shape makes working pigment directly into the root of lashes or brow hairs easier than ever before.

Detailed Brush Reviews:

Umami Score: 10/10

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Take deep breaths. Let’s recover from the Wayne Goss brushes and move on to our next favourite. The flamboyantly sexy, uber pigmented, velvety, melt on the eyelids VICE 4 palette by Urban Decay. This palette wins the ‘Jazziest packaging’ award, hands down !

Bring on the sparkle ! The just released Urban Decay Vice 4 eyeshadow palette features 20 (yes, 20!) brand-new, limited-edition shades. The colors are the usual high quality promised by Urban Decay. Eleven shades have micro-glitter, per the brand, and one more has “tonal sparkle.” Some are noticeable in practice, other shades have less and most sparkles drop during application so there isn’t as much fall out during wear, but we would recommend an adhesive primer for best results and minimal fall out. The palette would be perfect for travelling as it has a huge mirror, a cute case and a dual ended brush – one a blending brush, the other an eyeshadow brush. The palette has mostly sparkly shades but also some convenient matte crease shades.

The palette is inspired by an oil slick, so it’s a lot of deep shades and jewel tones. There are only a few warm shades in this one, and there is a lot of shimmer (as per most UD palettes!) This palette has 4 mattes, which I will say is more than they have done in the past! A lot of people have gripes about the glittery shades, which is understandable — there’s always a bit of fallout and it goes on a little more sheer than you might expect, when using a brush. But that’s an easy fix. For the glittery shades like “Flame,” “Low,” and “Crowbar,” in particular, make sure you 1. use primer, and 2. use your finger to apply (instead of a brush) OR apply with a damp brush. The palette is available in Dubai at Sephora. Happy eye drawing ! 🙂

Umami Score: 9/10!

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Primers are overrated. Never been a fan. Hah!  Enter, the Marc Jacobs Undercover Perfecting Coconut Face Primer. Hallay-freakin-looyah !

This has a milky, serum like consistency and easily glides on your face. Has zero of that, silicone, sticky, fake plasticky feel to it. It’s enriched with concentrated coconut extracts which form a natural, vitamin-rich barrier between your skin and makeup. The coconut water-derived formula mirrors the effect of synthetic priming ingredients, allowing your skin to breathe without compromising the skin-perfecting benefits. The result is makeup that stays on longer and skin that appears younger-looking and better than ever. This primer is thin in consistency and one pump is enough for the whole face. It spreads like a dream onto the skin and has a slight cooling effect. In addition to the actual product, oh, how we love the packaging of this!! It looks so luxurious and super classy with the all-white heavy frosted glass bottle with a pump. Flaunt this proudly on your vanity!

Umami Score – 10/10 ! 

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Skincare Favorites: 

With the winter months approaching (the few we have in Dubai), we must make sure our skin hydration level is on fleek; hashtag skin on fleek. La Mer is a cult favourite moisturising cream on the market so you would think a review wouldn’t even be necessary, but we feel different. Any product that gets as much hype as Crème de la Mer deserves to be scrutinized very closely. We all know that not every product can work for every skin, so who exactly does Crème de la Mer work for?

• Crème de la Mer is an intensive moisturising cream for all skin types, including sensitive and dry complexions. In a short time skin becomes softer, firmer and looks virtually creaseless. Ageing lines and pores are less visible and skin is more supple.
• The cream is very thick so it’s definitely suited to dry skin types. La Mer do offer lighter formula’s such as a gel cream and a lotion should you not need something as thick as this one. The cream is so thick you wouldn’t really be able to rub it into your skin anyway, it would physically take some work to ‘rub’ it in.
• There is a special method to applying this cream. To activate the key ingredients you are instructed to warm a small amount between your fingertips and then pat on to your skin. We recommend using this method anyway as it’s less damaging to your skin than rubbing.
• At the heart of this extraordinary formula is Crème de la Mer’s Miracle Broth™ – a nutrient rich broth that is bio-fermented for 3-4 months containing a combination of sea kelp, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, lecithin, vitamins C, E and B12 plus oils of citrus, eucalyptus, wheat germ, alfalfa and sunflower.
• After application, skin instantly looks like it’s glowing. The cream leaves a dewy finish which some may perceive as looking oily if they aren’t used to it.
• The cream has a slight Nivea smell but that’s not a downside.

We believe when you look good you feel good, and when you feel good you look good!

Umami Score: 10/10!

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And we finally come to the last favourite of the month. This face oil is purely genius ! It is not greasy and absorbs quicker than your fast dryer top coat ! Weird comparison, je s’ais, but we gots to be dramatic to make a point sometimes!

Progenius Omega Treatment Rescue Oil is an all-natural, featherweight formula featuring bakuchiol – nature’s answer to retinol without the negative side effects. It helps repair and refine texture for satiny, flawless-looking skin. Coleus root and organic rosemary extracts, nature’s best purifying ingredients, work to clarify the complexion. A potent botanical complex boosts skin moisture, and virgin, organic, cold-pressed rose hip oil nourishes with omegas 3 and 6 and vitamin C.

2-3 drops is enough to cover your face and neck and you wake up with clear, hydrated skin. Sometimes when the skin is too dry, the oil sinks in immediately and you might feel the urge to apply more. Don’t!

Umami Tip: Apply oil to soaking wet skin immediately after washing it. That way the oils will seal in the moisture, and the formula will be much easier to spread. It’s a one way ticket to a good skin day ! You might even ditch foundation and opt for a natural coverage tinted moisturiser 🙂

Umami Score: 9/10!

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Thanks for tuning in peeps ! See you again, with another list of our monthly faves (plus our guilty faces) next month! Seasons Greetings from Dubai ! 🙂