Hello lovelies! How have you all been? It's been a while since I last wrote on here, but I think I'm now officially back? I don't want to jinx it again, though. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that this post marks the end of my unexpected blogging break. I'll be updating you on everything that has been going on in my life for the past month, don't worry, just not today. It's been a crazy stressful ride, and it requires a lengthy explanation I will be writing up or possibly filming in days to come. Today I'm here to talk about a more lighthearted topic - makeup. More specifically, The Hot Shop's Matte Lipstick in shade number 10 from Born Pretty Store.

If you feel like you've seen this packaging before, you might not be completely wrong. It screams Topshop, doesn't it? And the fact that the 'brand' is called The Hot Shop leaves no room for coincidence. I think it's safe to say someone had zero imagination when trying to create a dupe. 

Dupe or not, I can't make any comparisons, because I don't own any Topshop lipsticks. No, scratch that. I actually do own one but never wear it because it doesn't suit my skintone at all. Or so I thought when I tried it on a few years ago. Maybe I should dig it out of the drawer and give it another go. Anyway. The Hot Shop lipstick is presented as matte, but I wouldn't say this is 100% true. When you first put it on, it has a slight shine. Having said that, the shine eventually fades and you are left with a proper matte finish. The pigmentation can't be faulted. The colour payoff is great. You don't even need to layer the lipstick to get the bold effect and once it rubs off, you're left with a nice even stain. Unfortunatelly, it doesn't last a whole lot of time on my lips like matte lipsticks usually do. Although it does stain your lips, as already mentioned. The main con for me would be how the formula feels on my lips. It's one of those annoying ones that start to dry out your lips as the time goes by, which I am not a fan of. 

The drying out part aside, I think this is a decent $6,68 lipstick. I don't see myself wearing it on a regular basis, as it's quite bright for every day and, like I mentioned, a little bit too drying  for my taste, but it's definitely a nice addition to my collection. I feel like I'll get more use out of it once spring arrives.

P.S. If you're planning to get anything from Born Pretty Store, you can use the code ' SANH10' and get a 10% discount. 

Day 6 of my UAE vacation was definitely my favorite one. We spent the day at the Jumeirah Beach Park - I don't have any photos to show you because you're not allowed to take them there - and then went to my favorite shopping centre 'The Dubai Mall' in the afternoon. We stayed there until very late, when all the shops started to close, but I really wish I would have an additional day for shopping. Because I ran out of time to go to all the shops I had planned to, and because almost all the stuff from my to-buy list turned out to be sold out, I have to admit I was quite disappointed with my shopping experience by the end of the day. UNTIL my mother surprised me with the last two items because she felt sorry for me, of course. :)

By the way, thank god for my relative from Australia! She is now on the hunt for the three pairs of shoes I wanted to buy in Dubai, so if you happen to live in Melbourne and see a lady with curly hair running around the city with bags of shoes in one hand and a measuring tape in the other - that's her!

Now back to Dubai and my collective shopping haul. Here is what I had managed to snatch up...

I'm planning to do a couple of 'holiday season party dresses' posts. I just want to show you some amazing dresses I've found online and if you're interested in price or any other detail of a particular dress, just click on the number of the dress at the end of this post. These dresses are all from Topshop. Which one is your favorite?

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 

15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 /23 /24 /25 /26 / 27 / 28 /