En route to Europe, I stopped over for a few days in Dubai, where as you might know, Ms Lather Rinse Repeat has recently relocated. As well as putting me up for a few nights, she pointed me in the direction of Dubai’s mega malls, which are conveniently accessible by metro. I tried hard not to haul too much, but I couldn’t resist picking up a few pretties…
One of the must-go places in Dubai for any Aussie beauty addict is Sephora. While the prices aren’t as irresistible as in the US stores, there’s a huge range of cosmetics to lust after in person that simply aren’t accessible in Australia – Urban Decay, Too Faced, and so on. I picked up Sephora’s Enchanting eyeshadow palette, which contains 14 pretty shadows in a super glittery case for 38 AUD.
Michaela being Michaela, we ended up in Penhaligon’s, where there was a range of L’Artisan Parfumeur fragrances on sale. When Dubai had a sale, you get a sale – I stuck to my gourmand roots and picked up a 50 mL bottle of Bois Farine for a tad under 25 AUD.
I wish I could say that I picked up enough French while living in the French part of Switzerland for two weeks to read this, but thanks to Google Translate I don’t have to pretend. Loosely it says “Mysterious and familiar at the same time, magical wood, powdered flower.”
I also stopped in at The Body Shop, which is a tad cheaper than at home, and grabbed the Coconut Eau de Toilette for about $19 ($5 cheaper than in Australia), which I’ve been wanting for a while, as well as a $2 netting sponge (never realised how much I needed one til I tried using shower gel with my bare hands). I also bought a cheapie loofah in Dubai’s version of Kmart (interesting fact: loofahs are made from dried fibrous melons, and in cheap loofahs you can still dig out seeds from the tunnels).
Some of the other things I did in Dubai:
Walked past “Fat Burger” and went for spicy fries and a cheeseburger at Hardee’s instead (pat on the back, Michelle, pat on the back!):
Saw two mythical brands in person for the first time: Gosh cosmetics and Bath & Body Works (didn’t end up buying anything in B&BW because I couldn’t decide what to buy):
Found some impressively hideous duochrome leopard print in Topshop:
Discovered a fitting room that included a bed:
Rode around on the Metro taking photos of big buildings:
Took some photos of the stingrays in Dubai Mall’s aquarium (I can’t believe how many animals they managed to cram in there):
Took some photos of Michaela taking selfies with the rays:
He he! Sounds like a fun trip to Dubai. Though I don’t know how you walked out of BBW with nothing. I guess it’s hard to choose when you’re stuck with luggage limits!
Exactly – they had discounts on the big candles but not the little ones! it would’ve been about 6 kilos of candle.
Looks like you had loads of fun, I’ve never been to Dubai before but I’d love to stop over one day for a shopping trip.
That must be the biggest perk of your job – all the shopping! I really need to head to the US for some hardcore hauling!
Wow, you passed a Fatburger and a Hardee’s? Maybe you don’t need to make a trip to the states after all; it sounds like Dubai has the U.S. experience covered! I kid… sort of. In the interest of full disclosure, I am in walking distance of both a Fatburger and a Carl’s Jr (Hardee’s western US brand name) right now. Of course, as an American, “walking distance” refers to the distance to a car because my people do not, as a general rule, walk places. Okay, I’m kidding again. I don’t know why your post has sent me on a Dumb Muricans tangent, but there is is.
In all seriousness, though, Dubai looks gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your adventure with the homebodies in your audience!
Nah, I need US prices on products! Dubai prices are pretty similar to Australia’s. And Popeye’s, I have heard SO MUCH about Popeye’s. Every time I tell someone from the US how much I love KFC, they tell me I’m an ignoramus.
We sell that hideous duochrome skirt at Topshop Australia (I work there now, so I see all the good and bad things lol).
Where abouts did you stay in Switzerland??
Hahaha! I saw some terrible things in there…terrible things.
I’m staying at my boyfriend’s house in Lausanne.
If you ever fancy a layover in Denmark or Sweden, call me! 😛