A Desert Wedding: The Makeup

Let’s return to the wedding! As with the first article on my blowout I will keep the wedding party and guests private, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t tell you about the stunning location, the program or the makeup!

It was our very first time to ever witness a wedding with both European and Arabic traditions, totally in sync with the bride and groom. As this was a muslim ceremony, you start by taking all the wows at court and then follows days of celebration! In our case;  two day wedding festivities in the most amazing place on earth – The Desert!

Located in the middle of nowhere, about 30km from Dubai, passing Abu Dhabi and then venture straight out in the sand dunes is Arabian Nights Village. This luxury resort takes you back to what the middle east once was: beduins, camels, self providing small camps around oasis on the desert. Although it is a high end resort, you won’t find any crystal chandeliers or marble flooring out here, the very small resort is built up like a village with secluded houses (bungalows) and a wonderful pool area where there once was a natural oasis. All water is taken by underlying wadis in the sand and the animals are living close by. Other than this, all you ever see in sand dunes. Enormous ones.

For the day and the wedding ceremony in court, I opted for a light makeup to go with my “Hollywood” waves and a simple dress.

To achieve a tanned look (although my skin is quite coloured) I used Chanel Solei tan de Chanel which is best described as a bronzing makeup base. It goes so smoothly on top pf moisturiser or a bit of CC-cream and applied extra over cheeks and the bridge of your nose, it really gives you that sun-kissed look without any shimmer or orange residue.

Benefit They’re real Push up liner and YSL mascara volume framed my eyes and I dared myself to go a little extra arabic with the dark eyeliner. I very seldom wear this eye-look but for this occasion it felt perfect!

As we needed to back for desert activities, dinner and breakfast I thought: If I keep the daytime makeup sheer and light, it will be easier to gear it up for the evening without the need to wash it all off and start over again!

All over my eyelids I patted Chanel Illisuond’ombre in the luminous shadow #82 Émerveillé. As this bouncy gel textured but still dry cream shadow comes with a tad bit of sheen to it, it goes best on the lid with a synthetic flat brush and then blended out in the seems with a 217. Usually, I use this colour as a base shadow to stick powder shadow on top of it, but it works exceptionally well all on its own.

To match the eyes and keep it all nude and fresh, my lips also got a kiss of Chanel, as I wore Rouge Coco #5 Mademoiselle. It is and will forever be one of my favourite shades as it goes so nicely to my complexion but still gives the makeup a little umpf.

For my nails I applied essie 747 Bettertogehter and what name could possibly be more suitable for a wedding ceremony?

Finally, after about 2,5h drive into the desert, we reached our oasis and got to spend some time to settle in our small villas before some activities started. Some of us decided to take a rest instead by the pool.

A shower and a makeover later, we were all invited to cocktail reception to enjoy the last of the sunset and then go to dinner.

I have not been all around the world, but I will still say this over and over again: the Middle East sunsets are nothing shorter than spectacular. And the way the last rays of sun reflects the sand is so hard to catch with a camera. This is strobing at its very finest! With sand dunes about 40-50m high surrounding you, you feel rested and calm. They shift in so many colours depending on the wind and sun. It is a joy to just study them and to realise that the next day, the will have a different shape and shade.

Then follows the moonlight. Back in Dubai, with all it’s city lighting it can be hard to see the stars, but out in the desert the moon and starts are unreal. They provide such wonderful light and makes your skin glow in a cold sheen. I wanted to catch that special light by adding NUXE Huile Prodigieuse dry oil all over my legs and arms. I wore a black evening gown with some gold threads in it, and then thought it was finally time to bring out Old classic Hollywood, to do my hair justice!

A red lip, back dense smokey eyes, stronger eyebrow game and some stormy nails upgraded my daytime look into an evening makeup.

To set my complexion I added some Bobbi Brown Sheer finish pressed powder in the shade Warm Natural 6. It gives you a semi matte finish without looking heavy or dry. For my eyebrows I brought the A-list item: SUQQU Balancing Eyebrow kit in #01 Moss Green! Maybe it is a bit lost in translation, as this is a premium Japanese makeup brand, but the three various colours of brow powder adds up to a very natural looking brow (as hair seldom come in one single colour, but a variety of shades).  The quality of this compact is amazing and makes the brows look vivid and alive instead of hard drawn on and waxy. As SUQQU is so exclusive and hard to get hold on I guard my products with my life lol, hence packing it in my handbag and not my suitcase for the bumpy, shaky desert ride. A ruined compact is serious business!

Tom Ford Noir Absolute for Eyes is where the magic happens! This is a gel eyeliner, but as shown by Mr. Matthew Tyler, it wears beautifully all over the lid as an opaque, black smokey eye! No creasing and fall out here, just perfection. One small pot and, if you prefer, some powder shadow on top and it won’t budge. At all.

I recommend you to buy this item as it is so neath and easy to work with. I’m saying this again: I’m not into large eyeshadow pallets, I believe in quality over quantity and this is as high quality as you ever get!

Paired with a red lip courtesy of Chanel and stormy grey nails by essie I felt I could join the festivities with a whole lot of glam. We all had an amazing dinner and the party kept on going till late. But what we will also remember as a highlight from this getaway is the darkness and silence that took place when we all went to sleep. Out in the Arabian Nights Villages there is no wifi connection and it forced us all to put away our social media for one night. The, lying in bed in the pitch dark desert night, it is so quiet you can actually hear the silence. It goes right into your heart and fills you with peace. If you ever get the opportunity to experience this, wedding or not, I hope you will take a chance! ♥

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2 Comments
    1. Hello Blanche! It’s so nice of you to comment and take notice of the site as well. Yes, I think you would enjoy the shade, it’s an all year around kind of colour! XX M

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