With the hint of cooler, breezy nights around the corner, I'm saving for a new Christian Louboutin fur clutch and some ridiculously expensive Chanel Sublimage cream. This divine blend - like someone squeezed out the gooey fondant of a Patchi chocolate, whipped it with silk and poured it into a gorgeous pot - is worth every dirham. Though I adore luxury brands, there are other beauty buys that I'm happy to economise on. And there's nothing that makes me more deliriously smug than discovering a bargain that works just as well as its expensive cousins.
Serums are vital in my daily skincare cream, and the new Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Longevity Concentrate has me sold on name alone. Its capsule bottle with lavish gold-and-blue packaging contains an elixir made from three species of orchid. As it promises to regenerate skin cells, I cannot wait to sleep easy at night.
Also worth investigating is the Olay Regenerist 3-point Super Serum. The lowdown is that it's as good as pricier serums and is a great anti-ageing all-rounder. I also love the high-street brand Eucerin - the hyaluronic acid in the creams and serum makes it fantastic for thirsty skin.
I never leave home without concealer. Its power to cover dark circles and sun spots prevents people from asking if you're sick. Crème De La Mer, The Radiant Concealer SPF25 smooths away almost any imperfections with its silky formula. It could be a daily staple if it weren't for the price tag. A great alternative is Clinique's Airbrush Concealer, which brightens, blurs and covers up without irritation. Also try Rimmel London Hide The Blemish. Not just for spotty teenage skin, its dense stick formula is long lasting without being cakey.
Violet eyeliner and blue eye shadow are back, but too much can make you look like your aunty in the Sixties. Givenchy's Shadow & Light Eyes in Lune Mordoree is a great starting point as it has a beautiful selection of hues. At under Dh20, L'Oréal Paris Wear Infinite Eye Shadow in Midnight Sky is a steal. Apply lightly for daywear or build up for extra colour. For lips, Maybelline New York Color Sensational in Fuschsia Fever has a creamy consistency and is bold enough not to need a liner.
But whatever your budget, choose between big eye make-up or strong lipstick - never both, unless you're Christina Aguilera or appearing in the chorus line of Chicago.
Three of the best
CRÈME DE LA MER LIP BALM, DH270 Proving there is such a thing as love at first sight - or application - this dreamy lip balm moisturises your lips, leaving just enough sheen to mix well with lipstick. Plus, Dh37 from every pot sold is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
TWEEZERMAN SLANT TWEEZERS, DH126 A beauty staple, these limited edition tweezers with a pretty pink ribbon are a handy size for travelling and come slanted, with a hand-filed tip to ensure precision plucking. Dh11 from every sale goes to Breast Cancer Campaign.
NSTYLE PINK INSPIRATION COLLECTION, DH220 Give your nails a glossy finish with these three hot pink shades. With a nontoxic formula and chip-resistant coverage, you'll sparkle as much as the Swarovski crystal-capped lids. Polishes are sold in packs of three with proceeds going to the charity Safe & Sound.
M loves
PERFECTLY PINK With snazzy pink packaging containing three of our favourite skincare products, we at M love this Elemis Think Pink Beauty Kit. Elemis created it exclusively for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and are donating Dh60,000 to Breast Cancer Care, a charity supporting those affected by the disease. Inside the cute "Think Pink" beauty case you'll find the divinely smelling Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, Lifting Neck And Bust Treatment and Skin Nourishing Shower Cream, all for Dh250. Beauty-saving and life-saving goodies, what's not to love?
Elemis Think Pink Beauty Kit, Dh250, available at Debenhams Mirdif City Center and elsewhere, 04 231 6602
Coming soon
The smell of luxury In the coolest of collaborations, the world of fragrance is getting a million-dollar perfume. DKNY Fragrance has teamed with the celebrity jeweller Martin Katz to create the unique offering, and it's all for charity. The DKNY Golden Delicious Million Dollar Fragrance Bottle is carved from polished 14-carat yellow and white gold and is adorned with rare jewels such as 2,700 brilliant white diamonds and 183 golden yellow sapphires. It is being showcased on a global tour, stopping in the UAE tomorrow until October 8 and ending up on DKNY's Facebook page, where it will be available for purchase. All proceeds will go to Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organisation committed to ending world hunger. Plus, the scent - a blended floral mix of white rose, lily and vanilla orchid with the added spiciness of Golden Delicious apple - is available to buy separately from Dh226 at beauty counters across the UAE. To see the bejeweled beauty, visit Bloomingdale's in Dubai Mall tomorrow and Monday, Faces in Abu Dhabi's Marina Mall on Wednesday and Paris Gallery in Dubai Mall on Thursday until October 8.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
