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saharasplash11 May, 2016

The Dubai Series: Day One

So you’ve read all about my travel preparations and essentials over the last few days, now I’m here with part three of The Dubai Series: Day One with the best beauty and fashion in the Middle East!

We landed at 7.30 in the morning so we had the whole day to enjoy as soon as we got there. We headed straight for the spa at the Dubai Polo Club!

Paul and I enjoyed Balinese massages which were so relaxing, all the stress of flying just disappeared along with the scents and sounds of the experience.

We spent the rest of the day chilling by the poolside, and had a light bite to eat with virgin pina coladas.

I had my Alpha-H factor 50 which kept me safe in the sun all afternoon.

For the evening, we were off to Maison Mathis to surprise our friend for their 40th birthday. They still didn’t know we were in the country! Here are the details of what I wore:

House of Holland by Eylure lashes were a must for this special occasion. I love the full lash effect that the ‘luffly’ lash gives, they made my eyes so mesmerising with the long, dark lashes.

Here’s the full outfit, I wore a gorgeous maxi skirt from House of Celeb Boutique and a neoprene crop from Boohoo.com.

I matched my cool blue theme with these stylish nail wraps from ThumbsUp Nails in style ‘Cleo’. They are so quick and easy to apply and will have your nails looking salon perfect in just ten mins! No dry time needed!

My bracelets are from the fabulous Corbico Jewellery. This is the 3-piece ‘Audrey Bracelet’ set which I absolutely adore, they look so glam without the high price tag and I wore them throughout the holiday. They are available right here from Corbico online, and the best part is that they are elasticated!

That’s it for The Dubai Series: Day One, stay tuned as tomorrow it’s Day Two with lots more fashion and accessories!

Saharasplash X

PR Samples included

saharasplash17 April, 2016

The Blogger’s Tea Party at PopUp Patio

It’s that time again, time for another Bloggers Hangout event! This event was focused on food and drink and was hosted at the Pop Up Patio in Hoxton. It was a great location for a smaller event, and I took thetrousseaudiaries along with me too!

First, to the fashion:

I’m wearing a white lace boho blouse from Forever 21 and some tan high waist wide leg trousers from F+F. I went with a funky print shoe from the M&S Limited collection to finish my look- I got these in the sale at just £8.50! Best buy of the month.

Now, onto my top 5 brands from the event:

The Cocoa Den

The Cocoa Den is a company owned by Kate Burton who specialises in handmade chocolates. She creates the most intricate designs in chocolate, it was wonderful to see her creations as well as taste them too! Virtually all her chocolates are gluten free and they were so lovely! Here are my favourite designs:

Just Bee Drinks

Just Bee drinks were really awesome. They have just gone through a complete brand relaunch and I was really pleased to meet them at the event. They infuse each drink with just a single drop of honey and they use the best honey from this family-orientated business. They stock in Selfridges, Fortnum and Mason or you can buy from them directly too. A 12 pack is just £19.99 and they have 3 delicious flavours to choose from:

Chikas Snacks

Chikas snacks were really popular at the Bloggers Tea Party. Inspired by West African heritage this company is all about making a change for the better. Chikas snacks offer you a way to eat healthily (suitable for vegans and gluten free) and at the same time help do some good. For every subscription box ordered (starting at £4.99) you will also be paired with a child who needs support to receive an education. The snacks are so delicious, my favourite was the plantain crisps!

Drink Me Chai

Drink Me Chai are the number one instant Chai drink in the UK. I know I have been guilty of spending way too much money on chai tea lattes in Starbucks in my time, and so Drink Me Chai are the perfect solution for saving money and still being able to have those luxury drinks. Much like a hot chocolate, all you have to do is add hot water or a water/milk combo to 3 teaspoons of the mixture. It’s so perfect and blended so well, it’s definitely the best instant drink I have tried. These are available in Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose for £2.50!

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Snact

I reviewed these guys in my snackly box review a few months back, and it was great to try some more flavours. These snacks are 100% fruit so they are vegan and gluten free. The flavour is intense and so fruity! These are the perfect snacks for on the go, busy bloggers and for in the office too. They have also just launched a brand new flavour- apple, blueberry and banana which I am dying to try, they didn’t have it in time for the event so if I get my hands on a pack I will let you know on Snapchat and Twitter!

Thank you so much to the Bloggers Hangout team for organising such a fun event, Merrell and I had a great evening and we will definitely be blogging more about the brands there in the coming months! If you have any questions about any of the brands mentioned in this post, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.

Saharasplash x

Catch up on the latest beauty post here- I trialled Mintycoco natural teeth whitening for 14 days!

saharasplash10 April, 2016

Brunch at The Hard Rock Cafe

I hope this post isn’t too long, but I just have so much to say about this particular spring weekend. I’m going to start with the outfit, then move onto the food and the drink because boy there was a lot of it! If you read on to find out what I got up to last weekend, I can’t promise you won’t come away feeling really hungry! You all have to go to brunch at the Hard Rock Cafe…

So first to the fashion:

I decided to go all black for the Rock and Roll brunch, black is my go-to colour and always looks classy. I’m wearing a Karen Millen crop jacket on top of a bodysuit and skirt.

The lace skirt is from Forever 21 and my bodysuit is H&M. I accesorized with a pair of gorgeous gold heels (also forever 21) and my bag is from LYDC.

Croc print and lace crochet really work well together!

So now onto the main event at the first ever Hard Rock Cafe to open, we queued outside and waited to be let in for 10am!

We were seated just inside on the main floor. We had great views of the restaurant, bar and also the band setup behind us.

As well as all you can eat for food, there were bottomless mimosas, bloody mary’s, tea and coffee.

The band led by A.J Moore and Johann Tingall played 3 sets, each set to go with the 3-course brunch. They played breakfast at tiffanys and other really great classics from Journey to Wheatus!

The waiters didn’t stop moving for the whole 2 hours, they were so happy and were enjoying bringing us the food just as much as we enjoyed eating it!

As you know I am gluten free, and the Hard Rock Cafe really has outdone itself since getting accredited by Coeliac UK. Craig, Jonathan and the kitchen and staff have made sure that anyone looking for a gluten free meal can come and enjoy not only the brunch on Sundays, but also enjoy a main meal and dessert from their gluten free menu. For brunch, I had just as much choice as the regular customers- they made gluten free pancakes and waffles which were fabulous, and I even had fried chicken which I have never had in any restaurant since being a coeliac! This along with mushrooms, tomatoes, crispy bacon and diced potatoes saw that I didn’t need to eat another bite for the rest of the day.

The bottomless brunch experience was absolutely amazing, I cannot thank the Hard Rock Cafe enough for such a great time. You can book your bottomless brunch for next Sunday right now right here! They are running the brunch right up until the end of April so get in there and get stuffed! (in the best way possible)

Saharasplash x

For another amazing experience, find out all about how I got to meet a real live owl at one of the poshest places in town!

saharasplash5 April, 2016

The Owl and The Huntsman

The owl and the huntsman went to Claridges for a beautiful braided crown. Okay not really the huntsman, but I certainly did! This post is all about the owl and the huntsman and of course my braided hair!

I was so excited to see the second instalment in The Huntsman series, this time it was all about a winter’s war between two sisters. Snow White was far far away as we got to learn more about Eric’s story (Chris Hemsworth). We arrived at Leicester Square for 6.30pm and were kindly greeted by the Feref team just inside the Vue Cinema.

We had front row seats in the theatre and enjoyed a glass of wine as we watched the film. I loved it even better than the first one, which is quite rare for a sequel! It was reminiscent of the Hobbit in so many ways. The quest to destroy an evil golden object and they even did battle with goblins. Plus the fact that the majority of the film was spent in the woods. This is in no way a criticism of The Huntsman: Winter’s War though, it was a thrilling journey full of surprises and had the perfect balance of humour, adventure and heartthrobbing moments.

The adventure, however, did not end with the movie. I was lucky enough to get invited to a magical mirror room lunch in celebration of the film’s release at Claridges Hotel:

On Thursday I set off for Bond Street station on my lunch break for a wonderful experience. The magical room was filled with scrumptious gluten free delights and a few more surprises too.

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The Braid Bar from Selfridges were there to give us the most amazing hair styles plus they had organised nail and makeup sessions too. I went for the Claudia braid from the braid bar baes and it was so beautiful! I felt like a queen straight from the fairytale, all I needed was a huntsman to come rescue me!

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The star of the show was a real life snowy owl. Not many of us wanted to touch, but we did have our cameras at the ready for some photos. I spoke with his carer and he loved the attention from the press and the bloggers!

I met 3 new blogger buds too, the Mandeville sisters and Joy Ogude– say hey to these girls on social as they are brilliant at what they do.

I can’t thank the Feref team and Universal enough for such a magical experience, from seeing the owl and tea at Claridges to seeing The Huntsman: Winter’s War preview screening of the film. I also came away with this awesome huntsman hoodie which I will be styling up very soon no doubt!

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The Huntsman: Winter’s War is in cinemas now so go see it on the big screen over the next few weeks

Saharasplash X

To get more action on my latest events, see what I got up to recently at the Her Boutique Sip and Shop!

saharasplash14 March, 2016

I’m doing a KISS and tell!

Hey all you beauties, I hope you are all ready for a very EXCITING blog post! It will be worth your while to stay tuned till the end to find out how you could get your hands on one of 4 amazing prizes too! I’m doing a KISS and tell today, as I want to share the news from a very special event I went to recently…

So Alex Silver PR kindly invited me along to their incredible party at the Haymarket Hotel to celebrate the launch of a brand new range of products from KISS and imPRESS nails. They also wanted to share the news on having a new celebrity brand ambassador, Leona Lewis. Leona was there on the night to have fun and party with all of us beauty addicts, she really is a perfect fit for the brand with her fun personality and incredible style.

The venue itself was stunning. The pool was all lit up and decorated with beautiful flowers, and there was a band on the night who were singing everything from Uptown Funk to classic Earth Wind and Fire. I made my way around all the tables to see all the new products on display-

I had my lashes done by one of the lash technicians and they are the best lashes I have worn. I am wearing ‘Lily’ and they felt so light like a feather, and they were easy to take off too when the night was over.

I couldn’t get my nails done as they were too long for the imPRESS nails but I managed to take some home and a few days later here were my favourites (Acrylic Nude):

Here is a video from the night which you should really check out before reading about the competition below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHzJVS_fzmk

I had such a wonderful time at the event, and to keep you all happy so you feel like you didn’t miss out I have teamed up with KISS and imPRESS nails to give away 4 massive prizes! I have sooo much stuff to give you!!!

Here are the details:

I will be giving away a heapfull of prizes to 4 lucky winners. There are 4 ways to enter and it is up to you how many you do. I will be selecting one winner at random from each channel/site:

1- Comment on this post with your name and email and say why you would like to win

2- Retweet my competition tweet and follow me on Twitter

3- Like and share my Facebook competition post

4- Comment on my Instagram competition post and say why you would like to win

Simple! So you can enter up to 4 times and if you’re lucky you could be drowning in nail and lash heaven soon! The competition will run until Monday 21st March 2016 and I will announce the winners shortly after this.

Saharasplash x

If you want more, check out what happened at Makeup Revolution’s 2nd birthday party recently wearing my JD Williams boots

saharasplash11 March, 2016

Good shoes take you to good places with JD Williams

I am really excited to share this post with you. Not only is it full of events and the most gorgeous boots ever, it is also a feel good post. I really hope you enjoy my thoughts and my outfits as I tell you why good shoes take you to good places with JD Williams.

JD Williams is a long standing and thoroughly reputable brand for shoes and accessories, so when I saw these babies on their site from their Lorraine Kelly range I knew these were the perfect shoes to do this post in! I love the striking heel and they are so comfy- perfect for my current adventures…

So recently I have been thinking a lot about life, what I want from it, who I want in it and how I can make the most out of it as possible. I feel like since I have started to blog this has opened up so many doors and I have tried out so many new things I don’t want it to end. My blogging has taken me to places all around London, and in this post I managed to get to three more locations, all within the space of four days. I really hope that you will read this and come away thinking a little more about your life too, what you have done, and what you want to do as well this year. I know how precious time is and the importance of seizing the moment, capturing that moment and keeping it for a lifetime by posting it out there into the expanding universe. I think on my decisions every day, and how these decisions have taken me to such good places. So let me show you another moment that took place at Hackney Picturehouse on Monday:

I won tickets to the Zootropolis premiere on Twitter, and had the opportunity to see the film and Idris Elba too! It was a small gala screening but still had paps and a red carpet. It was fantastic and I have blogging to thank for this for making me such a social media whizz!

I wore a bright yellow skirt from TU Clothing to make the red marble heel of the boots really stand out.

The following day, my good shoes were taking me to another good place. This time a little more central London to the Forest on the Roof! For anyone who hasn’t been here, it is a definite must for a thoroughly brilliant dining experience. The restaurant and bar is on the top floor of Selfridges and is never busy during the week. My partner and I took some friends there who were visiting from Germany and we had a wonderful time. The forest atmosphere made for a perfect shooting location with my JD Williams boots…

The food is exceptional, not to mention I get to have gluten free fish and chips! I discovered this restaurant over Christmas when my blogger friend Lissa and I took a stroll around London one evening and I have been meaning to go back ever since. They have glorious little cabins outside on the rooftop as well so you can cosy up with a blanket and a hot drink after dining inside.

I love how they had a marble table- it was the fitting place for my second location with my JD Williams boots! For this shoot I am wearing a Karen Millen dress and a grey Cardigan from Apricot.

Onto the third and final location!!

So Thursday night I was off to the Cafe de Paris for Makeup Revolution’s 2nd anniversary celebration. One of the first beauty YouTube videos I did was with Makeup Revolution and I use their products every day, so this was going to be a great event. Taking my boots along with me, I decided to go all out with a red faux leather dress from Pretty Little Thing:

The event was held at the glorious Cafe de Paris near Leicester Square and what an event it was! Makeup Revolution is founded by Adam Minto and he invited his partners, sponsors and the bloggers they work with along for an evening of makeup and entertainment. We had Scott Mills set the party atmosphere with a fabulous DJ set and I met up with my friend and blogger Vicki of Vickisbeauty.com. I met a new friend too- Mona of monaseyes.com

My boots kept me in good spirits all night as we danced, took selfies and tried out some of the new range out next month. The cocktails were on point and so was the atmosphere. It truly was one of the best parties I have been to in a long while and I will continue to support such an amazing brand that really deserves its successes.

So my boots took me to 3 completely different events and I am grateful for all of them. I loved how each event is connected to my blogging and I really can’t wait for what the future holds on saharasplash.com this year. I hope that my good boots bring me good luck as I travel in them on my next venture- you will have to keep reading to find out if they do!

Saharasplash x

Thanks for reading, if you want some more check out how awesome my macaron making skills are here

I received this product for free for my honest opinion and review