I was immediately drawn to Karma Cola drinks not just for their great design, but also because of the story that goes with the brand. Drink No Evil Karma Cola is all about doing good and enjoying some great drinks in the process. The brand currently has three amazing beverages for all walks of life, and I am in love with all of them! Let me tell you a bit more about them…
The Karma Cola foundation aims to produce fizzy drinks which stand for a cause. Every drink purchased helps a village in Sierra Leone, Africa and the proceeds help to support a number of Sierra Leonean communities by maintaining local areas to sending young people to school.
Flavour 1- The original Karma Cola
This is made from a cola nut (yes cola comes from a nut!) all the way from Sierra Leone. It has a unique blend including ginger and lemons which makes for a thirst quenching delight.
Flavour 2- Lemony!
This is a great mix of organic lemons and fair-trade sugar cane which makes the farmers smile. It makes its drinkers smile too as the lemon bursts out and hits all those taste buds.
Flavour 3- Gingerella
Gingerella is perfect for those wanting a fiery taste. It is quite strong and bursting with notes of vanilla and ginger.
Pour and Enjoy!
Here are some more shots courtesy of my sister Evie. You should get in touch with her here if you are needing a blogger photoshoot! She captured the drinks in action, which I’m sure you agree look so tempting during the hot summer season! We chilled the drinks before pouring each for a clean and refreshing taste…
So good in more ways than one- don’t forget that the more drinks Karma Cola sells, the more help they can do! Why not join the Drink no Evil Karma Cola campaign and host a great BBQ with some amazing drinks for July?! These drinks are available to purchase at Waitrose right now
Saharasplash x
For tips on how to host your own party, I’ve got you covered in my latest post right here!
I don’t really attend spas all that much- between working, blogging and balancing a social life I find that there isn’t much down time left for me to take a break and relax. That all changed recently upon my visit to the newly relocated Thai Square Spa London, and I’m so excited to tell you all about my visit there…
I booked a day off work and so on Friday morning I packed my bikini in my oversized handbag and set off for Charing Cross from Canning Town. Thai Square Spa is about a 5 minute walk from the station and sits on the very corner of the block- it’s easy to spot as there are huge flags outside the building!
As I went in, I was immediately greeted by reception, and I confirmed that I was booked in for a signature wrap and use of the facilities after my treatment. The reception area was decorated so nicely and had a lovely relaxed feel as soon as I was inside.
The iMantara range of products affiliated with the spa was on show and available to purchase if you liked. I have tried the Siamese Sole foot scrub and lotion which are absolutely divine. The scents are so unique with hints of tea tree, orange and jasmine, and the brand is against animal testing which is something I always look out for.
So onto my treatment!
I had a Thai Square Spa Signature Wrap, which I was quite intrigued about when I saw it on the website. I had only ever had massages before and so was up for trying something new for a change. The treatment started with a lovely foot soak from my therapist. She used salts and warm water to cleanse my feet while I enjoyed the signature blend of herbal tea from Thai Square Spa. After that, I got onto the massage table face down, and I had the cool algae painted on me from my feet all the way up to my shoulders with a brush. It was really soothing and the massage bed was heated too so that it started to dry and harden on my skin. I turned over and the process was repeated on my front half. Not going to lie, the belly felt the cold more than the rest of my body, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all. After this, I was wrapped up like a china doll in loads of towels, and left for 15 minutes for the wrap to soak in. It was lovely and toasty, any more than 15 minutes and I would have definitely fallen into a deep sleep!
After this, I showered to remove the wrap and my skin was super silky. Once finished, it was time to venture round the rest of the Thai Square Spa facilities.
I pretty much had the spa to myself, so it was the perfect time to take some shots!
Here is the central point of the spa. There are plenty of chairs to lie back in and remove yourself from the busy London city, I was completely blissful as I sipped my tea and enjoyed my lazy afternoon.
The jacuzzi and steam/sauna rooms are in a separate chamber just past the lounge area. It was so nice to feel the warm bubbles of the jacuzzi, I felt like I was back in Dubai again!
Thai Square Spa London is the perfect place to get away from everyday life and have some luxury pampering. I went by myself, but I can definitely see myself going back with Paul or maybe some girlfriends too for a great time. Thank you to Thai Square Spa for having me, and I will be seeing you again soon!
Saharasplash x
If you liked this, go and see some awesome recipe ideas from my latest post here
Today’s Tuesday, and on Tuesdays we do travel essentials! Take a look at what I took with me to the airport in part two of The Dubai Series: Travel Essentials
Just Bee drinks were my drink of choice for the journey to the airport. I couldn’t take it through security with me, but the green tea and lemon gave me just what I needed for the tube journey to Heathrow Terminal 5. The honey infused water is so refreshing, Just Bee are the perfect travel essential for a thirst quenching pick me up.
As a coeliac, I’m always looking for new snacks that are easy to carry around in my handbag. I was looking to take something easy along with me for the plane, and something tasty…
Snact are a wonderful company which I have blogged about before this year. They are 100% fruit and so naturally gluten free and vegan too. I took their brand new flavour with me- apple, blueberry and banana which was amazing.
Next up for those sweet cravings are the wonderful Cocoalibre. These are a new brand I have just discovered, and just in time for my travel essentials! Also gluten free and vegan, this chocolate is super luxurious and was such a sweet treat high up in the sky! Cocoalibre comes in beautiful packaging and they really do go the extra mile for allergy sufferers with their chocolates.
Of course we all know that your skin can suffer on longer fllights due to the change in pressue and the oxygen quality. So in my bag I had the perfect thing…
The Timeless Truth Travel Pack! This cute little travel pack is the real deal if you’re after a bit of pampering as you travel. The pack comes with three compartments, a makeup remover wipe, a cleanser and then a fibre mask. Timeless Truth think of it all with this star item!
Next up is another brand new discovery from Alpha-H. I took their marvelous Absolute eye cream with me on board as this realy helps to reduce dark circles and puffiness around the eyes. I find that my eyes can get very puffy during a flight, so Alpha-H came to my resue!
The last item on my list is something which I never knew you could take on a plane. This is Batiste dry shampoo. Of course, it has to be a travel size can, but this made my day when I found out I could take this little gem with me! I took the tropical spray with coconut scent.
So there you have it, Part 2 of The Dubai Series: Travel Essentials!
Saharasplash x
If you missed part one, catch up right here with my travel preparations!
For me, a blog has to be whatever you want it to be. Some bloggers like to stick to one route such as travel or beauty. But I like to change it up depending on the companies that I reach out to, or who reach out to me. A few weeks ago I was contacted by a lovely company- Essence of Arcadia. They wanted me to try out one of their diffuser sets with essential oils. I have never done anything like this before, but after reading up on their website I found that I just had to review their products! So, let’s do lifestyle with Essence of Arcadia!
I live with my partner Paul in an East London flat. It’s great for us with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but the living room is always something which has been lacking in the space department. It is a joined kitchen and living room so we just have a dining room table, a sofa and the TV. About a year ago, we took a trip to Ikea and bought some fabulous shelves to go up on the TV wall with sleek glass doors, but due to life and other stuff we have only just got round to putting them up! Needless to say this was the perfect time to get a diffuser now we have a brand new feel to our living area.
A bit about the Essence of Arcadia products. You have the option to buy 2 diffusers on their website- a lovely crystal effect diffuser which is golden and looks like this:
Or a round flat pebble design which has a smooth wood effect, this is the one I went for and is pictured below:
The diffuser comes with a set of three different oils- I got eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender in my box, though if you want to go oil crazy you can also buy the oils separately from the site. These can be used not just with the diffuser, but you can add a few drops to your bath to create a similar environment.
I put the diffuser on our newly-built shelves, and am so happy with how great it looks! I am now on the hunt for some more wooden features to put on the opposite side!
The diffuser is super easy to use, all you need is water and your essential oil of choice and you’re set! I also love how the diffuser has a lighting option too so you can have a lovely scent and a warm glow to go with it.
The mist slowly escapes from the top of the pebble, and we have tried out all 3 oils now. My favourite is the lavender with its relaxing properties; it’s just perfect after a hard day at work to put on and unwind.
I’d really recommend getting the diffuser as well as a choice of your favourite oils- I’m quite keen to try out the Cinnamon flavour next
If you’re looking for a beautiful feature for your home, Essence of Arcadia is definitely something to add to your shopping list!
I’m really excited about this post, as this is my first ever post about being a coeliac! For those of you who don’t know, Coeliac’s Disease is an auto-immune disease, much like diabetes. It isn’t an intolerance or an allergy where I can pick and choose what days I’m going to be good and what days I’m going to be naughty, it is for life. As soon as I tell someone that I’m a coeliac, their natural reaction is to say ‘oh, I’m sorry’. I really want to nip this in the bud and say to you all don’t apologise, I’m really happy with my coeliacs, I wouldn’t have it any other way, and this is why I love being gluten free, featuring Snackly!
I’m excited to send my message out into the world and have teamed up with snackly to do so. I hope that this helps not only those who know about their conditions and intolerances, but those who are having issues with food who may be putting off doing something about it because they are scared of what the doctor might say. Cutting out gluten isn’t nearly as tough as people think these days, though there is definitely a stigma labelled to those of us who can’t eat gluten/wheat/dairy. I remember a time, a dark time where there were hardly any products on the supermarket shelves, and if you did want anything decent you had to order it on prescription (this was back in 2008). I am glad to say that those days do not exist anymore, the world has realised the extent of the gluten free community and they wish to help us to feel like we can fit in again. This is exactly what snackly is all about, they aim to bring the gluten free a diverse range of carefully selected products so that we can always try something new, something good.
Even though it seems that people are being more picky nowadays because of the phenomenal amount of options around, I believe that it is the increased awareness that is causing so many of us to get diagnosed or cut out certain foods from our diet because of issues which is a great thing. I am constantly being sought out by friends and even strangers for advice on their diets, and I hold my hands up and say I am no dietician, but I like to think that I have a good knowledge of how my coeliacs affects me so I can share what I have learnt with others along the way to help guide them to feeling better. I embrace food, I love it, and I want to share with you my positive message of why I love being gluten free by telling you all about what snackly sent me in the post last week.
Snackly are a concept similar to the ever so popular graze boxes, but they are 100% gluten free. You can order an individual box each month or sign up for a monthly subscription too and they will send you lots of fabulous goodies to try. I’m so happy that the gluten free lifestyle is working its way into the industry more and more and Snackly are a great company to explore new products which you may not see in regular supermarkets. Here’s what happened when I opened my box:
The packaging was so cute, I felt like I was opening an early Christmas present! The items were carefully wrapped in tissue paper and it came with a sweet thank you card- no, thank you snackly! I opened it up and found 6 gorgeous gluten free goodies inside:
I really liked the tasty strips of apple and mango puree. They only used fruit to make the jerky, nothing else at all so really clean and healthy. I would have liked to have had a few more strips in the bag- there were 8 strips but bite size.
I’m a big advocate of tea, and teapigs are one of my favourites after trying them at hummingbirds cafe (where you must try the gluten free red velvet cupcakes). The peppermint tea went so well with my fudge!
These are a great item to have handy in your bag if you find yourself caught short in a cafe that only sells sarnies and cakes! I loved the little bite size balls and you have 6 of them in a pack!
I would like to add that having an intolerance or auto-immune disease can really open a lot of doors. It is like being a part of a community, and through this community I have met many people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I am also grateful to companies like snackly who want to work with gluten free bloggers like myself so that we can promote the amazing brands and help other gluten free foodies discover new and exciting things to eat.
So my parting message to the world is, don’t be sorry for us, be interested. Your interest will make us happy that we can talk openly about our diets without feeling like we are different just because of our DNA. And that is simply why I love being gluten free featuring snackly. Hands up and virtual high fives to all my gluten free readers and to the awesome snackly!
Saharasplash x
I received this product for free for my honest opinion and review
I have been really bad at sharing the Motel love since I started blogging- I think that this is down to their sample sales being just at the end of each season. I’m not blaming them one bit for bad timing, I understand that they do the sample sales when they need to, but I always come away with so much stuff and can never post about it because the season changes so fast!
So I thought I would decide to write about my fav picks from the site and write all about the slip dress instead! My Motel summer goodies are now packed away for next year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t share my love for Motel right now…
I have been browsing their site this weekend as usual, and I am really inspired by their unique sense of style and fabulous prints. I do think that they set themselves apart from other popular online stores with their items, and one cut in particular caught my eye…the slip.
If you know me and my wardrobe, you will know that I don’t like to wear the same thing twice- and so this is why I love Motel so much. I know that if I like a certain shape dress, I can go to Motel and they will hook me up in ten ways I had never thought of contemplating. You know that you won’t be caught out wearing the same outfit that the girl on the tube is wearing too (cough H&M) which is really important.
So why the slip? The slip is something that I’ve not been seeing round lately. Its understated elegance is just what your wardrobe needs and paired with Motel’s excellent patterns and colours, the slip dress will have heads turning in your direction at any party. I’ve decided to pick 4 slip dresses which are absolute killers and also a faux fur crop jacket which you can wear with all 4 of them.
This slip immediately caught my eye with its sexy pattern in warm metallic tones. I can imagine wearing this to a few events I have lined up this season and certainly has the wow factor I want when on the hunt for something glitzy and glamorous.
The Gaia dress has a more urban feel to it, less showy but still amazing with its warm colours. I think it doesn’t matter if it’s cold outside, you can still wear a floral slip and be cool for the winter. I’d imagine wearing this to a nice meal out with friends and family, but still keeping my fashion blogger vibes in tact 🙂
Now this is a real showstopper for all you mermaid fans out there. It is an amazing green/blue which I’m guessing would look fab on a dance floor! Get your heels out for this one, and if you don’t have any nights out planned then buy this dress and make some! I would match my eyes to this dress colour for sure.
I had the pleasure of attending the Grace Neutral collection launch party with the Motel Family group, and I absolutely loved her designs. The material is flowy and light- I tried the Kato Kimono on and didn’t want to take it off! Using the same Mandala print, Grace has designed this slip to suit her style and the Motel audience are eating it up. Just last week I saw a blogger at the Boohoo Xmas party wearing this so the pieces are selling well. I would wear this to any blogger event to get the conversation started with other bloggers about Grace Neutral- you know other bloggers will be asking about it!
I wanted to tie all 4 of my choices together with a jacket that you could purchase for any of the slips. This charcoal Freya cropped jacket will look amazing on top of any of the slips, it’s short enough to show off your dress at the bottom if you’re too cold to take it off, and I think this jacket is a real solid winter jacket that would go just as well with jeans and a tee for more causal days.
Ps- right now this jacket is on sale right now better than 50% off! It’s reduced from £55 to £25 so what are you waiting for?!
Pps- enter the code 10OFFTODAY for an additional 10% off! you’re welcome
If you liked this post you will love my Lindex Lookbook so check it out and don’t forget to subscribe via email too here
Thai Square Spa London is the perfect place to get away from everyday life and have some luxury pampering. I went by myself, but I can definitely see myself going back with Paul or maybe some girlfriends too for a great time. Thank you to Thai Square Spa for having me, and I will be seeing you again soon!
