london blogger Archives - Page 3 of 5

saharasplash30 March, 2017

It’s a love hate relationship

Now you’re probably thinking that I’m going to be talking about a love hate relationship with a person in my life. Sorry to say nope! I don’t think I will ever use my blog as a platform to vent/ air dirty laundry about anyone in my life. I want to keep this a place about sharing my passions about my lifestyle and I am excited to watch it grow a few more branches this year. It’s a love hate relationship story with a particular colour- the colour pink.

I’ve had a bit of a break recently so this is sort of my comeback into fashion post, so it’s got to be strong. Which is why I’m sharing a few of my feelings on pink. Many of you who know me closely will laugh at how much I go on about hating the colour pink. I know, pink! I don’t really know where this comes from, but all I know is throughout my life I have had a real problem with the colour pink. Perhaps it’s a deep down rebellion for gender stereotyping, or perhaps it’s as simple as my own unique preference. Whatever the cause, I think that it’s rather odd that recently I’ve had a change of heart. Now I still cannot stand a garishly hot pink- it’s just not suited to my personality or my aura. But dusty pink or metallic pink- now that’s another story!

So I decided to embrace the change on this particular photo shoot in the heart of London shot by Ewa Piatkowska of Horaczko Photography.

Horaczko Photography

We had a marvellous morning selecting the locations. Ewa really knew how to capture the right moment and the shots came out so well!

Horaczko Photography

Throughout the wardrobe changes I wore the same shoes, as these really are the perfect shoes to go with the pink! They are from Deichmann* and are a lovey nude suede boot with warm tones and a chunky heel. I felt great posing in them for the whole morning, and would definitely go from day to night wearing them!

Check out their range of affordable sassiness right here

Horaczko Photography

I’d like to thank Ewa and you all for being so patient while waiting for this post, and I really did enjoy being seen wearing pink for the first time in my adult life. It’s still a love hate relationship though, who knows what will happen next season!

Do you have a love hate relationship with any particular colour? Let me know in the comments below ?

*gifted product/ pr sample

saharasplash26 March, 2017

What my mum is made of

I’m doing a ‘What my mum is made of’ post around the theme of Mother’s Day this year! So…Tracy Vince was born at home on the 22nd September 1963. She grew up in Ipswich town with her older sister and parents. It was a fairly normal household but of course not without its ups and downs. She started work alongside school as a teenager and began to make a name for herself in the world like many of us do. After school, she decided on a career move and switched to insurance and got a company car.

She had a soft spot for music like Michael Jackson and Earth Wind and Fire as she started into her twenties. She moved on up in her professional career and made new friends and relationships. Then came the year of 1988. She was living in her own home and soon after was burgled, hence the call out to my dad (unbeknownst to her at that time) to come and install a burglar alarm. Then in the year 1990, I was born!

I grew up with my mother, and instead of going back to work, she decided to open up a nursery in our home so that she could look after me full time as well as earn some money. 24 years later, the nursery is still going and growing strong (thankfully not in our home anymore!) as well as my mother. She took a big risk and it definitely paid off which has given my sister and I the best lives we could ask for.

My mum is there for the whole family whenever they need her. She manages her business every day, she never misses a single thing from school concerts to my graduation. She has driven miles and miles to get me when I have been sick and I know that I can rely on her for anything and everything.

Photo by Camera Hannah

What my mum is made of is independence, determination and a hard working ethos. This has had a great effect on who I am and the morals I live by. I am taking risks in my blogging career move just like her, and I hope to report that in 24 years I will be just as successful as my mother!

I hope that for all of us out there lucky to have our mothers today, you will recognise her every day, not just one day out of the year plus on her birthday!

I have two lovely little gifts that are just perfect for the hard working mothers out there that will last a lot longer than chocolates or flowers:

Angels trumpet candle- DL & Co

To me this candle symbolises the relationship I have with my mum- at some times heated but sweet-smelling every day. The packaging is so graceful and there are many unique scents to choose from on Rooi.com

Big Love Heart spoon set

I love this cute heart spoon set! It’s a little treat for your mum so that every time she goes for a tub of Ben and Jerrys, or in my mum’s case apple pie, she will know that you love her.

Thanks for reading what my mum is made of. I hope you had a great Mother’s Day this year and keep checking back for brand new posts on Saharasplash.com!

In collaboration with Rooi.com

saharasplash18 January, 2017

Simply Argan Brunch

This post is going to be very to the point and simple. I’m not going to put my usual spin on things as there really is no need. If you are ready for a no nonsense post then you are in the right place! I don’t feel like this needs any elaboration as the products speak for themselves, it’s that simple! So here is a little glimpse into a fantastic time at the Simply Argan Brunch.

I met with Yasmine, a selection of bloggers, our hosts Cat PR and representatives of the brand Simply Argan. The location was a niche little cafe called Friends of Ours on a bright and chilly morning, just a few days after getting married. First things first, food order and a hot chai tea latte…

We were introduced to Simply Argan’s main man Darren Smith and their beauty expert and product developer Amanda Cooper, who were just so lovely and eager to tell us about the brand.

They are both local to Wilmslow which is just below Manchester. It’s here they decided to open up their first shop after the huge success of launching Argan oil in the UK. Before this time you couldn’t easily find a good stock of Argan oil anywhere in the United Kingdom, so the plan was (and is) to bring back a slice of the golden goodness from Morocco so that we can all enjoy it.

You can learn more about their amazing back story and journey here via the website.

Onto my second drink- a matcha latte!

I was so impressed by the cafe’s food at the same time listening to what Darren and Amanda had to say. A perfectly cooked egg with runny middle atop the creamiest sauce, crushed potatoes and salty bacon crispies!

A few of the key benefits to Argan oil is that it’s moisturising, anti-ageing and can help acne and stretch marks.

Here are my top three products!

Left to right:

Simply Argan Collagen Facial Moisturiser

Simply Argan Pure Organic Argan Oil

Simply Argan Hair Treatment

Yasmine and I at the Simply Argan Brunch

There’s only one place to buy Argan Oil in the UK and that’s from these guys! www.simplyarganoilshop.com

Saharasplash x

If you enjoyed this post or want to ask me any questions about the products featured, put a comment down below and I will be happy to talk more!

saharasplash7 January, 2017

A Cadvent Kind of Christmas

I hope that 2017 has been treating you right so far. I am just settling into married life, though I don’t see much of Paul with his crazy busy work life, and into our new home. For those of you who don’t know, Paul and I moved out of London over the Christmas period and into an annex attached to his parent’s house. We were always planning on doing this after getting hitched so it’s not something we jumped into. I have some wonderful memories and photos I’d like to share with you all from the past few weeks and it involves lots of chocolate! This Christmas has been a Cadvent Kind of Christmas indeed!

Cadbury’s and I have worked together before if you remember back to last summer’s Obey Your Mouth campaign. So it was lovely to hear all about the launch of their first ever Cadvent knitwear collection last month. I think that this is a wonderful step in an ever expanding direction for Cadbury’s, so of course I had to get involved!

The products come with hidden compartments including a scarf with deep 18cm pockets that can conceal even the most generous of gorgeous goodies – such as a box of Cadbury Roses or Cadbury Heroes?!

A great idea to keep the cold and the cravings at bay!

My friend Tash helped me take some shots in Saffron Walden, I adore this snowflake-bedecked hat. I felt bad making her take shots while it was sub-zero in the centre of the town but it was too lovely a winter’s morning not to!

I also had to get my Great Dane to strike a pose with the scarf, isn’t purple just his colour?!

The collection is now launched on Cadvent.co.uk so why not take a look and see for yourself?

Now onto a few memories from Christmas 2016.

Paul and I had my friend Natasha over for a few days. We had a day trip out to Shoreditch’s underground mini golf course The Junkyard and I took Tash to see Ipswich as well.

We met these cretins (otherwise known as Evie and Ruby) and my oldest friend Cleo for a few rounds of a pub quiz (Talking Tables).

We munched on these Cadbury snacks and the snow bites went down a treat!

Let’s hope next year is a Cadvent kind of Christmas too, you can never say that too much chocolate is a bad thing around Christmas time to see you into the New Year!

Saharasplash x

Up for more winter fun? I teamed up with Simply Be and one other sassy blogger for this post- size doesn’t matter, but style does

saharasplash3 January, 2017

Size doesn’t matter, but style does

I have been working on a super exciting project over the Christmas period and it’s finally ready for you all. This post is focused around the winter collection from Simply Be, but it’s got a bit more to it than that. This post is one of two posts, the other coming from my blogger babe Yasmine who has been essential to the thought process of this piece. We are two female bloggers living in London. We both love to blog, we have the same Olympus pen camera when we do blog, and we share the same love for matcha tea too. Come to think of it we are very similar indeed. The one difference however is our size which is where all the fun comes in, and I shall explain why. We both have the exact same three things from Simply Be’s winter collection and we are going to show you that size doesn’t matter, but style does!

We have styled these three items up to our own specification and we want to help show all our readers that when it comes to a top, a dress, a jacket, no one should feel like it’s not made for them. It is made for those with a desire to invent a wardrobe around that piece whatever it may be. You are not too ‘old’, too ‘big’, too ‘petite’ or too ‘what the hell who cares’ for that item that catches your eye.

The Jumper

Lace up Top: Simply Be

Wetlook Trousers: H&M

Space Boots: Lacoste

Pom Pom Clutch: Boohoo

Size is not relative to style, it’s about how you go about styling to fit not only your personality but your body as well. There is a way for all of us to step out of the house feeling proud of what we are wearing and this is simply because of how we are wearing our clothes. Grab those boots you never wear, search for that item in your wardrobe with the tag still on it. Change it up, and you will change your whole day I promise.

The Jacket

Lace Shrug: Simply Be

White Cut Out Dress: Boohoo

Croc Print Gold Clutch: Kaleidoscope

Sole Diva Ankle Strap Court Shoes: Simply Be

I truly believe that it makes no difference if you are a size 6 or a size 16, we all have the same choices to make in the morning about what we will look like for the day. So look amazing every day, ignore your bad hair or your unshaved legs, it doesn’t matter if you have the confidence which comes from the magic of your wardrobe!

The Shoes

Sole Diva Ankle Strap Court Shoes: Simply Be

Metallic Zip Crop & Pleated Skirt: Primark

Faux Fur Coat: Apricot

We each fell in love with these three pieces from the Simply Be collection, and we chose to rock it! Now will you?

See how Yasmine styles up her identical items very soon, I’ll be tweeting as soon as she does!

Saharasplash x

Leave a comment down below with your thoughts on size doesn’t matter, but style does- I’d love to hear them! Also if you have time for another post, here’s one about beauty chocolate

Sponsored post

saharasplash29 December, 2016

Sushi Samba, Jess Wright & KISS!

Just before the weather turned colder and things started kicking off for Christmas, I have a lovely story to tell you all about an exciting London adventure. As you may see from my blog I have many outings and excursions into London city, but it is really nice when something comes along that is so unexpected it really takes your breath away. I blog about food, fashion and beauty every month, and this post just happens to have it all in! So let me take you away for a few minutes while I tell you about Sushi Samba, Jess Wright and KISS!

As I made my way up to the 38th floor of Heron Tower, I felt like I was back in Dubai whizzing higher and higher to get to the top of the Khalifa. The view of London city’s skyline was stunning! When I arrived at the top, I met with the girls from Alex Silver PR and was introduced to the other guests too.

I ordered a mango batida which went down a treat. A fruity, creamy cocktail which incidentally matched the restaurant’s decor perfectly!

We met with Jess Wright (the new brand ambassador for KISS products) before being seated to ask her some beauty questions.

My question to Jess was:

‘Is there one look you always wanted to try but are too scared to do it?’

Her answer was a pixie hair cut! I think that Jess would rock the look.

As we sat to eat, we also had a quick fire round for Jess where she had to answer from a choice of two options. I shouted out ‘pink or gold?’ And Jess chose pink!

Before this exquisite lunch, my experience of sushi was next to none and so I was really surprised when this dish presented itself in front of me. The staff were so accommodating about my coeliac’s and didn’t hesitate to explain that all of my dishes were gluten free.

I had two fabulous courses of vegetarian goodness and they were presented so delicately it was almost a shame to dig in! Our main course was sensational- a creamy dish cooked to perfection with amazing sticky rice.

We all tucked in and had the best conversations about the new KISS range while we waited for our dessert. It did not disappoint!

The exotic fruit atop a bed of crushed watermelon was just divine! The spikey pieces resembling coral were made from apple- who knew fruit could be this different?!

Of course I had to get a quick selfie with Jess before she left- what a babe!

I’m sat with the adorable Bianca from ASPR, and I also had the opportunity to chat with Gail Porter for a bit too! Thanks so much to the ASPR team, Sushi Samba, the best company and of course to the new brand ambassador Jess Wright!