travel Archives - SAHARASPLASH

saharasplash3 July, 2016

The Bloggers Ball 2016

Where do I begin with The Bloggers Ball 2016? It is going to be really hard to capture the essence of this event I think as it was one of those ‘you had to be there’ events in my opinion. To sum up for you before I go into further detail, it was crazy, big, wonderful and addictive! So many bloggers and brands, so many bodies and booths to visit, I imagine it was something similar to speed dating but on steroids, and I still didn’t get to visit everyone and see everything! I’m going to talk about my favs that I did get to see and of course I have to shout out to Scarlett London for organising this grandeur affair at DSTRKT London!

Selfie Glow

Selfie Glow are are cute company just perfect for bloggers who love a good tan! Cruelty and paraben free, these guys were the first exhibitors I visited. They are US based but making their way over to the UK market this year. I hope I can work with this lovely brand soon while we have some sun in London!

Fei Liu Jewellery

Fei Liu jewellery really caught my eye. I love the elegant design of his pieces and I am still after something signature to wear on my wedding day. Fei Liu really stood out to me and the sparkle was just lovely!

Bon Prix

I’m sure you have all heard of the longstanding brand Bon Prix. They had brought with them a few of their summer collection essentials which were fabulous! Definitely check out their site if you’re going on holiday or just feel you need to jazz up your summer wardrobe, I’m sure they will have you covered!

Bravura London

Bravura London are a new find for me. It was great to meet them at The Bloggers Ball 2016 and talk about their different products meant for different types of skin. I chose to trial the Glycolic acid for its abilities to reduce fine lines and breakouts.

Monin

I’m sure you’ve all had a taste of what Monin has to offer, whether you know it or not. Monin provide the syrups for Costa coffee, so those caramel lattes and hazelnut mochas are all down to this great brand. On the day, they had brought with them a lovely pitcher of lemonade which was fantastic. I didn’t know how many syrups they did until I saw the range at the Bloggers Ball- check out their site to discover all the amazing flavours, they have practically everything!

On The Beach

On The Beach are an online travel agency who aim to deliver great holidays at great rates. They were there on the day to meet us bloggers and also have a beach party too! There were plenty of selfies taken at their booth and the OTB team were such great fun! Really hoping to take an On The Beach holiday if the wedding budget allows this year!

Vatika Naturals

Vatika are another new brand I discovered at The Bloggers Ball 2016 and I’m so glad I did. I’ve been using the Argan Shampoo pictured below since the event and it’s honestly the best shampoo I’ve ever used. Not only does it smell amazing, it creates a fabulous lather without using half the bottle, and my hair comes away feeling so nourished my hair is like silk. Definitely recommended, and I can’t wait to try out their Black seed hair mask! Available at Superdrug.

Tessuti

The last brand (and the most fabulous by far) is Tessuti. They are an online luxury boutique who stock both men and women’s ranges. I was immediately drawn to these guys as soon as I saw the Melissa shoes- you kow how much of a Melissa shoe collector I am! I’m really excited to be working with Tessuti after meeting them at The Bloggers Ball 2016 so stay tuned this month to see what piece I’m styling up from Tessuti.co.uk!

What I Wore

I wore a bright orange cocktail dress courtesy of Solace London and I paired the dress with some rose gold lace up heels from Ego. On my nails I have Thumbs Up nail wraps!

Saharasplash x

For more content and to find out about a fabulous fizzy drinks company called Karma Cola, click here.

saharasplash13 May, 2016

The Dubai Series: Day Three

So onto The Dubai Series: Day Three – the last day of our 72 hour holiday. Let’s start with some pretty awesome hair if I do say so myself…

So I did a mixture of French braid to the nape of my neck, and then I tied them up and did fishtails to the ends. I really liked the results of this spontaneous do! I think it went really well with the look from day three.

Paul and I took a taxi to JBR, the Jumeirah Beach Resort on our last day to spend some time with each other. We had a sizeable lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, I absolutely love their raspberry lemonade! The marble table at lunch provided a perfect opportunity to show off my second pair of nail wraps from Thumbsup nails, on the Dubai Series: Day Three I’m wearing ‘Mars’.

After that, we ventured out to find a great location to do some shooting.

I’m wearing a biker jacket with chiffon fall from Her Boutique, I love how unique the jacket is with this extra bit of detail. I decided to pair this with some crochet trousers from Primark. They are super comfy and perfect for hot weather down at the beach.

We found a stunning staircase and so we took advantage!

Underneath the jacket I’m wearing a bikini from Boohoo.com

As we made our way down to the beach, we spotted some camels walking towards us!

Here is the Boohoo.com bikini in more detail:

Now this post is quite a special one, not just for the fabulous fashion, but because I have some news to share with you all…

On the beaches of Dubai on the 2nd May, Paul proposed to me… And I said yes!!!

I know, so exciting- we are getting married at the end of this year and I am so happy! I’m ecstatic I can finally share this news with you all on my blog and make it a part of the Dubai Series: Day Three as it’s been killing me to keep it a secret!

And there’s more too! On to my final outfit of the trip, plus a close up of my ring…

My pantsuit is from Primark, and my clutch is from Next. My engagement ring is courtesy of my mother.

I’m sure you can agree that this was a very special ending to a very special trip. I want to thank everyone mentioned in my five days of blogging, I couldn’t have done it without you. And lastly a shout out to my husband to be, thank you for supporting me, my blog and being the best camera man I could ask for!

Saharasplash X (bride to be!)

If you’re not caught up on Day 1 and Day 2, take a read to see the rest of my time in Dubai!

PR Samples included

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

saharasplash10 May, 2016

The Dubai Series: Travel Essentials

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!

PR Sample

saharasplash9 May, 2016

The Dubai Series: Prepping for an Exotic Getaway

I’ve been working really hard recently on a very secret project. This project involves a plane, an exotic destination and some pretty awesome products. I have had to keep this a secret over the past couple of weeks as our holiday has been an undercover mission to surprise some family who are living in Dubai! Paul and I booked the flights ten days before flying out and have been working with just one of our Dubai residents to organise and surprise the rest of them. So here is the first instalment in what I’m calling The Dubai Series: Prepping for an Exotic Getaway.

With just ten days to plan for our getaway, my first stop was travel money. There is only one place I go to for any travel money, it beats all the other competitors out there and you are guaranteed a fantastic rate. They are Ace Fx and they are located on my journey home in Canary Wharf. I reserved my Dirhams and got a great rate as usual.

Also in preparation, I reached out to my favourite hair salon to help get my hair travel ready-

Rush Hair and Beauty.

The day before the flight, I went to visit the Aldwych salon to get a cut and blowdry. My hairdresser Craig gave me the top treatments from the Kerastase range, and one hour later my hair was fabulous and ready to go!

Next, onto the nails.

Barry M of course were the top choice when prepping for my exotic getaway. I used 2 colours from the new coconut infusion range- Bikini for my toes and Starfish for my hands. These are both lovely colours for a weekend getaway as they last so well and the colours would match what I had packed in my suitcase. The new range is infused with coconut oil to help hydrate and strengthen your nails.

Finally, on the morning of the flight, Nair was to the rescue!

I was lucky enough to try out the new Argan oil nourish range, and I was so happy with the results. I used the facial cream for my upper lip, the glide on for my underarms and for my bikini area and the shower power cream for my legs. The cream is super easy to apply, and you can wash it off in the shower after just ten mins. It really was the final touch to my preparations for Dubai, and I couldn’t wait to get on the plane!

Here is a snap from the airport. I chose to fly in my favourite shirt from Her Boutique, it’s so comfy and had me feeling holiday ready with the bright colours.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in the Dubai Series as up next it’s my travel essentials!

Saharasplash x

PR sample

saharasplash17 June, 2015

Travel guide to Dubai

I’m not sure how a country can be so relaxing yet be so vibrant and exciting at the same time. But somehow Dubai did it.

This was a great holiday from start to finish, and let me tell you it was a great start to be flying business class for the first time! We were on the friends and family list due to our gracious host in Dubai being a pilot for Emirates. When we got to Gatwick we were directed to premium check- in and security (which I never knew existed), and words cannot describe the flight. I hardly noticed the 6 and a half hour journey out as I spent most of it ‘knocked out!’ – I blame the mattress and horizontal bed experience. Having a personal minibar helped too 🙂

So… The holiday

Much like most of my holidays, I think I spent the month running up to it in full pack-attack mode. I created a holiday inspiration Pinterest board which you can find here: (https://uk.pinterest.com/Saharasplash/holiday-inspo-dubai/) I had a lot of fun putting together outfits that were both concealing enough for Arabic culture, yet free flowing and airy enough that I wouldn’t combust or melt in the 40 degree heat.

2 malls I recommend are the Emirates Mall (where you can go skiing in their indoor slopes!) and the Dubai Mall. Both have every shop imaginable and the food courts are fulfilling in every way- take a visit to P F Changs at the Emirates Mall and elevation burger in the Dubai Mall.

Last time I visited Dubai I did the Atlantis water park, this time I ventured to Wild Wadi. Although this is smaller it is a lot less crowded. I think there were about 80 people in the whole park when it opened at 10, and only started to get busy when we left at 2. This was quite a memorable day as while watching a well built man doing the wave machine I suddenly realised that it was in fact Jensen Ackles from Supernatural… in swimming trunks and nothing else…so a hot day! Side note- check out my awesome monogrammed bikini from H&M! They were doing it for free in Oxford Circus so I had to get it!

lucky enough to visit the Cayan Tower on our travels round the city- picture below. This building twists one degree for every floor, so by the time you are on the 90th floor and look down you are facing a different side! We went to take a peak off one of our friends balconies and the view of the marina was just stunning.

Dragonmart was the last activity of the trip. It’s a market that is shaped like a dragon, the rooftop tiles are scale-like and it goes on for miles. Go visit the Dragonmart (http://www.dragonmart.ae) for anything and everything- literally! Clothes, gadgets, electric goods and the kitchen sink!

Like all good holidays, they come to a close just as soon as they begin, but I have some great memories of Dubai this year and hopefully some great photos too that will keep me going till my next venture 🙂

What I Wore

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