Dubai Holiday Haul =)

If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you'll know that I went away to Dubai at the end of August with one of my best friends. Along with enjoying the sunshine (up to 40^oC) and food, we also did plenty of shopping! I mostly picked up gifts for others, but I did treat myself to a few bits and pieces. And here's what I picked up!

Starting off with a little Jo Malone fragrance purchase in Duty Free.

 

Taking advantage of the Sephora store that was across the road from the hotel at the newly opened Beach Mall near JBR. Face masks to try out as well as a new felt tip eyeliner.

 

And I couldn't resist a trip to Bath & Body Works. Yes, these 3-wick candles weighed a ton, but they were on offer (3 for 160AED, which roughly works out to £26. A bargain when they were 90AED if bought alone!). My favourite scent (and a repurchase from last years trip) is Mahogany Teakwood.

I also bought myself a purple beaded kaftan, which I am hoping to wear for Eid Ul Adha inshaAllah
 (more pictures to come then).

Anything in particular that you'd like to see a more in-depth post on?



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Candle Haul!

I know I wasn't supposed to do anymore sale shopping, but I was in need of some candles to burn. Busy Bee Candles (review here) had a 35% discount which I took advantage of, and then I found another website selling Lily Flame candles for under £7. Of course, I couldn't refuse a bargain so I stocked up on some lovely smelling candles which should hopefully last me a while.

Here's what I picked up!

 

From Busy Bee Candles:

Monkey Business Mini Me

Sweet Dreams Mini Me

Eastern Promise Mini Me

White Musk No Mess Wax Tart (x2)

 

 

From Casa Candles:

Shearer Candle Amber Noir

Lily Flame Dolly Rocker

Lily Flame Fairy Dust

Lily Flame Silent Night

 

Do you have any favourite candles? What would you recommend?

 

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Boxing Day Sales [haul]

As I do every year, I went to the boxing day sales on Thursday at Westfield Stratford. As we got there quite early, we had finished shopping by 11am and left before the mad crowds and general craziness!

Here's what I managed to pick up on the day:

Lush Goodies! All the items were half price. The Christmas Kisses set includes the Bubblegum Lip Scrub, Chou Chou I Love You Toothy Tabs, Honey Trap and Santa Baby Lip Balms =)

 

 

Jewellery from Accessorize! Again, they were all half price in store =)

 

I also got the Guerlain La Petite Robe Noir 30ml Gift set for only £17.50 (unfortunately didn't manage to get a photo). I did quite a bit of sale shopping online on Christmas Eve as some of the ales had started early online. I ordered another Guerlain perfume gift set from Boots (the same one that I later bought in store...ooops!). It's a fragrance that I had my eye on in the summer when I was in Duty Free but I didn't get the chance to pick it up. As they say, good things come to those who wait! And seeing as the 30ml bottle retails at £35 alone, I couldn't resist! I ordered a dress from Dorothy Perkins and some Lily Flame candles which should also be arriving soon.

Aaliyah from Pyari Beauty tweeted about the Real Techniques brushes being on sale at Asda Direct, so of course I had to add the Core Collection to my basket. At less than £9, I couldn't say no!

Did you manage to pick up any bargains from the sales this year?





p.s. I'll be announcing my giveaway winner in a blog post tomorrow so do check back =)

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Chocoholic Hijabi Turns Three [Giveaway] CLOSED

I can't believe I've been blogging for three years now (it still feels like just yesterday I was typing up a little intro to the blog and first few posts!). So much has happened this past year, which meant that blogging has taken a bit of a back seat as work seems to be the priority. Nevertheless, I'm definitely not going to be giving up blogging any time soon!

source

As a little thank you to everyone who follows my blog via GFC/Bloglovin/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram etc. I'm going to have little giveaway. The prize is still a mystery, but it's a collection of some of my favourite things, including some handmade goodies (by me) and a gorgeous candle from Bespoke Henna (I originally had a set of decorated tea lights, but kept them for myself...ooops!).


All you have to do is answer this question: Describe your perfect chocolate.

Mine would have to be a cookies and cream truffle covered in coconut and dusted with cocoa powder =)


The usual rules apply:
- Follow the blog via GFC.
- If you like my facebook page, please leave a comment under the Giveaway Post for an additional entry.
- Answer the question in the comments box below.
- Please leave your email address in the comment so that I can contact you!

- Giveaway is open to UK residents only.
- Giveaway ends on Wednesday 25th December at 10pm GMT.

Don't forget to have some cake (or chocolate!) =D

 

 

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Holiday Haul!

It's pretty much impossible to go on holiday without having a little shopping spree. With the obvious lack of Sephora and Bath and Body Works in the UK, I was pretty excited to shop in the stores in Barcelona (Sephora) and in Dubai (both). The prices were definitely higher than they would have been in the US, but I suppose that's necessary from a business point of view. Of course I did pick up a few bits and bobs for myself =)

(obviously I did a lot more shopping than what's in the pictures below)(oops!)

Bath and Body Works Candles - Frosted Cupcake and Mahogany Teakwood

Bath and Body Works Fragrance Mists - Dark Kiss and Midnight Pomegranate

Ittar (perfume oil) in a little jewelled bottle

Sephora Fragrance sprays and Body Wash capsules

 

 

I also picked up the Bare Minerals 9-piece Get Started Kit from Duty Free (a total impulse buy) and will be doing a more in-depth post on what's inside =)
 

 

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Busy Bee Candles [mini haul and review]

I placed an order with Busy Bee Candles over the Easter weekend, after a collegue had recommended them to me. She basically said that they were equally as good, if not better than Yankee Candles, so of course I had to try them out! At the time, there was also a 30% discount code (which I obviously took advantage of) and decided to treat myself. As well as sorting the candles by scent on the website, they also differentiate between the strength of the scents, which was great for me as I headed straight to the strong scents page! Busy Bee Candles are all handmade using soy wax and high quality fragrances. They have a wide range of frangrances from floral and fruity to seasonal and just plain different. I'm already looking at the Butter Popcorn, Sweet Dreams, and Eastern Promise. They even have a vapour rub scented candle, which would be great when your feeling under the weather.

I ordered the Blackberry Fizz Mini Me candle jar, alongside the Coco Mango, Adonis and Christmas Comfort no clean wax tarts. The mini me candle jar has a burning time between 8-12 hours and the no clean wax tarts burn for around 6-7 tea lights. I already have a burner (which I haven't used), so I purchase the no clean wax tarts to start myself off, and because they don't require any cleaning, I can change the wax tart whenever I want.

Prices start from £1.25 for wax tarts, and for candle jars from £4.50. Keep up to date with their regular offers by following them on Twitter =)

Have you tried Busy Bee Candles before? And what are your favourite scents? I particularly like strong scents, usually spice based or fruity (I also have a weakness for the smell of freshly baked goodies) =)




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Winter Warmer - Yankee Candles

I've always heard about Yankee Candles but have only been purchasing them for a few months now as Clinton Cards stock a small selection in stores. I love burning candles (especially in the Winter) as they add warmth and fragrance to any room. The Yankee Candles in particular are scented enough that you can smell the fragrance while it's burning (I've used candles before which smell great when they're still packaged, but have no scent when you burn them).

I recently picked up samplers in Pink Dragonfruit, Black Coconut, Fluffy Towels, Midsummer's Night and Cinnamon Stick. I prefer the samplers as they are small and easy to store (no big jars) but still burn for upto 15 hours. I have a glass tealight holder to stand them up in when they burn, otherwise I'd have a puddle of wax to clean up!

Red Velvet Yankee Candle burning away (while the snow falls outside)

 

 

What do you think of Yankee Candles? Any favourite scents that you have?

 

 



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