#LUSHCosmetics: Scents and Stories!

Changes in weather brings different feelings. I love winters and when weather starts changing, my mood changes accordingly. Everything is all fun and games for the adults, but as for the kids, they obviously become victims of these changes. For the first part of winters when the weather is shifting, it’s better to stay at home and not fall prey to the undeniable flu sneak attacks! (Happens to the best of us).

Heyya everyone. Last weekend I visited Lush Cosmetics Middle East’s event

“Scents and Stories”. It was a launch event of their new 28 scents which were inspired by 28 different stories. But they mainly focused on their 6 best fragrances. 

The event was arranged in a warehouse. And as we entered we were given passports and were explained that as the scents are inspired from different places in the world so we will need the passport to travel and find out the scents. And as we will visit different booths, we will be stamped on our passports.

We started our journey from their 1st scent Road to Damascus inspired by Damascus Syria itself. Then it was What Would Love Do? As the name itself says, the scent was more of a romantic soothing kind. We tried their Rentless, Dirty Rose Jam and many others. It became so difficult to decide which one was the best amongst all. They have also introduced their Arabic inspired perfumes like Zaatar and Cardamom and Coffee, and OMG it takes you back to the family times spent at the breakfast tables on weekends with gossips and cardamom teas and coffees. At the end, I and hubsy finally decided that we really liked the RENTLESS and hence we bought it. It’s a unisex perfume so we can both use our best scent :P ..

Here I would like to thank the whole LUSH team for the wonderful hospitality and gesture. We were served with some yummy snacks coffee and juices. I really liked it and was overwhelmed. Thank you so much guys. At the end we were to see a documentary about rentless's inspiration. They served us popcorns and FREE bathbombs. Oh my... I was absolutely in love with everything!

Later on the exit the guy told us that we can also use the stamps which we collected in the event at any LUSH store to get a free hamper which was such an extra ordinary cool thing!! I was obviously shook and super happy since all LUSH products are so amazing!

After the event, we actually decided to visit the LUSH store in midriff city center and asked for help to pick out products that we might need, and they helped us so much that they offered us a free counselling session with the in-house aestheticians.

My experience was so bomb, that now I can officially be termed as a LUSH-Head! A MILLION OF HUGS AND KISSES to the entire team of LUSH cosmetics for such a beautiful experience and an absolutely wonderful customer service and hospitality! Kudos to you guys! Muahhs!

So there you have it! My first ever very cool experience of LUSH cosmetics that have turned me into a now hopeful regular customer! Do tell me what your favorite LUSH products are, so I can pick them up on my next LUSH haul!! My favorite so far is their ROOTS hair mask and FULL OF GRACE! So, yeah! Till I pen down more of my experiences, Ciao!

Love,

Anum

Xoxo

Tour de UAE: Week four dont need more !!!

My My... I've given birth to an alien... you heard it right !!!

Hey ya all... you guys must be thinking how I can change my statement so so soon? Well Alhamdulillah my baby is growing into an active boy who loves screaming, laughing out loud and making my life more exciting. But these days both me and daddy are trying to make his nerves calm. He is in a new phase where he's picking things so fast that we are nervous upon our acts. If I shout he'll probably shout much more louder than me. So with his teachings we as parents are also learning to be at peace all the time.

Well here I am again with the last longest week. so here we go again.

Day 22: Al-Ain Zoo
Fridays are always the most tiring days as we don't really like sitting back at home. So the morning started with the decision of taking the fam to al-ain zoo. Due to waking up late we thought to have breakfast on our way. So our first stop was Mc Donald's as it was the only place we saw opened and rest were closed due to Jumma prayers. We had our breaky in not more than 5 minutes as the restaurant itself was closing. And then once again our journey started. Al-ain is quite far far away from Ajman. So we stopped twice or maybe thrice for a tea/coffee break. finally we reached the zoo. Mayn... it was extremely hot but still everything seemed impossible to stop us from having fun. After all baba's whole family was here.
For the zoo.. I just want to say that its just an amazing place not only for kids but for adults too. So many different types of animals we witnessed. And for the first time in my life I saw the gigantic giraffes.. finally I can die in peace now lol.

         


Day 23: Shopping
The days baba decides to go on shopping are the happiest days of my life. And again it was one happiest day. MIL and FIL were just gathering gifts for the remaining siblings and their grandchildren and we were to help them.

Day 24: Fail Trip
It wasn't a great day as baba came late from the office but still insisted us to visit Dubai Water Canal. We reached there and alas! it was closed already. :(

                                                    Yes we took pics even on a fail trip

Day 25: Mirdif City Center
MCC is one of my favourite shopping destinations in Dubai. We took the fam there but this time not for shopping. But for gifting FIL a brand new smartphone as his old one wasn't working. OMG I cant explain his happy face.
 

                                                                     Yusha's tentrum phase

                                                                        Boyses washroom selfie

Day 26: Lazy Day
After four days of running it was time for a resting day.

Day 27: Shopping
Yayy.. once again we were out for some more shopping as still few things were left.

Day 28: Dubai Outlet Mall
I swear I didn't buy anything. We just went there to buy something nice for  BIL. And obviously we had dinner in its food court. After that we thought to just check out the new last exit with the mad max theme. BIL who is a mad max fan enjoyed the most. He took pictures with every car parked there.

                                                   Now I know... He just needs freedom

Day 29: Lal Qila Restaurant
It was the tour's last dinner. We took them to our most favourite place. its a Pakistani restaurant with buffet and obvio their food is just mind blowing.

Day 30: Good Bye
Everyone was down because fam was leaving. But husband had other plans. He took all of us just to roam around the city and have good chit chat during the long drive. We again went to Dubai Water Canal, saw Emirates Mall and finally landed to DXB Mall for dinner. Rushed back to home and rested for a while and left for airport. I just dislike goodbyes as they make me all senti and emotional. So we did say good bye but with a promise that they will visit us soon.


Hope you all enjoyed the whole journey while reading. Do let me know what other places should I write in my "yet to explore places" list. And also how am I writing and which areas need improvement. I'll really appreciate your feedback.. till then CIAO.

Love

Anum
XOXO

Tour de UAE: Busy Bee Three!!

Guise! Welcome back to my blog about my third week of our intense mini vacays. Alhamdulillah till now everyone was so so happy whilst enjoying each and every moment. Yusha became so hyper and responsive mashaAllah as he was getting attention from everyone over these past few weeks. He started showing off his shoes and clothes and literally strutted like a peacock everywhere showing off his One year old self. He even developed a habit of getting dressed everyday and then play near the main door thinking we will go out.

Oh my.. My only concern was what will be his reaction when my In-laws would leave. But Alhamdulillah, he retained some of his calmness . Now again he's calm and peaceful. Cant thank the LORD enough. because damnnn, kids are HARD to handle at times.

Coming back to the days of 3rd week. Read and enjoy...

Day 15: Palm Jumeirah
It was the weekend. Imran took us to Palm Jumeirah. We had a ride in the mono rail which travels across the palm and then come back. It was a very exciting ride as it gives a complete and clear view of Palm Jumeirah, Burj Al-Arab and Atlantis. As FIL and MIL didn't want to go to water park so we just had the rail trip and took gazillion pictures of the surrounding. If you travel to UAE, This is ojne of the most recommended place to visit and tbh for all the good reasons.

US.. Always ready for pose

                                                       

Look at this concrete jungle! 

Father sons trio

                           


Day 16: The Dawat Day
Saturdays are always slow as hubsy have half days working. We had planned for dawat (dinner party)  for my cousin brothers. If you guys remember in the first week, our men took a trip to the meat market for PAAYE.. So finally t'was the day of putting them PAAYE to a good use. MIL told me the whole recipe and helped me in process as I was totally blank about it. Other than that I made chicken tikka and peas pilaf (or commonly known as matar pulao)  along with raita and chatni (tamarind and mint sauce) and 2 types of salads.... Food was extremely yummy and hence the lack of any pictures whatsoever! Maybe soon i'll start writing food recipe blogs too. Who knows.

Day 17: Independence Day Eve
We decided to leave the house closer to midnight as we heard that there will be some celebrations in Pakistani areas in Sharjah. We reached there on time and saw the whole crowd singing patriotic songs  at the top of their lungs, along with the ones being played on loud speakers. And giant sized party poppers were popping everywhere. We also witnessed cars decorated beautifully with paki flags and green and white buntings ribbons and balloons.This was the moment we missed Pakistan the most. All ugly shenanigans aside, we still love our home-land to bits.

Day 18: Monday Funday
A water park in Ras al khaima announced their tickets for as low as 50 aed on Pakistan Independence Day, so we thought why not avail this awesome posome deal. Imran took off from work and took us all to DREAMLAND AQUA PARK. It was one of the best choices baba made so far. Kids pool was just LOURVEEEE.... I let yusha roam around in pool as it was highly safe and secure with lifeguards, and it wasnt that deep too. MIL and FIL stayed with him while BIL hubsy and me went for some adventure sports. Their slides were awesome. We took almost every ride there. It was one heck of a day. Soo soothing in the extremely hot whether. It was pure bliss for UAE residents since we get the worst summers.

US....far far away

                           

Trying to make my bubba fly high

Day 19: Lazy Day
Because of the tiring last day, we prefered staying back home and enjoy the lazy day.

Day 20: Dinner at cousin's
It was again a very lazy day as there was no cooking or any other work to do. We all got ready before hubsy's arrival from office a he was already late. We all dressed up so nicely that each one of us were looking sooo good. Enjoyed evening and yummy food with them.

Day 21: Qanat al qasba
Again after dinner we left home to see Sharjah's 60 meter high Ferris Wheel which is also known as Al Qasba's EYE OF THE EMIRATES. It was the most fun ride and biggest wheel ive ever sat in. And the city view looks just ah-mazing from the top. One best part is their air conditioned cabins in which the weather really doesnt bother anyone.

EYE OF THE EMIRATES

View from the top of the eye  

And with this eye of the emirates, week just finished. From tomorrow, i mean in my next blog will share some more adventures we had in the 4th week. Till then chill and love and enjoy each milli second spent with your loved ones coz these tiny milli seconds will never come again.

And also do read the previous blogs and do let me know if im doing justice with writing and where i need improvements.Your suggestions can do wonders. And i really mean it. Till then CIAO

Love,

Anum

Xoxo

Tour De UAE: Week Two's Blues!

Hey everyone I'm here again with some of my not-so-boring stories about the second week of Tour de UAE. This week too we took a day off! This week, one of the most happening thing was our 3rd year of full craziness, that is our marriage anniversary. Lots of things occurred during this week. So guys read, enjoy and do give me a feedback, that's all I want.

Day 8: Burj al Arab
So yeah, the week started with a trip to Dubai's signature building that is Burj al Arab. Instead of going directly to the beach and view the building, we opted to visit Madinat Jumeirah. We parked our car and headed straight to the Souq. One thing I like most about it is that it's a very very beautiful place. The interior of the mall is super pretty. It's literally a cross between the Modern architect and Arabic Souq. Extremely beautiful wood work and look of the shops. The carts and all is just so amazing. I always enjoy my visit there. And how can I forget the canal are just outside the mall. One can even have a boat ride and have a very romantic view of moonlight under a starry night, next to the beautiful Burj al Arab. But due to extreme humidity and hella warm weather, we only took few pics outside and headed straight back inside the chilled Souq. The shops portrayed some amazing modern to antique jewelry pieces, colorful sand art, calligraphy, emirati dresses as well as metal work. I surely have became a fan of the metal statues.

Day 9: Jabel Jais
As hubsy have a very adventurous nature, he decided to take fam to the highest peak of UAE Jabel Jais. Among various reasons, one reason was the extremely hot weather. He thought maybe we could get a cooler outdoor place to sit and have some tea/coffee/junk. We reached there and when the sun was set and it was a full moon night. and let me tell you, I just fell in love with the moon and the serenity of the place. And yes offcourse weather up there was 200 times better than the city. We had every kind of junk there. Enjoyed the cool breeze and quite peaceful environment. Sometimes it becomes a necessary to run away from the loud rushy city life. And yes it was that very day.

from left to right: Yusha with FIL, BIL, meeee and MIL!

Yusha trying to be all grown up and shiz

Day 10: Anniversary dinner
So here it was.. The most exciting day of my life... Our anniversary. I was quite unhappy that day as hubsy didn't even wish me (ughh howw rooood, viqaaas). Yet in the back of my mind, I was planning to surprise him at his workplace. When he went back to his office, I rushed to the market. Bought a beautiful cake, some flowers and balloons and a nice shirt for the evening (which I kept with myself) .. Contacted his friend and handed over the stuff to him outside their office. It was the most amazing feeling in my heart. Though I wasn't there during the cake cutting but still the pure feeling of joy and love overwhelmed me. When he came back all super happy and thankful, I handed over the last gift and he got so so emotional that he straightaway took me to the gold shop and bought me a beautiful ring (as i love rings more than any jewelery). YES I WAS LITERALLY IN AWE. Man Goalssssss :'D Later that night, we had dinner with the whole fam at a very famous paki restaurant Bar.B.Q Tonight. The day was well spent indeed

hubsy being cheeky

My ONE year old rebel son. Lord save me,

someone needs photography lessons (definitely not me tho)

Day 11: Lazy Dayyyy
Again it was a break day. We spent our time in our comfort zones and enjoyed eachother's companies with family banters and some good laughs. Alhamdulilah,

Day 12: Abra Dubai
Just as we finished our dinner that night, hubsy got up and asked all of us to be quickly ready as he was in a mood to go somewhere outdoor. So he took us to see the abra. We took 1dhm boat till that old market. We just roamed around old dubai and had juices etc. And again took a trip in the boats to sail back to reality!

Day 13: City Walk
The only thing I love more than anything in the UAE, is the Turkish ice cream. The first time I had it was at the global village. But since its not the global village season, I had to take an extra mile and improvise, so we went to city walk.. It's literally a must visit place if you guys are coming to UAE. Hub zero is another exciting place full of indoor games... Plus which ever place have a Sephora outlet is the BEST place on planet earth. Jk. .

who took this picture? was it my one year old son, stay tuned to find outtt! (or not)

Day 14: Ikea
Finally weekend came and we took the family to my most favourite place; IKEA. I had so many things in my mind to buy for my house in home country but everytime we went, we were over weight. This time i thought ill buy and handover to parents. So according to the plan, bought so many things for our house there. It was actually a fun day for me and my mil (women probs lmao)


Aahhh... Even trying to sum up the entire week in one blog is tiring! I think i should give some rest to my fingers, my muscles, and my brain now. Will soon come up with the events that occurred in the 3rd week. Till then stay tuned and love your family because they are truly a blessing.

Love,

Anum

Xoxo

Tour de UAE: The First Week!!

Gosh... Another family visit, another tour de UAE...  But then again, who doesn't like travelling. We roam around cities whenever we are in a mood.

Well hey everyone I am writing after the longest gap in the history of writing. Last 2 months were a complete roller coaster ride for me and Yusha especially. We both had a small trip to homeland. Then we had guests here in UAE. Yusha is growing up so fast MashaAllah. He have started screaming, talking, running, plus my innocent baby is no more innocent. He is the most aggressive kid I've ever seen. Just because he's getting more attention these days.

Well coming back to the tour de UAE. Hubsy's fam was here to visit us and we were all set and made different plans to show interesting places. Since the day they landed we were roaming across the cities. Down is the list of places we visited.. I hope you all will read and enjoy.

Day 1: Festival City Mall
As family arrived in the last weak of July, the awesome sale season started across Dubai. We took them to festival city mall and did lotsa shopping. Saw the beautiful water fire and light show and had dinner there.

Day 2: Ajman City Center
Reason to visit CC was to buy some grocery as per their liking. Went to carrefour and again shopped till we dropped!!

Day 3: Juice World
Me and my hubsy decided not to waste any single day sitting back at home. So for the 3rd day we decided to take la familia to the Juice World located in Sharjah. Apart from our drinks we also enjoyed their preserved decoration of fruits.

Day 4: Adventureland
I took mil and bil to Adventureland at Sahara center. Bil and I enjoyed few rides while mil took care of Yusha Bubba.

Day 5: Home
Since everyone was tired from the non-stop fun week, we decided to take a day off and enjoy each other's company at home. It was one of those much needed breaks that we all deserved before we continued our trips and tour!

Day 6: Random shopping
Boys spent time in meat market and me and mil went to a discount center nearby to buy some junk. Reason for meat market trip was my hubsy's cravings for PAAYE (Traditional paki dish of cow/goat's leg bones with a thick and sticky gravy made from the stock) . so he took his father there to buy the best pieces.

Day 7: The Dubai Mall
Finally the weekend came and we rushed to the most exciting place The Dubai Mall. Bil was so so excited to visit the mall since the day he landed. It was not because of shopping but rather to see the World's tallest building THE BURJ KHALIFA . Hubsy had an official dinner nearby so he dropped us there. I took them to the waterfall first. Took lots of pictures there. Then moved a little ahead to the village area where there were umbrellas hanging in the sky. Beautiful place to see in the mall. As the clock was about to struck 9pm we rushed towards the dancing fountains as the show was about to start. We rushed in a hurry to be there before time. Once reached, chose a place good enough for the view. The show started and everyone there took their cams out. Started capturing the good music and water dance. After that we headed to The Souk where there is a skeleton of a dinosour. There too everyone took lots of pictures. Its quite interesting to see things like these in a very very modern kind of mall. Then the most amazing and relaxing thing to see was the giant aquarium. Its so relaxing and exciting to see so many sea creatures. Best part is that a part of aquarium is free for all. Now everyone was tired and hungry so we rushed to the foodcourt where hubsy joined us.

Week 1 was over with so many happenings. In my next blog i'll tell you the happenings and non happenings of week 2. Stay tuned and fasten your seat belts for a speedy ride.Till then CIAO.

Love,

Anum

Xoxo