Solo T-Shirt Design

As a die-hard lover and wannabe collector of cool t-shirts, these tees recently caught my eye and what really got my attention was the fact that they are by a new local brand.

Solo T-Shirt Design, the brainchild of designer Ahmed Krounz, has been launched with one clear goal – to produce individual clothing for individual people.

This is what Ahmed had to say:

"Solo T Shirt Design caters to people who shun the run-of-the-mill things, who value difference and who treasure creativity. People who feel passionately about the image they present to the world and people who refuse to conform. Our designs range from cult heroes (and villains!) to the purest typography, from montages of mashed-up icons, to the disarmingly simple – our ‘house style’ is not to have a house style."

Solo T Shirt Design is the first, and only, dedicated online T-shirt shop in the UAE. The t-shirts are made of high quality 100% 180gsm cotton and are 100% UAE made to unique specifications unlike a lot of off-the-shelf tees.

Ahmed is also working on tees for women...but I don't mind these to be honest! I love wearing men's t-shirts ;)

Solo T-Shirt Design: Facebook | Twitter

 

Bishts For Women by Qumar14

How gorgeous is this brown women's bisht?

Love the colours and it's just perfect for winter!

Qumar14 is a Kuwaiti brand, and this is what they say:

"Growing up, my grandmother used to tell me about how in her day, a beautiful girl was nicknamed Qumar 14. This collection was made for the effortlessly chic girl with pieces that transition from a family gathering to a night with the girls."

Qumar14: Facbook | Twitter

س by May

 I have fallen head over heels in love with these stunning pieces by jewellery designer May Al Qassar.

My name in Arabic starts with the letter "س"....it's only fair that I should get them! Right? :(

May who is based in Kuwait has a BFA in  in Communication Design from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

"In my eyes, the simpler the jewelry design the more personal it becomes.  Because beauty does not lay in the piece itself but gains it from the person it adorns.  And the more one wears it the more beautiful it becomes." - May

May Al Qassar: Shop | Twitter | Facebook

CLOSED!!! Giveaway - Mikyajy Goodies Up For Grabs!

Mikyajy certainly needs no introduction, does it ladies?

I love their stuff and always have something or the other from Mikyajy in my makeup bag.

So to share my love for the brand, I'm giving my readers the chance to win 500 AED worth of Mikyaji goodies!

Mikyajy is celebrating their Beautiful Color Carnival by offering one of my lucky readers the ultimate beauty package. The winner will receive a package full of Mikyajy products valued at more than 500 AED including the oh-so-popular Tempting Treats which is currently on sale for 149 AED/SAR. Not only will the winner receive Tempting Treats but you'll also get an assortment of products from the premium line of 22K products, girly colors from the funky Minx collection and more from Mikyajy’s Sabaya, Boxed Beauties, Girl Tools and fragrance collections.  

All you need to do is:

STEP 1: Like my facebook page HERE

STEP 2: Like Mikyajy's facebook page HERE

STEP 3: Leave a comment below to confirm your entry!

The winner will be announced on the 23rd of December, so hurry!

This competition is open to my readers in UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, Oman and Libya.


A winner has been randomly chosen
The lucky girl is Riffi Khan
Congratulations Riffi!
Please email me your details at sisforsadia@gmail.com

The Louboutin Times

The winter 2011-2012 edition of The Louboutin Times is out...direct from Paris!
Find out what Christian Louboutin's famous clients like DVF, Kristen Scott Thomas have to say about him in his new book.

I really love what model/actress Elisa Sednaoui had to say:

"Wearing Christian's shoes has the Cinderella effect: it creates instant magic. Every time you are a new character, a more powerful and yet iconic version of yourself. Every pair holds a little of his passion, humour and enthusiasm that we can carry along in our adventures. Christian - thank you for making us become princesses."

Read the entire Louboutin Times: HERE

Buy Christian Louboutin's new book HERE

Dressing Up With The Ahlis

I love supporting regional/local talent and The Ahlis is once such brand native to Dubai!
They are two sisters who wanted to created a local fashion brand consisting of both, day and evening wear.
I've shared pics of my favourite pieces...so check them out!

The Ahlis
Shop | Facebook | Twitter
Emal: the.ahlis@gmail.com

Telephone: 0097150-5522833 | 0097150-5588227

And in case any on my international readers are curious, The Ahlis deliver globally! Yay!

The Book Shelter

Imagine if you could get books for free and unlike a library, you wouldn't have to return them!

That's exactly what The Book Shelter promises to do. This virtual book sharing library, founded by two Emirati  girls, is giving out free books to anyone who asks for them and won't even burden you with shipping costs..they'll take care of it.

Sounds too good to be true...doesn't it? I had the same reaction, so decided to find out more.

The two book lovers 

Mariam Al Khayat , Writer and Film-maker
&

Shaika Al Shamsi, Writer / Photographer and Art Consultant

What made you start something like this?

A book to us is not just paper glued together..every book represents a life, a story, its someone's voice and thoughts. It breaks our hearts to see books being thrown away or collecting dust somewhere. So we decided to rescue them. 

The Book Shelter is where we house unloved books and try to give them a new life. 

What do you want to achieve with The Book Shelter?

In this age of gadgets the relationship between people and books has been compromised. We are not just making books accessible to people, we are placing them right into their hands. 

We aim to promote reading, and in the near future, create a sustainable reading culture that relies on itself. By circulating pre-owned books we want to develop a responsible community that recycles. 

When did you begin, and how's the response so far?

Actually, we started the project back in 2006. At the time we were "Writer's Block"; a writer's hub where writers submitted their work and received feedback. We wanted our contributors to read so we started this concept on the side (accepting book donations and giving them out for free).

It went on for a year, it was very successful but we shut it down for personal reasons. We revived the project a month ago and renamed it to The Book Shelter because we decided to concentrate on promoting reading.  

The response in one month has been far better than our response in 2006, mainly because social media has made it easier for us to reach people. Also, we were lucky to participate in an event to put ourselves "out there" right from the start. The frequent response we get from people is "whats the catch?" or  "this is too good to be true" "so you are basically giving out free books?"  :) 

What kinds of books do you enjoy reading yourselves? How often do you read?

We both like children's books and fantasy a lot. But we experiment with different genres and recommend books to each other all the time. We read books in English, French and Arabic. But because we like the same kind of books we always end up "stealing" each others books or fighting over the last copy at some book stand lol.

We collect books in our travels, charity events that sell books, flea markets, online, we even try to haggle with stores that display books as part of their decoration. Sometimes we have multiple copies of the same book but by different publishers (different covers)...we love vintage books, the older the better!

And to get us to lose interest in a book, just tell us its a "bestseller" .. mainly because we really just like to make up our own minds about books.

We are book lovers and try read all the time, there is always a book in our purse when we go out ! 

Favourite book/authors?

We have the same list of favorite books and authors:  Arabian Nights by Husain Haddaway, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, The Secret Garden , Narnia Chronicles.
Roald Dahl books really hooked us into reading and One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of our biggest writing inspirations....it's hard to choose one book..our list goes on.. !

The Book Shelter's nook at a recent event

The Book Shelter: Website | Twitter

Playing With The Moon..

Photographer Laurent Lavender's whimsical work!

More works by the photographer: HERE

Polly&Me

Trained at Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design in London, Cath Braid, along with her sister Ange co-founded a brand of luxe leather handbags called Polly&Me. The brand's unique bags are hand embroidered by the women of Chitral Pakistan, providing them with a means of income.

Their mission:

"To encourage rural artisans to utilise their traditional craft in a contemporary way, promoting self-sufficiency and dignity."

Polly&Me handbags can be found at O' De Rose, Umm Suqeim 2, Dubai

More: Polly&Me | O' De Rose

Photos courtesy of O' De Rose

All Wrapped Up

Source: 1 . 2

Even though it gets torn off within seconds, good wrapping can really make or break a gift.
Here are two easy tutorials to make your gifts standout.

A little effort goes a long way!

Happy crafting! 

Krush on Keswah

Keswah is the brainchild of three Emirati girls who combined forces to create their own fashion label called Keswah, or clothing in Arabic. Inspired by traditional Emirati clothing and international trends, their contemporary jalabiyas are creative, trendy and modern and still traditionally conservative. In my opinion they have done an amazing job. Their clothes aren't fussy and have a gorgeous modern, elegant flair to them! 

Keswah: Shop | Facebook | Twitter

Tried & Tested: Shiffa

L-R: Aromatic Facial Cleanser | Skin Balancing Toner | Tamanu Moisturising Cream

A couple of months ago, I had blogged about Shiffa (see post: here) and it has been exactly 2 months since I've been using the three products and all three containers are almost empty. I thought I'd give my readers an update.

Aromatic Facial Cleanser:

"Sweet rosy oil of geranium & grapefruit to cleanse, balance and uplift your skin. Ancient healing chamomile to calm, purify, & soothe. Anti bacterial tea tree & avocado to condition & moisturise skin Miraculous fruits of the olive tree leaving skin soft, supple & moisturised."

Like all Shiffa products the cleanser is made of natural, organic ingredients and isn't harsh on the skin. But admittedly I sometimes have to use it twice to get all the excess makeup off. I would recommend it to anyone with sensitive skin. I'm not a fan of cleansing lotions, but this one didn't leave my skin feeling oily which I really liked!

Skin Balancing Toner:

"Cooling aloe vera to soothe. Italian bergamot to restore balance. Refreshing Damask rose. Mineral-rich seaweed to help eliminate impurities and repair. Bergamot to relax. Stimulating hazel to bring new skin to life."

Again, very gentle, extremely healing. I had to be careful not to use too much of this because it left my skin looking a little oily, but if you're careful and use it in small amounts it's a great product!

Tamanu Moisturising Cream:

"Healing & regenerating powerful aromatic tamanu plant oil. Aromatic rosemary to rejuvenate. Chilean rosehip oil to moisturise and smooth skin. Nourishing jojoba to soften. Jasmine to tone, firm and refine. Anti-ageing avocado oil. Delicate calendula plant to protect and defend against environment damage."

When I had visited the Shiffa Express Spa (see post: here) at Sephora, Dubai Mall, the therapist was extremely confident and excited about this cream. I could tell she firmly believed in its properties, and quite frankly I have fallen in love with it! It makes my skin soft, deeply moisturized and it feels well looked after! As it is very rich, a small amount goes a long way and on those days when I want to give my skin a little extra TLC, I apply it generously on my face and neck before going to bed, and in the morning the skin feels supple and smooth!

My sister also gave the three products a go and she loved them! She used it at night before going to bed and after a long day in the office, she felt her skin feeling supple and rejuvenated. I am looking forward to buying all three products again once I completely run out of them.

Read my first post on Shiffa HERE | Read my post on the Shiffa Express Spa HERE

Shiffa: Website | Twitter | Facebook