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To mark the launch, Matcha Club is offering an exclusive introductory package: three reformer Pilates classes for just AED 250. (Regular class pricing is set at AED140.) With up to eight classes offered daily, including a dedicated ladies’ class every day, guests can easily find a session that suits their schedule any day of the week.

Transformer Pilates at Karve

From London to Alserkal Avenue, Dubai’s newest fun and fast-paced workout sessions are redefining the pilates you all know and love.

A studio “inspired by the Big Apple, on the pulse of the Big Smoke.”

The classes are performed on a large custom-made resistance-based, reformer-esque machine. Each class is 50-minutes long and starts with a warm-up, followed by a full body high-intensity workout and completed by a stretch and a mindfulness session allowing for a full reset.

Blended Wellness

This multi-wellness destination caters to health, fitness, and beauty experiences on the shores of the Palm Jumeirah.

A room with a view… the small pilates studios face the ocean, giving way to bright and energetic classes. It’s the perfect way to start the day, and would recommend it’s followed by a trip to their salt room, sauna and indulge in a post-workout massage too!

Cult favourite clean beauty brand Kosas lands in the UAE

Posted on December 26, 2024

Available exclusively at Sephora, Iranian born Sheena Zadeh, founder of Kosas, puts a precedence on skin-loving, naturally based ingredients and omits the usual phthalates, parabens, talcs and silicones… (to name a few).

Wearing makeup is a perfect opportunity to take care of your skin, and Kosas uses super nourishing ingredients at clinically proven active levels to improve your skin – even when it’s bare. Expect ingredients like pink algae, arnica, peptides, bamboo stem extract, vegan collagen and mineral reef-safe SPF’s in their must-have products instead.

You can shop Kosas guilt free because they are also planet-positive as a company and ensure: 100% Cruelty-free and Leaping Bunny Certified, 100% Tree-free or FSC-certified cartons. 100% of tubes are made from biomaterials and use totally ethically sourced mica too.

Hotspot Recommended

Spend Christmas and New Years by the beach!

Posted on December 23, 2024

🎄 Christmas 🎄

Inside Burj Al Arab:

Family Tour + Santa Grotto at Royal Suite

The Family Festive Package offers an unrivalled opportunity to explore the elegance and grandeur of Burj Al Arab Jumeirah while immersing guests in festive cheer. This exclusive offering includes:

A 60 to 90-minute guided tour, exploring the iconic hotel’s lavish interiors, spectacular Atrium, and panoramic views from the 25th-floor Observation Lounge.
Festive beverages to suit all ages—adults can enjoy an optional alcoholic twist, while children can sip on delightful non-alcoholic creations.
A magical meet-and-greet with Santa Claus in his exclusive Royal Suite Grotto, including a photo album with six professional snapshots to treasure.
Two bespoke gifts from Santa for the little ones, adding a personalized touch to the festivities.

Price: AED 2,000 for a family of four (2 adults + 2 children aged 4–12).

Add-ons: Additional adults at AED 369 per person, and children at AED 289 per person.

Chouchou:

Christmas Eve Celebration

Kick off the celebrations on December 24, with Christmas cocktails at the bar, where your first seasonal cocktail is on the house
The evening features entertainment by a DJ and a menu priced à la carte

Noël en Jazz

Celebrate Christmas Day, December 25, from 12pm to 4pm, with CHOUCHOU’s luxurious 6-course family-style menu
Enjoy refined French gastronomy and elegant holiday vibes, starting at AED 550 per person, with a live jazz band setting the mood

Champagne Rêve

An evening of free-flowing champagne and expertly crafted small plates, from 8pm to 10pm on December 26
A live DJ will keep the energy high, with prices starting at AED 550 per person

Kaimana Beach:

Christmas Brunch

Celebrate Christmas Day, December 25, from 1pm to 4pm with a family-friendly beachside brunch featuring live entertainment and festive cheer
Stay on from 4pm to 6pm for a festive sundowner with 3 drinks for AED 100

💫 New Year’s Eve 💫

Chouchou | Midnight in Paris

Time: From 7:30 PM
What to expect: Fine dining, live DJ, and fireworks.
Price: AED 900 per person

Almayass by the Sea | Arabian Night

Time: From 9:00 PM
What to expect: Authentic Lebanese-Armenian feast, live music by Mohammad Kabbani, and a DJ.
Price: AED 500 (Soft), AED 700 (House), AED 800 (Premium)

Kaimana Beach

Time: From 8:00 PM
What to expect: Live entertainment, DJs, fireworks, and Burj Khalifa views.
Pricing: Indoor Lounge: AED 1200 (includes AED 900 beverage credit) | Beach Dining: AED 2000 (includes AED 1400 beverage credit)

Gigi Rigolatto | Ring in the New Year in Style

Time: From 8:00 PM
What to expect: Sharing set menu, live DJ, and Dom Pérignon welcome drink.
Price: AED 3500 per person

Ninive Beach

Time: From 8:00 PM
What to expect: Rooftop and ground floor celebrations with DJs and fireworks.
Price: AED 1700 (Rooftop), AED 1200 (Ground Floor)

African Queen

Time: From 7:30 PM
What to expect: Elegant dining, live shows, DJ, and sea-view fireworks.
Pricing: Indoor: AED 1000 | Pergola: AED 2200 | Poolside: AED 2700 (min spend)

Gitano | Supernature NYE

Time: From 7:30 PM
What to expect: Jungle-inspired dinner, dancing, and DJ sets with panoramic firework views.
Pricing: Indoors: AED 1750 | Terrace (J1 Firework View): AED 2250 | Terrace (Burj + J1 View): AED 3000

Lúnico

Time: From 7:00 PM
What to expect: 4-course Spanish sharing menu, live music, DJ, and 180° firework views.
Price: AED 790 (dining) | AED 300 (bar seating)

La Baia by the Beach

Time: From 7:00 PM (early) | From 9:30 PM (premium seating)
What to expect: Live DJs, roaming bands, and fireworks.
Pricing: Indoor: AED 500–800 | Outdoor: AED 650–1000

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The Clean Beauty Brand At Sephora You Need To Know

Posted on December 5, 2024

The beauty industry impacts us in a whole range of environmental ways, Saie is Sephora’s newest clean beauty brand to really focus on a sustainable future.

Current practices can deplete natural resources, damage oceans, hurt wildlife, and produce harmful microplastics. One of the biggest challenges the beauty world faces is post-consumer packaging waste.

But what’s the answer?

Well one way is using more sustainable packaging, which is typically made from materials that are either biodegradable or recyclable. This includes materials like glass, paper, cardboard, metal, and certain types of plastic, like bio-based or plant-based plastics.

Saie, Sephora’s newest clean beauty brand, focuses not only on clean, good-for-you ingredients, but has also established their own ‘Saie Climate Initiative’ to take direct action to combat climate change.

“As a lifelong lover of Mother Nature, I believe it is our duty to be responsible for the impact we at Saie make on the planet. This unprecedented commitment is our way of taking action, because action is the only way to enact change. I know this is just the beginning, and I couldn’t be more excited to start this journey.” – Laney, Founder & CEO of Saie.

Saie is also committed to cleaning our planet of plastic waste through a three-year partnership with rePurpose Global. This initiative targets the impact of global plastic waste on communities while also investing in women’s development and empowerment. To put it into perspective, their goal is to reduce existing plastic waste by the equivalent of 120 million single-use plastic bottles that eventually end up polluting our oceans.

As well as production changes, Saie are also working towards net zero across all supply chain emissions by 2039 with the following:

Shipping Boxes
Kraft mailers are biodegradable and 100% recyclable.

Cartons
Their product cartons are 100% Recycled FSC-certified paper made in a carbon-neutral facility.

Cotton Balls
Their cushy, comfy cotton balls aren’t just for removing makeup; they actually use them as padding for the inside of the packages.

Paper Tape
Saie use kraft paper tape to safely secure all of their products in transit. The glue on the tape is made of water-activated cornstarch.

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💙🌊 For The Oceans – Cigarette Butts with Amanda Rushforth and Azraq 🌊💙

Posted on July 7, 2020

Every year 4.5 Trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide, with a significant percentage finding their way into our oceans and onto our shores. In fact, 30-40% of all items collected in coastal and urban clean ups are butts. Azraq highlights that most people do not realise that cigarette filters within cigarette butts are made from a type of plastic called cellulose acetate which doesn’t biodegrade.

In 2003, The Dubai Municipality introduced a 500 AED fine for littering them. This fine has doubled to 1000 AED with six black points for drivers flicking cigarette butts onto UAE roads. Not only being unpleasant aesthetically, cigarette filters are comprised of thousands of chemical ingredients, including arsenic, lead, nicotine and ethyl phenol, all of which leak into aquatic environments.

As well as smoking being bad for the environment, smoking killed more than 2,900 people in the UAE in 2016 and cost the country $569 million in lost productivity and health care costs, according to the latest report on global smoking. In 2016 it was reported that, 748 cigarettes were smoked per person aged over 15 years, per year in the United Arab Emirates.

Here’s my third video highlighting marine conservation with Azraq ME 💙🌊 I’d love to hear what you think! #marinedebris #fortheoceans #oceanconservation

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💙🌊 For The Oceans – Useless Utensils with Amanda Rushforth and Azraq 🌊💙

Posted on June 18, 2020

Azraq highlights that it’s no secret that the hospitality sector is one of the biggest contributors to plastic pollution globally, and they think all of those plastic utensils that they give away (you know, the ones that end up among the most common items found during costal clean ups) are pretty useless!

In 2016, Worldcentric.org estimated that 40 billion plastic utensils were used every year in the United States alone. The majority of these were thrown out after just one use and ended up in landfills and waterways… something must be done. In order to highlight this problem, and hopefully get people to think twice about their usage, AZRAQ launched its #uselessutensils campaign in mid-2019 in partnership with Freedom Pizza, Lush Middle East, Carluccio’s and Beitfann Studio (Sustainable City). With your help, they collected approximately 60kg and over 30,000 plastic utensils in six weeks!

Here’s my second video highlighting marine conservation with Azraq ME 💙🌊 I’d love to hear what you think! #marinedebris #fortheoceans #oceanconservation

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💙🌊 For The Oceans – Marine Conservation with Amanda Rushforth and Azraq 🌊💙

Posted on June 7, 2020

Azraq is a non-profit marine conservation organisation registered with the Community Development Authority in the UAE. The mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. The aim is to EDUCATE through awareness programs and community presentations, MOTIVATE individuals, organisations and communities at large to make a difference and ACTIVATE them by offering a range of activities on, in and around the ocean.

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.

The marine environment needs help. Why not you? Whether you volunteer at a stall, help keep our shores clean and safe or can encourage others to care about the oceans through art, there are many ways you can become a marine warrior helping Azraq conserve and protect our precious oceans.

I’ve been working on a few videos during lockdown for my new role as a director at Azraq – to highlight marine conservation 💙🌊 I’d love to hear what you think!

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Testing Out: The Dermapen Mesofacial

Posted on March 2, 2020

I never realized just how important getting a facial was, or just how much they can really help your skin. Having trialled different types of facials and deep cleansing treatments, I was yet to come across one I could really recommend… until now. The Dermapen Mesofacial at Nova Clinic is a revolutionary skin care treatment that stimulates the natural production of new cells and collagen, delivering results without the need to go under the knife.

What are these results exactly? First off, it boasts firmer skin, smoother, more toned and definitely more hydrated skin, with added benefits of targeting cellulite, fine lines and scarring on the face, jawline and neck too. The Dermapen Mesofacial uses micro-needling technology with individually wrapped needles that penetrate partway into the dermis, to stimulate the skin’s natural collagen production process. It punctures the skin a hundred times a second, creating micro-breakages, which the skin responds to with instant healing and collagen production.

The Dermapen Mesofacial is referred to as a facial because the analysis of your complexion, identifying key areas of concern and any sensitivities is followed by a deep cleansing treatment that prepares your skin for the procedure, akin to a mini facial. It can also be used on other areas of the body, particularly those such as upper arms, buttocks and thighs, where cellulite is common. It is relatively painless and the redness is natural, dissipating within a few hours after the treatment too.

QUOTE: HALO for 15% off when booking too!

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High Definition Brows

Posted on February 18, 2020

What’s new with beauty? Well my current favourite technique for that ‘always on’ look is Brow Lamination at Rossano Ferretti salon. This high brow technique is basically a perm for your brows, as it gives them a set, uniform shape for an extended period of time. Instead of curls, a setting lotion helps your browhair stay brushed up and lifted upward for about six weeks. It’s the perfect treatment for those who have unruly, uneven or coarse brows and are looking for a more defined shape. However, be warned, it’s worth doing a patch test first as those who are prone to breakouts or have eczema need to check as chemicals used could lead to further irritation.

The first is brushed through eyebrow hairs to make them softer and more malleable, and is left on for twenty minutes. Next, the brows are brushed into the desired position and a ‘laminating’ solution is applied, to keep the strands in place. I also had mine tinted to help darken even the baby hairs in and around the shape. Lamination will straighten your eyebrow hairs and encourage them to grow in the same direction but you’ll still need to comb them up for the full feathery brow effect. Finish with some clear brow gel or serum and you’re good to go every morning.

It is NOT microblading, microblading is a way of semi-permanent make-up that can last 12 months. I much prefer brow lamination as it’s a great way to have fullness without the downtime. Here’s the recap below… don’t worry, after day 1, your eyebrows look a lot more natural and aren’t as intensely upright.

Adventure Fitness Recommended

Retreat Yourself

Posted on February 11, 2020

The concept of going on a retreat has always sounded pretty unique to me, somewhere you go with a specific goal in mind, be it weight-loss or strength building, or even a more meditative soul seeking trip away. Finding one however has only seemed to come through a studio you follow who’s hosting one, through social media, or even friends of friends who went and had a great time…

Now though there’s a real game changer for those seeking some substance on their next trip. Retreat MI is the easiest way to source your own retreat, searchable through your preference of fitness, food, location or maybe you aren’t even sure and just want to see what’s on offer? The great thing is, these are packaged per nights you want to escape, so you can see exactly what’s on offer and book accordingly.

I visited a lovely little retreat called Nirbana in Sri Lanka last month that put precedence on surfing and Voga. No that’s not a spelling mistake either… Voga is the latest yoga craze to test your comfort level (and balance), with recognizable movements punctuated by more fun dance-y rhythms, to the tune of vibey 80’s favourites. It’s catchy and a don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously is an important mindset to have going in.

With a busy mix of fitness and fun, there was also some time to relax poolside in their picturesque inland setting. I’m used to more beach front Sri Lanka views but waking up with the monkeys in the trees chattering and a relaxed breakfast schedule was a welcome alternative to my usual little weekend getaway. From a sunset river SUP to early morning surfing, we didn’t lack adventure or options.

I’ve got my sights set on a Pilates retreat in Sicily next so if you fancy a wellness weekend, I’ll see you there!

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