Chocoholic hijabi is...

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Now tweeting! Follow me @asmaamangera to be up to date with my random life events and musings. Just be aware though that my Twitter page is private, and followers will have to be approved. Not that you will have a problem, but there are many spammers on Twitter (as I found out this morning). Hope to interact and follow some of you on Twitter too =)




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Back to uni (aka I'm a third year student!)

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It's the beginning of a new academic year again. Starting third year means plenty of work and concentrating on getting the best possible degree classification that I'm capable of. Unfortunately this also means lots of coursework essays and the final year project, which counts for 25% of my final grade. To all those who are starting/have started schooling, good luck!

Also I now have to focus on post degree life =S So not looking forward to that!

Blogging on the journey back from uni,

Asmaa

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Btw...I've just joined twitter =] anyone have any tips on how to use it? x

East London

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This is a photo taken and edited with the Snapseed App, which was the view I had this morning outside the London Excel exhibition centre. As you can tell, it's typical British weather =)


By the way, this is my attempt at blogging from my phone. Let me know what you think =)

Asmaa

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UnderMyAbaya: The Lazy Day

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UnderMyAbaya: The Lazy Day
Miss Selfridge Shirt, £22
American Eagle Outfitters Jeans, $25
Polka dot socks, $6
Converse canvas shoes, £30
Metal Bangle, $30
Floral Shawl, £18



This is the lazy day outfit. This outfit is the definitely the most worn, especially when there are unexpected visitors at the door (much easier to put on an abaya, than change your entire outfit!). This is also the under abaya outfit of choice when going shopping, as it's comfortable (and I like walking in my converse). Also, a crinkle hijab that doesn't require ironing is a must =)

What's your lazy day outfit?



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E.L.F Haul (and another discount code)

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Remember there was a code for 50% off E.L.F cosmetics products last week? Well, an order at the value of £63.00 (£31.50 with the discount code)  is the result of a combined makeup haul between my sister and I. The order was dispatched yesterday (ordered on Sunday evening), which is to be expected as there are a lot of orders! I also recieved a text message which told me when the order was dispatched =)

Anyways, here's what I ordered! I thought I'd try out the Studio Matte Lip Colours and the eyelid primer collection, as well as reorder my mineral foundation at the same time. There will also be a giveaway, which will include E.L.F. products coming soon =)



 And here is what my sister ordered (relatively small compared to mine) =)



Also, this weekend E.L.F UK and Europe, will be having there last ever 50% code, so if you're planning to make a big order, I'd recommend you do it now. The code is LAST50 (for UK and Europe) and LAST50IT (for Italian customers). There is a minimum spend of £25 required, which works out to £12.50 (+shipping) when you apply the code. It's valid until 8am BST on Monday 19/09/2011. Happy E.L.F. shopping =)
There will of course be other offer codes in the future (but not 50%).
Last 50

Let me know what are your favourite E.L.F products =)



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WSC Opening (Thoughts and Mini Haul)

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So, yesterday was the opening of the now largest shopping mall in Europe, Westfield Stratford City (WSC), and I managed to get myself down there to have a look. I'll be sharing my experience and plenty of pictures which were taken throughout the day. =)

Firstly, before we (my sister and I) even left, we wanted to see whether any stores had any offers and goodies. There were quite a few, including £50 gift cards to the first 20 customers at Forever21, with the first 500 receiving a goody bag with a pajama set. The Apple Store was giving away free t-shirts to the first 1000 people through their doors, and many other stores were offering free products and samples, when you made a purchase. We decided to go to the Apple Store, as we knew that there was no chance that we'd even get into Forever21, and from the pictures below, you can see what I mean!

We left the house at 7:30am and got to Stratford station at just before 8am. No, we didn't climb the stairs (used the escalators) and the walk across the bridge (which goes over the train tracks) wasn't too bad as it was pretty empty. Here are the pics that I managed to take throughout the day =)

at 8am in the morning opposite Stratford Station

walking across the bridge to WSC

 the queue outside Forever21

Forever 21 Store

 Kiko Make Up Milano Store

 Inside Kiko Make up Milano

 Mr Pretzels!

 Crepe Affaire!

 Looking kinda empty at 8:30am

 Getting a bit busier at 9am around the Apple Store entrance

 Outside the Apple Store (i know it doesn't look like it, but there was an orderly queue outside the store, which was blocked off so people couldn't just randomly cut in)

 Inside the Apple Store (employees wearing blue t-shirts)

Visitor Guide (and the t-shirt box underneath)

 Outside the shopping centre, people were watching Nicole Scherzinger live, on a big screen (I think). 

 WSC packed out at 1pm

Stopping for a Mr Pretzel along the way! (i had a vanilla sugar one) =)

Unfortunately, the 2nd floor restaurants and food court were closed to the public (due to VIP guests), but my friends and I were able to find a space in the Lower Ground Floor food court to eat. There was also a Glamour Magazine Photo booth next to the Krispy Kreme kiosk, so we took quite a few (free) photo's. It was extremely busy which wasn't helped by the fact that security and WSC staff tried to create a one way flow of people (which I thought was a disaster). Mainly because there were quite a few places which were blocked off from public access and the sheer number of people, and let's imagine- you come out of a store and want to go to the next store on the left hand side, but you can't because everyone is walking towards the right side, therefore you have to go all the way around the balcony bit (if that makes sense) in order to get to the store you want to go to. 

I didn't manage to go into every single store (didn't even attempt Primark!) but the ones that I did go to were Apple, John Lewis, Lego, Forever21, Lush, Waitrose, Gruis, Accessorize and Kiko Make Up Milano. My friends and I spent over an hour in John Lewis (in the beauty department), just trying out makeup and skincare products. I didn't really purchase much, as this was more of a window shopping opportunity to see what was available and there were stores which will be opening in the near future, including H&M, MAC Makeup and Pinkberry. Overall, I was in WSC for over 8 hours (from 8am to 4:30pm!) and still didn't see everything. We didn't get to see the stores which were located outside of the actual shopping centre and missed having lunch at one of the restaurants (and finding out if Nando's is Halal).

Here are some pictures of what I did purchase, and a few goodies that were included =)

Free Apple Store t-shirt

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser Starter Kit from John Lewis
(Always wanted to try this as there are so many good reviews, and hopefully will be great for my combination/sensitive skin!)

 gift bag treats were a nice surprise (with purchase) =) 

 Lego Hermione Keychain from Lego Store (I am a big kid at heart!)

Socks and False Eyelashes from Forever21 (Couldn't leave without buying something!)

I'm hoping to go back once the crowds have thinned out a bit, or maybe when H&M opens on the 30th September =)

Will you be braving the crowds at WSC anytime soon? Let me know =)



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UnderMyAbaya: H&M Lace Dress

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UnderMyAbaya: Lace Dress


H&M lace dress, £25
Oasis black jeans, £10
ASOS ballet flat, $46
Oasis bangle bracelet, £16
Rocha.John Rocha Antique Lace Scarf, £20


Currently, I am loving all things lace, especially on dresses and shoes. I still like to keep my under abaya outfits quite modest as it means that I can remove my abaya when I don't need to wear it (i.e. in the presence of mahram/women).



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Countdown to Stratford City Westfield Opening

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So, I don't live very far from the soon-to-be Stratford City Westfield Shopping Centre (less than 10 minute bus journey). And I am definately looking forward to the opening day which is Tuesday 13th September! There will be plenty of offers thorughout the week, although the majority of them will be on the opening day. I'm hoping to take some pictures of the largest shopping centre in Europe, which houses approximately 300 retailers, including a bowling alley, 14 screen cinema and over 50 restaurants. Also, looking forward to picking up some bargains and freebies along the way and enjoying lunch with a few friends (as we take a break from browsing/shopping) =)

Is there anyone in else in the London area who will also be at Stratford City Westfield (that's a mouthful) on Tuesday? Let me know if you are =)



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Coming Soon: UnderMyAbaya

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UnderMyAbaya:Collection of outfits to wear under an abaya


A new series of Polyvore sets, which are based on what I would wear under my abaya (as you can guess from the name). Outfits worn underneath the abaya can be pretty much whatever you want to wear (as no-one is going to see them), and in the past I have even worn my pajama's! I still like to keep the outfits modest, as it then means I can take off my abaya when at a relatives house (i.e. grandparents/uncles/aunts etc.).

I'm definitely looking forward to posting these sets =)



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E.L.F 250 000 likes discount code

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The facebook page for E.L.F UK and Europe has reached 250 000 likes and to celebrate this, they have kindly given a 50% discount code which will be valid until 2am BST on 12/09/2011. There is minimum order value of £25 required (before discount is applied).

I have to say that it is well worth buying >£60 worth of E.L.F products, because then when the discount is applied, it is >£30, which also gives you free shipping (UK only). Remember you can always group up with friends and family members and buy as one order (incase your total doesn't reach £60!).
I'm planning to pick up a few products (including a repurchase of the mineral foundation), and hopefully they'll still be in stock before the weekend is over!


Let me know if you decide to get anything from E.L.F =)




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100+ Reading Challenge Summer Update

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Ooops! I haven't updated my reading list in a while, so I thought I'd do a combined one for July and August. As of today (03/09/2011) I have read 41 books for the 100+ Reading Challenge. Only 59 more books to go (and 4 months until the end of the challenge! Check out what I've read here.

Wish me luck!
And if you have any book recommendations, I'd love to know what they are (either in the comments, or email me) =D



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Ramdhan Giveaway Winner

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Sorry this post is a day late, but Eid is not completely over yet (and there are still lots of family and friends  to see).

Anyways, without further ado, the winner of the Ramadhan Giveaway (courtesy of Random.org) is...


True Random Number GeneratorResult:2Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Sister Miesya Nazri  =)


Congratulations! (I'll be contacting you via email inshaAllah)


Thank you to everyone who entered, and inshaAllah I'll be having another giveaway soon so keep an eye out for that =)




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