Hijab Review: Scarves Closet

Sorry for being MIA recently, my new job is shift work and I've pulled the short straw and ended up with loads of night shifts these last couple of weeks. 

I'm here today with a hijab review, not a regular thing on this blog but I liked the look of this site. It's a new site set up in England selling a range of scarves. I was sent the 'Azalea Ombre Paisley' scarf for review:

Dimensions: 180cm by 80cm. This is a pretty standard hijab size, enough to add folds etc, but not a maxi scarf. 

Material: 50% cotton, 50% viscose giving it a lightweight, soft feel. This combination makes for a great summer headscarf as it's more breathable than a fully viscose scarf (which I dread!).

Colours: Cute pastel colours that fade into each other, with a subtle paisley pattern. Nice summer scarf. So nice apparently that my mum has nicked it. 

Packaging: Loved it!

Price: £7.50. I've compared this with other ombre scarves out there and the price is reasonable.

If you want you can support this new business by checking out their fun collection of scarves here. :)

Gucci Boston review

It has been more than a year since I bought my Gucci Boston bag so I have decided to review it for anyone thinking of purchasing one. I find these reviews helpful when deciding whether or not to buy an expensive item. 

Customer service: Perhaps it was my bad luck but I ended up with the rudest, most unhelpful sales assistant ever. Not sure if this is because it was at Heathrow (terminal 3) and she was sick of tourists or something but she had a chip on her shoulder, and I would certainly not have put up with her crap service if I hadn't been getting the bag tax-free. No idea why some designer SAs act like they own the brand but moving on.. 

Bag:

The style and size is pretty much the same as a Louis Vuitton Speedy 30. The main differences are that the Boston has more leather trim and the canvas is more like fabric than the Speedy canvas, making it less waterproof. I think the Speedy canvas is more durable overall.  

One of my favourite parts of the bag is actually the zip - it's excellent quality and makes the nicest sound when zipped xD

Although I have travelled with it, I have by no means used this as an everyday bag and it has already gotten some colour transfer from clothing. Boo. 

The leather has held up fairly well but there are some obvious scratches on the handle.  

It comes with a quality leather strap, but I rarely use it. 

There is a useful zipped pocket inside and two pouches for phone/keys etc; the fabric on the inside is cream, so is prone to get dirty.The bag itself is very well made and definitely feels like a luxury item. I know a lot of people are not keen on the 'in your face' monogram print but I personally love it. 

Value for money:

As the price goes up annually and I purchased it in duty-free last year, I paid less than the current online price of £700. Having used this bag for a year I do not think that it is worth £700, although I would probably be happy to pay the duty free price. 

Overall: 

Taking everything into consideration, I give this bag 7/10. I would recommend it if you can get it tax free, and you don't mind the potential for colour transfer or scratches on the leather. Despite it's drawbacks I think it's beautiful and it's still one of my favourite bags - I'm not planning to sell it any time soon!

Hope this review helped anyone thinking of getting this bag :)

Review: Neva Style

I was recently sent 3 scarves to review from 'Neva Style', a Turkish hijab company that sells a wide range of polyester and silk scarves, mostly with lace detailing. 

Here are the three scarves I was sent:

All of them are a polyester and viscose mix, measuring 63 by 180cm. My favorite is this black and white one:

The quality of the scarves is very good. Good stitching, no loose threads, nice, soft fabric. An innate problem with the material though is that it creases very easily, which isn't good news for someone like me (i.e. lazy) who doesn't have the time or energy to iron a scarf. 

I really like the lace detailing and I think that it looks very chic on (check their website out for more photos). These are the sorts of scarves that could make a simple outfit look smart, Turkish style. One thing I'm not keen on is the shininess of the scarves, mainly because it means they slip off quite easily unless you wear an under-cap and use straight pins. 

These scarves go for around $25, depending on the style. Real silk versions sell for $50. I think these are reasonable prices. 

My mum took a liking to the red one so she nabbed it.. 

Overall I think that the scarves are nice, they are of a good quality and are reasonably priced. I recently wore the black and white one as a neck scarf with a plain hijab and a black blazer, I thought it looked good if I do say so myself. I would post a picture but I'm not into the idea of posting 'outfits of the day', not sure why. Anyway, I would highly recommend you take a look at their site, there is a massive selection of colours and some really nice Turkish outfit pictures. If you want to place an order, you can email them at info@neva-style.com. 

(Just to clarify, I do not and will never recommend a company that I would not purchase from myself. I actually don't respond to most of the review requests I get because if I think I'm not going to like the item or I think it's too overpriced, I'm not going to pretend to recommend something just because I was sent it.)

Abaya review: My Batua

Today I am reviewing the Zubi Abaya from online store My Batua. It is a straight, crepe abaya with gathered top layer over shoulder and waist side and comes with a matching hand embodied brooch. The dress comes only in green and apart from the draping detail, it is completely plain - something that I favour in abaya designs. I got it in a size small and length 60".

(Sorry for the quality of the photos, it was an overcast day and I was using my iPhone.)

The material is thin and soft and drapes nicely. I would have liked to see slightly more fitted sleeves as it would have given it a more formal look but overall I was pleased with the cut.  

 The abaya is of a standard quality and the stitching is good although there were some ends where the threads needed to be cut to give a neater finish. It is currently on sale at $51.30, which I think is an okay price for this piece, especially if you are a regular abaya wearer and go to lots of events.

I think this abaya could easily be styled as a dress with the right belt and heels which is most likely how I would wear it.

It came with this beautiful brooch that can also be put into the hair:

The package arrived quickly and was well wrapped. Although I think it could do with modernising, the site itself has a good range of items, including men's clothing and this aweeeesome leather iPad case:

What a steal at $38, I might just have to bag this one!

Overall, I think that this is a nice abaya which would look even better styled as a dress. The quality is not bad for the price and the customer service is excellent. I have reviewed abayas in the past for My Batua and I have found that the fit runs true to size.

The site always has discounts going on so check them out here :)

Review: Soap & Glory 'For Daily Youth'

Although I have never talked about about beauty products on this blog I recently bought the Soap & Glory For Daily Youth moisturising lotion and just had to tell you about it. I don't usually use moisturisers/facial products because I find that most products either breakout or dry out my skin, but I had heard good things about this so I thought I would give it a go.

I got it from Boots for £12 for a 50 mL bottle - I have been using it everyday for about 2 months and I still have a third left so I think it is pretty good value for money. The first thing that I noticed was that it was very light and easy to apply and doesn't leave a horrible greasy feeling afterwards. It leaves the face feeling soft with a nice 'glow' (but I'm pretty sure that this is equally due to the massaging as it it to the actual lotion). So far so good.

What I really like about this product is that it didn't break me out, in fact, it has done the total opposite. Since starting it I have noticed a considerable decrease in the number of spots I get, my skin is a lot clearer now and I can only put it down to this moisturiser. I must admit I used to be sceptical when people told me that moisturising helps to reduce spots but it actually does! I would recommend this if you have sensitive skin and want to try something to help with spots.  

It claims to have a '6-in-1' action to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles too. I'm 22 so I didn't get it specifically for wrinkles but I did notice that the fine lines on my forehead (those ones you get when you raise your eyebrows) have pretty much disappeared after two months.

Although not an expert in beauty products, I really do like this moisturiser and will definitely be repurchasing it. I has gotten rid of dry areas of my skin, which feels a lot softer, reduced the number of spots I get and got rid of the fine lines.  All that and it's pink. I have nothing bad to say about this product. If you're looking to try something new, I really recommend this :)

Review: Modefa

I was recently sent two lovely scarves to review from mymodefa.com, a US based store specialising in hijabs and accessories. Both of the scarves were from the Turkish "Aker" range.

The first thing that I noticed was the beautiful packaging of the scarves. I think that attention to these details really sets a store apart from others, especially with so much competition these days. I really wanted to show you guys the wrapping of the scarves but my mum accidentally recycled the card before I could take some snaps, sorry!

Anyway, here are the scarves.

I really like the square silk one even though I don't tend to wear square hijabs. It also looks great on bags. Both scarves arrived without a crease by the way, that was totally my fault :/

I got my mum to model them for me :)

You can find the pink one here. It currently retails at $27.50 - not bad for an Aker scarf, although it is very thin and therefore would need to be worn with an underscarf if you want more coverage. I really like the dusty pink colour and the boarder of the scarf, it's very summery.

The silk scarf is not big but it is big enough to wear in a shayla style if you don't like the common Turkish style. You can find it here. It retails are $49.99 (down from $54.99), I think this is a little pricey, although it is 100% silk.

I adore the combination of the ditsy flowers with the stripes, too cute!

There is currently a sale doing on at Modefa so definitely go check them out. Also, SM readers can get an extra 10% of the Spring 2012 silk scarves by using the code "ramadan12".

Hope Ramadan is going well :)

Boutique Al-Khaleejia Review

I was recently sent the above two embroidered shaylas to review from Boutique Al-Khaleejia, a relatively new online store specialising in khaleeji abayas, shaylas and accessories.

My package :)

The first scarf ("Shayla 93") is pink, gold and purple-

Style: Both scarves are embroidered with coloured thread and beads on one side. The detailing is impressively intricate especially when considering that they are hand-embroidered. I like both designs but my favourite shayla is the next ("Shayla 96") -

I personally feel that these scarves are too blingy for everyday wear (especially if you don't wear them with an abaya) and I would most likely wear them on occasions when I am wearing a dress with a black abaya over the top.

Quality & value for money: The shaylas are made of thin chiffon material, measuring 24x72" making them long enough to wrap around once leaving extra material for styling/coverage.

The scarves retail at $49.99 each, which I think is a little steep but when you consider that they are hand embroidered and the amount of beads used actually makes that side of the scarf heavy, then the price is not too bad. Also, the heaviness of the scarf is pretty useful when it comes to syling because the weight means that it is less likely to move around or slip of the head.

There are lots of ways that you can style these sorts of shaylas, one of my favourites being this one:

Here are some close-ups I took of each design -

The shop also has a range of 250 abayas and many other beautiful shaylas. Check them out here :)