When Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa opened a little coffee shop in London way back in 1971, little did they realize this was the start of a global empire. Fast-forward to present time, and you will be hard-pressed finding a coffee drinker who hasn’t heard of Costa Coffee. The company currently has over 3,000 stores across the globe, 132 of which happen to be spread across the UAE.

Having won a long list of global accolades, the brand continues to hold its position as a market leader in the coffee business by complacently adhering to their stringent quality standards, and enticing true coffee lovers with new, exciting roasts.

I had the pleasure of attending a Costa event last week, and was one of the very first people in the UAE to take a sip of their limited edition Old Paradise Street Roast No. 11.

Tucked away on Umm Al Sheif Street, off Jumeirah Beach Road is a beautifully done up slice of Italy. With its vintage-style street lamps and very inviting checkered red and white tablecloths,  Mozzo Centrale looks like it has been transported directly from Italy, furnishings and all.

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The location is pretty residential, and I would have easily driven past it if I wasn’t actually looking it up on my trusty GPS. Given it is in a cosy neighbourhood nook, Mozzo Centrale truly is a well-kept neighbourhood secret.

When I saw an email invite in my inbox from Ishita Saha, I gave out a squeal of delight! Celebrity blogger Ishita Saha of ishitaunblogged fame (who also happens to be co-editor of FoodeMag, Dubai’s finest e-magazine on food) is the kind of role model aspiring food bloggers like me look up to. Dinner with Ishita was bound to be a memorable experience, and she elevated my expectations with this short clip on the restaurant we were previewing:

I recently got introduced to Gosh Cosmetics, and got to take away a few of their gorgeous, very reasonably priced products to try out for myself. Come to think of it, most of the goodies I got are ‘all about the base’ 🙂 I seem to be in dire need to up my base-makeup ammunition, and am absolutely loving these three Gosh products:

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As one of the region’s premium beauty and grooming service providers to over 600,000 customers in 5 countries, NStyle Beauty Lounge needs no introduction. The latest addition to their ammunition of beauty tools is their cutting-edge Hydra Facial MD treatments.

The Hydra Facial MD range has been an international success, and has a celebrity following including Paris Hilton herself. I got invited to try out their 30 minute Booster HydraFacial MD Treatment, and two days on, I am still enjoying the #facialafterglow effects 🙂

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Last week I got invited to the media launch of Atlantis The Palm’s newest addition, a Lebanese fine-dining restaurant called Ayamna. Keeping up with the classy decorum of Atlantis, the interiors of Ayamna reflect on the intriguing romance of a bygone era. Walking down the winding, majestic staircase, the restaurant resembles an enchanted mansion where the hospitality of the glorious Lebanese past has been magically brought to life. ‘Ayamna’ translates to ‘Our Time’, a forgotten time of solace and merriment, of good company and great food.

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Last Thursday, I was invited for a makeover session courtesy Gosh Cosmetics. In all honesty, I had never heard of the brand, and curiosity got the better of me. Will the range really be super spectacular and have me going ‘Gosh! Why were we not introduced earlier?’ Read on for my verdict… and some pretty amazing, brow-raising ‘before & after’ clicks 😉

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Fuego translates to ‘fire’ in Mexican, and is the aptly chosen name for Souk Al Bahar’s contemporary fine-dining Mexican restaurant. I am always game for a Mexican fare, what’s not to love about spiced up taco pockets stuffed with spiced up beef, and loaded with guacamole and cheese? At Fuego, I learnt there is far more to Mexican cuisine than street-food equivalent tacos.

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