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It feels surreal writing this post right now when I took the pictures of these products last year in my old home, when I was actually meant to write this blog post for Mother's Day.. but it definitely is more relevant this year at this very uncertain and strange time.
The world is being told to "wash your hands for 20 seconds or more" due to the outbreak of Coronavirus and we're being told to practise social distancing to reduce spread of the virus or self isolation or quarantining.. so I thought I would use my extra time at home to achieve one of my goals I've been slacking on for the last two years - nurturing this very blog again <3
It's quite a worrying time for a lot of people, especially here in the UK when we're on a 2 week lag behind other countries where the virus has hit hard, but if you were still looking to buy something for your mum for Mother's Day here in the UK (or just any day to show you appreciate her), then I always thought hand care options would be best (as mum's use their hands so much!), so they deserve hand care products as a treat.

Obviously now with the government advising us to wash our hands with soap for 20 seconds+, pretty much everyone is experiencing ashy hand syndrome (including myself, even though I don't have eczema like my son), so tbh if you want to treat yourself here are some options I thought I'd include [some *gifted],  starting with my faves that are most affordable and then some special gift worthy treats:

Eid Gift Guide - Small Businesses

Soo, I started planning and writing this post during Ramadan but between exhaustion of fasting, salah etc, being a single mum anddd posting regularly enough on instagram etc. this post got delayed.
But it's better late than never and these gifts can also be bought for occasions like birthdays etc, so here's my Eid Gift Guide - Small Businesses edition. Alhamdulillah this year and last I've reached a point in the blogging world where I'm able to comfortably request samples for gift guides/blog posts etc, so it really does help with content I have in mind like the last Oud post. 
This year particularly, brands are understanding that there's a huge market around Ramadan/Eid and personally I am glad that they recognise this; maybe in the future there can be more Eid related/designed products like The Body Shop currently do (see the Ramadan calendars here and here). More often than not though, we forget that small businesses have also catered to our needs for Eid/special occasions and I like to include them on my blog to help support them if I can, as it's amazing that they've had the initiative to create what they have.
Last year I focused on this Stationary post from small and established businesses, this year I put a little request out on my Instagram to see what was out there and was impressed with the brands in this post, so read on to see what I came across!

Sunday Swatches: MAC Snow Ball Holiday Collection

As you may or may not know, MAC have released their holiday collection this week entitled the Snow Ball Collection (available here!) and I have to say it has literally been years since I was last super excited about their Holiday collection. The last time I was this excited about MAC's holiday collection was the Glitter and Ice Collection here in 2011 and I guess I really am a magpie because yet again, the packaging this year had my eyes all heart eyed, and after I saw the limited edition Whisper Of Gilt highlighter back again, I was sold.
Before I start, this isn't going to be a full review post as usual, I just thought I'd share my trip to MAC on the launch day, my picks, thoughts and a couple swatches I took whilst visiting the store as well as what I purchased from the collection 😍
Read on to see more!

Eid Gift Ideas - Beauty

By now, if you haven't got your Eid gifts sorted you may be desperate for some inspo, so if stationary isn't their thing, then here are my beauty picks for Eid. I've started with two brands that have Eid-specific products which I think is amazing and would love to see more brands cater to gifting for Eid time if possible as it does make gift searching a lot more easier!
After these, I've included my favourite beauty products released so far this year (whilst they're still available!), which can also come in handy for some birthday present inspiration.
Usually if I don't know what the person wants for Eid/birthdays, I tend to scour the internet for gift sets which are better value for money as you tend to get more products for the price you pay.. which is always a win.
Read on to see my personal favourites and recommendations this Eid...

Eid Gift Ideas - Stationary

Sooo, as we get closer to Eid, I thought I'd put up a post of gift ideas, first starting with stationary as it's something that can be gifted to males and females.

Whilst browsing Etsy for Eid related ideas (they're the best place to shop for personalised/niche products btw!) I found a few small businesses online that offer Eid related stationary/gift ideas, but also included my current favourite non-islamic related stationary shop I'm obsessed with too at the end of this post.
I personally love stationary and think it makes a great gift as most people will use it at work or if a student or at least use it as a prop for their pictures if they're a blogger like me haha.  I adore monochrome or geometric patterns and when they have hints of metallic shades in them (particularly rose gold) I'm sold! 
I've both purchased and been sent some of the stationary from small businesses in this post, I do love supporting smaller businesses in general as it takes a lot of initiative and commitment to start business in the first place, so do check them out for some more fab ideas 💞