I lived in London for 4 years, but been back in Dubai for a year and it’s one of those cities that you’ll never get bored thanks to something always happening in the city… Here’s a guide on places I discovered on my quick 4 day trip to city post fashion week.

-Burger stop at Meat Licqor

I’ve been hearing so much about Meat Licqor, and couldn’t wait to try it for myself. After arriving quite late, we went for late dinner (they close at midnight, which is a plus in London) – from outside, you would’ve never guessed it was a burger shop and once you come in, the place looks underground with loud music. I had the cheeseburger, which was perfection whilst my sister had the Philly cheese steak. We had sides of fries and possible the best onion rings.

 

-Barre workout at BARREtoned

When I previously lived in London, finding a barre studio was near to impossible. Barre is still super niche in London, but you can still find it. During my trip, I booked in for a class at BARREtoned, a barre studio in Notting Hill – quite a spacious studio for London. If you’re a barre regular, the class style was in between physique57 and pure barre – has a fab locker, changing area, toilets as well as a mini boutique area. The instructors are super well trained, I took a class with one of the co-founders, who was on to me making sure I was getting the most out of every move. With Barre, it’s key to have an instructor that corrects because the moves are very subtle, and you can be losing on a whole workout if done wrong. If you’re looking for an effective and original barre class, definitely check out BARREtoned

www.barretoned.com

 

-Blow dry: GUILD

I always get asked about hair salons in London, so here’s a recommendation – I stopped over at GUILD on King’s road for a wash and blow dry (as well as a much needed trim after colouring my hair!) The salon, which has a branch in Paris (and more coming soon) has a sleek designer – their upper floor is for wash and hair, and lower is for make up and facials. They use a range of products from Shu Uemura, Moroccan oil, Davines to Redken. I went for a hair treatment before my trim and blow-dry by Shu Uemura – never used their hair products before so I was excited. I started with a wash with a scalp treatment, their product smelt amazing, so I had delicious smelling hair for the rest of the day. My amazing stylist (who was from Kuwait) gave me beautiful curls with a GHD straightener. I was out in an hour and a half, which is fast for my thick hair and was entertained enough with a range of the latest magazines, iPad and a menu in collaboration with the Chelsea Quarter cafe with choices from Smoothies, Salads and sandwiches.

QUOTE ‘MYFASHDIARY’ for 20 percent on your wash and blow-dry.

http://www.guildhairdressing.com

-Beauty Pit stop: Cucumba

With London being such a busy city, it’s very difficult to schedule a lot of time to come in so this is the perfect beauty pit stop – perfectly located right off Oxford and Regent street, you can head over to Cucumba for anything from nails, tan, massage or facials and pay for the time slot – 30 mins, 45 mins etc or pay per treatment. Love the concept – I got my nails done during my last trip. No Dubai manicure but good enough if you need an urgent quick mani

www.cucumba.co.uk

-Sugar rush: Marshmallowists order

If you have a sweet tooth, and love your marshmallows – try something different and place an order at Marshmallowists. A gourmet marshmallow company that have a range of interesting flavours from Raspberry & Champagne, to Sweet orange and mango all the way to coconut. Sold at Portobello market or if you can’t make it down there, place an order. So. cool.

http://www.themarshmallowists.co.uk

-Make use of your stop with a stop to Paris with Eurostar…

This is my travel gem and was a miracle when I lived in London. Traveling has never been easier. I mostly take it from London to Paris and back, but have also taken it to Brussels before. Easier as you come in less than an hour before departing, and don’t spend time with passport control and baggage claim after arriving (saves time), and you leave the central of a city and arrive at the central of the other city. With London, it’s St. Pancras and Paris, it’s Gard du Nord. They have a range of classes depending on your budget – Standard, Standard Premiere and Business premiere. If you love luxury travel (like me!) go for Business premiere. Here are a few points on what I love…

 

-They have the latest british and french magazines in the lounge and on board

-fast track check in

-business premiere lounge

-departure from lounge

-excellent service

-comfortable and wide seats

-apperatif (drink and snack after boarding)

www.eurostar.com

-The Workout: Barry’s Bootcamp

I’ve been wanting to try Barry’s Bootcamp in NYC every time I end up visiting but end up going to the fitness studios closest around me. I was so bummed to hear they opened in London after I moved back to Dubai and made sure I checked it out on my last trip. Let me say… this is one tough and amazing workout. The studio which is in Euston is quite large, feels like you’re in New York city, and even have their own juice bar. Having not done the class before, I can’t compare it to anything else – the one hour class has two sections. One half of the class are on the treadmills and the other half on the ground for weights & switch up during the class. Having been made famous by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jessica Alba is no fad – the workout was one of the toughest I’ve done and the experience is addicting, think low lighting and pumping music with a motivational instructor that made sure to call me out when he felt like I wasn’t pushing myself to my limit. (thanks Shane!)

I will definitely be booking in for my classes on my next trip. A class at Barry’s Bootcamp London costs £20.

www.barrysbootcamp.com/london-england.html

-The Nail Bar: Chanel nail bar

I mean, is there anything more chic than getting your nails done at Chanel’s nail bar? Chanel initially opened up a pop up beauty store with a nail bar in Covent Garden for a limited time. After seeing how exciting it was to the public, they ended up making it a permanent fixture. When I was in London, I made sure to book in for a shape & polish in my favourite Chanel shade, Blue Satin. PS They also have most of the Chanel beauty products as well as a large range of colours. Even if you’re not planning on shopping, get yourself out to the store – worth the experience.