Ah… Finding that perfect skincare regime.

We’ve all been there and done that and probably failed 100 times over but I feel like now – I’ve nailed it – the perfect, spot-free skincare regime that works for me, so I thought I would share it with you lovely lot.

Working in the beauty industry for the majority of my teenage life meant that I was constantly on the lookout for new skincare products and trying to find THAT perfect skin care regime. I remember spending so much money on a whole skincare pack from Clinique comprising of like 10 products and literally – nothing changed. As I worked at Body Shop I used to always promote using a cleanser, toner, moisturiser, night oil, day oil, serum, face mist and the list goes on. Now I look back and I am like HOW though? It’s the first mistake I made because as time has gone on I have realised what works best for me – KEEPING IT SIMPLE.

I remember seeing one of my sisters friends once who had the most beautiful skin and when I asked what she used she was like – “I use soap on my face and that’s about it.” Since this day, I changed my ways and honestly I have never looked back.

I’ve never really had big problems with my skin (Alhamdulilah) but I would often get them really annoying odd spots that just stand out and make you look like you have something growing on your face. Honestly though, since keeping it simple and changing my skincare regime – I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY KIND OF SPOT IN TIME. (Okay that’s a very slight lie as I had a mini breakout a month or so ago but I solely put that down to stress) – other than this in the last year, I have rarely got one of those pesky spots.

So the routine consists of these 5 items I have listed below and nothing else. I also use a face mask once a week if I can but that’s for another post! Just to note, my skin type is dry and sensitive.

1. St Ives Apricot Scrub.

I used to use this every morning but switched to every other day as it is quite an invigorating scrub. This scrub is a great one for really making you feel like you’ve given your skin a good clean and I usually massage it in for a little while with a little bit of water so it feels like I have given my skin a deep cleanse. By far the best scrub I have used in my time (so far).

2. Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream.

So a few months ago I talked about my favourite products from The Body Shop and this one was obviously on there. I have been using this for around 4 years now and it just works so well for me regardless of the season and my skin changing. Because my skin is quite dry it moisturises it really well but doesn’t leave it feeling greasy. This moisturiser is relatively thick in relation to their normal Vitamin E cream but as I said – for me – IT’S THE BEST THING EVER. I use this every morning and night. I have also put the sorbet version in as this is lighter and is equally as hydrating but it has more of a cooling effect so is lovely to take on holiday and wear in summer.

3. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water.

I can’t even remember how I used to take my make up off before this product came in to my life because honestly – it used to be such a farce. I would use wipes, oils, cleansers, toners and there was STILL makeup on my face but this water just makes it so. much. easier. For a lazy person like me it’s just a godsend and although I use a few cotton pads to get it all off – it’s easy, efficient and doesn’t feel like you’re putting lots of chemicals on your face.

4. Mario Budescu Facial Spray with Aloe Herbs and Rosewater.

So this has been more of a recent purchase but I have used it every night for a few months and I LOVE IT. I use this after removing my makeup every night and it just helps with any excess the cleanser hasn’t taken off and also leaves my skin feeling so hydrated! Sometimes i’ll just spray this and let my skin breathe for a few hours before putting moisturiser on – and it smells SO good. I have also linked the Lush Rose Water as I used this before the Mario Badescu spray and it was equally as good.

5. Vaseline.

Ah, good old Vaseline. Honestly guys – old is gold and this – a product I have used numerous times growing up – still saves me. As I have dry skin there are certain areas which get more dry on my face such as my lips and nose. Every night I smother vaseline on these areas and it has really helped with keeping it moisturised through the day. I have used Bio oil and various lip balms but nothing compares to this.

So there you have it – my uber simple skin care regime. I use the scrub and moisturiser in the mornings and in the evenings the cleansing water, rose water spray, moisturiser and vaseline. I definitely think making my skincare regime more simple helped clear my skin up and is the main reason I don’t get spots anymore and it’s the easiest regime ever which is why I wanted to share it!

I hope you are enjoying my beauty blog posts and I will catch you all next week!

Tayyeba xx

Heyyyyyy everybody!

Long time no see (well it’s been two weeks but feels like ages!). I hope you are all well and have got through the torrential snow days we had and are very much looking forward to spring like me!

A quick update!

I thought i’d start this blog post in what feels like forever with a quick update on my life so you all know why I’ve been MIA.

So I was meant to be going to Amsterdam at the start of the month and I was MEGA excited because I have been a few times to Dam and LOVE IT. Then The Beast from the East/Storm Emma/HINDRANCE OF MY LIFE came to England and our first flight got cancelled – so we booked on to the next one – and that  got cancelled – and the one after that which DID go had no spaces left for us. Needless to say I was gutted but I had a whole week off work and pretty much did nothing – a much needed break from the world.

A few weeks ago I posted about being demotivated and I felt this time off ended up being much needed to catch up with many tasks I had put off and bring me back to my old semi-motivated self. Everything happens for a reason I guess. Also a few days later my sister found us a last minute deal and we are off to Greece at the end of the month! I am so excited because Amsterdam was going to be so cold the canals had even frozen over so hopefully Greece will be sunny, pretty and relaxing! (Again, everything  happens for a reason ey?)

Okay enough about me – so that’s where I’ve been; off work, back at work, having some down time and trying to deal with cancelled holidays and a snowstorm.

So now i’ll speak about the reason you’re all really here – my laser hair removal journey.

My laser hair removal journey…

So being of a Pakistani background, I am one of the many that have been blessed with dark, course hair resulting in visits to my eyebrow lady on a regular and wallowing in self pity when I get those nasty ingrown hairs.

For me – my main problem area was my lower legs. The hair follicles would be so stubborn that I would get really bad ingrowns and although it felt incredibly satisfying when I’d spend hours trying to get the hair out and it finally surrendered – it left my lower legs scarred and I was so insecure. I was doing all the right things such as waxing and using scrubs so I didn’t get why it wouldn’t make it better.

I tried so many products to help with ingrown hairs including the much recommended Tend Skin Ingrown Hair Solution and various scrubs but NOTHING helped. I felt uncomfortable wearing ankle grazer jeans, cropped trousers or even trousers with my kurtas and this is when I knew I needed help. I went to my GP and they gave me antibiotics which temporarily helped but again, nothing was an actual fix.

Treatment details…

I got an email from Groupon one day about an offer on laser hair removal so I looked in to it. It was at VGMedispa and they had different offers for various body parts. They are based in Leeds and were offering £69 for 6 sessions of Soprano Ice Laser Hair Removal on your lower legs and I thought – lets take the risk. I didn’t know much about laser or if it would work but I thought it can’t get much worse and for that price – it was worth it. They also had cheaper deals for arms/face/underarms etc.

Does it hurt?

Soprano Ice Laser Hair Removal is more of a new type of laser hair removal which uses a cold gel first to stop it hurting so much. It works in the same way as normal laser hair removal but from doing some research on the internet it felt like a lot of reviews pointed towards Soprano being the better option. I would say it feels like someone is pinching you and I have such a low threshold for pain but I could withstand it and it was MUCH less painful than waxing – that’s for sure.

I called VGMedispa to enquire about the offer and they just let me do it over the phone so I booked my first session in and paid directly to them and it was pretty simple. When you start laser you have to shave the area before hand so because I had switched from waxing to shaving – my skin would still get quite irritated at times but THE DIFFERENCE I SAW – OH WOW.

After just the first session, my hair grew back all patchy and some bits had such little hair – I WAS SHOOK. The more I went the less my hair grew back and I LOVED IT.

Having to stop the treatment halfway through…

As I was still shaving between my sessions – my ingrown hairs would still get bad and I got an infection at one point (because of HOW stubborn my follicles were) so my therapist told me to stop lasering and go to my GP just to be on the safe side. She was very honest with me and told me my ingrown hairs should be reducing by laser so because of her concerns she would rather me stop and come back once it was sorted. I stopped after 4 sessions.

I went to my GP and she told me I had Chronic Folliculitis – basically meaning I had reallll stubborn ingrown hairs just in that area and she told me to stop shaving and instead use a trimmer. She also gave me a cream to help with the scars and I took a break from lasering for around 6 months. My GP actually recommended laser hair removal being the best form of hair removal for me.

Going back to lasering…

I was surprised that although I took a break and didn’t do a full course of laser – my leg hair was soooo reduced and continued to just come back patchy. Once my legs had recovered I went back and they just allowed me to continue with my last two sessions.  No joke guys – despite the time I took out – my leg hair would grow back maybe every 3/4 weeks if that? But the hair was only in a few areas and the rest was really clear! I could not believe HOW much better my legs were looking and everyone I knew had seen the difference.

After my last two sessions I was 100% going to go for another 6 sessions to make it a full course of 12 sessions (usually recommended for darker, more stubborn hair) and was even considering doing other body parts too.

Following my laser treatment…

VGMedispa gave me an offer for some further sessions including  other body parts but the price was quite expensive so I wanted some time to think about  it. In the meantime, a black Friday deal from Pierre Alexander (also based in Leeds) came my way of £370 for 6 sessions of full legs, underarms and Hollywood using Soprano Ice Laser Hair Removal too. I thought this was too good an offer to miss so I booked it straight away because laser is not cheap and I had already used this type of laser so knew it worked.

I have only very recently started my treatment with Pierre Alexander and they apparently use a slightly advanced type of Soprano Ice Laser so we will see how it goes and will report back!

My verdict…

Honestly guys, laser hair removal was the best choice I made and I could not recommend it enough. It has been such a big game changer and I now feel confident to wear anything because my legs are so clear! I know they will inshallah only get better and I am so excited to see the results on my other body parts too. I pretty much never get ingrown hairs anymore and my legs are always so smooth!! Groupon nearly always have an offer on for VGMedispa and they were  such a great company – very professional and the venue is lovely so I would highly highly recommend it. If you are wanting to get laser hair removal – I would definitely recommend to just go for it – It was by far one of my best investments (after my teeth muhaha). You can check out my blog post about my treatment on my teeth here.

I thought I wouldn’t have a lot to say but this was lengthy! Haha, sorry but I hope it was informative. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me!

Until next week guys,

Tayyeba! xxx

Hello everybody!

So the other week I posted my highlights of  2017 on Instagram and I told you all that the biggest highlight was definitely getting straight teeth. Quite a few people wanted a blog post on it so here goes – my review of getting straight teeth in 4 months.

Guys, all through life I have been so insecure of my teeth. I never smiled in pictures, refrained from laughing out loud and would always try to cover my mouth where possible. I hated my teeth and to be honest, a lot of people never even noticed but because I knew myself, I had to change it.

The back story – there’s always one…

So in the Christmas of 2015 there was a free consultation on Groupon for “Quick Straight Teeth” braces at a private dentist in York. I visited and met this lovely orthodontist called Greg who has all these awards and told me that he could fit braces in as soon as next week! I was so excited but it meant I was going to have braces for my sisters wedding and I definitely did not want that so I told him I would come back after the wedding.

Obviously as life goes and you get busy, I forgot about going back for the braces until December 2016! When I called them their prices had increased by like a grand (I expected this as private braces were getting more popular) and Greg didn’t work on any of the days I could potentially visit (York’s like an hour away so it wasn’t exactly an easy trip).

So I started googling lots of places and comparing prices and from the £1900 I was originally quoted – everything was so expensive (at least all were in the high £2000-£3000 range). I then remembered that Greg didn’t work full time at York because he worked at another surgery but I obviously couldn’t ask the York dentist this, so I did something a tad stalkerish – I googled Greg Cadman.

RESULT! – The first search result was the other surgery he worked in! YES! I rung them and they gave me a quote and booked me in for a free first consultation the following week.

My treatment journey…

At my first consultation at Collingham Dental Care  Greg basically explained the procedure and prices . He arranged for me to first have a hygienist visit to really clean my teeth out before fixing my braces and then all following visits were to fix my braces and change bands. I would basically need to go in once a month for approximately 5-6 months to change my bands. The Quick Straight Teeth braces are fixed braces unlike Invisalign but they are clear so you can’t really tell they’re in. A lot of people couldn’t tell when I had them in.

The staff at Collingham were SO relaxed and every time I needed an appointment or wanted to cancel, it was dead simple. Greg was reassuring with any queries I had and I never felt worried about my braces along the journey. I was meant to have the braces in for 5-6 months however on my 4th visit he told me they were ready  to come out! I couldn’t believe it and was so excited! After they got taken out I had to get a fixed retainer in my teeth which stays for life (I know guys, strange). So it is basically a metal wire glued in to the back of the teeth and although this sounds really uncomfortable – you get used to it and don’t even notice it. Once the wire came loose whilst I was in Nando’s (very awkward) – and within a few days they called me back to replace it with more glue – apparently it doesn’t happen often – and since, it’s been fine. The fact that you’ve got a retainer glued in to your teeth also means that there’s less of a chance that your teeth will go crooked again as you have extra protection. I also got retainers to wear on a night too like you usually do with braces.

Word of warning guys: Don’t eat teeth staining food like Thai food as your braces will all go yellow – a lesson I learnt  after visiting my favourite Sukothai (although I was warned).

Prices and payment.

Okay so a breakdown of the costs:

Appointment 1: Consultation – Free
Appointment 2: Hygienist Visit – £73
Appointment 3: Quick Straight Teeth Dual Arch – £1900 (Cheaper if you need one arch straightening)
Appointment 4: Retainers – £135
Appointment 5: Teeth Whitening – £195 (Boutique Whitening)
Total: £2303

All in all this price was good as it was only £500 more than my original quote and with the whitening and retainers it was worth it. Apparently Boutique Whitening is really popular for teeth whitening and I won’t lie I didn’t see a massive difference but a lot of others said my teeth were much whiter – I may buy some more product from the dentist to try it again as now I have the teeth moulds, it is only £20.

I was able to pay as I went along which was brilliant – they were so laid back about it. Sometimes I would go in and pay a big chunk of money and sometimes I would go in and not pay anything. So I think I gave £1000 at the start  and then every month just gave £200. Once I gave like £100 because I was going on holiday so was a bit broke. They basically just need the end amount before you’re discharged so it’s super chilled.

Invisalign:

Just a quick side note, I know a lot of  people know the other straight teeth solution is to have Invisalign but for me I think it’s impractical. It’s basically having to wear a retainer for however long, in the day too and having to remember to take it out when eating. The Quick Straight Teeth in my opinion are better because they are fixed braces, can’t be moved and give you straight teeth quicker!

So there it is guys, my review of my Quick Straight Teeth treatment. Overall,  I am sooo happy I invested in this – it was by far my best investment to date and my teeth are so nice and straight now. I have had my braces out nearly a year now and I feel so much more confident! I know other practices may name it different things but if its a similar process (fixed braces, fixed retainer after and around 5 months)  – it will probably be the same thing.

I hope you found this useful and if you have any further questions, let me know!

Till next week,

Tayyeba!

xxx

Ever since I heard there were Turkish Baths in Harrogate I’ve been desperate to go! The last time i’d been to a Turkish Bath was when I was like 12 years old in Istanbul and it was one of the strangest experiences ever (pretty much an old naked lady bathing you – strange to say the least). Obviously I knew that wouldn’t be the case in Harrogate but nonetheless, I was intrigued.

Before I get into our experience though, I thought I would give you a quick overview of the costs first…

Costs and timings:

It cost us £17.50 for a session from 1pm-5pm. It was a ladies only session as well which was good. They have a few ladies only sessions on during the week however at the weekend the price is nearly doubled, the sessions are 2 hours shorter and they’re only mixed sessions, so in my opinion – weekdays are better!

Okay, so I won’t lie guys – there isn’t a whole lot to tell.

Although the session started at 1pm, we arrived at around 3ish because we were advised by a lady working there that people usually spend on average 2 hours there – which for us, was more than enough. We really wanted to get a treatment – they do reflexology, full body massages and a variety of treatments but unfortunately we enquired too late and they were already fully booked!

When we arrived, the first thing I found really impressive was just HOW dated everything was – the toilets, changing rooms, doors etc. and it had a really authentic vibe which I loved. It had a similar feel to the baths in Turkey which I was quite surprised by as I thought they would have made it all modern and ruined the original baths.

The different chambers and facilities:

Okay, so as soon as you walk in there is a relaxation room which is around 30 degrees. Here there were a lot of beds and people were reading magazines and books and it was basically just a quiet room to chill in before and after your treatment to acclimatize your body before and after the other chambers.

They then had an area with showers and a steam room. They recommended to shower first then go into the steam room then come out and either go into the plunge pool or have a cold shower. We stayed in the steam room for a few minutes but I CANNOT take too much heat so had to get out ASAP. The cold shower after was quite refreshing after the steam room but the plunge pool was COLD AF. I could barely put my feet in LMAO.

Following this, they had three heated chambers. One was 40 degrees, the second around 60 degrees and the final one was around 75 DEGREES – I KNOW GUYS, WTH – SO FRICKING HOT. Apparently you’re meant to slowly work your way up the rooms in terms of heat but in the second chamber my feet were on fire so we gave up hahaha.

And literally guys – that was it.

I am not going to lie, I was quite underwhelmed. For me personally, I felt it was just some heated rooms, a sauna, some showers and a cold pool. I’ve been to quite a few spas in the past but I won’t lie – I wouldn’t really class this as a spa day, it was more just a relaxing few hours. I think because we had not been before, we weren’t really sure on what to expect – but we also thought it was going to be like spas we had visited before, so this is maybe why we didn’t enjoy it as much.

I can however kind of understand why people rave about it – it’s relaxing and a very different experience and I am really glad I finally visited. But if i’m honest, I think I would only ever go back if I got a treatment as well, otherwise I don’t really think it is anything special. Saying that though, I do feel we didn’t maybe make full use of the facilities because we just couldn’t acclimatize to the different rooms. 

If you are wanting to visit the baths – I would definitely recommend visiting during the week as I did enjoy how quiet and peaceful it was. I would also recommend you get a treatment alongside the baths so that you can relax in the chambers before and after your treatment.

So there you have it guys – my review on the Turkish baths. I love going to spas and getting treatments, so i’m sure I’ll do some comparisons in the future!

Until next week guys!

Tayybs xx

When I was sixteen, I was finally allowed to wear a good amount of makeup. As any girl would be, I was really excited about this and as I was going to Switzerland on a school trip – it was time to go on my first proper make up shop (a BIG moment for any young girl). I visited The Body Shop for this as I had grown up seeing my sisters use Body Shop products and as I was quite young, I wanted something light and natural that wouldn’t ruin my skin. This overly glam, bubbly girl working there gave me a full makeover and this is where I decided what my life goal was – TO BECOME A BODY SHOP GIRL (I know guys, I know).

I think because I was young and impressionable, I just fell in love with all the things she used on me so I bought it all and from then on, I became obsessed with their products. I would recommend their stuff to everyone, use them all the time and my dream of wanting to be a Body Shop girl got stronger (btw I don’t think a ‘Body Shop Girl’ is a thing but I think I kind of made it one lmao).

After being a regular in the Leeds Briggate store, I applied for a job there one day and after a fairly easy process (because they knew I was OBSESSED) – I got the job! YES GUYS I REACHED MY GOAL OF BEING A BODY SHOP GIRL! Because I was so passionate about their makeup in particular – I would work mostly on the makeup/skincare stands giving makeovers to clients and raving about their products (the passion WAS REAL). What I loved most was when customers would ask what I was wearing on my eyes or skin and I’d be like “HEY LET ME SHOW YOU” because I legit wore everything from there and was their number one fan LOL.

I got the chance to become a Makeup Expert in one of the other stores so moved there and continued to love the life of being a Body Shop Girl (by now, I can assure you the novelty had worn off). For me the thing I loved the most about this company was the back stories to their products and it is still one thing I love most about them. Understanding how the product ingredients were sourced and where they came from made selling the products so much more interesting.

I knew my time at The Body Shop was going to come to an end one day as it wasn’t my chosen career path and I’d outgrown my role there. I left after 3 years of working there and at least I could say I achieved my dream of being a Body Shop girl haha. (Sidenote: I am aware not many people are this enthusiastic about being a Body Shop girl but it was just my little thing growing up haha).

Although I don’t work there anymore – I am still mega obsessed with some of their products and this is why when I was invited to the Bloggers event in York – I couldn’t say no as I have such a history with this company and they played such a big part in my life. I thought it would be good to share with you guys my MUST HAVES from The Body Shop as I still think it is quite an under rated store for make-up and skin care whereas I love some of their stuff. All these products I mention below are things I still use every day and I am genuinely blogging about them because I LOVE THEM.

1. Vitamin E INTENSE Moisture Cream

MY HOLY GRAIL. The reason I’ve highlighted the “intense” is because they have a best seller which is the original Vitamin E cream but I love this one SO much more and again, because I have dry skin, it is my saviour. It has olive in it which makes it thicker but it is not greasy at all and it genuinely keeps my skin hydrated all year round. I use it in winter and summer and it suits my needs during each season. Although the foundation used to be my favourite product from TBS, this has definitely taken over and at the moment I have three tubs stocked up – this is how much of it I go through. If I don’t wear this or run out, I can see how much it affects my skin. Guys – I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS 100 TIMES OVER AND IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT –GIVE IT TO ME PLEASE. THANKS!

2. Moisture Foundation 07

Guys believe it or not, this is the foundation that was tested on me when I was 16 and this is the exact same foundation I put on this morning (not the same bottle but you get my drift). I won’t lie, as times gone on, I have experimented here and there but this is still my GO TO for everyday dewy, good coverage foundation. Because my skin is quite dry, its great at keeping it hydrated (it contains Marula oil sourced from Namibia) and there have been many times I’ve just layered it up for a night time – more fuller look. So many people have asked me which foundation I wear when I have this on and I stock up on it when there’s a sale because I LOVE IT. [EDIT: Unfortunately shortly after posting this post I found out this product was being discontinued *cries* & I was GUTTED. Usually when something is discontinued however, they bring them out at sale times until they have run out – so I would definitely say have a look out during sale time and they should have it in and HALF THE PRICE -every cloud guys, every cloud). I am sorry though! However I have decided I am going to do a post in the near future of foundations I have found that are similar to this so hopefully if you’re interested in this product – keep your eyes peeled!

3. Brow and Liner Kit 03

This one guys, isn’t because it’s the most amazing product in the world – as I haven’t used many other brow kits. It’s more because of the value for money. It costs £10 and lasts over 6 months! It does the job, my eyebrows never budge and every time I think I’ll experiment with another brand – I just go back to this one because it’s so convenient. During my sister’s wedding period I noticed that a lot of our makeup artists also used this kit for our brows – so I guess it’s pretty good for professionals too. I don’t usually use the little applicator that comes with it as I don’t like it, although I know most people do. I usually buy one from H&M for like £1.99 as I feel these work better and last me years.

4. Coconut hand cream

THIS. SMELLS. DEVINE. I won’t lie – moisturising wise, it doesn’t last that long which really annoys me because IT SMELLS SO DAMN GOOD. Every time I use it I can guarantee that one person will say “oooh who just sprayed coconut”. So I guess the smell is strong, but the moisture doesn’t last as long as I would want. When I first put it on though, my hands feel soooo moisturised and good and I fricking love it (till I wash them unfortunately). Another thing that annoys me is that the packaging for these are really small so you get through one fairly fast. They’ve now started to do bigger sizes for the other flavours which I was so excited about BUT THEY DON’T DO COCONUT ARGHH.

5. Aloe & Soft Linen Body, Room & Linen Spritz

Every time I clean a room – I spray this after and it just smells SO DAMN CLEAN. There is no other way to describe it other than clean. It makes the room feel so fresh and I just love it – again, one of my must haves.

6. Matte Lip Liquid in Crete Carnation 030

When I heard The Body Shop were doing matte liquid lipsticks I freaked. I was so excited and when I went to see them, the colours were stunning (as you can see above)! I bought the colour Crete Carnation as I thought I’d try one before buying more. This colour for me is such perfect coraly nude (if you get me) and I’ve been wearing it every day at the moment! I won’t lie it doesn’t last as long as some of my other lip products but the colour is so beaut, it smells SO good and it glides on so nicely because it’s super creamy! Sorry I didn’t do a swatch of the colour but i’m still getting used to this blogger life and annoyingly I didn’t get chance to get a picture before I wanted to post – I promise if I get a good picture of this colour soon I will update this page!

So there you have it – my Body Shop must haves that I use every day! The great thing about The Body Shop is that there is ALWAYS SOME SALE ON. I have NEVER bought anything full price because they always have some offer on. You can find offers on Voucher Cloud or their website. They also do reward cards where you get a free £5 gift in your birthday month – so I think I last got an eyebrow kit for a fiver – not bad!

At the moment they have a Black Friday sale on where you get 40% OFF, just use the code 19806 to claim this at the checkout!

I hope you found this post useful guys – happy shopping!

Tayyeba xx