I was reading up on the New York Times Travel articles and was delighted to see that many colleges across the UK including Oxford and Imperial College are transforming their dormitories to bed & breakfasts for tourists and travellers during summer & spring & even Christmas.  That’s a breath of fresh air for all of us travellers who LOVE London but don’t wanna pay alot of money for a hotel that’s not even up to par.  It seems that Spain is the next on the list of dorm transformations.  Keep up to date with university accomodation by visiting the Universityrooms site.

Source:  In Britain, Dorms have Summer Jobs

After much thought, I decided to try dying my hair at home rather than at the salon.  The pros seem to outnumber the cons in the sense that 1. It’s much much cheaper  2.  There are so many color options in the supermarket   3. It’s so much easier to waste a half an hour at home rather than in the salon.  I ended up with Garnier Nutrisse Cappucino 4.3.  I figure I will just try a new one each month till I find the perfect color for my skin tone. 

The application was pretty easy.   Mix creme and hair dye, put on gloves, apply to roots and then to rest of hair, sit for 30 minutes, rinse and then apply deep conditioning (provided) for 2 minutes.  I was very impressed with the results.  My hair looked rich and healthy, the color was beautiful, my hair smelled great and not a grey hair in sight. 

As a first step, I’m very happy with the results.  I just want to see how the color and texture will look after a few washes before I commit   For anyone who dyes their hair at home, I suggest Garnier Nutrisse as an option.  I will keep you updated on other colors and brands I try in the future. 

Update:  Garnier Nutrisse lasted beautifully for one whole month.  Color stayed fresh and vibrant whole month.

——————————————————————-  Take 2 ———

L’Oreal Excellence Creme

Ladies…. Stay away from this product.  I just used it thinking that its claims of ProKeratin were gonna make my hair vibrant and lustrious but all it made it was burnt and quite blah!  And what’s worse is that it hardly took away my greys!!!  So now i’m stuck with dead grey hair, until I revert to using my Garnier Nutrisse next month of course. 

I’m probably one of the biggest Sex & the City fans there is.  I love the glamour, the fashion, the personalities and of course New York   I loved the first movie and I love the Sequel even more.  But for glamour’s sake, I think I need to lessen the STC2 spin on Abu Dhabi and Arabs in general so any of you who haven’t been there know what it’s really like. I’ve lived in the Middle East for over 10 years (Beirut, Kuwait, Dubai) and…

• I’ve never seen sand nor a camel unless I sign up for an excursion just as they did.
• Only 20 – 30% of ladies and men wear the traditional wear which hardly ever consists of the Burqa covering the whole face.  Last I checked, that was only in certain areas of KSA.
• Most of the women and men in all these countries dress just the same as Western ladies do if not sexier.
• Let me take the above statement one step further and state that most us “Middle Easterners” are actually Westerners with dual nationalities that were born or lived most of our lives outside of the Middle East.
• If you had sex on the beach in America, you’d also be put away for a considerable amount of time.
• That wasn’t Abu Dhabi… It was Morocco… Abu Dhabi is modern, green and stunningly new.

As one last statement on the matter, I invite everyone living outside of the Middle East to come and witness our beauty of nature, our architecture, our history, our vibrant lives, our charm and our glamour.  You might never return back home. 

• Nivea Sculpting and Smoothing Cream:  This one is my favorite and I have been using it since its launch.  Whether it actually firms or not is irrelevant when you feel how soft your skin becomes within a few days of using the product. 

• Nivea Soft Cream:  The best travel partner you will ever have.  This cream (with vitamin E and Jojoba Oil) comes in many sizes and fits perfectly in your purse to keep your face and body moisturized all day long.  This creamy moisturizer is not oily at all but does its job in hydrating the skin.

• Nivea Natural Beauty Moisturizer & Eye Care:   I consider this my pick me up product.  The idea behind this line is to give you an overall glowing effect by smoothing on the light reflecting slightly tinted cream.

• Nivea Teint DeLight Gel Foundation:  I’m not a fan of thick cake on the face so I usually opt for a light foundation or a thick one manually mixed with my moisturizer.  I was delighted when I tried out the new Teint DeLight which hardly shows but truly does give great coverage. 

• Nivea Skin Refining Scrub:  A heavy duty scrub in a small squeeze bottle makes for a great non spill travel companion. 

I’ve recently started trying the Hair care offered by Nivea such as Diamond Gloss and Brilliant Brown as well as the Sun Care DNAge face cream.  Will get back to you with my reviews. 

Recently I bought the Neutrogena Wave Power Cleanser after contemplating about it for a few weeks.  I finally gave in and bought the $15 battery operated device in the hopes that I would get a better facial cleanse.  Unfortunately, I used the product once and shelved.  The problem with it is that it hardly vibrates, definitly not enough to make the slightest bit of foam on your face.  My face didn’t feel softer after the first use and it definitly didn’t feel clean.  I think the good old fashion scrub is still the best bet to keep my face soft and impurity free.  But I’ve noticed alot of new power cleansers are coming onto the market now.  So i’ll be trying those out as soon as I get my hands on them.

Website:   www.shoptalkbeirut.com

Email:  shoptalkbeirut@gmail.com

Recently while I was in Dubai, I went to every beauty counter looking for a solution to my dehydrated skin.  After trying so many different samples, I was most satisfied with the result of the Clarins Hydra quench Line with products specifically made for hot and cold climates.

Within a few days my face felt softer, less tight and much less dry looking.  What’s better is that it works even on oily and combination skin.  Although the cream seems thick, it is absorbed quickly and doesn’t leave an oily film.

Note:  Dehyrdated skin is not dry skin so it’s better to visit a dermatologist or beauty counter to diagnose whether you have dehydrated skin and require treatment.

After using rose water for the last two days, I’m quite surprised and elated by the result.

1.  The wrinkles aren’t as apparent

2.  My face is glowing and has some color (FINALLY) as compared to the dull grey look I’ve been sporting for the last few months.

3.  My pores are smaller

I’m very happy with the results and I highly suggest including rose water into your daily cleansing regimes.  If you need a bit more convincing, check out these links:

• Link 1
• Link 2 

If you don’t have easy access to natural rose water, try out products that include it such as Kiehls Rose Water Facial Toner.

To be quite honest with you, I haven’t been warming up to the idea of 30 +.  The main reason for this is because I am seeing alot of change in my face and body over night.   Not only do I have one or two wrinkles now, but all the sudden I have alot when I smile.  My skin isn’t naturally toned on its own anymore and I can hardly breath if I walk up more than 10 steps.  Granted, I can blame probably all of that on my 15 year smoking habit or the fact that I’ve been careless to elder’s advice of taking care of myself in my 20′s because I truly thought I was different than everyone else  

Anyway all that said,  I have made resolutions for a life change and not just a Year change because I figure if all those true life stories of change as well as miracle celebrity change can happen, I can suck it up and make some change for myself!  So here they are, once and for all… I will create a new folder called Transformation to document any progress posts I make and to post any resources that might help others attempting some of the same resolutions. 

Resolutions:

1.  No more Smoking EVER AGAIN

2.  Moisturize – morning with regular Clarins moisturizer.  Night with olive oil

3.  Join a gym – cardio 40 min 3 times a week.  Strength – 3 times a week  (can’t do this till Mid Feb)  :  Somehow I managed to lose alot of weight in 2009 so my body is the shape I want it, but I really want to tone and be healthy.

4.  Take my vitamins – (multivitamin)

5.  Eat healthy – LIMITED JUNK FOOD (once a week).  LIMITED WHITE STARCH. EAT VEGGIES & FRUITS.

Well that’s what I can think of for now.  Will keep you updated on the progress of my Resolutions.  I will NOT fall off the wagon anymore because I can’t afford to if I want to remain looking similar to what I do now when I’m 40

I was so disappointed to see the teaser campaign promoting Nancy Ajram’s appearance on the Oprah Show.   While Nancy Ajram came out looking like a gem in the Middle East, the images and narrative posted about Lebanon were pure propaganda and portrayed an overall image of Lebanon that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Over 15,000 Lebanese Facebook users have waged a non stop petition against this campaign entitled “Dear Oprah, Lebanon is NOT like that!“ which has proved as a united Lebanese front from all countries and all ages.

Oprah has built an impressive empire by way of her objectivity, compassion and stature as a pioneer in the African American community.  Being all this, I can’t see how she could accept to post a teaser campaign with images and information that can’t be found anywhere online or through visitor’s opinions.  I am just hoping that Nancy will be strong enough to stand up for Lebanon and tell the truth about this amazing country!