6 | January 2012 | woman this month Letters Live Like There’s No Tomorrow STAR LETTER Write Here Write Now 63 woman this month | December 2011 | 62 | December 2011 | woman this month 8FMMCFJOH "MJTPO $PMESJEHF 5he Christmas period can be a rollercoaster of emotions and activity. Over-indulging and extensive socialising can leave even the keenest shopper and hard core partier feeling exhausted. You need to make sure that you take some time to pamper yourself so that it really does remain the season of goodwill! wSimple beauty remedies can have a huge impact on you both internally and externally, and, let’s face it girls, sometimes we do just need to spoil and beautify ourselves. The Woman This Month team has selected 12 treatments for the 12 days of Christmas to ensure you stay looking and feeling fabulous. Best of all, the treatments are all at-home remedies, so you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your own house. 1. The glowing honey and apple face mask Start off the 12 treatments with a face mask that simultaneously moisturises, cleanses, removes dirt and fights against premature signs of ageing. The honey exfoliates the skin whilst retaining moisture and the apple gently hydrates and tones for an instant glow. Blend an apple and add two tablespoons of honey. Refrigerate the mixture for ten minutes. Pat the mixture onto your face lightly and leave on for 30 minutes. 2. The voluminous banana hair mask Your hair needs deep and attentive nourishment in order to become supple, shiny and strong — just what you need for all of those Christmas events you have coming up. Bananas are great for softening hair whilst promoting growth by soothing the scalp. Peel two bananas and puree them in a blender. Add three tables of mayonnaise and one tablespoon of olive oil. Apply to the hair and leave on for 30 minutes. 3. The relieving lemon hand cream As the two external parts of your body that do the most work, your hands need special attention. So on day three, wrench them out from the washing up bowl and massage them with some of this relieving hand cream. Peel one banana and blend. Add four tablespoons of honey, three tablespoons of lemon juice and two tablespoons of margarine, and blend until smooth. Rub mixture onto hands. Leave overnight. 4BJM UISPVHI $ISJTUNBT TNPPUIMZ CZ USZJOH TJNQMF USFBUNFOUT UP FOTVSF ZPV SFNBJO DBMN BOE GSFTI UISPVHIPVU UIF FOUJSF GFTUJWF TFBTPO $ISJTUNBT 5IF 5SFBUNFOUT PG 4. The soothing cucumber eye gel This treatment will give you instantly brighter eyes. The cucumber calms and cools tired eyes by soothing the eye contour and simultaneously encouraging plumper skin, so that you look and feel fresher throughout day four. Blend quarter of a large cucumber until a little pulp is left. Transfer into a glass bowl and mix in one ounce of aloe vera gel. Gently apply to the under eye area. 5. The cleansing blueberry toner Blueberries are one of the strongest sources of antioxidants, which effectively neutralise damaging free radicals that can create skin cell damage and premature skin ageing. This toner will clear skin for a smooth and undamaged complexion. Blend three tablespoons of blueberries. Add half a cup of sour cream or plain yoghurt. Refrigerate for one hour. Apply to the face and leave for 15-20 minutes. 6. The firming egg anti wrinkle cream Surprisingly, egg whites act as a mask upon the skin and encourage firming and tightening of the facial skin. This cream is ideal as a quick fix on day six and helps minimise visible signs of ageing. Beat one egg white until crisp. Blend in two tablespoons of cucumber juice, one tablespoon of lemon juice and one tablespoon of rum or brandy. Keep the mixture in the fridge for two hours. Massage into the face and neck, leave on for 15 minutes and rinse off. 7. The detoxifying floral steam treatment Heating the facial skin with hot steam opens all of the pores, allowing for all the dirt to be removed. As well as being a great detox treatment, the process will also calm you. Drop some lavender flowers into a large pan of warm water and add a few drops of lavender, patchouli and tea tree essential oils. Heat the ingredients for a few minutes and pour into a large bowl. Cover your head with a towel and lean over the bowl to breathe in the aroma for about 10-15 minutes. 8. The gentle hair remover Waxing can be expensive and painful and, quite frankly, something entirely unenjoyable! This treatment uses only natural products that are good enough to eat, and allows you to take your time in the comfort of your own home. Dust the area to be waxed with cornstarch. Mix together the juice from half a lemon, one cup of sugar and quarter of a cup of honey in a glass bowl and microwave for two minutes. Stop and stir the mixture every 20-30 seconds and then let it cool down until gently warm. Use a wooden stick to spread a thin layer onto your skin. Cover the mixture with a strip of cotton fabric and stroke the strip in the direction of the hair growth. Pull the skin taut and rip away the strip against the direction of the hair growth. 9. The healing peppermint lip scrub The harsh winter weather conditions often prompt chapped and sore lips which need tending to. Take day nine to get lippy; scrub away the dry skin and build up and soothe the under skin with calming oils and Vitamin E. Pour half a teaspoon of brown sugar and half a teaspoon of caster sugar into a bowl. Add a few drops of peppermint oil, almond oil and Vitamin E oil. Dab a small amount onto the lips and rub together to gently exfoliate. Leave for a few minutes and then wipe off. 10. The divine Champagne bubble bath Champagne is always a treat and an even bigger one when you are bathing in it. This remedy has to be the ultimate in luxurious relaxation, giving you an excuse to soak and a chance to unwind on day ten. Heat water and stir in quarter of a cup of foaming soap concentrate and one tablespoon of glycerine until completely dissolved. Add quarter of a teaspoon of champagne fragrance oil and half a teaspoon of salt and stir. Allow mixture to cool and then add to your bath. 11. The energising ginger skin crème One of the most festive spices is a wonder for skin. Ginger invigorates and boosts circulation in the skin so that your complexion is smooth and glowing, giving you the appearance of vitality (even when you aren’t feeling it). Grate a two-inch piece of fresh ginger and squeeze over a small glass bowl to extract the juice. Add in two teaspoons of light sesame oil, two teaspoons of apricot kernel oil, two teaspoons of vitamin E oil and half a cup of cocoa butter. Heat the bowl until the cocoa butter has melted. Let the mixture cool and then apply to the face. 12. The brightening nail treatment Women can often end up being the ones chained to the kitchen stove during Christmas and day twelve’s treatment gives your hardworking fingers that little bit of attention they really deserve. Saturate one denture tablet with a few drops of essential oil. Drop the tablet into a small bowl of warm water. Soak fingertips for ten minutes. A Great Variety I like the article “The 12 Treatments of Christmas”. It was really fun to read and it made it so easy to get involved. Alison provided some amazing, simple treatments which can help you be a fabulous version of yourself. The remedies were all very straight forward and easy to make at home — such fun! I also thought the “Health in Check” article was really informative. Thanks to Dr. Shahid for stressing the need for regular medical checks as so many women neglect to do this and it can lead to bad problems down the line. I love the magazine. Keep it up! Samina, by email. WRITE IN AND WIN Send your letter to editor@womanthismonth. com, by fax to 17 813-700 or by post to PO Box 20461, Manama. The star letter will get the chance to attend three free classes of their choice at Life-Fit — the brilliant lifestyle and fitness centre in Budaiya. Choose between Zumba, Dance-Fit, Boot Camp and many more! I attended the Woman This Month Fitness Day Out on December 10 and I just wanted to say that it was a really great day. The event was really unique and unlike any that I have seen or visited in Bahrain before. I think it is so great that WTM was putting effort into helping the women in Bahrain achieve their health and fitness goals. I enjoyed taking the free Zumba class — the instructor was really lively and it was a good workout. I also liked looking around all the stalls and testing out the beauty, spa and nutrition products. I really hope that WTM does more of these events in the future as I think it was a really worthwhile day and should definitely be repeated. I would definitely come again! Sarah, by email. Fitness Fun for Everyone! My regards to the team of Woman This Month. While browsing through December edition of the magazine, I came across “The End is Nigh”. The excitement of New Year filled my bones as I read the article. The write-up is remarkable. The concern about whether 2012 will be our last one is very pervasive and it is something we have all been thinking about. With a continuous feeling of alarm and apprehension about Bahrain, due to all the unrest, this article was a great antidote. It lightened my mood and made me think of life in a more relaxed way. The magic of the article is its enthusiasm; it challenged me to follow my dreams. It redefines the phrase “every cloud has a silver lining”, in order to help us realise the worth of every moment on this earth. The writer cleverly concludes with mixed feelings and keeps us wondering what might happen next and encourages us all to go out there and get what we want. There are so many dreams waiting to be fulfilled. It was an amazing boost for the coming year. Heena, by email. 88 | December 2011 | woman this month 8hen I call my mother every New Year’s Eve, she always says: “I just don’t know where the year has gone.” Apparently, the years go by faster for her than for the rest of us. Had she lived in Bahrain this past year, 2011 could not have gone by fast enough. It was a year we have simply had to endure since February. Most of us, at some point, came to terms with the idea that 2011, in Bahrain, wasn’t going to be the year we wanted it to be. And so we enter 2012. This year, the phrase “Happy New Year” will be shouted with more than just a little joy and anticipation. “H.N.Y. my BFF’s” and may the following twelve months be filled with everything you want from life. It had better be! According to the Mayan calendar, 21.12.2012, is supposed to be the date marking the end of our planet. Although we might all be a touch sceptical about this sort of declaration, sometimes it can feel like it might be worth living each day as if it were your last. And who’s to say that it isn’t? Over the last decade, it has felt a bit like the earth is pitting itself against us. Tornadoes have raged with destructive force, earthquakes have caused Tsunamis which have wiped the earth clean of entire cities. The force of the planet seems to be getting stronger, volcanoes have shut down airspace numerous times in the past few years and wreaked havoc with entire industries. Is this the year we all go up in smoke? And if it is, how should I spend the twelve month countdown? Personally, I’d prefer to take my entire life’s savings and spend the last 300 or so days left on the planet aimlessly wandering it, seeing as many cultures and cities as possible. I’d buy those Prada skirts and dresses I always wished I could afford, buy the shoes I dream will make me a tall strutting goddess and accessorise with the handbags of the rich and famous. )BSE IFBEFE 8PNBO 5IF &OE JT /JHI The only hiccup with that thought, though, is what happens on the 22nd of December? What if the world does not end? I would have been the silly one, having spent a life’s savings. I would have no house and be broke, only to have to work and toil away the rest of my days because I went wild and spent everything in 2012. Mind you, I would look fabulous while doing it! But on the other hand, if I save my cash, stay in my job and continue paying the mortgage and the world ends on 21st December, then even the aliens in outer space are going to be laughing at my stupidity. Who, having had centuries of forewarning about the world’s end date, would continue to bank their cash in full and not have as much fun as they possibly could? As they say: “You can’t take it with you.” So what to do? The same as every other year, month and day I presume. You see, even though this time we have been given a precise date, the fact is we could be on a countdown today or tomorrow or any day. We never actually know when the last day could be for any of us. Why should we wait to live life? You don’t have to be utterly frivolous and illogical about it, but you can be sensible and at the same time make an effort to do something fun and enjoy yourself each day that you have. Live every day with no regrets. Do it your way, ungoverned by the pointless rules of others. Be free in mind and spirit and do that which challenges you, excites you and makes every day worth waking up for. Do it for yourself. You are the Queen of your world. Whether today, tomorrow or December 21st 2012 is the last day, live life to the fullest, be responsible and let whatever happens, happen. I’m off to put a deposit on a sexy little mini skirt I’ve had my eyes on for weeks. Happy New Year girls! 8P.FOUBMJUZ
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