Don't you just hate carrying around all that stuff you need post-workout? I mean as if going to the gym and lifting weights isn't enough, you have to lug half your bathroom around with you. My top tip to avoid tiring yourself out is to stay in nice hotels - hotels where you want to steal the products. So the weight of your gym bag is halved because you have nifty little tester-style shampoo, conditioner, body moisturiser and shower gel.
Testers are really the key to a sports bag. So even if you know you want to buy lots of things from one beauty counter, eke out your trips in order to get more testers. I love the Clinique 3-Step Skin Care System ones: cleanser, clarifier and moisturiser. Get hold of some by buying a tube of the Clinique Super City Block (at least SPF 25, but if you're exercising outdoors, go higher). Or invest in some of their Redness Solutions Urgent Relief Cream, because our worst nightmare is the hideously red face. There is not much you can do about this, I'm afraid. When you exercise your blood vessels dilate and because the skin on your face is thinner than the rest of your body, it takes a while to calm down. You need around 15 minutes for that "I've never been so embarrassed in my life" look to die down. Take advantage of this time and do some stretching. Then take some time showering and washing your hair. If you try to put make-up on before the heat has gone out of your skin, it won't blend well.
Apart from my hotel products, and I do ask when booking a room whether they happen to have L'Occitane or even Aromatherapy Associates (my total fave) products in their bathrooms, I also have a few other little gems in my gym bag. I love Clarins body products and one of my favourites is the Bust Beauty Extra-Lift Gel. It is for the delicate skin around the bust and the décolleté area. The other one I adore is the Clarins High Definition Body Lift, which lifts those parts I didn't have time to work out.
I try to carry as little make-up as possible in my gym bag, but I can't go anywhere without a bronzer, a lip gloss, an eyelash curler and some mascara. A good trick is to have a double of everything you use and keep it in a special little gym make-up bag so you never run the risk of getting out of the shower and realising you are going to be a lip-gloss-free zone all day. Quelle horreur!
M Loves
SEPHORA EXPRESS DRY SHAMPOO
With our busy schedule it's a treat to squeeze in the gym after work and before going out with friends. But while a quick shower is easy afterwards, shampooing and restyling our hair would take far too long. Enter Sephora Express dry shampoo. Spritz it at the roots of your hair to add volume and absorb moisture, then brush and blow-dry your locks for a sleek look or finger style for wild tresses. Either way, your friends will think you've just come from the salon.
Sephora Express dry shampoo, Dh34, available at Sephora counters across the UAE
Three of the best
CLARINS EVERLASTING COMPACT FOUNDATION SPF15, DH180
Long-lasting. This is deceptive - the formula looks thick and "cakey", yet glides on smoothly and gives you a polished finish.
GIORGIO ARMANI DESIGNER LIFT FOUNDATION, DH325
Skin-smoothing. This formula blends into skin naturally and also brightens, giving the illusion of a lifted face.
GUERLAIN LINGERIE DE PEAU INVISIBLE SKIN-FUSION FOUNDATION SPF20, DH260
Skin-perfecting. Much copied, never equalled. A divine texture that slips on like silk, leaving an evened-out complexion and diminished imperfections.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.