Thursday, 15 January 2015

Salon Review: Diamond Violet Beauty │ رفيو: تجربتي لصالون ألماس البنفسج للتجميل

Guess who is back again ? It's me ~
I know it have been a long time since I blogged, but I was so busy with university, for some reason this semester was so tiring, but I am glad it finally ended 
 ~ توقعو من رجع ؟ أناا
أدري أنني من زمان ماحطيت شي في البلوق، بس كنت مشغولة ويا الجامعة، ماأدري ليش هالكورس كان متعب جداً، بس الحمدلله أنه أخيرا خلص

And since I worked so hard in the past two weeks (finals are horrible, especially if you had more than one in the same day), I deserve a treat, so I thought why not go to the salon ?
وبما أنني أنكرفت الأسبوعين اللي فاتو (الامتحانات النهائية مأسآة، بالأخص أذا عندج أكثر من واحد في نفس اليوم),فأنا أستاهل مكافأة، ع شان جذي فكرت ليش ما أروح الصالون ؟

I opened Instagram and started looking for one, and I came across Diamond Violet Beauty Salon, and thought why not give it a try ?
I called the owner to check if there is vacancy for me to come in an hour, and to ask about the location. The owner is a really nice lady she was really sweet, and she also told my that right now there is a promotion in the saloon so the prices are lowered - you can check it out in the end of the post :)
ففتحت أنستقرام وبديت أدور، ولفت أنتباهي حساب صالون الماس البنفسج للتجميل، فقلت ليش ما أجربة ؟
أتصلت في صاحبة الصالون حق اتأكد إذا كان فيه مجال أروح بعد ساعة، و حق أسألها عن مكان الصالون بعد. ما شاءء الله صاحبة الصالون حلوة وحبوبة، وخبرتني أنها حاليا مسوية عروض مخفضة أسعار الخدمات - تقدرون تتطلعون على العرض في نهاية البوست :)


I Dragged my sister along with me, She did not want to come at first but I managed to convinced her in the end.
Since I've never went to Riffa alone before, I am not familiar with roads and places there, even though my dad gave me clear directions, I got lost when I reached there, we spent 1 and half hour running in circles, until I finally decided to use google maps on my phone, and we finally found the place !! the place is actually easy to find, but I was looking for it in the wrong neighborhood
طبعاً أنا سحبت أختي وياي، في البداية ماكانت راضية تجي بس في النهاية قدرت أقنعها.
ولأنني ولا مرة رحت الرفاع بروحي، فأنا ما أدلي الاماكن هناك. مع أن الوالد الله يحفظة شرحلي الطريق بالتفصيل، لما وصلت الرفاع ضعت، وتمينا ساعة ونص نفتر في نفس المكان، للين في الأخير قررنا أننا نستخدم خرائط قوقل في التلفون، ولقينا المكان أخيرا !! ترى المكان مايضيع أبدا وسهل تحصلينه، بس المشكلة أنني كنت أدوره في فريق ثاني

TBH Since the prices are so low, I was expecting the place to look cheap, But I was wrong, I was very wrong because the place looked really nice
الصراحة بما أن الأسعار رخيصة توقعت أن المكان مايكون ذاك الزود، لكن كنت غلطانة، غلطانة حدي لأن المكان كان روعة

هذي صورة المكان من برا، اللافتة الوردية هي لافتة الصالون
This is the place from the outside, The pink sign is the salon's
ignore the blurry picture, I was driving
ماعليكم من الصورة المرجوجة، كنت أمشي السيارة
وهذي صورة أوضح من حساب الصالون
Here is a clearer picture taken from their instagram
Good thing about it is that it is located on the front, so you can find it easily. This saloon is in Rifa - bokawarah street, in the Al Ghazal Building, 2nd floor. near saadeddin sweet, and opposing Al Sadiq Textiles.. also they have car parks especially for their customers.
الحلو في المكان أنه على الشارع يعني ماتضيعين وأنتي تدورينه، موقعه في الرفاع- شارع البوكواره في بناية الغزالي الطابق أقمشة الثاني،يعني عقب حلويات سعد الدين و مقابل أقمشة الصديق.. وعندهم باركات مخصصة لزباين الصالون فما تتورطين

This is the building entrance
هذا مدخل البناية
وعندهم مصعد بعد
The first Thing you'll see when you get out the elevator you'll see their Roll-up banner, just follow the arrow
أول ماتطلعين من المصعد راح تشوفين أعلان الصالون، وأتبعي السهم

keep walking until you reach the end of the corridor and turn left, and you'll see their roll-up banner, this is the salon (apartment 203)
واصلي مشي لنهاية الممر، بعدها لفي يمين وراح تشوفين أعلانهم مرة ثانية، يعني وصلتين الصالون، في شقة 203

When I first opened the door, I was greeted by sweet fragrance, and when I entered the salon I was surprised by how nice the décor is. It is mostly purple (to go with the name of the salon Diamond Violet).
أول مافتحت الباب أستقبلتني ريحة حلوة، ويوم دخلت الصالون أعجبني الديكورجداً، الثيم بنفسجي (تناسقا مع اسم 
(الصالون، ألماس البنفسج

Here are some pictures from the salon
وهذي بعض الصور للصالون من داخل


They offer a wide selection of hair dyes, They even have crazy colours, I fell in love with some of the colours so I am planning to get my hair dyed there :)
(عندهم مجموعة كبيرة من ألوان صبغ الشعر، حتى ألوان غير طبيعية عندهم (بنفسجي أخضر وردي رصاصي.. إلخ 
:) ألوانهم كشخة وصار خاطري في كم لون، إن شاء الله بروح بصبغ عندهم 


And this is the makeup and hair department
  وهني قسم الماكياج و الشعر

The other room is dedicated to nails and mani-pedi
الغرفة الثانية يسوون فيها المنيكير و البديكير والأظافر

Nail Station
قسم الأظافر

close-up picture
صورة مقربة


I wanted a Moroccan bath, and my sister wanted mani-pedi, so we weren't together, So I'll be only talking about my own experience 

Since this was my first time having a Moroccan bath I was a bit lost
First thing the you'll be escorted to the moroccan bath area and asked to take off your clothes, then she'll let in you in the bath, the bath is somewhat small, but it is not that small, everything is covered in white tiles and there is a bed/table thing that is also covered in tiles (I forget to take pictures), First the lady will wash your body with warm, slightly hot water, then apply moroccan soap all over your body, she asked me if I wanted to apply it on my face too, so I said why not ? but I regretted it, I'll tell you why later. Anyway, she got out and left me sitting there, then steam started to build, and after a few minutes I couldn't see anything, the place was full of steam, and I sat there or a while. She came back and opened the window to let all the steam out, then she washed the soap off my body, and instructed me to lie on that bed/table thing, and started scrubbing my body with the moroccan loofah (which I bought from the salon) the loofah was very rough so I expected it to be very abrasive and painful, but the lady was so gentle and I didn't feel any pain. I was very surprised at the amount of dead skin that fell off my body, I never imagined that I had that much dead skin.
After that she washed my body on last time, then washed my hair, I don't know what brand of shampoo/hair conditioner she used but it suited my hair.
and I was done
Before I put my clothes on, I was checking my legs, they looked radiant, almost all of my ingrown hairs are gone, I was delighted.

 أنا قلت أبغي حمام مغربي وأختي تبي منيكير وبديكير، فكل وحدة راحت مكان،وأنا بتكلم عن تجربتي بس.

بما أنني أول مرة أسوي حمام مغربي في الصالون كنت شوي ضايعة.
أول شي راح توديج الفلبينية مكان الحمام المغربي وتقولج فصخي، وعقب بتخليج تدخلين الحمام، الحمام ضيق شوي بس حجمه حلو، كامل بلاط وفيه شي نفس الطاولة/سرير مادري شنو يسمونه بس بعد بلاط (نسيت أصور)، في البداية تغسل جسمج بماي دافئ مايل للحرارة وتدهن الجسم بصابون مغربي، سألتني إذا كنت أبي أحطه على وجهي قلت أوكي ليش لا ؟ لكن ندمت على هالجواب بعدين بقولكم ليش. المهم طلعت وخلتني قاعدة هناك وأشتغل البخار في الحمام، عقب كم دقيقة ماقمت أشوف شي قدامي المكان كان كله بخار، وتميت قاعدة هناك مادري كم دقيقة بالضبط بس كانت المدة طويلة (أو أنا يتراوالي  لأنني قاعدة بروحي) أول مارجعت لي فتحت الدريشة ، حق يطلع البخار كله، وعقب غسلت الصابون كله عن جسمي وقالت لي أنسدح على الشي اللي مثل الطاولة وبدت تفرك (طبعا أشتريت المفركة من عندهم) المفركة كانت واجد خشنه فتوقعت أنها راح تألمني، بس هي يدها كانت واجد خفيفة فما حسيت بألم ولاشي، صراحة أنصدمت من كمية الاشياء اللي طلعت من .جسمي، أبداً ماتوقعت أن عندي هالقد جلد ميت 
عقب غسلت جسمي مرة أخيرة وغسلت شعري، مادري شنو نوع الشامبو/البلسم اللي أستخدمته بس حسيته ناسب شعري
وخلصنا 
.قبل لا ألبس ثيابي قمت أطالع سيقاني صارو يلقون، والنقاط السودة (اللي هي شعر تحت الجلد) تقريبا كلها راحت أستانست حدي


After I got dressed, I went to check on my sister, only to see her relaxing casually on the sofa, almost falling asleep (she have pulled an all-nighter). She showed me her nails and they looked so nice, So I wanted to get mani-pedi too, what caught my attention is that they use a foot spa machine, unlike other salons that just soak your feet in a whashtub.

ويوم لبست ثيابي وخلصت أدور أختي إلا هي متكية ع الكرسي وباقي شوي وتنام مسكينه (كانت مواصلة بدون نوم من البارحة) راوتني أظافرها وعجبني الشي فقلت أنا بعد أبي منيكير وبديكير الشي اللي لفت أنتباهي هو أنهم يستخدمون جهاز للقدمين، على عكس معضم الصالونات اللي يحطونه في لجانة/طشت/بادية
This is What I am taking about
هذا الجهاز اللي أتكلم عنه
There was two ladies working on me, one for the manicure and the other for the pedicure and they were remarkably fast, but did a great job, I asked for nail polish, so my sister got jealous and said she wants nail polish too. She was the one who chose the colour for me, This is the first time I wear light nail polish, I normally wear dark colours, but I totally loved this colour, too bad I didn't pay attention to it's name (If you know a similar colour tell me)

We were chatting while we waited for the nail polish to dry, and my sister was making fun of my face, saying it was peeling off.It was the result of using the moroccan soap on my face, it lifts off all the dead skin, but you have to scrub it off, which I didn't, so I looked like a snake that is changing it's skin, I looked gross, and I regretted putting the soap on my face, but after I got home I cleaned my face using a porous sponge soaked in water, and now my face is glowing and I don't have blackheads c:


كان في ثنتين، وحدة تسوي لي المنيكير و الثانية تسوي البديكير وما شاء الله عليهم شغلهم سريع ومرتب، وقلت لهم بعد يصبغون أظافري، قامت أختي غارت قالت أنا بعد أبغي صبغ، وهي اللي أختارت لي اللون، أنا أول مرة أحط مناكير فاتح 
(بس عجبني اللون، خسارة مأنتبهت شنو أسمه (إذا تعرفون لون مشابه له خبروني

كنت قاعدة أسولف مع أختي على ما ننتظر صبغ الأظافر يجفن إلا هي تضحك وتقول عشرة معشر وجهج مقشر (أغنية طيبين هههه) لكن صدق وجهي كان قاعد يتقشر، لأنني أستخدمت الصابون المغربي على وجهي، لأنه يشيل الجلد الميت، بس لازم تفركين البشرة حق يطيح الجلد الميت، وأنا ماسويت هالشي، ع شان جذي صرت كأنني ثعبان توه يبدي يغير جلده، كان وجهي كريه، وندمت أنني حطيت الصابون ع وجهي. لكن يوم رجعت البيت أستخدمت أسفنجة وجه اللي تجي يابسة وفيها
 c:حفر، بليتها بماي وفركت وجهي برفق ، ألحين وجهي صار صافي يلق، والرؤوس السوداء اللي في أنفي راحت كلها 


وخلصنا ^___^
 الصراحة أستانست واجد في الصالون، الستاف بشوشين وحلوين ويتكشخون بعد، وهذا عجبني، لأن ساعات أروح صالونات  الستاف حالتهم حالة تحسينهم طالعين من هوشة

And Done ^___^
I enjoyed my time there, the staff were sweet and they dressed nicely, Which I liked, Because some staff at other salons look horrible, like they just got out of a fight or something

وأحلى شي في هذا الصالون هو أسعارهم
And the best thing about this salon is their prices

المبلغ الكلي طلع 14 دينار
The total was 14bhd (37$)


This is the price list for the salon 
وهذي قائمة أسعار الصالون الثابتة

and this is the promotion
وهذا العرض مال الصالون


 رأيي بشكل عام، الصالون جدا ممتاز وخدماتهم روعة وتعاملهم حلو، وأسعارهم في متناول الجميع (الحمام المغربي ب3 دينار!!) ويعني الصالون عجبني وبشدة وإن شاء الله أنا زبونة دائمة، يعني يحمدون ربهم أن الصالون بعيد وإلا كان أنا كل يوم مطيحة عندهم هههههههههه
 بس صدق صدق حبيت الصالون وتسلم راعية الصالون على هالخدمات المميزة والجودة العالية و الله يوفقها ان شاء الله
Final Verdict, the salon is excellent they have great services and nice staff, not to mention the affordable prices (a moroccan bath costs only 3bhd!! - 8$), I love this place and I'll be a regular there. Seriously the owner did a remarkable job, She deserves a round of applause.


وهذي البزنز كارد للصالون إذا حبيتو تتصلو فيهم
This is their Business card




Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Beauty D.I.Y: Yogurt conditioning hair mask

Hello ~

Yes, I am able to post more often, I hope I can keep doing it :) Today's post was supposed to be up before reviewing Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz, Ron Bass, but I didn't have time to edit the pictures, but I finished editing them now so here is the review :)



D.I.Y Yogurt conditioning hair mask:


Things you'll need:

  • oil - I used almond oil (don't use if you have oily hair)
  • yogurt
  • egg
  • spoon
How to:

 1. open the yogurt, hopefully you'll be smarter than me, and shake it before you open it, because it'll be easier for you to mix.
2. add the egg
3. add three spoons of almond oil (or any oil you like) *Skip this step if you have oily hair.
4. mix mix mix
5. keep mixing until it becomes white
6. and done :)


How to apply:
1. wash your hair with shampoo, and towel dry it.
2. section your hair and apply it the same way you would apply hair dye.
3. cover your head with shower cap/plastic bag, then wrap a hot towel around your head.
4. leave it on your hair for 30 minute to 1 hour.
5. wash your hair with water.

Pros: 
- moisturize your hair.
- make it shine.

Cons: 
 - smells like infants vomit.(but it is mild)
 - can get a bit messy when you apply.
 - do not wash it out with hot/warm water, because I did and I got omelette on my hair !!

Final verdict: really easy and affordable, but the smell disturbs me (I have a sensitive nose), but I'll use it again in the future when my hair becomes dead.

hope you try it :)

Sunday, 10 August 2014

Book Review: Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein

Umm.. hi :)

I planned to post a review or a D.I.Y beauty 2 weeks ago, but I had to work so I got no time, and since I resigned (because it was really stressful) I now have time to post.

Today's post is a book review, just like the previous book, I was so bored at work and was browsing the files on my phone and saw this book, I belief I downloaded this book last year after I finished reading The Snow Child (which I LOVE) because it was recommended/listed as similar in goodreads.com (add me here)



Summery:
When Jenna Rosen abandons her comfortable Seattle life to visit Wrangell, Alaska, it's a wrenching return to her past. The hometown of her Native American grandmother, Wrangell is located near the Thunder Bay Resort, where Jenna's young son, Bobby, disappeared two years before. His body was never recovered, and Jenna is determined to lay to rest the aching mystery of his death. But whispers of ancient legends begin to suggest a frightening new possibility about Bobby's fate, and Jenna must sift through the beliefs of her ancestors, the Tlingit, who still tell of powerful, menacing forces at work in the Alaskan wilderness. Armed with nothing but a mother's protective instincts, Jenna's quest for the truth behind her son's disappearance is about to pull her into a terrifying and life-changing abyss.

My Opinion :
I loved this book, I really like folk tales and stuff like this, and I've always like native Indians, their culture is really interesting. and the Kushtaka was something new to me, and I loved it -I am using it for roleplay :).
Some of the chapters were confusing and the bad news is that most of the story was boring, many chapter were useless they didn't add anything to the story, like they are fillers or something, but every few chapters there will be some interesting things that happen so it was okay.
warning: sex in chapter 22 (not sex sex like the things you would read in yunjae fanfictions, but they were doing it, so I am warning you just in case )

This book gave me nightmares the second day after I finished it, I kept dreaming of these otters replacing my family members (kushtaka in conjunction with the movie forget me not, add stress from work, and lack of sleep and you get a very disturbing and uncomfortable night)

Favourite character: Eddie, this man is amazing <3 also I guess I like David too, but Eddie is the best.

Did I like the ending ? Nope, not the ending that I wanted.

Rating: 4.5/5
Buy it here or Add it to your goodreads here

Thursday, 24 July 2014

Book Review: Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz, Ron Bass

Hello lovelies ~

can you notice that I am starting to post more often ? I hope I can make even more posts in the coming days :)

I've been wanting to read the book I am reviewing today for a long time, but I always got busy and forget about it, until the other day at work when I had nothing to do and was browsing the files on my phone, that I noticed I have this ebook and started reading it.


Summery: 
What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever? 
Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other. 
The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiralling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever. 


alternative cover
My Opinion :

as I said, I've been wanting to read this book for ages, and finally got the chance to, at first it wasn't that interesting (I mean not much happenings) but then more characters started to appear, and when I reached the chapters at the end (20 something) I got so consumed in the story that I became a statue (that's what my co-workers said, "I am just a body with no sense of reality", "my soul went to an alternative world and left my body here a souvenir" and similar things) seriously, I sat there clutching to my phone and making facial expression and gasping, not noticing anything that is happening around me, and suddenly everything went black, my phone battery died without a warning when I had only 10 pages to finish the story I shouted a curse and ran to charge my phone, good thing since I work in a salon there is electricity plug everywhere, but the bad thing that the salon was kind of crowded at that time I was not able to use my phone while it was charging, I was so tense I couldn't sit down, I was literally walking in circles in the reception area, at that time I realized how drug addicts feel when they don't get their drug, it was horrible..

but after that I got to finish the thing and I wish I didn't, dude this was mindfucking, I had almost the same feeling I got after I finished reading Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson (do you want a review ?) 




Favourite character: Jade, I love this little kid, she is perfect and she is how I've always imagined my future daughter would be like ^___^

Rating: 5/5
Buy it here or Add it to your goodreads here

 ♥

Friday, 18 July 2014

Newest addition to my pet family ♥

My uncle gave me this guy yesterday :) he is an Abyssinian Albino guinea pig






I still don't know what should I name him though, any ideas ? 

Sunday, 13 July 2014

June favourites

Hello, long time no see ~

sorry I didn't post for so long, it is because I am working now (this is my first job :]), and also it is Ramadan so I have no power to do anything since I am fasting, but here is the overdue post of June monthly favourites 





  •  Jergens Smoothing Aloe Skin Comforting Moisturizer: this moisturiser is amazing, it really hydrates the skin and leave it looking smooth for a long time, it gives the skin a healthy glow which I love because my skin is so dry (I should drink more water). what I love the most about this moisturiser is that it is not sticky and the skin absorb it really fast, so you don't have to worry about your clothes getting dirty. in addition to that, this moisturiser have Aloe and Cucumber in it, wich cools the skin and reduce irritation, which I adore because dry skin = itchy skin >.<

  • WATER FIX hair lotion: hair lotion ? interesting huh.. I got this because I ran out of my frizz-control hair spray, since my hair is curly and dry, I can't go out of the house without putting something on it, or I'll look like a lion, which is not attractive at all. for only 700 files ($1.86) this things will give you smooth healthy looking hair without frizz, because it not only control frizz but it hydrates your hair, and it helps in getting rid of tangles. this is the best thing I've ever used in my hair ♥

you can tell which one I love the most right ?

  • LOOK lip color: I bought these when I was in KSA, they had so many colours on display I didn't know which one to choose, so I got 4 of them. what I like about this product is that it is a lip crayon, which is really convenient because you don't have to worry about it melting, or be careful when you get it out because it might break. the texture is creamy and it doesn't dry your lips, it doesn't smudge easily and you can layer other lip product over it without getting their applicator dirty.
sorry for the blurry picture
from left to right: 314, 356, 353, 350


  • L'CHEAR Budding Pink-Heart 8-color painting eye shadow: this is what I bought when I went pet fish shopping. lol. but it was worth it, because this is the best eyeshadow palette I've ever got. the quality is perfect and it only costed me 1 BHD ($2.65). the eyeshadows are very pigmented and they are not chalky, and they don't crease, also the staying power is really impressive, they stayed for the whole day even thought I rub my eyes a lot.
but unfortunately, it fell down and break.
  • essence stay natural concealer: essence is an affordable brand with good quality makeup, but unfortunately in Bahrain you can't find it easily. good for me they sell it near my dad's workplace so he can pick up what I want on his way back from work :) for a long time, I used BB cream in place of concealer, the result were good but not perfect, and recently my dark circles became worse and I got an acne scare on my chin which I hate, and BB cream wasn't working for me anymore. so when I saw the essence makeup stand in Red tag I immediately checked the concealers they have, and I got number 03 SOFT NUDE, which matches my skintone and brightens my face, I even use this as a highlighter because it looks natural but gives your face a beautiful glow, it doesn't crease and it is very long lasting, it stayed on my face for 2 days (I was too lazy to wash my face) and it still looked nice.

  • L'CHEAR Shiny Lip Gloss: recently I've been loving lip glosses, and when I've seen these in the market I got them immediately, not to mention that it costed me 500 files ($1.33) for both. they don't smell yummy, but they are still good, these are very pigmented and creamy, and even though they don't moisturizer the lips, they don't dry it which is very good, because lip gloss normally makes your lips very dry. these will fade when you eat and drink but the good thing is that they stain your lips a little so if they fade you won't have pale lips, but there will still be a hint of colour on them which is perfect because I never re-apply my makeup (laziness).
number 3, number 2
here are the swatches, the lower is how it is applied normally, while the upper ones are when you smudge them and blot them with tissue paper.

So these were the products I loved in June, and hopefully I'll be able to keep doing monthly favourites.
See you :)