When you wake up in the morning, and begin to get dressed, how much of an effort do you make? When picking out an outfit, for what purpose is that? Me, I dress for myself and for my family.

I have to admit, physical appearance does say a lot about a person, it shouldn’t but sadly nowadays it speaks more than the words that come out of a persons mouth.

This topic came to me when, last Thursday I was asked by a friend to accompany her to pick out an outfit for this occasion she had, so we met at the mall. Then and there I realized just what shopping and dressing up does to me. It’s more of a medication and remedy than anything else, the hype I get from that chi-ching I hear cures more than you would imagine. Now I might come across to many of you a little shallow or materialistic but truth be told this is the case for most if not all females.

Its not something I’m proud of I have to admit, I wish it could be any other way but I know its not. Where we women are different is the quality of shopping. You have those high maintenance ladies and those simple meaningful ones.

I believe there is a time for everything; time to splurge and time to be more reasonable, because it’s not what or who you’re wearing its how you wear it. I usually prefer items that do not show their brand, be it mango or Prada, I like the focus to go on my entire outfit as a whole rather than people starring at my heels or handbag, but then again that’s just me and that’s what makes me “ME”.

Well that’s me; let me know more about you and what your shopping habits are, I’d love to know.

So this just in… bad experience at Promod.

Two days ago, I went to my frequent shop, Promod. I purchased a cardigan which was on sale and I paid cash. Today, I returned to refund the item. Now I know there are some stores which do not refund sale items, but they mention it someway or another. Well, I walked into the city mall branch stepped up to the cashier and placed the lime green promod bag on the counter, presented my receipt, and asked for a refund. At seeing that the item was on sale, the cashier refuses to proceed. “this is a sale item, and we do not refund sale items” I immediately stood up properly and claimed that I wasn’t told so, the man replies “this is our policy” noting the rude tone, I raise my voice slightly and say “I will not accept this”. A few more people are added to the conversation but with reasonable tones, we exchange words for a while then he notices that I had purchased it from the Sweifieh branch. I exclaimed that with this weather (heavy rain) it would be difficult to reach the Sweifieh branch at that time. Nevertheless, I raised my voice a little louder saying that I was not told there would be no refund on sale items, nor was their a notice saying so and the receipt I had mentioned nothing of the sort whatsoever!!! With saying this they contacted the Sweifieh branch and the only option was to go there and was informed that the manager would be waiting to assist me, either today or tomorrow.

Went back home, and told my husband and his friend Kamel the story, he was frustrated at the treatment I was given and insisted we go immediately to the store. We drove through the pouring rain to the store and again went up to the cashier and reminded him of the phone call he had received a little earlier. Thinking that I would only see rudeness in the other branch, I was proved wrong immediately. His direct response was “sorry this is your problem and our policy is that we do not refund sale items”. At hearing this my husband told him his tone was unacceptable and that we demand a refund or to contact the France branch which is the mother company. The cashier started stuttering and said “all I can do now is wait till tomorrow”. I asked for the manager who said would be working till 10pm and apparently she had gone home, maybe because of the weather, and so he said to leave it till tomorrow till he checks with the accounting department which just sounded even more silly to us. Here we just simply lost it, it was not at any point about the money I had paid, but for the sole reason that they had no respect to the customer at all!!

Finally, he agreed to call the manager and spoke to her about my case and by what he told her we understood that it was their mistake and that he was going to amend the receipt machine to include no refund on sale items.

After he hangs up with the manager, I take a snapshot of the receipt for later proof when the cashier pulls it away saying “theres no need i’m going to give you back your money”. Here my husband grabs it from him and says “this is none of your business”. We take the picture and our money and I am not sure when I will return if ever to Promod simply because of 3 people with no people skills.

It’s a shame how due to some attitude problems, you are forced to hate something which you liked. I am filled with disgust towards this store now, and if I ever do purchase anything from there it will only be through online.

An online complaint has been filed to Promod, not sure what the results will be but I am hoping I get a response.

What do you think?

Are you with or against make-up? Do you wear it on a daily basis, or do you leave it for those special occasions? I myself wear it everyday; during the day I opt to go for that fresh looking glow, while at night I may add some emphasis on the eyes and a more solid colour on the lips.

Wearing make-up doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re covering some flaws it’s just a matter of emphasising what you’ve got. And you wont believe the boost it adds to your self esteem and confidence.

Today, I thought I would share some tips of mine on what my daily essentials for a fresh looking face are:

1- Foundation; be it cream, press powder, or tinted cream this should be applied immediately after applying your daily face cream. Most of these now come with sun protection.

2- Colour for the eyes; again this could be either powder-like or cream-like. If you decide to go with 1 colour, then this should be applied entirely across the eyelid and preferably light colors. Should you choose 2 or maximum 3 then choose the darkest and apply it nearest to your lashes and then the lighter ones towards the eyebrows. Remember a little shimmer or light shadow should be placed under the curve of the eyebrow for emphasis.

3- Eye liner; if you’re going for a casual daily look, I prefer going with pencil eye liners (kohl) as they give a more subtle look for the day. Coloured eye lids with nothing to define the eye I would have to call a no no, simply because it draws the attention away from them. A nicely defined eye should be considered when the lids are coloured.

4- Mascara; this is a must! If you won’t apply the above the least you could apply is the mascara. The magic it does to your lashes is undeniable! Ladies don’t leave your houses without your long lashes!

5- Blush; also for a daily look a little blush on the apple of your cheeks is always appealing to the eye. For the summer opt for a more sun kissed colour, whereas for the winter, pinkish shades are the way to go.

Top this up with a nice shade of lip gloss and a pretty smile and there you have it, you’re done for the day.

**Remember to look after your face, by making sure it is clean, and always moist. A daily routine of morning and night cleansing and moisturising is more than enough to get the job done.

I’m no beauty specialist, but I’m with looking nice and feeling good every day. How do you wear make-up?