There are few times in your life when you come across something so special, essential and vital that you know you will never again be able to live without it.
When it costs only about Dh10 and is available from Carrefour, so much the better.
The latest love of my life? My exfoliating gloves. They are pink and now have a key position in my bathroom, alongside my shampoo and soap.
There are many things in there I can live without. Eye cream, for instance. I find the ritual of even trying to encourage my wrinkles to get lost very dull. Or anti-cellulite cream. Apart from the lovely, cooling effect it has on my thighs I can see no other discernible advantage. But if I had to relinquish my exfoliating gloves I would refuse.
They are indispensable because they make such a difference to the way my skin feels. Forget creams or exfoliating lotions. You pop the gloves on to your hands, rub some soap into them and go to work. It is a little bit like a Moroccan bath but without the olive-oil soap, the steam and a the requisite burly woman.
You rub and scrub every part of your body and then rinse off the soap. You are gleaming, shining, sparkling, a whole new definition of clean. I think the gloves also help you to lose weight. Think of all that skin you are peeling off. Apparently we lose about 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells from the surface of our skin every minute, which adds up to around four kilos a year.
The other advantage is that those dead skin cells end up down your drain and not all over your house. Most of the dust you see is, in fact, dead skin cells. So you save on vacuuming as well. What's not to like?
My gloves also keep me healthy. Do you know how bad it is for your skin to have all those dead cells kicking around? It is one of the most ageing things you can inflict upon it.
Dead skin cells can not only poison your skin with oxidants, but also act as a barrier to absorbing all the good things you are putting on in the form of expensive lotions and potions. Dead cells can also block sweat glands, which can lead to blackheads or spots. Added to which, when you take away old cells you stimulate new cell growth so your skin looks younger. Don't use the gloves on your face though. If you do, proceed gently, or you will end up looking like an Englishwoman after a day at the beach.
There is no excuse not to invest in these gloves. You will end up with glowing, young-looking and healthy skin. Whether you exfoliate daily or once a week, just do it.
3 of the best
From flabby to firm. Shape up this January with these skin firming creams
JERGENS SKIN FIRMING, DH24 A light fragrance cream that helps increase the skin's elasticity. After regular use, skin is softer due to its improved moisture content with a visibly reduced orange-peel appearance.
CLARINS BODY SHAPING CREAM, DH259 A luxurious body treatment that provides an intensive firming action, so that the skin is lifted and becomes smoother and more toned.
SOAP & GLORY RETURN TO SLENDER BODY CONTOURING GEL, DH50 A nice thick cooling texture that sinks quickly into the skin. Tightens and firms.
M loves
Maria Galland cooling eye mask
After a long night, not nearly enough sleep and a fancy brunch in two hours' time, we were in need of some serious soothing for our tired eyes. We patted this smooth white cream around our peepers and felt instantly alert. The result: that same just-brushed, fresh-mouth feeling but for our eyes. A must-have for post-party recovery.
Dh70, Health First Pharmacies
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PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic
John Zubrzycki, Hurst Publishers
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Killing of Qassem Suleimani