Woman This Month - April 2023

Embellish, elevate and bejewel your Ramadan and Eid attire with these stunning accessories from regional and international brands.

The Holy Month of Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr are known for being a time for reflection. A part of the traditions that have truly stood the test of time are the iftars and ghabgas – a time when friends and family get together. There’s no denying that everyone will be in their finest traditional wear including luxurious kaftans, flowing jalabiyas and elegant abayas. To further elevate your Ramadan and Eid fit, we’ve curated a selection of some of the most divine and classy accessories that are sure to make a statement.

Tiger Marrón

Elevate your iftar look with these elegant clutches from the global leatherware label Tiger Marrón Tiger Marrón produces unique handcrafted leather accessories like totes, clutches, wallets, laptop bags and sleeves, belts, and other items for both men and women. The Holy Month of Ramadan calls for bespoke products to celebrate the cultural spirit with elegance, and here are some of the season’s must-haves from their collection of clutches: the Wild Begum, Bling Bling and Just Too Glam.

LA MARQUISE JEWELLERY

The renowned fine jewellery brand La Marquise Jewellery has several spectacular bejewelled collections that make the perfect accessory. Of the collections, we are drawn in by Precious and Imperia Petite© Shamsa.

A fitting tribute to royal colour stones, the colourful Precious collection offers a variety of classic cuts which are handpicked based on exceptional hue, saturation and colour tone. Imperia Petite© Shamsa, on the other hand, is a classic collection of heritage pieces inspired by the Islamic Architecture. It features intricate patterned jewellery made from hand selected diamonds.

BEA BONGIASCA

BYMYSTIQUE

The sustainable fine jewellery brand

By Mystique has launched a new magical constellation collection, available exclusively at Tryano, Abu Dhabi. Fusing geometric designs with timeless handcrafted designs, the collection features two necklaces using 18k gold, with the brand’s signature detailing.

Add a pop of colour and sparkle to your outfit with the Italian jewellery brand Bea Bongiasca’s Ramadan edit. Bea Bongiasca’s special curation features a range of rings, ear cuffs, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, all crafted from 18kt gold and enamel. Each piece is designed to be bold and eye-catching, yet versatile enough to be worn every day. They are bold, eye-catching, eccentric and playful – truly unique pieces.

Woman IN THE LEAD

The MENA region is quickly advancing to be a more inclusive and diversified society with women participating in and leading several sectors. Farah Baig speaks to the Head of Treasury at Gulf International Bank B.S.C., Maisa Al-Haddad – an exceptional leader with over 20 years of experience in the banking sector.

“I’ve learned that a leader is only as successful as the team they lead,” says Maisa Al-Haddad. “The main objective of any leader should be to look after their team members and support their personal and professional goals.”

Ms. Al-Haddad initially graduated and completed her training requirements to be a Chemical Engineer - a field that she is still very attached to. “However, entering the field was the first career challenge I had to face as a woman. Women might find it difficult being

in certain sectors; however, I am positive that it is only a matter of time for a transformation to take place as we now see women leading sectors which we did not expect to see them in just a decade ago,” she says.

Leveraging the analytical and mathematical skills that she had gained over the years, Ms. Al-Haddad pursued her Master’s degree in International Securities, Investment, and Banking, from the University of Reading, UK.

As a part of the banking sector for the past 20 years, she has attempted to contribute to the economic welfare of the Kingdom. “During my career, I have observed that it is imperative that a leader gets acquainted with many leadership styles. As you climb the corporate ladder your management style will focus more on strategic leadership of individuals and teams,” she says.

“I think the lead-by-example style can deliver the best outcome for the team and the shareholders. Having said that, I sincerely believe that adopting one leadership style might not prove practical as change is the only constant,” she adds.

To stay up-to-date with the best practices in the sector, Ms. Al-Haddad adopts a number of strategies rooted in personal development – a factor that she believes should be a priority in professionals’ lives. “Investing in yourself and developing your skills with further studies is essential for you to flourish in your field. I personally value education and continuous learning and pursued several post graduate programmes, including the ‘Oxford Executive Leadership programme’ from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and ‘Sustainable Finance’ from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge,” she states.

“Besides personal development, you must build your network and connect with industry experts for new information and a fresh perspective,” she adds.

As for balancing personal and professional responsibilities, she has a very different approach. “Young women who are interested in entering the investment field often ask me this question. I don’t balance responsibilities, but rather prioritise them,” she says.

“For instance, if I’m working on a transaction during London hours, that will be my priority. Similarly, if one of my children is not feeling well, he will be my prime concern after delegating my work responsibilities,” she explains, adding that her colleagues and family have been vital for the success of this approach.

Being a leader, Maisa believes that effective communication is the most important factor in teamwork as it keeps team members informed, develops mutual trust, boosts morale, and helps employees stay engaged in the workplace.

“The reality is that those closest to the leader will determine the level of success of the leader. The leader should lead the team to maximise the shareholders’ interests and achieve corporate values and missions while boosting their team’s self-esteem. If they are successful in doing so, it’s amazing what they can accomplish,” she concludes.

Queen of the Violin

Picking up a violin at just five-years-old was the first step to an exciting life for the Turkish violinist, Suay Doganay. She tells Farah Baig about her globe-trotting life as a musician and what charmed her about our sunny Kingdom of Bahrain.

Bahrain has long been known for its creative artists and cosmopolitan community with expats from all over the world calling the island ‘home’. Suay Doganay is one such individual who has grown to be a favourite on the music scene. The eccentric violinist is known for her high-energy performance, mesmerising tunes and unique fusion-style. After living in the Kingdom for nearly five years, Suay and her electric violin are instantly recognisable, but her journey with music started many moons ago. “I was born into a musical family with my father being an opera singer,” she says, adding that she had performed at the Turkish National Day event held in Bahrain.

Suay was just five-years-old when she tried her hand at the violin, and had her first concert at just 15 with her father. While some children pick up instruments as an extra-curricular activity, she pursued it for the long-haul. The well-accomplished violinist graduated from not one but three different universities for music with one of them certifying her to be a music teacher too.

“I knew for the longest time that I would pursue it professionally. I was initially in an orchestra since my education was in classical music,” she states. “After graduating I would watch videos related to electronic music and always wanted to play it. In fact, the violinist Vanessa Mae was my idol.”

Fate had it that she eventually met a musician who wished to perform with her, on the condition that she play the electric violin. “I jumped at the opportunity and soon I was playing at weddings and private events for massive crowds in Turkey,” she says.

Being an expansive country, performing in Turkey wasn’t the easiest experience, especially since she was a music teacher too at the time. “It was hectic. I would

miss flights, not know where my gigs were, and have to perform before having to fly back to Istanbul to teach in the morning. But my career evolved to a whole new level when I started performing at Nikki Beach in Bodrum,” she says.

“That’s when I began connecting with tourists and other musicians who were open to collaboration not only in Turkey but around the world. It started with a contract in New Delhi, India where I performed at one of the most prestigious hotels visited by the popular Bollywood celebrities and eventually led to me performing in France, Greece, Belgium, Holland and several other places!” she adds enthusiastically. Her performance in France led to a series of events which brought her to Bahrain. “I have people around me in Bahrain that are practically family and support me in all that I do. I also love the vibrant community with people from all over the world. Conversations lead to so many ideas and it’s just beautiful,” she says.

“It’s also extremely safe, and then there’s the fact that after living in a big city like Istanbul, it’s nice to be able to drive to the other side of Bahrain in just 30 minutes!”

Aside from her performances, Suay also organises unique electronic music events as a promoter under the label RAUM Bahrain inspired by the extra-terrestrial.

“I’ve always done things in my own way, with a vision of creating something unique. Music and connecting with people are my passion, and I would love for people to come and dance with us,” she concludes.

SKIN SAVIOURS FROM GLIST

Developed exclusively for the Gulf region, GLIST is a premium skincare brand that combines the best of Japanese and Korean trends, technologies, and principles with centuries-old skincare rituals to advance a skincare staple – the sheet mask.

GLIST sheet masks revitalise, hydrate, and intensely nourish the skin while targeting skin concerns such as dehydration, signs of ageing, sensitivity, and irritation. The sheet masks feature semi-gel cellulose sheets drenched in serum formulas to encourage deep absorption of active ingredients for long-lasting results in just 20 minutes.

The GLIST range of products currently includes the GLIST Ultra Hydro Plumping Mask, GLIST Anti-Wrinkle Reviving Mask and GLIST Instant Rescue Purifying Mask, each available in boxes of five. The brand's Hair Slide, a great addition, also allows you to keep your hair out of your face while you wear your sheet mask.

All GLIST sheet masks are non-toxic, paraben-free, cruelty-free, gluten-free, vegan, halal and suitable for all skin types. Available at glistofficial.com.

YOUREID

LOCKS TO LOVE!

Treat yourself to a set of Youmi Beauty’s premium hair extensions or ponytails this Eid. Whether the extensions are for creating everyday volume or to achieve the signature Ariana Grande high ponytail look, these 100 percent REMY human hair extensions will impress everyone!

The renowned, Dubai-based, professional beauty and hair care brand, has three fantastic options to choose from: Tape-in Hair Couture Extensions, Clip-in Hair Couture Extensions and Youmi Beauty Ponytails.

The tape-in extensions consist of an ultra-flat application that ensures perfect hair distribution and comfort, instantly adding volume and length, and come in 12 beautiful shades. These last for six to 12 months, are pre-taped with UK-made salonquality tape, and must be applied at a salon. The clip-in extensions are great if you’d like to transform your hair in just five minutes. They’re available in three colours and come in packages consisting of five pieces totalling 300gms of human hair with 27 inches of length. The Youmi Beauty Ponytails comes packaged with a 70cm piece and a Youmi Beauty carrier and hanger, to increase the product’s lifespan. Available at youmibeauty.com.

Look your very best this Eid with our highly-recommended beauty essentials including a fantastic fragrance, skincare and more!

BROWS LIKE A BOSS

Siella Beauty introduces its first brow product: The Brow Boss Pencil. This fabulous collection consists of six eyebrow pencils that allow you to fill, define and shape your eyebrows to create the natural hair-like strokes that you desire. This pencil truly lives up to its name, giving you the power to express yourself in your own unique way. Its soft formula glides on easily allowing you to create the most beautiful, long-lasting (up to 16 hours), and waterproof strokes. The micro tip of the Brow Boss pencil makes it very easy and comfortable to draw a precise outline of your eyebrows or lightly fill and define for a natural look. This pencil is available in Blonde, Auburn, Neutral Brown, Rich Brown, Warm Brown and Deep Brown. Available at siellabeauty.com.

INTRODUCING EILISH

The feeling of stumbling on a truly alluring scent is like none other. This month, we’ve found a truly exciting new fragrance that you’re sure to love, brought to you by Grammy award-winning songstress Billie

Billie has been obsessed with scent her entire life, from a fascination with perfume bottles as a child to collecting hundreds of fragrances as she toured the world. To bring her first signature fragrance to life, she was intimately involved in every step of the process and had full creative control. “I wanted it to feel like a warm embrace. It’s a scent that I’ve been chasing for years and years and years. It’s my favourite smell in the world,” says Billie.

Eilish is a captivating Amber Gourmand that attracts you with a warm, cozy scent. The fragrance opens with sugared petals, accented by juicy mandarin and red berries. The heart of the fragrance unfolds with soft spices, rich cocoa, and creamy vanilla. The scent is anchored by base notes of warm musks, tonka bean, and sleek woods. It all comes together in a stunning bottle gilded in beautiful amber-bronze. Eilish is vegan, cruelty-free, and made with clean ingredients.

Available at Debenhams.

PLANT-BASED BEAUTY WITH INGREDIENTS®

Having healthy skin is the first step to achieving a flawless beauty look. As part of the journey to having better skin, investing in ethical products that are free from nasties is essential – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

Ingredients® Wellness creates toxin-free, daily essentials formulated with organic, plantbased ingredients in high concentrations that deliver optimal benefits. Transparency is the brand’s cornerstone, and in a complete industry first, every ingredient, including its exact percentage formulation, is listed on the front of each product - no toxins, no watering down, and nothing to hide.

We love their organic Lightweight Body Oil which glides smoothly onto the skin, sinks in, works to restore the skin's elasticity and natural lipid barrier, and visibly improves its tone and texture. The unrefined Golden Jojoba and Baobab oils are rich in omega fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants as well as anti-inflammatory Brazilian copaiba balsam oil, soothing Madagascar vanilla extract, and vitamin C-packed orange and lavender essential oils. All formulas are made with the fewest and most potent plant-based ingredients that deliver maximum efficacy making it safe for those six years and older.

Available at thesecretskin.com.

SETTING BOUNDARIES

As parents, we worry that if we’re too harsh, we’re going down the slippery slope of authoritarian parenting. You know… “My way or the highway”. We don’t want to do that. On the flip side, if we’re too permissive in our parenting boundaries, we know that doesn’t bode well for our children either.

We all understand the importance of healthy boundaries with kids, but what should those boundaries look like? How do we hold our kids accountable without damaging them? And, what does it look like if our child doesn’t seem to be respecting the boundaries we’ve set? When we set and follow through on healthy boundaries with kids, it helps them with their executive functioning skills. Further, it encourages emotional regulation, helps them develop problem-solving skills, and feel more connected to us because they know what we expect of them. These things are correlated with higher selfesteem and better long-term outcomes in their personal, academic, and professional lives. Part of setting healthy boundaries is being proactive. Children simply often  don’t know what’s expected of them since there’s so much to learn and they may have trouble remembering all the ‘rules’ sometimes. They simply don’t have the life experience we do to know what is considered

normal behaviour.

Tell them upfront what to expect before they encounter new situations. Then lovingly reinforce the boundary as many times as you need to, because to a young child, it’s a lot to process! The more you practice setting boundaries with kids when they’re young, the easier it is for them to self-regulate when they get older.

When you set boundaries for young children, think of the ‘big picture’. What’s the most important takeaway you want your child to know? Focus on that and let the rest go, so they focus on the core message. Help kids succeed when you set healthy boundaries by letting them have a say in the

details. Their buy-in is directly related to the amount of input they feel they’ve had in the process.

The words you choose in your approach matter greatly. It is better to present a problem statement and approach it as a collaborative problem- solving process. Once you’ve addressed the problem statement, you can turn it into a family agreement rather than a ‘rule’. Oftentimes, when a child has big feelings about boundaries, it’s either because they feel they didn’t have enough of a vote or if they didn’t truly understand why the boundary was important.

If they feel they didn’t have enough of a vote but it’s non-negotiable, do your best to hold space for their feelings without getting defensive. Trust that if they’re opening up to you about their displeasure, they’re still opening up to you — and you want to reinforce that you’re a safe place to do that. Let your tone, your words, and your heart be gentle with them.

When you’re an emotionally safe place for your child, they’ll learn that even when all of their behaviours might not be acceptable, all of their feelings are. The empathy you show your child while you’re navigating boundaries together will connect you both. Your relationship will be stronger for working alongside them.

Setting boundaries with kids can feel like one of the trickiest parts of gentle parenting, much like walking on an emotional tightrope. Ouiam El Hassani tells us how to set and follow them.

Car Show

The K Hotel held a car show on its premises. Car enthusiasts gathered to share their love for the vehicles.

Grand Finale

A grand finale was held for Tanatan Idol at Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa.

Afternoon Tea

Rashida hosted a Ladies Afternoon Tea and Garden Party.

THE GREY MATTER

In this month’s column, Farrah Saville wonders if living in the grey is the key to enjoying life’s uncertainties.

Isaw something recently that I have been struggling to get out of my head and find it entirely appropriate for the fast-paced life of on expat living in Bahrain. In fact, it is something I wish I knew earlier when living as an expat in Qatar.

And believe it or not, it came from a video I saw and keep seeing on Instagram reels. It’s of a little boy singing the song “Thank you for sunshine, thank you for rain, thank you for joy and thank you for pain.”

Throughout life we are taught the difference between right and wrong, black and white, good times and bad times... But in more recent times as I get on in age and experience, I realise that life is a lot greyer than we expect it to be. And no, I don’t mean it in terms of weather or in terms of negativity I just mean that life is not as black and white as we are conditioned to believe and I am starting to see that life is a lot more 'in-between' than so precise.

Over the last few years, I have faced many uncertainties about life, from personal dilemmas to health issues, a premature baby, uncertain times with COVID, living apart from my husband and sometimes all combined you begin to realise that uncertainty is the only certainty. And, when I look at friends and family nearby or across the globe people are generally going through uncertain times. I am learning to sit with that uncertainty and learning that life is certainly not linear, nor is it a continuum. There will be times when a more passive approach is required – “just flowing with it” - and then there will be times when a more direct approach is needed, each situation will require varied responses and more importantly that each situation does not define you, and each situation does not need to make or break you.

By taking this approach, I think it also allows you to be less focused on how people should act or react to situations but to rather focus

on yourself, and your own inward journey and goals. It also allows you to give people something very important for them and you… grace to be them so you can be you instead of hoping for a certain reaction.

In addition, uncertain times have taught me to be flexible in approaching certain situations because life is a question of context and not always about what is wrong or what is right. Meaning that by being fluid and flexible I can try to avoid my spiral into negative thoughts.

So, the main question then is “If things are grey, is there ever a right or wrong in any situation?” – the answer is a resounding “Yes!” You will know when the alarm bells are ringing inside about people, situations and events very quickly, especially where our fundamentals lie. But for the rest of it, I am choosing to enjoy living life in the grey and just sitting with the uncertainty.

Where are you from and what is it that you love most about your hometown?

Bahrain, the simplicity and kindness of people.

Are you a spender or a saver?

I consider myself moderate and a bit of both. It’s very important to save without forgetting to enjoy the present also.

InHerShoes

The PR & Corporate Communication Manager of BENEFIT, Hanan Hasan, is an ambitious person, yet content with what she has. The visionary young woman believes it is very important that people do not get caught up in the pursuit of wanting more and all. Let’s take a walk in her shoes!

What is a life-long passion of yours? Nature.

If you had to eat the same meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Local mullet fish (we call it Maid in Bahrain) and if I can have a clear soup as an appetiser please. Those always bring happiness and comfort to me.

Where would you like to be in five years?

I would like to reflect my experience in the board room. The current support for women in Bahrain for leadership and precisely board representation is very encouraging.

If you could see one person in concert (dead or alive), who would it be?

The late Bahraini singer Mohamed Ali Abdulla. Also, one can never get enough of Andres Bocelli concerts.

What’s your favourite movie?

50 First Dates.