< PreviousDress, Dhs350, Natasha V T-shirt Dhs455, Karl Lagerfeld Boots, Dhs1,690, Maje Sunglasses, Dhs48, Iconic ANKLE BOOTS + T-shirt T-shirt, Dhs440, Claudie Pierlot Boots, Dhs142, Next Boots, Dhs399, Steve Madden T-shirt, Dhs250, Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt, Dhs250, DKNY Boots, POA, Zadig & Voltaire Boots, Dhs249, Mango T-shirt, Dhs495, Sandro 20 | APRIL 2019 Now live at cosmopolitanme.com THE BUZZ | GET THE LOOKBELT + roll neck Dress, Dhs350, Natasha V Top Dhs119 Boots, Dhs249, both Mango Belt, Stylist’s own Roll neck, Dhs55, Next Belt, Dhs129, Zara Roll neck, Dhs1,420, Kristina Fidelskaya Belt, Dhs36, Next Roll neck, Dhs860, Maje Belt, Dhs89, River Island Roll neck, Dhs25, Shein.com Belt, Dhs59, Stradivarius APRIL 2019 | 21 Now live at cosmopolitanme.com THE BUZZ | GET THE LOOK“One time I came home to find that my roommate had eaten my leftover Chipotle – she put the container back in the fridge, empty and with a fork inside. Who does that?! To get back at her, I went through all her food, dumped the contents, then put the empty cartons back in the fridge. She never said anything about it and definitely never ate my food again.” –KATHERINE C After breaking up with my ex, I decided to give dating a shot. I met a really hot guy soon and we totally hit it off. On our second date, he showed me a picture of his family. Right there in the middle of the photo was my ex- boyfriend, beaming – turns out, they’re cousins. Cringe.” –STEPHANIE S THIS MONTH A FAKE BACHELORETTE PARTY, A ROOMIE WHO BECAME A FOOD THIEF, AND – SOMEHOW – MORE! I once called in ‘sick’ (mental health day is a thing, people) and decided to go for a movie with my girlfriends. We got there about 30 minutes early and, as luck would have it, my colleague was right outside of the theatre at a coff ee shop for what was clearly a work meeting. I ran into the closest movie theatre and sat there for a full twenty minutes till my friend told me she was gone. Close call. Never doing that again!” –SHEERA “I went on a night out and soon regretted not taking a jacket. I swapped numbers with a guy essentially to borrow his Adidas jumper for the evening, and it worked. I actually quite liked him so messaged the next day but never heard anything, which offended me. Months later he rudely messaged out of the blue and demanded I send his jumper back, despite ghosting me, so I put it up for sale online and sent him a screenshot. I kept the jumper.” –EMILY JUAN MOYANO. ENTRIES MAY HAVE BEEN EDITED FOR LENGTH, CONTENT, AND CLARITY. BECAUSE IT’S GOOD TO SHARE... RIGHT? THE BUZZ | CRINGE ALERT “In college, I went with my boyfriend to visit his family one weekend. Naturally, he brought his dirty laundry home so his mom could wash his clothes. After she sorted his from his sister’s, a pair of my underwear ended up in her laundry basket. His sister threw my undies on the floor and said, ‘These aren’t mine,’ in front of his entire family.” –ELIZABETH O 22 | APRIL 2019 Are you following us on Instagram? @CosmoMiddleEast“My friends and I thought it would be funny to throw a fake bachelorette party. We documented the whole night on social media, and the next day, I woke up with so many ‘Congratulations!’ texts. A few days later, I was on a first date with this guy who asked to see my Instagram. I had to explain why I was wearing a fake diamond ring and a ‘Miss Bachelorette’ sash. Whoops.” –GABI H THE BUZZ | CRINGE ALERT APRIL 2019 | 23 Are you following us on Instagram? @CosmoMiddleEastBY KAVITA SRINIVASAN PHOTOGRAPHY: TANYA REX STYLING: CHLOE BOSHER MAKE-UP: SOFIA SCHWARZKOPF-TILBURY USING CHARLOTTE TILBURY MAKEUP HAIR: DENNY CLEMENTS No fillers, Botox, veneers, extensions or lashes, the Lebanese actress is all about embracing her imperfections (which in our books, is EVERYTHING). Yep, our amazing April cover star makes living in her own skin look freaking fabulous! ...WITH CHARLOTTE TILBURY MAKE-UP BASE : Moisturiser, Charlotte’s Magic Cream Primer, Wonder Glow Foundation, Light Wonder #7 Concealer, Magic Away 7&5 Finishing powder, Airbrush Flawless 2 Complexion booster, Hollywood Flawless Filter Contour palette, Filmstar Bronze & Glow (med/dark) EYES: Eyeshadow, Pillow Talk Luxury Palette Mascara, Full Fat Lashes CHEEKS : Blusher, Pillow Talk Cheek to Chic LIPS: Lip liner, Pillow Talk Lip Cheat Lip colour, Seduction Lip Lustre 24 | APRIL 2019 Are you following us on Instagram? @CosmoMiddleEastDress, Dhs1,690, Maje Earrings, Dhs1,652, Lizzie Fortunato @TheEdit Trainers, Dhs532, Tommy Hilfiger @Sivvi.com APRIL 2019 | 25 Are you following us on Instagram? @CosmoMiddleEast THE BUZZ | FUN, FEARLESS FEMALEI would have none of it. “I’ve never even coloured my hair,” she laughs, as I scrutinised the bunch of chestnut brown locks in my hand. “Call me a coward… I’m scared. I’d like to keep away from it as much as possible. And fi llers, Botox etc, are out of the question… I’m an actress. I can’t mess with my face.” Having been in the Middle East for a decade now and a former New Yorker at heart, I like keeping things real, but a few years after living in good ol’ Dubai, getting lash extensions with a regular blow dry had become as routine as a mani-pedi. For those of you who are laughing at my blatant disbelief, take this – Lebanese banks actually lend you money for plastic surgery. That’s how common it is. So when Aimée, an incredibly successful actress who has starred in the popular TV series Wa Achrakat Al Chams and Thawret Al Falaheen, alongside acclaimed movie Zafafi an and hosting The Voice, is all for self- acceptance, her fabulousness calls for a slow clap. This does not happen, people. Pin it down to her upbringing, but looks were never the centre of Aimée’s universe. Instead, with a famous journalist for a father (Ibrahim Sayah has written for several prestigious publications such as Annahar , Al Watan Al Arabi, Radio Monte Carlo, Al Sayyad, Italian News Organisation, Al Bayrak and Al Anwar amongst others, and is a revered media consultant); a grandfather who opened Byblos’ (her town) fi rst library; and mum, Jacqueline who is both a lawyer and a teacher, her education at home was just as intensive as it was at school. Books were a topic of conversation at every meal, dissected, explored and hashed out with heated gusto, alongside tales of her father’s world travels meeting quirky, awesome personalities whose stories he penned to great acclaim. “It was an amazing childhood. My brother, sister and I were immersed in our father’s world… his stories were a milkshake for my soul and for my mind. To this day, we ask him to repeat everything, even though I’ve heard every detail endlessly; it takes me back to a time I love. Voicing my opinion and feeling heard was also a big part of growing up… nothing was off the table and my family was and is extremely open.” I prod her for her fave Ibrahim Sayah story. “There are so many. We could sit here for weeks (laughs). He met every leading Arab politician and legend in his day. The ones that I was completely star struck and in awe of were Dalida and Charles Aznavour… I loved them.” It’s not surprising that Aimée wanted to follow her dad into his dynamic world of words and people. After studying Media & Communications at Uni, she set her sights on a broadcast journalism career from the get-go – but the universe had other plans. A friend convinced her to act in a play, which is all it took for the acting bug to bite her hard. She’d always been creative, with 13 years of ballet and piano under her belt, but her stint on stage opened her to a whole new avenue of expression. “I was always shy but have loved the camera and the spotlight for as long as I can remember. That said, I wanted to be famous for something I was convinced about and was proud of.” She didn’t have to wait long. Her fi rst job out of uni was hosting a live TV show on MTV when she was 21-years-old, quickly followed by the hotly loved historical series set during the era of the Ottoman mandate, Wa Achrakat Al Chams, in which she played the fi ery and vulnerable Jelnar Wehbi. With her power packed debut, Aimée skyrocketed into the A-list, becoming the darling of both the critics and the audience. Fame may have come relatively easily but what she values most in her life, aside from her family, is meeting and falling in love with her husband, Farid Najjar, a computer engineer whose profession couldn’t be more diff erent from hers. It’s always fun hearing about a love story gone right and I wanted all the deets. “He spotted me when I was 19-years-old at Uni when I was acting in my fi rst play. The director was a common friend of ours and the moment he saw me he apparently told her he had to meet me. Despite the fact that he was doing his last year of engineering he convinced my “I’m not against plastic surgery. But personally, I like my imperfections... they’re an extension of my personality and frankly I’m happy in my not-so- perfect body. I like the way I look.” 26 | APRIL 2019 Now live at cosmopolitanme.comBustier, Dhs1,033, Acler Earrings, Dhs2,095, Monica Sordo all at @TheEdit Trousers, Dhs119, Trendyol @Sivvi.com ...WITH CHARLOTTE TILBURY MAKE-UP BASE : Same as Look 1 EYES : Eyeshadow, Diva Eye Look, NEW Icon Palette Eyeliner, Barbarella Brown Liner, Rock ‘n’ Kohl Mascara, Full Fat Lashes CHEEK: Blusher, Ecstasy Cheek to Chic LIPS : Lip liner, Savage Rose Lip Cheat, Lip colour, Screen Siren Hollywood Lips APRIL 2019 | 27 Now live at cosmopolitanme.com THE BUZZ | FUN, FEARLESS FEMALE...WITH CHARLOTTE TILBURY MAKE-UP BASE : Same as Look 1 EYES : Eyeshadow, Diva Eye Look NEW Icon Palette Eyeliner, Barbarella Brown Rock ‘n’ Kohl Mascara, Full Fat Lashes LIPS: Lipliner, Hot Gossip Lip Cheat Lip Colour, Super Sexy Matte Revolution CHEEK: Blusher, Ecstasy Cheek to Chic Follow us on Facebook! facebook.com/cosmopolitanmiddleeast 28 | APRIL 2019 THE BUZZ | FUN, FEARLESS FEMALET-shirt, Dhs445, Sandro Animal pleated skirt, Dhs119, Stock Sandals, Dhs129, Truffle collection, all at @Sivvi.com Follow us on Facebook! facebook.com/cosmopolitanmiddleeast APRIL 2019 | 29 THE BUZZ | FUN, FEARLESS FEMALENext >