The long and short of it

Dear Betsy, Can I just ask you to tell whoever it is that puts those paper towel dispensers on the walls of the ladies toilets that they are too high. I am sick of washing my hands only to have to reach up for the towels and find the water runs all the way up to my elbows.

Take note and put them at a sensible height please and while you are at it put some decent lights in the loos too.

I have not yet mastered the art of putting on my make up in the semi dark. I don't suppose my email will make any difference Betsy, but at least I feel better now I have got it off my chest. Thanks for listening.

Rachael Y.

Dear Rachael Y,

I fully agree with you, being only 1.57m I too fall foul of the decorating giants.

What about when they put the soap dispensers high too?

My pet hate are those automatic soap dispensers and the automatic taps. I hate them, as it can be really hard work to get them to co-operate and I am so impatient.

I am also something of a control freak and like to be able to control the water flow and temperature myself!

I wonder what other pet hates our readers have?

My other one is wire coat hangers. I hate them with a vengeance. They are so useless, bend out of shape easily and distort the garments they support.

I will not have them in my wardrobe and always recycle them by giving them back to the dry cleaners.

Share your pet hates with us, write to me at:

betsymathieson@hotmail.com

Dear Betsy,

IS there a way to thin out my nail varnishes? I keep finding they go thick and gooey even when they are quite new.

I don't want to throw them away, so what can I do to make them useable again?

Freda Hall.

Dear Freda,

First of all, make sure you always wipe the neck of the bottle and the brush with enamel remover after every use.

This will prevent crusting around the neck of the bottle, which allows air to get into the product and thicken it. You can also keep your bottles in the fridge to help prolong their life.

The worst thing you can do is add nail enamel remover to the bottle, as this will alter the composition of the nail colour and result in an unsightly, streaky application and/or peeling of the product.

You can buy special Nail Enamel Thinner from the pharmacy or from Nazih Trading on Old Palace Road. This is a specially designed product to help dilute the enamel without imparing the quality of the product.

Another tip is to avoid shaking the bottle of enamel before you use it. Instead, hold the bottle upside down and roll the bottle fairly vigorously between your hands to warm it and prepare it for a smooth application.

I despair when I see manicurists shaking the bottle as if their life depended on it and then I cringe when I see them struggle to open the bottle with it's crusty neck as this means the enamel will be thicker and lower its performance meaning your nail colour will probably start to peel and chip after a day or two.

This is bad news on so many fronts. It's poor value for money, it means your nails will be weakened unless you remove it immediately, as every time the enamel chips or peels it takes a fragment of your nail with it.

It also means you will need to either reapply the enamel yourself or make do with nude nails. It's a tough old world for us girls sometimes isn't it?

Finally, Freda once the enamel has been applied you can prolong the life of your manicure (or pedicure) by reapplying a thin layer of a glossy top coat every day. Just remember to clean the neck of the bottle afterwards to avoid thickened top coat, which of course will have the opposite effect.

Dear Betsy,

I saw you wrote about comfortable shoes a while ago. I have not found the fit-flop sandals you spoke about but I thought you would be interested to know that there is a new shop open in the Country Mall in Budaiya that sells a great range of Dr Scholl sandals and even some patent leather court shoes.

Hannah.

Dear Hannah,

Thanks for sharing that with us all. I did pop down to have a look and they even have glitzy gold sandals and pretty shoes as well as their more traditional wooden exercise sandals and the full range of foot care products.

They apparently also offer foot-care and chiropody treatments which is something that Bahrain has been sadly lacking in so far.

With many of us wearing open shoes and sandals in our summer weather, our feet need some extra care and attention and ladies, remember when you cut or file your toe nails, they should be straight and not filed to a curve or point as this encourages ingrown toe nails.

BETSY SAYS RELAX

GO for a walk in our lovely pre-summer sunshine. The best time has got to be the hour or so before sunset when it is cooler and you have time to enjoy those beautiful sunsets that the kingdom is blessed with.

Use this time to wind down and plan your next day's activities in advance.

IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING THIS WEEK

Take that multi-vitamin every day. Get into the habit, it does make a difference. Our busy lives mean few of us enjoy a consistently nutritious diet, so top it up with a good quality multivitamin and mineral supplement.