Saturday, April 21, 2007

Business is Booming in Libya

Since the end of economic sanctions in Libya there's been a flood of all kinds of products into the country. Shops are full of all kinds of things from all over the world. There's been a plethora of personal hygiene products. A fantastic selection of hair care products and soaps can be found on store shelves.

Libyan women are all for improving their appearance these days too. Coloured contact lenses are popular, as are all shades of hair dyes and bleach. It seems they want to be as white a possible - you can find all kinds of creams promising to whiten and lighten. Lately I've been seeing some unusual merchandise in the shops. Are Libyan women really buying this stuff???

This will make you white....

and this soap will whiten your armpits...

Having white armpits must be a big concern for Libyan women because there are lots of different products claiming to give quick results. I don't ever remember my husband commenting on the colour of my armpits... I guess that means they are the right colour.


For some reason I think this would never work for me.... Maybe you're supposed to eat it to become slimmer.

This one claims to be a USA best seller!

Firm - they've got to be firm... with aloe vera and cucumbers.

More quick results, this time for body wrinkles. If this works as good on your stomach as claimed by the picture imagine what it would do to those nasty wrinkles women get around their eyes!

I think this is hilarious - pink nipple cream! All day confidence! And only in one week!

OK. I've saved the best one for last. Virginity wash.... I am mystified by this one. Do you use it to maintain your virginity? Or use it when you lose it? Or is this supposed to be used to restore your virginity? It costs six dinars - that would be a cheap fix for the girls who have lost it before their wedding night.... hmm... wonder what would happen if I tried it?... hmmm... naaa.. I've got six kids! lol

Does anyone really use any of this stuff?

27 comments:

  1. Right on a.adam! This is hilarious. I live in USA and haven't seen any of these creams/soaps.......Wonder who the buyers are for the marketing department????? That would be interesting.........

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  2. Wonderful products - I presume there is no Libyan consumer protection law that prevents these sorts of claims? Mind you, I don't even believe the ones people seem to be allowed to use in Europe, promising to remove/reduce wrinkles/fat/cellulite and so on - and I would so much like to! It would be funny, if it weren't rather tragic, that half the world wants whiteness creams while the other half wants St. Tropez self-tanning spray.

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  3. pink nipple? gosh that's hilarious. someone must be that desperate. have they never thought that god created us in many forms, sizes and color. pink nipples with tan @ olive skin would look odd... hahaha... well I guess to some there is no harm trying!!

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  4. I remember seeing the pink nipple cream while in libya this last summer. I was soo embarassed by it, but couldnt help laughing.

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  5. Libya...a pedophile's dream???? All of these products seem to be designed to make an adult woman look like a pre-pubescent girl! Shit, my nipples haven't been pink since I wuz like 11!

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  6. That is the funny one!
    Virginity thing must be for cleaning after losing it...
    Thay all are must see products!

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  7. I have tears coming down cuz I am laughing so hard...LOL OH DEAR GOD...lol thank u for da laugh Khadija

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  8. Armpit whitening cream?! WTF. I had no idea white armpits were so important. I'm apparently missing out on something. And I have never heard of such a thing as pink nipple cream Haha.
    This was so funny but in a truly sad sad sort of way.

    Have you ever seen or known anyone who buys these sorts of products? Especially the nipple cream :)

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  9. loooool that was crazy and yes i se lots fo stuff like that in the stores and the same Q comes to my mind " who uses that ? and do they actually believe in them ??"

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  10. ROFL!
    Loose weight-soap?! LOL!
    Can´t wait for the "Improve your consumer IQ"-soap!

    On the serious side: MayFair products are in insult to Libyan women; no more and no less.

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  11. Dear khadija
    These products will never sell in US they're from the sick infested far east such as China, Korea, Philippines and Taiwan. The mentioned countries would do anything to make a buck even if their degusting products would harm or kill others. So sad we have dumb ignorant and uneducated Libyans who would import such kind of crap that would ruin the health of our young innocent Libyans . Damn money hungry bastards.

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  12. What a wonderful way to wake up... laughing hysterically!!
    Virginity is wonderful!! I love the one that says U.S.A. formula.
    Exactly where in the U.S.A. can that be found?? LOL

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  13. Goes to show you how the Middle East and North Africa is obsessed with skin colour.

    Personally I like women samra.

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  14. What an astonishing range of products!

    It's similar in Pakistan and here in the US - women seem to long for magic changes in a bottle.

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  15. Oh my God, I hope some one can start selling the consumer report magazine.
    www.ConsumerReports.org

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  16. Dear Khadija Teri,

    We'd love you to list your expat blog on our new website, to help us build a great resource for all women living overseas.

    Please take a look at our site at: www.ExpatWomen.com.

    Thanks,

    April.

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  17. funny, but i think this post for women not for men. ;)

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  18. oh my Lord. I lost it when i saw Pink Nipple Cream - and then came the virginity wash ...

    Made me want to check the colour of mine. :)

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  19. This is a great post Khadijateri........I had to lift my arms up in the mirror and look at my armpits...I guess they're white...like the rest of me...but who looks there that often?

    gk

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  20. I don’t know whether I laugh or cry, I think Libyans don’t want trash products to flood their land, all these stuff are meant to be sold to the ordinary people who don’t know any difference, these products are banned in Europe as they contain mercury which cause the skin to be lighter in colour and cause lots of damage i.e. skin cancer. These products are very popular among the African /Asian population, they are even sold in some USA states where concentration of afro/American . The present of these kinds of products in Libyan markets shows how the government in a deep sleeps and needs a big shake up.

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  21. That stuff is allll over the UAE!

    I am thinking of doing a theme on Global Themes called Advertisements... I reckon you have some great pictures for that

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  22. Virginity creams?!
    Girls, don't let profiteer quacks deceive you that lost virginity can be restored with a cream! Conservative treatments for this condition are unreliable. In case of necessity, go straight to surgery!

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  23. hilarious, but even the translator thought they were going too far with the virginity cream- the arabic text cuts it out, it just has the feminine hygine bit :)

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  24. Hey about the virginity wash..since I hear from one of you that it doesn't mention that part in the arabic text, I'm thinking they might mean vaginal wash. There are women who use douche bags, etc for that purpose here in the U.S. eventhough it's an unsafe practice as it can lead to infections..

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  25. i am a british lady who was married to a libyan man for 7 years during this time i saw his sisters using allsorts of creams and soaps to try to make them selves white none of which actually worked. also whilst in the steam bath or hamam i was asked what i use to make myself so white! why cant libyan womwn be happy with how they look and what is the big deal with being white? i just wish they could be happy with how god made them and if they really want to be white they should visit a cosmetic surgeon instead of using all these hopeless products, although im sure they dont want to end up like michael jackson!

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  26. Everyone know matter where you come from wants to look like someone you are not. Women with straight hair want curly hair, white women wish they were darker and lay in the sun, dark women want white skin and everyone even in the US buys products in the hopes that your wrinkles will go away or your skin will be firmer and smoother or make you skinny. Accept yourself for who you are and if you want to be skinny go for a walk and do some exercises. There is no magical cure in a bottle!

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