An Intimate Chat with Cairo West Magazine
By Shorouk Abbas and Hana Nassar
Radiant, glowing, and brimming over with youthful energy, Kinda Alloush breezed in to join Cairo West Magazine at one of Cairo’s chic meeting points. Simply dressed in a denim jacket, white t-shirt and lounge pants, she possessed a sporty and natural quality that quickly had us wondering about the secrets of her beauty routine.
When we last met, Alloush was shooting the series Hagar Gohannam and planning her wedding at the same time. Now, catching up, after congratulating her on her marriage and complimenting her on being bride of the year, we chatted about married life and her experience as a bride.
CWM: Kinda, how did you manage to juggle your time to plan not one, but two spectacular weddings while being up to your ears in filming?
KA: It was hectic. The wedding planners actually had to sit with me on set sometimes for the whole day to work on the arrangements for the wedding. I only got a short break for the wedding then returned to work on the series two days after that.
Do you believe that a good match is based on chemistry between a couple ? Or do all relationships need work?
I believe both are essential to make a relationship work. Chemistry is very important, but it isn’t enough. It needs a lot of attention and care from both partners. My top tip is that you should never take any relationship for granted. What I believe is that you have to work on yourself, make adjustments and some compromises to accommodate your life with your partner. I am against those who say that, “no one changes”. It is very selfish not to make some changes to suit to your partner. Think about it as any aspect of your life. Your health for example, you need to be attentive and make adjustments to be in the best shape possible.
Did you have the dream wedding dress you always wanted to wear as a bride? Or did you just pick out a dress?
I was undecided on where to get my dress and was told by friends about a new young Lebanese designer called Hassan Edris. I was impressed because he had a different approach. He studied my personality before discussing the dress. I felt like I was sitting with a therapist who was tailoring a dress for my personality. I loved what he designed for both of my dresses.
Which dress did you like more?
I explained to my designer that I do not like bold white dresses. So one of them had a blush effect while the other had a tint of gold. I believe that the first dress reflected my personality more as it was simpler and more classic. The second dress made a bigger statement.
Putting on your makeup, did you do a trial run before your wedding?
I do not really like makeup that much. I did not want to run a trial before the wedding. I wanted to keep it simple. I had total confidence in the amazing makeup artist Mohamed Abdelhameed. He knows how to keep your natural look while giving you a special glow. When the wedding planner asked me how much time I needed to get ready, I said an hour or an hour and a half. They did not believe it, as other brides need six hours. For me, it was not that big of a deal.
Did you go with a hairdresser you trust or was it a hairdo you wanted?
I wasn’t very interested in my hair and what I should do with it. Rabee Mourad styled me in the first wedding and Haitham Dahab in the second. I loved both hair-styles, but I usually prefer my hair down more.
We know you had two different weddings, which wedding was harder to prepare for?
Aswan of course, as I mentioned I am a control freak and I give too much attention to each and every single detail. People taking days off from work and traveling just to celebrate my wedding was a huge responsibility. What mattered for me the most was for our guests to have an unforgettable weekend. From booking airplanes, accommodations, activities, the food and wedding setup was stuff I was always on top of. Luckily I had the team from Animation with me to make my life much less stressful during the weekend as they were taking care of it all.
Out of all the beautiful destinations, why did you choose Aswan in particular?
I have always loved Aswan; I believe it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I feel it has good energy. As people say it truly is magical. On the other hand Amr had amazing memories there from shooting The Grand Hotel. It was very dear to his heart so when he told me about it I did not think twice as it was the perfect venue for both of us.
Being the most loved bride of the year; what was your favorite part of the wedding preparations?
The best part of the wedding for me was the outcome! I do not consider myself one of those brides that took time to get ready as I was shooting at that time. Normally a wedding should take from 3-6 months to prepare for, but in my case I planned it all in a month and a half. I was lucky to find a wedding planner like Animation. They took care of all the details.
Any plans for your honeymoon?
Unfortunately we have had no time to go on our honeymoon yet since I was shooting and now Amr is working on his series for Ramadan. Hopefully as soon as we are both free we will go on our honeymoon.
What is the biggest challenge of being an actress?
Being an actress is challenging regarding your emotions. Any role I play ends up putting a toll on my emotions. I learned to overcome this by meditating and doing sports. What I also discovered to be very important is spending quiet time alone.
Your latest series, Hagar Gohannam is airing now. Tell us about it.
The plot is very interesting. It is about three women who kill their husbands. I am one of them; the other two are Sherine Reda and Arwa Gouda. These women are very simple and not really vicious. It is 45 episodes so you get to really know the reasons for them getting rid of their husbands. Although in my case, the husband is not really dead and returns in the second episode!
Your latest movie?
My latest movie is El Asleyeen. It will be out in movie theatres this upcoming Eid. It is directed by Marwan Hamed, and stars Khaled El Sawy, Maged Kidwany, Menna Shalaby, Mohamed Mamdouh, Ahmed Fahmy and myself.
How do you keep in shape?
I had a personal trainer all last year, but recently I started Pilates and I am very happy with it. I recommend it to all the women out there. I believe it is also very useful for acting as it works on your breathing and your posture.
Tell us about your beauty routine, how do you keep such amazing skin?
I have very dry skin, when I was a teenager I never had acne, which was great! Now that I’m older, I always need to put creams to keep it moisturized to avoid the early wrinkles that come with dry skin. I use a special soap, and apply a day cream, a night cream and an eye-cream daily. Not putting them makes my skin feel thirsty. I am a big fan of making facial masks with natural products at home; I search for recipes all the time. My favorite mask is originally Hindu, and is made of turmeric, honey and olive oil, I add Shea or brown sugar for the scrubbing effect. I go for all natural products and try to avoid any chemicals as much as I can. I believe the saying that goes, “ Feed your skin what you feed your body”.
Who do you dream of meeting, past or present?
My aunt, she lived in Egypt I really loved her and she passed away at a young age in Egypt. She would have never thought I would be marrying an Egyptian and having my wedding in Egypt. I really wanted her to be with me on that special day to witness something she always wanted me to experience. I am very close to my family, I have only one brother and they mean the world to me especially that they live in Syria
Favorite book?
I love reading and try reading all the time when I am not reading scripts or anything work related. I read Haruki Murakami, he is Japanese, very modern full of depth, suspense and philosophy. Now I’m reading a book called Anta by Mohamed Sadek, the same writer that wrote Hepta.
Favorite movie?
Youm Mor w Youm Helw, Esha3it Hob. Foreign movies, American Beauty. It is so simple yet deep.
Favorite Actress?
Meryl Streep
Faten Hamama
Souad Hosny
Favorite meal?
I love Italian food. My favorite would be lasagna. I also love sushi.
Favorite destination?
Italy, I believe it is magical and romantic. It has the flavor of Europe and historical sites. Also the people are very warm and friendly. It also has the best lasagna!
