Galia Brener, Author at Galia Brener

Galia Brener
January 23, 2015
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Men get Botox too?!

Men get Botox too?! https://www.galiabrener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Kissing_skull.jpg 640 250 Galia Brener Galia Brener https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b3c30409447e0934687cc99e8de2f5b55073cba434755f667a8866cc6f3d66b?s=96&r=g January 23, 2015 November 5, 2016

Since we are pretty much in the process of reversing roles, with women growing balls and men getting in touch with their feminine side, the concept of Botox for men fits perfectly into this chaotic world. However, what I do find excellent is that women these days are looking younger and younger. If you compare a 50-year-old woman today to the ones in the 1950s, it’s like day and night. Since we have started looking at least 10 years younger, and have excellent jobs and salaries, we can allow ourselves to have handsome younger men on our sides as well!

Gone are the days when women have to have an older man to support and take care of them. So what does that mean for the older men? It means that they have to keep up with a younger appearance and make more effort to stay in the game. The wallet and cars don’t get us women anymore. Today, even most of the younger girls date men their own age and not run to the older daddy-type for money. Women are taking younger lovers, and men are using Botox to catch up. Wow, we have come a long way. Bravo.

My friend Heather stared dating a new guy a few weeks ago. I have to admit that he looked good for his 45 years. The problem is that he is a show off. He prances around in his Jag, drops names of important people to impress her, and shows off about his food and wine knowledge in front of the waiter in the expensive restaurants. This annoys her to death. A week ago she wanted to eat a normal burger and fries, and he was appalled by the idea. Everything always has to be over the top with him. Last weekend we all went out together and I met him for the first time. I was shocked because Buddy didn’t move his forehead all night, even while trying to laugh at some jokes! I told Heather later that I think he gets Botox, but she laughed it off and ignored my observation. A few days ago, she met a plastic surgeon friend of hers for lunch – one of the most famous ones in Frankfurt actually – and he confirmed that her new guy has indeed been coming to him for Botox for years now. As a matter of fact, he’s a Botox junkie and gets injected more often than I take vitamins!

Of course he can do whatever he wants to with his life, but Heather confronted him anyways, and he admitted it. He said that he needs it to look younger and feel better about himself. He also admitted that he couldn’t go longer than half a year without Botox because otherwise he can’t look at himself and his old face in the mirror! His extreme desperation to look younger shocked heather, and it turned her off completely. She came crying to me, saying that he is not normal. I explained to her that we live in a time where there is no more “normal.”

What is normal today? To this guy, getting Botox was normal. I told her to accept him as he is or move on. Forcing a person to adapt to your morals and way of living is not normal or healthy either. She decided to stop dating him because she found his behavior to not be masculine enough. I told her that I collect robots and love old timers, and that’s not ultra feminine either. We cracked up on the floor and had a laughing attack about the confusion of this world and her Botox monster.

I think that unfortunately it’s a new trend and many more men will be getting Botox soon, but never admitting it. It started with the manicure and pedicure for men some years ago, and now there is no stopping the wheel of terror. Dear men, please save yourselves before it’s too late! You don’t need Botox. We like you looking wrinkly and manly. Instead of investing in plastic surgery, please buy a horse, some heavy cowboy gear and go riding. Come back to us after spending a few dirty days in the desert with a 3-day beard on your face and get your old masculine grin back. And please, step away from the needle.

Men that use Botox and women that earn an incredible amount of money, looking younger and better than them with the same age, wearing pants and collecting robots! I wonder if Aldous Huxley ever imagined in 1932 that it would actually come to this. Forget his brave new world and welcome to our crazy parallel universe. He would be so proud now.

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Galia Brener
January 16, 2015
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Don’t just text. Call!

Don’t just text. Call! https://www.galiabrener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FullSizeRender.jpg 600 745 Galia Brener Galia Brener https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b3c30409447e0934687cc99e8de2f5b55073cba434755f667a8866cc6f3d66b?s=96&r=g January 16, 2015 November 5, 2016

We live in a confusing time where relationships start, develop and end on the smartphone. Having the phone constantly around us is not even the main problem anymore. A much larger issue is that when meeting potential lovers, the preferred way of communication is: texting. Who the hell calls nowadays? Calling each other at the beginning is simply not the standard anymore. Welcome to generation texting. Such a romantic generation!Our phones have become the center of our existence. I myself am guilty of always having my phone in my hand. I have gotten so used to it that I sometimes don’t even realize I’m hanging tightly onto it. This is a strange phenomenon that is too late for us to change because the “phone habit” is so deeply imbedded in us. What’s even more peculiar is the “texting habits” of our time. Today two people meet and will text their brains out until they go out a few times. Either the dating holds for a few more times or they don’t meet anymore, notifying each other via texts that it isn’t working out.My friend Gloria met a guy she liked on Tinder. Belonging to generation texting, they wrote each other back and forth for a few weeks. I asked her why they haven’t spoken on the phone yet, and she said that he doesn’t call her. My advice was to say that she wanted to hear his voice, but she was shy and didn’t suggest it. Sometimes they wrote back and forth for hours each day and on the weekends as well. Why not simply pick up the phone to “say” hello? They finally had their first date and things went well. Of course the communication continued via WhatsApp for the few weeks after that. They kissed and even had sex, but never spoke on the phone. How the hell does that happen? Apparently today, a phone call is more personal than sex. After a month passed by, he was texting her much less, and Gloria felt that something was wrong. He seemed very distant. Eventually he wrote her that he is busy and doesn’t have much time to meet her anymore. To make a long story short, he broke up with her on WhatsApp. Classy move. Bravo.

Quote of the week from my Mama, “Never trust a man that only texts and never calls.”

Mon Dieu. Not a long time ago men would write women love letters, and seal it with their blood and honor! Today we get a smiley without even a nose :) to show us that they are half thinking about us. Why can’t they even attach the minus sign for the nose and at least make it a half decent smiley? ;-) Anyways gentlemen, we are not asking for your blood on a letter or even a nose, but at least a proper phone call now and then to show you care. The voice makes everything so much more personal. You can hear our gentle laugh, and we can enjoy your stories without the embarrassing autocorrect mistakes. Let’s not forget that many misunderstandings occur via texting because sometimes things are misinterpreted. Jokes are taken seriously or the other way around because you cannot hear the intonation of the voice. That’s how meaningless fights also start.

The motto for this year is: Text less and call more. Let’s try to get back to our roots. This goes for both men and women. Call him! Call her! In my opinion, it’s also a respect issue. Texting only is not romantic. I think that it’s lovely to get a quick call from your partner and hear their voice during the day. Or even a nice message on the voice mail if you can’t talk. Let’s try to make a bit more effort to charm our lovers. Even if you sound like Kermit the Frog, we don’t care, hearing your voice makes us happy! Start dialing.

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Galia Brener
January 9, 2015
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My near-death experience. Live NOW!

My near-death experience. Live NOW! https://www.galiabrener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/23492.jpg 768 768 Galia Brener Galia Brener https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b3c30409447e0934687cc99e8de2f5b55073cba434755f667a8866cc6f3d66b?s=96&r=g January 9, 2015 December 23, 2018

Dear friends and readers, I hope you had a wonderful start into 2015! I wish you only the very best – including lots of good health, happiness, success, joy, laughter and love. May all your most desired dreams and wishes come true for you this year!Since I am always writing about my honest opinion and giving advice on how to live, I thought that I should share a piece of myself with you as well. The last week of December last year, something horrific happened to me that changed my life forever. I hope that you can learn from this as well, because I would not wish for anyone to go through this lesson themselves.As some of you might know from my Facebook posts, I was on a winter holiday in Switzerland. We drove there by car and on the way we got into a terrible car accident. In the early morning of December 29th 2014, the highways in Germany still had a lot of snow on it, and none of it was cleared away! (Where does the tax money go?) We were driving on the far left lane, and lost control of the car. We ended up spinning in circles all the way from the left to the farthest right lane on the autobahn, and crashed into the gas tank of a large truck that was driving on the right lane. It was a miracle because at that very same second, there were no cars driving directly behind us. Had there been cars from behind, I would not be here writing this to you now. Everything was damaged around us, especially the large truck. The most incredible thing is that nothing happened to us. Nothing at all. It was as if our angels lifted us, and only the metal was damaged. We quickly jumped out of the car and had no bloody idea what just happened. We were in shock.

You know how people tell you that when you are near death, your life flashes in front of your eyes? It doesn’t. What transpired is that the 3 spins seemed to happen extremely slowly. The accident was probably only some seconds long, but it felt like we were spinning for 15 minutes in agonizing slow motion. What I will never forget is the image of the huge truck, and us slowly approaching it, about to crash head into it. At that second you have absolutely zero control and can’t do anything about it. There is no way to stop and escape. You either get lucky or not. 50/50 chance. The spooky thing is that at this very moment all you feel and think is:

Nothing. The mind shuts off.

I was not scared. I didn’t cry or scream. I didn’t see my life flashing by. I simply felt nothing. There was only silence and a slow motion in time. What a creepy strange phenomenon. It felt like being in a real Sci-Fi movie – like in the Matrix when Keanu Reeves dodges the bullets and everything happens extremely slowly. We dodged death.

Of course being the wild and strong women that we are, we decided – completely in shock – that we would continue our holiday no matter what! This makes me laugh now that I think about it. Normal people would have gone back home with a tow truck to lick their psychological wounds. Not us, we decided to celebrate life and our warrior spirit. We towed our car to the next city, rented a new car, and drove away. This ended up being the best trip of our lives. Those who saw my photos on Facebook know that we did our best to celebrate life. We ate only the best food, drank the best Champagne, danced, laughed, enjoyed and were grateful for every bloody damn second to be alive! Forget saving the money, you can’t take it into the grave with you.

What’s the point of this article? I want to tell you my dearest friends that life can be taken away from you in a millisecond. Just gone. Bam! And you’re not here anymore. Do you understand how fast this can all go away? We have to appreciate every second we have here. Forget and ignore the small crap in life. It doesn’t matter at all! What matters is YOU, HERE and NOW! Health and happiness. Everything else can be earned, created, found and built. Please enjoy your life and don’t let anything bring you down. Don’t let anyone steal your sunshine and goodness. Be happy and grateful that you have this life, and that you are privileged to live and enjoy it. The small things that once annoyed me will never be crucial anymore. Nothing will ever put me down or in a bad mood because I know how fast life can be taken away.

You are here because you are lucky and are chosen to be here. So enjoy every single second with your friends and family, and be happy! Never ever forget this. I now know my mission in life is to write my column and help as many people as I can. I’m so happy to give you this message, and make you aware how precious life really is. Enjoy and be happy dear friends.

Love, your Gali :-)

www.facebook.com/yesnomaybegalia

9. Januar 2015

Galia Brener

Galia Brener
December 19, 2014
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Destroy the shit before 2015 – Part 1

Destroy the shit before 2015 – Part 1 https://www.galiabrener.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Gali_feature_Antibes.jpg 1354 437 Galia Brener Galia Brener https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b3c30409447e0934687cc99e8de2f5b55073cba434755f667a8866cc6f3d66b?s=96&r=g December 19, 2014 March 16, 2015

It’s that time again when the year is winding down and we are confronted with our demons. Some call this the “Holiday Blues”, thinking they might be depressed, sad or lonely, but it’s much deeper and more important than just that. It’s a crucial time that will determine how you step into the next year and which direction your life will go. This is a tough love article, so I might seem somewhat harsh, but it’s for our own good.

Like it or not, a new year is a “reset”. Even if you don’t believe in this, your brain is subconsciously influenced by the thought of a “new start”. If you are honest with yourself, there are some things that you can change and improve about your life. In order to do so, you must first destroy the existing defective base before you build a new structure. No one builds a new luxury building on a rotten old foundation. Never! First everything is destroyed, cleaned out, and then rebuilt.

This week I deal with the points of elimination and destruction of the bad things in your life that drain your happiness. (Next week I will address how to rebuilt a new foundation).

1. Get rid of the toxic people in your life. Cut off anyone that hurts and drains you. They won’t help you grow and will only deplete your goodness with their needy problems and dramas. Be tough even if it seems merciless. You are not their emotional garbage bin so don’t let them dump their shit in your life. Enough!

2. Forgive. This is a tough point, especially if someone has hurt you badly. Regardless if the were friends, exes or colleagues, forgive all these idiots that hurt you. You are doing this for yourself and not for them! You don’t have to speak to them or see them again – but forgiveness allows you to burn away “your” pain and anger, which is blocking you from the good new things.

3. Say NO. We do too many things to be “good” for others, and sometimes even do what we don’t want to. Stop it immediately and don’t hesitate to say NO! Stop going against yourself. By the way, the others will respect you actually more for standing your ground.

4. Nothing is personal. Remember; when people do or say something mean to you, it’s their issue and not yours! Destroy the ability to let others make you feel bad and guilty for no justifiable reason. Don’t take shit from no one, especially when they are trying to deliberately offend or hurt you.

5. Learn to be selfish. We give and give and give so much, but forget ourselves in the process. The love you gave your ex or so-called friend, give that to yourself now. Love yourself truly, because you deserve it. It’s your life so do what’s good for you.

6. Let go. How willing you are to let go of stinky old garbage depends on how much you truly love yourself. Not letting go brings emotional, physical and mental pain and illness. If you really want to be happy and healthy, then you have no choice but to let go of the past and make place for the good things and people in your life.

7. Destroy all bad habits. Easier said than done? No. If you truly want to be healthy and not die, then you can do it. It’s all about willpower, making that “1 decision” and sticking to it! Stop smoking. Stop taking drugs. Stop drinking alcohol excessively (only in moderation). Stop eating damaging food. If you can’t do it alone, then get external help and stop hurting yourself.

8. Throw away all the junk you don’t need. Like the bad people that collect dust in your life, so do the things that you don’t need. I hate going into homes that are cluttered with “stuff” because I can’t breathe there. Your home reflects your inner self, so why block yourself with useless things? Take a big garbage bag on the weekend, go from room to room, throw away the small crap and destroy the clutter. Keep it simple. Give the clothing and things you don’t need to charity.

Like my Papa always tells me, “Make a solid firm decision and stick to it. Going back and forth will only bring more pain and insecurity.” Some of these 8 points may sound tough, but are necessary in order to move into a better life and a happier new year. We must never stop to work on ourselves and develop for the better. We have this one life, so why deprive ourselves of complete happiness?

Next week comes part 2 about rebuilding the good after the destruction of the bad.

To be continued …

Galia Brener
December 12, 2014
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Is this a date or not?

Is this a date or not? https://www.galiabrener.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Gali_feature_applewine.jpg 1354 437 Galia Brener Galia Brener https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b3c30409447e0934687cc99e8de2f5b55073cba434755f667a8866cc6f3d66b?s=96&r=g December 12, 2014 November 5, 2016

Have you ever met with someone that you liked, went for dinner, maybe drinks after or even dancing, and at the end of the evening you get a hug and a friendly smile with a quick “thanks” and “bye”. You are left standing there wondering, “What the hell just happened? Was that even a date? Or does s/he only like me as a friend?” Rest assured that you are not alone and this strange confusion happens quite often.

My friend Bill met a girl that he really liked. They “hung out” and always had fun. They did many things together like go to shows, dinners and parties. However, Jessica never kissed him or showed any physical interest in him. They never spoke about romance or sexual things. Bill thought that she simply needs her time. He was falling for her, and was in denial without wanting to face the truth. This kept on going for a few months, and still nothing happened. I told Bill that even an extremely shy girl would have wanted to kiss him after a few months, given that she was interested in him as more than just friends. Slowly he was starting to realize that these were not “romantic” dates! I told him to ask her straightforward, but he didn’t have the courage and didn’t want to risk pushing her out of his life. He did fall in love with her in the process, and unfortunately got hurt after realizing that she only thought of him as a “friend”. This can be avoided if you pay attention to the following signs:

It’s a date:

1. He reserves a table at a restaurant and pays the bill.

2. S/he acts nervous around you on the first few dates.

3. There is some physical contact during the date – slight touching of forearm, elbow, etc. while talking.

4. You feel the chemistry and tension between you, and he wants / tries to kiss you.

5. S/he asks you a lot of questions, and seems genuinely interested in you, and wants to get to know you better. They show interest!

6. They compliment you in a flirty way.

7. S/he sends you a “Thank you and good night” text after the date.

8. He acts very chivalrous and is a gentleman, and tries to positively impress you.

It’s not a date:

1. S/he asks you to go to a group event, and doesn’t pay much attention exclusively to you.

2. If s/he asks you to “hang out”, and you end up doing something non-romantic at all.

3. Spending time with a colleague and talking mostly about work, without personal questions.

4. If s/he talks a lot about a love interest or a person they like.

5. Talks about their friends, and who would be a good match for you. Or gives you tips about dating, the opposite sex, flirting etc.

6. No effort with their physical appearance. No one wears sweat pants on dates.

7. S/he is not flirting or playful with you, and no kiss or physical intimacy.

8. They bring a friend with them.

We live in an era full of confusions, where a date can actually be a non-date, or the person you fell in love with actually thinks you are their best friend, and nowhere near a romantic interest at all. Listen to your gut feeling and pay attention to the other’s body language. You should “feel” if there is romantic tension or not, and never lie to yourself. Never run after someone that doesn’t want you, because that will damage your confidence and self-respect. Make yourself available for someone that sees how wonderful you are, and actually wants to have romantic dates with you!

The best advice I can give you is to be straightforward. Communicate and simply ask them in a cute way, “Are we going on a date?” with a smile while asking. This should never be an embarrassing thing to do! Better to say it straight up and know where you stand, rather than get hurt after, like my friend Bill did. We were born with mouths to speak and ask what we don’t understand. It’s so easy, but unfortunately we make it complicated for ourselves. Guessing games suck too much happiness away from you. Don’t guess, just ask.

Galia Brener
December 5, 2014
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You want revenge?

You want revenge? https://www.galiabrener.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Gali_feature_mirror.jpg 1354 437 Galia Brener Galia Brener https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b3c30409447e0934687cc99e8de2f5b55073cba434755f667a8866cc6f3d66b?s=96&r=g December 5, 2014 March 16, 2015

Do you find yourself fantasizing about revenge that you can get on someone that did something bad to you? Perhaps someone took something from you that you really loved, or simply came, used and left? Maybe they cheated and broke your heart? Theft or friend betrayal? Or spread gossip about you? Whatever it was that happened, I am sure that it was painful. Like you, I have also experienced this unjust pain. Many of us did. The second emotion after the pain subsides is anger. With anger comes the fierce need for revenge! You think to yourself, “If only, this person can suffer like I did…” STOP. Don’t do anything. Revenge is an automatic reaction to all evil actions in this world. You don’t even have to move your finger for it to happen.

You have all heard of her. She hides in the shadows and waits for “those people” to pass by. Then suddenly she leaps out and bites them in the ass, with her sharp metal teeth, ripping through their flesh and bones. She has no mercy, and she always locates her “targets”. Her name is Karma, and she never attacks innocent victims. She only hunts for those who deserve it, and she has a bloody long list with names on it.

My friend Heather was dating a man for a few years. She loved him more than any other person on Earth, and she thought he did as well. Everything was going well until someone told her that they saw him at a bar, kissing another woman. Apparently he had been cheating on her for months now. They broke up and she was devastated. After a year of tears and pain Heather met a wonderful man and the got married. Her ex however was living a horrible nightmare. The woman he cheated with, ended up cheating on him, and got pregnant from another man! She didn’t tell him about it until the child was born with red hair. Both had dark hair. The DNA test proved that it wasn’t his child. The ex came crying to Heather, saying that he wanted her back. Heather was smart and told him to go back to his demon from hell, where he belongs.

Another story is of Michael who had a business partner Dan. Everything was going well, until Dan stole all the money from the business and ran away from the country. Michael was left with nothing, except for some debts to pay. He had to declare personal bankruptcy because he could not pay a penny back. Michael was lost because he didn’t know how to feed his family. Dan robed him of his entire existence, because he invested everything he had in this company. I will never forget seeing his empty eyes and pride drained from his body. A year later, news came that Dan was killed by the same people that he gave the stolen money to. Michael would have never wished death upon him, but it was not in his hands anymore. Karma decided what to do.

You have probably asked yourself, “Why is it that some people do really bad things, and don’t get punished for it?” So what really happens to these people? Do they simply continue to live their lives, enjoying their rotten behavior? Or does karma catch up with them, and make them wish they were never born? From all of the stories that I have heard so far, these monsters eventually get what they deserve. It might happen the next day, in a month, a year or even 10 years. I have seen it happen right before my eyes. It’s magic – somehow karma always knows who to get and when.

The most important piece of advice that I can give you is: DON’T DO ANYTHING! If you’ve been hurt by someone, do not plan a revenge. Sit comfortably back and let karma do her work. She gets paid quite well for it. You don’t want to get your hands dirty in the process. If you strike back, then you are doing something bad as well, and you might end up being her next victim! Don’t go down this evil path. The “Eye for an eye” theory is flawed because it will act like a boomerang, and bring the misery back to you again. It’s a damned circle, and you have to be the one who breaks it. Stay clean, and don’t go down to their level.

Karma is a very fair player. She never cheats. Good deeds will bring good rewards. Evil deeds will bring misery, pain and suffering. So I ask you again, do you want revenge? If yes, then do nothing and rest assured knowing that it will happen automatically. Justice will be done. To every action, there is a reaction. That’s the law of the universe.

Galia Brener
November 28, 2014
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Prada Men store opening in Frankfurt

Prada Men store opening in Frankfurt https://www.galiabrener.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/IMG_5065.jpg 1600 1600 Galia Brener Galia Brener https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b3c30409447e0934687cc99e8de2f5b55073cba434755f667a8866cc6f3d66b?s=96&r=g November 28, 2014 September 28, 2017

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Slowly but surely, our little Frankfurt is catching up with International glamour and flair. And guess what? We now have our very own Men’s Prada store, directly in the heart of the city at the Goetheplatz beside his stylish French brother, Louis Vuitton.

The opening event was incredible, an affair that I have never seen in Frankfurt before. Upon arrival, a beautiful model checked our name on the guest list, and waved us onto the red carpet. Photos were taken, and camera flashes illuminated the sky with bright stars. My best male friend Juan García was with me, and we were quite excited to go inside. Two champagne flutes were placed in our hands, and so the evening began.

We quickly realized how huge the store was. Over 1000 square meters spread out on two floors, filled with Prada clothing and accessories for men. Some of the women were jealous because the men have a bigger store and selection than the women do now. Juan of course thought that was fabulous! We were greeted by Daniel Tobias Etzel of the WAOH agency, who helped with the event and did a wonderful job! Celebrities were to be seen everywhere. Actors such as Benjamin Sadler, Florian Bartholomäi and Lavinia Wilson, film producer Oliver Berben and his lovely wife Katrin were also there, along with the handsome Kevin Trapp, the goalkeeper of the Eintracht Frankfurt soccer team.

The journey continued to the back of the store. We saw people gathered around a table, and of course us two curious cats could not resist. When we got there, we could not believe our eyes! A huge seafood buffet offering the tastiest delicacies that the ocean has to offer. Oysters bigger than my hand, lobster tails, giant crabs and shrimps. We filled up our plates, and proceeded upstairs to dance, eat and party at Prada!

The top floor was darker than downstairs and accentuated with red lights all around. It felt like being in a chic new club, with couture clothing everywhere – what a refreshing new concept! The hypnotizing beats came from the French DJ team The Penelopes, who did an excellent job of getting the people to dance and have fun. There were two additional bars upstairs, with service from my favorite Schumann’s bar in Munich. Juan and I danced non-stop for an hour. We saw people flirting all around us, and I am sure that a few new romances began that evening. Needless to say, not many people left the store before midnight.

Dearest Prada, you have really outdone yourself this time. Never have I been to such a fabulous store opening before! So much fun, glamour, excitement and couture packed into one event. Bravo!

The surprises didn’t stop at midnight. The following week, Mr. Etzel personally came to my home and brought me a beautiful gift. An elegant leather Prada wallet – a thank you for attending this unforgettable event. What can I say: Prada, you were and will always stay on top of my favorite fashion list!