Happy New Year Music Post

My mum used to play this every December leading up to new Year. it is a Christian song asking for God's protection in the new year and praying against sadness, poverty and asking for complete happiness in the new year. I think regardless of your religious inclinations the sentiment is universal.


Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. 

H&M Eyeshadow Review

I bought this on a whim while browsing H and M online while shopping for clothes. It was only £3.99 so, I had no expectations. I was really happy when I received it and opened it to reveal the most pigmented shadows £3.99 has ever bought. As you can see in the comparison shots it is no worse than the shadows you get from MAC and Urban Decay.


They are very soft, in fact too soft, when I take them out with me I'm worried they will break apart and create a mess in my make up bag. The colour pay off is amazing and it lasts all day. I use it with Urban Decay's primer potion. I love this so much, I'm thinking of buying a bigger pallete from H&M. They have one in the sale now - 25 colours, down from £7.99 to £3.99.


I highly recommend this as a gift for a teenager or an adult starting out in make up.

Skin Care Update 9 months later

the date should say '11 not '10. It was a typo and I couldn't be bothered to fix it.

I write the post with a heavy heart and frankly feeling sick and tried. As you can see in the comparison shots my skin appears to be getting worse. if you look back at my 6 month post, it looked like it was getting better. Well in the past month or so things took a turn. I had a rash of break outs and then a period break out followed right after. My skin felt so painful and I was frustrated . I was frustrated with washing twice a day, using face masks, chemical peels - everything! And just started phoning it in, some mornings I only used water, other days I didn't wash at night, I just used by Paula's choice 2% BHA liquid and if I felt like it I would follow with Retin-A before I went to bed.


The result of that is what you see above. You see, I don't have that kind of skin that requires doing nothing. I've read on some sites people talking about how they just wash with water and the end. I sleep with make up on once or I don't wash with my face brush and do my face treatments/mask every weekend and I am back to square 1...literally. I'm going back to the dermatologist in the new year to regroup. I will be back blogging about that experience.


I have had no make up on for the past two weeks that I've been home on holiday from work, and that hasn't helped on bit. but, I'm still considering going make up free in terms of not wearing foundation to work (this is a huge deal for me), if it would improve my skin. My dermatologist told me to go make up free last year when I first saw him, but his words fell on deaf ears because obviously I know better. 


I did notice that my spots have a peculiar pattern and always recur in the exact some spots. This week I finally figured out why, you know when you are told to not rest your face on your hands? Well, I used to say I never rest my face on my hands so...it turns out I do! I caught myself doing it this past few days. I put my hands across my mouth. And my spots follow that exact pattern - the right side has a row from where my 4 fingers rest and the left side has a patch for my thumb - crazy! it is annoying and amusing at the same time.


I don't think I have ever written a blog post this long before. Thanks if you have taken time to read it all. I just really needed to vent! I will be back in the new year and hopefully you all can carry on in my journey with me - who knows you might see my full face and video in the future.

Dealing with acne and Hyper pigmentation: October to November Update

Sorry for the radio silence, I work freelance so my work load varies from job to job.  And because of that I have been a bit lax with my picture taking and blogging. 


My skin has been behaving lately, last winter was rough as hell, I had acne under pimples under acne under cystic acne. These days I only break out around my period. 


As for my hyper pigmentation, I feel like I'm on a diet and unable to shift the last few pounds to get to my goal weight. I'm still using Retin-a as part of my nightly skin care regimen so, I'm hoping I'll see result during my December update. 


Finally, I'm changing my moisturiser again, I HATE to do this. I love the two I've settled on - Good Things Stay Clear and La Roche-Posay Effaclar M (review up soon). But, they do not have SPF and I feel that is one thing I've been slacking off with. I'm switching to Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Skin-Brightening Moisturiser, I've used it in the past I loved it and I was sad when it ran out. But, it was quite hard to find in the UK, so I went with something I could easily pick up at the drug store. Now, I've discovered I can get it from boots online, so I'll bulk buy (2-3 bottles), the same time I order my Dark and Lovely body lotion. 



MORNING
La Roche-Posay EFFACLAR Purifying Foaming Gel
Home made toner
La Roche-Posay Effaclar M Moisturiser




NIGHT
Any face wipe I have at hand to take off make up
Dark Angels cleanser
home made face mask (I'm experimenting with this, but will share the recipe)
Retin - A




WEEKEND
Queen Helen Mint Julep face mask.
Vitamine E oil (taken off with steam/hot cloth).

Dealing with Hyper pigmentation: Home-made spot lightened facemask.

 So, I did this on a whim, I was shopping for natural haircare products when I came across a pack of lemon peel powder and I added it to my basket along with Bentonite Clay. My intention was to make a turmeric face mask out of Bentonite Clay and Turmeric. 


But, I got thinking of all the stuff I have read about skincare and fading spots and came up with a mixture of Tumeric, Bentonite Clay, Milk and Lemon Peel powder. The first mix was fine, but the consistency was off and I wasn't 100% satisfied, I kept thinking of replacing the milk with sour cream or yoghurt - which ever one had the highest lactic acid connect. 


Long story short, I feel to have figured it out now. Unfortunately, I don't have exact quantities or step by step pictures because I didn't think I would be blogging about this.  These are guestimates based on eye-balled quantities. 


4 tbs of lemon peel powder.
3 tbs of turmeric.
1 tbs of Bentonite clay.
1 tsp sour milk.
dash of lemon juice




Optional: Your favourite face oils.
I went with castor, vitamin E and Jojoba...a bit of all 3.


*Bentonite clay and turmeric are used in a few of Lush's face masks and cleansers.


Mix them all together till you get a spreadable consistency you might need to add more sour milk or lemon peel powder if it is not spreadable. 


Final product:





I use after taking off my make up and before applying night time medication. I leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes then rinse off. It tingles a bit after you put it on. I won't use this everyday because it has citrus which can be irritating to the skin.




UPDATE (well not really):
After I came up with this mix I found out that Vitamin E is comedogenic (clogs pores which then causes acne) which is kind of confusing because it is also supposedly good for skin repair. I use a 70000i.u vitamin E with no additives. I can't say for certain that it has or hasn't caused me any problems because I only use it once a week with other products. 


More conflicting info on Vitamin E and acne here: http://www.acneassasin.com/146-will-vitamin-e-cause-acne/ and http://www.beautifulskincareblog.com/comedogenic-vs-non-comedogenic-skin-deep/.

No7 Shine Free Make-Up Base Primer

It's promises to....

Keep shiny skin under control all day long, with No7 Shine Free Make-Up Base.  The mattifying oil-free base has light-reflecting particles which help disguise fine lines and flaws.

My verdict...
This is a bit different from the (clear) primer products I've used previously (Monistat chaffing gel, Beverley Knight, and many others). I was initially hesitant because of the creamy texture. Usually, creamy product+oily skin+foundation = me going eeeek! But, I was in a hurry when I bought it and didn't put a whole lot of thought into it.


I found it tricky to apply at first. I usually dot the product all over my face then spread, but that didn't work because it dries quite quickly and spreading a half dry, half creamy product can be pain in the arse. It doesn't have that smooth, glidey feeling you get from other primers. My make up ended up looking cakey. 


Second time around, I put some on my fingers and rubbed it together and applied. If you don't work quickly, you will end up with an uneven application. If you over work it, it rubs off and balls up. But, I have the application down now, but it is still a pain in the arse. For those of us who are dark skinned, you end up with a white cast over your face. you can't see the white cast after applying foundation, but I'm not sure it this shows up in photos, I'm going to take picture when next I'm on a night out and update this. 


Overall, I found this product actually works. It is the best primer for oily skin that I have used, my skin stays matte all day, NO NEED TO BLOT! I'm taking it out clubbing soon to see how it holds up to hours of dancing, but it held up well when I went out to dinner with friends. I combined it with various foundations and moisturisers to see if that affected it and it worked fine.


I would recommend this product, but only if they sort out the consistency and make it easier to apply. 



UPDATE 21/11/11:
I wore this out clubbing and my skin got oily but not in an icky, can fry an egg on it kinda way. I was dancing in a bottom floor of a hot club all night, so it was understandable. There was no photosentivity or white cast. My skin still had a natural, "alive" glow to it.  I showed a friend the picture and she was like "you look amazing".

La Roche-Posay EFFACLAR Purifying Foaming Gel

The blurb,

The purifying formulation lifts dirt, grime and sebum away from the surface of the skin without disrupting its delicate balance. The skin is left feeling clean and fresh, and is soothed with restorative La Roche-Posay thermal spring water.
Work the thick gel into a lather and it will produce a light non-irritating foam that is easy to rinse away. Apply every morning and evening by massaging in gently.

My thoughts,


I bought in a hurry during the same shopping trip that I bought the Boots No7 primer. I was slightly confused by the range of products by Efflacar available  - too much stuff written in French and my french isn't that good. Add to that the fact that a lot of their products appear to do the same thing with only minute differences; the whole section gave me a headache.


 I really needed a new face wash and if you follow my blog you will know I like to change things up a lot. I'm on a quest to find a product or combination of products that tick all the boxes for me. I wanted to try out a skin care routine based entirely on La Roche-Posay products especially since boots had a 3 for 2 offer, but there were certain things I couldn't bring myself to buy, like the "Thermal Spring water" referenced in the blurb. The name wasn't doing a good job of selling it to me, I felt I couldn't bring myself to buy a bottle of overpriced fancy water.  Anyway, I grabbed a bottle of the Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel and tried it out as soon as I got home. 


My first thoughts were "okay, this is nice", but I wasn't blown away. I wasn't really wowed by it till I tried it after using my Boots Moisturising Mask, it usually leaves a residue which at times make my skin feel heavy. As I washed the residue off with Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel, I noticed how clean it felt, I could feel it take the oil off. And this got me thinking of how much left over make up it must slurp off on a regular basis with out me knowing. 


It lathers, but not too much. I used this with my face brush and my skin looked gorgeous all day. I felt so confident, I didn't wear any make up when I was out running errands. The gel is described as thick, but as you can see from the picture, it is actually more on the runny side.


You get a 200ml bottle for just over £10 and a little goes a long way. 




Boots still have a 3 for 2 mix and match thing happening. If you have oily skin,  suggest buying this along with the Efflacar M moisturiser (review coming soon) and for the 3rd item it is going to be a toss up between Effaclar K or the Effaclar duo, which to be honest I havent' tried either of them yet, but I hope to be getting one of them by friday and a review would be up in due course. 

Products For Oily/Acne Prone Skin - Save and Splurge

A few tried, tested and loved products from over the past few months.

FACE WASH

Splurge  

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel - £10.21 at boots. 

Save

Lush Dark Angels available for £5.95 - can't beat cleansing and exfoliating all in one easy step. I would carry on using it if it did not stain the bathroom. 

MOISTURISER

Splurge 

La Roche Posay Effclar M available for £13.50 at boots. Matifes my skin like no other, definitely my top choice. 

Save

A long time favourite -Good Things Miracle Mattifier Lotion available for £7.99 at boots. 

Save

Boots Oil Of Evening Primrose With Vitamin E £2.79 at boots. Great product to have at hand when dealing with the dryness from Retin-A.

TONER

These products are neither Save nor Splurge. They are very affordable.

Boots Traditional Glycerin and Rosewater - £2.32 at boots. 

Alpha Bright Skin Brightening Toner with Mandelic Acid - £5.40 from ebay

EXFOLIATOR

No Splurge products, I've got two saves.

Save

Lush Lip Scrub - controversial choice, I know, but if your skin can take the sugar granules, it is the way to soft smooth skin. I can't stop touching my face after I use it - eek! £4.95 at Lush.

Queen Helene Mint Julep Scrub at amazon for £3.17. 

MASK

I'm very new to the face mask scene, so my experience is limited. 

I'm very impressed with Lush Brazen Honey, good thing is it retails for only £5.50, so I can stock up regularly.

With any product I suggest sticking it out for at least 2 weeks to a month before you decide, unless your skin reacts badly to it then feel free to chuck away! However, if I had thrown my Retin-A out after the first week I won't have seen the progress I've documented over the past few months.  And, nope I'm not being paid to endorse boots, they just have the best deals and best rewards points system so I shop there often. You can easily purchase all of these items including the more pricey stuff with their 3 for 2 offer.  Review of the La Roche-Posay products coming soon. 

La Roche Posay Review: Effaclar M Sebo-Regulating Matifying Moisturizer

I've put off writing this review for so long, I don't even know where to begin! 


I've come to appreciate mattifying face creams since I switched to the Aveno face cream with SPF. I probably should have done more research and tried to find something that ticked all the boxes - mattify, sun protection, doesn't clog pores. I guess, there a face cream change in my future, but not for a few months. I want to finish the stash I have. 


The consistency of the Effaclar M Sebo-Regulating Matifying Moisturizer isn't as creamy as favourite - Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser (that is a mouthful). And in all honesty, La Roche Posay makes some big claims, but gun to my head I will take the Good Things Miracle Mattifier over it. 


According to the blurb on their website the  Sebo-Regulating Matifying Moisturizer will....

Day after day, can slow the production of sebum thanks to the exclusive combination of: - Sebum Targeting technology™ to target and unclog pores blocked by sebum, - Zinc Pidolate to neutralise shine at the source, - vitamins CG and E to prevent sebum oxidation, which aggravates oily skin problems. Oil-free texture enriched in absorbent microspheres for matt skin that lasts.

Honestly, I didn't really notice all that. My skin was matte, but I didn't see any of the other changes they promised. Maybe I didn't use it long enough. I didn't get to the end of the bottle. 


Another issue I have which I only discovered jsut yesterday is La Roche Posay is under the L'oreal umbrella. I don't use anything by L'oreal or it's sister companies for personal reasons. So, I'm afraid this is the end of the La Roche Posay journey for me. No big loss, there are products that offer the same things they promise for much less. 

Hope you all had a merry xmas....

I Recently Discovered.

The Tallest Man On Earth.





I've previously documented my tendency to discover songs on TV shows and this is no exception. I'd seen "Tallest Man..." on posters for festivals, but I never bothered to look him up till I heard his song on Parenthood (watch it and watch the film).  I'm hooked! He sounds like more modern Bob Dylan. He is definitely someone I'm be looking forward to seeing live. 


Daniel Martin Moore - It is Well With My Soul

I love this song, in spite of it's religious leanings. I think it is one of those songs that transcends religion. Daniel Martin Moore sings it so beautifully, every since I heard it, I try to tell myself - "It is Well With My Soul" when I'm getting stressed out or freaking out about something and it really calms me down. There is a detailed history of this song on Wikipedia. 


Tom Freund - Little Room of Mine





I don't remember hearing this on Parenthood, but when I went over to the Parenthood page on NBC it was on the list of songs featured and I thought I should check it out. And I'm glad I did. 

REVIEW: LUSH BRAZENED HONEY

Blurb from Lush website

Sage, Juniper and rosemary infusions, ground cardamon and clove bud oil for their antiseptic qualities.
Eggs, honey and almond oil to soothe, soften and moisturise the skin.
Fresh fennel, fresh ginger root, fresh parsley and fresh coriander to detox, and stimulate - and their enzymes will help break down dead skin cells.
Fresh lime juice cleans and degreases.  Ground almond shells act as a stimulating scrub to lift away dead grey skin. Finally kaolin and talc absorb grease and give a lovely texture to hold all those ingredients onto the skin.
Together they make a mask that will wake up tired, neglected skin.

During my research into skin care over the years, I found that turmeric and lime juice are both good for lightening spots and freckles on the skin.  Seeing that they are both ingredients in this, I was eager to try it. 

The best way to describe the smell is spicy and I found it very bearable. It has granules that make it difficult to apply but, they gently exfoilate as you rinse it off. it is advisable that you don't keep it on for too long else it is a pain in the arse to take off. I did that a couple of times and had to use a damp wash cloth to re-moisten it and wipe it off. On the whole, it did exactly what it said on the tin, my skin looked brighter and more awake. My skin had no adverse reaction to it.

The one major downside to it is that it expires. My jar expired on the 30th of September, but I was crazy busy at work and didn't have the time to use it often. So I had all this left over product, I didn't want it to go to waste, so I carried on using it. There was no change in consistency, my skin had no adverse reaction and it smelled fine. 


Definitely a keeper! 

Dealing with Hyper pigmentation: My Skin Now

Before picture of the right side taken in april 2011. After picture taken on September 2011 .



Before picture of the left side taken in June 2011. After picture taken on September 2011 .


6 months of trial and error. The things I believed worked for me are - Retin - A 0.1%, Duac (NOT used at the same time as retin-A), Mandelic acid toner, DHC face brush and weekly deep face scrub with Lush's lip scrub. Everything else has been a diversion, given me more spots or window dressing.


My routine for the past week. I'm trying to incorporate Lush products into my routine.


MORNING
Dark Angels cleanser
Diluted Apple Cider Vinegar Toner (I spilled my *Mandelic acid toner -aaargh)
Good things Mattifying Moisturiser (*La Roche-Posay Effaclar M Moisturiser)




NIGHT
Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse
Lush Brazened Honey (every 2 or 3 days)
Retin - A
Jojoba oil, Castor oil, Lemon oil mix (I'm not sure if this does anything, but I use it when it doesn't feel like a "Retin-A day")




ONCE A WEEK.
Boots botanics intensive moisture mask
Vitamin E oil - smothered on and taken off with hot water and a cloth.
Lush Lip Scrub as a face scrub - don't feel the need to use this as much since I started using Dark Angels


I'm sure it looks like I'm using a lot, but it is really just a 3 step system - cleanse, tone, moisturise. If you are about to embark on your own skin care journey you need to have at least those 3 things down. 


*I'll be switching to these products once I purchase them after payday. I also need to replace my DHC facebrush.

Music Post: Lauryn Hill - Repercussions

Sounds like a leftover song from the days of the "Miseducation of Lauryn Hill".

Lush Skin Care Products Review

 I was stuck in a rut with my skin care routine and I was itching to try something new (and affordable). So, I popped into Lush and had a chat with one of the assistants told her about my issues and she recommended Dark Angels as a daily face cleanser, it has a sprinkling of sugar granules so it doubles up as a scrub.

I was also given a few samples and a full size Cupcake face mask for free because it is a fresh product and they can't sell it after a week, so they give left over stock away as samples. The lady told me I had 20 days left and to store it in the fridge. I got home and immediately stucked into my goodies.I've used all the products for a week now and here's what I think


CUPCAKE





This is the item I got for free. It looks like chocolate mousse and smells like spicy chocolate mousse. There is nothing on the box about how frequently it should be used and due to the impending expiration date, I used this every other day for about a week and a half. This made no difference in my skin  good or bad. There was no adverse reaction like breakouts and no drying either. I eventually used the left over product as a hair cleanser since a lot of the active ingredients like Rhasoul mud and peppermint are used in hair products. It worked perfectly fine, actually better than a shampoo for me because shampoos leave my hair dry and crunchy and I didn't get that with this. If I ever by this again, it will be as a hair treatment not a face mask.


DARK ANGELS



I love using this every morning, it cuts my routine in half because I don't have to wash and then use a scrub. My skin always feels clean afterwards, but not tight. It doesn't give me the grey, ashy look I get after using most face wash. You may have noticed this grey/ashiness in my progress pictures, I don't have that when I use this. And my skin feels so soft I can't stop touching it - eek!


Definitely a keeper...for now.


MOISTURISER SAMPLES



Vanishing Cream - this goes on like a dream, a little goes on a long way. I applied it several ways - on it's own, mixed with Grease Lightning, with Grease Lightning on top. and it worked best for me when I mixed it with Grease Lightning, My make up looked better and this is definitely one I'll be buying at after pay day.


Enzymion - I found this to be an okay moisturiser. It did it's job, but I was more bowled over by vanishing cream just having a look at my notes now I don't have anything written down about this (not good). I'm sure I didn't hate it, a bit like the cupcake, it made no real difference worth raving or bitching about. Good for someone else, but not me.


FACE TREATMENT
Grease Lightning - I used to use this about a year and a half ago and I loved the sucked the oil off my skin. Why did I stop using it? I have no idea, my bottle ran out and I never got round to buying another one.


coming next week my review of Lush's Brazen Honey - it contains a few spot lightening ingredients, I just had to buy it.

Some of my favourite "break up" songs

In no particular order...


Fefe Dobson - Scar


When I hear the Lyrics "And when you told me -  You don't love me anymore -You don't love me anymore - You punched me out  - You took me down". I want to crawl up under my duvet and never come out. 


Lee Ann Womack - Last Call

For me this song captures the moment when you realise what "you are too good for this sh*t".  
Lyrics: But baby, I won't be there to catch you when you fall. 


Amy Winehouse - You Sent Me Fly

I love how upbeat and yet, angry this song is. 


Fiona Apple - Paperbag

To me this song is about disappointment. Being madly in love, but realising the guy won't take a chance on you.  I have every single fiona apple album, she is one of my favourite artists to listen to when I'm heartbroken.


Anna Nalick - Wreck of the day

This song being me so close to tears, it is my "nail on the coffin-delete your email and phone humber-remove you from facebook" song. 


There are a couple of others that don't spring to mind at the moment, there might be a part 2 of this soon.

My most popular posts.

In no particular order:

1) Review of "Childish Gambino - Culdesac"

2) Brandon Flowers - Flamingo album cover

3) African Music Post (Barbara Kanam)

4) Free Album Download - Childish Gambino

5) African Music Post (christy Essien)

6) African Music Post (Akon)

7)  Review of "Rupaul-champion"

8) New video: Broken Bells - Ghost Inside

9) Free Music Download - Apple Trees

10) African Music Post (Rokia Traore)

11) New Music Post: Brandon flowers - Only The young

12) Refashioned Maternity Dress


So what have I learnt? you all love your african music. I assumed it was a bit niche and probably unpopular, but they get quite a remarkable amount of hits. The other type of post that get a lot of hits are the free music posts ....understandable! And finally my new additions the fashion and skin care stuff are slowly coming up. I tried focusing my blog on one thing and I got a bit bored and uninspired. I think if anything my readers- regular or those who stumble on this blog through search engines like a variety of things. As long as I have the time and I feel inspired I'll continue to provide that variety. One thing I will make an effort to do, is to find more African music, I have been so lazy with that lately.


See you later

Skin Care update

Sorry, I have stalled with my skin case updates. I wasn't too impressed with the results I got from the mandelic acid peel and that left me disheartened. I had a break out every time I used it which created more spots, I used it for 5 weeks, but I couldn't bring myself to do the 6th week. I felt defeated and I stopped using everything - Retin-A, Duac, face peel. I went back to basic face wash and exfoliate. Recently, I created my own little experiment, I mixed castor oil and lemon oil. and I've been using that for 2 weeks and waiting to see what happens. 

The benefits of castor oil
 Castor Oil cures acne
The Ricinoleic Acid in castor oil works to inhibit many viruses and bacteria, and as castor oil is able to penetrate skin tissue deeply, this makes it an effective treatment for acne.
To treat acne, dab a hot damp washcloth all over your face in the evening before you go to bed. The heat will gently open the pores on your face. After this, massage a little castor oil gently into the skin. Leave on overnight. Repeat this daily for 1 to 2 weeks to see results. You can also repeat this twice in the day, once at night and once in the morning.

http://skinverse.com/castor-oils-many-uses-for-beautiful-skin-and-hair.html/comment-page-15#comment-39815 

I don't use it with a hot wash cloth, but I do rinse my face with warm water. I'm going to try the wash cloth and see how it helps. 


Benefits of Lemon oil

Among essential oils, lemon oil is known as a strong antiseptic that prevents and clears up infections and inflammation. For oily and acne prone skin, it is used to control excess oil as it removes it easily yet it is not as harsh as alcohol, so the skin is not left dry and flaky. Since it is an astringent, it constricts blood vessels and reduces the appearance of pores, it is recommended for large pores.

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/lemon-oil.html 

I've been using the mixture for two weeks now. I'm going to wait for month before I comment on any progress. I've also been using lush Mint Julep lip scrub...as a face scrub and my skin feels soooo good. 
 


I bought this when my lips were really dry and it didn't really work for me. So, rather than throw it out or leave it to gather dust, I used it on my face instead. I only use it once a week, but the results last for days. I use it as a dry scrub - so, very dry face and I lean over a skin and scrub. My skin feels so soft and smooth afterwards. I've tried to make homemade sugar scrubs, but I never get the consistency right. 
Store bough scrubs are too oily and I fine them hard to manipulate. This is unlike the typical face scrub which tend to use olive oil as a base. This contains Jojoba oil which is great for acne and oily skin. And peppermint oil which reduces the production of sebum. I'm trying out some other lush products so there is going to be another post with reviews on that as well. 




See you soon,

Golden Oldies

Janis Joplin - Work Me Lord.





A lot of white soul/blues/jazz artists are often described as sounding "black" - Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Boy George ( WTF?!) but, they rarely ever do. To me Amy, Duffy, Boy George (and others) all sound like white people imitating black musicians. But, with Janis it's different. She sounds like she should look like Aretha Franklin. I'm not the least bit religious, but I just love this song. 

Barbie Loves Stila Smudge Pots Swatch/Review

Barbie Loves Stila Smudge Pots- Little black Dress (Black with purple shimmer) and Cobalt Clutch 


No Flash






With Flash



 I'm not one for writing lenghty reviews unless is music so I'm just going sum this up quickly. I love the product, it dries on fast and lasts all day and even over night I can still see traces of my swatch test on the back of my hand. The only major downside I've noticed to this is that it is rather difficult to apply, I've settled for applying with a mixture of my fingers and a flat stiff brush. Other brushes I've tried move it around a lot and I ended up with a patchy application.  It has a weird consistency the best way to describe it is a "oily gel liner", but don't let that fool you the product is far from greasy or oily.


These go for up to £20 a pop, but was lucky to bag both brand new for £16.65 on ebay. I think if is definitely with a buy, because it is so convenient to use apply it all over your eye and you have an instant eye-shadow look. The two I purchases - blue clutch and Little black Dress but have a hint of glitter to them. Little Black Dress is PERFECT for instant dark eye, when you are on the go and in a hurry. The little purplish glitter particles makes it look like you made more effort than you actually did. 


These get a thumbs up from me.

New Music Post

Friendly Fires - Hawaiian Air



I hated this at first, then I saw it's potential to be on my work out mix.

Beastie Boys ft. Santigold - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win

I love Santigold, I had her last album on repeat when it first came out. I've been looking forward to her new album for sometime. As for Bestie boys, I can take them or leave them.

How I spent my Holiday…

If you ever find yourself in the school system, be sure to pick a sit next to a Nigerian – why? Because Nigerian people love to take notes and they are proud to show it off. This is not any ordinary type of not taking. This note taking requires two pen colours preferable red and blue, a little ruler to underline the important points, a neat handwriting and a perfected system of crossing out the mistakes while leaving the notes clean and tidy.

Note taking in Nigerian people has been cultivated from primary school. A couple of times a term students are required to write the following essays – How I am going to spend my weekend, How I am going to spend my holiday and their sister essays How I spent my weekend and How I spent my holiday. In French class, it was always Mon meilleur ami , three words that struck fear into the heart of many. I could never write more than one sentence, Mon Meilleur ani et .

However in English, I let my imagination run wild. On Thursday English class, before the start of a long weekend, we are given the classwork - How I am going to spend my weekend.  

We had done this several times so, I had it down pat and I knew the recipe for a high grade. Start by staying “How I am going to spend my weekend” and list everything you are not going to do. I meticulously plan each day. On Friday, I would do all my home work and play with my brother and sisters. On Saturday I would help with the house work and assist with the cooking. On Sunday I’ll go to church, come back home and study, make sure my uniform is clean and prepare to come back to school. On Monday I will rest, do some reading and pack up for school. I end the essay by saying “this is how I plan on spending my weekend”. I was the same with “How I am going to spend and how I spent my Holiday” essays, I talked about trips abroad and visits to the British Museum and Buckingham Palace – they obviously let me in and I met the queen. At the end of primary school, I was awarded “best English student”, my mother was not impressed, but that is another story.

If I ever had to write a honest essay about how I spent my weekends as a child, it would go a bit like this.

How I spent my weekend. My weekend started on Thursday, when I got home I threw my bag in my bedroom, had a quick shower so no adult would yell at me and emptied the sand out of my shoe – one day I will have enough to build a sand castle at home. It’s Thursday so my tutor doesn’t come today, I have home work to do, but who cares? It is nearly 4 and I have a lot of TV to watch.

Friday, I wake up at around 9 or 10. I head straight for the TV and try to decide between Nintendo and Atari. The maids clean around me and my siblings, they curse at us in Yoruba. I pretend not to understand. My mother wakes up and yells at us, I cry myself to sleep. I wake up an hour before my tutor (whose name is Lesson Teacher) arrives, I rush through my assignment and finish just before his motorcycle pulls up. I do terribly at maths, he yells at me, I fall asleep during the lesson. He leaves, I watch more Tv.

On Saturday, I wake up at 5:30am, I shower and eat (two slices of bread and watery milk). I start watching TV. My mom wakes up to yell at us, I tell her I’ve showered and eaten. She is confused and yells at my older sister instead. Once the cartoons end, I play with my toys, fight with my brother and sister. My brother throws one of my life size dolls at my sister, he misses. I tell my sister Abba sucks and I put the midnight Stars vinyl on top of the ABBA one because I’m too lazy to change it properly.  We fight as  “Midas touch” is playing. I think to myself, I love this song, but I want to kick her arse. We start to think we are in wrestlemania, people intervene.

On Sunday, the closest I come to God, is when I thank him for making my mum sleep late so we miss church. I watch Wrestlemania till my uncle wakes up. He wants to watch Gillette world of sports, I should do my homework, but Bob Dylan and playing. I sit in the living room, and watch Tv till my eyes are tired, I stay up till 11 watching Oprah and fall asleep during the movie of the week – probably “What’s love got to do with it?” or the one about Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5.

Monday, I get my hair done and beg a house help to wash my uniform or else I’ll tell my mother she cursed me in Yoruba. She washes my uniform.

Tuesday, back to school. At breakfast – soggy NASCO cornflakes, I suddenly realise that I have homework to do. I do my maths and English assignment during the drive to school. My uncle is playing Dolly Parton – I love Dolly Parton. I finish my work we arrive at the school gates. I shove my books into my bag and walk through the school gates.

This is how I spent my weekend.