Harmattan is in Abuja (brrrrrr)

The Harmattan is officially in Abuja. This is a cool dry wind that comes from the North in the dry season between November and January every year. It is our own version of winter but not as cold but can be very harsh on skin and hair not taken care of properly.

I have dry skin on my face (this is rare in Nigeria). I do not use primers to keep makeup on and i am religious about moisturising my face day and night or else dry patches form all over my face. During the harmattan you can imagine what happens!!.

Now that i have natural hair i have to think now of taking care of my hair and skin.

For my hair i have decided to add extensions and twist my hair for the period. i was not crazy about having to fix weaves. I still plan to clean my scalp regularly and use my water and coconut oil mix to spritz my hair to keep it moisturised. Before i did the twists i did the hot oil treatment on my hair and i intend to do that again immediately i have it loosened.

For this period on my face i will be using Black opal cream foundation in perfect bronze , because i like the sheen it gives my face. Since i have dry skin i am not a fan of matte looks on my face. i like the shine in the right places (forehead, cheeks,)lol.

I will also be religiously using my lip balm and i have noticed when i use it before i sleep i have practically no issues with cracked lips. For those of you in abuja, even if you have oily skin don't forget to moisturise, moisturise, moisturise and don't forget to get a one that has SPF 15.

Afro twist braids i used. texture is just like my hair

Ready for the harmattan. 

For those of you with oily skin enjoy the season because i know the tendency to break out is less.

Don't forget this is the best time to whip out that cream foundation when you need full coverage.


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MAKEUP - The easy way to a facelift

Makeup when properly applied gives the appearance of a facelift... (true or false?).

My answer would be TRUE and i have the pictures to prove it. I have always heard the great Makeup Artists talk about the easy face lift and after my experiment today i had no choice but to agree.

The pictures you are about to see will show one part of my face made up and the the other part completely bare.  This will show you how from a well defined brow to proper eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara application as well as blush you can have a subtle lift to your whole face.

Girls are not smiling.LOL!!

For the half that was made up i used black opal stick foundation in perfect bronze and carob, MAC mineralize skinfinish natural in dark to set my foundation.

On my eye i used Sacha 14 colour eye palette (plum on the lid and dark brown on the outer corner) as well as black eyepencil to line the inner rim of my eyes, MUD cream mascara for my lashes. Another great way to open up your eyes are with false lashes (strip or individual).

With camera flash

I hope you can tell the part of the face that was made up? So anytime you want to apply makeup on your face remember it is the fastest way to a great face lift so apply it properly..


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Afro / Twist outs Chic

I decided to go natural for a second time around this time last year. I had been natural before but at that time i did not make any effort to try and understand my hair. Now after years of relaxer abuse and stunted growth i said NO MORE.  I could not go for the BC (Big Chop) so i decided to trim the relaxed parts of my hair little by little and invested in braids and locs. Last weekend i finally had a full head of natural curls and i decided to do the twist out.

Decided to go black on white

One thing i learnt this time around is to co-wash my hair. which means when i am ready to wash my hair i should condition the hair first before using shampoo. i can say after obeying this rule my hair did not have any tangles. i also found out using my fingers to comb through while washing instead of a comb was better for me. Now i can say i have very soft and manageable hair especially with olive oil and shea butter in the mix.

That is how long my hair is when stretched

i have very curly hair that shrinks and making twists is the best way to reduce the shrinkage. i also sleep with  silk hair nets and in the morning i spritz with water and finger comb. i am been getting a lot of glances from strangers lately and i have no idea whether they love the hair or just love the bold attitude for carrying natural hair around town. i love my hair. i don't panic when it gets wets and it defies gravity and wind.

with my eyes lowered

For today i decided to enjoy making myself up for my new hairdo. After moisturising,i used Black opal cream foundation in perfect bronze and black walnut and set it with Sacha loose powder in Perfect bronze. for my brows, a pencil to fill in the sparse areas.I used my Sacha eye palette for my eyes. A deep orange with brown for my lid, brown for my crease and outer corner and a very light brown for my brow bone. Lipstick was from the LA girl sunset palette. MUD cream mascara for my lashes.

Just me in my twist outs

Me me me, loving my new hair.

I really love my new hair do and i know as it gets longer it may not defy gravity but for now i will enjoy each passing day.


Feel free to drop any comments....