1923 Face of the Day: Smokey Purple

From the title alone, you can pretty much tell that this is from my smokey eye phase.

I highlighted my face with loose powder placed generously in the areas I wanted highlighted after which I proceeded to get my eye makeup done. In this look, I extended the powder up to the tail of my eyebrows. I must say that this really helped to lift my eyes as can be seen from the full face pictures.

I made sure to blend out the line of the powder while contouring my face.

1923 Face of the Day: Another Red Lip

There was a time when I would not go near a lipstick with colour not to mention red lipstick. Red lipsticked women were always seen as vixens who wanted to attract attention.
In the good ole days, women who wore red colour on their lips had an ulterior motive.

Well, I have definitely caught the red lipstick bug and have been rocking it for weeks now. You all know my favourite red lipstick - Tara orekelewa lipstick in Funke. Here I am rocking it again.

2012 Summer Jam Fest with Rick Ross (Lagos Fashion)

Once again, Lagos played host to top American rapper Rick Ross and as can be expected, our society & event butterflies were present at the event. I looked to Bellanaija as usual for pictures of the event.

Here are pictures of some of our Nigerian celebrities at the event (all opinions expressed in this post are entirely mine and I have not been sponsored to write this post)

Vixen never fails to disappoint. She looks fabulous in this all black ensemble. Check out the back.

The dress, the shoes, the clutch -

The Skills Upgrade Master Class

The SKILLS UPGRADE MASTERCLASS is a four day crash course specially designed for Savvy  Makeup Artists who desire to improve on their skill set and gain an edge in the ever-competitive world of beauty by taking advantage of this highly intensive, practical and hands-on workshop.

S.U.M is organized in partnership with LISE BEAUTY RANGE, KHURAIRA COSMETICS and  SACRED LASHES; the trainings will focus on three key aspects:

- AIRBRUSH MAKEUP, facilitated by Hadiza Musa of KHURAIRA COSMETICS
- SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKEUP, facilitated by Eni Balogun of LISE BEAUTY RANGE
- FASHION/EDITORIAL MAKEUP, facilitated by Lola Maja of

Sasha Pee Rocks in Print & Debuts Collection

So every once in a while I dabble into something fashion related. This is one of them.
As usual, I was dawdling on Bellanaija and came across this article on the female rapper Sasha (you can read the article here). For sure you know something must have caught my eye.

The article says that Sasha will be debuting (has debuted since the date is past now) a fashion collection called Eclectic and it does seem that this line appeals to me from what I see in the article.

I see vintage

My Hair: Recent Hairstyles

Hello everyone,

As you all know, I have just recently started documenting my natural hair journey. I still have issues with finding the right products, styling my hair and the worst of all, taking pictures of the various styles that (in my mind) I have managed to come up with.

I have tried Bantu knots, flat twists, have a phobia of adding anything like gel or spritz to my hair (never used either of them on my relaxed hair and I just believe that since natural hair is more delicate, it will be worse). I have had one very horrible bad hair day (I hated it) but it seems I have found the solution to all my hair styling problems.

Here are some hairstyles I have been playing around with:

BEWARE, BRIGHT FLASHES AHEAD! (and a ton of pictures)

1923 Face of the Day: Corporate Coloured

I work in an Advertising Agency and have the liberty to wear colourful clothes and makeup to work as long as they are not garish. I don't wear colourful clothes and makeup though due to personal preference and below are 2 of the most colourful looks I have worn to work in ages. Shame on me right?

I promise to reform!

Nigerian Makeup Brands

This post is way over due and I think I should have started this blog with this post. However, I am glad I did not as I did not have the experience or exposure in the industry to provide a comprehensive post on these brands.

Over the years, I can proudly say that the Nigerian makeup industry has grown at a rapid and always progressive rate. I have been opportuned to be a part of this growth even though minute but I am so glad and appreciative of the opportunity.

In no particular order, I have listed the current list of Nigerian makeup brands below:

Tara Orekelewa

1923 Face of the Day: Green Smile

I have been going through a couple of different makeup phases in recent times. Right now I am going through a red lipstick/no eye makeup phase but before then it was a smokey eye/clear lip makeup phase. I did this green smokey eye look during that phase and I must admit that it came out much better than in my mind before I began the application process.

I have a green smokey eye makeup post already but this is an entirely different take on that look as you will notice from the green colour which is past the crease and the lid of the eye looking much darker which suggests a darker eyeshadow colour in that area.

How To: Long Lasting Lipstick

Hello everyone,

I recently posted a picture on my facebook page of my last week friday red lipstick look which lasted for 15 hours. I promised to share my tips for long lasting lipstick and here is a How-To on it.

Right - 8am; Left - 11pm

The steps to achieving this look are as follows:

1923 Face of the Day: T-shirt Brown

I have no idea how this happened but I ended up with this classy & simple look on a friday. Why the fuss about having this look on friday you may ask. Well, fridays are the days we dress super casual to work and some people even wear print outfits or native attires.

I was wearing a round neck T-shirt and jeans on this day and when I was done with my makeup, I did feel like I should be in a dress and heels instead of jeans and tee.

I used the same products as in this post

1923 Face of the Day: Black Winged Liner & Red

I used the Fashion fair mini palette I got (check this post for the mini palette) for this look.

The Makeup Show NY Haul

The Makeup Show NY held in June. I could not go but there was no way I was going to miss the one chance of getting my own OCC lip tars especially when a makeup colleague told me she would be attending the show.

My list was the OCC lip tar primaries/black/white, Royal Blue uncut pigment and Triptych loose shadow. I think the stall ran out of uncut pigment so she got me OCC glitter in Magenta instead.

Ziploc Storage

As a makeup artist or lover or even a regular makeup user, storage is a very important subject.

The issue of storage is most often tackled by using makeup purses. For me however, it is usually an uphill task finding just the right size of purse for my requirements. I have a big makeup box (or train-case as it is popularly called) which I hate to carry around because it is big and heavy and attracts too much attention especially when I need to take the bus.

In order to solve this problem, I bought a regular carry-all bag. So what I do is deduce what the gig I am going for entails. I then pack everything i need into small purses and arrange in the carry-all.

Having explained the difficulty of getting the right size makeup purses, I thought to myself "why not just use ziplocs?" I mean they are for storage aren't they?

All of them in ziplocs (even cotton pads and q-tips)

gel & creme. 

lip tars

Bobbi Brown eye shadows (I still don't understand why I have them stored seperately)

all my pencils and Zaron kajal

mascaras

monos, trios & some quad eyeshadows

lip glosses, liquid lipsticks & you can see my Bobbi Brown lip colour in Sandwash Beige peeking by the side of the bag for neutrals ( I have them seperated into reds/darks, pinks & nudes)

There are definitely much better ways to store products now, but since I don't have space for drawers and the like, this works for me right now and I am quite happy with it. In the future when I have more space at home, I will definitely be changing my storage method.

I hope this helps someone who at this minute is battling with the issue of makeup storage and I would love to know what your own storage methods are (if you aren't a member of the ziploc storage club that is, lol)

Versatile Blogger Award

Hello everyone,

I have been nominated for the Versatile Blogger's Award by Lisa of Lisa's Nail Obsession. Thank you so much for this award. It is my 4th Blog award and I am so happy to get it and it sure is getting a place of honour here too.

And now the rules. Apparently every blog award has its rules and the rules for this one are:

- Nominate 12 fellow bloggers that are relatively new to blogging.

- Let them know you have nominated them

- Share 7 random facts about yourself

- Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you by linking to their blog

- Add the versatile Blogger Award to your post.

I have obeyed the last 2 rules already and now I move to the others. Please permit me to skip the first two for now, I promise to come back to it and nominate 12 new bloggers who I believe deserve to be nominated for this award.

- Share 7 random facts about yourself:

1. My dad is a pastor. A lot of people know this and a lot don't know this as well. The reaction I always get when I tell people is "No wonder" and it always baffles me.

2. I was a member of 3 hip-hop dance groups. Lol, when you see me now it is so hard to believe because I have added loads of weight and I am not fit again.

3. I can't go shopping, the movies, a gym or a restaurant by myself. I have a knack for doing things alone inside the house but when it comes to going out and having fun, I usually pause, have a rethink and just go back into the house.

4. I am terribly shy. Whenever I meet people for the first time, there is always a tendency for me to engross myself in my Blackberry (that is the telltale sign that I am nervous)

5. I almost left my job to be a makeup artist at a studio 2 years ago. Thank God I didn't because I don't think I would have had time for blogging, social networking (which has led me to meet some of the most wonderful people ever) and personal branding.

6. I love a good lazying around day with food, Television and nothing.

7. I am constantly on the search to loosing weight.

Thank you everyone, for visiting my blog, commenting and loving my posts. Thank you for this lovely award Lisa *hugs*

'My Hair' Tab - An Introduction

A couple of months ago (about 6 months + ago), I went to have my hair retouched at a quite reputable salon here in Lagos and my scalp got burnt and did not retouch. I was so upset that day, that I swore (swore is a strong word but that is really what I did) that I would never go near a relaxer again in my entire life. Thus began my journey to natural hair.

I proceeded to chopping off half of my hair, leaving the remaining half for braids to hold onto. I adopted the practise of braiding my hair, twists to be precise. I had 3 different styles of braids from that time till about 3 weeks ago when I did corn-rows which I loosened last saturday. On a whim, I decided to give my hair and scalp a week of rest before proceeding to the next session of twisted braids.

While wondering what to do with the hair, I came to conclusion that the hair bands I had not used since the days of my short curls would come to good use and I posted a picture of me with my hair tied back in the bands and the bun I came up with. To my surprise, it was hugely accepted and I received loads of compliments on my transitioning. I have also been encouraged to document my transitioning/natural hair journey (which is something I had considered a while ago but figured would be too much trouble especially as I knew nothing about natural hair).

But after much consideration, I have decided to indeed document my journey. Please, be patient with me as regards hair posts, it is a journey and I am by no means an expert at this. I am excited and hugely looking forward to this.

And to all my fellow naturalistas (OMG, I am now a naturalista *swoon*), I say "I am really happy to join this beautiful community"

Thank you

My Hair: French Braid & small puffs

A hilarious title I must say but it best describes the second style I attempted to coerce my hair into. Here are pictures of the look.

For some weird reason, I have decided that during the period of my rough hair days/people getting used to my hair, I will accessorize with my personal favourite red lipstick - Tara lipstick in Funke.Please tell me if it distracts from the hair or if I should look for another lipstick to use. 

ah yes, the curse of transitioning - 2 different textures and in my case, hair colours too.

For the past 20-something years, I have been labouring under the impression that my hair colour was a somewhat lighter brunette shade with slight highlights. Little did I know that this was not the true situation of things.
Apparently, my true hair colour is a darker brown colour which from a distance can almost be said to be black.

2 hair colours and 2 textures.

my french plait

Yes, I am loving my natural hair. It won't be easy but I bet it will be fun.

Look out for my Hair Tab Introductory post.

1923 Face of the Day: Brown in the rain

On rainy days it is normal for people to dress-up in dark colours which, especially in a city like Lagos, are essential to prevent the occasional splashes of water or even stains from fellow commuters.

On this day, brown was my colour of choice and being one of my favourite colours for clothing, it was not difficult for me to make that decision. I was not feeling exactly bright eyed but I also did not want to look dull at work that day so i opted for a brown smokey eye and a nude lip.

I must say that I loved the outcome of the look. Some of the products I used for the look surprised me especially as I was using them for the first time.

My Hair: Black Hair bun

After 3 days of one way of styling my hair, I decided to attempt a bun. Here is my take on it - same hair, same bands.

Black hair pins, 4 hair bands, a slightly stretched full head of natural hair and this is what you get.

I am going to be a bit more adventurous by my next hair post (hopefully tomorrow) because I need to experiment a lot more before braiding my hair. 

So what am I going to do with the hair? *thinking*

Product Review: Sacred Beauty 24-well Palette

Nigerian makeup brands are gradually evolving to the point where they begin to cater to the needs of the professionals in the industry and make them their primary market unlike in the past where the regular makeup user was the focus.

Sacred Beauty seems to be in the forefront of this and has shown this by launching a line of products for the professional makeup artist. The first of these products I received is the 24-well palette which is just perfect for depotting creme products.

For my review of this product, please click Sacred Beauty 24-well palette

*This product was provided for review consideration. All opinions expressed in this post are my candid opinions.

My Beautiful Black Hair

I am pretty excited about my hair as is pretty obvious from the title of this post.

I went natural, or rather I decided to keep my hair away from the 'creamy crack' about 6 months ago. I had an episode at the salon and I said to myself "enough is enough". From then on, I have pretty much had my hair in braids, braiding it every 2 or 3 months or thereabouts.

3 weeks ago however, I decided that I would do corn-rows instead of braids and having just loosened them, I wanted to give the hair and scalp a rest. So I have been carrying it pretty much as is for about 4 days now.

I am still considering documenting my hair journey here but for now, I will just be showing it off, lol.

This is pretty much how I have styled my hair for about 3 days now. I am looking to do a bit more experimenting before braiding again. 

I stumbled on this when after loosing the corn-rows, I needed to find a way to carry the 'full mane' for a whole week of rest. These hair bands have really come through for me.

Are you sure I won't miss styling my natural, beautiful, black hair? See how happy I am in it *sigh*