I Was Featured On: The Curly Belle

 
Hello my lovelies,
I just dropped by to let you know that I’ve been featured on a natural hair blog, The Curly Belle.

This is actually the first time I’ve been featured on any blog!
So check it out here and please leave your many many comments. 

I’m a bit under the weather so I left work early and I’m at home. Hope your day is going way better than mine. 

Xoxo

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NITC 10

 
Hi guys,
NITC 10 was on Saturday and I went. I think this is the third one I've been to. If you missed it, not to worry; I gat you(sort of).
 
I was really early for this one and I got a little bag of Jessicurl samples for being early(See why you should say NO to African time?).

There were 4 talks:
1. Dr Sandra of Naija Girl Next Door spoke about making the most of what you have product-wise.

Pretty jumpsuit ei?

Main Points:
-Be realistic- Don't buy products with unrealistic expectations e.g an expensive curl cream when you know your hair will probably never curl like that of the girl on the container.

-Pick one- Pick the best product/the product that works best for you e.g you don't need to have 4 conditioners; just pick one.

-Merge products- Use multitasking products e.g a rinse out conditioner that can serve as a leave in.

-Use a light hand- Don't be heavy handed with products.

-DIY- It's relatively inexpensive; you can strike gold with trial and error.

2. Nkechi of Formula Botanica spoke about making the most of things around you for natural skin care

Although you can't see it well, she has amazing skin.

Main Points:
-For cleansing- The Oil Cleansing Method(she recommended castor oil for this), honey, yoghurt(you can add some lemon/lemon essential oil), black soap.
 
-For moisturizing- Aloe vera, green tea and other humectants can be added to your moisturizer.
 
-As a serum- 1 teaspoon water + 2 teaspoons glycerin + half teaspoon vitamin C(Ascorbic acid in powdered form. Found in pharmacies)
 
-For the under eye area- Witch hazel(can be found in pharmacies), cucumber, green tea bags, lemon juice(for dark circles), aloe vera.
 
-For exfoliants and masks- clays(e.g bentonite), bananas, tomatoes, cocoa, yoghurt, honey, milk, sea salt.
 
-As a toner- Witch hazel(for oily skin) and floral waters(e.g rose water for dry skin)
 
-Don't store natural products/DIY mixes as they are a breeding ground for bacteria. Make them in small, single-use batches.
 
 
 
3. Dr Patrick of Carib Health spoke about making the most of the natural foods around us.
Main Points:
-Go for a checkup annually(I won't even lie, I don't think I've ever been for a checkup. I only go to the hospital when I'm sick)
 
-The following foods are super good for you:
 
~Tigernuts(Those brownish small things that mallams hawk that you chew and spit out. He suggested eating them like 2 times a week)
~Dates(Also hawked by mallams. Brownish like a big raisin)
~Moringa
~Bitter leaf
-Doing a detox every now and then is very beneficial.
 
 
4. Isioma spoke about loving yourself. It was also her birthday!
Main Points:
Self love- Love yourself just the way you are. Any changes you make, do them for yourself and not for anyone.
 
-Acceptance- Accept that you are who you are and make the most of whatever your situation is. E.g If your hair does not curl, that is something it does not do. Accept it, focus on and rock what your hair can do.
 
-A little selfishness goes a long way- Think about yourself every now and then and put yourself and your opinions first.
 
-You are the only you you have
 
 
There was also a panel where some ladies were asked questions about their hair and experiences but I only stayed for the first few minutes of this part before I had to leave.
 
I had good conversations about hair with a couple of people before the main event started.
I also took a few shots of a few good people.
 
Loved her threaded hair! Not sure if I can pull it off though.
 
AB's twists were on serious fleek
(Taking pictures like a professional stalker)
 
Wish I had taken more pictures but my battery was at about 15% when I got there.
 
By the way, do you know The Kink and I now has a store?
I got this cute note with my purchase from their stand at NITC.
 
 
 
And shoutout to the lady that recognized me from here and said hi! 😀
 
Keep your eyes glued to Natural Nigerian and The Kink and I for more deets and pictures from NITC 10 soon.
 
Sidebar: My friends and I went to lunch afterwards and we thought our experience was totally “blogable” so that might show up here as a restaurant review sometime within the week. I wanted to add it to this post but I am not a fan of really long posts.
 
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @nigerianandnatural
 
Xoxo
 

Review: The BoonBox

Hi guys,
 
Ever heard of the CurlBox? It’s a subscription where you get a box every month that contains hair products either full sized or sample sized. The products are a surprise and are different every month giving you the opportunity to explore and try a variety of products.
 
Imagine my joy when I found out that we have our own version of this American wonder and ours is called the BoonBox! The BoonBox is put together by a Nigerian online beauty store called The Beauty Boon.
 
Somehow I never got around to ordering one until I read a review about it on She Is Out Of Control.
 
HOW IT WORKS
Just like I explained with the CurlBox, the BoonBox is literally a box that contains hair, skin and beauty products. The products are different every time and can be either sample sized or full sized.
 
You fill a form about your likes and dislikes, preferred brands and products etc. This helps the team putting the boxes together know what to put in yours. E.g if you say your hair is natural on the form, they won’t go and send you Profectiv relaxer in your BoonBox.
 
There are two subscription options: monthly and quarterly.
 
 
THE BAD
I chose to go with the monthly/one-time subscription so I ordered and prepaid for my BoonBox on the 17th of December. I chose to prepay instead opting for cash on delivery just incase I wasn’t home when it was delivered. Guess when I received it guys. 18th of February!!!
2 months later!
Sometime in January, a month or so after I ordered it(in fact I don forget sey I order something by then), someone from The Beauty Boon called me to confirm that I had ordered one, had prepaid and was yet to receive it; she also informed me that I would be receiving it soon.
By February 4th I had still not seen the shadow of the BoonBox so I sent an email to them about it and they replied saying it would come that Friday(February 6th).
Alas, it came February 18th.
 
 
THE GOOD
I was pleased with the BoonBox (even though I grew old and wrinkled waiting for its arrival). I got 5 items in mine:
1. EOS lip balm in blueberry açaí (Been wanting to get one so I was happy about this)
 
2. Clearasil daily clear daily facial scrub (Been wanting to try the Clearasil moisturizer so let’s see how this one works. Hopefully it won’t be too drying/harsh seeing as it’s for acne and acne is currently not a problem for me)
 
3. Mac lipglass in famously fab (Even though I think I mentioned on my form that I don’t like lipgloss but then I could be wrong. It’s a nice pinkish lavender shade)
 
4. Shea Moisture curl enhancing smoothie (I already had this. Nooooo!)
 
5. A scented candle (The scent is called garden party and it smells divine even unlit)
 
6. A handwritten apology note (I wish! I was half expecting one but I got a hot ela as they didn’t send any)
 
 
 
 
 
FINAL THOUGHTS
I love the idea of being surprised with different products and I love the idea of stepping out of my comfort zone and my staple product bubble and trying new things. I love the idea of the BoonBox. It’s a winner if only it could be smoothly executed. I was really mellow about the delay in the delivery timeline even though it was pretty unacceptable but not every one will be. So what if it were the quarterly subscription? Would you be getting each one 2 months late?
 
 
WOULD I REPURCHASE?
Maybe. If and only if I am assured that it will arrive on time.
 
BOONBOX DETAILS:
Where to purchaseThe Beauty Boon
Price– N5,000 monthly or N19,000 quarterly
 
Would you be willing to try the BoonBox? Ever tried it or ever tried something similar? Share please.
 
P.s anyone know any good WordPress blogging apps for iOS? I keep losing my posts because the official WordPress app keeps crashing on me 😥
 
By the way have you noticed?!?!
The blog is now a “dot com”!!! *confetti*
But don’t worry if you forget and type http://www.nigerianandnatural.wordpress.com (this one is so long to type though; I can say that now 😀 ) because it will automatically redirect you to the dot com website.
Also, the email address is now contact@nigerianandnatural.com but don’t worry if you send it to the old one (nigerianandnatural@gmail.com) because I will still get it.
 
We are moving on up! *shakes bottom*
 
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram if you haven’t- @nigerianandnatural
Peace!
 

What I wore: Stripes and Nude

This might come as a shocker to you but this is an outfit post! *jaws drop* LOL

Remember I’m dabbling and diversifying? It’s all in a bid to make me post more consistently.

I read a number of blogs: hair, makeup, fashion, food etc.
Of recent I think I have read one too many fashion posts so that might be the inspiration behind this post.

I am not a fashion blogger neither am I a fashionista but I think style is relative and maybe someone out there might find mine interesting.

If you ask me to describe my style in 1 word it would be ‘comfy’.
However, my sister and my good friend say I am boho/hippie(I do not agree though).

I wore this outfit to work sometime last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And because I see them do this on fashion blogs:

Top: Apt. 9 essential

Blazer: Dorothy Perkins (from Debra’s Grace, a cool store in Yaba)

Pants: Next (I’ve had them for years and have rocked the life out of them so much so that they are fading)

Shoes: I don’t know (long story)

Bag: Michael Kors (obtained from my mama)

Hair: Twists using Noble Gold (4 packs, uncut)

Oh and have you heard of Design Essentials? It’s a product brand that makes products for people who want healthy hair and has a line for natural hair. I first heard about them on Kemi Lewis’ blog.She uses their products in her natural hair salon.

Design essentials just launched a flagship store and training centre in Ikeja(yay for the mainland!) that stocks their products.

Their natural hair friendly products are silicone, paraben, paraffin, petrolatum, mineral oil and sulfate free and include the:

-Curl cleanser

-Moisturizing conditioner

-Almond and avocado detangling leave-in conditioner

-Honey curl forming custard

-Honey and Shea edge tamer

and more.

I love the packaging and I also sniffed some of the products(they smell great!) plus Kemi Lewis speaks well of them so I’m looking forward to trying them out!

Store details:

LOCATION: Angels Super Store, 88 Awolowo way, Ikeja by Fadeyi, beside Holy Trinity Hospital.

TEL: 08033029107 or 08033264570

OPENING HOURS: 9-7, Mon-Sat

What do you guys think of outfit posts on the blog every now and then? Yay or nay?

Have an awesome week!

 

 

 

Tag: Being Me

Hi there,
So I was tagged by Cassie Daves on my other blog, Jennifer’s writings, to do this blog tag. I haven’t posted on that blog in soooo long and I figured, why not do the tag here for you lovely people. So here it goes.

Are you named after someone?
Yes. My mum had/has a good friend named Jennifer so she named me after her and made her my godmother.

When was the last time you cried?
I rewatched The Notebook a few days ago. I didn’t even know when the floodgates opened.

Do you have any children?
Not yet. But I will have the cutest ones soon! Watch this space. Just need to find me a man. A fine one so the cute baby dreams can materialise.

If you were another person would you be a friend of yourself?
My first thought is to say “hell yeah!” cos you know, I’m the bomb.com! But on second thought, I can be quite annoying and weird so I’m not sure. Like, I don’t know if I’d have the patience to deal with my crap sometimes. *sends ‘Thank You’ message to all my friends* LOL. But as a whole I think I still make an awesome friend so yeah.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?
But of course! If I could do without most of them I’d probably have hit my goal of size 10 eons ago! White chocolate, red velvet cake, french toast, cheese balls(don’t judge me!), strawberry daiquiri, Milo with plenty milk, Frappuccino, cheese cake, iced coffee etc etc etc(Had to stop before it turns into an epistle. By now you can tell that I love all things sweet and decadent). Oh and all my fave TV shows too.

Do you like handwriting?
After copying all those 31 page Government notes in secondary school? I’d rather type please. Plus my handwriting isn’t that pretty.

What’s your favourite cereal?
I love cereal. In the past I’ve been known to live on cereal. So it’s hard for me to pick a favourite but I’d say maybe cornflakes made with milo and milk or rice krispies/coco pops with loads of milk (I don’t eat cereal with sugar. Seems unnecessary). When I’m trying to eat healthy it’s whole grain cheerios, fruit ‘n’ fibre or weetaflakes.

What’s the first thing you notice about people?
Their faces, dressing and the way they speak. Lately, hair.

What’s the colour of your eyes?
Brown

Scary movies or happy endings?
Happy endings. I don’t watch scary movies except if forced to.

Favourite TV show?
Game of thrones, Grey’s anatomy, Scandal, Two broke girls, Modern family, Big brother Africa(Yes I’m one of the BBA watchers oh!), Glee, Orange is the new black, New girl, Community, Desperate housewives(now over), How I met your mother(now over), Gossip girl(now over), 90210(now over). I watch so many shows and I’m forever dropping and adding more.

Winter or summer?
It’s constantly summer in these parts and the heat can get overwhelming so I shall choose winter.

Hugs or kisses?
Hugs. The warm, cuddly, happy, hold-on-a-minute-too-long kind.

Special talent?
Yet to discover it/them. But I can sing(not special to me).

Where were you born?
Lagos, Nigeria.

Hobbies?
Reading African literature, watching TV, eating(yes, it’s a hobby), reading blogs, listening to music.

Do you have any pets?
My family has had 2 rabbits(Bugs Bunny & Snow Ball) & 5 dogs(Rambo, Rocky, Cody, Michaella & Kiara). We presently have 1 dog(Kiara). When I have my own house I’d like to have 1 or 2 cute dogs and cats(my mother hates cats as they are all witches in her opinion so we can’t have any now)

Favourite movie?
I have a horrible memory so I tend to forget what movies are about. Titanic, The Colour Purple, The Notebook, P.S I Love You maybe?

What colour is your car?
My Range Rover is white and my Mercedes G wagen is matte black… Amen. For now, it is yellow & black danfo (No, I’m not the driver) but one day *sigh*

What do you want to do when you grow up?
JAMB question. In a perfect world, I’m a radio/TV presenter or I write for an awesome magazine as my job while I pursue other lifelong dreams by the side e.g photography, travelling round the world, being filthy rich. (God please this is a sub oh). For now though it’s the polar opposite but I’ll take it one day at a time and someday, my dreams will come true.

I TAG
All of you reading this who are interested in sharing your answers! Be sure to tag me when you do so I can check it out.

Peace!

P.s: Happy independence day Nigeria! We pray for peace, progress and constant power supply.

Product Review: Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream

Almost finished

Almost finished

Today I bring you a product review.

This product is pretty popular among naturals! I’d been hearing so much about this product and its awesomeness and I just had to taste the soup to know if it was indeed delicious.

Product Claims: “Provides intense moisture to leave hair soft and manageable. Formulated for damaged, dry or coarse hair… Mends hair breakage, repairs split ends and reduces frizz, protects hair from heat damage, hydrates and moisturizes with shea butter and natural oils. Great for relaxed, natural, texturized, coloured or permed hair

I can’t say much for it’s claims towards heat damage, split ends, frizz and breakage as those aren’t necessarily concerns of mine. But it lives up to its claims about dry, coarse hair becoming softer and more manageable. This product does not discriminate! It is for all! As a matter of fact, my sister and cousin(both relaxed) keep stealing out of it both for their hair and their weaves. So this product aims to accommodate you no matter your hair type.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua, Eau), Canola Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Glycerin, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Actinidia Chinensis (kiwi) fruit extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) flower extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dimethicone PEG-8 Meadowfoamate, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Pentaerythrityl Tetracaprylate/Tetracaprate, Silk Amino Acids, Panthenol, DMDM Hydantoin, Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-4, Polyquaternium-32, Mineral Oil, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Sodium  Hyaluronate, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride

Thank you copy and paste! (But I had to go through to ensure it was correct so I did some work too).
As you can see, the first ingredient is water which is great(if not necessary) for a leave in/moisturizer. It’s also full of ‘beta beta'(great) ingredients! I tried to highlight the ingredients that I thought people might be avoiding. It has Glycerine in case you’re staying away from humectants (i.e things that pull moisture into your hair). It also has silicones and mineral oil but they are at the bottom of the list which means the product contains little of them. I recently learnt that some people stay away from Propylene Glycol so that’s why I’ve highlighted it in case.

How I used it: I used this mostly on freshly washed hair( As the ‘C’ in the LCO method. Tried it as LOC too but it worked better as LCO for me). Also used this on damp hair(lightly spritzed with water) during the week. Also on dry hair.

Out of all, my favourite is the freshly washed method. My hair stays moisturized for days and I can refresh it by spritzing with water alone or spritzing with water and sealing with oil/shea butter. My least favourite method is on dry hair as it takes time for my hair to absorb it this way(which may leave white patches for some minutes) and it leaves a weird feeling too(sticky? Squishy? Not sure).

PROS:
Moisturizing: Moisture that actually lasts! Someone told me my hair felt like a cloud! My sister loves this stuff because she says it makes everything soft; as I mentioned earlier she and my cousin tend to steal it for their relaxed hair and their weaves.

Good Scent: I know scents are relative and depend on the “smeller” but I love the smell of this stuff! It smells sweet and floral. I was really surprised when I saw that fragrance wasn’t among the first few ingredients. My favourite thing about the smell is that it helps me catch anybody at home who uses it without my permission *evil laugh*.

Value for money: This stuff comes in a big tub(16 OZ/ 453g). And a little goes a long way with it. So it lasts. If you are heavy handed sef, it leaves a weird feeling behind for you. So you best use it in moderation.

CONS:
Ingredients: There are some chemicals in it with names that they probably only use for spelling bees at Harvard. It also has mineral oil and silicones. On the flip side, it has some good ingredients as well and the good ones are higher up the ingredient list than the bad ones.

Price: Price of course is relative as one man’s 1 million is another man’s 1 kobo. But this stuff is not for team cheapskate. It ranges between N1800- N2500 depending on where you buy it.

Absorption: It takes a while to absorb into the hair mostly when used on dry hair and low porosity hair. Also leaves a weird feeling if used heavy handedly or on dry hair.

MY RATING: 5/5. It has lived up to the hype and attained staple status for me.

I’ve even gone on to tell my friends, both relaxed and natural, to try it.

Where to buy:
– Casa Bella outlets(Palms Lekki, Surulere mall, Ikeja city mall, Ajose Adeogun VI, Polo Park mall Enugu, Grand Towers Mall Abuja)
– Olori.com.ng
– thebeautyboon.com
– hairbeautyhub.com (they have the salon size)

I hope my reviews are helpful to you guys. I know I don’t really go into the sciencey stuff but I try to make sure I’m honest and I relate to you how my hair felt with the product.

I was in Accra recently and I picked up 2 or 3 things that I’ll share in a post soon hopefully. I’m also currently in self-made crochet braids (yay!) and I will post about this also. I’ve also opened a Youtube channel! I haven’t posted anything yet but I’ll keep you in the know. I’m also considering doing the blog’s first giveaway; it’ll probably be a small one though.

Anything eventful happening with your hair lately? New styles? DIYs? Products? Anything at all? Do share!

Stay safe guys!
Hugs & kisses.