Review: The BoonBox

Posted in Not hair, Review by Jen

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 purchase– The 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*

It is now http://www.nigerianandnatural.com

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!

11Feb2015

What I Wore: The Dress Skirt

Posted in Fashion, Not hair, What I Wore by Jen

So I have this maxi dress I got from my sister that I don't like so much.
I don't know, I just feel it makes me look fat~~ter~~

My first thought was to cut it up and make it a two piece like Desola of Dee Mako did here.

In the end, I decided to just be the razz lazy girl that I am and fold it into a skirt.(Shhh! Don't tell anyone)

Maxi dress: Kivenst
Denim Shirt: Way Jeans
Camisole: Next
Sandals: Zara Basic

What item of clothing have you repurposed/found a new way of wearing lately? Should I keep the outfit posts coming? Share with us pretty please!

5Feb2015

My Hair Stash (Feb 2015)

Posted in hair practices, products by Jen

Salut, hello, howdy!

I am not a product junkie! I really am not. However I seem to have a lot of stuff for someone who basically uses mostly shampoo, conditioner, leave in and shea butter 95% of the time! I did not realize until I was taking pictures for this post that I had so much stuff that I don't use often! I had to dust some of them before taking pictures sef

(Photo Cred: @thecreamycrackrehab on Instagram)

Without further ado,behold my stash

CLEANSERS/SHAMPOOS

-Bobeam shampoo bar in Shealoe (purchased from The Kinky Apothecary ). I have had it for over a year y'all)
-Dudu Osun- melted down and mixed with water and olive oil (Can be purchased from your local grocery/beauty store)

My staple: Dudu Osun

CONDITIONERS

-Shea Moisture restorative conditioner (a gift from someone who went abroad but can be purchased on The Kinky Apothecary as well as Olori)
-V05 herbal escapes conditioner (purchased at NITC but can be bought at many local grocery/beauty stores. I mostly buy it at Bruno's Place opposite Silverbird at Ikeja City Mall)
-V05 tea therapy conditioner (purchased at Bruno's Place)
-Herbal Essences ignite my color conditioner (purchased at Maxmart in Accra but can be found at Casa Bella or Goodies)

My staple: V05 conditioners(any kind but I like the Moisture Milks line the most I think). Haven't had a chance to use the Shea Moisture much yet.

DEEP CONDITIONERS

-Vitale hair mayonnaise (purchased at Spar but can be found at many local grocery/beauty stores)
-Coconut milk (purchased at Spar and can be found in most big grocery stores. You can also make yours)
-Shea Moisture purification masque (purchased at NITC but can be purchased on The Kinky Apothecary as well as Olori)

My staple: None. I haven't used them long enough but I like the purification masque. Still not sold on the Vitale. Coconut milk is something I've used a number of times and I like but I don't use it very often(I mix it with other stuff e.g conditioner before use). Usually I deep condition with my regular conditioner and don't use a store bought deep conditioner so these are relatively new(except coconut milk as I explained)

LEAVE IN CONDITIONERS/MOISTURIZERS

-Cantu Shea butter leave in conditioning repair cream-2 tubs. (One was a gift while the other was purchased on Olori)
-Elasta QP olive oil and mango butter moisturizer (Purchased at Casa Bella but can also be bought on Olori)
-Water in a spray bottle (purchased at… Just kidding)

My staple: Cantu and water

STYLING PRODUCTS

-Shea Moisture curl enhancing smoothie (won in a giveaway but can be purchased on The Kinky Apothecary as well as Olori)
-Eco Styler olive oil gel (purchased from The Kinky Apothecary at the same time as the Bobeam)

My staple: None. I don't really use styling products. Eco styler works well when I want a laid down sleek look.

OILS

-Olive oil (Can be found at your local grocery store)
-Silverbird Eucalyptus oil (Can be found at your local pharmacy)
-Canola oil (Can be found at your local grocery store)
-Castor oil (can be found at your local pharmacy)

My staple: None. I'm using oils less and less. If you had asked me in the past I would say Olive oil but ever since I realized that it does nothing for me when it comes to sealing, I now only use it for occasional oil rinses, prepooing and deep conditioning mixes. Silverbird I use because it is so affordable compared to other essential oils and I like the menthol feel and smell. Castor oil I use mostly when I have a protective style on or if I see my edges vanishing. Canola oil I used out of curiosity and only use for oil rinses and prepooing occasionally.

BUTTERS

-Nasheaba Shea body butter (purchased at Shoprite Accra)
-African Naturalistas hair butter in Sweet Rosie (won in a giveaway but I believe the formula has been revised. Can be purchased on African Naturalistas or Jumia)
-Shea butter (purchased at Game Accra but can be found at your local market)

My staple: Nasheaba or any Shea butter mix/whipped Shea butter really.

MISCELLANEOUS

-Apple Cider Vinegar (purchased at Spar. Can also be found at Shoprite. The organic version can be found at Health Plus)
-Neem powder (purchased on Olori)
-Shikakai powder (purchased on Olori)
-Bhringraj powder (purchased on Olori)

My staple: Apple cider vinegar. I use it as a final rinse most times when I wash my hair(don't know if it makes a difference but I do it) and I use it to clean my scalp when I have a protective style on. Still haven't gotten the hang of Ayurveda though.

C'est fini.

What are your staple products? Is your stash less, similar to or bigger than mine? What products do you recommend I try? Please share!

28Jan2015

What I wore: Stripes and Nude

Posted in events, Fashion, Not hair, Product store, products, What I Wore by Jen

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!

9Jan2015

Tresses And Body Organics

Posted in Feature, Product store, products, Spotlight by Jen

Hey guys,

It’s always a delight to learn about a new Nigerian store or brand that caters to natural/healthy hair and well being. So that when you’re feeling a little rich or you’re in need of some good products, you have places to splurge in and products to splurge on!

Today I’d like to introduce to you Tresses and Body Organics.

What do they do?

“We specialize in everything organic, 100% herbal with no harsh chemicals or additives. Our products nourish, heal, hydrate, tone and keep the skin and hair healthy. We deal with popular brands like Shea Moisture, Cantu, Jessie Curls, Ambro Styl, Softee, Infermo, Silk, Twist n Lock, Vaadi Herbals, Beautiful Textures, African Pride, Forest Essentials etc.

We sell at wholesale and retail, products include:

-Vaadi Herbals

-Shea Moisture range

-Essential/ carrier oils e.g Palmarosa, Argan, Indian Rose, Pimento berry, Clove, Clary sage, Peppermint, Neroli, Tangerine, avocado etc.

-Natural hair products like Jessie Curls, Cantu, Beautiful Textures, Carson’s, Shea Miracle etc.

-Ayuverdic powders from the Middle-East and India e.g Morroccan Rhassoul clay, Neem powder, Amla powder etc.

-Sulfate free shampoos

-Sulfate free conditioners

-Heat protectant serums

-Hair Moisture butters

-Hair Growth oil

-Revitalizing Scrubs

-Facial wash

-Body scrubs

-Home spa kits
Etc.”

Where do they deliver to?

“We deliver nationwide and carry out door to door delivery”

Contact Details:

Phone number- 08075542049 or 08183412877
BB pin- 2B6CAC09
Facebook page- Tresses & Body Organics Ent.
Blog- Tresses and Body Organics
Address- 33, fatai irawo street, Ajao estate, off Int’l airport road, Lagos Nigeria

So that’s it folks; feel free to contact them and buy to your heart’s(and hair’s) content. I haven’t bought from them yet but hopefully I will soon.

If you sell/make natural hair products or offer natural hair related services, feel free to send me an email.

Take care beautiful people,
Have a fun-tastic weekend!

17Dec2014

All I Want For Christmas

Posted in Not hair, products, Wish list by Jen

Hello my people! How body?

Let’s overlook the fact that I’ve been MIA ‘kay? Okay

I’m here to share with you my ~~unrealistic~~ Christmas wish list. You know talking about hair 24/7 can get boring so sometimes we’ve gotta switch it up a bit, no?

Without further ado and in no particular order, here’s what I want(so Santa take note):

1. An iPhone 6

God said it and I believe it that 2015 is my year to be the proud owner of a gold iPhone so that I can also be taking mirror selfies or what do you guys think? So readers as you are reading, if The Lord is laying it in your heart, you can email me and I will receive the phone from you with great gratitude.
(P.s there is an iPad giveaway over at She Loves The Finer Things so don’t dull)

2. Man Candy

Every girl has a/some point(s) in her life where she wonders if she is repelling the good guys and attracting the creeps(Don’t lie!). At the moment, it is basically creep central station for me. So this Christmas, dear Santa, I need me some man candy. Easy on the eyes and sweet too. Is that too much to ask for? I think not.

3. A DSLR Camera

I’ve been wanting one since 2012! I even made a list of the possible options. The Canon T3i is currently topping that list with it being somewhat affordable in comparison yet really great. Hopefully I’ll get one soon *fingers crossed* and that would mean beautiful picture quality on the blog for you all to enjoy.

4. A Vacation

I started a new job guys *fireworks*. But it has only been a little over a month and I am already so stressed out! I need to be on a beach somewhere sipping on a strawberry daiquiri and watching the blue waves rise and fall. Or perhaps in a 5 star restaurant somewhere saying “I’ll have the whole of page 1 and also page 3 and then give me page 6 for dessert”. You know! *sigh*

Of course I have to include some hair stuff too!

5. Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner

I can hear some of you saying “now she is being realistic”. I’ve read so many rave reviews of this product and I am dying to give it a go. As a matter of fact, I spotted it in Accra and purchased it with the speed of light only to walk out of the store and bring it out of the bag to sniff it and realize it was the shampoo! The Kink And I is currently having a huge giveaway which includes this product and you can be sure I entered(again, don’t dull people!)

6. The kinky Apothecary’s Whipped Batter

So I won a giveaway hosted by The Kink And I and The Kinky Apothecary. They gave me Shea Moisture’s Curl Enhancing Smoothie but I also found a cute little sample tub of the whipped batter when the package arrived. I’ve used it now and I love it so much. This stuff smells amaaaazzzing! I want it! I need it!

The Kinky Apothecary is actually giving away 12(yes 12!) tubs of it to 12 lucky people on their Instagram page so do not dull oh!

So that’s it folks. I have loads more on my list but these are the basics.

So do you want any of the things on my list? What do you want this Christmas? Please share!

Hope you’re having a lovely week.
Bises! (‘Hugs/kisses’ in French)

Images gotten from Google, The Kinky Apothecary’s Instagram page and myself

5Dec2014

Double standards

Posted in fiction, random ranting by Jen

My first memory of it was when I was 8 and my uncle gave my brother, Ugo and me a box of crayons to share. The crayons were 15. I wanted to take 8 so Ugo could have 7 after all I was older but Ugo threw a tantrum and said he wanted 8. I ran to my mum and she said to me “Chinenye, let him take 8. He is a boy and you are a girl”.
I didn’t understand what she meant. If she had said “He is your baby brother”, I would have understood even though I wouldn’t give up that 1 crayon willingly. I would have understood.
But she said “He is a boy and you are a girl”.
You see, I’d never thought we were different until that moment. Sure enough I knew daddy always gave him a bigger share of the dried meat he brought home often but I always just thought it was because he was younger.
When daddy told Ugo not to help mummy cook anymore because the kitchen is a woman’s place even though Ugo loved it, I began to wonder.
I said to mummy “why can’t Ugo do what he likes? Does it matter that he’s a boy?” And she said “Nne it does. Some things are for boys while some things are for girls. That is the way it should be”.

In JSS1, I remember practising for weeks the points I would make during the inter-school debate I was meant to represent my school in. I was so excited. My parents were coming to watch me with a photographer to cover the event.
We had had an in-house debate in school and I had won the votes of my classmates beating Vincent 150-40.
On the morning of the event I was dressed in my cleanest, most ironed pinafore with my socks whiter than snow and my shoes so polished you could see your reflection in them. I got to the school bus only to be informed by the debate master that “Vincent will be going for the debate instead. We decided that he will do a better job because he is more confident and assertive”
I cried for days! Vincent that couldn’t even string a sentence together without a grammatical error. Vincent that couldn’t even look you in the eye when he spoke, “more confident and assertive”?. Of course my school lost.

I had worked at B&G Holdings for 7 years and I was due for a promotion. It was down to me and Segun Aina and everyone knew I would be the one because Segun had been in the company for a little over 2 years and hadn’t brought in half as much business as I had. It was a no-brainer, the promotion was mine.
When Segun got the promotion instead, I went to my boss and asked why. He said “Chinenye, you know you are a woman. Very soon you will get married and your family will become number one in your life instead of the company. Besides Segun will be a better representative. People will take him more seriously as the face of the company”.

All the inspirational quotes tell you to work hard so you can be successful. They never mention that you should be a man too if not you will live your life always almost getting to the top, always being second best even when in all honesty you are the best.

***********************************
It’s been too long guys, I know!! Forgive me! This post is fiction but is inspired by Chimamanda Adichie’s “We should all be feminists” speech(I’m too lazy to get you a link but you can google it and watch it on Youtube. An excerpt of it is in Beyoncé’s Flawless) and by my baby brother telling me “You can’t be rich unless you marry a rich man. That’s what I heard on Afmag” after I said “I can’t wait to be rich!”.

What do you guys think? Are there (still) double standards when it comes to men and women especially in Africa because I think there definitely are? What can we do about it?

P.S: if you’re ever looking for me, I can sometimes be found over at my hair blog. You can check it out here if you’re into that sort of thing.

Peace!

14Apr2014

Product store in Nigeria

Posted in products by Jen

Hi y’all,
Straight to the point.

Finding products in Nigeria is still a struggle for me(I’m sure a lot of you can relate!). Even worse is the fact that when I do find products, the prices send me into a mini cardiac arrest(I’m sure even more people can relate). You know I’m a proud member of the Cheapskates club!

So I’ve been thinking, I want to open a store and sell products! Products for natural hair and for anyone who is looking to have healthy hair or who is on a healthy hair journey. I want to focus on those hard to find products/brands that are mostly only available abroad.

My main aim is to make the products reasonably affordable(Considering shipping cost and all). Another aim of mine is to be able to ship nationwide.

Products will be displayed and available for purchase online. Also, they will be available at a supermarket in Ikeja, Lagos for those who prefer to shop physically and for those who want to pickup what they ordered online(Hopefully, more outlets will be available in the future in other places)

For now though, it’s still just an idea. So I need opinions! I was going to put a poll below but I changed my mind. Please let me know in the comment section what you think.

Here’s what I’d like you to answer:

1. Do you think I should start selling hair products or do you think there are too many stores already?

2. What kind of products/tools/things would you like me to stock?

3. What brands would you like me to stock?

4. What do you think of this idea in general?

5. Anything you’d like to say?

Thank you!

Have an awesome week guys!

P.S. Please help me get the word out so that I can get as many people’s feedback as possible, thanks and God bless!

27Nov2013

Casa Bella deal on Dealdey! + NITC reminder

Posted in events, products by Jen

As I might have mentioned in a previous post, Casa Bella is a Nigerian store that sells natural hair products like Giovanni, Cantu, Taliah Waajid, Creme of Nature etc as well as other hair and beauty products. At the moment, they have a deal on Dealdey for 50% off on a N3000 voucher. This simply means you will be paying N1500 for a voucher worth N3000 so you’re saving N1500. So you can buy N3000 worth of stuff from Casa Bella with this voucher having only paid N1500 for it.

You can use the voucher at any of the following Casa Bella outlets:

-The Palms Shopping Centre, Lekki
-Ikeja City Mall, Alausa
-Adeniran Ogunsanya (Shoprite) Mall, Surulere
-Polo Park Mall, Enugu
-Grand Towers Mall, Abuja
-Ajose Adeogun Street, opposite Zenith Bank HQ, Victoria Island

You know your girl got a voucher! Cheapskates don’t sleep, LOL! I have my eyes on that Cantu shea butter leave in.

Hurry because the voucher sales end in 5 days!

To buy your own voucher from Dealdey, click here

Also, don’t forget that NITC7 is this Saturday! Don’t let them gist you; come and see it first hand. Relaxed, big chop, natural, transitioning, bald; it don’t even matter! The focus is healthy hair and we all want that right?

Highlights:

~There will be talks about:
..protective styling
..hygienic makeup application
..Ayurvedic treatments
etc.

~A hair documentary will also be screened and discussed.

~There will be a product swap as well so come with all the products you would like to swap(Don’t bring empty containers oh!).

~There will be stands selling all sorts of goodies from essential oils to conditioners to accessories, name it! (All those products you’ve been eyeing but didn’t order because of delivery costs will be there! I know I want glycerin, aloe vera juice, tea tree oil and Jamaican Black Castor Oil!)

So clear your calendar and try your absolute best not to miss it.

Till next time,
Peace, love and good hair!

21Nov2013

Natural hair event in Lagos!

Posted in events by Jen

Hi y’all, I just dropped by to inform you guys that there will be a natural hair event in Lagos on the 30th of Novemeber! *crowd goes wild*

It’s called Naturals In The City(NITC) and this is actually the 7th time it’s being held. I’ve never attended one but I’ve seen the pictures and it looks like so much fun. There’s natural, transitioning and even relaxed ladies to meet, educative hair talks, various stands where you can buy natural hair goodies and lots more. I wasn’t able to go for the 6th one because I was at NYSC camp I think but I hope to be there for this one!

This one is going to focus on protective styling. And guess what? There’ll be a product swap! So bring all the products you don’t want and see if you can swap them with people. If I go, I’ll definitely be bringing my Ecostyler gel that’s still full.

Venue: Omenka Gallery, 24 Ikoyi Crescent off Osborne RD, Ikoyi Lagos.
Date: 30th November, 2013.
Time: 1:30pm to 5:30pm
ENTRY IS FREE! *team cheapskate applauds* But hold your cash to buy some products and stuff at the stands!

So save the date and make sure you come! Tell someone to tell someone