FOLLOW BiL WITH BLOGLOVIN

TGIF People!

Just a very quick post to remind you that Google Friend Connect (GFC) is shutting down 1st of July 2013, which is next week Monday.

If you follow BiL and all your other favourite blogs on GFC, you can simply import them to Bloglovin with one easy click. Here's the link to do so: http://www.bloglovin.com/import/reader

thefashtag.wordpress.com

To follow blogs with Bloglovin you will need to setup an account, which is real quick and straight forward or you can sign-up using your Facebook credentials, which doesn't require the hassle of creating an account.

So yeah, GFC shutting down, Bloglovin is now the way, Follow BiL on Bloglovin here!

Have an awesome weekend!

Laters,

Ez xxX

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Ez HEALTHY HAIR JOURNEY - Kinky Apothecary

Hey Everyone,

This year I decided I needed to start taking better care of my hair A few months ago, specifically mid-April, was when I actually embarked on my 'journey'. For years and years and years I have worn weaves, back to back to back, and although weaves are a great protective style, I wasn't taking care of my hair at all. So I decided that I will embark on my own Healthy Hair Journey (HHJ). I used to cringe at the sentence HHJ, but I have come to find that it is a very apt description of the haircare process, it is infact a journey.

Now I have only just started and all I'm learning is off hair blogs and youtube (Youtube is so amazing, honestly!), so I am no guru yet, not even close. I am discovering my hair (*cringe*) and getting to know what works for it and what doesn't. To keep track I have decided to start a little journal on here and I'm calling it 'Ez's Healthy Hair Journey'. I'll be sharing everything about my hair on here, the products I buy, the products I love, benefits of tea-rinses, relaxer stretches, etc.

So to kick it off, I will like to share with you all, one of my first hair-hauls and chat a little about what I do with each of the products and how they work for me :)

So you'll remember I was gifted a lovely package filled with hair goodies from Kinky Apothecary, back in April. And that was just when I had actually started caring for my hair. I must say that package helped a whole lot and I want to say another big thank you to Nibi. So I went back and bought some of the stuff I was sent and a more.

Grapeseed Oil - N1000

I got a mini-size of this in the pack I was gifted and I loved it so much, I went and purchased the full-sized bottle. I use this for my hot-oil treatment and also to seal my hair after I have moisturized it. Ps: I think I will explain a few hair 'terms' in my next 'Ez HHJ' series post. Just so that you all have a better understanding when I talk about all the hair 'stuff'

Castor Oil - N1000

Was also gifted a mini-size of this and I repurchased. We all know the benefit of Castor Oil, it really stimulates hair growth. So I use this to seal the hairs all around the perimeter of my head. That's my edges, nape of the neck and everywhere in between. I also, use this sometimes for my pre-poo and hot oil treatments. I have also heard about Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO), and this is even more 'potent' and works even better, so I have plans to get this.

Spray Bottle - N500 & Vegetable Glycerine - N1000

I got this spray bottle to help me get some moisture in my hair. My moisturizer of choice could be one of  my water-based moisturizers or just distilled water with a few drops of Vegetable Glycerine mixed in. And this is where my little spray bottle comes in. I got the vegetable glycerine from Kinky Apothecary as well (captured in the first picture above and you can see it peeking out a little in the above picture on the left). I mix the distilled water and glycerine in equal ratios and just spritz all over my hair. I do this when my hair is especially dry. Distilled water is simply bottled-water.

Eco Styler Morrocan Argan Oil Styling Gel - N1000

This, I use to tame my edges. It's very lightweight, but get's the job done. Yes I know I have raved about two different edge-tamers on this here blog ( here & here), but this, I am loving. It is water-based so comes off easily. It works for me.There are various versions of this Eco Styler, I got the the one infused with Argan Oil, as I know this oil is really good for the hair. So I can tame my edges and nourish them at the same time, win-win!


So that's it. The first few products I got when I embarked on my HHJ. Ps: you need to see my stash now, it's embarassing the number of products I have accumulated. But I have decided not to get anything more until I've used up all I have. Hope this was somewhat helpful, I don't know. When I got started on my journey, seeing hair-hauls really got me excited and gave me some sort of direction on the sort of stuff I wanted to get. So hopefuly this helps someone too :)

What oils do you use on your hair?

Laters,

Ez xxX


I would like to dedicate this post to my dearest friend Lew. Just want her to know she is not alone and I love her very very very much! It gets better from here....

MANICURE MONDAYS - 017

 

 

 

Details
Manicure: Nail Studio In Victoria Island
Price of Manicure: N2000 (Change of Polish, slightly more expensive because not 'regular' polish was used)
Polish:  CND Vinylux Weekly Polish 'Azure Wish'

Laters,

Ez xxX

THE 2ND LAGOS MAKEUP FAIR (LMUF2)

Hey Everyone!

Yay! They're back! I thoroughly enjoyed LMUF1 (check out that post here). The fair really opened my world to a lot of beauty vendors in Lagos. I got to see that there a lot more makeup brands available to buy in Lagos. I adore SMEs, they provide the sort of 'personal' touch we as customers cannot get from their larger counterparts. I also typed-up a whole post about the stuff I got at the last one here: LMUF1 Haul

The 2nd Lagos MakeUp Fair is the 6th edition in the MakeUp Fair Series after its successful editions in Abuja, Portharcourt and Owerri . The MakeUp Fair series is a makeup and beauty shopping extravaganza   which is intended to give makeup and beauty professionals a great   platform from which to conclude business with attendees/visitors by showcasing and demonstrating their products to potential customers.

Exhibitor Categories include: 

Makeup products, tools and Personal Care:
Wellness and Spa:
Hair Care, products and accessories

LMUF2 is a great marketplace for finding targeted audience many of  which are buyers or people who can recommend your product to the right people. Vendors/companies/brands also get to have a face to face    meeting, show and demonstrate their products to attendees/visitors who are prospective customers.

If you love everything makeup and beauty Dont miss this great makeup  and beauty shopping extravaganza!!!

 
Details
Date : 22nd June, 2013
Venue: Anchor Events Place No 2 Registration Close behind Union bank after LTV Agidingbi Ikeja Lagos
Time:  10 – 7pm
Attendance is FREE!

Makeovers...Shopping...Fun...Networking...Food...Drinks, Loads of  freebies for grabs and Free breast Cancer Screening.

Contact

For Sponsorship, Registration and Participation

Phone No: 08037862333, 08188905667

Email:       lagos@themakeupfair.com

Website:   www.lagosmakeupfair.com

Twitter:     @themakeupfair

BBpin:      2638BBCC

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/themakeupfairseries

I am definitely going to stop by and can't wait to check out a few vendors. A few of my favourites will be there like, Gifty's Daughter and My Makeup and I'm excited to check out DevaPetals, they posted some gorgeous whipped sheabutter lotions and potions on their instagram page, can't wait to try them out.

Hope to see some of you guys tomorrow!

Laters,

Ez xxX 

DéCOLLETé FASHION LOUNGE - Knuckle-Rings and Accessories

Hey there People-weople! :)

Hope everyone's had a good week so far. I am quite excited to type up this post as I think most of you will enjoy it.

Now, I had been sharing my Manicures via my Instagram page (@BeautyInLagos) way before I decided to bring them to the blog and as much as everyone liked the manicures, I got an equal amount of questions concerning the rings I wore on my fingers, particularly my dainty knuckle rings. I didn't get by rings in Lagos and every time I replied with the source I felt like I wasn't helping.

When it comes to my daily accessories, be it bracelets, necklaces or rings I tend to gravitate towards the dainty, 'barely-there' variety. But at night or to parties and stuff I like the chunky, embellished, slightly-garish sort lol. Anyways, imagine my excitement when I discovered DéColleté Fashion Lounge and their amazing accessories. So many dainty accessories, all right up my street.

DéColleté Fashion Lounge has been doing pop up shops since 2009 in Lagos. They have really fun and unique clothes, jewelry and accessories collections that have been specially curated from around the world. They focus on quality and making their customers happy. 

So I had a little browse through their catalogue and had to literally talk myself out of getting 90% of their stock.

Don't mean to harp on about this all the time on my blog, but LOOK at that presentation! Honestly, just for accessories??!?! I LOVE IT! You get delicate little boxes to store your accessories in, so they don't tarnish quickly. DéColleté also provides a little card with specific details on how to preserve your accessories so they last you a very long time.

R17(Pinky, Ring and Index Fingers): N2000 & R12 (Cross Ring): N2000

I just love love love how tiny and dainty these rings are, particularly the three on my pinky, ring and index fingers. These three came in a set and I have provided the prices above. How adorable is that. I am including the product codes along with the pricing in case you'd like to order some of the accesories I got :)

B10: N2000

I'd been seeing the Necklace version of the Bracelet above, all over the blogs and instagram. I think they are replicas of the Versace one, made popular when Rihanna rocked it a few months back. I didn't really like the necklace, but when I saw this in the DéColleté catalogue I thought 'ooooh, I quite like this bracelet version', and I love it! Very lightweight and perfect to add to my 'Night-time/Party' stack of bracelets :)

B1: N1500

In Love!! This hand-chain is what I call 'Dainty-Perfection'. I cannot get enough of it. I even got it in the gold finish too! :). It comes in 3 finishes: Gold, Silver and GunMetal.

R18 (Knuckle-Ring): N2000

I love my gold accessories, but I do like to throw in some silver at times. And I got the little silver knuckle ring as well to go with my silver hand-chain and my other silver accessories.

And as IF I could love Decollete anymore than I already did, they added a little gift to my order! The earrings are just so gorgeous and I could not stop looking at them. Thank you so so so much DéColleté!

Now these are the items I ordered, they have got a whole lot more items for sale, to order or browse their catalogue just read all the information I have provided below.

Details 

1. To order please click this link to check out the items: http://issuu.com/paijeny/docs/decollete_fashion_lounge_privy_orde_22256d31c568be  
2. Write the code of the item you want, then send an email to decollete.sales@gmail.com. They will send a confirmation email with an invoice and instructions. 
3. If the link provided above does not work, just send an email to the address provided requesting their catalogue and they will forward a PDF version of it.

Their website is launching soon: www.ShopDFL.com. Check it out and fill the form to get exclusives on their official launch date and future events!

Decollete Social Media Links 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/shopdecollete

Instagram: @ShopDecollete

Facebook: Facebook.com/DécolletéFashionLounge

So you'll be seeing a LOT more raaangs and thaaangs adorning my fingers for my Manicure Mondays posts!

As much as I love sharing my finds and stuff with you guys I also love hearing back from you. So if you do decide to purchase anything from DéColleté please please share with me by tweeting pics or tagging me on instagram! I love looking at stuff other people buy, I'm nosey like that :)

Speak to you all in my next post :). Lots of Love

Laters,

Ez xxX

WHO IS EZ? - 30 Things About Me

Hiya!

So I've seen this 'XX things about me' tag floating around the interwebs, especially youtube. Since I am not ready to start posting videos on my youtube page yet, I have decided to type mine up instead.

So if you've got a little extra time on your hands, allow me to let you in on some personal ish! :)

Baby Ez

1. I am half Bura, half Igbo. 'Bura' is a tribe from Adamawa State.
2. I am full Nigerian. In my family (on my mum's side) my great-great grandmother was white so I got the gene. There's a couple of us in the family that got it.
3. I have got two Sisters. I'm in the middle
4. In 1999 my parents adopted a teenage boy and I got a Brother! :)
5. I give the best road directions
6. I love my own company
7. I have a phobia for birds, all feathered creatures and even feathers
8. My favourite colour is PINK!
9. I detest odours. Infact I am pertified of them. If I was speaking to someone and they had mouth/body odour I'd just walk away as soon as I got a whiff. Mid-convo, just walk away. I do this all the time.
10. I have got a slight lisp when I talk
11. When I was born the doctors thought I had Jaundice because I was so pale and my mum was darker than I was, so they couldn't understand. I didn't have Jaundice afterall.
12. When I was a toddler I almost went deaf. We were all sat eating breakfast at the table and then a voice in my mum's head went " Your child's going deaf". And she came over to my side and clapped in my right ear and I didn't even flinch or look at her. She immediately bundled me off to the hospital and turns out I had an infection/growth in my nose that was spreading to my ears and was rushed into surgery to have it taken out. This is a true story!
13. I started modelling when I was 18
14. Most people think I am tough. I have NO idea why
15. I hate confrontations, like to pick my battles.
16. Self-confidence is something I recently gained
17. I once lost a job because of how I looked. Not my appearance, just how I looked. (I just re-read this and thought, as a model I have lost A LOT of jobs because of how I looked. What I meant here is a professional/office/9-5 type job, my bad)
18. My dream car is an All-white Mercedes G-Wagon G65 with the darkest factory tints on all windows.
19. I drive with my left hand on the steering and my right on the gear. Even though I drive an automatic and I am right-handed. This is because I learnt how to drive using a manual car and I guess I always had my hand on the gear.
20. It drives me mad when I catch people staring at me
21. I cannot shave/use depilatory creams on my underarms. I have to get them waxed professionally every other week
22. There is a part of my life that I have never ever mentioned to anyone except family. Well, they lived through it as well.
23. I haven't got that many friends but I know quite a number of people
24. I can't understand unkempt people
25. I am an extremely picky eater. I always have something added in or taken out of my food. During my undergrad years, my local chinese restaurant added in a new number on their menu for me it was number 96A: Special Fried Rice with extra chicken and shrimp, no veg and very spicey
26. I don't eat the skin on a piece of chicken, roasted, barbequed, KFC.. I never eat the skin. It grosses me out
27. I don't eat the yolk in an egg.. Fried or boiled
28. When I was 10/11 I got scouted by a French model-agent whilst shopping with my mum. She asked my mum if she would be interested in getting me into modeling. My mum gave a resounding NO. (cheers mum)
29. I hate being hounded for anything, especially when it's a favour
30. I plan to have a full-on dressing room at my house, complete with professional-standard salon and walk-in closet

That took a WHILE to type-up! But there it is... Feel like you know me better? lol

Laters,

Ez xxX

MANICURE MONDAYS - 016

Details
Manicure: Done Myself
Polish: Essie (this did not have a name on the bottom)

Laters,

Ez xxX

NOKIA LUMIA 920 - What I Think

Hey Hey peoples!

Hope Everyone's well and not letting the harsh world out there get to them :). At least the Weekend's here!

Last month I was contacted by a representative from Nokia Nigeria asking if I was interested in trying out one of their phones for two weeks. I immediately glanced at the 3 phones I had already and thought.. "Why the hell not!" lool.. I have been curious to try out other phones apart from the iPhone and Blackberry, so this seemed the perfect opportunity.

Emails were exchanged, agreements signed and next thing I knew I was sat in the Nokia Nigeria reception picking up my brand-spanking new Nokia Lumia 920.

I was asked what colour I'd prefer: white, black or red. I went for red, because it's the closest color to pink  
(don't judge)  and I walked out with my new phone in hand.

First impression, it is slightly bigger and heavier than what I am accustomed to in a mobile phone. But once I had charged it up and the display came on, the graphics were so clear, I forgot the size (I am so easy). Before I go any further, I love my gadgets for what they can do, but I am no 'techie'. I don't know any technical terms so my description of this phone is going to be from a VERY primitive layman's point of view..lol

Luckily for me, I work in an office where we have very tech-savvy engineers roaming the place when they aren't on the rig. And last week I had one of them check out the phone for me. I said to him "Come check out my new Android phone". He goes "Err, that's not an Android, it runs a Windows OS".

See, I thank God for him, because I was going to come on here and type "Wooo, checkout my new Android".. *womp*

What I think
 As a blogger, the FIRST  thing to check will be the camera! Because we are always snapping shots and a good camera phone is always handy, especially for impromtu photo ops. And I do a truckload of those. Especially when I discover a new product available in a store or want to share a lipstick I'm wearing (I do this via instagram).

The pictures off the Lumia 920 are so crystal clear, better than my iPhone! But I will say I am struggling a little to get the Lumia to focus. Maybe I haven't figured it out yet, or something. Fairly close-up snaps are good, but I tried to take an OOTD the other day and when I pulled back a bit, all I got was a blurred image.

Another thing is, there's no INSTAGRAM! This is also important to me, because I share a lot of pictures on instagram and I wasn't pleased. But I lovely follower on twitter said I should try 'Itsdagram'. Now this app works ok, I can see my feed and upload pictures, but it hasn't got any of the filters that Instagram has. This wasn't an issue for me, as I like to keep the filters to a minimum because I want my followers on there to see the true colour of a product, especially nail polishes and lipstick swatches.

Overall, I think it's a pretty decent phone! I haven't completely explored this phone, as two weeks just isn't enough. But I can tell it can do a lot! Only gripe is I don't like Windows much, but I can see that even Windows have stepped their game up and it really doesn't seem like a Window OS is running on it.

Now the big question "Will I recommend it"? Yes I will! I think it is a welcome change from the usual iPhones and Blackberrys, and it can do everything they can do... Oh and it's got whatsapp for you instant communicator addicts!

So, who's got a Nokia Lumia? What's your opinion?

Laters,

Ez xxX

KEEPING UP WITH - BeautyInLagos

Hi Everyone,

I know that I do not post as often as I'd like, but you can keep up with BiL on a number of different Social Media spots. I decided to take time out to share with you guys the various platforms BiL is available on.

The above links are totally 'clickable' and take you to the necessary social media platform you choose to follow BeautyInLagos with. It's located in the right-hand sidebar at the top :)

BlogLovin' 

I absolutely LOVE bloglovin'. This is the only way I keep up with my favourite blogs. It's so convenient. And unlike google's 'blogger', you do not need to be a blogger yourself to sign-up! And what's more, if you do not like the hassle of signing-up, you can log-in using your facebook credentials. Honestly cannot rave about this enough. All your favourite blogs are available on bloglovin', even if they do not display a bloglovin' badge on their page, simple search for the blog URL in the search box and it pops up! It is also available in the Appstore for iPhones and iPads. All latest post from blogs you follow are pushed through and are arranged from newest to oldest, so you have a mish-mash of  latest blog posts from a variety of blogs. Sort of like a magazine with various articles. Follow BeautyInLagos on Bloglovin' here: BiL on Bloglovin' (link also available in sidebar)

Google Friend Connect (GFC)

Now, as most of you know from July 1st, 2013, Google Reader is going to be taken down, deleted, removed from Cybespace! When I got this alert from blogger, not gonna lie, I was not happy. I keep up with my fellow Nigerian bloggers primarily using Google Reader. Now one thing that's tied to Google Reader is Google Friend Connect. No one is entirely sure how the removal of GoogleReader will affect GFC, some say it won't affect it, others say it will.
Either way, please follow BeautyInLagos via GFC by clicking 'Join This Site' in the sidebar on the right!

Twitter

This lovely MicroBlogging site. I tweet quite regularly and it is the best way to get updates and quick responses from me! I love to interact with all you guys and I have found Twitter to be the easiest, most-convenient way! Follow BeautyInLagos on twitter here: BiL on Twitter (link also available in sidebar)

Facebook

I post pictures and also interact with my Facebook friends regularly. If the 140character limitation on twitter isn't allowing you send that beauty question/concern you've got for me. Simply move over to Facebook and send me a message! Like the BeautyInLagos Page here: BiL on Facebook  (link also available in sidebar)

 Instagram

My favourite Social Media application! This is available on Apple and Android smartphones. I am constantly posting pictures of all sorts! Mostly beauty, fashion and style inspirations. I can't get enough of instagram, I honestly get inspired on there everyday! Follow BeautyInLagos on Instagram here: BiL on Instagram (link also available in sidebar)

Tumblr

If you want to see all sorts of pictures that inspire me. You can also follow my tumblr page. I hardly post anything personal on there, just a bunch of reposts that inspire me or catch my eye. This is a little separate from BiL stuff, it's more of a personal PinBoard of sorts for me! If you are interested in that sort of stuff, you can follow me on Tumlblr here: www.9to5-modellife.tumblr.com


And that's it! I think I've got all fronts covered in terms of my Social Media interaction cred! Please please please follow me on whichever is convenient for you! Or you can do what I do, I follow all my favourite blogs across ALL platforms. That way I am up to speed with their lives :D

Hope this post was somewhat helpful for you guys! Lots of Love!

Laters,

Ez xxX