Book Review: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

Hello guys. It's the weekend, yay! This week has been really crazy for me. You know that feeling when you have so much to do and you just feel so overwhelmed? Yup, that's how I feel right now. I have tons of things on my to do list, wish me luck lol. My uni application deadline is soon and I'm still not totally sure of my uni choices so that's been bothering me as well. Sigh, there's so much to do and yet so little time. 

Anyways, this book review was first published in February 2015 but as you all know by now I took down all my old posts this year. This book is really good, so far I've read it THREE times. That's how much I love it . So I'm sharing the review again for those who don't know about it. I hope you enjoy my review and that you have a lovely weekend. xx

Name of Book: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

Author: Lola Shoneyin

Year of Publication:2010

Book Summary - The book is basically about a graduate Bolanle who marries Baba Segi. Baba Segi already has three wives though and they're all illiterates. The wives obviously do  not like Bolanle as they are threatened by the fact that she is educated and are also afraid that she will find out their secret  . But on the other hand, Baba Segi is worried when Bolanle doesn't give him a child and so they go around looking for a solution to the problem. Throughout the book, Bolanle has to endure a lot of things;from  the wives hunting for ways to throw her out by resorting to all sort of things like  framing her with a dead rat and accusing her of practicing juju (evil magic) to trying to poison her,Baba Segi's continuous nagging for a child and her mother's anger at her marrying a polygamist. Bolanle has to overcome all these challenges to finally realize what she really wants out of life.

What I Loved: I love how the book was set in a traditional Yoruba setting. I'm Yoruba and proud lol. Nowadays, culture is a thing of the past for some people and I love it when I see people embrace their culture in these modern times. I love the use of local proverbs and just the mood of a typical Nigerian setting that the book portrays. 

What I Hated: Nothing at all. I didn't hate anything. However, something baffled me. Why would a graduate, a Nigerian one at that who knows how polygamous homes usually are, marry a man who already has three wives? In the book Bolanle said Baba Segi offered her security but I don't see it really. You should know that in a polygamous home even if the women are not evil and out to destroy each other that there will almost always be squabbles. Am I making sense or have I just been watching too many African Magic Yoruba movies?

Final Verdict: It was a gorgeous book and I loved it . I can't wait for Lola Shoneyin to release another one. It wasn't expensive either. I got mine at the airport so obviously the price was a little bit higher. For my Lagos readers, you can get it at Mega Plaza in Ikoyi for about 3000 naira (well this was the price before recession lol). You can also buy it online HERE.

The Beginner's Guide To Natural Hair: My Wash Day Routine

Hello guys, happy Friday! Sorry about not putting up a new post on Monday, my plans fell through. Anyways I'm really happy the weekend is here. School was quite hectic and it's only just the beginning sigh. 

          This is a continuation of my natural hair series and today I'm going to be talking about my wash day routine. Now everyone has their way of doing things and it might be totally different from how I do mine. I'm still somewhat a newbie so I'm going to share what works for me. As always, if you have any more tips please leave them in the comments section!

• Some people prepoo (pre-shampoo) their hair before washing. They believe that it helps to prevent your shampoo from totally stripping your natural oils from your hair, makes your hair easier to detangle and helps prevent breakage. You can read more about that here. PS: That website is where I go to read more about natural hair and learn new things.  I don't prepoo because I'm too lazy busy but it's something I want to start doing. When I do, I'll let you guys know if it's really beneficial. 

• My hair is short so it doesn't really get tangled so I just go straight in with my shampoo. I use the ORS Curls Unleashed Sulfate Free Shampoo and I really like it. It smells like coconuts and who doesn't like the smell of coconuts?  It gets the job done and isn't very drying as it has no sulfates in it. I also like the Cantu Moisturising Cream Shampoo but I don't use it that much as it has sulfates in it. I also use the Cantu Moisturising Cream Conditioner. It's okay I guess. It's not super amazing or anything. I would like to try the Cantu Natural hair range as I've heard rave reviews about that.

• After washing my hair, I deep condition it with my ORS Hair Mayonnaise. I apply it to my hair , put on a plastic cap and leave it on for about twenty minutes. I like to dance to music while the cap is on to generate more heat. I love how my hair feels when I rinse it out, it's a really good deep conditioner.

 

•  After this, I use a large cotton t shirt to dry my hair. Cotton is really good for absorbing moisture. Afterwards I moisturise my hair, you can read about how I do that here.

So yeah, this is my basic washday routine. I know some people co wash instead of using a shampoo (i.e. wash their hair with conditioner) and I know a bit about all these other things but I haven't tried them yet so I don't want to talk about them. Anyways I hope this post was useful to someone and I hope you all have a lovely weekend! xx

On My Radar: Velvet

Hi guys, it's Friday yaaaaay! Thankfully, the sore throat that I spoke about in the previous post is gone. I'm never going to take a healthy throat for granted again lol. 

Untitled #66 by demmiie featuring sleeveless shirts

Halter top / Miss Selfridge sleeveless shirt, £21 / Long sleeve crop top / Balmain red blazer, £1,310 / Dorothy Perkins bootie boots, £59 / River Island blue sandals

So one trend (can I call it that?) that I'm really loving right now is velvet. Velvet dresses, shoes,bags,jackets, everything! There's just something about it that feels very royal, to me anyways. My favourite combination is velvet in burgundy , so gorgeous . A few weeks ago I saw the burgundy boots (2) at Dorothy Perkins and I fell in love. Trust me, they look even nicer in person. I'm all for velvet this Fall, how about you?

Timoni Dress

Zeina Dress

Fisayo Longe

So Fisayo Longe (check her amazing blog here) who I absolutely adore recently started her own clothing line called KAI . Every single thing in the first collection is gorgeous but my favourite items are the two velvet dresses and since I'm talking about velvet today, why not let you guys see the gorgeous dresses too? Shop KAI Collective here. And PS, this is not an ad. I just really love her .

Have a great weekend guys! xx

Monday Motivation:The Comparison Game

Hello guys! How's your Monday going so far? I have a nasty cold and the most painful sore throat ever so I'm feeling a bit glum. Thankfully I have today and tomorrow off from school and hopefully that's enough time to recover.

The world has become so competitive and lots of people in your field are amazing at what they do. It's very easy to get caught up in inferiority. There was a time I actually stopped blogging because I felt my blog did not measure up. I even considered shutting it down completely because I felt "it wasn't good enough."

Even in our everyday lives, it's so easy to get caught up in the comparison game when we see our age mates/colleagues excelling and we feel like life is just passing us by. I'm here to tell you this afternoon that you should STOP IT.  It's easier said than done but I believe constantly comparing yourself to others is really unhealthy. It breeds self doubt and eats at your confidence. If you're like me, it just makes you paranoid because you think everyone is comparing you to someone else the way you're comparing yourself. 

In the Blogger Spotlight interview , Alma said something that really stuck with me: "Use other bloggers as a source of inspiration as opposed to measurement of success." This is applicable to all areas of our lives. Use successful people as inspiration to better yourself. There's no need using someone else as a measure of your success.  Look at what these successful people are doing and see if you can learn something that'll be useful to you. I'm not saying copy them o but there's no harm in drawing inspiration from someone else .

As I said before, it's not very easy . But if you focus on doing you and bettering yourself, you won't even have the time to compare yourself to others. One of my mottos in life is "DO YOU." Trust me, it is so worth it. As cliche as this sounds, remember that you're amazing and you will do amazing things as long as you focus on improving yourself. Have a great week! xx

PS: If you didn't know already, I post twice a week. Mondays and Fridays to be exact . 

Currently Loving #1

Hello guys, happy new month! Can't believe it's September already, time goes by so fast. This post should have gone up yesterday but I resumed school on Wednesday much to my surprise so I didn't have time to post. I went to get my timetable for the new year on Wednesday and they were like "By the way, you're all resuming this week and not next week since you're A2 students." I'm happy to be back in school though so it's all good.

Did anyone watch Beyonce's VMA performance? I. WAS.BLOWN.AWAY. In case you're wondering, I'm a huge Beyonce fan, I've been once since I was like 8. I love how she perfects her craft and how creative she is. As my friend Daniella said, she's the kind of person that you can say uses her potential to the max. I'm sure she has her flaws and all but I still really admire her. 

Anyways, I just want to share with you all a few things that I'm loving at the moment and hopefully it'll be relevant to one or two people. 

• The Sleek Contour Kit

So I got this contour kit after hearing people rave about how good it is. And I'm really glad I did, it's a good contouring product and it's not expensive either, only £6.49. Please note that I'm talking about the powder contour kit, the cream one is more expensive. I was at home most days during summer so I didn't use it a lot but I loved it the few times I did. It comes with a dark powder for contouring and highlighter. The powder does a great job as long as you don't use excess (if you do, it just looks strange) . It's actually the highlighter I love the most. This summer, highlighters were all the rage and I'm in love with them. I got the contour kit in Dark and so the highlighter is copperish/orangish which I think looks really good on dark skin tones compared to pinkish ones.

As you can see, I use the highlighter a LOT lol. 

If you live in Nigeria you can get it here  and if you live  in the UK here and here.

• The L'Oreal Paris Pure Clay Mask

I got this at Boots because I was on the hunt for a new face mask and this one was really cheap (£5). I decided to buy it just to try. I'm so glad I did. The face mask comes in three different types , I got the detox one. It has three types of clay and has charcoal in it as well.  Charcoal is really good for your skin, so I've heard. I use this once a week and I can always tell the difference in my skin after I use it. It's wonderful. The demand for it has been really high and so the price has gone up to £7.99. I think it's a great product and I can't wait to try the other types. 

I actually have a picture of me with the clay on my face but
I look so scary so I won't put it up. 

If you live in the UK get it here . Unfortunately I couldn't find any place that has it in Nigeria. You can order it from Amazon I guess but then the amount you'll spend on custom charges will be more than the price of the product itself so it doesn't really make sense you  know? If I ever find it anywhere, I'll let you all know! 

Have a great weekend everyone! xx

5 Year Bloggerversary!!!

Hello, hello my people!  I created my blog in August 2011 when I was 12. 5 years, blog name changes and lots of embarrassing blog posts  (which I have now taken down)later, here I am! Although I restarted the blog in January and so my official bloggerversary is January 2016, it's very comforting to know that I've owned this tiny piece of the internet. I feel very proud of myself for holding it down for so long and I hope I can hold it down for even longer! 

To all the people that have read, shared and subscribed, thank you so much. I appreciate all the support. xx

#GirlBoss: A Must Read

I really need to stop being so anxious about everything. The Bible says we should cast all our anxiety upon the Lord because he cares for us, need to stick this in my brain. Last week I was so nervous about my AS results, I thought I was going to throw up.I prayed about the exams but also studied really hard (faith without actions is dead remember?). They ended up being really great and I was so relieved and thankful. Being anxious gets you nowhere, it just leaves you frazzled. 

I don't know if it's because I'm getting older but I'm really into motivational books written by successful women right now. This is the first one I've read and I've added more to my list. I took down all my old posts but if you've been an avid reader of my blog, this book was on my summer reading list last year. Fast forward to 2016, I was randomly scrolling through books on Amazon (a favourite pastime of mine) when I saw it and it was sooo cheap. I ordered it right there and then. The company I ordered it from is called Book Depository.

PS: Delivery is free worldwide and no, this is not an ad. 

Anyways, I really like this book. I love it infact. Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal , a leading etailer that made $300 million in revenue last year  tells us about her rise to success. Her story is very funny and sometimes jaw dropping. She made Forbes' list of America's Richest Self Made Women this year. Honestly, this book is so inspiring. It's not boring, it's like reading a story book. Every girl that wants to be a #GirlBoss in whatever she does should definitely add this to her reading list. Here are a few excerpts from the book that I loved: 

In the book, Sophia stresses the importance of controlling your finances A LOT.
And she is a person I'm willing to take advice from when it comes to money. Do you know she built
her company debt free? Unbelievable.

This made me think a lot. Nobody owes you anything.
If you want something, ask for it. Nothing is going to
come to you.

She used a funny story about a time she got a Victoria's Secret bra to
stress the fact that little things matter. The little things add up to make the big things.

I honestly hope you get this book and you read it and you love it. Thank you for reading. xx

Blogger Spotlight: Alma of The Alma Chronicle

Hello guys, happy new month! I do apologise for being absent throughout last week. I had posts planned out and all but the wifi suddenly developed a mind of its own and stopped working. Very bizarre. Thankfully it has been fixed.

     There are so many amazing bloggers out there that I love . I have decided to start a new series on the blog called Blogger Spotlight so that you guys can know them too. If you have any blogger in particular that you'd like me to ask some questions, let me know in the comments section! xx

I'm a big fan of this particular blogger. I actually discovered her blog through Twitter. Someone retweeted one of her tweets, I checked her account and followed her. Then I started reading her blog and retweeting all her gorgeous outfit pictures. My admiration for her skyrocketed after reading this interview she had with Bella Naija. I present to you Alma Ezonfade of The Alma Chronicle. 


When did you start blogging and why?
⁃ I started blogging in January 2015. Before that, I was an avid reader of different fashion & style blogs and I really liked what it was all about. I liked the idea of having a space to freely express your thoughts whilst sharing style and beauty tips. At that time, I must admit I wasn't the most stylish person but I wanted a platform I could document bits and pieces of my life and voila, The Alma Chronicle was born. 

What's your blog about?
⁃ My blog is mostly about my personal style. It's also a space for me to freely express my thoughts on certain topics that I’m passionate about. 

How would you describe your style?
⁃ Simple & Comfortable. My personal style is greatly influenced by the saying "less is more" and that's what I try to preach on my blog. I believe in making the most out of simple basic pieces and I don't believe in compromising comfort to look good. 

How do you balance work/school and blogging?
⁃ Well, I just completed my masters in Engineering Management and for that period, my blog suffered. I'm not the best at juggling priorities so I wouldn't say there's much of a balance yet. Lately, I've embraced the idea of scheduling posts and bulk shooting so my blog doesn't suffer even when my life is busy. 

What does self love mean to you?
⁃ Self love to me, simply means being able to accept, love and respect yourself. Being able to comfortably call out my insecurities and imperfections and then accepting them because essentially that's what makes me ....ME! It's very important that us females understand this because we're in the day and age where the media influences whether we love ourselves or not and that's just simply sad.

What are some principles you live by and why?
⁃ live with no regrets and try everything at least once.

What're your future goals for your blog?
⁃ Hmmm. I can never really put these goals in short sentences. In summary, I want my blog to be a sure stop for ladies of different demographics seeking some sort of style inspiration. 

What advice would you give to aspiring bloggers?
⁃ Don't compare yourself to other bloggers. I know this is easier said than done because we live in an era where success is largely publicized on social media platforms and as such, it's easy to get caught up in the quicksand of self doubt when you feel you aren't moving as fast or benefitting as quickly as the next person. Do your own thing, appreciate every lesson learnt and you'll see results. Use other bloggers as a source of inspiration as opposed to measurement of success. I have a post dedicated to this, you can check it out here (With Love, Alma). 

Alma's Links 
Blog: The Alma Chronicle 
Instagram: @thealmachronicle

Life Lately: Summer Update

Hello guys! How's your summer going? Hope you're enjoying loads of sunshine and crossing things off your bucket list?  I'm sure you are.  

    Demilade on the other hand, has spent most of her days indoors, doing random things like ironing her clothes and practicing her winged liner LMAO. Yesterday was the height really, I stayed in bed all afternoon.I didn't even use my phone , I was just staring into space.

LOL this wasn't even a deliberate pose, I was squinting because of the sun.
It turned out to be a nice picture so :)
I'm currently in love with dresses like this, so comfortable to wear and can
be dressed up or down. 

I suppose it's my fault that my summer has been  'dead' so far. I've been on pins and needles lately because my exam results are out soon. I also have an exam next month and I'm very nervous about that as well. Apart from studying, all I've been doing is going to the gym ( I don join fit fam) and watching TV shows (currently: A Different World) .I deserve to let my hair down though before I'm sucked back into the crazy world of A Levels. A world filled with 5 AM alarm clocks and chemistry tests. 

On Wednesday I went out with some of my friends for a few hours, we're all in the same waiting for exam boat so it was nice to go out and just enjoy.I laughed so much that day, and that's when I realized that I was wasting my summer by hiding away in my room every single day.

Finally satisfied my craving for Nando's.

Annnd done.

So this has been my summer really. Hopefully, I'll go out a bit more next month. How has your summer been guys? Let me know in the comments! xx

Girl in red, laughing like a maniac?
Yup that's me.

Short Girl Problems

 Hello guys. This post is actually an oldie. In January, I drafted all my old posts because I wanted to start afresh. While I was going through my drafts yesterday, I found this and so I've decided to post it again. It's very amusing and accurate. I'm sure all my short girls can relate.

PS: Anything in the bracket is by me

1. People like to pat you on the head. What purpose does this serve?

2. They also really like to call you cute. It gets annoying fast. (Very annoying.)

3. Ditto for shorty. Just stop.

4. Your pants cost $30 more than everyone else's because you have to get them hemmed. Also formal dresses and non-mini skirts. You're basically keeping your tailor in business. ( And don't forget jeans that bunch up at your ankles cos they're too long b)

5. You can't reach half the shelves in your apartment. Hope you have space for a small ladder. (My younger brother and sister always get stuff for me from the shelves when I don't feel like climbing)

6. Standing-room-only concerts are the worst. Oh, did you want to see Beyoncé perform?

7. Grocery shopping is an exercise in flirting. Why do supermarket shelves go up so high?

8. You might as well not bother owning an ottoman because your feet will never reach it.(STORY.OF.MY.LIFE.)

9. You have to wear heels to work. If you don't, you are basically a foot shorter than all your coworkers.

10. People constantly want to pick you up. And they often just do it without permission or warning. I am not a puppy. (Well I like being picked up so this is not so bad lol)

11. You look up to everyone. Literally.

12. Making out with a tall dude is a workout. Your neck hurts from stretching, your legs hurt from standing on your tip toes for so long, your abs hurt from trying to keep your balance — it's practically a barre class. (I don't know about this one o)

13. Holding hands is also awkward.

14. People use your shoulder as their personal armrest, and sometimes your head as a headrest. Do I look like furniture? 

15. Taking pictures is a nightmare. It takes at least three takes to convince your taller friend that 1) she should not bend down to take a photo with you and 2) she does not look like a yeti next to you.

16. You get stuck in the middle seat on road trips even though that seat is equally uncomfortable no matter your leg length.

17. You will never be a supermodel ( And I can't wear over the knee boots *sigh)

Article culled from COSMOPOLITAN
Have a great week! xx