Pretty red...in the face!

I found myself in a rather embarrassing situation this morning. I know some people really know how to deal with situations like that but sincerely, sometimes, I just go really red in the face and smile in that ‘I am so embarrassed’ kind of way.

I just got a MAC compact powder as a gift from a very nice gentleman who happens to be my best friend’s man. Being a lover of make up, you can imagine how thrilled I was. I have been using IMAN and Mary Kay for a while and they have been serving me just well but this was something I hadn’t tried before and I am adventurous.

So, I had to go to school today and I used the powder and made up real well. Not too much though. I actually despise too much make up. It comes out tacky and makes the lady look cheap. Seriously. I just go for moderate and flawless finish.

I dressed up and headed for the bus stop. I had an important lecture by 8 a.m. I was making calls and greeting people on my way. I took a second to observe my surroundings. Why on earth weren’t people rushing to board buses as usual? Why was the street sort of empty? But then I didn’t slow down. I got to the bus stop and the bus drivers and conductors just stared at me like I fell from space. I thought I heard a chuckle.

Then, it hit me like a thunderbolt! I was at the bus stop gorgeously dressed, wearing my new makeup and looking sweet on a day that Lagos state calls Sanitation day which is every last Saturday of every month. I was at the bus stop by 7:30am and the exercise usually ended by 10am. It has been like that for years now. So there I was, standing there wondering what on earth I was thinking. After a while, I just turned back and started walking home. Some of them had a good laugh.

To make matters worse, I realized that some petty traders sweeping out their stalls were starring and gossiping.

Jeez!

I thought the best thing to do was to bring out my phone and call someone and be oblivious of my surroundings until I got to my door. That lttle show cost me a lot.

I had to go back anyway. So I did by 10:30am you know just to make sure that I didn't get any more surprises. I was lucky that every body was too busy to see the ‘girl that forgot it was sanitation day’.

Wishing you a great weekend filled with pleasant surprises.



Lily Johnson.


Pics from Imperfectwomen.com

A note on pearls.

Nature has provided us with such beautiful things. Mountains, lush forests, springs, beautiful caves to mention but a few. It also provided us with things to beautify ourselves with; of course everything you can think of has a natural background.


I am thinking more in the line of gemstones, precious stones, semi precious stones and pearls. And I just adore pearls!

Pearls are just breathtakingly beautiful. They do not have the ‘bling’ factor stones have but they certainly can hold their own ground. If pearls are correctly used to accessorize, one word comes to mind; classy. Other words could be ‘vintage’ and ‘sophistication’

Although the modern man is beginning to realize that he can wear pearls too, we know that it totally belongs to us. The only men that wore pearls and probably still do are Maharajahs and royalty.

We can’t really say that about gem stones.

Stay as beautiful as always!

Lily Johnson


Pica from Picturesdepot.com, Sterlingandpearls.com and Karipearls.com

The ‘In’ and ‘Out’ of love.

Falling in love is a beautiful thing. You know, the sudden smile when you remember how he looks at you, the happiness you feel knowing that you would see him again soon and the weakness in your knees when he kisses you.

It is simply wonderful.

But sometimes, this beautiful feeling can be….well everything but beautiful and wonderful.

Sometimes, women {or men} find themselves in love and wishing they could just fall out of it. They want to feel burning hatred for a partner instead of the passionate love they once felt.

The major reason why people seek this change is betrayal. Once a lover is betrayed, she/he feels so bad; so hurt that it ruins a lot and a lot more is seen in another light.

When some people prove the age old statement “There is a thin line between love and hate” absolutely right, the deep, sentimental and emotional seem to show that there is a thin line between love and extreme pain, rivers of tears and neurosis.

When these people are betrayed (or even constantly so), they find it hard to instantly despise the person and move on.

And even when they finally break up with the person, instead of tearing pictures and breaking gifts in blind rage, they just curl up and suffer. The problem for them isn’t just moving on. It is falling out of love. It is wanting desperately to stop loving the person.

This makes them feel weak, fickle and terribly indecisive which causes them more pain.

It is wrong to feel this way. You are not weak, fickle and indecisive. You fell in love genuinely and gave all you had. You just need a little more time to get over it.

And darling, take your time.

If you have ever found yourself in love, you are a strong person

If you have been in love before and it didn’t work out and you are still standing, you are stronger.

And if you have been in love before and had your heart broken and you managed to get over it and is still willing to try again, dearest, you are the strongest of them all.

I wish you all the strength you need to face every situation you will ever find yourself in.

Lily Johnson.

Pics from pschologytoday.com and isitrue.msn.com

A little something about me (1). My romance with music.

When I changed my blog title, I told you guys that I wanted to talk about everything that I can talk about the way I see it. I want to talk about any issue that comes to mind. And that includes my own issues. I want you my dear readers to know a little more about me than what my profile says; which isn’t much anyway. This is rather intimate.

I said in my profile that I am an aspiring musician. Yes and I want to elaborate on that. I don’t want to bore you with what seems to be the anthem of every musician on the planet. I did start writing stories and songs when I was barely 10 years old. I had small books that I wrote my songs in. I was in my 2nd year in secondary school and although I wanted to study medicine, I still wanted to do music somehow. I was a very shy young girl and when I was invited to join the school choir, I refused but of course I was dragged into it by girls that thought I was just being stupid. I sang the alto part with one other girl. While the soprano and tenor part had many girls singing it, it was just two of us doing the deep alto. I later became sort of popular when I started singing alone or with my ‘bunk mate’ in school gatherings. The shy girl became well known and loved in school.

Now the present; what’s happening to me now? Well, not much. I still write songs and hope I start recording soon. I write pop and jazz songs. I didn’t pursue a career in it immediately because I wanted to at least have a degree.



Romancing the guitar.



My favourite musical instrument is the guitar. My best friend was teaching me how to play it for a while then we all got too busy with school stuff and other things.

In my life, I must have written more than a 100 songs; gospel, R&B, jazz and African music. I still do because when you hit the studios, the producer and music marketer would give you a lot of trouble about the songs that are saleable and stuff. You would write and write until you get it right. I am so ready for that now.

It is not going to be easy I know. But then nothing in life is. All I need is courage, focus, determination, dedication and of course resources. The latter is the hardest part but I will get there somehow.

Encouraging you to pursue your dreams. The most humble and even the wildest of them.

Lily Johnson.

The Doctor and the Boob

I was watching The Doctors on MNet series and I heard one of the doctors say that breast firming creams don’t work. You have to get surgery and he had this huge plastic boob with which he described how the nipple is moved from the rather embarrassing position it was to a higher position on the breast making it look perkier.

Jeez! I wanted to say “Sir, you gotta be kidding me. Now there are a dozen and one tablets and creams that are said to firm the breasts especially after breast feeding (tons of!) babies and most young women believe that they would put them to good use when the time comes. Especially those who are mortally afraid of the knife. I happen to be one of them.(Not to mention that I might not even afford it). So sir, are you saying that these companies are just out there to take the money straight from our purses, leaving some of us with the saggy boobs we started out with?”

Well, an aunt told me that a friend of hers used a breast enlarging and firming cream and after using two cups of cream and tablets, the breast just (in her own words) got strong. It was not bigger but it was no longer soft. Was that the result she wanted? She wasn’t sure.

Hmm!

What if the doctor is right? You know he may be ignorant of some of the ‘wonder’ products around with the ‘amazing’ ingredients that would go to the very core of the problem and ‘Voom’, whisk it away. But I have always believed that doctors are one of the most realistic people in the world. So may be what he is saying is that if you want results that you can see, touch and feel not to mention that you will have your new boobs in 3 weeks after the procedure, get surgery baby.

We want to stay hot forever. I know I do and there is no shame in that. The question is what length are we willing to go? It is your choice doll. Just think it through and just do what is necessary. Necessary!

Love yourself anyways.

Lily Johnson.

Magic Mascara!

I love make up. I am good at it and I'm always trying something new. My sister came home one day and as usual I peeped into her make up bag to see if she had anything that was interesting. She isn't the make up type but she would buy loads of it anyway. Good for me because I just take them and she wouldn't even notice.  She walked in on me and told me not to take her mascara and she wasn't smiling. I wondered what the big deal was all about. She just said something about it being expensive and super. Wow! I checked it out. It was L'oreal Extra Volume Collagene.So I applied it on my long and full lashes and I was thrown! It gave instant fuller and longer lashes. Very dramatic effect. No wonder she KNEW she had this one.

I don't advertise products or stuff like that and L'oreal wouldn't even notice if I did. It is an amazing product and I want you ladies to know that it wouldn't be a waste of money to buy it. That is if you don't already have it.

Keep looking fabulous.

Lily Johnson.

Pic from Loreal-paris.co.uk

The Mother, You and the Balance

Okay, this is a very sensitive subject but I am going to talk about it. Some of you might think it isn’t that important especially if you and your partner decided a long time ago to exclude all other members of your families in your affairs. But if not, you would definitely understand and appreciate what I am about to talk about.

You meet a guy; start dating then it develops into a relationship. If things are really good that is if your guys are compatible, really understand and make each other happy, then marriage would be considered. Then of course, you will have to meet each other’s families.

Your man already has a way he relates with his parents. You are expected to either try as hard as you can to please them or be your very self. In any case, the latter would prevail.

Now, just as you and your man have your disagreements, occasional shouting matches and different opinions and beliefs, so have he and his mother. So there would be disagreements once in a while between them.

If you occasional go to your man’s folks when you are having conflicts with him and they have been able to call him to order each time, you develop a deep sense of respect and admiration for them even without knowing it,.

Now, what happens when your man and his folks especially his mother fall out and his mother tells you about it? This may seem very easy to answer and even handle right? You just talk to your man and of course, he would listen to you, apologise to his mum and you all lived happily ever after. Very possible especially if he was wrong. But what if he wasn’t? What if his mother should be the one to apologise and not the other way round even though she is seriously expecting it? And expecting you to talk some sense into him to do the right thing? Oh no!

You are just standing there, wondering what to do because it isn’t about taking sides but being as sensible, practical and unbiased as you can be. And trust me, it is difficult.

One wrong statement could destroy the good relations you have with your mother in-law (or to-be) and could also bring serious conflict between you and your man. And of course, if you are too hard on your man, you might be surprised to get a negative reaction from his mother and vice versa!

So what do you do for crying out loud? I am not a pro but listen to these do and don’ts.

1. If you want to say “You are wrong” or “You shouldn’t have done that” to his folks, put it mildly and never raise your voice. Even if your man is there fuming and shouting the house down

2. When your man is having a fight with his mother, always remind him that the woman is his mother for crying out loud and he shouldn’t shout at her or disrespect her even he feels she deserves it. Never support that and trust me, he doesn’t want you to.

3. If you were rather unfortunate to be there during a shouting session between them, apologise to the mother and ask your man to be quiet and allow her to calm down so they could talk reasonably.

4. If the situation gets out of hand and your man heads for the car, tell the woman how sorry you are for everything before running after Mr. “I’m outta here.”

5. When the older woman is so hurt she is like, “I won’t forgive him for this”, please don’t get overly defensive. Just apologise on your man’s behalf and remind her that he is her beloved son.

6. Unless you are invited to air your views, stay away from rather touchy family subjects.

7. Be nice, be respectful, be tactful and of course be yourself.

My strong African values may have influenced my opinions but hey, you can’t go wrong if you try your best to hang in the balance, give respect to who it is due and say the right words at the right time when you can.

Do stay out of trouble and be good.

Lily Johnson.

Pictures by istockphoto.com