You are what you eat! the issue of the B.O.

If you have been in a queue and the person in front of you or behind you is the reason you have a permanent frown on your face or some days you notice you can perceive your natural body smell more than before, you will want to know how hygiene and food habits can affect the way our body smells.

Body odour has always been linked to bad hygiene which is sadly almost always the case. Especially in women. Sometimes, it's the hair (unwashed and unkempt), bad hygiene during menstrual period, lack of proper care of underwear etc. I have heard people say that how a baby is taken care of hygienically will determine how good or bad he or she will smell later in life.
There are skin solutions that contain sulfur that gives off a bad smell after a while when used on the skin.

When using anything like this, one must take regular baths. While hygiene is almost the culprit when it comes to body odour, some foods we eat may also affect the way our body smells.

Foods like garlic, asparagus, and surprisingly, red meat this article claims might make you smell.

Click here to read the article.

Happy new month people.

Lily Johnson

PhotoBlog: Charcoal for blackboard.

I couldn’t resist taking this picture as it reminded me of my primary school days in Ekulu Primary school, Enugu when we ground charcoal and mixed it with water to clean our blackboard and make it darker. This was a lot cheaper than a renovator.  

Primary school pupils grinding charcoal [to be mixed with water and] used to darken blackboard.

Did you ever do this?

Have a wonderful week ahead.

Lily Johnson.

Laserderm Clinics Ikeja, Lagos: My experience.

In a post I talked about visiting a clinic concerning those acne from hell I suddenly got. I had read about LaserDerm last year online and when I made a call and was told about some consultancy fee of N7,000, I was like ehh no. But since then till now I’m sure I must have spent like ten times that amount on products which were either doing nothing, hit and miss or even worsening the situation.
So I had another reason to give the clinic a try. My dear younger brother has severe acne and it was beginning to affect him emotionally. We both booked an appointment.

The Review

Customer service: If you have been in the situation where a customer service rep is extremely rude to you which happens sometimes, you will appreciate it when you get decent customer care service. The lady at the front desk at LaserDerm is very cool I must say. You’ll feel like you are talking to a friend. Cozy reception area too. It’s all about time with these people so when your appointment is for 1pm, get there by 12:50pm so you can cool off a bit.

The consultation/The Doctors: Ok, after filling a form that educates the doctors on your condition i.e, when it first started, the medications you’ve used you know standard hospital stuff, you still get to discuss your expectations and what is obtainable. They offer a range of treatments and run you through them and advice you on what’s best for you. At the end of the consultation, depending on what you came for, you are given samples of the products you are supposed to start using. A nice surprise. They can even work with your budget. Just be open and honest. The two doctors I met were very friendly, kind and very professional.

New Music: Muna gi – Lily Johnson ft Wizboyy.

So this is one of the results of my relentless labour in the studio. Lol. Muna gi is a love song and it's high life. Thank God I'm beginning to realize that I can actually do any genre of music and even have a little fun at it. Ok, 'any' is taking it a bit too far but you get the gist. I said in an earlier post it was a breeze working with Wizboyy who co-produced the song with my very talented producer Dhecade.' Muna gi ga-ebi' means 'You and I will live together' Like saying I will marry you. I hope you guys enjoy the song.

Click here to listen

Have yourselves a fantastic week ahead.

Lily Johnson                                                        

Pheromones, tantalizing incense sticks and a curious cat

I was doing a research online earlier today and I stumbled on something that I find quite interesting; pheromones. Actually, there was a time I was reading a lot on the thing and found an equally curious partner in a friend of mine. 

A pheromone is a chemical an animal produces which changes the behaviour of another animal of the same species (animals include insects). Some describe pheromones as behaviour-altering agents. Many people do not know that pheromones trigger other behaviours in the animal of the same species, apart from sexual behaviour.
Pheromones, unlike most other hormones are ectohormones - they act outside the body of the individual that is secreting them - they impact a behaviour on another individual. Read more here

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So apart from sexual behaviour, pheromones can trigger other behaviours like people can like you more, you step into a room and people are drawn to you and you get ‘lucky’.  

Happy September plus Does anyone wonder about the other woman involved?

May this new month bring to us blessings immeasurable and God’s divine protection in Jesus Name, Amen.

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So just as some people have said though I’m not sure I like the way they are going about it, I really do want the whole Ese Walters case to just end. Instead of church members [if they are] going to blogs to trash the lady, I feel they should rather hold their peace and pray for their pastor because whether or not Ese’s story is true, the man of God needs prayers now more than anything. 

The ridiculous jokes are just too crazy. I read an ‘interview’ on Myne’s blog. Read it here. Sad and totally unnecessary. I can’t help but wonder how Pastor Biodun’s wife feels about all this. I mean walking in her shoes at this time cannot be easy. Take away the whole church thingy; I asked myself these questions: if my husband makes the stupid decision to cheat on me [God abeg o!] in as much as I would want him to feel the pain I feel for being betrayed in that way and how I would want him to suffer a little [ok not a little], would I want it to be the talk about town? Would I want it to be on every blog and every magazine and newspaper with the tag ‘sizzling’? Would I want to look at people’s faces and wonder what they think of me? Why the man I married decided to leave our matrimonial bed and seek sexual pleasures outside our bedroom? People are going to wonder if I am good in bed. Maybe I don’t give him enough action or his ‘kind of action’. How painfully embarrassing!

My lovely niece and some...

Hey dearies! Yes I haven’t been here for a rather long while and it is because of various reasons. Anyway, I am a proud aunt now. My younger sister had a beautiful baby girl last month and omg she is so adorable. Especially when she isn’t hungry or her diaper isn’t wet because then she would cry like crazy, kick and scratch. Lol. Her name is Onyinye but I call her Chyna.

Up close and not so personal with a gigolo

I believe I have met different kinds of people in my many years on this planet but until a few days ago, I don’t think I have ever been in the same space, breathing the same air with a man who goes about dating women who support him financially in exchange for sex or this false notion that they [the women want this] are in a ‘relationship’. You know to at least show her friends and the world that she might be of a certain age and stuff but she has a man in her life. They might be getting married, [living in denial or she’s doing a lot to keep this guy that obviously can’t be kept] and he’s doing well as a contractor [Ok oo]

How did I know what this guy was? Oh he pretty much gave himself away the minute he walked in. This tall, dark and handsome guy [Oh well, I’m being truthful] walked into a room where a number of women were seated and gave us all a look that blatantly said ‘Nah, I don’t need you ladies. You need me’.  Then of course, I heard his story. Goes about with a phony accent 'being of service' to women in their thirties and forties who are single, divorced or desperate . While some of these women know his business, some don't even know because he probably approached them like he wanted a serious relationship or something. These women shower him with gifts and stuff you know the deal. Then he began to show off some of these gifts. His very expensive phones. Trust me when I say he was showing off.

This is just too funny. Source

Strolling back to the Original Garden are we ladies?

I am one of those people that believe that you should wear whatever you are comfortable in. Or whatever you think looks good on you. Because that way you will be confident and carry yourself well and of course this will make you look good. Somehow. And if it doesn’t, oh well, you at least pleased yourself.

Anyway, I don’t do a lot of dresses because I am not a dress person. I am a jeans/pants person. If you catch me in a dress, [or a skirt] then you are at a function with me. I am one of those ladies that would say ‘Halleluyah’ if I am invited to a wedding that I am not going to be any part of anything like the bridal train and stuff because I’m getting my pants ironed babe. [I know it is crazy and unheard of but I have a reason but still... ‘I don’t wanna go there’ *in Chris Brown’s voice] I am gradually changing though. Too many beautiful dresses out there.

Someone said my 'wings' were sprouting nicely. Loooool. With my hands down, the wings disappear though. #shrugs#

Of butt pads and men who only want to replace their exes who never left in the first place.

I haven’t been here in a while because I just have too much going on in my life. Let me not bore you guys with the details. I hope you all get this update because for some strange reason, I think people no longer see my updates, the lovely Toinlicious complained about this too so I am hoping the problem doesn’t persist.

Someone asked me what I thought of butt pads and went ahead to say all sorts of negative stuff about women who wear them. How they are bad women with low self esteem and how they deceive men with their ‘artificial hips and bum’.

‘It is unfair!’ ‘It is ridiculous’. ‘Now I can’t even see a woman with sizeable hips without thinking ooh that might just be fake’

Hmmmm.... Dude needs to chill though. I was tempted to buy him a chilled Coke. That one litre bottle that has made its way back in Lagos traffic. At least by the time he was done with it.....

Anyway, what do I really think about hip and butt pads? I put them right where I put push up bras, spandex, artificial hair and full coverage foundation. I use the latter sometimes to cover up blemishes on my rather temperamental facial skin when necessary so I am not going to judge a girl that wants to fill up her jeans or skirt. Am I ever going to wear them? No. I don’t see why I should. Some people are going to say it means low self esteem, not accepting yourself the way you are and stuff. Oh well, that has been said about makeup and artificial hair. You do know you have a huge problem if you do not feel good about yourself but I don’t believe all the ladies who wear them have self esteem issues though. Like my brothers in the streets will say ‘All na wash’.

Being a mother is hard work. Being a good mother is a lot of hard work. Being a poor mother is a nightmare.

Motherhood. Most mothers can’t tell you enough how it’s a beautiful thing to have a person grow inside you and you get to give birth to him/her, watch him/her grow, call you ‘mummy’ etc. Yeah, it must be and I can’t wait really. But most mothers will also tell that these lovely kids are only adorable until they grow up, have their own opinions [often different from theirs] and want their freedom [they eventually get this]. We all can relate to this and it isn’t always totally bad because some of us still love and respect our mothers though we aint that ‘adorable child’ no more.

Source

Being a mother is hard work. From taking care of the child when he/she was little to still advising him/her and helping them make decisions. Being a good mother is a lot of hard work. You have to always take your stance on what you know is the right thing. This is far from easy especially when you are dealing with young adults experimenting with everything they can lay their hands on from drugs and alcohol to friends. It is a constant battle if you have stubborn children.

Being a poor mother, [financially challenged] is got to be the worst thing ever especially when you still want to be a good mother. I will give you my reasons with some examples.

Imagine a widow who had lost her job and was finding it hard to pay her daughter’s fees in the university. She literally doesn’t have anyone helping her. She does petty stuff to provide food for the house but tuition fees, books and hostel fees of a university student is quite hard for her to provide. So her daughter began to bring home gifts and large sums of money that paid her tuition fees and settled all her debts in school and settled the home front. This took a lot of pressure off her. The provider was a married man old enough to be the father of her 18 yr old daughter. This came when the school nearly stopped her daughter from writing relevant tests because she hadn’t paid her school fees. So when this man who she had met through a friend offered to pay her fees, she didn’t have choice but to jump on it. The gifts kept coming; expensive clothes and shoes, gadgets and more money. Her daughter, who hardly had clothes on her back when she got admission into the school, was now an IT girl.

A child that looks like you might not necessarily be yours?? Fate plays a cruel game. DNA says it as it is.

I was just telling a friend that fate sometimes just plays weird games with people’s lives. Actually, I say this all the time sometimes as a joke but sometimes, I believe I mean it judging by stuffs that happen sometimes.

This man [let’s call him Mark shall we?] had dated this lady [errr... Mandy] for a while and they broke up. More than a year later, she turned up with a 10 months old baby boy that somewhat looked like the man and told him she didn’t want to tell him that she was pregnant because he had made it clear to her that he wasn’t in the relationship for marriage. In fact, if you knew the man, and you saw the child, you would be convinced it was his. To even make it more convincing, the boy was born with a mole slightly above his left eye and the man’s second son [he is separated from his wife] had a mole there too when he was born. The man didn’t tell anyone this but somehow just believed the boy was his.

Now here is where the problem lies. Mark already has four kids from his marriage and never ‘played without ‘protection’. So even when Mandy turned up with a child that looked a lot like him, he accepted the child but wondered how it happened. Did she harvest his sperm? He was sure that was what she did but why would a woman of her status do that? And you know it means she took a used condom and what? Very very strange isn’t it? Or did she quickly rush to a hospital..... What would that make her? Was she that desperate? Bottom line, it just didn’t make sense. And this drove Mark insane. What was her response when he asked her? ‘Look at that boy and tell me he is not your son’. She refused to talk about it all. So he decided to take the paternity test. Just to be sure. Yes the boy looked like him, had a mole that looked like the one his son has but he had dated this lady for a few months and the few times they had sex, he used condoms.

Source

So he told her, he wanted to do a DNA test. Was she against it? Not really. She believed he wouldn’t go through with it. It is a rather expensive test. More than a hundred thousand Naira. Why would he waste such funds? He was already taking care of the child. But Mark wanted a DNA test that would prove to him that he was indeed the boy’s dad. Then he can be sure that his sperm was harvested. And probably form an opinion about women. Someone would hear the story and write a circular informing men to dispose their condoms and stuff and pass it round on Blackberry Messenger and Facebook. *rolling my eyes*

Natural beauty products Vs Chemical based beauty products. Which do you prefer?

More and more companies are manufacturing products based on plant oils and extracts and using little or no synthetic contents. This is because it’s been made known that all these chemicals used in products eventually find their way to our liver and are capable of doing extensive damage. Some consumers are now very sceptical about using some cosmetics that contain these synthetic elements. Some of these chemicals like Hydroquinone, found in blemish control and skin lightening products have even been banned in some countries.

Now while natural products pose no risk to your health, some of them can take a while to address a skin problem. Why? They first begin to repair the damage done to the skin by chemical based products. At this period, you might feel they are not doing anything for you but the reality is that it would take a while to see results if you have been using any chemical based product before. It also depends on your skin too. On the other hand, most chemical based products work faster. 

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And example here is lime juice and Hydroquinone in the treatment of spots caused by acne or pregnancy. The after effect of the use of the latter however might make it rather undesirable although when using lime juice to treat spots, you will have to wait at least 6 weeks to start seeing results depending on the severity of the spots. In most cases with Hydroquinone, you start seeing results in a week.

Natural beauty products or products made with organic materials are often more expensive than chemical based products. Some are affordable but known brands are usually expensive. The companies go the extra mile to get natural materials that might not be readily available to them. Oils like Argan oil which is used in the treatment of wrinkles and Aloe Vera, which has over 300 species but only Aloe Barbadensis Miller and other 3 species can be used to treat skin problems, are expensive and hard to find. Yes, I hate to break it to you but the Aloe Vera plant in your backyard might not be one of the 4 useful species.

 

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Chemical based beauty products tend to disrupt the normal pH level of the skin while most natural products tend to function together at a balance with the skin’s normal pH level. 

At Random

Hello dearies, I haven’t updated this blog in two months. I have been recording songs and doing other things. It hasn’t been easy but God has been faithful. And being an artiste is far from easy. I can tell you that. And I still have quite a way to go. So when you see these popular ones do their thing, they did suffer to make it happen. Spent a lot of money, did a lot of hard work and endured a lot of bull crap.  True story. So to all the upcoming artistes, may God bless your hustle, Amen.

Am I the only one wondering why the only things in the news these days are rape and paedophilia? It’s crazy. Rape in troubled zones and domestic rape. Evil boys rape girls and put the videos online. 

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A group of Indian are perfecting an underwear line that is supposed to be rape-proof. I don’t even know how they would do that but hey, it’s worth a try. Some are even talking about reintroducing the chastity belt. That’s how bad the situation is. And these are even reported cases. Most women won’t report cases of rape and we all know why. And the paedophiles running around defiling children? It’s just horrible and I hope all these people are caught, thrown into jail and someone misplaces the keys in the Pacific.

Source

RIP Margaret Thatcher. I grew up knowing her as that woman that showed men that what a man can do a woman can do a whole lot better. I also realized that people didn’t really like her. Many Britons were ranting on blogs, Facebook and Twitter. And I don’t know if telling her ‘Rust in Peace’ was supposed to be funny or just to match with the fact that she was called ‘The Iron Lady’ her whole life. So now that she’s dead, she’s rusting. Hmmmm. I didn’t even know she was that pretty. Really, all I ever saw was unflattering pictures of her. She was a looker. May her soul rest in peace.

Happy Easter folks!!

To my wonderful readers,

May the love Christ has shown us follow you everywhere you go, open even bigger doors, attract even better people and just immensely bless you all.



Thanks and stay fabulous!

Lily Johnson

Dear Woman: To effectively fight acne, you may have to ditch your soap.

Dr Jeremy Clapp did me the honor of sharing this valuable information on acne, a skin problem millions of people have dealt with or are still dealing with around the world. Many companies manufacture medications, creams and lotions to deal with acne and some of them really leave more to be desired. 

Source

He talked about natural products and skin health instead of skin care in dealing with this disturbing problem.

Read his article...

Acne is a problem that affects many of us in various ways throughout life. It is not only the acne attacks that are important but the scaring and blemishes that may stay with you for life. So many people think that acne is solely a teenager facial problem but back acne and acne affecting adults into their 30’s is quite common. How can we fight all these aspects ?

The debate, on whether natural, chemical or drug treatment is best, continues to rage. I strongly believe that where there is a chronic problem that nature normally has the treatment and that is the place to start. Natural treatments tend to be far less abrasive on the skin and are just as effective in terms of positive results.

Denrele Edun’s tribute to Goldie Harvey: True friendship is indeed beautiful.

I read Denrele Edun’s tribute to Goldie on Linda’s blog and shed more than a few tears. It is just incredible how you could be with someone right now and a few hours later, you are faced with anguish of bidding him/her goodbye forever. These two people loved and supported each other in everything. They were like Siamese twins. Their friendship was indeed one of a kind. We all knew Goldie, the artiste; he knew and loved Goldie, the person. It is so sad that in this world where death is inevitable, Denrele has to live his life without his best friend.  Life oh life....

Thank God for memories. We get to have that even when you can’t see or hold the person anymore. I pray God sees him through.
 

Denrele’s tribute to Goldie

My super star friend sways away and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon and someone at my side says "she's gone"...Gone where?

Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as gorgeous now as when last I saw her. Her slightly disappearing figure and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her.

That thin line between Sexy and Sheer Bravery

Taking fashion risks is quite cool and in the world of fashion, you are even considered as fashion forward. Some of these dresses however, make me wonder and wonder. It takes a brave woman who either doesn’t care about what the world says, is very very confident and thinks the world should see why or just simply well fashion crazy. 

You guys know why I chose the word ‘brave’ right? Because I know that there is no way in this world I would be able to wear these dresses. Ever. There is no way you would wear this kind of dresses and expect not to have a 'wardrobe malfunction.

Dresses that make you wonder: Risque or Honey but why??

 I can't even picture her walking without giving everyone a full frontal view of her 'you know'. But she wore this and paired it with heels that high to the Grammys. #Risque

Uma Thurman

So Uma decided to wear her good old panties under this number but we can all appreciate that it didn't do much good. Everything is on display. #Undecided

When the man is a drama queen.

Men often see women as the ones that nag and cause unnecessary drama and they are the calm and collected ones who need a break from all our troubles. Hmmm....

I saw him when he walked into the packed super market and believed he would behave because the place was packed. It was a Friday.

I was about to call on him but he made eye contact with me and began to walk towards me. Then it began...

Source

Seriously Mabel? Do you think it’s easy to drive down from the office to this place? He shouted at me, The traffic. The stress. The crazy people that were in the damned traffic. All this just to come give you the house keys? Why do you keep losing your keys by the way? Human beings don’t lose their house keys the way you do. How did you lose the keys again Mabel? How does a woman lose her keys in her parents’ place and had to call her husband to come from work to come give her his own set of keys?................ 

Jumia/Sleek Fashion Fair

Nigeria’s no. 1 online retailer JUMIA and renowned make-up brand Sleek present to you it’s one of a kind Jumia/Sleek Fashion Fair, talk about the best online shopping experience meeting the best in fashion and beauty.  

This one of a kind red carpet event will be a combination of a runway show and sales fair. This runway show will see models strut their stuff down the runway in male and female apparel from the stable of the worlds most renowned international and local designers only available on jumia.com.ng; it only gets better as attendees will have the opportunity to make on the spot online purchases of this eye-catching apparel as well as shoes, accessories, and wide selection of makeup from Sleek. It promises to be an electrifying atmosphere that will see guests treated to Jumia/Sleek goody bags with Jumia online shopping vouchers/ redeemable Sleek makeup vouchers, fun, good music and refreshments; also first 30 people at the event to get free Sleek studio skin care pack.

Dear Woman: Skin lightening creams and Blemish control products have the highest fakes out there. Beware!

I do not always want to believe that everyone using skin lightening products is doing that because they do not like their God-given complexion. There are people dealing with serious skin pigmentation problems, scars from burns and acne and have these annoying black spots or patches and it’s only natural to want to remove these spots. But I also know that there are people who just shock you by wanting to completely change their complexions. So they use these products to alter what they should have maintained. This I find utterly unnecessary. And also in trying to rid themselves of these skin problems, women also get carried away which is also unfortunate.

The best bet to treat spots is doing your best to stay away from the sun and use sun screen. Many ladies do not use sun screen and those who do, forget to sometimes. It doesn’t help that most sun screen products leave you with that white film on your skin but some sun screen products like Aloe sunscreen spray SPF 30 from Forever Living products doesn’t ‘white film’ you much and is very effective. So are most Neutrogena sun protection products.

Exfoliating your skin every other week with a mild skin exfoliating product also works. But exfoliating too much is bad for the skin and can aggravate skin problems. 

Rest in peace Justus Esiri

Justus Esiri was a wonderful actor and would be greatly missed. It is indeed sad that we had to hear the news of the death of another entertainer. I just saw him in a Nollywood movie two days ago and just heard about his death this morning. So sad.

May his soul rest in the bosom of the Lord. To Dr Sid and the rest of the family, please accept my heart felt condolences.

Lily Johnson