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. 

Dear Woman: The real reasons why some skin care and anti-aging products are all ‘hype’ and no results.

Tracy Blatter of Raisin Face did me the honor of sharing this valuable information about skin care and anti-aging products on my blog. Some of the information I got from her piece are quite revealing. Women spend a lot of money on cosmetics and most times, we are clueless about what we are buying. Now you can at least, know what you are paying for.

Here is her piece…

Skincare is a multi-billion dollar business.  There are thousands of companies producing tens of thousands of products so it’s no surprise that women are undecided regarding what to buy.  The larger companies work to entice you through expensive ad campaigns also known as 'hype'.These campaigns often use airbrushed pictures of supermodels in their late 20’s to sell anti-wrinkle creams to women in their late 30’s and 40’s

However, a list of ingredients is the first thing you should look for in a product if you plan on applying it to your face.  If a list is not available, there’s a reason why it’s missing.  Usually, it means the manufacturer doesn’t want you to see what goes into the product.  Be a wise consumer and put the item back on the shelf.  If the next product has a list of ingredients, note the order in which they are listed.  

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that ingredients be listed in descending order. The component which weighs the most is listed first, and the ingredient weighing the least is listed last. Therefore, nine times out of ten, water will be number one on the list and a healthy antioxidant or peptide will be close to last.  Although this is helpful, note that the  percentage of the ingredient being used is NOT required.  This is unfortunate, because some very expensive creams contain more than 50 percent water and just a few drops of “something beneficial”.  

I am Phabiluscious...

 I am moving the contents of Phabiluscious to this blog. So you’d be seeing some reviews on beauty products and fashion stuff.  I would also feature some beauty and fashion businesses once in a while. And fashionable people too.  I figured I could do that here without the stress of managing another blog.

Click here for more information.

Have yourselves a fantastic weekend.

Lily Johnson

Got to do it? Smile at it!

Sometimes it is frustrating to want to do a lot of things not because you just want to but because you know you can! Okay what am I talking about? Well, let me use ‘yours sincerely’ as an example. I am a writer. I have written some short stories and published them too. I am a songwriter. I have written and composed music for the choir of my church and I can proudly say that I have a lovely deep voice. It kind of reminds you of Toni Braxton (Don’t believe me but I believe myself. And so does my family. And my friends. And my man. And the guy that featured me in his album. And the guy that is going to produce me some day. I could go on you know).

I have a Diploma in Public Relations from a college in the UK. I am about to get a Bachelors’ degree in Marketing. I know quite a lot in fashion and beauty. In fact, so much that people think that I would be wasting my time pursuing a career in Marketing. I should own and run a beauty business. I was thinking of having my own skin care and make up line. You know I would just look stunning and talk about my ‘moderately priced’ cosmetics and all the stuff that entrepreneurs like Iman and Kimora do. I would just love doing that. Just as I would love autographing my books (collections of short stories mostly). And singing on stage with my fans screaming for more. And having a successful Public Relations outfit that I run with so much finesse, elegance and determination.

Now that I am so sure you don’t envy me, I have also tried modeling. Yes. It is the one thing that I don’t know if it quite agrees with me. I can’t keep a fake smile for more than five seconds and I have been meeting psychos that pose as agents. I have taken loads of pictures and believe me; some of them are not really flattering. Some were just horrible

Why am I telling you this? Well, I know some people blog because they have nothing else better to do. Some do because they want to talk about something. Some do because…people they know have blogs and it would be cool to have one too. Some blogs are for business. Others for pleasure.
I blog because just like I can do all the things mentioned above and want to do it too; I really want to do this. Being a woman who wants to be successful in every sphere of her life is the most challenging thing ever. Every waking moment is a battle. Every move you make is got to be on point. And you have to find a balance to everything. (Like I am preparing dinner as I am typing this. Seriously).

It is not easy. But you got to do it. Just like I write stories and songs, read for my exams and beauty recipes, try to find a job as a PR person, find time for my man and family, and write here when I can. But you know what Miss Girl, I love it! So don’t whine and bitch about all that you have to do. Just do it and find a way to love it all.

This doesn’t have to make sense to everyone so if it does to you, I deeply respect you!

LILY JOHNSON