Staying with the monster for the sake of the angels.

Marriage is supposed to be the union of a man and a woman who love and have mutual respect for each other. They would have problems and issues, misunderstandings and arguments but the fact that they love and respect each other is supposed to help the weather the storms. This is my take. This is what I will have. To this, some women would say, ‘Take your head out of the clouds girl! Get married and then you will know the reality. Love isn’t enough and respect somehow dies because of some events.’ Hmmm... I know it isn’t easy but I know a number of couples who make you want to grab a man in the streets and make an honest man out of him.

“I was working in the kitchen when he called me on the phone. My phone was charging in the room so I didn’t hear it ringing. When I got to the room, I
saw that he had called twice. I tried to call him back but he didn’t pick his calls. Then he came in after some minutes. He went straight to my phone, broke it and took out the SIM card and broke it too. ‘Why would you have a phone if you can’t answer your calls? he said with venom.

I didn’t say a word to him. I had finished cooking and still had errands to run. I picked up the pieces of my phone, dished his food, and told him I was going out before I left. I had to pick up some things for my son who was going back to school this week. When I got back home, he wasn’t around. He came back later and we slept on our matrimonial bed.

Around 5am, I woke up to the most horrible thing ever; my husband was choking me. He told me that if he killed me here, nobody would ask questions. I couldn’t scream. My first son was the one that saved me. He ran into the room when he heard my suppressed cries and the angry voice of his father. It was then he left me alone. But not before hitting me on the face”

5 items you MUST have in your purse this season.

The dry/harmattan season is here! So it's time to arm ourselves with a few things to battle whatever the dry winds and scorching sun throw at us on the go people. If these aint already in your purse, consider this a quick reminder.

#1. A good lip balm: You don’t want to be going around with dry looking lips. Get a good lip balm and use it before you go to bed and under your lip colour in the morning.

#2. A small tub of a good moisturizing lotion or cream: The skin needs lots of moisture this season. Moisturize on the go if you must.

#3. Sunshades: The sun rays and hot wind isn’t good for your eye area. Cover up to avoid dark patches and sun burn.

Happy New Year dearies!!

May God's mercies and blessings follow us all this year and all the days of our lives.

Remain blessed. *blowing kisses*

Lily Johnson

Merry Christmas dearies!!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May the blessings and favour of God continue to follow you everywhere you go. 

 Have a fun filled day!

Lily Johnson

Trends that rocked 2012 [Fashion and Beauty]

Now this is my own opinion and what I saw which I am sure most of us did. Ladies went ‘gaga’ on these trends and I wonder if they would continue next year. Anyway, we know how these things work. New year, new trends.

#1. Pink lips [plus or minus the pout]: All of a sudden, pink lipstick, lip stain and lip gloss became essential commodity. 90 percent of the ladies you saw on the streets had a generous amount of ‘pink’ on their lips. Girls even got permanent pink lips. I am still not sure how that works but someone told me about it in a market. The pink lip thingy does look good when properly done. Really pretty actually. I have a couple of pink lips things myself. But when a sister is walking down the road with a tub of pink lip gloss on her lips, errr no. But we do see this sometimes anyway.

  #2. Stylish head wraps: I loved seeing this. Some ladies just know how to get it right. Various colours and styles of head wraps were worn with almost anything. Bad hair days were hidden stylishly. 

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#3.  Colour blocking/ Neon Colours: No, it didn’t go away. In fact, it came back strong and doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere. Who knows though.

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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”.  

Top 5 natural oils you should look out for in anti-aging and skin beautifying products.

There are millions of skin products out there in form of creams, butters, lotions etc. While some companies use mostly chemicals in manufacturing their products, others have embraced these natural goodies and use them in their products. They have been found to be effective and have no side effects unlike chemicals and steroids.

Some people just buy products without bothering to read their contents. It is a habit one must cultivate so that if you have any skin reaction, you would be able to find out why it is so. Also check out for banned and harmful chemicals. Especially in skin brightening products.

These 5 natural oils are effective when used in anti-aging treatments, skin brightening and beautifying products. 

#1 Shea butter: Shea butter is a solid fatty oil made from the nuts of Karite Nut trees that grow in the semi-arid savannah regions of West and Central Africa.

It contains beneficial vegetable fats that promote cell regeneration and circulation, making it a wonderful healer and rejuvenator for troubled or aging skin. 

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It also contains natural sun-protectants. It is very beneficial in the treatment of stretch marks and other skin conditions.

#2. Argan oil: Argan oil is produced from the kernels of the Argan tree and is one of the rarest and most expensive oils in the world. Berber women have used Argan oil for centuries to protect and nourish their skin, hair and nails from the harsh conditions in which they live. 

It has extremely high levels of Vitamin E and 80% fatty acids which make it perfect for healing many skin ailments as well as protecting against premature aging caused by oxidation.

#3: Emu Oil: Emu oil is gotten from the fat of the emu; an Australian bird. Emu oil has been shown to reduce the depth and length of fine lines & wrinkles in many studies as well being moisturizing and a natural skin softener.

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It has been proven to be the fastest and most penetrating oil into the skin, as well as a trans - dermal carrier for any other added therapeutic ingredients or skin care. 

Loving these at the moment

These are some items that I’m loving at the moment. I want some of them for Christmas and I’m expecting that all my friends and family would read this post and go shopping knowing they would get shrills of excitement from me. Yes o!

#1. This dress

Now, I put up this particular picture so I can lay emphasis on the type I want; the fabulous knee length dress on Alicia Keys. I don’t exactly like the shorter version of it. I think this dress is gorgeous. Or maybe it’s just Alicia. Lovely!

#2. Nokia Lumia 900

Adverts on TV make you sometimes want ever so badly what you might not even need. I got sold when I saw the ad of Nokia Lumia on TV. The part where the guy actually took it out of a bag of flour and washed it did it for me. I’m one of those people that go into the kitchen with my phone so that I do not miss an email. So, with this, ‘accident proof’ phone, life would be a lot easier.