Something for the guys-Colour & Complexion: What colour will suit you?

This is my first blog entry for the year 2015, Happy New Year beautiful people. So I'm guessing by now, a lot of people have already executed some of their personal goals on their to-do-lists, if that describes you, then I say this to you "Bravo!!!"

Today's blog entry is inspired by a male friend of mine who called me yesterday to ask me for the right colours that suits his skin colour. I was surprised but glad he decided to take fashion more seriously in 2015, I don't get to have guys ask me for fashion tips, style or grooming advice, lol. My friend is light skinned and I figured other readers out there or male friends might share the same challenge as my friend.

So what colour will suit you?

The key to a good colour match is to first identify what skin tone you have. Broadly speaking, there are three complexions: pale, medium and dark. If you’re having trouble identifying exactly where you fall, try experimenting with various colours until you find the best match.

Some people may find they natural sit on the borderline between two complexions. If this is the case, try picking the best of both worlds. Remember, the best match is the one you feel most comfortable with.

Pale Skinned and Light skinned

Light coloured skin and Pale skinned guys tend to have brighter eye colours, so it’s important to find something to subtly offset all the lightness.

Your best bet is to stick to restrained tones that blend with your complexion. Try wearing pastel shades. You’ll look great in blues, browns and beiges. Avoid vivid reds, yellows, pinks and purples, these will look too vibrant and ‘hot’ against your skin, leaving your features washed out.

Medium Skin

The broadest category of the three, and one which most men fall into. With the middle tone you can get away with just about anything, the only exception being clothes that closely match elements of your skin tone such as olive or tan. Good contrast colours include black, dark blue and beige.

Dark Skin

Those with a darker complexion need to find clothes that give contrast to their skin without being outrageously bold.

Your top colours include lighter shades of blue, grey and cream; these subtle shades deliver good contrast without washing you out. Avoid shades of black, navy and deep brown that closely match your specific skin colour wherever possible.

Hope this blog entry helps you choose the right colours when next you go for clothing shopping.

This blog entry is dedicated to my good friend "Williams". Your question aided me in getting my first topic for the year.

...xoxoxoxo...

Personal lessons learnt in 2014

Hello beautiful people, I bet Christmas was lovely, I hope it was more about celebrating Jesus Christ and less of celebrating ourselves *smiling*.

I learnt so much in 2014, I felt I should blog about them and share my lessons.

1. Only Jesus Christ saves. Many a times, we want to find solace in the arms of friends or family members but at the end, there is a limit to what humans can do but there are no limits with my personal Lord and Saviour. I learnt to lean on him more and he has saved me countless times.

2. God is everywhere. Battling with malaria monthly since I ended youth service has been the worst experience for me. It made the people around me become fretful, while the doctors saw it as a normal thing to happen to people who fall under the genotype "AA", others in my life saw it as a spiritual issue and so, everyone was recommending one church or the other but I stood on my faith and told them "God is everywhere". I don't need to go to the mountain to pray and move from one church to another. If we let Him, He lives in us as the holy spirit and I am satisfied with that.

3. If you live life on the fast lane, be ready to die young.

4. As a Christian, listening to the voice of the holy spirit helps out a lot. That voice allows us to avoid bad situations and also helps us to improve our relationship with Christ.

5. When it comes to some friendships, absence makes the heart grow fonder and when it comes to some other friendships "Out of sight is out of mind". I finally made my peace with this and moved on.

6. The last thing that should be on my mind is what people think about me. I have learnt that opinions are not facts and if you don't have a heaven or hell to put me in, then you have no right to judge me or try to impose your personal opinions on me. You are allowed to advice me and I am allowed to take your advice or leave it. Shikena!!!

7. Sometimes, the answer to the question "how are you?" should be "fine" with a full stop. Not everyone is genuinely interested in your stories. I am more satisfied and comfortable with sharing with my family, I used to share my stories with others, my life has been less complicated since I stopped over sharing details about my personal life.

8. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being affable, humble and down to earth. In the past, people have misread this as me being weak and vulnerable. I have heard people say it openly, I was willing to change but it didn't work out for me. I was born this way, it's natural, trying to be mean and less friendly would just be another person and fake.

9. I learnt more about the "Golden Rule". "Do to others what you would want them to do to you".

10. I learnt that I am on a journey of my own. I am not walking on the same lane as others. Even though, it's hard to get people to understand me especially my parents, I am okay. I am not trying to follow the cliche rule of life, tried it early this year and I was really unhappy. I wasn't born to be placed in a box, moving around the four corners and never getting out.

12. There are opportunities in Nigeria, there is less of integrity and more of corruption. Sometimes, the corruption robs you of the opportunity but keep moving. One opportunity fails, more will come. Don't stop grabbing them because of a few failed ones.

13. The most important lesson of my 2014 is that "True love conquers all."

I count my blessings and I cannot name them all, God has been merciful to me. I lost a dear friend, that was the saddest part of this year, he was one of the coolest dudes in secondary school and afterwards he remained the same. I miss you "Loyong Choji".

Every day is a new beginning, problems and mistakes of yesterday are now just memories of a ( lesson learned ). I absorb the energy and possibilities of each new day, acknowledge the simple beauty that can be taken for granted, and look forward to tomorrow's new beginning !!

Happy New Year in advance. May 2015 be beautiful and good to us all.

Harmattan Essentials

If you are in Nigeria, then you must be feeling the hot dry dusty wind already, cold in the early hours of the morning and dry in the later hours.

Some people love harmattan weather but not me, for starters, It's not a friendly weather for my body, especially my lips. For some people, breathing becomes painful.

Here are some essential items needed to get along during this dry season.

1. A good body oil is perfect for your skin during harmattan. It helps to keep your skin moist and less dry. If you are into your body lotions, you can mix your body oil with your lotion or alternatively apply your body oil to your legs, feet and hands.

2. A hand lotion is not a luxury during harmattan especially for someone always on the go. When you are out and need to wash your hands, afterwards your hands become dry, so a hand lotion is an essential.

3. Use good hair products, harmattan is one period where people loose more of their natural hair. Hair breakage is more intense during dry season. So make sure you take time to oil your scalp and hair often.

4. Get a good lipgloss or lip balm, this beauty essential for harmattan is not restricted to the ladies, men also have issues with their lips during harmattan. Constant use of lip gloss or lip balm helps you avoid dry lips and injuries.

5. A hand santizer also helps because bacteria is easily spread during the harmattan season.

6. Ensure you have a clean handkerchief and tissue paper. This is very necessary for people who go through painful breathing during harmattan. Most times, we take in so much dust when we breathe during this season, so you can clean your nostrils with tissue papers or a clean handkerchief to ease yourself.

7. When it comes to fashion, avoid clothes produced with light fabrics such as chiffon and linen, they tend to stick to your body when the harmattan wind blows. Clothes produced with cotton is preferable for the dry season.

Hope this blog entry helps you.
Compliments of the season.

...xoxoxoxo...

Mr Price opens a hot new store at Port Harcourt Mall !!!

Mr Price launched it's retail spot at 8am today in the Garden City of Nigeria and it attracted a crowd of fashion lovers ranging from women, men, teenagers, adolescents and kids. A lot of customers were able to win fashion vouchers and score more savings on items in the beautiful store.

The Sales representatives were really affable, helpful and very polite to customers as some residents of the city are new to the world of Mr Price. I was looking forward to shop their latest designer range by Anisa Mpugwe but was a bit disappointed when i didn't see any of her pieces. Guess I will be able to get one or two pieces when next I am at Lagos. If you were not there today, it's always open to you and it's fashion at the most affordable rate.


... xoxo...

What to wear as a bride or groom to your court wedding.

Court Weddings are usually formal and brief, a lot of people struggle with
the choice of what to wear to their court wedding,some prefer to go all out and be dramatic with their choice of outfit for the day but a court wedding doesn't need a dramatic wedding dress, since it's a formal kind of wedding "sophisticated, chic and demure" should be the three words in your mind when selecting what to wear. if you are going to tie the knot in a court, then you have a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing what to wear.

Personally, I believe Knee-length dresses and classy female suits are good choices for a courthouse wedding. They are not too dressy and not too casual either. Also pants, a chic top paired with a blazer would also work for an edgy fashionista.

When it comes to courthouse wedding attire; for men the choice is a bit easier. You can base your outfit on whatever your bride is wearing. If she’s made an effort to dress-up then don’t turn up in jeans and shirt.

If your bride is going to be wearing a bridal dress then a smart tuxedo would be a good choice. If you don’t want to wear a tuxedo, or you don’t have one, then formal shirt and tie is an option. if you are going to be saying your wedding vows anytime soon in a court, I hope these tips help. ...xoxoxoxo...

RANDOM POST: BE CAREFUL, BE VERY CAREFUL Part 1.

The unemployment rate is disturbing in Nigeria and this leads to so much idleness, idleness leads to so much empty hours, empty hours leads to desperation, desperation leads to deep thinking, deep thinking leads to either a positive or negative solution. In most cases, jobless people who need quick money abide with the negative solution. Hence, we have so many people committing criminal acts just to get money quickly; so much thought is not put into the process of doing something illegal, especially the consequences. The most popular criminal act of getting quick money is “cyber crime” popularly known as “Yahoo Yahoo” in Nigeria. A friend of mine was a victim and I decided to write about her experience to warn my lovely readers. I have changed the real names but the story is non- fiction.

My friend “Remi” is down to earth and friendly, she has over 1000 contacts on her blackberry messenger, people add her every day, if you use BBM, you will know that people who don’t know you often add you randomly to either increase their contacts or to genuinely socialize. Remi got a BBM request on one Saturday, this new contact did not introduce herself, she just remained a silent contact on Remi’s list.

A week later, Remi receives a broadcast about Human Hair Sales, she decides to help the seller rebroadcast. After an hour, her newest contact pings her to ask her questions about the broadcast. This is the first time her newest contact has sent her a message since she added this person. Remi decides to ask her “how she got her pin? why has she been silent? And other general questions like “what’s your name? where are you based?, Remi’s new contact says her name is “ADA” and goes further to tell Remi more about herself. She says she is half ibo, half Indian, she was born in Nigeria, she lives in Lagos, her Father who is the Indian parent works with Chivita, she is the last girl in the family, she is a doctor with an oil company that has a hospital in Lagos, her family is really wealthy but she prefers to be independent, she is 30 years old and single. Remi feels the information is too much and Ada is over sharing especially since she doesn’t know her in person but later concludes that Ada is just a very open person.

Over time, Ada and Remi become very close chat buddies, Remi doesn’t say much about herself other than basic gist, Ada keeps confiding in Remi every day. One day, Ada tells Remi she is bothered about her life, Remi asks her “what the problem is” Ada says she is already 30 years old and still unmarried, she feels lonely and her work as a doctor doesn’t let her socialize or avails her the opportunity of meeting the opposite sex in a neutral environment.

Remi feels sorry for her and decides to play “the match maker”. Deji is one of Remi’s friends on BBM, who has been her friend for over two years and always confides in her about settling down soon. Deji wants to get married but tells Remi that it is hard to find a wife material in Lagos. Since Ada is based in Lagos, Remi feels it won’t be a bad idea for Deji to meet Ada. So she introduces Ada to Deji via BBM, after a while Ada stops chatting with Remi. Remi decides to tease her friend Deji and tells him he has stolen Ada from her. Deji sends an “eye rolling” and “lips sealed” smiley, Remi curiously asks him if everything is okay? Deji says he is yet to meet Ada because she is always busy and he is not interested in someone who asks him to send 250,000 naira to her account on the second day of chatting. Remi is surprised and calls Deji a liar, that is impossible, Ada is not that kind of lady besides she comes from a wealthy family and her job pays well.

Deji believes Ada is a fake person and also believes Ada is probably not a female, Remi becomes disturbed by his suspicions.
To be continued.

Noon Inspiration: The "Leader" in "You"

The cliché definition of a leader is someone who leads others; this definition is correct but too basic. I prefer the definition by Wikipedia, Wikipedia defines leadership as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Leaders are everywhere, in our homes, churches, mosques, private and public organizations. They say “some were born to lead and others were born to follow”, I think this saying has built the foundation for a lot of ills society faces. People tend to mind their business and always leave the responsibilities for leaders. I see this attitude in my everyday life; I used to be that way. If the issue does not affect us directly, then we should just remain pessimistic and careless.

There is a leader in everyone, we say the Government is not good, the Government is corrupt and they are supposed to be our leaders. I cannot defend people in power but there are little things that we can do as citizens to make our immediate community a better place. A common ill that we face in Nigeria as a result of the “carefree attitude” is flood caused by blocked drainage systems. We tend to litter the environment with our petty wastes like pure water sachets, snack wrappers, plastic bottles e.t.c, when the rainy season comes; we are faced with floods or high level of water on the ground.

Once, while I was still in school, I entered a public taxi headed for Uniport, I was thirsty, so I bought a bottle of lacasera from one of the hawkers on the road, when I was done drinking it, I threw the empty bottle out on the street, next thing I hear is the voice of a handsome man saying “You look intelligent, I am disappointed that you just did that”, I apologized. At that second, I knew the apology meant nothing to him but would mean so much to the environment, so I repented. My hand bag is usually a mini waste bag until I find a public bin; I neatly wrap my waste and keep it in my bag. If every citizen was responsible enough to show a little bit of leadership, we would have clean and free gutters; rainy seasons will come and go without any issue. Once, I told my friend to stop throwing his petty wastes on the streets, He said “he needed a reason to be patriotic and be different”, my reply? Every action starts with an individual. Your actions can affect one person and that individual can affect more people. I admire my street, the gutters are clean, and residents on my street make a constant effort to clean the gutters, when it rains in Port Harcourt, we have no issues but I can’t say the same thing for the city as a whole.

Leaders don’t have to be just the people at the helm of affairs handling critical issues concerning the economy. We could all be leaders in our own little way, assisting and playing our parts as responsible citizens. The man or woman who leaves his or her car during a bad traffic situation and controls the traffic is a good leader, I have seen a lot of people do this; they don’t sit back in their car and start blaming the Police or cursing the Federal government. Truth be told, most times when we complain, we end up getting a headache, every problem we face is simply calling for your attention.

Many a times, we see the young people who break stones to fill the “potholes” on our roads, these are leaders, they may not be wearing suits, or getting ready to head into a board room to address employees but they have managed to help a lot of people by the simple act of leadership. Sometimes, people say they do it because they are unemployed but they also could decide to be blind on purpose and say “it’s the Government’s responsibility’’.

What change are you bringing to your immediate community, country, and the world? Are you going to keep blaming every single bad thing happening on Political Leaders or will you ignite the “Leader in you” and start a revolution that will contribute immensely to the society and the world? Ponder a little.

Our world is constantly affected by a lot vices, the people who rule us are not enough to bring change to our door steps. We have seen a lot of young people leading with excellent projects that help others, one of such projects is “SLUM TO SCHOOL”, the founder of this project saw a societal problem, He saw slums with children who had no access to quality education, he decided to solve the problem and that gave birth to “Slum to School” and there are other inspiring stories of people standing up and impacting their society directly or indirectly.

Leading your country is unrealistic when you have no intention of becoming a political leader but you can be a leader in own little world called “your mind” and then change the world positively. Wake up, love your country genuinely, be inspired and realize it’s your responsibility to create the world that you want to see and be part of. Activate the “Leader” in “You”.

…Chioma Olamide Udom…