I got this lipstick in December 2020 while I was doing my nails at the salon. The lady doing my nails who is also the owner of the salon recommended I buy it. 

It wasn't a planned purchase at all and I haven't bought a lipstick in a long time.

I've been waiting for the right moment to try it. And I decided to do so and share my thoughts with you.

Trying On My New Purple Lipstick & Review

The product

How did it feel using this lipstick and gloss?

Tips for using it.

Things I love about the lipstick and gloss

Today I want to share with you my wardrobe organization tricks and what my wardrobe looks like on a daily basis. To be honest it may get more disorganised than this but here is how it looks on most days.

If you prefer to watch the video of this wardrobe tour instead then click here to watch.

How I Organise My Wardrobe | Tricks I Use To Make Everything Get Into My Wardrobe

Things found in my wardrobe

Cosmetics

My clothes

My daughter's clothes

Shoes

Bedsheets, towels and blankets

Unused clothes and miscellaneous

My wardrobe tour | Inside the wardrobe of a Cameroonian Lifestyle Blogger

My wardrobe is the type we find in most houses in Cameroon. 

It is divided into two compartments vertically. One side is further separated horizontally into a cupboard. 

The first cupboard of my wardrobe is where I put my cosmetics and jewellery. These things were previously at the foot of my bed and my daughter will not stop going there to scatter them. So putting them at the topmost part of my wardrobe is the best thing to do with them.

It also has my wigs and other little stuff I own.

The last part of the cupboard is for any other things such as blankets, bedsheets, and any other clothes or stuff which I don't use often.

The uppermost part of my wardrobe is where I keep my handbags, mosquito nets and cartons.

I have a few of my handbags hanging on the doors of my wardrobe because I recently used them and felt so lazy to put them back in place.

The other side of the wardrobe is for clothes that stay on hangers. Below that is my box of clothes.

My shoes are found on the wall behind my hanging clothes.

That's how I organize my wardrobe and as you can see it is realistic. It's not perfectly arranged but it is clean and that's how it looks on most days.

You can watch the video of this closet tour below.

Click here to watch the video.

Five Special Things About African Women You Must Know

Today I want to address some things that we African women have been suffering from for a long time. these things and habits have hindered us from growing for a long time and it's time to unlearn them. 

Here are things, thoughts and habits that African need to unlearn.

Watch my video on this topic by clicking here.

Negative Things African Women Need To Unlearn About Themselves In Order To Progress In Life

You have to suffer in relationships before enjoying it

Gone are the days when you need to tolerate a man who doesn't treat you right for years hoping that one day he will realize your worth before turning back to loving and respecting you full time. 

Men are used to doing what they like in relationships and return to loving their long life partners in their old age. This is because we let them. Let's not continue to make this a pattern. It's time to say stop to this. It's time to unlearn this habit my dear African ladies. We are worth better men.

They have to look like someone else in order to be considered beautiful

This is sad but true. Most African women believe that they need to look like women of other races in order to be considered beautiful. 

Your sole purpose of existence & looking beautiful is for a man or to attract and keep a man

African women make men the centre of their lives a lot. Men are important to us but we don't exist because of them. This also stems from our culture where women were brought up to please men. But we have to unlearn that and live for ourselves as human beings. Men are only our companions in life and not our reason for existence.

Not discussing sex as women

Sex is a taboo topic for most African women. We don't talk about sex enough and this affects how we participate in the act. Even if women marry as virgins they need adequate sex education and they should not feel like talking about sex makes them bad or spoilt.

It is important that more African get involved in sex talks because they need to understand their role and the consequences it has on them.

Light skin is better than black skin

The one thing African women have a problem with the most is the colour of their skin. We feel light skin is better than black skin and this makes us want to change our skin colour to be lighter. 

This stems from colonial times and it's time to unlearn this. Black skin is as beautiful as any other skin colour and when you valorize it you will see the true beauty in it.

Successful women slept their way to the top

This one may come from jealousy or envy or low esteem or just the fact that we don't like to support each other as women. But this thought really stops us from progressing because it shows that we have brought ourselves so low to think that we can't accomplish anything by ourselves.

Not all women are assisted by men to become who they are. Not all women sleep their way to success even if they act or dress sexily all the time. 

Thinking like this about other women means you don't believe you as a woman have the ability to become successful.

Dear African Sis, let's change from this, unlearn these negativities and move forward. 

This holiday season, I did some online shopping from two Cameroonian entrepreneurs. One bakes cakes and the other is a cosmetic brand. I just wanted a big delicious yoghurt cake to satisfy my craving and also I needed beauty products for my body.

How I chose these brands to buy from was simple. I knew them already (the CEOs) and trust was already established though it was my first time actually buying their products. They are small growing brands. 

As an entrepreneur myself, it felt good to support and patronise people I know. I didn't buy from them in order to judge their service. It was because I needed their products. To my surprise, I learned a lot from the experience.

Here are the things I learned from my online shopping with these brands.

Buying From Online Cameroonian Brands | What I Learnt As An Entrepreneur

It's essential to deliver on time

Delivering on time shows that you value your customer's time. I ordered for the cake days before but on the day of delivery, the vendor called me to say she will be running late. It was a good thing she called me to let me know she won't be able to deliver on time and I appreciated that. 

But I wondered within me if she also considered the fact that the cake could have been for a party or an occasion and the time I gave her needed to be respected.

Let your customer know if you can't deliver on time

As mentioned above, I appreciate the cake service for letting me know she'll be late in her delivery. It made me feel considered and respected. On the other hand, the cosmetic brand didn't deliver during the period we agreed on and I was the one who contacted them to ask why my products had not been delivered. 

It's crucial to deliver exactly what was ordered

This is the most important lesson of all. Deliver what the customer asked for. It is bad enough to deliver late but don't allow yourself to deliver a product that is not up to what the client ordered. 

This was my case with the cake delivery. Added to the fact that she changed the time of the delivery, she delivered a cake that didn't rise during baking. 

Oh yes, she did. She really did. During the delivery, she told me that the baking powder she used wasn't good and she needs to change the baking powder but the cake is ok. I thought it was just a small problem. After collecting the cake and I got home and opened it I was shocked and angry too. 

I remembered how I had made it clear to her that I wanted a big cake and she promised me I'll be satisfied. Despite that, she had the courage to deliver a cake that didn't rise properly. I wondered if she even considered the fact that it could be a gift for someone. How do I give such a cake to someone? Honestly, she made my money seem so useless. She delivered the cake still hot meaning that she probably didn't start baking it early enough so she probably took it out before it could completely rise. That's my theory since her story of the baking powder being the problem didn't sound true to me. 

Honestly, if I were in her place I would ask if I can deliver a proper cake on another day or simply refund the customer. Not delivering that right product discourages the customer from buying from you.

Ask for feedback from customers and do it on time

Getting feedback from your customers is very important. Not asking them if they received the product, how they find the product or if they like your product may make them feel like you don't care. Depending on the product you should ask for feedback at the time the client might have consumed the product or when he/she might have started seeing results.

The cake lady asked me a few days later how the cake was. I wondered why she took so long to ask knowing very well that there was a problem with the cake. Anyway, I made her understand that I wasn't satisfied and how disappointed I was. She said she'll catch up next time but I feel so discouraged that I doubt if there will be a next time.

Make sure all products are delivered to the customer

When clients orders multiple products, verify that you send them all. 

I received all the beauty products except for one and to be honest, I needed it so badly. if the client is located in another town just like in my case it becomes difficult or expensive to send the remaining product. 

Keep the client engaged during the purchase

Inform the client of your plans and actions related to his or her order. If delivery is taking a few days update them and keep them in the know of what's going on. Keeping the client engaged helps them develop a good relationship with you.

I wish to patronise more Cameroonian brands online in the future because I know what it means to be encouraged in that manner. I am an online entrepreneur too. 

It's been a few days since we celebrated Christmas and New year. Life is back to normal. People are pulling through the month of January as most Christmas leftovers should be finished by now. 

The month seems to be going fast to me and honestly I don't want it to slow down. Apart from that, this is how life has been after the Christmas and new year celebrations.

 Life After Christmas And New Year Celebrations

Wondering when I'll take down my Christmas tree

I look at my tree every day and wonder if I should take it down already. I'm thinking that it's about time I do so but I still feel Christmasy. 

Waiting for January to pass quickly

The days are passing by fast and I am eager for the month to come to an end. Finances are a little low after the celebrations and I need this period to pass as fast.

Eating leftovers

I've been slowly eating my leftovers from the celebrations. I must confess that immediately after Christmas and new year I didn't feel like eating any leftovers at all. But a few days later, I enjoyed it.

Watching movies

Oh yes. I now have time or should I say make time to watch tv and one thing I find the most interesting now is movies. Both African movies (Nollywood most especially) and Hollywood movies. 

The tv channels I'm really enjoying are Africa Magic Epic and Showcase as well as MBC Max and MBC 2.

One of the best movies I've watched recently and will like to watch again is "Julie & Julia". 

Resting

After all the cooking and celebrating it is only right to get some rest. I try to take naps and just relax.

This is how life has been after the celebrations and we are still taking one day at a time. How has life been for you?

After sharing my experience with relaxing my nappy hair it's natural that I share with you guys the product I used to relax my hair.

Related: The Experience Of Relaxing My One-Year-Old Nappy Hair

When I made up my mind to relax my hair, I had in mind Dr Miracle's relaxer and also Dark and Lovely. I had used Dr Miracle before and I liked it. As for Dark and Lovely my previous experience wasn't good as I bought a fake product which didn't even relax my hair. So I can say that I have never used a Dark and Lovely relaxer until now. But I have friends who used it and had good results. 

This time I decided to try the suggestion of the salesperson in the shop and he recommended Vitale Olive No-Lye Hair Relaxer. I bought the super relaxer.

Products I Used To Relax My Hair | Featuring Vitale Olive No-Lye Relaxer

The product

The pack of Vitale Olive Relaxer is made up of :

- The relaxer

- The activator

- The shampoo

- The leave-in conditioner

- Gloves and a spatula for mixing.

The highs and lows

I relaxed my hair at the hair salon and my hairstylist did a good job with that. 

The one thing that I am most grateful for is that it didn't burn my scalp. It also got my hair very well relaxed.

I noticed that the products don't have any nice smell, especially the shampoo. So if you love nice smelling products then think again about buying this one. 

Also, the leave-in conditioner is watery and not oily. This makes it hard to use most times because I can't use it when my hair is dry.

The verdict

The relaxer is good and I recommend it for relaxing pure virgin hair. It relaxes your hair evenly and doesn't discolour hair. I love products with a nice scent but because this one is good I don't have a problem using it again.

The Price

In Cameroon Vitale Olive relaxer costs between 3800frs - 5000frs. I actually bought mine for 3800frs but it was priced 4500frs. Prices may vary from shop to shop that's why I gave that price range. 

It's been almost a month since I relaxed my virgin hair. I'm happy I did because I got what I wanted out of it.

The Experience Of Relaxing My One-Year-Old Nappy Hair

Why I relaxed my One-year-old nappy hair

I cut my hair in December 2019. It was almost bald. Then I coloured it gold. I cut my hair because I needed a break from long hair. I also had issues with my edges. They were breaking a lot and it made my hair difficult to style. So I decided to cut everything.

While growing my hair again I wanted to keep it natural though from time to time I wanted to relax it. I have kept natural hair in the past and it wasn't that easy to comb and plait it because it hurt so much. But then I received natural hair products from GLB which helped me to soften my hair and make my edges grow again. Their products convinced me to settle for nappy hair.

Also Read: GLB - The hair products that make me comb my natural hair easily

Then later the desire to relax my hair came back because I couldn't leave my hair freely as I desired. I couldn't style my natural hair myself and I didn't have many options. I could learn from other nappy bloggers or Youtubers but I didn't have the patience to do that. I just wanted to be able to have my hair styled by myself sometimes. To comb and style it into a bun or anything easy on days I don't feel like going to the saloon.

The process

The process to me was liberating, to be honest. I thought of all the things I would be able to do with my hair and also the fact that I'll stress less about getting my hair done when I have unexpected activities.

I loved my nappy hair. It broke my heart to not be able to keep up with maintaining it. But I am enjoying my relaxed hair as well and I am glad I did it.

Also read: Am I disconnected from my roots because my hair is no longer nappy?

The relaxing process didn't make me anxious or afraid as I expected. I just looked forward to the results and I was proud of it. I didn't get burnt and my air was perfectly relaxed.

Also, read. Products I used to relax my one-year-old nappy hair

I did this at the perfect time because it was the Christmas period and I had to go out sometimes. So I was less stressed about my hair. 

Also read: How we spent New Year's Day 2021

                   My New Year's Day hairstyle

Last time I saw my nappy hair

Relaxing my hair at the hair salon

My relaxed hair

The evening after relaxing my hair

Waking up with my relaxed hair

Christmas hairdo

New Year's Day hairdo

That's my experience with relaxing my hair. 

I recently relaxed my one-year-old nappy hair and I felt a conflict within myself because being nappy is not just a choice or a lifestyle. It is an identity. It represents a race and a community. So I must say relaxing my hair after growing it naturally for a year felt like a betrayal. 

That's a heavy word but what I felt was close to that. 

Disconnected From My African Roots Because My Hair Is Relaxed

Nappy hair gives you a sense of belonging

Many of us like to belong somewhere or in some community. We belong to our family when growing up and later we belong to other groups which construct our personality and identity. Being nappy gives that feeling of belonging, identity, pride and personality to those who have it. 

He who is not with us is against us

Since it is a community there are definitely people who feel attacked when you don't align with that lifestyle. And this is not good at all because even though it represents an identity of a community, having relaxed hair doesn't mean renouncing your African roots or identity. It's a matter of intention. 

Though it does make you look different, it all depends on why you do it. As long as the intention is not to change who you are there is no problem with it. 

My journey to relaxed hair

I relaxed my hair recently after keeping it nappy for a year. I love my relaxed hair. It's still my hair whether relaxed or not and I love wearing it simple most of the time. 

Related: My experience with relaxing my one-year-old nappy hair.

                Products I used to relax my hair

While with nappy hair, I knew that at some point I was going to relax. And when the time came I did. 

Read all about my experience of relaxing my hair here.

My take on this

Whether relaxed or nappy it doesn't matter. Do whatever feels convenient for you. Nappy hair is not for everyone; No matter how much some bloggers and YouTubers make it easy to maintain, it's not easy for everyone. It requires more products, time and dedication to care for it.

It's not to discourage you from keeping nappy hair but just to tell you the truth. I enjoyed my nappy journey because it was different and there are hairstyles I could make with it that I can no longer do with my relaxed hair. 

But right now, nappy hair is not for me. I may go back to it in the future or sometime when I feel like keeping it again. there's time for everything and now is the time for relaxed hair. I can always do a big chop and start all over again. I'm happy I am that courageous when it comes to my hair.

My New Year's Day Hairstyle

By New Year's Eve, the hairstyle I did for Christmas was already so itchy and also quite painful in the middle where the bun was tied. 

Also read: How We Spent Christmas 2020

It made me want to go for a change of hairstyle. I wanted my hair washed so bad. I love washing my hair because it makes me feel relaxed - especially when I do it in a hair salon.

 Happy happy new year 🎉🎉🎈 everyone!

I feel so uplifted and lighter this 2021. I hope you do too. 2020 has been a tough year no doubt. In fact, it has been my worse year yet even though it has taught me another side of life.

That's why I'm so grateful to God that the year 2020 is done, dusted and gone! 

How We Spent New Year's Day 2021

On New Year's Eve, I was gifted a cake by my landlady. It was so delicious. We ate it until the morning of New year's day.

To celebrate 🥂 the day, we cooked Achu for New year's day. I already shared the recipe here on the blog.

To be honest with you guys this is my first time cooking Achu. I have only assisted and helped my mom and grandma to cook it but I've never cooked it alone.

I'm so glad the meal came out very delicious 😋🤤 and everyone loved it.

I made njama njama (contry-style) and njakatu (garden eggs) to accompany the Achu. It was fantastic.

In preparation to celebrate the day, I went to the market on New Year's Eve and bought the food items. Then I got most of them ready before the next day because I knew the pounding of the Achu will take most of my time. I cleaned and packed the cocoyam' in the pot, I also cooked the meat, canda and fish. Then I went and did my hair. I fixed the vegetable (njama njama) in the night while waiting for midnight to come. I finally finished it after midnight. I then wrote a blog post for you guys to wish you a happy new year then I went to bed. 

Also Read: Happy New Year 2021

                   How I Did My Hair on New Year's Day 2021

In the morning we pounded the Achu then sat down together in the evening and had a great time with family. 

Achu cocoyam and achu banana

Njama njama

Njakatu (Garden eggs)

Doing my hair

Fixing the vegetable while waiting for midnight

My drink to welcome the new year at midnight

Cheers!

I hope that the day was great for you guys too. 

Keep staying positive this new year.