SOURCE: OMABELLETV

Hey guys welcome back to the blog. Today I want to discuss something that's really important in the make up world and that is choosing the right make up for your skin type. There are so many makeup options out there and trying to figure out which works for you can be very tricky especially if you are a make up newbie. I will be referring specifically to oily girls like me, because that's my skin type and that's the type of makeup I know how to buy.

PRIMERS

The first base of most peoples make up these days is primer. Primers help to make your skin ready for makeup, so weather its large pores, oiliness or dryness there is a primer for you. If you have oily skin you should opt for oil free primers and primers which are specifically targeted at people with oily skin. 

Silicone based primers(usually come out as a transparent thick plastic looking gel consistency) are always a bad idea. Silicone based primers I find are really great for masking pores but aren't great for oily skin, it just has a way of making the oiliness of your skin appear even more, they are better for those with normal to dry skin. There are really good primers that aren't silicone based, that still help with minimizing pores, like the benefit porefessional primer

A really good affordable oil control primer for oily skin is the Rimmel stay matte primer and the great part is that they are readily available in Nigeria, either online or at local beauty stores that carry foreign brands.

So long story short, silicone based primers are a NO, NO and go for primers specifically for those with oily skin.

FOUNDATION

When it comes to foundations, as oily skin girls we have to be on the look out and not pick just any foundation we see on the shelves  just because someone said its a good one or you know someone who uses it and it looks good on, you have to consider if the person has oily skin first. 

If you have oily skin please opt for foundations which have words like matte or oil free or that specifically says for oily skin. I made a post on foundations for oily skin which can be readily found in Nigeria, you can check it out for some recommendations which I have. 

CONCEALERS AND BLUSHES AND HIGHLIGHTS

When it comes to oily skin the more powder products you use on your face the better, so while for your under eye you definitely have to use a concealer, for contouring I recommend just using a bronzer alone or just a darker powder, instead of adding more grease to your face. The same recommendation goes for blushes, instead of applying cream blushes opt for powder versions and the same goes for highlighters.

POWDERS

While powders are generally meant to mattify your face and absorb as much oil as possible from your face, there are certain powders that definitely do a better job at that than others while making your face look nice and not cakey. I also do find that if you have extremely oily skin, loose powders work better at mattifying your make up than regular pressed powders. HERE are a few very affordable powders available in Nigeria which are great for oily skin.

BROWS

When it comes to brows, opt for products that aren't so creamy another tip is to set your brows with a loose powder before you apply your brow gels and pencils, just to keep that area mattified all day.

Thank you for reading today's blog post and I hope it helps you in some way. Do have a lovely day.

Hello readers welcome to another blog post, so today we are going to talk all about whiter teeth. Normally it is recommended to see a dentist at least three to four times yearly and part of the things dentist do is help you with teeth whitening.

Things are pretty hard in Nigeria and the fact is that the average Nigerian can't afford to go to a dentist that's a fact. There are certain measures you can take even though you don't have the luxury of visiting a dentist as often as you would like just to make sure your teeth remains healthy.

Today the focus will be on the measures you can take for whiter teeth, I of course am not a dentist but these are just measures I found works for me and others I know.

STAY AWAY FROM DARK DRINKS AND FOOD(PREVENTION): This I was actually doing sub consciously because I just never liked dark drinks ever. What I mean by dark drinks are mostly drinks with dark colors like black tea, coke, coffee, beverages e. t. c, so basically anything that contains caffeine. The dark colors in these drinks tend to cause yellowing your teeth. People who drink a lot of coffee if you notice have really yellowish teeth.

BAKING SODA: Baking soda has really good way to whiten your teeth over time, it is a good abrasive agent and wipes off surface dirt really well, for best results I will recommend mixing it with your toothpaste and use maybe twice a week, or if you are in a country that has access to toothpaste infused with baking soda like the one that arm and hammer makes you could just use that. You tend to see changes over time.

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE: This is a really good way to whiten your teeth, hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent, and mixed with equal parts of water is a good way to help whiten your teeth, over time. You could mix your hydrogen peroxide with bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and form a paste, leave in your mouth for a few minutes and rinse out. In Nigeria you can readily get hydrogen peroxide at places that sell chemicals, I am a microbiologist and I use hydrogen peroxide all the time and so it is readily available here. The best part is that if you can get a hold of the Arm and Hammer toothpaste, they contain both hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, and is guaranteed to whiten your teeth over time.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR: Research showed that when ACV was used on the teeth of a cow it acted as a bleaching agent and whitened their teeth. It contains acetic acid which is a good anti bacterial agent and that's probably why it is great for teeth whitening. 

ACTIVATED CHARCOAL: Activated charcoal is not only good for you pore cleansing face and nose mask. This is a really great teeth purifying agent, it attracts dirt to itself and as such is great for teeth whitening over time. Activated charcoal is also readily available in Nigeria.

DISCLAIMERS: These things I mentioned are great but they are no toothpaste, none of them contain fluoride which is great for strengthening your teeth. Brush your teeth daily and you can incorporate these things maybe once to twice a week, as they could weaken your enamel if used too often. 

Prevention is always also better than cure, so if whiter teeth is really your goal and going to a dentist is something you can't afford to do as often as you should or would like, please adhere to the very first tip I gave on this post. Also see your dentist as regularly as you can for deeper cleansing of your teeth.

THANK YOU FOR DROPPING BY, PLEASE DROP A COMMENT, I WILL BE HAPPY TO RESPOND.

As we all know Nivea came out with a new lotion which is called even and radiant spf 15 lotion, I am sure most people are wandering if this is better than the natural fairness or if it just as good but with a different name (we don't want to be out here wasting our coins) and that is exactly why I bought it, out of curiosity.

This lotion cost 1800 Naira at my local beauty supply store. It comes in the same packaging as the natural fairness lotion but obviously with a different name.

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE EVEN AND RADIANT BOTTLE.

Try NIVEA® Even & Radiant Body Lotion. With regular use, NIVEA® Even & Radiant Body Lotion, specially formulated with a combination of NIVEA’s Deep Radiance Serum* and skin’s own co-enzyme Q10, helps to repair dark and uneven skin patches for visibly radiant, smooth and even skin tone that you can feel. NIVEA’s effective SPF 15 helps protect your skin from harmful UVA/UVB rays that cause skin darkening and damage over time.

• contains SPF 15 and Vitamin C
• with Deep Radiance Serum
• Skin compatibility dermatologically proven

LIST OF INGREDIENTS

Note::

The ingredients listed correspond to the current state of production. Since we regularly adjust our formulations to incorporate new scientific findings, the declaration of ingredients specified on the package applies in each case.

Aqua, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Octocrylene, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Tapioca Starch, Sodium Hydroxide, Carbomer, Methylparaben, Trisodium EDTA, Ethylparaben, Myristic Acid, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Propylene Glycol, Arachidic Acid, Oleic Acid, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Ubiquinone, Citric Acid, Malpighia Glabra Fruit Juice, Benzoic Acid, Trideceth-9, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Bisabolol, Linalool, Geraniol, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, parfum.(this was gotten from the nivea site)

INGREDIENTS IN THE EVEN AND RADIANT LOTION.

This lotion first of all smells really good, I love how quickly it sinks into the skin. It is really easy to blend and is really moisturizing without leaving any greasiness on the skin.

Just like the other Nivea lotions, I believe the the price range to the size is very reasonable. I also love how very easy it is to find Nivea products in stores. 

In conclusion, it is a really good lotion, especially to help you in maintaining your skin tone as it does have spf, I would say though that if you are looking for a toning lotion this isn't for you, but say at night you use some exfoliant or toner, you could use this during the day just to protect your skin from the harmful effect of the sun rays and also help in evening out your skin. 

I give this a 4 star

In comparison with the Nivea natural fairness lotion

• They both have sun protection, the only thing is that I believe that the spf in the even and radiant lotion is more because they actually went ahead to state the exact amount of spf contained in the product (spf 15), unlike the natural fairness where they just stated that it has uva/uvb sun protection.
• They kind of smell similar but the even and radiant smells a little more fruity and sweeter(if that makes any sense).
• The even and radiant is more expensive than the natural fairness by I believe 300-500 Naira depending on where you buy yours from.
• Honestly to me it feels very similar to the natural fairness but I guess that if you have extra cash to spare there is no harm in buying this hence it has a larger amount of spf in it.
• Basically if you are like me and loved the Nivea natural fairness you will love this product a lot.

As always I do not apply my body lotions on my face as I do have very sensitive skin and easily break out.

Thank you so much for reading today's' blog post,  please leave comments and ask questions, I do respond as quickly as I can.

Hello readers welcome back to today's blog post. So in line with the post I made about affordable toning creams that work, I decided to make this one because like I said in that blog post they both work hand in hand. 

P. S: I am not out here asking anyone to bleach their skin, there is a clear difference between bleaching and toning, this blog post is not in anyway encouraging anyone to bleach their skin. Thank you.

Exfoliating is such a good way to get rid of impurities and dead skin cells from your skin, this allows whatever moisturizer you are using to penetrate properly into your skin. This exfoliating soap is great for that purpose, I believe is goes for 4000-5000 naira, yes it is quiet pricey but it last for a good while and it is a really good soap bar in general. It helps you get rid of dead skin cells and impurities while helping to give your skin a good youthful tone.

If you are like me and your body doesn't exactly like soaps, bath washes are a good alternative, this one from extreme glow is also a good alternative for the bar soap, I talked about the extreme glow lotion  in one of my former post. The body wash goes for anywhere from 2500-3000 Naira depending on where you buy it from, the body wash is not as expensive as the bar soap or the lotion and for some reason soap gives me body acne, so I always prefer body washes to soaps.

QUICK TIP: If you suffer from body acne switch over to body washes, they contain less soap and won't break u out as much if at all.

Bismid is another really good body wash, it smells good first of all and is a really huge jar. It usually cost anywhere from 3000-4500 Naira. It also really helps with exfoliating the skin and preparing it for the body lotion that you are going to apply. You can get this from any beauty supply store.

Fair and white is a very known brand in Nigeria, and just like Mary K many people have forgotten how good it it. This is a really good toning shower gel, the exfoliating soap is equally as good and I will say you specifically get this pink one, I just find it to be more effective than the rest. I can't quiet remember the exact the cost of this body wash or the soap but I know for a fact that it isn't that expensive, and it does works really great.

The Gluthione body washes are equally really good toning body washes, I will just say make sure you buy it from a beauty store that sells original products, because I have once bought the fake of this and didn't enjoying using it at all, so be very careful and the worse part is that you can't really tell the fake from the original, but for me I know the smell of the original one and I use that to judge.

Kojic acid soap is another really good toning and exfoliating soap, I personally can't use this because my skin is too sensitive for it, maybe if I get kojic acid body washes I might try this. If you know your skin is not sensitive you can use this and this is readily available in Nigeria, I am sure many of you have seen it.

Black soaps are another great way to tone and give you that beautiful complexion, the two toning black soaps I can recommend is this one from RR and this brightening black soap from FIG specifically the one with Tumeric, you can order them online via their sites. 

N.B: I do not use any of these on my face, I have sensitive and acne prone skin and so what I use on my face is very different from what I use on my body.

Thank you so much for reading, please leave any questions or comments below and I will be happy to reply. Have a good day.

Hello, readers I am back with another blog post and today we will talk about something that has been bugging me basically since I even knew how to apply my own foundation was. 

I am in no way claiming to be a make up guru, but I will just share some things I have learnt along the way.

USING A FOUNDATION THAT IS TOO LIGHT OR THAT HAS THE WRONG UNDERTONE.

The first thing I noticed especially since I started selling foundations is that no one wants to admit that they are actually darker than they are and always tend to go for foundations that are much lighter than they are. I guess its cuz of the whole obsession in Nigeria to be fairer. I also find that lots of Nigerian make up brands don't even give us a lot of options when it comes to foundation shades and I think it is partly cuz they know Nigerians want lighter shades.

The thing we don't know is that especially when it comes to trying to hide dark spots and things, using a foundation that is too light will make it appear worse, it's better to use a shade that's exactly your shade and undertone or at least very close or even a little darker, its always better than using something lighter, cuz you could counter it with highlighting and maybe contouring.

NOT BLENDING FOUNDATION COMPLETELY.

Another common mistake I see is when people don't blend their foundation properly into the ends of their faces and hair lines. I literally just saw this a few days back. There was literally a round foundation mark around her face, just like here in this photo.

Just get the right tools to blend your foundations properly  and take a little more time with blending your foundation into your hair line.

THINKING ITS OKAY TO NOT SET YOUR FOUNDATION.

This is one mistake that I don't understand why people with oily skin still make. I don't care how matte that foundation claims to be. Please set it with a powder either loose or pressed.

USING A FOUNDATION THAT IS BREAKING YOU OUT.

As an acne sufferer myself, I do realize that makeup doesn't necessarily break you out, but there are some which do. A lot of Nigerian brands I find don't necessarily cater to people with really sensitive skin, so often I opt for international brands when it comes to primer and foundation, not that there aren't international brands that will break you out, but there are a lot more that won't.

APPLYING TOO LITTLE FOUNDATION

If you have legit dark spots to cover, please don't apply foundation like you have blemishes, cuz that thing will peep through and you will look weird. I am not saying finish the foundation on your face but apply enough to cover your face as much as possible, or if you can afford to, you can buy a concealer then apply a little foundation and use a concealer to cover you spots.

NOT USING A FOUNDATION FOR YOUR SKIN TYPE.

This is very common with people with oily skin, I mean people with normal to even dry skin, they can get away with so many types of foundation. If you have oily skin,please go for foundations that are matte and this is cuz matte foundations have lesser amount of oils and liquids and are instead more concentrated and if you have dry skin as well, go for regular foundations. Here are afforable foundations perfect for people with oily skin.

NOT HAVING A SKIN PREP ROUTINE.

Now this is mostly for people with oily skin or really dry skin. Not having a good skin prep routine, weather its applying a moisturizer or primer or spray mist or oil can in the long run affect how your foundation looks, if you have dry skin try to moisturize with a good thick cream or a good oil before any foundation application. If you have oily skin like me here are some skin prep tips you could use.

NOT SETTING YOUR FOUNDATION WITH A POWDER; This mistake many people make and setting your foundation is key for making your make up last all day and also for reducing make up transfer on other surfaces. Especially if you have oily skin, please always make sure you set your foundation.


Thank you for dropping by the blog, feel free to ask questions and also drop any other foundation mistakes you have made or have see others make, lets laugh together.

Hello readers how are you today? spots on the face can be very embarrassing, I personally usually get hyper pigmentation on my face as a result of pimple that have finally gone. From experience I am going to share with you things that work for me and people I know.

N.B: some things here are not highly recommended for people with sensitive skin but please do know that I will let you know which is which.

Clarins is one product I really love, but to be honest their products are really pricey but if you have sensitive skin, you can be sure that their products will not break you out. Their brightening day and night creams are absolutely amazing and will really help put with spots. Their day cream has spf which will help keep the effect of sun rays away. 

 

Serums are another good way to get rid of scars from acne or whatever. Above I have listed three which are really good and also can be readily gotten in Nigeria. The best amongst these 3 for me will be the truskin vitamin c serum but its not sold here but can be gotten from amazon.com, you can order this directly to Nigeria you if you really wanna try it out, its also good for people with sensitive skin.

Retin A is another good way to get rid of spots, but you have to use it properly. Start from a really weak strength and moisturize after the retin A has dried down. Never apply it on wet skin, make sure your skin is dry first. I am actually about to use this cuz I have so many spots to clear out right now and this did work in the past for me. You can get this from your local pharmacy and is great for people with sensitive skin as well.

This last two I honestly can't say how it works on people with sensitive skin like mine but I have seen people who don't have sensitive sin use it and it worked really well and they are also very inexpensive.

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I got the idea for this blog post from a customer of mine who came to buy the maybelline fit me matte foundation (and yes I do sell this foundation at just 4500 and if you are in Abuja you will get free delivery), she said she wanted to get into the whole slay game but that from past experiences with her oily skin and makeup she was afraid to try again. Whenever I wear makeup people always ask me how my make up stays on all day despite the fact that I claim to have really really oily skin.

Today's post is dedicated to oily skin people like me who want to wear foundation and slay their makeup but feel like their oiliness will get in the way. please read to the end of the blog post, every tip counts. 

CLEANSE

I made a whole post about the importance of the type of cleanser you use for your oily skin, you can check it out here. Avoid cleansers and soaps that are super harsh or better still avoid actual bar soaps completely. This will make your face drier and cause you sebaceous glands to produce a lot of oil. This specific johnson's baby wash is my fave as well as the neutrogena pink grape fruit but please read this post here for the only condition to which you can use the neutrogena pink grape fruit facial scrub.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR TONER

This step I only recommend if you have used a very mild face wash like the johnsons face wash but I will advice you avoid if you used a cleanser with an active ingredient. because this may make your skin too sensitive. ACV helps to shrink your pores and reduce oil production as well as fight against any active pimple you may have. 

HOW TO DIY ACV TONER

• GET A CLEAN SAUCER.
• ADD TWO PART WATER TO EVERY PART ACV. I.E I DO HALF A TEA SPOON OF ACV AND A TEA SPOON OF WATER.
• DAB IN A COTTON PAD.
• SWIRL ON YOUR FACE. 
• PLEASE DO NOT MIX THE WHOLE BOTTLE OF ACV, IT MAKES THE ACV GET SOUR AND THIS WILL DO YOUR FACE MORE HARM THAN GOOD.

MOISTURIZE

This step is so important but please if you have sensitive skin do not just go to your beauty supplier and buy any moisturizer you see, get moisturizers that are made specifically for people with oily and sensitive skin, you can check some out HERE. Just in case you didn't know people have oily skin because their skin produces way too much oil, to combat or slow down this process you have to trick the skin into believing that it has produced oil already, by  moisturizing your skin you at least know the exact amount of moisture on your face and as a result your skin doesn't produce as much oil, if that makes sense.

PRIMER

So the first three steps will help with reducing oil production and also help with the health of your skin. A mattifying Primer on the other hand will take your make up longevity to a whole new level.

If however you do not have the money to get a primer to use underneath your foundation, you can use any oil control loose setting powder you have just before applying your foundation. My favorite mattifying primer is the rimmel stay matte and it cost about 4000-5000naira.

FOUNDATION AND SETTING POWDER

If you have oily skin, you do not just go out and buy any foundation you see or see your friend use, you have to be sure it is a matte foundation and if you have sensitive skin you also need something that won't break you out. HERE are some foundations that work great for oily skin

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Finally please always set your foundation with an oil control powder preferably a loose setting powder.

N.B: Please when your skin get a lil oily please don't use a handkerchief to wipe your face use a blotting paper or one ply of your tissue paper to gently dab off the oil and maybe touch up with your powder if necessary.

Thank you for reading, please do leave a comment and I will be glad to reply.

I am able to have a good time without worrying too much about my makeup.