What happened to my blog?

Hello,

It's been long since I posted something on my blog. The truth is that I am struggling with a little bit of technical difficulties. Almost a month ago my family from Czech Republic visited me and my husband here in Belgium and we spend few days at the beach. We had a wonderful time! It was the first time I was at the Belgian coast and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised - the water was so warm! What? In the North See? YES!... But that's not the point. Because we wanted to remember these family moments forever we took our camera on the beach and played around with it. Hey, who wouldn't do that, right?

So long story short - some sand particles got inside my camera and the lens is stuck now so I cannot take any pictures. :-( I tried to use our phones but that's not even close as good as regular camera so now I cannot post anything even if I want to. Booooo! I tried to repair it myself following instructions from several internet tutorials (it seems it is a pretty common damage that can be supposedly easily solved - not in my case) and tried to ask about the repair at the authorized service of Sony where I was told that I should rather buy a new one than to bother myself with repair since the price will be almost the same. So now I am actually thinking what to do. I love my camera so much. I have it around 7 years now and it has never disappointed me and it has travelled the world with me. And then my stupid me takes it to the beach for the first time and this is the result! AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!

Well, until I get it fixed or buy a new one I cannot post anything from the things that I already have prepared. The review of the July Deauty box is already delayed (so will be probably featured with the August one) and I have also few new things that I recently bought and want to share with you. It's so frustrating to have new stuff and not to be able to try it before you get pictures of it (that's what happens when you decide to be a beauty blogger). There is a couple of new lip products sitting next to me and all I can do is to stare at them and imagine how would they look on me. Hopefully I soon find out. For now it's everything from me and I will cross my fingers to get this problem of mine fixed asap. 

xoxo

Your Funmilayo

My version of Nigerian Pepper stew

Hello!

Today I am here with my first FOOD post. And since I am married to Nigerian, I wanted to learn some Nigerian meals so my hubby will feel at least a little bit like at his home country. And what I have learnt about Nigerian cuisine - there is always a pepper stew on the stove in Nigeria to eat it with rice, pounded yam, amala, eba or other typical Nigerian side dish.

But before I get to the meal itself I would like to talk a bit about Nigerians and food in general. I am no expert and this is only my personal insight that I got from my husband, my friends and let's be honest - internet. It was the internet who taught me how to cook Nigerian or I should say the countless amount of Nigerian women who are kind enough to share their cooking wisdom with us (I personally follow the channels of these 2 wonderful ladies - All Nigerian Recipes and AfroFoodTv. What I love about Nigerian food (or African food in general) is the fact that dining is a very important part of life for them and if you ask Nigerian what they like the most about their culture most of them answer "9ja food". Nigerians love to cook and they also love to eat. They are enjoying every part of it and they take the time for the dining (you will never see a Nigerian to eat in a haste). Another great thing about Nigerian food is that everything is natural. You cook from a scratch and you mostly use fresh ingredients. Even though Nigerian meals are very hearty I think they are healthier than most European dishes. No matter what I cook from the Czech traditional cuisine, it's always "only" the second best to Nigerian food (even though "řízek" with potato salad is a strong contender - lol). So far I tried from Nigerian recipes only Pepper stew, Jollof rice and Beans porridge with plantain or sweet corn but I can say only about the pepper stew that I perfected it - in my own way - so I can share the recipe. I am posting a recipe for a beef stew but you can alternate the meat for chicken, fish, lamb or goat (which is very popular in Nigeria) - Nigerians also like to mix the different kinds of meat together in one stew so you see there are no limits for your imagination and experiments.

Nigerian Pepper Stew (European version)

Ingredients:

• 800g beef (the kind most suitable for stew)
• 3 cans of pealed tomatoes (you can use even fresh tomatoes but make sure they are very ripe - in this case use like 7 of them)
• 2 onions (middle size)
• 2 red bell peppers (I sometimes use only 1 grilled one - it has a stronger taste)
• 2-3 red habanero pepper (for beginners only 1)
• 6 stock cubes of Maggi
• crayfish
• thyme
• salt
• vegetable oil (not olive oil)

First cut the beef into small cubes (if it is not cut already from the butcher or the shop), cut 1 onion into small pieces. Put them both inside a big pot and add water a little bit above the level of the meat. Start cooking. During the cooking add salt to taste and 3 stock cubes. Cook until the meat is soft the way you like it - I like mine very very soft so I cook it usually about an hour and half on a low heat. Make sure you check it from time to time if there is enough water. After it is boiled remove the meat and keep the beef stock with the onion aside (we will still use it!). 

Now we will move to the main part of the stew - tomato/pepper mixture. Take a blender and blend the tomatoes, bell peppers, habanero peppers and the second onion together until it's very smooth. Use the pot you cooked the beef inside before (make sure you clean it well so it won't burn) put 1 cm high level of oil and make sure the oil is heated up. Than pure the mixture inside (be careful and don't burn yourself - it can sputter at first). Mix everything with the oil and put on a medium heat. Add the rest 3 cubes of Maggi and leave it to reduce. When the mixture is reduced and starts to get thicker, you can add the beef stock for the better taste. It will be more liquidy again so reduce again. Check from time to time so it won't get burned. Cook until the oil start to separate from the mixture (you will see it sitting on the top of the mixture). At this point you can add more salt if needed (remember there is already salt in the beef stock!), crayfish and thyme to taste. Also add the beef inside (for better taste fry it or roast it in the oven). Cook for more additional 10 minutes - MAKE SURE you stir it frequently now - it gets burned very easily at this faze. And we are done!

I like the stew the most with pounded yam (which my husband makes - I am not strong enough to pound it well - lacking the African power - lol) or with rice and dodo (fried plantain) like in the picture. But you can eat it with anything, really - with spaghetti you can create an afro-italian dish! ;-) I hope you will find this recipe helpful and worth trying. Bon appetite! 

xoxo

Your Funmilayo

My TOP 5 SUMMER 2013 Nail Polishes

Hello!

A while ago I posted my favorites in spring nail polishes and now it's the time for a summer edition. I generally love nail polish but summer is my favorite season because it means bright colors. Of course you can wear the brights through the whole year but I love my fall/winter shades also so I have the bright colors reserved for the warmer months of the year.

Here is the list of my top 5:

• Makeup Academy - Shade 15
• AVON - Teal Infusion
• Maybelline (MiniColorama) - Urban Lemon
• Catrice - Yellow Sub-Mandarin
• Essence - What Do You Think?

As the last time the creamy formula prevail. The only pearly shade is AVON's Teal Infusion nail polish. I really love yellow and orange shades for summer because it reminds me of the hot sun (which we lack so much here in Belgium - so I have it at least on my nails - lol) and of course a blue teal color is a must-have which represents the ocean and the bright sky above. As for the pink - that is my all time favorite color so it cannot miss in any Top collection and what other version of this color than bright hot pink shade. I hope you will have great summer 2013 - at least on your nails! ;-)

xoxo

Your Funmilayo

Deauty box - May, June 2013

Hey!

So I have been inactive for over a month and as much as I want to give you some really believable excuse, the naked truth is that I kind of didn't have a mood for it. But hopefully I am over this uncreative period and I will try to be more persistent with my upcoming blog posts. But enough about that.

On Monday my June Deauty box arrived and once I opened it I knew I had to come back to my blog. BUT! Since the I didn't put up the post of a May Deauty box as I promised and the box was also awesome, I decided to make a 2 in 1 post and include both of them. I know it's with a big delay for the May one but it's better late than never. Right?!

Deauty box - May 2013

Since the first impression of this box has already faded I think I will be at least able to make a little reviews for each item for I have already try them all at least once. First of all it contains, except one, only full size products which is a pleasant revelation. This time we have combination of skin care, hair care and make-up products. So let's dig into them!

The list of the products:

• full size (50ml) of Garnier Ambre Solaire - BB Cream SPF30
• full size (100ml) of Klorane - Shampoo with oats
• sample size (50ml) of Avène - Recovering after-sun lotion
• full size (2pc) of Lamazuna - facial wipes
• full size (9g) of Bo-Ho Green Revolution - Terracotta powder

Garnier Ambre Solaire - BB cream SPF30 - 50ml

(Full size, 11,99€)

  

I was pleasantly surprised by this product because I am generally very skeptical to European and American BB Creams. As much as they promise on the packaging they usually do nothing for me if not worse I look better without them. Most of them are too dark or orangey for my skin tone and I don't consider myself extremely fair. But this one might be an exception. I am not saying I am loving it and it is going to replace my regular foundation or my Asian BB cream but I can get away with it without looking too orangey and it can also provide light coverage which at least evens out the skin tone. I also appreciate the high SPF which protects from UV-A and UV-B sun beams. I am thinking of it as a very light coverage tinted moisturizer ideal for hot days on a vacation, weekends or just free time.

Klorane - Shampoo with oats - 100ml

(Full size, 5,00€)

 

I have nothing bad to say about this product. It claims to be an ideal shampoo for sensitive scalp and damaged hair (which I both have). It smells really nice (no overpowering scent), it lathers quite good and it leaves the hair smooth and clean. But I cannot appreciate the product as much as I want to because I suffer from dandruffs and that's why I can only use my Vichy shampoo which I use for years and is the only one that really helps me. Maybe if I give it a go and use constantly the Klorane one it may help also but it doesn't say it's anti-dandruff and it's too small size to try it out. But since it is generally very good shampoo I will definitely use it up and at least keep the bottle for traveling purposes.

Avène - Recovering after-sun lotion - 50ml

(Full size: 200ml, 15,70€)

  

With this product you cannot go wrong. After-sun lotion is a must have during the summer and Avène is guarantee of quality. Two weeks ago I got sunburned (in Belgium you kind of forget that you need a sunscreen when the sun comes up - lol) on my arms, face and in a cleavage area and I have to say it really helped. I used it for two day 3 times a day and my skin turned to a nice brown tan with no peeling. So yay to this product!

Lamazuna - facial wipes - 2 pc

(Full size, 4€)

  

Well, I have to be honest I was very excited about this product at first. It seems like a new innovative concept that can safe not only money but is also environmental friendly. These face wipes are supposed to remove all your makeup just with warm water and in case of waterproof or water resistant makeup you will use your regular makeup remover with them. The difference of the other facial wipes is that you can actually reuse them. They claim up to 300 times because you can wash them in the washing machine (40° or 60°). So since you got two of these wipes you get 600! makeup removers. Well as I said the idea sounds too good to be true and that's unfortunately also the case. Yes, they can more or less remove my makeup (even eyes after some time of trying) but the thing that I really don't appreciate about these is the fact that you really really have to try. It means that you need to pull hard on your face and even eyes which is an area you should be rather delicate with. They say to hold the wipe on your eye for some moment and then gently wipe away all the makeup but the reality is that you will end up with a big black smudge all over your eye area (unless you are wearing only some light color eyeshadow with no mascara - lol). It was better with my face makeup. I washed it like three times before I could tell that the makeup was off but when I used my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation I could see that these wipes have serious problem with long wearing products. SO - the verdict? Nice concept and idea + below the average result = into purse wipes in case of the greatest need.

Bo-Ho Green Revolution - Terracotta powder - 9g

(Full size, 12,95€)

And finally we have a make-up product. YAY! I said in the first blog post about the Deauty box that they don't include makeup products so often so when they actually do I  am always so excited. It is a bronzing powder from Bo-Ho Green Revolution. I have never heard of this brand so I did some research and find out that it's French organic makeup brand that was launched in April 2012 so it's quite new. This is what I actually expect from beauty boxes like Deauty box is. To introduce new brands, new products, new concepts. So this one is 100% satisfactory. Bo-Ho Green Revolution claims to be environmental friendly, natural makeup brand with only organic ingredients which is also affordable to wide range of customers. Well, it's not a cheapest makeup on the market but the prices are reasonable. This particular shade I got is called Terre de provence (TC 04) and is unfortunately too dark for me to use as a bronzer (unless I will get some serious tan) but I can definitely use it as a blush (the shimmer in it is very subtle) or as a beautiful bronze-peachy eyeshadow so overall I am more than happy with this product.

So to sum up the May Deauty box I have to give it big thumbs up. Out of 5 products you get 4 full size products (and the sample is very nice amount), you are introduced to new products, new brands and new concepts (even though this one works with great reservations) and you get products including hair care, skin care and makeup. Well done Deauty!!!

Deauty box - June 2013

Since the previous box got so much attention with the mini reviews of the products this one will be more descriptive and briefer. First need to say that after such a great box in May I expected the June one will be little bit 'poorer'. Oh, how I was wrong! This box as good as the last one, IF NOT BETTER.

The list of the products:

• full size of Catrice - Ultimate Color Lipstick in 'It's a Matte World'
• full size of Catrice - Absolute NUDE eyeshadow palette
• full size (50ml) of Etat Pur - Actif Pur Escine A92
• sample size (5ml) Estée Lauder - Revitalizing Supreme
• full size (100g) of Lamazuna - Natural soap
• extra gift from Deauty - Eucerine - Shaving foam for men (30ml)
• extra gift from Deauty - free Detoxifying cleansing foam with a purchase from etatpur.be with a code DEAUTYFAN
• extra gift from Deauty - 200€ discount on selected destinations from ClubMed

  

Catrice - Ultimate Color Lipstick in It's a Matte World

(Full size, 3,99€)

  

This is a beautiful bright orangey red matte lipstick. The pigmentation is beyond expectation and the staying power seems even better. Even though it is a matte formula it doesn't feel drying on the lips but that can be proved only by longer wearing which I still didn't have opportunity for. But the first impression is WOW!

Catrice - Absolute NUDE eyeshadow palette

(Full size, 4,99€)

  

I was eyeing this palette for a long time but since I already own too many neutral eyeshadow palettes I have always persuaded myself not to buy it - and now I got it! LOL. It's seems like a nice everyday look palette. All the colors are shimmery and the pigmentation is nice (for a drugstore brand). It contains a lot one-shadow-eyelook colors that can be great for natural everyday makeup (and it will go perfect with the lipstick from above). 

Etat Pur - Actif Pur Escine A92 - 50ml

(Full size, 14,80€)

Etat Pur is innovative skin care brand. The brand claims the innovation goes beyond the natural or organic cosmetics and thus respects the natural balance of the skin. The concept comes from the chemist and biologist Jean-Noël Thorel who got a patent for his new approach to cosmetics. The products are specialized for each skin type with specific problems. The whole brand looks like a high-tech cosmetics that will be available only for the top 10 000 but the prices are actually very affordable for the wide range of costumers. There are different products in June Deauty boxes. I got an emulsion with a substance Escine that is very effective against the feeling of heavy legs. I don't really have this specific problem but it will be perfect for my mum. But as I checked their website I will definitely order something else and use the code for the free cleansing foam. Yay!

Estée Lauder - Revitalizing Supreme - 5ml

(Full size: 50ml, 85€)

  

Then we get a tiny sample (which you can get in any perfumery for free) of Estée Lauder's anti-aging cream. Well - okay. I guess not everything can be perfect, right? Even though it can be very good product I doubt you can find out after one (maximum 2 uses) which this sample allows you to. So I will use it up and then I will forget it. Pity!

Lamazuna - Natural soap - 100g

(Full size, 3,90€)

We have met Lamazuna last time in the Deauty box with the facial wipes. So now we have a 100% natural soap made in a city Aleppo in Syria. Well, I am very satisfied with this product so far. It contains olive and laurel oil which is great for dry and sensitive skin and jasmine oil for soothing and relaxing effects. It smells wonderful, I love natural refreshing scents in soaps and with this I can smell the exotic oriental destination it was made at. It feels really moisturizing (due to the olive oil) and although it doesn't really lather at all it leaves the skin clean. Love it!

Eucerin - Shaving foam for men (extra gift) - 30ml

Since this one was an extra gift it doesn't state the retail price. It's a shaving foam for men from Eucerin which is a guarantee of a great product for all kinds of skin types (including the sensitive one). My love will surely appreciate it. Thank you Deauty that you keep in mind even our dear ones.

Well, well, well, Deauty! You have really pleasantly surprised me with your last two boxes. This one contains 4 full size products, it has 2 makeup products (well done!) from one of my favorite drugstore makeup brand, it gives you amazing discounts and even extra gift for your man, dad or friend. Please, Deauty, keep your standard!

xoxo

Your Funmilayo

My TOP 5 SPRING 2013 lipsticks

Hello!

So last time I came up with my favorite nail polishes for this spring and now I brought my TOP 5 lipsticks. Spring represents a flowery fresh season and I want the same feel and look on my lips. I was always a lipstick person (not really a lip gloss fan - even though I have my favorites too - but maybe I will talk about that at some other point). I am not afraid to experiment with lip products and I am always open to extreme bold colors but springtime is more about soft colors for me.

So here they are - my TOP 5 spring lipsticks:

• Jordana - Soft Rose
• Jordana Matte - Pink Passion
• MAC - Vegas Volt
• NYX - Paris
• MAC - Creme Cup

Here is a closer look to the swatches:

Jordana Matte - Pink Passion

MAC - Creme Cup

NYX - Paris

MAC - Vegas Volt

Jordana - Soft Rose

So that's all from me. I will come up soon with another blog post since the time of the Deauty Box is coming. Yay!

xoxo

Your Funmilayo