Style: Redefined Men

   Style is the man, meaning,one's chosen style reflects one's essential characters. When we say style and beauty, most people's imaginations goes towards the female gender. Over the years, men have come out with their very own unique style that can be used in competitions with women. I grew up with the knowledge that men's outfit were the basic pair of trousers, a shirt or t-shirt, and sneakers, while some spice it up with the use of hats and caps. If you noticed, i used the word "were", because that was my past thought, now men are in a battle with women but not only in fashion and style.
   What makes a gentleman? Maturity has taught me that being a gentleman does not refer to what you wear, your career or what you earn. It is about your charisma, attitude, behavior, basically, being a gentleman is based on who you are. The world of today seems to applaud and welcome boyish behaviors, leaving me to wonder where how our sons are going to learn how to be future leaders.
    Like the saying goes,'You can buy fashion, but you cannot buy style'. A gentleman is not in any form of competition with anyone, he is not a follower rather he is a leader, he does not seek permission from his peers to attain his goal, he stands out in everything he does and he is an individual. All these characters have helped in the evolution of men's style. Below are pictures of few male friends that I refer to as gentlemen not only because of their style but also because of their characters has made them to earn the title.

Beauty: My Go To Everyday Look

     Makeup should be used to enhance one's beauty not completely change a person from looking like Rihanna to Angelina Jolie. Personally, I like applying makeup and playing with cosmetics because it makes me feel like an artist without the real artistic skills. Makeup looks ought to be applied based on events, mood, outfits, and environment.
      I am more of the subtle and natural makeup person, below are a list of my recommended low end and drugstores makeup products for a subtle look arranged according to how I apply them on my face for my everyday look to school and events;
1) Bh Cosmetic Primer
2) Revlon Colorstay 24hr Foundation
        (Caramel and Cappuccino)
3) Nyx Eyebrow powder with stencils
4) Bh cosmetic neutral palette
5) Nyx liquid black eyeliner
6) Nyx retractable black eyeliner
7) Nyx retractable white eyeliner
8) Clump crusher mascara
9) Black opal deluxe loose powder
10) Wet&Wild Shimmer by Fergie

11) E.l.f matte nude lipstick
12) Nyx Setting Spray
       (Matte; For summer, Dewy; For Winter)
  

Define yourself

    Growing up I watched my parents sacrifice their liberty to take care of my siblings and I. Yes, I know that it is their duty and responsibility to take care of their children but they are zillions of children that are being neglected by their parents and guardians, so if your parents are still playing their roles in your life be thankful to God and them. As an individual, I was taught to sacrifice my desires and needs for someone else, in other words, I learnt to be a sacrificial lamb which I did without thinking twice. Pls do not get me wrong,  being selfless and putting others before yourself is good,but in this world we live in currently, such acts are perceived as stupidity.  In as much as it is good to look out for those we love and care about, we need to also be on the look out for ourselves. Create time for yourself, one of the best things that can happen to anyone is having a "me-time". Spending time with yourself, bonding with yourself, and defining yourself. We spend so much time trying to fix people and things around us that we completely forget about ourselves.
    What do I mean by "define yourself"? To define yourself is as plain and simple as it sounds. It means to be you, to accept you for who you are, and to appreciate you. By defining yourself, you are simply creating time for yourself, achieving your set goals, accomplishing things that you have set for yourself. Personally,  I find comfort in being everyone's shield. In most cases, I would rather listen than talk, give my opinion and advices about issues laid before me by friends and family members. In rare occasions would you catch me doing the talking, this only occurs when I am with close friends, in a very comfortable area, work, if need be, and with my family. My journal is my listener, I write virtually everything in my journal, my daily quotes, plans and other important things that I feel should be known to me, myself, that is why I keep it away from prying eyes. 
    By defining yourself, you should also put discovering a better you into consideration like having fun and socializing with a different crowd. When it comes to having fun, yes, it is fun to hang out with family and friends, but sometimes, it helps to have fun with yourself.  Take yourself to the movies, spa, shopping both window shopping and actual shopping, sightseeing, treat yourself to lunch and/ or dinner,  and also participate in other activities that will help you to build yourself. Basically, get to know YOU better.  Instead of blaming the universe for your downside,  do a self-assessment that will help you in improving in the areas of your life that you think needs improvement and one more thing, STOP LOOKING FOR PERMISSION FROM THE WORLD. I strongly believe in learning from my mistakes.  If you keep getting corrected, you will not know the value of the correction. Let your past experiences be your guide through the other phases of life, that is exactly what I do. Trust me, it has really helped me to adjust in certain areas of my life. Leave your comfort zone, be a dare devil, mingle with a different crowd of people, and have fun.

Style; White with a splash of grey!

  On the 2nd of March 2015, I woke up feeling different but in a good one. My outfit of the day was inspired by my grey flats and white crop top gotten from Old Navy and Forever 21 respectively. White to represent purity and blessing, and Grey to represent elegance.

Undieing love for BLACK

    Black is the color of the outer space and ebony. It is the opposite of white and often represents darkness in contrast with light. Black was one of the first colors used by artists in neolithic cave paintings . Back in the 14th century, it was worn by royalty, the clergy, judges and government officials in much of Europe. The color black relates to the hidden, the secretive, and the unknown.

   Despite the negativity that surrounds black as a color, in color psychology, black gives protection from external emotional stress. It creates a barrier between itself and the outside world, providing comfort while protecting its emotions and feelings, and hiding its vulnerabilities, insecurities and lack of self confidence.  Black is a universal color because we all use it at various times to hide from the world around us in one way or another.  Some of us use it to hide our weight; others among use it to hide our feelings, our fears or our insecurities.

   The fear of the color black by some people is known all and sundry. As we all know, black means power and control, it is intimidating, unfriendly, and unapproachable because of the power it exudes.

Style; Thrifting

      I can remember vividly the first time that the word "thrift" was mentioned and suggested to me by someone special, I was like I am never ever going to participate in thrifting. A year later, I am proud to call myself a self certified thrift guru. Thrifting refers to the act of shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale or a shop of a charitable organization, usually with the intent of finding interesting items at a cheap price. The noun "THRIFT" means extreme care in spending money; reluctance to spend money unnecessarily. Let us go into my world of thrifting.
       Most people do not know or understand what thrifting means, I have had friends call me selfish and cheap when I tell them that I thrift. Thrifting does not make anyone cheap or greedy, in my opinion, it actually makes one smart in terms of spending and saving momey because you tend to have control of your spending, you can get designer styles at lower or bargained prices, most clothings are of better fabrics, thicker weight materials, and superior workmanship,there is a wide variety of style selection, and most importantly you are helping a great cause because most thrift stores are owned by charity organizations. I would be lieing if I say that thrifiting as no cons, but compared to the pros, the cons of thrifting. Apart from power pause and final sale, I cannot say there is any other worrisome cons. Power pause means that it is risky leaving item because you are most likely not going to see it when next you come back, so whatever you like has to be taken immediately or someone else will take it and final sale meaning you can not return an item once it is paid for. Based on the pros and cons of thrifiting, I will pick thrifiting over going to downtown to buy extremely expensive items.
       As my love for unique and vintage items increases, my visit to the thrift store as also increased. Although, there are different types of thrift stores, your visit to the thrift store should be based on what intersts you. There are clothing thrift stores, electronic thrift stores, pawn stores, consignments, opportunity shop also known as op-shop. Depending on what you want, there are different options to pick from. Some people mistake vintage stores for thrift stores, there is a big difference between these two. The former involves shopping at stores that sell vintage goods while the latter involves going to the thrift shops. Vintage shops, confine themselves to old, special items. Since there is a lot of picking and authentication involved, prices tend to be high compared to the thrift stores, where there is a wide variety of products and you can find mint condition and unique stuffs. Visit to either shops depends solely on what type of unique item you desire.
         My love for thrifting has immensely increased for the past two years, I enjoy every part of it especially when I go with my friends. It is more like a treasure hunt for us when we go thrifting, I have found a lot of good items that on a normal ground, cuts throat to purchase.
Thrifting has turned out to be one of my hobbies thanks to some of my favorite youtube gurus like enibaby4, itsmyrayeraye, peakmill and amongst others. Well, I will advise all and sundry to participate in a little bit of thrifting, it is quite therapeutic.  Have a nice day, beYOUtiful people.

Beauty: My first makeup challenge

Hello BeYOUtiful people, Happy Valentine's Day to you all. I was challenged by a friend and colleague of mine to recreate a lady's makeup look. It does not look exactly alike because I included a few of my signature makeup tips.Yayy! To my first makeup challenge.  Honest criticisms and compliments are welcomed. Have a blessed fun filled week!