Pink Flare

Hiya!

I saw this pretty dress on 2 bloggers; Ranti in Review and The Modish Method , and I was inspired to track the dress down. I'm ordinarily not a fan of the color pink but the orange touches work for me. Both bloggers dressed it up, with heels and a fancy purse, but I thought I'd go the other route...casual cross body and my trusty converse.

 

Dress: and Shoes: ASOS // Cross body: Warehouse 

Wishing you an amazing week.

xxx

ASOS X ZARA SHOE HAUL

Hi!

I recently got a couple of stuff from ASOS that I'll share with you bit by bit, but today I want to show you guys my most recently acquired heels. I got a pair of black ASOS Hobby shoes online that I absolutely love (and my sisters hate, but what do they know???) and a friend of mine got me Zara lace-up heels on a recent trip to Paris.

Very few feelings come close to the feeling you get when you open a box of new shoes. Sigh. I definitely could not wait to share them with you in an outfit post.

Zara Lace-up Heels

ASOS Hobby Heels

Hope you're having a great weekend.

xxx

When Settling is okay

Hi Guys!

So I was listening to the radio on my way to a meeting yesterday and they advertised a program "Why are all the pretty ladies single and the facially challenged ones married/hooked?" and I was like, Aha! Finally, this topic.

If you're being honest with yourself, you'll admit that one day you were feeling particularly low and having a full blown pity party, your mind ran down the list of all your taken friends and you mentally counted the ones you "better pass" and wondered why even with all your physical endowments and nice enough face and how together your life seems to be...nice job, nice car, you're still single and yet to find that ever elusive Mr. Right. If you're such a beautiful soul and this has never crossed your mind, then you have most certainly had this sort of conversation with many well meaning friends/colleagues/family members:

Amebo: How far now, who's the lucky guy in your life right now?

You: Ah, my dear I'm still single and searching for him.

Amebo: You don't mean it. But you're a fine girl na and you get enough front and back, e no suppose hard you na.

You: Na so I see am o. It is well

Amebo: Abi you're just being very choosy. You know you'll soon be 30, age is not on your side o.

You: *walks away 'cause ain't nobody got time for this kinda conversation abeg, there is money to be made somewhere*

It's amazing how single ladies are always blamed for being single. However, sometimes I ‎agree with them. We spend all our time looking for Mr. Right and checking if our potential SO meets our long checklist that we forget to settle. Yes, settle. I said it. Girl A has promised Girl B that she can never settle and she goes ahead to spew that "I deserve the best and will settle for nothing less" sermon. Preach it girl! But as much as I agree with you, I'm going to disappoint you and tell you not to fool me.

See, you settled a long time ago, you don't know? ‎Remember when, after all your hinting at Louboutins, he went and bought you a Nokia Lumia for Valentine's? You thought about your other very generous ex and shrugged, oh well, he's generous at heart. Or when he got you a big card and poured all his love for you in it on your birthday and you accepted it because love isn't about gifts. Remember when you told your best friend that only tall and dark guys do it for you, but this short fair guy with the killer smile just keeps making your heart beat crazy out of your chest and next thing you know, you're official.  Then you said you could never date a banker or a guy younger than you, but this younger guy that works in Zenith Bank makes you laugh so hard and hits all the spots. You settle. These are just the physical, but there are so many other immaterial things we settle for, consciously and unconsciously.

Did I say settling is bad? Definitely not. In my opinion, we all need to settle for realistic, obtainable, achievable. It's ok if he isn't tall, skinny, muscular, not the richest and doesn't drive the nicest car or have an interesting job. He might not take you to fancy restaurants or dress particularly nice sef. He might not be your soul mate or know what you think before you say it, but does that really matter?

When your list begins to look like the 8th wonder of the world, you're definitely going to be single for a long time. Besides, you can't expect him to be everything you want when there's nothing special about you. You sef, go and fix yourself up and adjust your expectations accordingly. Lol.

UPDATED Valentine Giveaway -Zero Plus by Diesel

Hi Guys,

Because I love you (they say don't start a sentence with because, but who cares? We are Rebels!) and I don't want you to roast (not get shown any love or gift) on V-day, I decided to give something away.

This time, winning is really really easy. In the comment box, tell me why you should win this 75ml Bottle of Diesel's Zero Plus Perfume and the best reason wins. I have a bottle of this and it's really good...will definitely post a review soon. If you're a fan of sweet fragrances, this is for you.

The winner will be announced on Saturday.


Cheers.

xxx

UPDATE: The winner is Anonymous.  Congrats! I wish you had left your name though. Please send me an email  (info@diaryofafashionenthusiast.com) with your details (name, address, phone number) so we can deliver to you.

To everyone that participated, Thank you and Happy Valentine's! You all had valid reasons and I wish I could give everyone something, but I have only 1 gift, so 1 winner. 

OOTD: Wedding Saturday

Hiya,

It's another Monday and you're probably not in the mood to get back to work and be sober and serious. However, there's good news for you. Friday is only 4 days away :) And the best part of this weekend is, it's Valentine's weekend...Yaaay.

Ok, I'm currently #TeamAlone (note how I skipped Forever, 'cause I believe this will change soon...hehe) and so I'm not really pumped about Valentine's. Even when I was in a relationship, I was never really pumped 'cause I think there's too much pressure associated with the whole day. Pressure to give a better gift than the last time, to spend more money, to do something more unique and not your average...too much pressure and I can never deal. So being single right now, I'm not complaining at all...I get to save some money :) My friends in relationships though, they're stuck on what to buy their Significant Others and with Valentine's being just 5 days away, they need help ASAP. Any ideas/suggestions/thoughts you wanna share? What are you getting your SO? Please let me know in the comment box. Thank you!

On Saturday, I attended 2 weddings (yes 2, that's how we roll in Lagos, with everyone getting married every weekend) and the outfit below is what I wore. After, I hung out with my friends...we had dinner and drinks at RSVP,  I'll share details from that with you in another post.

 

Dress: Debra's Grace N // Shoes: @oyeyemiajayi on instagram // Pearl Bangles: Circa 64 // Neckpiece: ALDO // Sunglasses: Accessories 2 Die 4

Sidebar: I received an email from someone addressing me as Debra's Grace and asking why I have not been open at the times I said I would. As nice as it sounds, I actually don't own Debra's Grace and I do not work there, I'm just a regular customer (lol). If you have a question, you can contact them on instagram @debrasgrace or call 01-2916950.

Cheers

xxx

NYX X ELF Makeup Haul

Hi Guys!

I attended the Christmas makeup fair and bought a couple of stuff that I should have shared with you weeks ago. 

After Eyeliner, Lipstick has to be my necessary makeup evil, so it's no surprise that it was pretty much all I got after I checked all the stalls and couldn't find a single sleek dip it eyeliner in black (imagine).

I'd heard a lot about NYX products and I decided to finally give them a try. It also helped that they had such yummy looking lip products on display and I ended up with 2 NYX butter lipsticks and a Hydrating Lippie.

NYX Butter lipstick in Licorice: This is such a yummy yummy yummy colour, easily my favourite of the bunch and it's literally butter on the lips...feels and tastes like butter :D I'm loving darker shades these days and I initially thought it would be too close to MAC's Rebel so I almost didn't buy it. Thank God I changed my mind, 'cause it's such a pretty colour...tends more towards brown than purple. At first it's all buttery and glossy and I was scared I'd end up licking everything off. But after some minutes it dried to a nice texture...not matte, but not glossy...just perfect. The downside is, it tends to bleed and that's largely because of it's buttery nature and it also needs to be reapplied every couple of hours as it isn't as long-lasting as some high end products. For the price though, I think it's a good deal, plus it's super pigmented too. I bought this from Gifty's Daughter (25a Toyin street, Ikeja) and I cannot remember how much I got any of them for :(

NYX Butter lipstick in Mary Janes: This is a bright red, same texture and feel as the licorice...very buttery. I really like this colour because it's different from all my reds in terms of texture and colour/shade and I find myself reaching for it a lot these days. Also got this from Gifty's daughter.

MAC's "La Vie en Rouge: From MAC's 2014 Matte Collection, this lip is a bright coral-red and is not as drying as Ruby Woo or Flat out Fabulous. This applies better on the lips and lasts for a long time too. Also, as is the case with pretty much all MAC lippies, a little goes a long way and you can build up with a couple more swipes if you're all for colour or one swipe and gloss will work for you on a calmer day. Whichever way you choose to go, I'd say try this shade. It's a unique one and I can't exactly say I know any dupes for it which makes it a must have in my books...but if you do, please let me know. I got this from Accessories NG and they're one of my favourite online beaut stores. They stock the largest collection of MAC products and they're all affordable too.

NYX Chunky Dunk Hydrating Lippie in Hibiscus Tea Punch: This is pretty much just a "my lips but better" balm. I wear this on days when I don't feel like wearing much but I don't want dry lips. It rolls up and I just glide it on, smack smack and I'm good to go. Literally heaven sent, this chunky dunk and I got it from the Gifty's daughter stall too.

ELF Makeup Mist and Set: Helps set your makeup and gives your face that hydrated look, as opposed to the cake face that typically happens when you've packed so many products on. You can buy from Accessories NG 

L-R: La Vie en Rouge, Licorice, Mary Janes, Hibiscus Tea Punch

Have a lovely week :)

xxx

The Review: Salvatore Ferragamo Signorina

Hi Guys,

Just so you know, I don't buy bottles of perfume like they're bottles of water...I got Ferragamo's Signorina (EDT) 50ml perfume as a gift a couple of weeks ago and I thought I'd share with you. I'd always wanted to try any fragrance by Salvatore Ferragamo and so this was a very welcome surprise.

THE BOTTLE: As you can see, it's a pretty small bottle (50ml) and this makes this perfume a permanent occupant of my handbag. It'll also be great for carrying when you're traveling as it takes up a tiny space. I like that the bottle is clear and you can see how much of the liquid is left. I love the cuteness of the bottle and the signature Ferragamo double bow in peach and lavender has my heart. 

THE SMELL: Ferragamo describes this fragrance as a floral bouquet...and elegant blend of Jasmine, touches of fruits, soft notes of light pannacotta, on a deep patchouli dry down. I'm not a perfume expert or anything, but if I had to describe in my own words, it has a sharp smell on first sniff and you don't get the actual smell until you allow it settle for a bit, then you get peppery smell with hints of rose and jasmine...sharp with a dash of sweet, just the way I like it. 

THE VERDICT: I didn't expect to like Signorina because it was a bit unusual at first, but after wearing for two weeks, it has definitely grown on me. It's a pretty neat fragrance if you're looking for something different.

PURCHASE: I got this as a gift and so I'm not exactly sure how much it sells here in Nigeria, but you can get it from SELFRIDGES or DEBENHAMS for between 39 to 56 Pounds, depending on the size.

Hope this helped.

xxx