August 31, 2015

Berry Soyinka Weekend

Hey there!

How are you? How was your weekend? I hope you had a nice one. I kinda did. I tried to take it easy while still having fun. The highlights of my weekend were attending the Globacom event for Wole Soyinka, and meeting up with the African Naturalistas Team.

My dear dear friend invited me and some of her friends to the Glo event, "An Evening with Wole Soyinka." Honestly, I wasn't sure about going because I didn't want to worry about looking for a dress, and having to put makeup on. But at the last minute, I decided to go and I'm happy I did. It was a very nice, chilled event with dramatization of some of Wole Soyinka's writings, pretty good food, interesting panel discussions, and more.

August 28, 2015

Update on my break

You guys are just wonderful! Every single one of you that reads my blog. Especially those who left comments, and sent me messages. You are truly a blessing and I pray God blesses you in moooore ways than you can imagine!!! I was really feeling guilty about being tired and wanting to take a break, but I have to thank you for telling me it was okay to take a time-out. I even slowed down on Instagram and logged off for almost the whole day, and guess what? I didn't die! LOL. Like someone suggested, I might do a proper social media fast one of these days.

Anyways, someone very lovely sent me an email that literally made me cry at work. I was already crying over something else (I may share about what happened in a vlog soon), and then I got the email. It was so powerful that I had to print it and paste on my desk, and I look at it several times throughout the day. I also posted it on Instagram and Facebook. And I should post it here because if even one more person is blessed by the wisdom in that email, then it's more than enough.

Thanks a lot Feyi!!!
I'm feeling fresher and shall be back next week. I wish I wasn't doing anything this weekend, but I am, and I'll gladly share photos on Monday!

August 25, 2015

Berry Where's Your Weekend Post

Hi guys,

I know, I know. My late weekend posts seem to be becoming a bad habit. They're usually supposed to be up by 9am (Nigerian time) at the very latest on Mondays. The past 2 weeks, I've posted on Monday evening because I was just too tired on the Sundays before...

which brings me to this point...

Going out and planning activities almost every weekend can get quite tiring. It's not just having to get dressed, go out and have fun. These days, there's very stupid traffic to contend with back to our apartment. No joke, on Saturdays, there's as much traffic as rush hour on weekdays!!! By the time I've gone out, had fun, taken a million photos and driven back in traffic, the exhaustion is on several levels! And I still have to select photos, edit them, watermark them and wait for the slowest internet in the world to upload for my posts. The times I've been able to get my post ready early, I literally select the photos and leave them to upload overnight.

Why am I telling you this?

August 22, 2015

10 Things You Should Know About Faux Locs

NOTE: This was previously blogged on African Naturalistas, but I'm providing an updated post.

It seems like everywhere you turn to now, there are people rocking faux locs, whether they use wool, yarn, or kinky braiding hair. There are different arrays of colors from regular black to blonde, and I even saw blue on Instagram early this week. I think that Faux Locs are having a moment! But before you rush off to get yours done, there are a few things you should know.



  1. They're time-consuming to install. Unless your stylist has a way of cutting the time short, like Dabs of Savvy Chic Hair and Beauty Hub, get ready for at least 6 hours of work done on your head.
  2. They take some getting used to. When you first install them, they are pretty hard/stiff and uncomfortable. It takes a few days or even up to 2 weeks for them to loosen up. It took about a week for me to sleep comfortably after I had mine installed. The first few days, I almost had to sleep on my face because of the discomfort of lying on my back.
  3. They can be heavy, which could have damaging effects on your hair. Mine are quite heavy - I was told to do a fewer number of strands but I was stubborn and insisted on 80-85 strands. Because they're heavy, it puts a strain on my neck when I try to pack it up in a bun or updo. My advice would be to go for thinner, shorter strands. 
  4. The locs can loosen and unravel with time, so make sure you keep an eye on the tips and wherever the wrapped hair meets the end of your own hair (I'm not sure I'm explaining it well). 
  5. You still have to take care of your scalp by cleaning and oiling, and spraying your hair to get some moisture into your own natural hair. This also applies if you attempt to cleanse your scalp with cotton wool or wipes - unbeknownst to me, little frizz balls of cotton wound up all over my head!
  6. If you burn the tips of your locs, wear clothes that will not get caught in the burned ends. I almost ruined a new dress because the fabric was really light and I wore it a few days after getting the locs in. 
  7. Pay attention to your edges. I've seen more than a few people complain that they got traction alopecia after having faux locs. I think my edges have had issues for years, so I can't say that the faux locs did anything to them. Be sure that your baby hairs are left alone! You can always brush or gel them down. 
  8. They can be expensive to install!!! Let's not even bring in the charge for the service - just looking at the amount of hair you need... I used about 7 packs of hair for mine. 
  9. They are VERY low maintenance. It was nice having to not worry about how to style the hair because it was already done. All you need to make sure of is your regular spraying with a moisturizing mix. 
  10. It's such a fabulous style! I really enjoyed the way it looked, and pretended to be an exotic, regal African Queen :) 

August 21, 2015

Berry Lovely Links

Hey,

FOINALLY!!!!!!!! The weekend is HERE!!!!!! Thank God it's Friday. Am I resting this weekend? I dunno. If you have time this weekend, I have AWESOME links, if I do say so myself.



August 20, 2015

Get 10% OFF Nazuri Curls

Hey hey everyone!

You guys remember my Afro Nazuri Curls clip ins, right? See some photos from right here on the blog and Instagram below.

berry dakara, nazuri curls, clip ins, afro weave, extensions

August 19, 2015

RANDOM ALERT: Toss Expired Products

Hiya!

This is just a random, but friendly public service announcement from moi! About 2 weeks ago, something made me look in our medicine drawer. While going though it, I saw some medicine that I vaguely remembered, but I couldn't recall who they were for - Me or Cakes, and I certainly didn't know what they were for. So I decide to check the expiration dates of all the medicines and to my amazement, I saw some that expired over a year ago!!!

In the same way, earlier this year, I went through a kitchen cabinet and found a few items that were expired too!

So therefore, I thought I should put it out there as a reminder to look through your medicine and kitchen cabinets and be sure to toss out products that have expired.

You're welcome :D

August 17, 2015

Berry Culinary Weekend

Hey y'all!

How are ya and how was your weekend? I hope none of you are hungry because this post is all food and nothing else! My darling friend invited me to an evening of learning how to make some gourmet, fine dining dishes at The Culinary Academy, and it was honestly a lot of fun! It took longer than I anticipated, but then again, we got there kinda late. Ah well, there was great company, wine, and lots of very very good food!

August 13, 2015

How to make INSTANT Faux Locs

Hey there!

I'm so glad the week is rapidly winding down as I'm really tired and need sleep. 

Anyways, I wanted to share a video showing how my faux locs were made. So many people liked the style, and while it took a week or two to get used to them, I really loved the look too!

faux locs, berry dakara, naija hair can grow

They were done at the Savvy Chic Hair and Beauty Hub, which is located at #30 Norman Williams Street in Ikoyi.  It typically takes 6+ hours to get them installed but Dabs, the owner of the salon (who also blogs at Naija Hair Can Grow) created a way to install them that literally cuts the time in half. She has posted this video which I'm sharing and I think salon owners and hair stylists will really benefit from it.

HOW TO MAKE AND INSTALL INSTANT FAUX LOCS





August 11, 2015

BLOG TALK: Review Posts

I felt the need to put up this post because without fail, whenever I review a business and it's less than stellar, there are one or two comments berating me for trying to bring down said business. Weirdly enough, nobody praises me when I give a glowing review o.

I think I should put my thoughts in bullet points so that it's easier to read. I also think that most bloggers who put up review posts feel the same way about the points I'll make below - correct me if I'm wrong.

August 10, 2015

Berry Christmas Tree Weekend

Hello you very lovely person,

How are ya? How was your weekend? Tell me all the food you ate, because I ate a bunch of NONSENSE!!!!!!! I don't even feel sorry for myself, because I'm being really silly - why put in all the hard work at the gym throughout the week, and then mess it up with cake, ice cream, small chops, etc during the weekend?!?!? Somebody pray for me please!!!

Without further ado, let me share photos from the highlight of my weekend. Cakes had a wedding to attend - he made the wedding cakes and was also invited as a guest (meanwhile, how does someone who's married get an invitation for one person only? That's some "putting asunder" business, yo!)

Anyways, we spent the whole morning making cake deliveries before finally settling down for the wedding. These are just two of them.

August 7, 2015

Berry Lovely Links

Hey,

FOINALLY!!!!!!!! The weekend is HERE!!!!!! Thank God it's Friday. Am I resting this weekend? I dunno. If you have time this weekend, I have AWESOME links, if I do say so myself.



August 6, 2015

On Hair Removal

While I was in Abuja a few weeks ago, I called up my friend's body treatment specialist. I'm calling her a body treatment specialist because I'm not sure what to call her. She does henna, body scrubs and as you've guessed from the post topic, hair removal. My friend who recommended her usually gets a complete body hair removal - bikini/Brazilian wax, legs, arms, etc. I had never thought about waxing until I saw a sugar wax demonstration on  Instagram. I thought it looked really cool and I decided I would try for a leg, armpit and bikini wax. So, when I got to Abuja, I called up Madam Aisha (08135353132 or 08051446483) and booked my appointment.

When she got to the hotel, I boiled some water for her to add to the sugar to get it ready. When it was time, I sat down and got ready to start the waxing on my legs, then armpits, and finally the bikini area. She slathered the sugar wax on a part of my leg, and then she let it rip...

August 4, 2015

How I Wear My Twenty Six Skirt

I can't remember where I heard about Twenty Six Co, but I've seen a few bloggers over the past few months wear them and made a mental note to check them out. It took me a while though - at least 6 months or so to finally decide to purchase a skirt from them, and boy am I glad I did.

Do y'all remember my outfit from my uncle's party in Abuja?

Yup, that one. I ordered the skirt in June. When I placed the order, I sent in my waist size (maybe hip too, I can't remember) and I think it's great that the skirts are custom-made for you. I chose the Goddess print but you can choose any print you want. The skirt came within a week or two after ordering. I absolutely loved the packaging and sweet note attached. I think all Nigerian business, Cake Factory/Cakesiena included, should look at upping their packaging game!!!

August 3, 2015

Berry and Cakes take Inagbe Grand Resorts

Hey everyone!

How was your weekend? I hope you had a wonderful one. Mine was aight. The highlight of my weekend was the day/night Cakes and I spent at Inagbe Grand Resorts in Lagos. I think most of you have already seen the collabo write-up about the resort by me and Naija Nomads. Well, that visit was for a couple of hours and while we were impressed, I wanted to go back and experience it as a paying customer, staying at least a night or two. I got the opportunity when I spied a Dealdey promo going on. I paid for the package literally 9 minutes before it expired!!! We opted for the 1-night package instead of the 2-day one because of Cakes' schedule.

berry dakara, cakesiena, inagbe grand resort, inagbe

berry dakara, cakesiena, inagbe grand resort, inagbe