ARISE MAGAZINE FASHION WEEK ( AMFW) : NO FRONT ROW BUT A SCREEN ROW !

I WISHED TO BE ABLE TO TRAVEL TO LAGOS AND PARTICIPATE TO THE FASHION WEEK. I ALWAYS SUPPORTED AFRICAN FASHION SHOWS IN LONDON BY ATTENDING THE CATWALK AND BUYING SOME STUFF WHEN I COULD AFFORD IT . SOMETIMES I WENT BACKSTAGE TO INTERVIEW THE DESIGNERS AND THE MODELS ( ONE OF MY COUSIN IS A DESIGNER TOO ) WHEN I WAS WORKING FOR AN AFRO-CARIBBEAN MAGAZINE OWNED BY A NICELY NIGERIAN COUPLE. WHEN YOU WATCH A CATWALK, YOU WILL NEVER REALISED THE AMOUNT OF WORK IT REPRESENTS TO ORGANISE. I USED TO HELP MY COUSIN FOR THE ADMIN WORK FOR FREE BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T AFFORD A PERSONAL ASSISTANT. AFRICAN FASHION HAS REALLY EVOLVED. SOME AFRICAN DESIGNERS ARE SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR HOMELAND OR IN THE DIASPORA. THIS YEAR IN LAGOS THERE WAS THE ARIZE MAGAZINE FASHION WEEK WITH MORE THAN 77 DESIGNERS FROM THE CONTINENT AND THE DIASPORA. IT GAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO AFRICAN DESCENT DESIGNERS A PLATFORM TO SHOW THEIR COLLECTIONS IN A PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT. I AM A MEMBER OF A LOT OF FASHION BLOGS SOME ARE MADE BY AFRICAN WOMEN. I WAS A BIT SURPRISED TO NOT SEE ANY PICTURE OF THE AMFW. I THOUGHT THAT THEY WILL FUTURE SOME OF THE SHOWS AND MENTION IT. BECAUSE THEY NEVER FORGET TO POST SOME PICTURES OF THE AMERICAN AWARDS SHOWS LIKE THE OSCARS, THE EMMYS,THE GRAMMYS ETC... AGAIN WE ARE INVISIBLE FOR OUR OWN PEOPLE NEVER MIND I AM ON HOLIDAYS FOR 2 WEEKS ( the advantage to work in a school) SO I WILL TRY TO REPARE THIS INJUSTICE THE BEST I CAN. DAY 1 GENTLEMEN FIRST. KOLA KUDDUS

DAY 1 MAY ATAFO

EVEN IF IT IS NOT MY FAVOURITE COLLECTION FROM HIM. HE IS CAMEROONIAN. DAY 1 IMAYE AYISSI

DAY 1 PAUL HERVE ELISABETH

DAY 1 FEMI HANDBAGS

CREDIT IMAGES DUE TO http://www.arisemagazine.net/articles/day-one-catwalk-report/111059/

DEEP CONDITIONER : PALM OIL + GREC YOGURT + LEMON JUICE

BECAUSE I WAS OUT OF natural coconut oil I need to do the treatment any way; SO I decided to try it with PALM OIL; PALM OIL is one of my favourite because it makes my hair soft and stronger; I use it since I became natural; I know that PALM OIL has a very injustified BAD REPUTATION; Especially in the western media suddenly it become the enemy; THE WESTERN MEDIA spread this lie that when you grow PALM OIL you create deforestation; They can spread this lie because most of people don't know how you get palm oil; YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT PALM OIL COME FROM A PALM TREE. MY PARENTS OWN SOME PLANTATIONS OF PALM OIL IN CAMEROON. So i spend a lot of time over there to see how the oil is product traditionally; You can't have PALM OIL WITHOUT A TREE. IT WORKS THAT WAY. SO IN FACT PLANTATION OF PALM TREES ARE IN FACT BIG FOREST. IF YOU CUT THE TREE YOU WILL NEVER HAVE THE PALM NUTS WHICH GIVE YOU THE OIL. Palm trees also produce an Alcohol we called it PALM WINE. This wine come from a hole that you make on the trunk and the wine just come out and you put a bucket to collect it; YOU can Grow Palm tree anywhere; In Cameroon you can find Palm tree near coconuts, bananas trees and any kind of tree BECAUSE IT GROWS IN THE EQUATORAIL FOREST. HOPE IT WILL HELP TO CLARIFY SOME ABSURDITIES THAT I SEE IN THE WESTERN MEDIA. WHEN THEY HAVE THEIR OWN AGENDA YOU CAN BE SURE THAT IT IS ALWAYS ON THE DETRIMENT OF OTHERS CULTURES.

WHAT I USED ON NON WASHED HAIR : 1 TBLE SPOON OF LEMON JUICE 2 TBLE SPOONS OF PALM OIL 3 TBLE SPOONS OF GREC YOGURT MY BASIC STRAWBERRY CONDITIONER A HAIR DRYER THIS IS MY SISTER'S HAIR

FIRST I really loved the consistence of the mixture; It was more thicker than the one I made with Alma oil and coconut oil; I used the air dryer but you can let it dry naturally it's because I didn't want to keep it all the night; WITH THE AIR DRYER the mask produced some kind of orange powder (see the picture) it indicates that your mask/hair is dry; To produced this effect naturally I think you need to keep IT all night; BUT YOU ARE SURE THAT IT HAS PENETRATED THE HAIR AND SCALP. The waiting time is up to you; But IN THIS CASE YOU NEED TO CO WASH YOUR HAIR AFTER RINSED IT PROPERLY. BECAUSE UNLESS THE COCONUT OIL YOU NEED TO GET RID OF THE PALM OIL LEFTOVER.

I applied the castor oil because I am doing a challenge with it; To conclude, this method is more interessing for me now because i need to apply the castor oil daily; But in fact i only applied it 2 times in the all week MY HAIR WERE ENOUGH MOISTURISED. Remember that with the Coconut / Alma oil I DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO APPLY ANYTHING BECAUSE MY HAIR STAYED MOISTURISED THE ALL WEEK UNTIL THE NEXT CO WASH. Next time i will show my hair;

BRAZIL : THE CONCEPT OF INVISIBILITY PART 1

HOW MANY OF YOU have watched the "PHONY KONY VIDEO" ? THE ONLY true statements in this film was that INTERNET REALLY connect people AND JOSEPH KONY is a dangerous criminel who must respond of his crimes; BUT THE BIGGEST AND INSULTING LIE was the idea that the child soldiers of Uganda were INVISIBLE but they became VISIBLE WHEN this NGO ( Invisible Children) pay attention to them; THIS RACIST IDEA who makes A black person or a non White to be consider worthy or A real Human unless A WHITE PERSON ACKNOLEDGES YOU IS VERY DISTURBING. AND IT GOES WITH THE FACT THAT they represent you all over the media like it wasn't enough to have suffer they need to take from you THE ONLY THING who can makes you appear " a real human" YOUR VOICE; THIS CONCEPT OF INVISIBILITY IS LINKED WITH INSTITUTIONAL AND CULTURAL RACISM. It brings me to BRAZIL especially BLACK BRAZILIANS. I don't know if people are familiar with TELENOVELAS (latin version of Soap Opera); it is WHITE WHITE EVRYWHERE despite the fact that half of the population is Brown and Black in appearance; In a recent official brazilian survey 50% of people declared to be black which make white people a minority; It was a huge surprise when you know that in Brazil you can claim any ethnicity you want to be because a lot of people are mixed; I don't know if you remember in the 80's and 90's all the campaigns against Apartheid in South Africa; In the same time there was in 1992 THE RIO CONFERENCE about The Environment where A REAL APARTHEID WAS TAKING PLACE AND THE killing of the STREET HOMELESS CHILDREN ; IF BRAZIL SUCCEED TO GETS AWAY WITH IT is because of this concept of "RACIAL DEMOCRACY" that evrybody believed and Black famous brazilians who most of the time claim that RACISM DOES NOT EXIST IN BRAZIL !. YEAH! AND MAYBE also because of US (the others black) who never really take time to look deeply at BRAZIL; I INVITE YOU TO DISCOVER A BLOG "BLACK WOMAN OF BRAZIL" (www.blackwomenofbrazil.com) where you can have news about WHAT IS TO BE BLACK AND A WOMEN in BRAZIL TODAY. YOU will also have general news about Blacks Brazilians; ONE OF THE MOST DISTURBING FOR ME IS THE ATTEMPT BY THE BRAZILIAN NAVY TO EVICT THE DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF RUN AWAY/ FREE SLAVES WHO LIVES IN THEIR LAND SINCE MORE THAN 100 YEARS. THEY ARE CALLED "THE QUILOMBOS AND ARE SITUATED NEAR BAHIA. THE LINK IN ENGLISH http://www.blackwomenofbrazil.com/2012/03/black-brazilian-community-being-evicted.html?utm_source=BP_recent THE LINK IN FRENCH http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/bob-92-zinn/130312/les-quilombos-communautes-autonomes-quilombolas-en-lutte-depuis-400-ans SORRY FOR THE VIDEO IN PORTUGUES BUT YOU CAN GO TO THE WEBSITE (www.blackwomenofbrazil.com) so you will have more translations AND explanations; PLEASE PLEASE MAKE sure that this people OUR PEOPLE IN BRAZIL will never be "INVISIBLE" BY VISITING THE WEBSITE REGULARLY. IN CONCLUSION FOR ME NOBODY IS INVISIBLE ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE GOD, YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS. YOU MUST FEEL ALONE BUT YOUR ARE NOT INVISIBLE.

DEEP CONDITIONER COCONUT OIL , ALMA OIL, GREEK YOGURT AND LIME : PART 3 THE DAYS AFTER

THIS IS THE PICTURES OF MY SISTER'S HAIR 2 AND 3 DAYS LATER AFTER THE TREATMENT. YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT DURING THE WHOLE WEEK WE HAVEN'T PUT ANYTHING IN OUR HAIR UNTIL OUR NEXT CO-WASH BECAUSE IT WAS MOISTERISED PERFECTLY AND THE TEXTURE WAS SOFT. WE PLAN TO MAKE THIS TREATMENT EVRY 2 OR 3 WEEKS. IT IS MORE LIKELY TO BE 3 WEEKS BECAUSE IT TAKES ALMOST THE DAY BUT YOU CAN DO ANYTHING DURING THE WAITING TIME.

MY HAIR 2 AND 3 DAYS LATER

KONY 2012 COMPAIGN : STOP COLONIALISM AND PATERNALISM

I AM SURE YOU ARE ALL AWARE OF THE KONY 2012 VIRAL VIDEO. BECAUSE I AM OLDER IN THIS EARTH "I KNOW" LIKE Jazzwife said; I received this video two days ago the person who sent it to me was questioning the motives; Because i knew who was Joseph Kony and the infamous LRA ( i am african and keep updated on my bith place) way before all this SO called AWARN-ASS CAMPAIGN like if a white regular person doesn't know about a subject or a situation SO automatically NOBODY KNOWS OR NOBODY IS AWARE OR WORST NOBODY DOES SOMETHING EVEN THE LOCAL PEOPLE because of course they are waiting for THEIR WHITE SAVIOUR. I started to watch it; for the one who hasn't seen it the video starts by Jason Russel an activist of the NGO Invisible Children talking or self promoting his family life and how with internet we are all connected and can change the world blah blah blah; Then i asked myself where all this lead us; That is when he started to mention the story of an ex child soldier of Uganda and how since he knows him and the situation in Uganda HE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE HE WANTS A BETTER WORLD FOR HIS SON blah blah blah AND I STOPPED TO WATCH IT AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT. I saw so many Geldorf, Bono, Sting etc.... So many fake self promoting agenda westerns people that i dont pay no more attention to them; Sadly for me the day after at school; During lunch time my white colleagues were all buzzing about plastered the wall with the Kony 2012 posters asking me if i wanted to be involve, or if i have seen the video? I just explained to them that I AM AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON in Uganda way before this video but why WERE THEY SO CONCERNED SUDDENLY? THEY explain to me that Joseph kony needed to be arrested for the crimes he commited; I said to them that of course unless you are a cold blood human being, You must be agree with this BUT AGAIN WHY NOW ESPECIALLY WHEN HE SEEMED TO HAVE DISEAPEARED like 6 years ago and things in this area have improved significantly; But again nobody wants to look deeply into it; And of course nobody wants to listen to What Uganda people think about this so called AWARN-ASS CAMPAIGN. NOBODY WANTS TO KNOW WHAT UGANDA PEOPLE HAVE DONE TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION. My colleagues argued that the campaign may help to arrest Kony more quickly; I tried to explain to them that the problem is more than that and Kony is not the only one to blame in this awful situation; I told them to ask themself WHERE AND HOW KONY GETS HIS WEAPONS DURING 30 YEARS NOW? I ALSO tried to explain that they will be more efficient to help THE CHILD SOLDIER IN UK because sorry but FOR ME GANG MEMBERS especially when they are minors ARE CHILD SOLDIERS. TO CONCLUDE I WILL INVITE YOU TO WATCH THIS TWO VIDEOS ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN THE KONY 2012. EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCH IT BECAUSE WE NEED TO LISTEN THE MANY SIDES OF A STORY. A UGANDA PERSPECTIVE HER WEBSITE http://rosebellkagumire.com/2012/03/09/more-perspective-on-kony2012/#comments ANOTHER JOURNALIST PERSPECTIVE A MUST READ : http://www.barazaonline.org/blog/item/24-invisible-message-kony-and-color I HOPE IT WILL HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND AND NOT FALL FOR THIS HYPE. GOD BLESS.

DEEP CONDITIONER : COCONUT OIL, ALMA OIL, GREEK YOGURT AND LIME JUICE part 2

LAST WEEK I SHOW YOU THE RESULT OF THIS TREATMENT ON MY SISTER HAIR. NOW IS TIME TO SHOW IT TO YOU ON MY HAIR. MY SISTER AND EVEN IF WE SHARE THE SAME DNA OUR HAIR ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. I ALWAYS HAD THE IMPRESSION THAT MY SISTER HAIR ARE A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN MINE AND THAT HER HAIR RESPOND WELL AT ANY TREATMENT. FOR EXAMPLE MY SISTER CAN USE ALMA OIL OR JOJOBA OIL IN HER HAIR THEN KEEP IT ALL NIGHT AND HER HAIR BECAME SOFT AND DETANGLED. BUT IF I DO THE SAME THING, MY HAIR BECAME DRY, "HARD" AND VERY DIFFICULT TO DETANGLE. THAT'S WHY PEOPLE NEED REALLY TO UNDESTAND WHEN LOOK AT A VIDEO OR A BLOG FOR ADVICES TO NEVER EXPECT EXACTLY THE SAME RESULTS SOMETIMES WE HAD TO ADAPT A PRODUCT OR A METHOD TO SUIT OUR HAIR. KNOWING THAT SOMETIMES IT CAN BE VERY FRUSTRATING TO SEE BETTER RESULTS ON SOMEONE'S HAIR ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CREATE AND APPLY THE TREATMENT.LOL. GO TO THE FIRST PART TO SEE HOW I PROCEED ON MY SISTER'S HAIR.

I USED THE 2 HOURS WAIT TO COOK AND PUT A MASK ON MY FACE TOO AFTER ALL WE WERE IN FEBUARY, IT WAS CARNAVAL TIME! LOL

NEXT TIME I WILL SHOW HOW OURS HAIR LOOK LIKE AFTER 2 DAYS.