Simple & Practical Ways to Spend Less/Save Money

The points below are all tried & tested and work great for me. All that being said don't forget to live a little and splurge on urself when convenient-take a trip, eat out, pamper yourself, get new stuff, etc.
If you build the habit of being accountable while resources are limited, it is easier to follow through when there's excess. Below is the list in no particular order:

• Have short n long term goals/projects n save towards funding them (keep in mind though that inflation and other economic factors may affect how soon u reach that goal)
• Prioritize ur needs over your wants (expensive wigs,accessories, jewellry, etc. are mostly wants)
• Spend within ur means
• Have a Monthly budget (expenses,income,charity/gifts,misc,etc) It helps you have a good idea of your expenses, hidden money drainers, etc. and to adjust accordingly
• Have an Alternative source of income if possible-{Blog, Craft, Plan small events, Sell stuff (used/unused) online (Instagram,Facebook, BuyMyLux, Jiji, OLX, Dealdey, Kaymu, Konga, Jumia). etc.}
• Invest in Yourself-Learn a skill/trade (Makeup, Tailoring, Beads, Baking, etc), Get Trainings & Certications in your field,etc.
• Invest in Property/Business-e.g. Keke Napep, Put ur car for up for use by Uber or other cab companies, Farming, etc.
• Invest in People-Help someone start a business and have a share in it or have a payment plan contract with interest or train them in a skill, etc.
• Sign up for a Health Insurance (Private HMO) NHIS/PHIS
• Reduce accommodation cost by renting a place with a friend or enjoy rent-free restricted life with the folks if single 
• Monitor Electricity Consumption
• Monitor your Phone Data/Internet Subscription consumption
• Monitor your Phone Credit consu,ption
• Make a Fixed deposit in the bank towards a future plan (Short or Long term)
• Skip buying Aso-ebi of people you sre not close to
• Save from ur gifts n income no matter how little 500 per day is 14k per month and 168k per year (have an account w/o ATM or checkbook.you can have a token kept away for emergencies n replenish)
• Lend money to only extremely credible debtors except when the request is amount you don't mind not being returned
• Drive more or walk(its a simple exercise) or carpool
• Avoid people that ALWAYS leech off u
• Reduce Unnecessary Clubbing/Outing with friends (Save your drinks/outing money as they r usually triple the regular price)
• Cook more n eat out less
• Buy Groceries and Foodstuff in bulk @least a month's worth
• Farm if you can (veggies, fish,poultry,snail,etc)

There are sooo many other ways we can spend less & save money but i hope this list helps someone. If we evaluate our lives and learn to do things in moderation, we will find contentment & be able to increase our seemingly limited resources.

Toodles!XooX

Best Skincare Purchase Ever!!

It's my Michael Todd Soniclear Elite! I got mine in the color 'Mint Dream' (It comes in a variety of colors), if you are a follower of my blog you already know about my love for all things colorful🌈, especially green😁.

Source: theglamorousgleam

I bought this brush around Labour Day in 2015 along with some of their other skincare products (so i got a 25% discount, btw they always offer discounts) through my friend in the USA. However she wasn't able to send down the Brush till sometime in August this year and it has honestly upgraded my 'Face-Care' Routine (I plan to do a post on what i use and how they've worked so far so stay tuned for that). I have combination acne-prone skin but thanks to cutting out cheese and severely reducing my dairy intake, i only have acne/pimples when my period is approaching or when i eat certain foods i know i shouldn't like pizza, groundnuts,etc and the scars happen when i pick my face, which i 'try' not to do.

Sept 2015 (Thanks to Pizza cheese)                                    Nov 2015

November 2015

I try to keep my product use minimalist and simple (a.k.a lazy)and this brush was exactly what i needed to achieve that, i use it in combination with my Forever Alpha-E Factor, Aloe Sunscreen and Forever Living Sonya Skincare Kit  (which was my initial Best Skincare purchase before purchasing the brush, i have practically exhausted and dreading a re-purchase thanks to the current exchange rate situation *sigh). I currently use the Boots Traditional Glycerin & Rosewater as i'm out of my Sonya Aloe Refreshing Toner from the kit, its working out well thankfully.

Sonya Skincare Kit

Alpha-E Factor

Aloe Sunscreen

Boots Glycerin & Rosewater

Empties😢

I get a good cleanse for my face using this brush and love that i can decide how intense a cleanse i get plus i feel a lil bougie and pampered every morning after use.lol. It has really helped reduce the appearance of my acne scars and i'm done battling my white heads with ACV. I have also tried out the body brush and was surprised how squeaky clean i felt afterwards and how well it got rid of my pityriasis rosea scar dry skin peels but i think i'll need to purchase the Extension Handle to use it better.

I've been getting great comments from my friends on how clear my skin is and questions on what i'm using. For me personally its a big deal to have good skin 'cos i quite like being without makeup and i believe the skin is a reflection of how healthy we are so even though i can be quite lazy, i take pride in having somewhat clear (if only i'll stop picking my face!👀), firm, glowing skin 😉

August 2016

August 2016                                     Sept 2016

Sept 2016 (Compare to 2015 above)

Oct 2016- No Makeup/Makeup

The Brush came with a bigger body brush, its charger base and plug and a manual (which my friend forgot to include, thankfully they had thought of scenarios like this and have an online manual!)

The Soniclear Elite is Sonic powered • 6 Speeds, Rechargeable, Waterproof, has a built in timer to tell you when to move the brush to another area of your face(cool feature 'cos you can easily overscrub), has C-Boost™ Technology- an additional pulsating massage mode and claims to be the World's first antimicrobial protected sonic skin cleansing system brush that guards against 99.9% of bacteria that can form on brushes between use so the brushes stay cleaner and fresher longer.

It is definitely my all-time favorite skincare 'product' and i'm glad all my research and review reading paid off in helping me purchase the best brush brand. I intend to get some of the additional accessories i can use with it in the future such as the Extension Handle, Pedi Smoothing Disc, Infuser Head and maybe a Men's face brush 'cos of hubby.

Check out their Website for more info. There's also Worldwide Shipping and Free Int'l Shipping for Orders of $75 and above.

My office looks (Oct-Nov 2016). Check out my post on Chic Schooling.

                                     Oct 2016                    Nov 2016 (No foundation or Concealer)

Nov 2016

Nov 2016

Toodles!XooX

Female Grooming

This past week i was quite overwhelmed by the amount of basic grooming i had to get done along with work and my other daily activities. I had to mentally force myself to get them done and look 'decent' and feel free and light. The most annoying being anything to do with waxing and trimming, i enjoy tweezing and have to caution myself not to overpluck. lol. Here's my list:

• Eyebrows: Grooming methods- I trace out the shape, tweeze and use a fancy blade for extra clean up if necessary. Check out my post on brows, i pretty much still use the same technique.

Tweezers

• Ears: Grooming methods- I use cotton buds to clean mostly the outer part of my ear and a bit of the entrance, Don't go poking your ears with cotton buds to get all the wax out and have it squeaky clean, it'll just make your ears produce even more wax. The wax is also there for a reason, it protects your ear canal. If you have pesky ear hairs, buy a 'Nose Ear Trimmer' to get rid of them.
• Nose Hairs: Grooming methods- I just tweeze out any pesky ones that grow way out of my nostril (very painful!). Alternatively you can use a trimmer or small scissors to cut the overgrowth
• Chin Hairs: Grooming methods-I tweeze the black obvious hairs (I have quite some facial hair but luckily the majority are pale and blend in with my skin). This method works great for me and i don't have to deal with any bumps or rash.
• Finger & Toe Nails: Grooming methods- I Cut and File as required because i keep my nails quite long and hardly wear nail polish
• Underarms: Grooming methods- Cold strip waxing & Tweeze

Cold Wax Strips

• Pubic Region: Grooming methods- I have used all sorts of methods to be rid of the hairs but was scarred by my last warm waxing experience, read here, so for now i'm into trimming with small scissors till i'm satisfied (it takes a very steady hand and a lot of time!!). I hope to get an epilator wen dollar goes down (procrastination caught up with me) or a shaver, my friend swears by her Grundig shaver, she says its stress and pain-free. I'll update you guys on how that goes. 

cuved scissors

• Legs (half-leg): Grooming methods- Cold Wax Strips
• Head Hair: Lol!! This one i have to write a different post on my regimen. I mostly DIY but on super lazy days i go to a salon for some TLC. So watch out for this post

That's it! It is a long list right and imagine all the above being due for grooming at the same time! I know typically most ladies have to deal with the stuff on my least than most guys.

Sheesh!! But when they are all sorted i feel as free as a bird in the air.lol.

Do share your basic grooming habits and methods you find easy and pain-free.

Toodles!XooX

Beyond Indulgence Spa Review

spa premises

My bestie, Antonia, was in town for the Christmas & New year holidays! I hadn't seen her since December, 2013 (she was around for my birthday) and it was an absolute delight having her around and catching up. She got me a lovely spa set, notepad, caftan and a birthday card containing the sweetest words for my birthday. I hosted her, my sis and other friends @my house with plenty food, small chops, drinks, cake and karaoke for my birthday (i shall do my usual bday post with more info) it was really fun. Coincidentally her house is just 'bout a 5min walk from my house so we got to see each other every other day *big grin!

Anyways i digress, i had been wanting to visit the spa for a while and when i mentioned it, she said i should pick a spa and we could go together as my birthday treat (isn't she just the bestest!). That's how i started spa hunting-googling & making calls -i wanted an affordable spa and sadly my usual spa (MB hammam) have hiked up their prices.

We settled on Beyond Indulgence Spa 'cos it had the most affordable price, looked decent from our research and i wanted to try a different spa.

MB Hammam

Basic Hammam N15,750 (used to be N10,000)

Traditional Hammam  N16,800 (used to be N12,000)

Six Senses Spa

Body Scrub N11,500

Morroccan Bath N18,500

Special Bath N25,000

Beyond Indulgence Spa

Basic N10,500

Complete basic (with Henna) N12,500

Traditional/Herbal Hammam N15,000

Soukhla Hammam N20,500

Reception

I called to book our appointment for 4:30pm, we got there on time and were welcomed at the reception. I asked if they have a PoS, they said it wasn't working but after the treatment they would have someone follow us to the ATM and collect the money. No wahala. We were led to the waiting area and were offered tea and water, which we declined. 

Waiting area

We only waited about 5mins before we were led through the salon to where we changed our shoes and were given constructible slippers and up the stairs to the spa section. We were led into the changing room which was really small and not quite welcoming (maintenance issues); we changed into towels and were given shower caps and free disposable undies.

Stairwell

Changing room

We went into the bath area where some olive oil based black soap was rubbed on us and we were led to a real nice steam room (it was white and bright with seats and looked like something out a sci-fi movie), i noticed the steam took a while to build up though n escapes real quick when d door is opened and this happened a couple of times. We were given a face towel for stopping sweat getting into our eyes and bottled water to drink in the steam room. There was nice soothing music playing in the background all the while.

Steam room

After about 20 minutes, we were taken out of the steam room and back to the bath area which had two tile slab beds with yoga mats (mine was yellow and had black stains and dots on it. i wasn't happy with that) on them. Warm water was used for us throughout, we laid down face down on the slab and were lathered with soap n were scrubbed proper and then we turned over for a repeat. The yoga mat was quite unstable and i kept sliding up and down the direction i was being scrubbed, i had to grab unto the tiles to avoid sliding off and there was no cushion to put head on so my braids got wet during rinsing. I'm not sure if the scrubbing sponge was new n used just for us.

Bath area

Bath area

The scrubbing was quite vigorous for me but definitely much needed, i guess their staff was bent on ridding me of all the dry peeling skin from my spots thanks to my Pityriasis Rosea episode (i'll do an update soon on my current situation and the effects harmattan has had on my skin) She did a good job. We were rinsed afterwards and given soap to wash our face, after proper rinsing we were sprayed with rosewater, tied our towels and headed for the changing room. Sadly we had to use the same 'unravelling' slippers we wore in the bath area to the changing room, it was soaking wet and frustrating 'cos it wouldn't stay on our feet.

Unravelling slippers and wet floor

Thanks to our wet unravelling slippers, the carpet in the changing room also got wet and it was difficult sliding moving around to change.The towel i was given was shedding n left annoying white fluff on my body, there was no moisturizer in the changing room n everyone knows how drying Hammam is talkless of during harmattan, luckily we brought along body moisturizer n shea butter which we used. It would have been nice to have partitions for privacy to change & dress up and a seat to do my makeup. I had to makeup in d lounge restroom which had better lighting

They had attentive n courteous staff, no PoS like i mentioned earlier so we had to drive Keystone bank with their guard n give him d cash

It was nice getting to have a spa time with Antonia this time around, the last time i had to leave her all alone at MB Hammam.
I rate them 6/10. They lost points for the following:

• Need for minor renovations on the premises-peeling wallpaper, cracked walls, etc.
• Not having a Pos 
• The several black unknown dots/stains on the yellow yoga mat placed on the slab where i was scrubbed
• No moisturizer or chair to seat or privacy partition in the small changing room
• Small showercap and no cushion to place my head during the bath so my hair got wet at the back
• Towel was shedding white fluff (sooo annoying)
• Tacky slippers that kept unravelling and making it hard to walk
• The scrubbing sponge used did not look new and we were not informed if it was or not

Toodles!XooX

The Boo's bday

SOooo as y'all know i v a boo, significant other, bf, etc. wateva it's called these days. lol .yup yup. His bday happens to be in the same month as mine, December and i decided to go all out gift-wise for it. I am grateful to God for giving him to me and blessed to have him in my life. The major gift i got for him was a PS4 (Most men are crazy about games and my boo is one of them). I had planned with my cousin in Canada and sent money down for her to help me get it as soon as it came out over there. It cost $500 (it was sold out in stores n she had to buy it off someone) and she was able to get him 1 game (Fifa 14 which cost 'bout $60) to accompany it. Plenty long things and finally we had to ship it to America which cost bout $60 so my friends sister who was coming back to Nigeria from there could help me bring it down (Shipping it to Nigeria from Canada would have been super duper pricey and i wasn't ready for that). I decided to get him another game (Call of Duty Ghosts which cost 'bout $60) so he wouldn't get bored with the football one. You can still get one for una bf o, the prices should have come down now and i think its available in Nigeria.

I had the perfect gift to surprise my man!i was so excited, just for this my otondo boo to pick me up one day and tell me he has a surprise for me, he then tells me he jst paid for a PS3 and some games and would be picking it up later. OMG!!!WTH!!! I was furious! How could dis man just ruin my perfect surprise like this na! Anyways i had to let the cat out of the bag and he felt so bad that he ruined the surprise but was so overwhelmed about it afterwards and couldn't believe i had gone through all that trouble to get him such an awesome gift *quirky grin* Yeah, i'm awesome like that!Lool, he musta thought i haven't been seeing the joy in him whenever he plays these games at his friend's place. *smh. Anyways the game couldn't make it to Nigeria before his birthday (December 6) so i had to make alternate plans for him to have a special day. 

I ordered a smiley cake which did not turn out quite as what i described but wasn't far off either and tasted really yummy, we had a very small dinner with friends when we got back from work, laughed and jisted and then cut the cake while singing happy birthday for him, he was grinning like a Cheshire cat, which made dis lil lady very happy :D.

My presence was one of the things that made him really happy 'cos i was supposed to have travelled for a wedding that weekend and i wouldn't have been around for his birthday but the tailor messed me up (my outfit wasn't ready and i could not reach him-watch out for my tailor vex post *sigh* i gotta learn to sew real soon mehn) so i had to miss the wedding.

  

The next day was a Saturday and i had booked a Spa treat for him (Men like pampering too) -Hammam & Facials at Bnatural Spa, Abuja (cost ~ N26k) and i left him in their able hands while i went to the salon. He picked me up from the salon after he was done and couldn't stop gushing about how clean and relaxed he felt, now i was the one that had the Cheshire cat grin. 

I told him his birthday treat wasn't over and we headed down to Quarter Cafe, Abuja (i found it through my Foursquare app after plenty research for a nice pancake spot, will do a review post on them later)-a very awesome coded cafe in the heart of Wuse 2. We were practically alone there, which was really nice, and we sat outside while we waited for our order and chatted away. We had the Oreo pancakes with white chocoloate,milk chocolate, caramel & honey toppings (i was in sweet tooth heaven!)  and wee have been faithful customers ever since, i've even ordered a delivery before when i was feeling too lazy to dress up and go there and of course trust me to have shared my new addiction with my friends.

Things may not always go exactly as planned but we have to learn to enjoy the moments and be grateful for what we have. I'm happy to have been priviledged to give him such an awesome birthday treat and gift.

Ladies lets learn to pamper our men with loving gestures and gifts, they love it as much as we do. Till the next post.

Toodles!XooX

Pampering Me!! MB Hammam (Ladies Spa) 2

Hi hi hi, i have missed blogging soooo soooo much!! wish u all could take a pic of my brain...i sometimes tink in blog about stuff i wanna share but don't get around to sharing...anyway enough whining...

Anyway this is a sorta continuation to ma post which can be found at this link http://tamikoadyms.blogspot.com/2011/06/pampering-me-mb-hammam-ladies-spa.html

I love sharing the fun experiences i have with people i love, so it should come as no surprise that i shared ma spa experience with two of ma friends. I gave one of them as a birthday present and the other just for the fun of experiencing it.

Ok..i know i was supposed to do a post since forever on my raffle draw win at MB Hammam and how it felt et al and trust me i have done it in ma head countless times...lol.

It was great guys!!!i enjoyed every bit of it and i dint pay a dime!!it was an authentic win!!not the type that u'd have to pay a lil something to get ur win. I called to book a time that i'd be available then went there. I showed the ticket from my massage which had entitled me to the win and they went to work straight away. I did the Basic Hammam then had a foot massage in the lounge while waitin for the person to do my facials...I had a Jordanian Dead Sea Facial (tink that's what its called). The Basic Hammam was almost the same as the Traditional Hammam i did with my friends which i am writing about, just that some products were not used.

I got to the venue first since i was sponsoring...i had called earlier in the week to book for 3 of us at 2pm on Sunday. Mel came in jst a few mins after i did. The lovely lady at the reception called someone to usher us to the changing room where we changed into our robes and slippers and shower caps and we kept our belongings in a locker and had the key on us.

A Morrocan Lady came to get me and poured some warm water on me, oh did i mention u only have your panties on so we went with spare panties although they had disposable panties there for those who were not ready to use theirs. Anyway yh...after pouring the water on me she rubbed something dt looked like black soap (Saboul Beldi-Olive based soap) on me then they shipped me off to the steam room in a robe. Mel and Chide met me in dere and we relaxed with our cool cups of lemon water. We jisted while sweating out all za toxins..lol...i left d steam room 1st since i came in 1st (20mins). She rinsed off all dt stuff and sweat off me then used some nice scenting  soap to bathe me and then she rinsed that off again then told me to lie on the tile slab in the shower room and then she began the dry scrubbing with a Loofah-like sponge (you get to keep the sponge and use it on other visits) after wetting it and rubbing what looked like 'alum' on it.

I felt awesome mehn! She scrubbed all the dead skin off practically every inch of my body and it felt heavenly. When i was bout to turn on my other side, i saw all d dead skin that had been scrubbed off and i just felt greeeeeeeaaaaattttt!!lol I swear u have to experience it to understand, anyway after all the scrubbing, she rinsed all the residue off then used some Moroccan mud/clay mix (Rhassoul) all over me and some on my cheeks and forehead, left it for a bit and den rinsed it all off with warm water. I then got a proper rinse down.

You have to bear with me as my description of the experience is what i can remember.

She then sprayed a mix of Argan oil and Rosewater all over me so my skin was glistening...She wrapped me up in a robe, wore ankle socks on ma feet and made me wear some therapeutic looking slippers like that with stones bulging out of it dat are supposed to target some parts of the body...think i v some pics so u get what m saying.

                                            

                                                               therapeutic slippers

I was led to the lounge by anoda lady where Mel and Chide came to meet me later on, we were served tea in the cutest lil cups and crackers and laid down on the flat bed in d lounge.It was very cozy and serene and also had a massage chair for whoever was interested and a leg massage machine.We just chilled and jisted and later had to snap out of it...

the outer area of the lounge with the leg massage machine

We went to the dressing room,rubbed some of their Argan body lotion (and changed into our outfits went down to the reception and looked at some of the other services they offer and took a look at their Ladies Gym.

Mel and Chide thanked me for the treat and i was happy they had enjoyed it. I took a cab home with a grin on my face throughout...
Ok!!dats d full detail of our Spa day. Hope u kinda enjoyed the experience with me as you read.....xOxO :D

Oh and before i forget i needed a Manicure and Pedicure badly to make the Pampering Me Episode complete, the hands and feet work too much to be neglected or not pampered. There's this lady-Mamana-she's d best mehn!! I've shared the pedicure experience with two oda peeps, a guy and gal. Had to tk dem to experience it..Imagine both of dem had neva had a pedicure before!!O.O I just had to treat them!!..lol imagine afterwards they dint wanna walk on the ground again o...sooo funny...But 4real dis Mamana Lady is the Truth! D energy she puts into her work keeps me coming back for more. :D...ok dts all for now xOxO                                     

that's mamana!!

22 enjoyn herself and dodging my camera lens

soaking away the stress

                                           

Me in grinning mode wen it was all over