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Thursday, August 13, 2015

Introduction: Beauty Segment

I decided to revamp this blog or at least add new elements to it other than just clothes, after all style is all encompassing.  One of the weekly segments will be a beauty segment and for most part it will be having guest contributions as well as my own contributions. I want it to have a relatable feel to it rather than just product reviews . I am quite excited about it and if you read this blog , is an East African resident or citizen and feel you would like to be a guest blogger for this series then let me know in the comments or email me.

For most of us, we feel that we really don't have a beauty regimen yet human beings are creatures of habit and for sure, even if all you do is wash your face and slather grease all over your skin after  a shower or prefer to be part of team ashy then you definitely have a beauty regimen. Most people have two categories of beauty regimen, one for their face and another for the rest of their body.

When I was a little girl I would watch my mum come from the shower with her large towel and apply lotion all over her body with her leg on her bed or a stool nearby. The lotion that stands out had 'petra' in it's name and it was pink in a triangular kind of container. What stayed with me was the ritual. To me it symbolised what it meant to be a woman and a grown one at that. I could not wait to be all grown up, start using lotion instead of the valon my mother insisted we use. I was about fours  years and my mum  only allowed me to use lotion after I turned 14  as I was heading off to boarding school for  my high school education. Ten years and I could finally join this club of lotion users. To this day I oil my body in my towel the same way I saw my mum do it . The only difference is that I have to first apply Vaseline on my lips in front, apply a moisturiser on my face then get to the fun lotion part. If I am not at home and that order is disturbed I feel like my day has not started as I would want it to start. 

My face was something that I did not give much thought as I was such  a tomboy . I was in my second year in Secondary school when Fair and Lovely became all the rage and I was swept up in it's tides. To have that smooth and matte finished look was the epitome of sophistication to me. It's hilarious thinking about it now but it was no joking matter back then. This group of girls, who were in a clique and in my hostel, more or less introduced me to it despite no real love lost between us. Whenever I think of fair and lovely or that clique, the tale that comes to mind was how one of them admitted to one day buying all these different kinds of face creams, most of which were skin lightening types and mixing them all up in one container. She called it 'mkorogo' and the silly chit applied this mixture to her face! She obviously got burns on her face and being light skinned she had those marks years later when she was regaling her friends with this tale. I was on my bed reading a novel and I recalling being struck dumb with this tale but you could see the faded scars on her forehead corroborating this bizarre tale. 

I am quite excited with this series and can't wait to hear from the guest contributors.



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