*Sigh* Well the time has come that I am leaving the country to move to the United States to be with my fiance. I'm looking forward to my new life overthere but feel a bit sad of what I'm leaving behind. Amsterdam South East is my home and I'm going to miss it like crazy. Especially Venserpolder, Chestertonlaan where I've been living for the past couple of years. My memories will be of me going to the local market every Saturday morning at Ganzenhoef to buy salted fish, cassave, plantain, madam jeanet, fresh fish, salted meat, Nigerian movies (lol) and meet up with alot of people Surinamese, Ghanaians, Nigerians. It was basicly a meet up place with alot of cultures. I loved that. Also living in a nice fun save environment with neighbours and basicly the whole South East community who 'look like me'.
Here a top 10 list of things I will miss: 1. Seeing a lot of black people live toghether happily 2. Ganzenhoef Market 3. Amsterdamse Poort, shopping area 4. Christ Embassy, my local church 5. Friends and family 6. My home, Chestertonlaan & Frissenstein 7. Kapsalon, a dish from the local fastfood joint 8. My car, black Opel Astra 9. Amsterdam Arena, Cinema, Concert Hall HMH all in 15 minutes walking distance 10. The whole atmosphere
Here are a few pics of my neighbourhood Amsterdam BIJLMER. Enjoy x
A few weeks back I had a conversation with my cousin about having certain friends in your life. The good ones and the ones that are just there! For me, I see alot of things black and white, good or bad, God or satan, yes or no. So my attitude towards things is a little different. To stay in a situation just because you're used to it or have no clue how to move forward? I can uderstand some things take time, but if you don't have people in your life who can mentor you or advice you properly, then you really need to change friends.
My view on it is if you're adding any value to my life, I don't see any reason you being in my life, might sound harsh but what is a girl to do?, sit there with a friend who can't help you, has no good advice, is struggling themself, don't know what to do in life and not even making a true effort to make things better, naw time is too precious. If I see I can add value to your life through my experiences in life, prayer and some knowledge, then cool, but if not what am I here for. I say it all the time 'lamme leidt de blinde' a dutch saying, meaning 'lame leading the blind'. Check Yo Friends!
Recently a friend of mine asked me for advise for the situation that she's in. She has been dating this guy for a while now but all of a sudden his attitude changed. She asked him several times what the problem was, but he keeps coming up with excuses that his life is hard and things are not going the way he wants it to go. This has been going back and forth for a few months, but she still has hope and keeps holding on. I adviced her to move on, 'cause if he's not giving you what you want and need then you're just waisting your time, he can not meet up to your standards. Btw there are also kids involved, so even more reason to move on.
Now that the weather is changing I noticed that my skin is getting dryer. So it's that time again to change my summer regime into my fall/winter regime. I love Dove products, so what I'll be using from now on is Dove Intensive Lotion for Dry Skin. I really like this lotion, it's smooth and doesn't coat your skin it absorbs it really well. This is a good moisturizer.
I will also use the dove Silk Glow Supreme Lotion, this has some goldish parts in it which makes your skin glow, which I love especially when your skin tends to get extra dry and ashy looking (lol)during winter, this helps you get that healthy glow.
Last but not least I use my Sheabutter mixture. I mix my raw sheabutter, with olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil. My skin just loves it.
Just wanted to share this with you. A lot of people outside Holland have no idea where Surinam is and what's it about. So here's a clip to show you (a part of) my roots. Enjoy!!!
Ok, ever since I was like 15 I needed some glasses, I bought a pair, broke it while playing around with friends, never bought another one. Then when I was around 18 a friend of mine suggested me trying out some contact lenses. It was good for a few months but since I am pretty heavy handed, lol, I was a bit aggressive removing those contacts which made them tear. So now 12 year later! I decided to get me some glasses. I purchased my glasses from smartbuyglasses. I love them, I can see clearly now...lol. But I realized that my make-up needs to change when wearing my glasses, so I came across this lovely tutorial on YT.
I've been thinking about relaxing my hair for some time now. My hair is natural and pretty healthy put I just want a different look without having to flat ironing everyday to get it straight. So I've been browsing YT and found Ateya's at home relaxer tutorial...shout out to Ateyaaa.
While you may have only recently heard of Shea Butter, its use is far from a recent development. The benefits of Shea Butter have been well known for centuries. Africans have used Shea Butter for many generations to protect and rejuvenate their hair and skin. Shea Butter is not only for those of African descent though. Everyone can take advantage of Shea Butter's benefits. Today, Shea Butter is available in pure form and as an ingredient in many products to help with maintenance of the hair and skin and relief from many common ailments.
What is Shea Butter? Shea Butter is only found in the tropics of Africa. It is extracted from the nuts of the Shea-Karite tree which begins to bear fruit after about 15 years; and can take up to 30 years to bear a quality crop of nuts with a high content of irremovable fatty acid. It is this irremovable fatty acid that gives Shea Butter its unique healing properties and makes it far superior to cocoa butter and other vegetable butters. Traditionally, Shea Butter was extracted by people who picked the nuts, cracked them, grilled them and pounded them. They were boiled in water for hours until the Shea Butter rose to the surface. It was then scooped into gourds and left to cool and set. Shea Butter is solid at room temperature although it quickly liquefies right around body temperature. This Shea Butter is called unrefined Shea Butter or raw Shea Butter. Since Shea Butter is an all natural product, it can vary widely in quality, appearance and smell depending on where it is produced from and how it is refined or extracted.
Most Shea Butter comes from West Africa. Although a more soft and smoother variety from East Africa is beginning to appear on the market.
How can I tell if something is good Shea Butter? Pure Shea Butter can be found in three types of extractions. Also, recently, Shea Butter has begun to be graded. Raw or unrefined- extracted using water. The color ranges from like cream (similar to whipped butter) to grayish yellow. This is the original form of Shea Butter. Refined- is more highly processed. Has many of its natural components still intact. Highly refined or processed- solvents are used to increase the yield (hexane is an example). The color is pure white.
How should Shea Butter smell? Shea Butter has a natural smell, which is not unpleasant to most people. The smell of raw or lightly refined West African Shea varies from nutty to similar to Crisco® or shortening. Over time the smell of the Shea Butter will diminish. If an unrefined Shea Butter has almost no smell, it is probably getting old. Shea Butter should not stink, not matter how old it is. It is possible for Shea Butter to go rancid. If it does, do not use it. If you do not like the smell of natural, raw Shea Butter, you can purchase more highly refined Shea Butter that has been de-odorized and filtered through clay. However, we do not recommend ever buying Shea Butter that has been refined using hexane or other solvents.
How do I store Shea Butter? Shea Butter does not need to be refrigerated. However, over a period of two or three years, the Shea Butter will begin to lose some of its effectiveness. As the natural ingredients begin to break down, some of the healing benefits will be reduced, but the Shea Butter will continue to be an effective moisturizer. Store Shea Butter is a cool (not necessarily cold) place. If you're going to use it within a couple of years, you should have no problems.
My Shea Butter melted One of the great things about Shea Butter is its low melting point. When you apply it to your skin, it literally liquefies. However, one of the bad things about Shea Butter is its low melting point. It's quite possible it will melt in a hot room. It may even be melted when it's delivered to you in the summer months. If this happens, don't worry. The Shea Butter is good. Just take the lid off of the container and set it in the refrigerator until it gets hard again. As it begins to cool, you might want to give it a stir to bring the olein (liquid parts) back into contact with the stearin (solid parts) so that the Shea Butter is uniform throughout.
What color should my Shea Butter be? The color of unrefined Shea Butter depends on the Shea nuts used. Shea nuts will vary in color from almost white to yellow. Therefore, refined Shea Butter will vary in color. You will not be able to determine the authenticity or quality of Shea Butter based strictly on its color. There is even a naturally golden yellow colored Shea Butter. Shea Butter should never be green, extremely hard or greasy though. Most Shea Butter is a creamy color. Shea Butter that is pure white is highly refined and may or may not have its healing properties intact depending on how it was refined.
How can Shea Butter benefit me? Shea Butter can provide relief from everything from just dry skin to many minor dermatological diseases (if you have a serious skin condition, you should see a doctor). It has been clinically shown to provide benefits. Here are some of the benefits of Shea Butter for the skin:
Skin rash- including diaper rash Skin peeling, after tanning Blemishes and wrinkles Itching skin due to dryness Sunburn Shaving cream to reduce razor irritation Small skin wounds Skin cracks Soften tough skin on feet (especially heels) Stretch mark prevention during pregnancy Minor burns Eczema Sun and wind protection Even skin tone Reduce blemishes and scarring Eliminating scalp irritation from dryness or chemical processing Preventing bumps after shaving Reducing acne (especially in combination with African Black Soap) Absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy residue Helps restore elasticity to skin Restores luster to hair
How does Shea Butter benefit my skin? Shea Butter nourishes the skin with Vitamins A, E and F. Vitamins A and E help maintain the skin and keep it clear and healthy. They are particularly helpful for sun damaged skin. They help prevent premature wrinkles and facial lines. Vitamin F acts as a skin protector and rejuvenator. It soothes rough, dry or chapped skin and helps soften dry or damaged hair. Shea Butter is high in unsaponifiables (a type of fat). Shea Butter has between 7-12% unsaponifiables. For comparison, avocado oil, a well known skin conditioner, has between 2-6%. This high level of unsaponifiables is one of the properties that makes Shea Butter so invaluable in treating the conditions listed above. Also, Shea Butter easily penetrates the skin allowing the skin to breathe and not clogging pores. Shea Butter has a high level of cinnamic acid, a natural sun screen. So, it provides some degree of protection from the sun. Shea Butter is also anti-inflammatory making it useful in treating rheumatism.
While we make no medical claims about our Shea Butter, we do have anecdotal evidence that it is very useful in treating minor skin conditions. We have had several customers who have used Shea Butter for eczema and/or psoriasis and told us it works as well as steroids at a fraction of the cost and without the side effects. We have a customer with an allergy to the sun. When she began using our Nubian Heritage Shea Butter lotion (not even pure Shea Butter), she accidentally discovered that it prevented the rash she normally would get from even a small amount of exposure to the sun.
How does Shea Butter benefit my hair? Shea Butter provides moisture to dry or damaged hair from the roots to the very tips, repairing and protecting against weather damage, dryness and brittleness. It also absorbs quickly and completely into the scalp to rehydrate without clogging pores. It is particularly beneficial for processed and heat-treated hair. It is an excellent treatment for dry scalp. It restores luster to damaged hair.
Is all Shea Butter the same? All Shea Butter is not the same. Shea Butter loses some of its healing properties as it sits on the shelf, so very old Shea Butter is not as beneficial. Refining techniques will vary. Highly processed Shea Butter will not be as effective. Sometimes Shea Butter is mixed with other ingredients that reduce its benefits. Then, there are those products that add very little Shea Butter but prominently display "Shea Butter" on the label. While Shea Butter is not very expensive, you should be aware of products that claim to provide the benefits of Shea Butter and sell for very low prices. Many manufacturers are taking advantage of the Shea Butter buzz by adding a little Shea Butter to a very inexpensive product implying you can get the benefits of Shea Butter in their product.
What's the difference between raw Shea butter, refined Shea butter and highly refined Shea Butter? The differences between raw, refined and highly refined Shea Butter lie in how the Shea Butter is extracted from the nut and how it is processed after that. Manual extraction processes leave more of the raw ingredients in the Shea Butter. After it is extracted, it can be further refined removing color and impurities that some people don't like. This further refining can also remove some of the smell. You can think of the difference between raw Shea Butter and refined Shea Butter as being similar to the difference between wheat bread and white bread. Truly raw Shea Butter can even be unfiltered. That is one end of the spectrum. On the other end, there is Shea Butter that is extracted using chemicals that is pure white, has no smell and has lost a lot of its healing properties in the process.
Do I want raw Shea Butter or Refined Shea Butter? This is really a matter of preference. I prefer raw Shea Butter. Unless you do not like the smell of Shea Butter, we recommend you go with raw. The more the Shea Butter is processed, the higher the chance some of the "good stuff" is going to be removed. Certainly, none of the healing or moisturizing properties of Shea Butter are enhanced by the further processing to make it white and odorless. If you do not like the smell of Shea Butter, try to get refined Shea Butter that is refined without the use of solvents. Or, you could try the East African Shea Butter, which has a much milder aroma than West African Shea Butter.
What about East African Shea Butter? There is some confusion as to which shea butter is better, West African (Vitellaria Paradoxa) or East African (Vitellaria Nilotica). East African Shea Butter is different from that of the West African varieties in that it is higher in olein (the liquid part of the Shea Butter). Because of this, East African Shea Butter is softer and more fragrant than West African Shea Butter. The product is highly valued and gives Ugandan women farmers over five times the amount received by their West African counterparts. East African or Ugandan Shea Butter has a higher absorption rate due to lower saturated fatty acids. East African Shea Butter has less vitamin A and less sterols. For a natural vitamin A cream or to use for prevention of stretch marks, you might want to use West African Shea Butter. However, if you are looking for natural, intense moisturize, East African Shea Butter is the way to go.
East African or Ugandan Shea Butter is more rare than West African Shea Butter and is extremely difficult to find. When you do find it, it is selling up to the equivalent of $40 per two ounce jar on some websites. We are pleased that we can offer this premium quality Shea Butter to you at an extremely competitive price.
Ugandan Shea Butter is excellent for dry knees, elbows, rough hands and dry scalp. It is especially helpful for dry scalp, dermatitis eczema, sunburn and as a lip balm.
It's that time again, you know, when you're dealing with some stuff and you just need to clear your head, have some 'Me' time. Well for me that 'Me' time is shopping! My all time favorite store is PRIMARK, a Bristish clothing store. We have one overhere in Holland now, thank GOD!!!! 'Cause I used to fly to London especially to shop at Primark, how crazy is that. Their collection is very up-to-date, fashionable and affordable....they have pretty much EVERYTHING. What I like the most is the British influence in their collections. Love Love Love PRIMARK. I'm going to miss that store when I move! Anyway, I need a jacket, knee-high boots (don't think I'll get that one from Primark), some tops and some accesories. I'll keep you posted on what I bought. x
Like the picture, you never leave Primark with just one bag....it's that cheap!
