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A few things to look forward to in November.

By Rashmi Nam. 

One of our favourite months is here and no, it’s not just because the hashtagBeardGang is around the corner (this has almost everything to do with it!), but it’s also because we are just another month away from our other, other favourite holiday period. The one that involves lots of presents, food and yes, we know family time. 

However, let’s just remind you of the awesomeness you still have to go through before the millions of “New Year Goals” lists are brought out from the backsides of bedside tables; eggnogs, s’mores, mulled wine, mince pies, candy canes, Black Friday, burnt turkey legs, awkward Thanksgiving dinners, boatloads of gravy and mash, loved ones and mistletoes with the tone-deaf, gingerbread, did we mention all that chocolate and of course the so-OTT renditions of our favourite 100 year old carols. Hope you can tell that we are digging out our most-ridiculous Christmas sweaters to wear to work from next week, because why not?!

Yes we are already in Christmas mood but first, #Movember! Eek.

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Inspiring people doing great work fabulously.

By Mo Adegboye

This National Domestic Abuse Month (annually observed in October), we are shining our light on the work of Deborah Owhin. Ms. Owhin is charging Governments, NGOs, Business Leaders, men, and boys in solving the biggest challenge facing women and girls globally; ending violence against women. Not all men are perpetrators of violence against women, the truth is the majority of men will not subject women to any form of physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime. It is time for those men to be the norm we hear about, and promote a society where men respect and care for women as their equals despite traditional cultural norms which have been amplified in recent years.

“I started my formal career volunteering with an organization called Men Stopping Violence. Which meant I was fortunate to be surrounded by Men who were advocating for an end to domestic abuse because they were fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, husbands, and have women they care for who they did not want to see become victims. This was the norm, I was surprised as I progressed in the field how few men are standing on the front lines with women to end the abuse”

Owhin is a recognized gender equality expert with a focus on ending and preventing Violence Against Women and Girls. She is a graduate from Spelman College, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) based in Atlanta Georgia, and received her MBA from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom where she studied Psychology and Strategy respectively. Owhin has an extensive career advocating for girls, which started as a child being elected Captain of her class at 11 years old and the first Black Student Union President at 16.

“When I was invited to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2013, I flew to New York and was surprised not only at the lack of diversity representing the needs of women and girls but that there were so few men. I continued championing the importance of engaging men and boys. I returned home and birthed a movement where men could engage and stand with women to end gender inequality. I began hosting events and providing a safe space for men to ask the questions they struggled with and be equipped as advocates to ending domestic abuse.”

Owhin has spent over 15 years in the field and notes that things are not getting better. In 2021 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence a figure which has increased from a previous estimate of 1 in 4 women globally. Emerging data shows that since the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020, violence against women and girls (VAWG), specifically domestic abuse, has increased.

“High-profile sexual abuse cases are shining a light on the issues women and girls are facing globally from the Taliban shutting down access to education for girls in Afghanistan to the sexual molestation of US Olympic Gymnast at the hands of Larry Nasser and countless women testifying about being trafficked for sex by Robert Kelly leading to his recent conviction in New York.”

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It’ll all be worth it.

By Mo Adegboye.

Most times when we think about goals or dreams, we think about the beginning of the journey. We then think about setting out to achieve these goals and then we dream about the end where we seem to have all we want or initially dreamed of. It is not that often that we talk about the journey to achieving or even worse, what happens when we face setbacks or challenges along the way.

fab.me is my baby, my project and a life-long dream that I am forever invested in and a couple of months ago I kicked off another cycle of making it work better. Though the pandemic came and many plans had to change, we have to keep it moving, which sometimes mean going back to the drawing board a couple of times. These are the kinds of experiences that sometimes come our way to knock the wind right out of our pipes or give us the challenges to keep doing, dreaming, creating.

As we navigate our way out of the pandemic, I keep learning that things may not always go according to our plans but they don’t have to completely destabilise or throw us off-course. I will say this, time-outs are great times to RE-assess your goals and quickly change your course. They can be devastating if you allow them to be or they can just be amazing moments of change that steer you on a new course. These are the moments of your life that actually really make a difference; the make or break moments. Here are some of the things I find I am constantly learning and I hope they help you: - Acknowledge your setback/time out/break in achieving a goal. If you don’t acknowledge, you will continue to live in denial and won’t be able to work your way through. - Believe and repeat to yourself that your setback/time out/break is not a permanent situation and you can do something about it. - Revisit or reassess your goals, intentions, dreams and ask yourself if what you want is still the same. I believe our dreams are either re-affirmed through life-changing situations and priorities become clearer so this would be a great time to revisit your goals and dreams and ask if you want the same things. - Map out a better way to achieve your dreams than you previously were doing before. Chances are with a little bit of practice, you've experienced certain things that work or don't work so fine tune your action plans. - Allow yourself to dream again. Then allow yourself to work again on those dreams. Study people who you admire and have achieved similar goals that you’re setting out and learn to remind yourself that the journey of a thousand miles indeed does begin with a single step. But here I like to add, and then take another step, and another and another! Never stop taking those single steps! - Never forget to create a life-work balance for yourself, there is no point achieving all the goals in the world but having lost out on all the important moments that matter the most along the way.

Don’t ever forget to believe that miracles happen everyday. In place of all that I thought would happen, I now have new possibilities springing up and ideas that I never thought of. I am sure of what I want to achieve and there is a renewed vigour in chasing my dreams. So here’s to all of you going through these moments; find renewed strength to keep. going. on. It’ll all be worth it in the end. Don’t forget to make the journey beautiful by simply loving it every step of the way. The process is just as important as the end. Hold your head high, there is life in you; life you can birth into your dreams. I, and a host of others are cheering for you.

xo, Mo.

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Cool off with this recipe!

By Mo Adegboye.

Summer is here and unfortunately we can’t all be on the beach in Turks and Caicos to take a dip (as much as we’d like to!) but we have a quick Iced-Tea recipe for you to try. Here’s what you’ll need - 

1/2 quart water

1/4 cup white sugar

3 regular-size tea bags

1 peppermint tea bag

Juice From Lemonade or Concentrate

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat; remove from heat, then stir in sugar until dissolved. Add the tea and peppermint tea bags, and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Remove tea bag and stir in the lemonade. Serve tea over ice. Let us know over at fab.me in the comments section if you’ll try it. 

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Repeat after us: I can make the perfect egg.

By Rae Ogbu.

Sure, you may have ruined your fair share by cracking an egg meant to be over-easy, only to watch the yolk break all over the pan, or scalding the remains of a scramble until it's permanently fused with your (once non-stick) pan. But George Weld and Evan Hanczor, founders of Brooklyn's always-packed Egg restaurant, and the authors of the new book, Breakfast:Recipes to Wake Up For, are here to help with some easy, life-changing, egg-making tips. "When I started Egg, I didn’t want anything to be exotic, but within that I wanted to surprise people with how beautiful and delicious eggs could be," says Weld about his intentions for the Williamsburg hotspot. Ready to test his theory? Here are some recipes and tips that will have you looking at the perfect breakfast (okay, or lunch or dinner) food in a whole new light—and help you become a master at cooking scrambled, poached, over easy, and hard boiled eggs. Finally. What better way to enjoy your Saturday?

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Summer’s Here!

By fabme

Remember, this summer to enjoy yourself despite COVID-19 or quarantine! Live, have fun, learn and most importantly, love! Yes, that can happen indoors or while social distancing from others. Don’t let the time pass by. 

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Words to live by.

By Mo Adegboye.

Choose happiness this week. 

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International Women’s Day; The Way Forward

By Rashmi Nam.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day (8 March), “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” celebrates the efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future.

When women lead, we see positive results. Some of the most efficient and exemplary responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have been led by women and a host of other causes have been championed by women trying to bridge the gaps that still exist in our society. 

One of such women is Deborah Owhin. She is among the frontrunners of Gender Experts, whose desire for impact-led work has led them into the corporate world to seek innovative approaches for collaborations between business and civil society to achieve gender equality and speaks up regularly on the effects and statistics of domestic abuse in the black and minority community especially.

“In Black and minority communities Police reports of domestic abuse in 2020 dropped across the US yet the demand for domestic abuse support NGOs increased. I believe the drop in reporting is due to the deteriorating relationship between the police and minority communities after a year of racial unrest.”

Owhin acknowledges that the face of survivors of abuse has also changed as the #MeToo movement has provided a space for girls to be seen, heard, protected, believed, and supported as they share their experiences of abuse and seek justice. Schools are typically the first place where girls begin to develop relationships with those in authority outside of their family, they should be places safe and free from harm from teachers or boy students.

Systemic barriers, gender bias, discrimination and gender stereotypes continue to hold women back from rising in STEM careers, which consequently limit the diversity of innovators trying to find solutions to our world’s challenges, from climate change to the COVID-19 crisis. For better solutions that benefit everyone, we need more women leaders in science, and also across all society. 

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Pick up the weights (no not that type!)

By Yewande Marquis.

Weight training isn’t restricted to just men. Women can weight lift too and rightly should. Some ladies are scared of looking too ripped and muscular but there is a way to train with weights and modify how you look without looking like you are entering for a body-building contest (not that we have anything against those). Weightlifting does have lots of benefits which include:

Helps you to burn fat Higher intensity and interval training stimulates fat breakdown in the body and increases the body’s metabolism long after you’re done working out. Researchers have found that when people did a full body workout with just three big muscle moves, their metabolisms were raised for hours afterward. With patience and dedication ensuring you spend enough time training, you’ll start to notice the changes; your muscles would become toned and defined. In addition, when you weight train and diet, you'll burn more body fat. Helps you burn calories even at rest Weight training helps you burn calories even when you’re hanging out watching movies on your couch. This is because after each strength workout, your muscles need energy to repair their fibers so the more intense the workout, the more calories you’ll burn after your workout because at this point your metabolism has been increased. Weight lifting boosts your RMR or resting metabolic rate for up to 24 hours after you’re done working out. So more muscle implies higher resting metabolism which implies you’ll burn more calories even when you’re sleeping. Helps you build stronger bones Weight training also strengthens your bones. Regular weight lifting increases bone density, which reduces the risk of fracture and osteoporosis and boosts all-around full body strength. This further helps to improve your posture which preserves your spine and reduces lower back pain. Do you weight-train? What has been the benefits for you?

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Colours for the summer!

By fab.me

Summer is well in swing and we know what this means… fun, sunshine, fashion, parties. Now so you don’t have to do the work, we went ahead and got the colours of the season for you, so you can do all the fun stuff in style!

Big not just this summer but this year, is the ever so lovely, Rose Quartz. Think iPhone 6 plus (in Rose Gold of course), think blush, think very light pink that looks so dainty and fragile, Jason Statham would raise a pinky with his teacup wearing it.

We’ve seen a number of stars sashay the red carpet in this beau so why not take a cue from them (and these gorgeous collages) and blush away all summer!

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The belles came out to play.

Mo Adegboye

Here are some of our best looks from the just concluded 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The Festival is known for its red carpet just as much as its films. Warm hues and svelte-figure showing dresses were the orders for the day and not a complain was in sight. 

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Now you can know what that colour really looks like on you!

By Mo Adegboye

We have heard of models complaining on how make up artists during international fashion weeks don’t carry their shades or colours of make-up. We also know that the reason why you can’t use an average make-up palette for everyone is because everyone requires a different shade based on the colour of their skin and what will look good on whom. Although black women currently spend over $5 billion annually on beauty products, it’s a challenge for black women to get products that are marketed towards them because there is not a very fair representation of darker skin tones in the advertising and beauty world. 

One lady who goes by the name of Ofunne Amaka has taken a step to change that by creating a new app called Cocoa Swatches, which shows how makeup swatches really look against a variety of darker skin tones. She categorizes swatches by color and purpose. There is also added a discussion board where users can speak with each other. This is a huge step in creating an equal platform for customers and we really applaud Ms. Amaka for what she is doing.

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Our favourite couples from the Oscars 2016.

By Mo Adegboye.

Well first things first, Leo won his first ever Oscar and the whole world cheered as he did! We threw a party in our living room while he gave his speech and I’m sure there were a few tears so number one picture on our favourite couples’ looks from the 2016 Oscar Awards is Leonardo DiCaprio and his ever-evasive-but-now-found bae Le Oscar. 

The other couples gave him a run for his money though and here are some of them below. 

Caption: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend

Caption: Christian Bale and Sibi Blazic

Caption: Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich

Caption: Eniko Parrish and Kevin Hart

Caption: Lady Gaga and Taylor Kinney

Caption: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (Although they are not dating, we just couldn’t pass them up! Titanic anyone?)

Caption: Mark Ruffalo and Sunrise Coigney

Caption: Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso

Caption: Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber

Who was your favourite couple from the red carpet?

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10 days left in our giveaway!

By Mo Adegboye

Do not forget that you can still enter for the $100/N20,000 beauty or spa vouchers. We announced our first winner over on our Instagram page (follow us for future giveaways!)

If you haven’t seen the rules, read this post. And hurry It ends in 10, 9, ......

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She gets our award!

By Mo Adegboye.

As Hollywood hosts its busiest awards season this month, we cant’t help but marvel at some of the most gorgeous dresses spotted on our favourite stars. At the recently concluded SAG awards that happened on Saturday night, we couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Alicia Vikander was in her sequinned Louis Vuitton gown. Vikander is one of the hot, new rising stars in Hollywood, known for her roles in movies like Anna Karenina, The Fifth Estate, Ex-Machina, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and she is currently filming the fifth Bourne film that is yet to be titled.

We are definitely going to keep an eye out for her on and off screen!

Image: Vogue.com

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Here’s saying a big thank you!

By Mo Adegboye

Happy New Year! The holiday spirit is still in the air and if you didn’t get a great gift over the Christmas period, you’re in luck because we’ve got you covered! We know what it feels like to work so hard all year and feel like you need a break so we’re giving you a chance to start the new year rejuvenated! We are giving away some $100/£50/N20,000 spa or beauty vouchers to say thank you to all our readers! All you have to do is do the following: Rules 1. Follow our Instagram page (@fab.me) and like the #FabMeNewYearGiveaway post. 2. Tag a friend in the comments section of the post. 3. Post a picture, on your own page, of your favourite beauty product or best friend (whichever is more important :D) that you couldn’t have done without in 2015. Hashtag #FabMeNewYearGiveaway and tag @fab.me in the post. 

The competition runs from January 1st to January 31st 2016. The winners will be picked at random and announced in the first week of February 2016. Winners can only choose either a spa or beauty voucher, not both. Please note that this giveaway is open to participants in Nigeria, UK and US only.

Here’s hoping 2016 is a splendidly beautiful year for us all.

These rules are subject to change.

**Update 02/02/16. The giveaway is temporarily closed till the 7th of February when we will announce our first winner. Then it will be extended till the 29th of February to allow more people enter and then we will pick another winner! Don’t forget that you can still enter after the 7th!**

*** Update. 13/02/16. Our first winner has been announced on our Instagram page. We are yet to pick our second winner so don’t forget to enter!***

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A list to help your shopping list!

By Mo Adegboye.

Christmas is 10 days away and I really hope you’re not like me, leaving your Christmas shopping to the last minute! December has been an extremely busy month as I am sure it is for most people and well, I won’t blame you if you still haven’t shopped for gifts for your closest and dearest. So, I have come up with a list that I find has helped me time and time again when it comes to this time of the year: Christmas giving! You don’t want to leave your loved ones disappointed or with cliched gifts like a pair of socks or something so breeze through this list as you dash down the aisles of your favourite (online and offline) stores.

* Budget - This is always a first stop. It is after all, the end of the year. You have breezed through your finances and of course have spent extensively on all those important milestones like birthdays, anniversaries and so on throughout the year. So how much can you really afford to spend on presents this year without having to drink some water as your Christmas meal? Create a budget. If you find it to be a little lower than you expect, then cut your Christmas list down. Which brings me to my next point.

* List - Make a list of your nearest and dearest. Who are those that got you through the year? Who are those you would like to tell they mean a lot to you and you appreciate having them in your life? Make a list of these people. This will give you a better idea on how to spread your extensively *rich* pockets.

* Gifts - Getting the gifts themselves, try to put a little (a LOT if you have the time) thought into what you’re getting. Don’t get items you assume they’d like. Try to find out (secretly if you can) what they would like, or need. For example, if your BFF has a favourite scent they love and seem to be running out of it, you can just get that for them. You score points on the grounds that you know them, you pay attention to their needs and help them out of a jam. If all else fails, you can just ask directly what they would like for Christmas. To allow yourself some room, ask them to give you a list so you can choose according to what your pocket will allow (they’ll have to wait on that trip to the moon, I’m afraid).

* Get Creative - I love giving gifts and of course I love receiving as well. But I find that it gives me so much joy when I receive something personalised to me or for me as a person. I do this a lot when I gift someone with something and I find it goes a long way than just sticking a little bit of wrapper on a gift and tossing it their way. It also helps when you don’t have as much to spare as you’d like. So, write a little note on just how special they are, or make a list of all the amazing things you’ve seen them accomplish and how they inspire you and you can frame this for them, personalise cards with (non-cheesy cheesy) poems :) although you might want to try online versions to save the forests (if they support these groups). 

* Last resort - And if all else fails, you are really really skint, and you’re lucky to have family and friends that understand, make them IOU cards/gift boxes with what you would like to gift them and commit to getting it for them within the first month of the new year. This way, they know you care and are thinking of them and they get a Christmas present late! How fun is that?! DO make sure you follow through on your promise! Don’t go for this option if you have problems fulfilling your promises.

I would like to add, in the spirit of Christmas and all things nice, do something for someone who can’t afford to have a nice Christmas. It could just be a meal for that one homeless person on your street or could be gift boxes for a whole orphanage :) but do endeavour to share. For it is jolly nice to give.