THE BELLANAIJA HOT LIST II

Happy Monday!
I said I had something special planned for today so here goes.
It’s the BellaNaija Hot List II
Its my take on the hottest things of the moment – People, Destinations, TV Shows and many more…
Its my opinion so you don’t have to agree but I would love you to enjoy so here goes…

__________________________________________________________ THE LOOK – Yellow & Puff-Sleeves
Without a doubt, Yellow is the colour of the season.
You don’t have to go all out with this and do a matchy yellow outfit.
Throw on a yellow dress or bag or even just a yellow headband, a dash of yellow is enough to make you look uber-fab….
Puff-Sleeves are definitely in! They are flattering to people with various figures. Try a puff-sleeved shirt with a more classic bottom (jeans/pants/skirt) or go all out with a puff-sleeved dress in a bright colour.
Check out Deola Sagoe’s embellished yellow puff-sleeved dress or Kemi’s more avant-garde Lanre da Silva-Ajayi outfit. The yellow bag is by celebrity-favourite, Nigerian handbag designer, Onna Ehrlich.

THE SPOT - 6°n
6°n (sixdegreesnorth) is the spot. With its high concept design, atmosphere and crowd, 6°n is THE Hot Spot.

THE DESTINATION - Cross River State, Nigeria Cross-River State is the ultimate tourist destination in Nigeria. From Obudu Ranch Resort to Tinapa, there is a mélange of possibilities for you to explore. Ask anybody who has been, its totally worth a visit! You will be quite proud of Nigeria.

THE MAG - What's New

What’s New? I’m sure you’ll like to know.
To find out the hottest and freshest places to visit in Lagos, you need to grab a copy of ‘What’s New – The Lagos City Guide’. Photos, articles, reviews and all you could possibly want to know about the current Lagos social scene. I guess the first form of flattery is competition so look out for new city guides such as Time Out Nigeria.

THE BIZ - Nigerian-Owned Makeup Lines

Nigerian-owned Makeup Lines such as Tara Fela Durotoye’s Tara Orekelewa, Toni Payne Makeup, BM Pro by Banke Meshida-Lawal and LISE by Enitan Balogun are doing extremely well. They are a favourite among women who want quality makeup that is especially made with the African woman’s lifestyle in mind. Some of the lines also offer young Nigerian women an opportunity to earn extra income by acting as retailers of the products. Entrepreneurship + Beauty = Definitely HOT.

THE READ - Yellow Yellow

Kaine Agary’s ‘Yellow Yellow’ has built a lot of buzz! From the editor-in-chief of Takaii Magazine comes a surprisingly poignant tale of a lost soul with the Niger-Delta region as a worthy backdrop. Yellow Yellow is definitely worth checking out!
ORIGINAL IMAGE SOURCE

THE PHENOMENON - TV Talent ShowsLast year it was Big Brother Nigeria, this year, its Nokia First Chance, Shine, Star Quest and most famously, Idols West Africa, there are so many current TV Talent Shows yet the viewing audience can’t seem to get enough. TV Talent Shows are the hot phenomenon.

THE CAREER - Styling/Image Consulting
Last year it was Make-up Artistry, this year is the Year of the Stylists.
From former Miss Lux, Ifeoma Njoku Williams to uber stylists - Omoyemi Akerele and Bola Balogun back to Ezinne Ihe Okuneye and Chalya Shagaya, stylists are doing big things. From the photo spreads you see in True Love Magazine to styling the contestants on Idols West Africa and Nokia First Chance to fashion shows. Styling/Image Consulting is a fun and HOT career. Worth exploring? That’s up to you!

THE WOMAN - Osayi Alile Oruene

Through encouraging and teaching young Nigerians about the merits of entrepreneurship and training them for their future entrepreneurial ventures via the FATE Foundation, Osayi Alile Oruene has made an indelible mark on the next generation. She was recognized as one of 250 Young Global Leaders for 2007 from the World Economic Forum.

THE MAN - Matthew Mensah Health PR’s Matthew Mensah along with Femi Amure conceived the idea for the UN CatWalk the World – Fashion For Food Program - See CatWalk the World Accra coverage which has raised immense awareness and thousands of dollars for the World Food Program provides food to the World’s most vulnerable hunger victims. He is currently involved with SAVE OUR CHILDREN - Orphanage Campaign Africa which raises funds and awareness for orphaned children via celebrity endorsement and other innovative campaigns. Previous campaigns include orphanage visits and fundraining in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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That's it Folks! Have an absolutely fabulous week!!!! Pleaaaaaase leave your comments 'cause that's what makes it all worth it! In case you missed the First Edition or the Year End 'Best Of 2006' Review just click. Ciaooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

WEEKEND LUV - THE RED EDITION

Photo of the Week: Geneveieve Magazine Editor, Betty Irabor at her 50th B-Day Party

Hi Everyone!!!!!!!!
I was trying to ‘dodge’ doing Weekend Luv this week because I am soooo sleepy. I went to bed really early last night so I ended up waking up at 2AM. I finally went back to sleep at 5AM.
Sooooo how was your week? This week went by sooooo fast, didn’t it? Wow! Anyways, it was a fun week. I didn’t do much but I enjoyed it all the same. Here is Weekend Luv - The Red Edition

The Blogs
Mandy Brown-Ojugbana’s Blog
OMG, I am sooo excited. She sang the song ‘Taxi Driver’ back in the day. Make sure u check out her blog!
Omohemi Benson’s Blog
Pink-Satin’s Blog
Mimi’s Blog

The Clicks
You just have to visit the fabulous new Peridot & Ruby website. Luvvvvvvv it! – HERE
So I was reading a Nigerian newspaper this week and I read this story, oh my!!! It freaked me out! Nigeria scares me sometimes (the story is about a woman who claims to be a ‘mermaid’. Jesus take the wheel! - HERE
Ini Edo has been ‘banned’ from acting for a year - HERE
BabaAlaye is back in the building - HERE
Some interesting interviews below:
Miss La Casera

World Miss University (Nigeria)

Prettiest Girl in Nigeria (LOL at the numerous beauty pageants in Nigeria)

Model, Theodora Dike

Genevieve Magazine Editor/Publisher, Betty Irabor’s 50th birthday was some weeks ago. She held a huge soiree at the Civic Centre. Here are some exclusive pics. Uber fab! The theme of the party was red and gold.



The Hits
A dear reader emailed me this link yesterday, it’s a Yoruba love song. Luv it!


See President Bush trying to give us some African dance moves. LMAO. Jesus take the wheel.


The ever-popular, Throw Some Ds Naija Style (Thanks Omolabake)
Mona featured it on her blog as well. Hella funny!


*Please do not use any photos from bellanaija without permission and/or a link stating bellanaija as the source

That's it! Come back early on Monday! I have something utterly fabulous planned.
Have a great weekend.....

~Bella

WEDDING DRESSES - MADE IN NIGERIA

Hey people!
How is your week going? Gosh...its sooooo boring this week, absolutely nothing is happening.
No awards, no fashion shows! No bellanaija?
Anyways, thanks for still checking up on me despite the slow updates.
I was flipping through a Nigerian wedding magazine and noted that some of the Nigerian-branded Wedding Dresses looked really good! I was impressed....
Have a look at some of my favourites and let me know what you think.

So for your wedding, would you be willing to go with a Nigerian-made/branded wedding dress or are you strictly for the Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier etc...My fave from the bunch is the Mon-Ami dress.
Also, are you one of those women who has completely planned out her wedding even without being engaged or having a bf? Dont be shy, share the details with us!
Have a fabulous day....Ciao!

RUNDOWN

Hey Everyone!
First up, how was your weekend? I hope you spent the weekend praying and fasting for Nigeria lol....its not even funny, the way this election thing embarrassed us, I'm sure some of y'all had to hide your heads when your 'foreign' workmates, schoolmates, friends started quizzing you about it. You know how they do, because they managed to watch CNN or BBC, they think they know all about Nigeria.

Sample conversation below -
Clueless 'oyinbo' CNN/BBC watcher with a smug smile on their face: Hey Bella, the elections were pretty bad huh?
Bella *trying hard not be irritated*: Yes
Clueless 'oyinbo' CNN/BBC watcher with a smug smile on their face: Did you vote?
Bella *trying hard not be irritated*: No
Clueless 'oyinbo' CNN/BBC watcher with a smug smile on their face: Why not, because its your civic duty.
Bella *In my mind I was thinking, this dude is still speaking 'grammar' to me, civic duty ko, civic duty ni? hissssss. Is that government class? I already finished that in SS3, I don't need a refresher from you oo*: I couldn't vote
Clueless 'oyinbo' CNN/BBC watcher still with a smug smile on their face: You don't seem fazed by this travesty
Bella *losing patience*: I'm not
Clueless 'oyinbo' CNN/BBC watcher *now chuckling*: The guys on CNN said that they were stealing ballot boxes, how hilarious is that?
Bella: Umm...I have work to do. Bye.
LOL. Its not their fault that our election has turned to 'cinema' for them, its ours!

Anyways, sorry for being MIA; No I wasnt kidnapped as suggested by Kpakpando. She said, 'was bella kidnapped by the yar'adua camp to ensure his victory abi na wetin?' LMAO, girl u r tooo funny. Basically, nothing much has been going on as per because of the elections so I had nada to blog about.
Well, here are some photos from the African Movie Awards which took place in Nigeria some weeks ago. Various African moviestars along with Monique and Cuba Gooding Jnr. attended. Check out the photos below.
Oh and Mercy was eliminated from Idols West Africa, I'll update the links later in the day.

Omotola ~ Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey with Empress Njamah

Ejike Asiegbu ~ Saheed Balogun ~ Madam Kofo

Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme ~ Ghanian actresses

Segun Obe ~ Bruno Iwuoha

Kanayo O Kanayo ~ Ramsey Noah

Empress Njamah ~ 2Face

Olu Jacobs with Monique ~ Chioma Chukwuka

Emeka Ossai ~ Francis Duru ~ Toyin Ajayi

Tony Tetuila ~ Nkem Owoh (Osuofia) ~ Nkiru Silvanus

Muma Gee ~ Ramsey Noah ~ Guest

Ibinabo Fiberisima ~ Madam Kofo with Actors Guild President, Ejike Asiegbu

Thanks to Mona for the link and Trendy Africa for the pics


Temitayo - ‘What a Feeling’ by Irene Cara
Jodie - Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’
Eric - Fugees’ ‘Killing Me Softly’
Jerrilyn - Celine Dion’s ‘All By Myself’
Timi - Lionel Richie’s ‘Stuck On You’
Omawumi - Gloria Estefan’s ‘Rhythm of the Night’
Mercy - Stevie Wonder’s ‘Part Time Lover’ *Eliminated*

Anyways, that's it! Have a fabulous day....
Tell us what you think 'bout the African Movie Awards and Idols WA so far....
Ciao!