The last few weeks of summer are here and i wish i had had an outdoor daybed holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a nice holiday and some well-deserved fun. But a few days ago, when I came across photos of entertainment power couple, Beyonce and Jay Z enjoying their day in a French village while celebrating the “crazy in love” singer’s 33rd birthday – I wished I had done something different.
The couple were spotted by photographers who took photos of them and their little baby enjoying the day at a seaside town in France. On the photos, the multiple award-winning singer and her hubby were seen relaxing on a set of beautiful white outdoor sofas. And that’s where my obsession for an outdoor daybed holiday began.
While the couple had sofas, I would prefer to go for a more lazy day where I can lay down, sip a glass of wine, read a book, and do a few swimming sessions inside the cool sea waters. For the mentioned reasons, an outdoor daybed would be a better option for me. While it is also possible to lie on the three and two seater outdoor sofas like the couple had. I figured a bed would be more comfortable and relaxing to lay on.
After creating a few sets of scenario on how to plan such a day, I thought to myself – while outdoor daybeds are a fun way to spend a lazy day out, it doesn’t have to be at the beach. One can easily buy a personal one and place it on the patio, porch or deck. That way, you can enjoy it as much as you want. Especially when you’re lucky enough to have several days beautiful and sunny days. In addition, you’ll be having two sets of living rooms. One for the bad weathers, and the outside one for those beautiful and sunny summer days.
Is any other person having the same urge to enjoy a day out with an outdoor daybed? Or have you enjoyed such a day? Share your thoughts and views and we can all learn from it.
Twins Salma and Zahra Halane left their parents’ home in middle of night
They then caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border to Syria
Sisters appeared to be typical teenagers, pouting for selfies and shopping
Now they are feared to be training for battle in footsteps of elder brother
Twin schoolgirls who followed their jihadi brother to Syria were hard-working students who hoped to train as doctors.
Sixteen-year-olds Salma and Zahra Halane, who last summer achieved 28 GCSEs between them, left their parents’ home in the middle of the night and caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border.
Police said the pair are thought to have followed their elder brother, who ditched his own ‘excellent’ academic career to join the ISIS terror group around a year ago.
Friends said the twins had appeared to be typical teenagers, pouting for selfies and shopping at Primark – but they are now feared to be training for battle.
Last night a rebel fighter boasted that he was teaching girls as young as 16 how to fight. Yilmaz, a Dutch national who has been in Syria for two years, told Sky News: ‘It’s extremely easy to get here. People go on holiday … they end up in Syria.’
The twins’ parents raised the alarm last month, after finding the girls’ beds empty and their passports and clothes missing.
A former neighbour said the couple had been ‘quite strict’, and did not allow the girls to ‘mix with other children on the street’. Others recalled that the twins wore headscarves when they were as young as nine. But Rhea Headlam, who sat next to Zahra in primary school, said they were ‘just normal teenage girls’.
‘I’m really shocked – I used to bump into them at Primark,’ she added. ‘They were both really clever.’
Last summer Salma achieved 13 GCSEs – 11 of them at grades A* to C – while Zahra passed 15, of which 12 were A*-C. The results put them in the top 10 per cent of their year group at Whalley Range High School for Girls in Manchester.
They went on to study at Connell Sixth Form College, where fellow students said they hoped to follow in the footsteps of their elder sister Hafsa, 25, who is at medical school in Denmark after graduating from Manchester University.
‘The twins both have aspirations to become doctors – that is their ambition,’ said one. Another claimed it was ‘typical’ of the girls to head to Syria ‘after they had finished term’, adding: ‘They wouldn’t want to mess up their education.
‘I’m shocked they have gone. They didn’t seem to be radical or extremist in their views.’
It emerged yesterday that the girls’ devoutly Muslim Somali refugee parents and their 11 children had been moved from an estate made famous by the TV series Shameless to an upmarket suburb, after telling the council they needed more bedrooms.
They were given a six-bedroom end-terrace despite the protests of the existing tenant. Yesterday the large back and front gardens were strewn with discarded household items and children’s plastic toys.
The house’s previous resident – a 40-year-old Army heroine who served in Bosnia – said last night she had been booted out of the house by Manchester City Council so the twins and their family could move in.
Former lance corporal Dawn Benjamin told The Sun she had thought the house – her childhood home – would be ‘going to a good family’. She added: ‘I lost my life, memories, everything I’d grown up with, to house jihadi wannabes’. Ms Benjamin and her young son had to move out after they were served with a court order. The council confirmed the house had been needed for a larger family.
Neighbours said the twins’ parents were keen to share elements of Somalian culture with them, taking round dishes of traditional delicacies for them to try. The twins’ father Ibrahim is understood to teach at a nearby mosque, where leaders this week issued a statement repudiating extremism and opposing violence of all kinds.
Mohammed Shafiq, of the Ramadan Foundation, said the family were moderate Muslims who know all about the dangers of war-torn countries. ‘They were desperately unhappy to discover [their son] had gone to Syria, and they thought they were keeping a watchful eye on their other children. Then this happens,’ he said.
Sources believe Salma and Zahra were inspired by their brother’s transformation into a jihadi fighter, and became radicalised themselves while viewing extremist Islamist material online.
According to police sources, their brother also travelled to the family’s native Somalia, where he may have linked up with another Islamist terror group al-Shabab.
A friend told The Sun the brother was known for his ability to recite long passages of the Koran. Officers are investigating how the girls funded their own trip, over fears they have been bankrolled by jihadi fighters who want them as their wives.
This year’s edition of BET Awards took place a few days ago and Tiwa Savage attended wearing a sheer maxi dress that revealed her upper body. The black bra the Nigerian artist wore under the dress was very visible for anyone who cared to look.
The floor-length navy blue dress was designed by Valery Kovalska. The Mavin first lady completed the look with a clutch purse and gold accessories. Her long hair was styled in a centre part and drawn to the back.
Over the years, Tiwa Savage has been at the top of Nigerian music as a female artist and has really earned the name Mavin first lady. The Nigerian entertainer tried her hand in music in the United Kingdom where she went to X-Factor but was sent out at the beginning. She then went to America where she studied more about music and did backstage gigs for other celebrities.
What do you think of Tiwa Savage’s sheer maxi dress to NET Awards? Is this something you would wear to such an event? Is there a different way that you would have styled the look if you were the one wearing it? What went well and what did not for this look? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Also, if you think your fashion style is cool and would like to share it with our readers, do send us an email as we cannot wait to hear from you.
For those of you looking for complete African style and fashion, do take a tour around Afrocosmopolitan and you will find loads of styles to choose from. Whether it is one made with ankara African print, kente African print, adire, brocade, shweshwe, dashiki, African lace, or a combination of one or more of the prints with other tyles of lace fabrics, cotton, tulle, and much more, you will find a lot of styles to choose from.
You can check out the Afrocosmopolitan Youtube channel and subscribe to it so you can get an update on our uploads. You can also with Afrocosmopolitan on Instagram and like our Facebook Page. Thanks.
It felt like decades since Eddie Murphy appeared in a truly noteworthy film. Perhaps it’s the fact that the one-time Raw comedian has mostly focused on family movies since the turn of the millennium. Or maybe it’s because so many of his films have flopped and been downright terrible in the past 15 years or so. But the Eddie Murphy many of us once loved and looked up to is due for a return to form. If things go according to plan, we may just see exactly that in 2016.
In a report on Rolling Stone, it’s been revealed that Murphy will indeed reprise his role as Axel Foley in the fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop series. Despite its name, though, it appears that plenty of the film will take place in Detroit, which is where the series’ previous films began.
It could be that Axel and his friends (and enemies) only begin in the Motor City this time around, too, but it apparently means some great things for the city. As noted by CBS local, approximately 352 jobs will be created when the movie begins shooting with an estimated $56.6 million being spent by the filmmaker. Speaking of, it’s being directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour series, 21) while Jerry Bruckheimer (Beverly Hills Cop and Bad Boys series) is the producer. While no concrete release date has been given, it’s expected that we’ll see Beverly Hills Cop IV in the first half of 2016—22 years after its predecessor.
In recognizing that he’s mostly acted family-friendly films as of late, Murphy told Rolling Stone that he’s eager to do something in line with his work in the ’80s. “I haven’t done a streety guy, working class, blue-collar character in ages,” he said in an interview back in 2011. “So maybe it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t remember he was able to do that.'”
The same can definitely be said for his purely absurd (but smart!) comedic roles. With all these kid-oriented movies, we have rarely seen the goofy-but-adult-minded Murphy. In fact, it’s been about 15 years since then, as that was the year the highly overlooked Bowfinger hit theatres.
A 1999 film featured Murphy teaming up with fellow living comedy great Steve Martin, who portrays a down-and-out director trying to make a comeback in Hollywood. While the laughs were definitely there, go ahead and ask if anyone you know remembers this movie—it’s likely they don’t. That’s really a shame, because it’s brimming with hilarity. Writer Karen Krizanovich recognized the top-notch humour in her review of the film on the Picturebox blog in stating that “Bowfinger hasn’t aged well but it yet still contains some of the funniest scenes ever put on celluloid.” She goes on to make note of the Scientology jokes, star-heavy cast, and low-key intelligent plot.
Could it be, perhaps, that the fourth Beverly Hills Cop could begin a resurgence for Murphy? Or will it be a disappointing attempt to capture the essence he once possessed? We’ll have to wait a couple of years to find out. If all goes well, though, here’s hoping we get another Bowfinger or Nutty Professor level comedy from him.
A fraudster, named “Fizzy” because of his love for champagne, has been jailed for conning people out of their life savings with a bogus lottery scam.
Frank Onyeachonam, 38, of Canning Town, east London, ran the UK-end of a global scam that was orchestrated from his native Nigeria.
The Old Bailey heard how he extracted up to £600,000 from pensioners to fund a luxurious lifestyle.
He was jailed for eight years for charges of conspiracy to defraud.
The court heard how he deliberately targeted pensioners because they were potentially vulnerable.
The scam – known as an “advance fee” fraud – saw Onyeachonam send victims emails claiming they had won millions of pounds on a non-existent Australian lottery. He asked them to send him money so he could release their winnings.
Afterwards, the victims would then become hooked on the scam and made extra payments, which forced several victims to come out of retirement in order to pay back high-interest loans they had taken out to pay him.
Fourteen victims, mainly from the US but one from Britain, were found to have lost a total of about £900,000.
Emails showed victims pleaded with Onyeachonam to send them money to pay for healthcare, while some died before he could be brought to justice.
Some of those exploited by Onyeachonam were also investigated themselves after they were used as “pawns” to launder the proceeds of the fraud by sending on money from other victims or setting up business accounts.
When his luxury flat in Canary Wharf was raided, police discovered an “Aladdin’s cave” of evidence, which included notebooks containing the names, addresses and cash tallies relating to 406 people.
If all of those in the notebooks suffered losses, the fraud is likely to have run to at least £5m and possibly as high as £30m.
Co-defendants Lawrencia Emenyonu, 38, and Bernard Armah, 51, both of Wood Green, north London, were found guilty of money laundering, and were jailed for 18 months and eight months respectively.
Onyeachonam was seen as the key figure in the UK but police suspect a criminal network was in place in several countries around the world.
Authorities found an alleged co-conspirator abroad had an email containing the details of more than 100,000 potential victims.
The alleged mastermind or “chairman” of the network is based in Lagos in Nigeria, and is currently under investigation by authorities there.
Here are 10 top fashion styles from Lupita Nyong’o that we love. If you take a look at them, you’ll see the reason we. As you all know, Miss Nyong’o has been making waves not only from winning so many awards but also from having such an admirable fashionable style.
Like the sun parting the skies after a rainy morning, this Mexican-born – Kenyan beauty is parting the crowds as she treads the red carpets and claims her way to fame. Lupita Amondi Nyong’o was born in Mexico City in March 1983 to politicians in asylum, mother Dorothy and father Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o. She spent some of her youth in Kenya, then moved back to Mexico to study Spanish and now speaks it fluently, as she does English, Swahili, and Luo. Lupita is a Yale School of Drama graduate and is now an actress, film music video director. We love her not only for the roles she has played in films such as the recent “12 years a slave” by Steve McQueen but for several others. For her role, Lupita won the Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was also nominated for the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. What we love even more is her flawless chocolate complexion, short and natural hairstyle and above all ….her fashion style! Below are 10 of the fashion favourite moments we enjoyed seeing her in and the reason why.
This dress was the perfect choice for her and could not have been any more graceful, elegant and sexy than it came across. Even though it is red in colour, the draping and floor-length hem softened its colour and accentuated her skin and beautiful, lean frame. It has a simple style and it is amazing how she carried off the whole look with hardly any jewellery to compliment it and very natural makeup. This is definitely the favourite, well done Lupita!
Cool Blue Dress
What is so beautiful about this dress is yet again the simplicity of the style and how the colour really offsets her complexion. The floral beaded motif at the neck and straps meant that she did not have to wear a necklace and the way the dress hangs on her curves is tasteful and very refreshing as is the colour to the eyes. Lupita complemented it well with a chic clutch and minimalist jewellery with eyeshadow to match.
3. Monochrome Dress
Monochrome is a classic look that will never go out of style. It plays a perspective trick on the eye and when worn well, is most flattering for the figure. This asymmetric dress did that well for her and the bow on the front intertwined with the midriff made her waistline appear even smaller and hence created the perfect hourglass figure silhouette. It can be worn by day or night and with little or more accessories with colours such as deep red, blue, green and yellow.
4. Yellow dress
This sleeveless, fitted dress flared out slightly from the knees to create a fishtail effect seems to be a favourite look for her. The colour is once again bold, clean and pleasant to the eye and even dazzling but in the sense of her appearing almost as a “sun goddess” with her strength exuding from her toned biceps and beautiful neck. She has an amazing way of dressing in a “less is more” manner that makes other celebrities next to her look overdressed.
5. Green Dress
With this dress, one could not but marvel at how this young woman keeps it together with one look after another and gets it right every single time. The simple gold band accessories allowed attention to go to the strapless dress that tapered at the knees and created a lot of volume to the point where she almost appeared to be “floating” on the carpet. It was almost like seeing her in a bridal gown and even without a veil, this look is fabulous and very elegant.
6. White dress
White is pure and clean and is always a good choice for summer day or evening wear. The fabric draped freely and just delicately kissed her curves and almost appeared to be flowing like water. Her long sleeves kept her arms warm and the gold chain mail was the perfect feature to add a touch of chic and Grecian goddess gracefulness as with the red dress at number 1. This time, she went a bit further with bigger earrings but perfectly done and again the perfect clutch purse to match.
Look 7. Flowy Blue Dress
It’s all about blue power here as the Hollywood star look stylish in this flowy maxi dress. She completed the look with a few pieces of accessories on her head, wrist and a pair of beautiful earrings that went perfectly well with her overall look and adds to her top fashion styles.
8 through to 10: The Girl Next Door Look
The bottom line is, no matter which outfit Lupita chose or chooses, she manages to look fantastic every time. These last 3 looks are smarter casual and it is so inspiring to see how she still manages to maintain a clean look that makes you think she picked out her own clothes from her wardrobe and her parents approve of each and every one of the outfits in there too. There is no doubt that this rising African gem makes Africa look good and promotes the concept of natural beauty for those that are sceptical or prefer otherwise. What consistency! What beauty! Shine on Lupita!
Look 8
Look 9
Wearing a pink mini dress the beautiful actress looks simple but chic. She completed the look with a pair of black pumps, making it one of her top fashion styles in this post.
What do you think about these 10 top fashion styles from Lupita Nyong’o? Share your views by leaving a comment below.
Essential, unmissable and timeless, this makeup palette by Urban Decay is composed of twelve colours tones, matte or glitter enamel.
Why should you choose Naked?
Right from the beginning, it has always been the same price for every pallet. The ratio price and quality are very good. It is also great that you have twelve different colours of blush. (£37, $52, 42€)
Naked shadows colours represent the most pigmented on the cosmetic market and its skills-texture can be used for an easy application. The same way it should be applied for beginners.
You can make different makeup look with this palette, like, nude or with five light colours – adding the festive plus seven colours which are the darkest.
Furthermore, you can get the Naked palette easily on e-shops or in retailer stores (Sephora, Marion AUD and other cosmetic retailers).
Last but not the least, the colours are suited for spring.
NAKED 2
The smokey
With the fluffy corner of the brush.
Use Tease 5 for the outside corner of the eye and under the eye.
Use Busted 11 and blackout 12» for the middle of the eye.
Use Half baked 2» for the inside corner of the eye.
Complete with the eye- brow, eye-line and lashes
The Nude
For fair skin
Uses the suspect 7 for the outside corner of the eye as well as under the eye.
Use Tease 5 or the middle of the eye.
Use Bootycall 3 for the inside corner of the eye.
For brown skin
Use Tease 5 for the outside corner of the eye and under the eye.
Use Snakebite 6 for the middle of the eye.
Use Suspect 7 for the inside corner of the eye.
For dark skin
Use Busted 11 for the outside corner of the eye and under the eye.
Use Snakebite 6 for the middle of the eye.
Use Tease 5 for the inside corner of the eye.
Complete this makeup look with an eyeliner (or a line with the flat corner of the brush) and then apply mascara for the finishing touch.
When it comes to women and the size of their feet, some have them small while others have them long/large. Most boutique stock female shoes not above UK size 7.5, US size 10 or European size 41. For women whose shoe sizes are above these sizes, finding the right place to shop can be a lot of hassle. As a result, Long Feet Boutique, a UK-based shoe retailer, stock shoes for women with “Long Feet”, who find it difficult to get good looking feminine and special occasion shoes.
Below are some popular women who have large feet and boutiques like Long Feet will be a perfect place for them to get the right shoe size without too much trouble.
Billionaire and media mogul, Oprah Winfrey – US size 11
In 2010, Oprah chose more than 150 items from her closet to auction on eBay to benefit the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Her collection included everything from a practical pair of patent wedges to lace-up metallic booties. Some of the shoes Oprah parted with were simply too small. For years, she was wearing the wrong size shoe! “I’ve since learned I wear a size 11, not 10,” Oprah says.
The American first lady, Michelle Obama is another woman with large feet. The wife of the American president and mother of two girls is alleged to be a US size 11.5.
Top American socialite, actress and star of the reality TV program, “The Simple Life”, Paris Hilton is said to be a US size 11.5. As such, she finds it difficult to find her shoe sizes and often go for customised pairs. Women like Paris Hilton will enjoy the services of a brand like Long Feet Boutique.
Over the last decade, African fashion has grown from local and petite tailors to international fashion designers making high-end couture pieces for some of the famous celebrities in the world. One of the top African brand helping to make this change is the Ade Bakare Couture.
Born in Bromsgrove, British Midlands and a graduate of Manchester University College; Ade Bakare established his own couture line in 1991. With his past work experience in fashion houses; Victor Edelstein and Christian Stambolian, Ade supplied boutiques in various parts of The United Kingdom with his bi-annual collections to the likes of Chic, Amber and Lucienne Phillips. Nowadays, he covers daywear, evening wear, bridal wear, hats and fragrances (Breeze).
His latest Summer 2014 Collection, “Adire Meets Modernity” is tie and dye inspired, hence the word “Adire” which is the literal translation in the Nigerian dialect of Yoruba. In his own words, Ade says, “I became interested in this rare textile and was intrigued by the way it was made.” “I felt it could be made in a more luxurious way which would endear it to more people and give it that international appeal”.
The bridal wear concept utilises volume in shape and draping that ultimately accentuate an “hourglass figure” while retaining the sensual and feminine appeal of the bride in her finest hour. The styles range from puffed mutton sleeve, sheer capes with sleeves and train in one, right up to spaghetti strap fishtail gowns with floor-sweeping hems. The top part of the dresses is usually empire line, occasionally with big bows and sweeping shawls as well as corsets with sexy, figure hugging skirts of varied length. Fabrics used are luxurious and chic and consist of silks, organza, chiffon and more. If the bride in question requires it, Ade will also design matching shoes and other accessories as well as organise special underwear to bring out the best in the dress as well as make that day extra special.
For the Daywear collections, Ade chooses to work with fabrics such as georgette, Swiss cotton, silk, chiffon, linen and crepe. Clients can get their dresses custom made and styles vary from bold pastel bolero jackets, knee-length coats and dresses as well as high waisted palazzo pants to light woollen suits in beige, purple, navy through to red and pink.
Because eveningwear needs to be more eccentric to capture attention, the use of jewel colours with a more profound effect is used. These delicate fabrics may have a shimmer but retain the deep violet, ruby, emerald or other stone characteristics to give a finished opulent look. Gorgeous coats in various lengths with diverse sleeves also compliment the piece underneath as well as counter the weather elements.
The hats Ade makes are chic and eccentric, and will definitely turn many heads if one were to spend a day at The Ascot. They complete the look of the sophisticated bride or add that sensual touch to all the outfits they are combined with. The sheer tulles with Swarovski stones, shiny silks, organza and velvets reflect a true genius in each creation as do the delicate fragrances of orchids, jasmine and light “breezes” reminiscent of an African coastal pedigree. There are also small fashion accessories of men’s silk scarves and women’s clutch bags to complete the look from head to toe.
As a designer with Nigerian heritage, Ade has showcased some of his collections in Nigeria and other African countries such as South Africa, Morocco and Mozambique as well as abroad in America (New York), Monaco and the European capital of fashion: Paris. He has stores in London and a number of flagship stores in Lagos, Nigeria. His label is synonymous with style and flair as well as glamour and sophistication as you will find many aristocratic and royal women wearing it, as you would celebrities.
Due to Ade’s major contribution to African fashion and namely that in Nigeria, many awards have been presented to him to recognise his efforts. Not only has he worked as a Fashion Lecturer but also a role model. Of special note is the award from the Nigerian Youth and Culture minister for the role Ade played in creating a young fashion designers competition to create incentives for young Nigerian students to be recognised and empowered. Other awards were for his input in bridal wear, banks, Conde Nast publishing, an academy in Paris and Western Union. He has also appeared in numerous publications and has written his own column in a magazine called Le Vogue.
Ade Bakare Couture can be seen in shows that usually showcase other prominent fashion designers and more information can be found on his website: adebakare.com
Forbes has released its annual Celebrity 100 listand Beyoncé rules supreme as queen of the powerful. The ‘who runs the world’ singer and mother of one is number on the magazines list, beating husband Jay Z, billionaire businessman Dr Dre, LeBron James, Dr Dre and even media mogul, Oprah Winfrey.
Below is the list of the top 10 most powerful celebebrities and how much they earned from June 2013 to June 2014.
