Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi. This week's subjects: Touch-Up Tricks: Glow in 5 Minutes, Fashion in space, Valentine roses with thorns, and some extras, and less babies, Menopause problems and solutions, Changing eyesight with age? and Frankies

Touch-Up Tricks: Glow in 5 Minutes: You don’t need a full glam session — just the essentials. Keep a small pouch in your work bag with lip gloss, pressed powder, and a mini perfume. A swipe of red lipstick can transform your look faster than a ride from Cantonments to Osu in evening traffic. And for the finishing touch? Loosen that sleek bun into a low ponytail or soft waves. Effortless never looked this good. Style Meets Ambition: This isn’t just about looking good — it’s about feeling ready for every part of your day. The Accra corporate girl is dynamic: she negotiates, networks, and glows while doing it. Her wardrobe simply follows her rhythm. So next time you’re heading from a presentation to a party, skip the panic. You don’t need a new outfit — you just need a few clever swaps and the confidence to shine in both worlds. Elegance isn’t in the clothes alone — it’s in the ease. It’s the way you carry yourself through traffic, deadlines, and dinner lights with that quiet “I’ve got this” energy. Because the Accra corporate girl doesn’t just change outfits — she transforms atmospheres.

Valentine roses with thorns, and some extras, and less babies. Most Valentine roses are produced in Kenya, Columbia and Ethiopia, where the climate allows for year-round production, and lax regulatory regimes allow for powerful often elsewhere banned pesticides. Laboratory testing on bouquets in the Netherlands, Europe’s flower import hub, found red roses had the highest residues of neurological and reproductive toxins, with one bunch containing traces of 26 different pesticides, half of which are banned for use in the EU. Valentine’s Day is the flower industry’s busiest time of the year. According to analysts, about 200 million roses are produced to meet the demand for lovers’ gifts on that day, for Europe alone.

Menopause problems and solutions. In blog nr 156, 13th June 2025, I mentioned that some are lucky and just float through this perimenopause (the time that things become irregular and eventually menstruation disappears altogether) but some suffer seriously. So ample solutions are proposed in the form of hormones, supplements, herbal solutions, and mechanical devices (18 billion dollars sales in 2024), take your pick and spend your money. That's nothing new, new is that we now also have suppliers caring for the pre perimenopause period, (PPMP?) so they suggest that from about age 27 you start taking their herbal concoctions and supplements to make sure that the peri period itself goes smoothly. Who would have thought about this, but then commerce comes up with anything to make money, like fashion for dogs. Hmm, come to think about it, what about PPMP products for dogs?

Changing eyesight with age? One of my friends is a white French man, and when we went out the other day he was not wearing his usual spectacles. Asked him if he had done laser therapy, or maybe was now wearing contact lenses, but no, none of these, he just felt that especially females somehow showed they were a bit scared of him when he wore his glasses. Wondering.

Frankies (Oxford Street, Osu, Accra) is not my favourite but if one is lucky, and this Sunday lunch time we were, you can sit near the window and observe those hustling below. I ordered an American hot dog @ 140 GHC, (they also have Mexican dogs) which for some reason became a chili hot dog and in any case the sausage was large, and crunchy, but far too salty. I also had beef samosa Lebanese style which turned into a beef shawarma @70 GHC,.... someone has a problem there, either the waiter or the cook. Told you I don't like the place too much. But my partner claimed the classic pizza, which is tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese, chicken, beef, sausage, tomato sauce, green pepper, onions and mushroom @183 GHC was nice, and also the jollof and chicken @ 85 GHC was good. So if he wants we'll go again.

Lydia...

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