#MelaninTakesParis: L'espace Dali

Ever since I found out that there was a permanent Dali exhibit in Paris, I've been eager to visit.
The visit to the L''espace Dali was both educational and epiphanous at the same time.

I learnt a lot about this fascinating master of Surrealism and discovered how honest it was that he gave a visual space to his innermost thoughts on sexuality, femininity and religion (amongst other themes that were present in his work).

I will be sharing the pictures from my visit via my Instagram @tfortope on Friday 19th October, 2017 (AKA tomorrow) so follow me to get all the fascinating images.

(Update: I'm SOOOO Sorry, unfortunately due to some work deadlines I'll be unable to share the picture until Sunday 21st October, please forgive me and see you soon 😢❤️)

I highly recommend going to the Dali exhibit for anyone visiting Paris. One thing I've discovered about art is that you don't have to be deeply versed in art history in order to enjoy and learn from many museums and galleries, particularly not this one.
And who know, maybe as you learn about the artist and his/her work, you'll discover some things about yourself too.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.

#MelaninTakesParis: Cheap Eats (AKA mission impossible)

Let me just say right now: "Paris coûte cher!"
Rough translation: This place is so freaking expensive, I'm not interested in flexing for the gram!

The cheapest way to eat in Paris is...........

wait for it............

In. Yo. House.

But this post isn't about the food in your house (I'll write about that later), it's about eating well and cheap in Paris. So here are three ways I have been able to cut down my food spending in Paris

1. A baguette:

A baguette is a long, slim loaf of french bread and it can be bought in any "boulangerie" i.e. bakery in France. Let me tell you, the French know how to make their bread. I've never had a wack baguette in Paris. In fact, it almost reminds me to Agege bread: jokes 😂💁🏾.

And guess what: the standard cost of a baguette is one euro. It's really cheap and will last you two breakfasts.

2.  Eat far away from the tourist sites 

One time when I went to the Eiffel tower, I bought a samosa and a spring roll at a nearby cafe for 2 euros. One samosa, one spring roll. Do you know how small a samosa is? Don't be like me: find places to eat far away from the tourist attractions as the eateries there are likely to inflate the prices.

3. Supermarkets anyone?

France has supermarket chains that you can find pretty much anywhere in Paris (Monoprix, Carrefour, Franprix etc). The supermarkets are well stocked and you can get a lunch/dinner there such as pre-packed salads or sandwiches for well under 6 euros. I like to buy ingredients to make my sandwiches/salads for the week and I spend about 15 euros (that's 3 euros per weekday on lunch). 

It's amazing how resourceful one can be with limited resources. All in all, Paris is a beautiful city and I am deeply appreciative of this experience.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.

#MelaninTakesParis: My #summer2017 in the city of light 💦🥖☀️💋💸

This will be my second time in Paris and I can happily tell you that this beautiful city hasn't lost its charm. This time however, my stay in Paris will be a bit long-term (#creativenomadlife) so I have spent more time unpacking and signing paper work than sight seeing.
Nevertheless I'm grateful; it is Paris after all. Here are a few photos I took at the usual tourist attractions. Expect a few more posts on the blog detailing my summer break.

I regularly update my Instagram (including my Instagram stories) with snapshots of my trips so follow me on Instagram @tfortope to get dibs on where I'm going next!

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.

How I Slay My Fall Style On A Budget

Hello!

Its been a minute since I wrote a blogpost. If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I've been in Paris this summer.
As a born and bred Nigerian woman, I grew up in a tropical climate where the coldest day of the year would only require a light sweater with a camisola underneath. So, dressing for fall/winter has always been a learning experience for me. 

While it has been tempting to go all out and splurge on an entire closet haul for this new season, I’ve discovered that there are lots of summer pieces in my closet that can be reworked or combined  with newer fall pieces to make a dope outfits. Here are a few I came up with:

Look 1:

Thankfully, Paris isn't too cold and on days when the weather permits, I can wear my basic black tshirt from asos and pair it with these black tapered pants. I love a good "all black" look. I added these rings I got also from asos (Their summer sales are really good). 

Hopefully these rings last a while because I have a bad habit of misplacing my rings. The nails are actually press-on nails I got from H&M.
The boots are also from H&M and they are quite comfortable.

Look 2:
I participated in the craziness of Rihanna's Fenty Beauty launch and I was able to get my hands on her lipgloss. That gloss is the truth! Its perfect for fall and personally I'm over the liquid lipstick trend.
I got these shades from asos (I'm telling you, their sales are good!) and the rest are things I already had: basically just props for this flatlay that I slayed 💆🏾💁🏾😜.

For this look, I paired an old crop top from Zara and a dress from &otherstories. I also took my black cardigan as "weather backup".
Lip glow from Fenty Beauty. Face glow from God 👑 and MAC cosmetics.

I then added my asos shades to complete the look.

Look 3:
On colder fall days, I have no choice but to wear a coat. I got this stylish dark blue coat from stradivarius. It was my first time in their store and I found some stylish and affordable items.
I paired the coat with an old dress from New Look and primark jeans.

I really enjoy dressing for this new weather, so if you have any suggestions for this Nigerian girl 🙋🏿please let me know in the comment section or on Instagram.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.