Happy March!

African Sweetheart wishes all our amazing reader's a happy March! By God's grace may this month bring your heart desires to fruition.

"I Tried To Negotiate With God" -Lupita Nyong’o Opens Up On Her Prayer For Lighter Skin As A Child

On Thursday, Essence Magazine honored 12 Years a Slave actress Lupita Nyong’o at their Black Women in Hollywood luncheon. The stunning actress accepted the Essence’s Best Breakthrough Performance Award, and managed to move the audience to tears with her speech about her self-esteem.

“I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned.  

I tried to negotiate with God, I told him I would stop stealing sugar cubes at night if he gave me what I wanted, I would listen to my mother’s every word and never lose my school sweater again if he just made me a little lighter. But I guess God was unimpressed with my bargaining chips because He never listened.”
Nyong’o continued to unveil how her mother and  images of Sudanese supermodel, Alek Wek helped increased her confidence.

“Alek Wek. A celebrated model, she was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. Even Oprah called her beautiful and that made it a fact. I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me, as beautiful. My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome and all of a sudden Oprah was telling me it wasn’t. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. 

But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me, when I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty. But around me the preference for my skin prevailed, to the courters that I thought mattered I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me you can’t eat beauty, it doesn’t feed you and these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume.”

Nyong’o's speech was dedicated to a fan who wrote to her about not feeling comfortable in her skin. The fan told Lupita she had wanted to purchase Nigerian/ Cameroonian singer Dencia skin bleaching product, Whitenicious but opted out due to Lupita overnight popularity.

In the letter, the woman wrote:
“Dear Lupita, I think you’re really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia’s Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.”
Thank God for good press and Lupita opening more doors for women of color.

"Thanks For The Gift Big Bro!" -Musician David Dines With Football Star Samuel Eto'o

Singing sensation Davido dined with football star Samuel Eto'o today and shared some pictures of their delicious mean and his new present. 

The crooner was treated to a luxury gift by the millionaire athletic and excitedly took to social media to further thank him. Saying, "Thanks for the gift big bro!!! Brand new rose gold Rolex!!!"

It is really sweet to see that these to successful men consider themselves somewhat like brothers.

Hungry? HelloFood Nigeria Is Your New Best-Friend!

An exciting new app has launched which allows Nigerian based food lovers to order from the best restaurants with menu selections ranging from Pizza, Sushi, Thai and American food. 

HelloFood has been hailed as Nigeria’s No.1 online restaurant directory with over 250
restaurant serving up delicious delicacies to you from the comfort of your own homes and
offices.

You can order from restaurants such as Facaade Thai, Mama Cass, Sweet Sensations,
Chicken Republic, and Bukka Hut.

There are also many special offers and giveaways which are ongoing on HelloFood, which
allow you to win free meals at choice restaurants and vouchers to spend on orders.

Get HelloFood Nigeria On Your Smart Phone

You can download the app at the itunes app store following this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hellofood-food-delivery/id767588204?mt=8

You can also access the app on Google play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.global.hellofood.android

Visit the website www.hellofood.com.ng for more information, and be sure to join their
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelloFood.ng for up to the minute news and
special offers.

Biola Alabi Covers February's Issue Of Hello! Nigeria Magazine

CEO of M-Net Africa, Abiola Alabi is on the cover of this month's Hello! Nigeria magazine. The talented business woman tells us her story in an exclusive interview as the head of the biggest provider of entertainment on the continent. 

The edition also features a Valentine’s Day shoot with glamorous Miss Nigeria, Ezinne Akudo. 

Actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde Is Thrown A Delicious Surprise Birthday Party In Ghana

Nollywood beauty Omotola Jalade Ekeinde was thrown a delicious surprise party in Ghana yesterday evening. 

The celebrations which took place at an Oriental restaurant was co organised by her husband of 18 years Capt. Mathew Ekeinde who was secretly flown into the country to surprise her.

Aww! Happy Birthday Omotola! 

Journalists Hold Global Day Of Protest Over Al-Jazeera Staff Held In Egypt

Media organisations around the world have taken part in a day of protest against the detention of Al-Jazeera staff in Egypt.

 The international day of action was sparked by the imprisonment of three al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt: Peter Greste, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed.
Two other al-Jazeera reporters, Abdullah Al-Shami and Mohammed Badr, have also been detained in Egypt since last year. Greste, Fahmy and Mohamed will now stand trial accused of conspiring to tarnish Egypt’s international reputation.

Protesters gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square and in other cities around the world including Beirut, Cairo and Berlin to voice their concern. They also tweeted their support by using the #FreeAJStaff hashtag.

Seriously, how awesome is this... AJE Doha grinds to a halt, in solidarity with our jailed colleagues #FreeAJStaff pic.twitter.com/mNeaNeMC73
— Kamahl Santamaria (@KamahlAJE) February 27, 2014

Al-Jazeera organised a “thunderclap” on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr for 2pm GMT in which web users were encouraged to publish a picture of themselves with a sign reading “#FreeAJStaff”.

According to its website, this reached more than 3 million people around the world.


Source- Guardian

Forget The Wedding Diet! NBA Star Dwyane Wade Feeds His New Fiancée Gabrielle Union During Lunch Date

Actress Gabrielle Union and her NBA star fiance Dwyane Wade put on a show of love in Miami on Wednesday. The good looking couple who recently got engaged after dating on and off for 5 years where spotted hand-feeding pizza to each other.

The couple who had faced much controversy since it was revealed that Dwight had fathered a child their relationship looked to be enjoying their romantic lunch time get away on the terrace of The Restaurant at The Setai.

Gabrielle and Dwayne looked excited at their impending nuptials as they sped away in their white Aston Martin convertible.

African Sweetheart Weddings On Instagram Part 6

Remember to follow African Sweetheart Weddings on Instagram for more breathtaking wedding inspirations!

Such an adorable couple! The traditional engagement was planned by IPC events and the brides picture perfect makeup was applied by BM Pro.

Absolutely stunning Fulani bride. Makeup by Mamza beauty Flawless!

There's something about bridesmaids in red that we LOVE! Photography by Photonimi

Creativity at it's finest Loving the pink and grey on the Groom and his men. Captured by Omo Jesus 67

'Hello Yellow'!!! Stunning bride and her bridesmaids in yellow We love! Photography by Caramel Photos

Traditional perfection The makeup by BM Pro, the gele, the beads the lace! Just spectacular

Pre-wedding cuteness by QB Photography The pastel kente is gorgeous!

Pretty dress to compliment a pretty bride Fishtails are back Captured by Think It Photos

How colourfully stunning is this bride captured by George Okoro 

Gorgeous bridesmaids dresses by Rose blossom bridal. Orange looks amazing on darker skin tones.

Pretty purple! Loveeee this look by Beauty Cook Studio

Beautiful bride Gorgeous dress! Makeup by Banke at BMPro

Adorable Photography by NJ Photographer

The stunning bride with her fab aso-ebi Colourful! Photography by George Okoro

Now this is how you pull off 'red lips'. Flawless makeup by BMPro

Stunning! Photography by Seyi Turbo Photography. We love!!

Zuhair Murad makes the most amazing dresses Just look at the attention to detail on this gown from his 2014 Spring collection Perfect for a second dress on your special day.

The cutest save the date we've seen all month! Captured by Omo Jesus 67

Gorgeousness Green looks flawless on this beautiful bride. Captured by Awgzzz

The true meaning of LOVE. Who could say no to this proposal?

There are bridesmaids and then there are 'BRIDESMAIDS'! We Love this!

Stunning bride captured by Axel Photography

Suave! Suit perfection captured by Fola Lawal

Happiest day Every bride should have such a picture..20 years down the line you'll remember how excited you were on the day. Photography by Akintayomi.

Such a gorgeous bride! Perfect Makeup by Naxeefah and perfect colour choice

How Gorgeous are these Bridesmaid in their Peridot and Ruby dresses

Photography doesn't get more romantic than this. Captured by Afrodisiac Photography

How stunning is this Edo bride!! 

African Sweetheart Weddings on Instagram!