Category: Blogging

  • 2025 Wrapped- Highlights of The Past Year

    2025 Wrapped- Highlights of The Past Year

    Ps; this is the third time this post is being uploaded. My website has decided to move funny and restoring it has led to losing this post twice in a row, but we don’t give up here right? Right.

    Helloooooo and happy happy new year! Can you believe 2025 is over? Is it just me, but did it not feel like the fastest year of my life despite being slow on most days? 

    I apologise for not giving you consistent blog posts and video content, but this year tested my multitasking capacities, and I am relieved to say that I couldn’t juggle as many balls as I thought. 

    Nonetheless, I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to share something with you, even if that means a new year post! So grab a cup of tea or wine and let’s catch up!

    I am attempting my version of “wrapped” by highlighting top events or things I enjoyed in 2025. 

    How’s “being” going?

    For the first time in a while, someone used my words against me.

    When the year 2025 started, I boldly wrote on my blog how I intended to live this year. It’s my “desire to enjoy the moments”. Funny enough, I started the year with an answered prayer for my career and then a blatant rejection of another career progression in the same month. All that to say, thank God for keeping things running smoothly even when my eyes can’t see. 

    Weddings

    I attended 3 out of 4 weddings I planned to. Any time I get to witness a wedding ceremony, especially when I know the bride, it is a mixture of awe and excitement. 

    Awe because weddings are a lot of mental gymnastics and financial commitment. Excitement because it’s an opportunity to look gorgeous and catch up with people I haven’t seen in a while. These weddings were remarkable for me because I ate well and had fun! 

    Top Music

    My babe says my taste in music is erratic, but I would still give my recommendations for the people who have a similar taste. Thankfully, Spotify did us a favour with their wrapped so I would just share from that.

    I listened to 97 genres, but my top 5 were:

    1. Contemporary Gospel
    2. Afro R & B
    3. Yacht Rock
    4. Christian
    5. Pop

    My listening age is 25, as I was into music from the 2010s. I found that hilarious!

    I listened to 451 songs, and my number 1 was Game Changer by Ada Ehi. That was my anthem from April to August because those months tested me!

    The others in my top 5 were ;

    • Enough by Elias Dummer
    • ZA by Anendelessocean
    • He will be by CityAlight
    • Your Love by Moses Bliss and Chandler Moore

    Places Visited

    One thing I desired last year was to visit new places. There’s just something about leaving your daily routine to experience a different culture or place. In 2025, I visited 3 new places- Ghana, Enugu and Abuja. 

    Ghana was a second time, but I loved that I could experience it as an adult. I stayed in Accra, which felt like a second version of Lagos but way mellow. My favorite things about these travels were trying new meals and coming out of my comfort zone to experience people’s cultures. 

    Enugu, the coal city in Nigeria, is barely a two-hour drive from my state of origin in Anambra, but I had never visited it till last year. This state is beautiful. Their network of roads is massive and neat. The disadvantage of being in Lagos for too long is that you become myopic about the beauty of other states. I wish the insecurity in Nigeria wasn’t this bad because we have so many beautiful places in the country, and I have barely scratched the surface. 

    Abuja was another place I enjoyed this year. I went there for my sister’s call to the bar. Let’s just say my first culture shock was the Uber fare. What do you mean for a journey of 30 minutes, I only get to pay 2500 naira?

    It is also a beautiful city, and my uncle tried to take us everywhere possible.  Alas, we only have 24 hours in a day, and there’s only so many activities you can cram into one day. Hopefully, I will visit again soon!


    Top Podacasts

    I had 4 recurring podcasts on my list this year, but my top podcast was The Gospel In Lagos. This is also a shameless plug for my church, City Church. If you are looking for a gospel-centred church in Lagos, check us out.

    I also listened to a lot of Divine Intervention podcasts for medical concepts and kinda liked clinical medicine again- emphasis on kinda because I still have a love-hate relationship with it. 

    My other faves were With The Perrys by Jackie Hill and Preston Perry and Female by Design by Francine Winslow.

    Books I read in 2025

    I read 4 non- medical books and finished 2. I’m nit proud of that but I promise you I tried. They were; 

    • The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran & Micheal Lennington
    • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
    • Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    • Neither Bomb Nor Bullet by Andrew Boyd

    The last two are my completed reads. My favorite story in Dream Count was Kadiatou’s- an immigrant who battled the horror of sexual assault. I would leave the rest of the details for you to uncover. 

    Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi’s story is inspiring. I have read accounts of men persecuted for the gospel of Christ, but none have been as relatable as this Nigerian who lives in Nigeria and is at the forefront of the persecution in the north.

    He speaks about his transformation from a young soldier to a bishop. His wife, Gloria, his family and his remarkable generosity towards orphans. All I can say is get your copy of this book!

    For 12 week year, I love that it provides practical insight to planning your days and being audacious. I haven’t given up on completing it yet, but self-help books took a backseat this past year for me. Perhaps I would pick it up again in 2026. Maybe not. The same goes for the second book on my list. Getting my hands on it this year was exhilarating. The author literally doesn’t care about your feelings as he means business with his words of advice. 

    My Top skincare

    Did you really think I was going to wrap up this post without saying a word of skincare? Never!🤭

    Let’s start with face care. Truthfully, this past year, my pocket faced financial crises, and I couldn’t afford to splurge on skincare as I normally would. Thankfully, my skin behaved itself, and we pulled through.

    My top fighters were:

    • Facefacts Salicylic acid and,
    • Facefacts hydrating ceramide face wash: These face washes were what my face needed for good oil control while not stripping the natural oils.
    • Tiam vit B 3 serum- I had forgotten how good this serum is! Check out the full review here
    • Nivea Sungel: This will always be a fave! I recommend this sunscreen to anyone who likes a skin-like finish and doesn’t like overwhelming skincare products.

    For body care, my top fighters were:

    • Dove body washes! Any dove wash that smells good always wins my heart
    • Re CHARGE Orange and ginger Body wash plus foam bath
    • Dove Advanced Care Invisible + cucumber and cactus water antiperspirant
    • Nivea Nourishing Cocoa lotion

    The past year has been filled with answered prayers- yes, no, not now.

    I pivoted in ways I never thought I would and found out I really have no strength of my own- just God’s, and I am not mad about it.

    I wish you a wonderful year ahead, amigos.

    Cheers to 2026!

  • Celebrating Two Years of A Dash of Iruoma: Blog Anniversary + Giveaway ft Naby Naturals

    Celebrating Two Years of A Dash of Iruoma: Blog Anniversary + Giveaway ft Naby Naturals

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    Can you believe it’s another blog anniversary post?

    As of March 2023, I had been blogging for two whole years! 

    Can you believe that? Two years of sharing my thoughts and favourite things on the internet.

    The past two years of blogging have been filled with experiences I never imagined, but I first want to say a big thank you!

    Getting to this point is a dream come true, and many times, it still feels surreal. For the comments, retweets, pinning my pictures, and telling someone about A Dash of Iruoma, THANK YOU!

    It means so much to me, and that encourages me to keep at this.

    If you have been following the blog for the past two years or a few minutes, thank you for being here. It feels like yesterday when I just shared about the first-year anniversary below.

    I started this blog to share what I knew about beauty, faith, and lifestyle, so providing what you consider helpful in your daily living is a privilege.

    This year, it took me six months before I could share the good news with you.

    One reason is that I just graduated from medical school. March was filled with exam prep, so I couldn’t take the time to celebrate as I wanted.

    Also, I planned to celebrate with a giveaway, and getting the partnership for that took longer than I hoped.

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    Blog Anniversary Giveaway

    naby-naturals-range-of-skincare-products

    Now to the part, I thank you with gifts: drum rolls! I concluded one on Instagram last week, and there was no way my blog readers would miss out on another one!

    Before we get to the instructions, you should know about Naby Naturals.

    It is a Nigerian brand located in Abuja, Nigeria, at Silverbird Gallery (2nd floor), Central Area. They also have an online store.

    While it was founded by Nabyem in 2020, the brand relaunched in 2022 with science-backed and effective skincare to cater to all skin types!


    According to Naby, “Our clients love all products, especially the Lucent Body Oil, which has topped the charts!”

    My favourite thing about them is their combination of face and body products such as the hydrating Daily Face wash, hydrating essence Toner, brightening cocktail, rejuvenating face cream, even tone body lotion & lucent body oil.

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    nigerian-skincare-brand-naby-naturals

    Giveaway Instructions

    • Leave a comment at the end of this blog post with your IG handle & type DONE (e.g. @johndoe DONE).
    • Two winners will be picked at random and cover the cost of delivery. This is open to only Nigerian residents.

    Ps: The giveaway will run for two weeks, and the winners will be announced on Instagram. Please make sure your handle is correct so you don’t miss your gift!

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    Source of all product pictures: Naby Naturals

    Also, I would love to hear from you!

    What would you like to see more of on the blog? What would you like me to do differently?

    Your feedback is essential to this blog, so feel free to share in the comments.

    Cheers to year 3!

  • Could Rangla Punjab be the best Indian restaurant in Lagos? Read My Detailed Review To Find Out!

    Could Rangla Punjab be the best Indian restaurant in Lagos? Read My Detailed Review To Find Out!

    Meet your reviewers L-R: Iruoma, Oma, Chris and Feyi.

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    Rangla Punjab restaurant, Victoria Island 

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    My friends are I decided to try something different to celebrate being done with our final exams. We recently finished school after nine years. One way to do so was by trying out what I hoped to be the best Indian restaurant in Lagos.

    This restaurant is called Rangla Punjab. It is located at number 49 Adeola Odeku Street, victoria island, Lagos.

    My friends were skeptical when I suggested it from the list Chris sent, but I managed to convince them and was hoping they won’t regret trusting my choice!

    Atmosphere and Decor

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    My favourite corner of the restaurant

    The ambience is beautiful! It’s  Indian-centric, with paintings and inscriptions right from the entrance. It has a traditional bus (almost life-like) decor at the dining area’s corner, depicting their culture. My favourite part of the decor was the swinging cushions. I had seen it in a review and looked forward to being on them! 

    The lighting is also pretty good for pictures and an overall look. My friends and I came at night, but our pictures still turned out great. If you’re someone who likes to document videos and pictures, that’s a plus.

    The restaurant has a simple arrangement for the sitting area. Across are the cushions with colourful paintings of  Indian drummers on the walls.

    There was another area that was booked so that I couldn’t see the arrangement, but ours had a table with four chairs, and that was in about four sets. There’s also a wall of picture frames with inscriptions related to drinks. I thought it was pretty cool because it’s a great background.

    Food

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    One thing that makes Rangla Punjab considerably the best Indian restaurant in Lagos is the dishes!

    I’ve tried some Indian dishes from the Gypsy’s restaurant and bar, but this took it up a notch. The dishes we had were:

    1. Boneless mutton biryani
    2. Murg Dharba 
    3. Naan bread (butter)
    4. Makkani kukkad
    5. Mutton dhaba (boneless)
    6. Steamed rice 

    The good thing is you can play “safe” with these dishes because their taste profile isn’t too different from what we’re used to. We also decided to get different dishes so we could have a taste of everyone’s order.

    Here’s what my friends had to say about their experience: 

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    L-R: Chris, Feyi, Iruoma and Oma.

    Oma

    I’m not usually a fan of any other country’s food (I promise I’m not racist, lol) but the food from Rangla punjab was so good and very filling!

    I especially enjoyed the boneless mutton because it had lots of soft and tasty meat chunks. I definitely recommend and would go back.

    Chris

    Although their IG page and even the exterior of the restaurant might be unappealing, it’s a whole new experience on entering! The service was so good it was almost criminal not to tip. The waiter took his time to explain everything on the menu and give recommendations. He also told us where the best lighting was and took good pictures of us. 

    The food was great in quantity and quality, and we ate to our full. I had enough for breakfast the following day. 

    I’ll rate them an 8/10 because no one is perfect and secondly, they refused to let Iruoma manage their social media account!

    Feyi

    The food was amazing! 

    It was my first time trying Indian food, and I have no regrets. The naan bread and buttered chicken was sooo good, and the chicken was soft. The only thing I didn’t like were the extras. 

    So asides our order, we were given extra spices and even onion bulbs. Yes, an actual raw onion to eat! Other than that, the main meals themesleves? *chef kiss*! 

    The staff are also super courteous and helpful.


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    While we waited for our order, we were served a starter on the house. It’s called papad with chutney and pepper.

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    Papad and chutney sauce for starters

    The papad tasted like local pringles and was too spicy for me, but my friends enjoyed it weirdly enough.

    We ordered drinks called Lassi. They were the sweet lassi and vanilla lassi. There were a variety of drinks and cocktails with names I can’t remember, so we went with the ones that had familiar words (sweet and vanilla).

    The lassi drinks were pretty much yogurt with an extra touch. They put ice in it as well. It took a while for my tastebuds to get used to it, but eventually it did. I definitely recommend especially the sweet one. 

    We spent a total of 46,000 Naira for the 4 of us and still had enough to take away. 

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    Total damage to our pockets

    Service

    Our experience with the staff was quite wholesome. They let us take pictures and were willing to help. Before getting there, I sent a message to their WhatsApp customer care line, which I got from their Instagram profile. Their responses were prompt, and I was also sent the menu and rates.

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    Rangla Punjab is good for a family gathering, a bridal shower, a chilled evening out, a date, etc.

    I loved the waiter who attended to us. He was very professional, quick to answer our questions and ensured we were comfortable. I know it’s their job, but it was exceptional. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get his name so that you can ask him.

    Aside from the dining experience, they host a buffet service every Sunday. Most of the details would be found on their IG.

    I believe that Rangla Punjab could be the best Indian restaurant in Lagos with all that we experienced. Let me know if you do try this restaurant!

    Have you tried this restaurant?

    Is there an Indian restaurant in Lagos you think could beat this? Share with me so I can visit.

    READ ALSO: An affordable restaurant in lagos mainland


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