Last week was a big one for me: we launched MOOIMAAK Season 3 on Kyknet (the first episode premiered last Thursday, after a veeeeery long and interrupted production period due to COVID) and I am extremely proud and thankful to say that the response we received surpassed our wildest expectations (and my expectations, for one, are usually pretty wild to begin with.)
So, to celebrate all that our country has to offer – in terms of talent, beauty and innovation – I thought it appropriate to list a few of my favourite South African brands. Because, after all, local is “die lekkerste” (translation: “the MOST lekker.”)
CHOMMIES
For all you fellow animal lovers out there looking to spoil your pooches with something special, Chommies makes the most fabulous dog leads & collars. Charlie (our very cheeky Ridgeback who can, at times, be a wee bit Beyoncé) is in love with her Chommies gold and black collar set and, let me just say, she’s not an easy one to please. Without fail, people stop us to ask us where her collar is from.
DANIELLE JACOBS LIFESTYLE
Multi-talented makeup and hair artist Danielle Jacobs took the opportunity during lockdown to design a range of leisure wear for the style-conscious woman who wants to be comfortable. Because nobody wants to wear jeans when doing emails at home and nobody wants to wear pyjamas to go grab a takeaway coffee. Say goodbye to FGW (Fake Gym Wear, of course) and hello to Danielle’s cosy but chic (and super soft) cardigan sets. Click here to view the Danielle Jacobs Lifestyle the collection.
BABYLONSTOREN
Technically, not a “brand”, but a design destination par excellence, Babylonstoren has developed a style signature all its own, from its beautifully-designed rooms all the way through to its online shop, which stocks everything from delicious pantry items in pretty packaging to printed linen, textured towels and elegant home ware (pictured below).
Happy browsing and, remember: Christmas is just around the corner. Thank heavens, so is 2021;)
PS If you’re enjoying The Global Critic, sign up on the homepage in the left- hand column, to make sure you get notified every time a new post is up!
You can also find me on Instagram, where I often host fun giveaways, @clarewiesewentzel.
Hey guys! It’s been one of Those Days and, quite frankly, one of Those Weeks. So, this is going to be a quickie but (hopefully, still) a goodie! My aim with this blog is and always has been to share with you the tips, tricks & trends that excite me – the things I would and do often share IRL (in real life) with my best girlfriends. So let me get to it!
For Brooke Shields Bushy Brows
Meet RapidBrow Eyebrow Enhancing Serum, the younger sister of the more well-known & award-winning RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum. Having experienced the lash-growing wonders of RapidLash first-hand a few years ago, I decided to give RapidBrow a go, to see if it could really take my brows from should-have-listened-to-my-momover-plucked status to Brooke Shields bushy.
MY EYEBROWS | BEFORE & AFTER RAPIDBROW SERUM
After about one month (yes, it takes time) of religiously applying the serum to my brows, I knew it was working when my mom (who’s clearly got a thing for brows) started asking whether I could please immediately share with her my brow-enhancing secret. When this was followed by my regular makeup artist Monique Du Toit asking me one evening what the **** I had been doing to get my brows so bushy, I knew the stuff had to be working. (One, of course, loses sight of these changes when they happen rather slowly.) But happen they did and…if you, too, have been dealing with Pluck Regret for much too long, you’re welcome & enjoy! Just remember to give it time to work.
Please forgive the randomness of the images I’ve used here – but, as I said, it’s been one of Those Days, and I simply want to give you enough visual evidence of the brow-formation I experienced, in case you don’t believe me;)
MY EYEBROWS | BEFORE & AFTER RAPIDBROW SERUM
Should you, too, have a slight brow-obsession, click here to check out an earlier blog post I wrote on alternative & complementary ways to beautify your brows.
For Anti-Ageing While You Sleep
I’ve recently (on the set of MOOIMAAK, to be exact) discovered the life-altering magic of sleeping on a pure silk pillow case. Why “life-altering” you wonder? Because, if such a heavenly product exists that is pausing or preventing the formation of wrinkles, whilst I sleep, without having to bat an eyelid (or shall I say “during the batting of eyelids”), that’s pretty much a game-changer for me. Add to that the fact that the average person sleeps for about 26 years of their life (basically a third of your life, either way), I could not get my hands on a silk pillow case fast enough.
PEACE SILK PILLOW CASE | AVAILABLE AT DERMASTORE.CO.ZA
How does a silk pillow case “anti-age” (not sure that’s a verb, but it should be), while you sleep? Here are three of the many ways:
Silk prevents wrinkles and sleep lines due to reduced friction between the silk and the skin;
It absorbs less moisture than other fabrics, meaning the natural oils in your skin stay where they belong (on your skin) as does any expensive night serums you’ve so generously applied;
If you buy the right brand, it is free of any harmful chemicals or dyes and is a natural, organic fabric.
If you’re keen to read more about the wonders of sleeping on silk or ready to invest in a Peace Silk pillow case, click here.
For Blitzing Breakouts
When you’re prone to serious breakouts and work in television, where stints on set often run up to six 12-hour days in a row, you need all the anti-acne weapons you can get. The camera doesn’t lie, after all, and caking and baking your face in makeup (to hide those pesky spots) only makes matters worse.
Enter my weapon of choice (other than an entire lineup of breakout-fighting products, of course): the NuDerma Portable Handheld High Frequency Skin Therapy Wand Machine. With 4553 reviews on Amazon (with an average of 4,5 stars and an “Amazon’s Choice” badge), I figured it was worth a shot when buying it some time ago and, let’s just say, I have not looked back. Although some of the different attachments are supposed to work on wrinkles, hair follicle stimulation and more, I’ve only ever used it to blitz breakouts and I can say with a heart full of confidence: this wand is magic. Although it can’t erase all acne overnight, I find the healing or recovery time from Pizza Face to TV-Ready to be about two to three times quicker than when I don’t use it. If you need a more scientific explanation, herewith an extract from the product page: “high frequency treatment kills the bacteria directly beneath the skin while simultaneously providing a natural boost of cellular energy to both kill acne-causing bacteria and reduce inflammation at the same time.”
NUDERMA PORTABLE HANDHELD HIGH FREQUENCY SKIN THERAPY WAND MACHINE
That’s it from me guys – I’ll be back next week. I hope you’re all staying safe, healthy & happy!
Clare Wiese-Wentzel 