Hi friends! Welcome to my November favourites. These are my top 10 favourite products, experiences, things, etc. that I put my boring stamp of approval on, the yawn! 😀
1. Woolworth Spiced Pumpkin & Coconut Yoghurt
I’m not the biggest dairy fan in the world, but I’ve been trying to eat yoghurt instead of pizza for breakfast. I gave these double cream yoghurts a go…they’re probably not that good for you, but they sure do taste good! And if they taste good then they’re probably good for your soul. I love pecan pie and I love spiced pumpkin pies so I really like this yoghurt because it’s also quite subtle. I hate when people over do cinnamon. The coconut brought a tear or two to my eyes because it tastes JUST LIKE this one dessert my granny used to make me. AND IT TASTES AWESOME! Think lime pinacolada, yeah, TASTY!
2. Twinsaver Tissue Towers
I randomly found these in the Pick n Pay and they make SO MUCH SENSE! Why the hell have we been having our bedside tables and desks monopolised by tissue boxes taking over since the dawn of day?! These tubes are a million times better and I just love them! (Apparently the official name is a Twinsaver StylePack, I prefer Tissue Tower 😛 ). If I could change one thing though, this tubes are very on brand for Twinsaver. But my home isn’t Twinsaver colours. I’d LOVE for them to make a whole new range of colours, like metalics and whites, so that we can get them to fit in with our homes more discretely. Find the tissue towers at Pick n Pay for R23.00.
3. McDonald’s Happy Meal Trolls
I am one of those people buying McDonald’s Happy Meals for the toys. Trolls? Yes, that’s me. I have bought 4 Happy Meals so far (in 2 weeks) BECAUSE! The first McD’s gave me the crappy dog from Toy Story?! I was like, what the actual hell?! I don’t want this crappy slinky dog! So I drove back to the McD’s the next day and asked to swap. So now I have 3 Trolls and my desk is much prettier now, Can’t Stop the Feeling! 🙂
PS What’s also interesting is that 2 of the McD’s employees had no idea what trolls were! I had to explain it to them, which I didn’t mind but I did find that interesting. Basically the English Tokalosh!
4. Rimmel London Tinted Mascara
I watched a YouTube video on Halloween about making an outfit and the YouTuber said she was using Rimmel mascara that tints your lashes over time. Since we’re always years behind the times in SA I forgot about it, but thought it was pretty cool – as you use the mascara, so does it tint your eyelashes over time.
Well, I popped off to the Pick n Pay (the same day I bought the tissues) and found the mascara! I’ve given it a go and I can’t comment on whether it tints your eyelashes just yet, because I’ve only started using it. BUT the brush itself was really good. It separated my eye lashes super nicely and made them look really long too. The product was quite wet, which can make your lashes look a bit few, but the length was fab.
I love the idea of having my eyelashes tinted over time, but I am brunette so I won’t die if it doesn’t work. But for quality of product (no Panda eyes) and for the length, it’s a thumbs up for me for now! I bought mine for about R130 at the Pick n Pay. Update: One month later – the mascara is NOT waterproof! I finally look like Taylor Swift! Honestly, I’ve never know how women have these dramatic mascara lines, well the Rimmel tint is NOT waterproof and you can look like this in no time! I know because I wet my face in the shower & EISH! Crazy lady.
5. Rekorderlig Cider
Now this is another project that I have totally and utterly failed on. Rekorderlig is an EXTREMELY tasty alco-pop that I first had in Scotland…yeah, maybe 3 years ago. Before all the other brands hit SA, I’d had this and it was SUPER tasty!
I found Rekorderlig at the Taste of Cape Town Festival a year and a half ago, and ordered it at our staff function months later as it’s so good. I’ve enlightened a few people of its tastiness but never got around to tell YOU! So hear me now! Rekorderlig is TASTY! I love the strawberry and lime one, but there’s also pear and mixed berries. I’ve had it at the Slug n Lettuce on Kloof as well as Fat Harry’s in Harfield.
Get a BIG glass, fill it with ice, sit back and sip this sweet nectar all throughout summer. If you’re more of a beer drinker, then this probably isn’t for you as it is quite sweet, but it’s the best product in this range of sweet drinks, trust me!
6. Pap Culture
I’m not sure if I’ve put this in my blog yet, but I LOVE South African YouTube channel, PAP CULTURE! It’s hosted by Nwabisa, Thembe and Bongeka, Pap Culture talks about all things South African from politics to shoes! It’s SO AWESOME to hear what ‘young black South Africa’ is thinking/feeling/talking about. I feel like SO MUCH of South Africa’s problem is just not knowing enough about each other, misconceptions but ALSO the inability to change that. Pap Culture talks about life in South Africa as a young person and it’s already helped me learn so much. I LOVE IT! Check it out:
7. Primark Summer Sandals
Whenever I try to find sandals in South Africa I always fail. I find it super annoying that what’s available are, basically, up market ‘plukkies’ or totally over the top shoes with gems for DAYS like Aladin’s trove exploded. No thanks.
I happen to be a Primark addict. For those of you who don’t know what Primark is, it’s a high street UK store that’s, basically it’s Mr Price on steroids. They have SO MUCH RAD STUFF and it is DIRT CHEAP! It’s literally cheaper for me to shop overseas than in South Africa, because the quality of the stuff is so amazing! Look, let me not TOTALLY oversell it here – we’re talking about quality that is super amazing for the lower tier of clothing. I LOVE IT!
When I was in Amsterdam in April, I heard that they had just opened their first store. Well you better damn well believe I found the nearest boat there! Kidding, it was a bus. But Mr John and I went through because we love Primark! BUT, on the down side, they do get a lot of flak for having their clothing made in 3rd world countries, sweatshop style, awkward!
I got these two pairs for under 10 euros. In England their tops are 3 pounds, DIRT CHEAP AND AWESOME!
I know clothing manufacturing is really expensive in South Africa, but I really do wish we’d get into the game and UP our low quality clothing so that they a) didn’t shrink after 1 wash b) allowed us to buy more for less c) were much better quality. Primark stuff might be cheap, but it still WAY outweighs the quality of our cheap clothing. If you’re ever near a Primark in the UK or Euro, definitely pop in. And if you know you’re going to be near one, only pack half a suitcase because you will leave with it FULL!
8. Ozzy and Jack’s World Detour
So my Dad told me about this show and Mr John also said he was keen to watch it, and what a delight it has been! The season isn’t over yet, which is why I wanted to bring it up now so you have time to catch it. Ozzy and Jack’s World Detour is about Ozzy Osborne (famous rock singer for those of you who don’t know) and Jack, his son, going on a little tour around England and the world. It’s on the History channel and it’s a laugh! I love that it’s done in a really casual style so you can’t hammered with too many facts. It’s more realistic as to what travelling is really like, you stumble upon things and learn as you go.
9. Batiste Dry Shampoo
When I went to Scotland 2 years ago, my bestie was talking about Batiste and I said, “What the hell is that?!” She was like, “Whhaaaattt?! You don’t know about dry shampoo?” I thought she’d gone mad. Low and behold, a few months later, what should arrive on our shelves?! BATISTE! Batiste is the BEST PRODUCT!
Batiste is the BEST PRODUCT because, let’s face it, sometimes you don’t expect your hair to be as big of a mess when you wake up and you did NOT factor in washing it before work/event/function you’re due that day. Enter Batiste! Give it a sprits over your slightly less than fabulous hair, give it 10 seconds, comb it through and voila! Hair that’s good to go! Now don’t be creepy and not wash your hair for 2 weeks, this is a quick fix. Great for when you’re caught off guard. Do not use it as a substitute for actually having clean hair!
Clicks has stocked it for a while. It’s quite pricey at about R70 a can, so I tend to get a can of Batiste Dry Shampoo from Clicks on their 342 offers. Look for it in store.
10. Ben Brown – Visual Vibes: Arctic
Do you guys watch Ben Brown on YouTube? He lives partly in Cape Town and partly in London, depending on his projects and also shoots content about whatever he’s up to. Recently, he went to the Arctic for a project and the footage that has come out of it is, basically, mind-blowing.
Now I understand that maybe this isn’t for everyone, but it’s something that I wanted to share for a number of reason. Firstly, because I grew up in the desert, which means I always feel a kinship with ‘desolate’ places. I know this is the “polar” opposite to the desert, but I can’t help but feel like I really understand what it feels like in those wide open spaces.
Second and a really random reason, but FESCO – the ship that he takes his journey on, use to be a client of mine at work! FESCO is part of the Summa Group, a Russian portfolio of businesses like telecommunications, shipping, oil, etc. I used to write about FESCO ships picking up the rubbish from the arctic weather and research stations. Sadly, I never had much content to see, so this video is AMAZING for me because I can FINALLY put a visual to a project I worked on for nearly two years! Thanks Ben! Watch this on the biggest tele you have, it’s beautiful!
Well that’s all for November, I’ll be back in December! If you love any of these items or give them a go, please let me know in the comments below and let me know what you think of them! M x
