From freckles to football

What you want to know this week

Freckles are in fashion

As early as 1910, Pond’s advertised vanishing cream to banish freckles. Later, you could have them removed with laser treatment.

But today, the fashion pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme and people are looking for ways to add freckles to their faces, rather than subtract them. 

The easiest way is to draw them on with makeup, though this could become tedious after a few days. A more inventive DIY option is to use broccoli as a stamp to achieve the speckled effect. Perhaps avoid serving it to your dinner guests afterwards.

With the dorky Pippi Longstocking connotations long gone, some even get a freckled look with microblading ― a semi-permanent tattooing process in which faux freckles are carefully pricked across the cheeks (or wherever else you want them). Freckles are said to be Meghan Markle’s favourite feature.

Source: Huffpost

An outstanding play to feed the soul

Herman Lategan recommends Pieces of Me at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town.

The actress Bo Petersen, 69, who has performed in more than 30 films and TV productions alongside the likes of Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier, appears at the Baxter for the first time in seven years. She has lived in the US for the past few years.

Her autobiographical play deals with a secret she discovered at 19. She found out that her father was coloured, which meant that under apartheid legislation his marriage to her mother was illegal and he could  go to prison and lose his family.

She carried the secret for 40 years and began writing about it in fragments. The play won a Blue Daily Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda.

Petersen has performed Pieces of Me to full theatres and rave reviews in Sweden, Norway and the US (including New York). 

Brave the winter weather, enrich your soul and see it between July 10 and 27 before she returns to the US. 

More information at: https://baxter.uct.ac.za/events/pieces-me

Finds

#1 We are obsessed with anything Stanley. The Stay Hot French Press is on our wish list. It's pricey, but with this brand you get indestructibility. Anneliese has had her Stanley flask for 10 years and it still works perfectly (even after being driven over by a car). Ther French press is on sale for R1,999 at Outdoor Warehouse. 

#2 The South African-made (in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape, nogal) Romer Coolerbox is a complete find. Once again, this is an investment piece. If you are on the road as much as Anneliese is, you get to appreciate a cooler box that goes beyond the call of duty and keeps stuff frozen for days. We found the 45-litre version at the reduced price of R2,499 here. (It usually costs R2,800.) 

#3 While we seem to be compiling a list of lustworthy items this week, let's add New York Times Cooking's No-Recipe Recipes by the NYT's food editor extraordinaire, Sam Sifton. It is a collection of recipes from Sifton's What to Cook newsletter that encourages you to improvise in the kitchen. It is marked down from R1,033 to R619 at Takealot. #justsaying

Interesting Instas

Laureen's five recommended Instagram accounts for cool outfit combo ideas.

#1 @Inspinacional
#2 @nanathalieamar
#3 @kamilleboutique
#4 @loulou.lespine
#5 @marimekko

And five more for quilts, crafts and colour ideas.

#1 @allysoncummingsart
#2 @purlsoho
#3 @crochetconcafe
#4 @natalie_miller_design
#5 @tarafaughnan

 Men’s food

 Max du Preez shared this idea.

They say …

These veggies are safe for dogs

• peas
• cauliflower
• spinach
• cucumber
• marrow
• pumpkin
• carrot
• green pepper

 Source: @barksandspark on Instagram

Last word

Quote of the week

Seven famous quotes about rugby

1. Rugby is a hooligan game played by gentlemen. ― Winston Churchill
2. I’ve always said that playing rugby in Spain is like being a bullfighter in Japan. ― Javier Bardem
3. Rugby is a good occasion for keeping 30 bullies far from the centre of the city. ― Oscar Wilde
4. Rugby is a game for the mentally deficient; that’s why it was invented by the British. Who else but an Englishman could invent an oval ball? ― Peter Pook
5. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. ― Jean de Villiers
6. I had a sporting talent … I was loyal to whichever team's jersey I put on. ― Naas Botha
7.  We can change South Africa on the rugby field. ― Danie Craven

Videos of the week

♦ VWB ♦

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION: Go to the bottom of this page to share your opinion. We look forward to hearing from you.