The countdown to World Cucumber Day is on – 14 June – and to celebrate, Hendrick’s has launched a curious cucumber cocktail service. Starring Sydney bars like PS40, Hotel Ravesis, Gin Lane, Low 302 and Bar M, they’ve launched a cocktail delivery service of hand-curated ‘cuke-tails’ starting from just $10. They’re also giving away 3,000 free cucumber seeds away to encourage you to get green-thumbed at home and grow your own perfect garnish to enjoy a Hendrick’s gin & tonic on World Cucumber Day! For tips on being a green thumb or more about where to go for your ideal G&T, go here
With all the handwashing and sanitising we’re doing these days, it’s no wonder your poor old hands are feeling somewhat dry, sore and damaged. While alcohol-based sanitisers are great for eliminating germs, it’s also stripping natural oils from your skin, so you need to make sure you restore all that moisture to prevent developing dermatitis or other pesky skin irritations. Natural skincare brand, Herbs + Heart have just launched the ultimate hand care product to combat dry skin! Their After-Sanitiser Overnight Hand Mask (RRP $24) is an effective treatment for over-cleansed and under-nourished hands. It’s ten times richer than hand lotion and designed to use at night and work its magic while you sleep. Simply apply the mask to your hands just before you go to bed, ensuring your skin is hydrated and ready to face further handwashing and sanitisation the following day. For the ultimate deep hydration treatment, pop on Herbs + Heart’s Cotton Overnight Gloves (RRP $5) after massaging your hands with the creamy mask and allow your hands to repair whilst you snooze. The After-Sanitiser Overnight Hand Mask is manufactured in Australia with locally sourced ingredients and is naturally formulated with mango butter and hemp seed oil. It also contains a powerful combination of vitamins A, C and E, as well as omega fatty acids 3, 6 and 9. Take a look at the full range of products from Herbs + Heart here.
There’s so much to love about organic skincare brand Peggy Sue. Sustainable, ethical, natural, Australian made and owned – it ticks all the boxes for those seeking a more eco-friendly, plant-based alternative without the inflated price tag. The gorgeous Peggy Sue range is paraben-free, petroleum-free, sulphate-free, palm oil-free, silicone-free and has no artificial colours or fragrances. No nasties, just the really good stuff! Based on the NSW South Coast, Peggy Sue founders Alysha and Shanah created their beautiful brand to help us ‘slow things down with meaningful moments of self-care’, while caring for the earth together. And when coping with adversity like many of us have over the last six months during the health crisis, it’s more important than ever that we continue to care for those around us and more importantly, ourselves. Self-care matters, so what better way to take care of yourself than by adopting a daily ‘me time’ regime, using quality products that enhance your mental and physical well-being and knowing that you’re doing it responsibly. Go you! Pucker up, Sugar Lips! 95% of Peggy Sue’s range can be refilled, which reduces their carbon footprint and breaks the consume-and-discard cycle. Take for example the organic Lip Conditioner (RRP $14) that is housed in a gorgeous bamboo twist tube. Once you’re down to your last few applications, jump online and simply re-order a refill for $12. The key ingredients in the Lip Conditioner are organic beeswax, organic shea butter, fractionated coconut oil, organic olive oil, natural vitamin E and vanilla oil. If you… Read More
An effective hand sanitiser (one formulated to the Centre of Disease Control guidelines for the response of COVID-19) is going to be your best friend for the foreseeable future, so you’ll want to choose one that’s gentle on your skin and doesn’t smell like a hospital. With so many variations of sani out there, it’s worth noting the gold standard is a sanitiser with at least 60 – 80 percent alcohol, as this is the percentage level required to kill the virus. Sanitisers with less than 60 percent alcohol are not as effective at killing germs outright. Enter La Clinica, a 100% Australian owned and operated skin care manufacturer located in Melbourne, who have created an all-purpose hand sanitiser made with lemon oil, echinacea extract, panthenol and alcohol (70%v/v). Made in Australia, it has antibacterial protection to kill 99.9% germs quickly and 96.5% of the ingredients are Australian. We love that it’s locally made. The sani comes in a gel and spray version. For the handbag or backpack, you’ll want to throw in the cute 100ml ‘All-purpose hand sanitiser spray’ (RRP $9.99) for when you’re out and about. And the elegantly packaged 500ml ‘All-purpose hand sanitiser gel’ (RRP $19.99) won’t look out of place, strategically positioned at the entrance of your home or office.
Tattoos are great! But for the first timer, friggin’ scary, hey? So, what’s the best thing to do? Well, other than just jump right into it, in this time of Covid-19, there are a lot more considerations than otherwise! Including removal options, you can get more details about Melbourne tattoo removal procedures and costs online. We had a chat with legend of the tatt world, Branson Hoog about what’s up with new tatts, how Covid is fucking it up for everyone and how the industry will bounce back with no dramas after it’s all done. Tattoos for first timers can be scary. What’s your best pro tip for the uninitiated? Don’t over think it! I know tattoos are a big decision, but it is truly just collecting art. Choose an artist who you love everything you’ve seen them do, collaborate with them on your ideas, and trust them to bring your vision to life. Stick up for what you like and don’t like, it’s our job to make sure you love it. Is there much to consider when deciding what you’ll have tattooed? Everyone is different with how they choose designs. A common miss conception is that all tattoos have to have meaning. It’s completely okay for you to just get art that you think is dope from an artist that you love. So meaning or not, the biggest consideration is the type of art that fits you Size matters. What’s the biggest tatt you’ve done and where? Haha! I am working on a realism… Read More
If you’re shopping around for a smartphone without the smart price tag, then the good news is Alcatel has just released three smartphones under $200. Available through Vodafone, the top-end Alcatel 3L (RRP $199 including a prepaid $40 SIM pack), the mid-range 1V (RRP $149 including a $30 SIM pack) and the budget 1B (RRP $99 including a prepaid $10 SIM pack) hit all the right notes for the savvy smartphone shopper. So what are the key differences between the 3L, the 1V and the 1B? The Alcatel 3L ($199) Let’s start with the top-end 3L model. The Series 3 models are Alcatel’s latest addition to their smartphone lineup. It features a 48MP AI camera, a 2MP macro camera and a 5MP super wide-angle camera. It has a 6.22 inch HD+ Vast Display screen with a 19:9 aspect ratio. It also has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and weighs 165g. Battery capacity is 4000mAh, which should provide all-day performance. The 3L also features Face Key and fingerprint sensor. Talk time is approximately 20 hours on 4G and 30 hours on 3G. Standby time is 461 hours (4G) and 586 hours (3G). Phone charging takes over two and a half hours. The Alcatel 1V ($149) The mid-range 1V model has the same following features as the 3L: Face Key and fingerprint sensor as well as the 6.22 inch HD+ 19:9 Vast Display screen and a battery capacity of 4000mAh. Display resolution is HD+ 720 x 1520 pixels, which is also the same as the… Read More
With Monday Distillery launching their sophisticated, non-alcoholic beverage range in time for Dry July, there’s no need to feel guilty any longer about enjoying a refreshing G&T on a school night. Gone are the days when you have to wait for Friday (virtual) drinks to quench your thirst with your favourite G&T bursting with refreshing botanicals. With many discovering healthy alternatives during iso and turning to non-alcohol alternatives, Monday Distillery’s offerings have come at a very good time. With fun choices such as the G&T Classic mix with rosemary, seasalt and other botanicals and the G&T Exotic Spice mix with selected spice and botanicals, what’s not to love! There are no artificial additives or flavours in the G&T range, and it’s also sugar and gluten-free. Refreshingly carbonated, Monday Distillery is naturally sweetened with stevia and has subtle hints of natural bitters such as quinine and cinchona bark. Beautifully presented, the four-pack gift box also makes a great gift idea for your health conscious friends and family members. When organising a gathering at yours, it’s also a nice offering for the designated drivers who are yearning for a chilled, G&T in an old fashioned crystal glass with a sprig of rosemary. How very civilised! If you’re more of a whiskey or vodka type looking for an alcohol-free alternative, the good news, it’s in the pipeline, with ‘whiskey without the wobbles’ and ‘vodka without the vengeance’ coming soon. Watch this space! A full list of Monday Distillery stockists can be found here. Cheers!
During these times of isolation, we have seen more people than ever busying themselves with new veggie patch ventures, making their own compost, and looking for ways to bring the outside world of nature indoors with plants. As a horticulturist and owner of Leaf an Impression, as well as an avid plant collector for over 10 years, I’m passionate about sharing the benefits of greening our living spaces and helping newcomers get started, so here are the top five questions I commonly get asked by new plant enthusiasts and the answers to get you on your way to that urban jungle dream. What’s so great about having indoor plants? Plants are seriously great for our health and wellbeing and as the Plant Life Balance simple science notes, this is something that has been deeply researched for over fifty years – research which has found that plants remove airborne toxins from the air and can create feelings of relaxation, inspiration and positivity. Plus, plants are a great way to finish your interiors – they soften a space and help tie all the elements together. How do I know what plants to choose? There is plenty of inspiration to be found in the plant-realm of social media, but before you buy, tail it to your local nursery with screenshots of your favourite plants along with where you plan to put them in your home. It pays to understand what conditions your prospective new fronds will be growing in – is the room brightly lit, does it only… Read More
Winter’s rough on your state of mind, there’s no denying, but have you ever thought about the havoc it wreaks on your skin? CeraVe have, so have quickly shot to the top of the game in the world of winter skincare for men and women, pumping out some quality products that take away the need to think about how you’ll keep yourself nice as the sun disappears. And for those with a more sensitive type of skin, they’ve got your back, too, with each of their products give the OK tick by dermos for those with ezcema, dermatitis, psoriasis and more. They’ve got a hand cream, the CeraVe Reparative Hand Cream, which has a non-greasy formula that moisturises dry, cracked hands. Formulated with three essential ceramides and hyaluronic acid, it provides long-lasting hydration and restores the skin barrier to promote soft, smooth skin. Further to that, the CeraVe Moisturising Cream is formulated for dry to very dry skin, this hero product showcases a rich, oil-free formula to moisturise and restore the protective skin barrier. It features a combination of skin-identical ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin delivered via MVE Technology to provide 24 hour hydration. Paraben-free, fragrance-free, allergy tested, non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic, CeraVe’s Moisturising Cream is suitable for sensitive skin. While finally, for those who’re after more of al all-over experience, the CeraVe Moisturising Lotion is ideal. It’s a lightweight, oil-free formulation for those who prefer an elegant lotion texture, CeraVe’s Moisturising Lotion is formulated with three skin-identical ceramides, hyaluronic acid and glycerin, delivered via MVE… Read More
