Favourite Five – May

A monthly collection of five of our favourite things done, seen, tasted, heard, smelt, worn, bought, savoured, enjoyed, touched, liked or loved.

We have to apologise for skipping our April Favourite Five; the end of the month coincided with our trip and we decided it was best to wait for May. So up next are Ilaria’s favourites for the month. 

1. Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream 

With the vast number of make-up products in the beauty market – all promising miracles – I get overwhelmed attempting to find the right products for my skin. I have been through a number of brands when it comes to skin coverage (its probably my number one make-up product that I could not leave the house without), but I have never found something that I absolutely LOVED! When Sam mentioned she had read some good reviews on the colour correcting cream from Bourjois, I thought it was worth looking into. Ultimately I wanted a product that was light and smooth, offered good coverage without making me look “made up”, and after trying this amazing tube of awesomeness, I found JUST that! My cheeks are naturally quite reddish, so the green pigment really combats that so well. It also leaves my skin feeling really fresh and luminous with its anti-fatigue apricot pigment, which is something I felt I was so desperately needing. On a whole, this is one of the best make-up products I’ve owned in a long time; lightweight, oil free and the absolute cherry on top is that it is available for only R145!

2. La Melle Luminesce Brightening Cleanse

I have been using a La Melle cleanser for just under 2 years now, and have been really impressed with it thus far. I went through a stage of having breakout after breakout and my skin was just very unhappy. The ladies at Skin Renewal recommended the La Melle Nourish range so I gave it a try. Just before we went on our trip, my cleanser had run out so I popped into Skin Renewal to buy another tube (they last a good 6 months) only to find out that my range is under revamp and the next step up was the Luminesce cleanser. At R375 – a big eeek! I said OK but very reluctantly. It has been a little over a month now, and I’m beyond happy with the product; it is actually a range that reduces hyperpigmentation on the skin caused by things like sun damage, hormone changes and acne. It is extremely gentle on my somewhat sensitive skin, it smells amazing and has no irritating ingredients.

The addition of the organic extracts of Mallow and Peppermint soften and tone the skin, whilst Yarrow and Lemon balm extracts soothe and deeply cleanse the skin.

I am so impressed, I may have to put my next pay check towards one of the other products in the Luminesce range.

3. Country Road Angela Mid Heel

I know, I know – I have a shoe problem! That said, I wear heels to work everyday making it SO important to find good fitting, good looking, comfortable shoes. A couple of months ago I posted about finding the perfect black pump; shortly after that, Country Road came to the rescue with their gorgeous Angela mid heels in the softest black leather. It is rare that I find shoes that are comfortable right from the first wear, but these beauties have treated my feet so well thus far. Their chunky heel provides great support and it almost feels like I’m walking on a stable wedge. I have to admit, Country Road has become the first place I look when in need of classic, chic, quality shoes. I love them so much that I want them to last as long as possible, so I was very chuffed with myself when I had them soled way before my first wear! 

4. Victoria Verbaan

One of the many reasons I adore browsing through Superbalist goodies is their art section. They have a collection of quirky, interesting pieces at affordable prices. One artist which has really caught my eye, and which I have been following on social media for the last few months, is a South African based designer, artist and illustrator; Victoria Verbaan. Her creative work has been described as fiction meets fairy-tale, and I absolutely love it! I have not bought anything from her collection as yet (the Paris/Madrid trip took its toll on the bank account) but certainly intend to in the near future. Apart from her paintings and illustrations, she actually works in a wide variety of other disciplines including bespoke rugs, wallpaper and beautiful umbrellas. For more info, you can check out her website here. I can’t wait to own one or two of her pieces!

5. Rocomamas

When Fridays come around, especially heading into the winter months, I can think of nothing better than a good movie, curling up on the couch and really tasty take-away food. This past Friday, we did just that where the third part of the ‘Friday- combo’ came from the awesome Rocomamas in Melrose Arch. Rocomamas is all about the smashburgers, ribs, and wings – their burgers are actually the most instagrammed burgers in SA. I have never actually eaten at the restaurant itself,  having only ordered a take-away, but WOW – my Mushroom Swizz burger was ah-mazing! The shoe string fries were not too bad themselves, and the fact that we gobbled the meal down before we could even get a picture in should speak for itself.  This rock star burger joint is definitely a must, if you haven’t yet given them a try. They have six stores around JHB, and there is no need to worry about load shedding as they are all equipped with generators!

Cheers to a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend!