Want a panty in the post?

Lingerie letters is a quirky new service from the masterminds behind Diligo online fashion and Rubybox South Africa (who now also has a Manbox and a Teenbox in addition to their regular box - check it out if you're stuck for gift ideas). Very simply, you pick your preferred style and size of panties, and sign up for once-off or recurring panties in your postbox. V old school penpal vibes, don't you think?

Aside from this service, you can also chat to Lily Chantilly on their website, and pick up some tips on properly fitting underwear, as well as suitable styles. They even suggest sending Lingerie Letters as a secret admirer - but guys, a postal pantie from someone I'm not ...errr... intimately connected to would have me hiring a 24hr security guard.

♪ Postman Pat and his black-and-white cat ♪
He might have a thong for you...

Interested? Subscription prices vary from to R70 - R95 per month (depending on how many months you sign up for), and and there are briefs and thongs available in sizes XS - XXL. Click here for more details.

C xx

Dita Von Teese Launches Makeup Line

The beautiful burlesque star launched her first Makeup Collection called Dita Von Teese Classics in Europe last month.

The line consists of products to recreate Dita's signature look - think neutral eye shadows, black liners, false lashes, super fine translucent powder and a selection of red lipsticks. Have a look at some of my favourites:

Dita von Teese blushers

Dita von Teese glamour eye shadows

Dita von Teese matte eye shadows

Dita von Teese lip colours

For now, they're not even available in the US, let alone South Africa - but hey, a girl can dream, right? All images via Beautylish, and you can view the full makeup range here.


C xx

#NOTD: Velvet (or Flock) Nails

The crazy nail trends keep on coming - also known as care bear nails, fluffy sweater nails, fuzzy nails...

I'm convinced this person killed the
Elmo suit. And it's relatives (source)

Fuzzy Nails in the ombre skittle trend.
That's three trends. My head is spinning (source)

Lady Gaga nails, this lady says. But of course, I say (source)

This one has a tutorial, should you be interested (source).
I like the texture of this one best, for what it's worth.

How does this work? Glad you asked. You apply a layer (or layers) of nail varnish, and then quickly dip it into/pour over Flocking powder (which is pulverised wool or felt that you can get from a craft shop, google tells me) while it's still very wet. If it sounds a lot like the technique used for fish egg/caviar manicure - you're right, it's identical. Ciaté will also be launching their own kits soon in the US and UK - not too sure if and when SA will be getting it.

I'll assume it's something one would wear for short periods, on special occasions. But what if I need to wash my hands? Or pick something from my teeth? The thought of that texture on my teeth just gave me the shivers. And I can totally see my eye liner and foundation staining that fluffy stuff. Not too sure I see this happening. It's not you, fluffy stuff, it's me...

C xx

Dark & Lovely Launches New Colour Intensity Hair Tint

I can't test this one myself, but I thought I'd let you know that Dark & Lovely just launched 6 Permanent Hair Colour shades in addition to their treatment products. D & L are seen as the leaders in African haircare, and have nearly 40 years experience in Afro-specific haircare.

They've launched 6 shades that have been tailor made to the tastes and skin tones of the South African market. The shades are Radiant Copper, Spicy Red, Magic Plum, Spicy Brown, Original Black and Super Black. The colours have also been tried and tested in South Africa for optimal efficiency. It requires no special after care, making it affordable to the mass market, and it contains olive oil for nourishment and softness.

Dark and Lovely Spicy Red 

Dark and Lovely Magic Plum

Dark and Lovely Radiant Copper. I really dig this colour.

I'm thrilled that the packaging looks quite good (come on, it's frowned upon when a white girl brings it up but 'ethnic' hair and beauty products almost always draws the short straw of the packaging budget, even though it amounts for a massive chunk of the market in SA). The good part? Although I'm still waiting on confirmation of the retail price, I'll stick my neck out and say I bet it will be at most half the price of 'regular' hair colour. You win some, you lose some in this twisted world of ours. I'm also finding the models on the boxes a tad pale for a South African product, but luckily we all have learnt the hard way know the model on a hair colour box is to be completely ignored.

Available in 100ml tubes, and the three brighter colours pictured are also available in 60ml touch-up tubes.

C xx

UPDATE: RRP R25 for 100ml and R17 for 60ml