Polo Day For Breast Cancer Awareness

I was excited to be invited to the annual Pink Polo day at Val De Vie this past weekend. The Polo is one of my favorite social events of the year – mostly because my nieces and nephew adore Val De Vie, horses and of course the polo match! I on the other hand love a good themed event that allows me to dress up and be outside with my loved ones all for a good cause – in aid of breast cancer awareness.

Check out some of our favorite pictures of the day, Wayne is getting pretty great behind the lens don’t you think?

Fenty Beauty: The latest venture in Rihanna’s growing empire

This month has been a busy one for everyone’s favourite bad gal and the mogul that is Rihanna. On 8 September she launched her much anticipated Fenty Beauty line worldwide (sadly not in SA) and since then, it’s been met with rave reviews from the beauty blogger and vlogger world, as well as coveted high fashion titles like Vogue and Harpar’s Bazaar – proving once again that anything Rihanna touches turns to gold.

According to the Bajan beauty, she wanted to create a makeup line that would allow women of all skin tones, races, cultures and ethnicities to feel represented. With an impressive 40 shades of PRO FILT’R foundation in yellow, red and even green undertones and skin sticks in 30 shades, Rihanna has placed a spotlight on the much-needed discussion of inclusivity – and exclusivity in the beauty industry, particularly when it comes to darker skin tones.

We love how the Fenty Beauty campaign celebrates diversity, featuring rising supermodels who are breaking the mould with their unique looks and non-conformist attitude. South Sudanese model Duckie Thot and Halima Aden, the world’s first hijabi fashion model appear in the trailer, which of course has Riri’s signature street-style and urban aesthetic all over it.

Just days after the launch, Rihanna showcased the spring/summer 2018 collection for her Fenty X Puma clothing line at New York Fashion Week – her fourth range for the collab and as usual brought some excitement to the runway, this time with an edgy motor-cross theme giving us bright neon colour schemes, large zippers, chunky chains and her usual IDGAF attitude.

Her avant-garde and ready-to-wear looks have not only solidified her name in fashion, but earned her an accolade from the prestigious Parson’s School of Design, honouring her influence and work in design as well as her philanthropic efforts earlier this year. Not to mention, back in 2014 Rihanna won the CFDA Icon Award for her trail-blazing personal style.

But it is the ever popular Fenty X Puma Slides and Creepers that show continuous growth and innovation. The furry slippers are not just for lazy days indoors anymore, while the creeper has been released in a range of different colourways (with a new style dropping 14 September – same day as the Diamond Ball!). The sneaker’s clean design, universal appeal and strong global sales earned it Shoe of The Year title from Footwear News in 2016, making Rih the first woman to ever receive the award.

Did we mention she’s also a music icon? And let’s not forget the Humanitarian of the Year award she received in Feb from Harvard University.

Ri’s definitely been busy and shows no sign of slowing down. She even hinted at a Fenty furniture line in a recent interview, saying “Anything that’s creative, I’ll try it.” Whatever it is, we know it’s going to be amazing, as she continues to dominate every industry she tries her hand at.

MK Sexy Ruby Fragrance Launch

Michael Kors has developed into an iconic brand, synonymous with a sexy, confident and effortless signature style. Adding to his many brand extensions Michael Kors introduced us to their new fragrance Sexy Ruby, inspired by the unique link between seduction, strength and glamour.

Michael Kors hosted a few key South African influencers to preview their new fragrance over a delicious meal and beautiful dinner setting at Mesh in Johannesburg. Around the table sat powerful game changers, the kind that the Michael Kors brand believes embodies the ethos of the Sexy Ruby fragrance. “Sexy Ruby is the story of strong women. Women who know what they want and go after it,” says Michael Kors.

The Fragrance

Featuring top notes of Raspberry, Apricot, Davana, Pepper – the scent is so me. If you’re a fan of sweet fruity scents with a hint of exotically feminine jasmine this is definitely for you.

Check out the campaign video by renowned photographer and director Mario Testino, Lithuanian model Edita Vilkeviciute.

Prices start R995,00 for 30ml. 

Office London Launches in SA

The first time I had traveled by myself, sans parents, I had gone on a girls trip to London and Paris. If you have been following my blog from those O.G blogging days you may remember my cute nineteen year old self trotting around London sharing my sony cybershop pictures on this very website. It was then that I first discovered Office and needless to say a sneaker obsession began. My friend, and neighbour, I was traveling with adored Nike Airmax 90’s and we were on the hunt for a new pair to add to her collection. When we discovered the Office store we were legitimately in awe of all the rad sneakers available in our size!

To this day a London stop was not complete without an Office adventure to pick up cool limited edition sneakers in designs I hadn’t really seen available in South Africa until now! Yup Office London has launched across South Africa in a mall near you. And whats more, they plan to launch an online platform pretty soon so we can shop to our hearts content without leaving the comfort of our homes.

Sneakers are my favorite shoe fix now, so naturally I purchased a Nike Airmax 97 in millennial pink, the same pair my sister purchased a week before (soz B… I had to copy you). Office London stocks most popular brands and their store is known for stocking limited edition designs and the kind of stuff you won’t find at regular sneaker stores. Other than sneakers the Office shoe brand has a pretty broad spectrum stocking everything from heels to flats. In fact, I have my eye on a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti inspired gold heels right now! The store manager boasts that they’re receiving new stock every single day which is going to throw a crazy spin on my shoe obsession. Yikes!

Reuse Reware and Recycle with H&M

H&M first launched their garment collection program  in 2013 and has since collected over 40,000 tonnes of clothing world wide! We got the opportunity to engage in the process last week at the V&A Cape Town store and do our bit for the environment.

The goal of the campaign is to increase the amount of garments collected, every year, so that they (H&M) reach a total collected volume of 25,000 tonnes by the year 2020. Garments are either reused (up cycled into new items), reworn (in the form of donations) or recycled to produce new garments and materials. You may have remembered our recycle piece we did with H&M’s conscious collection a year back (here).

H&M is giving their customers an easy solution to hand in unwanted garments so that they can be reused or recycled, by doing this, less garments end up in the landfill around the world. You can join in by simply donating any garments or textiles of any brand in any condition at any H&M store nationwide. In exchange you will receive a 15% voucher to use on your next purchase at H&M. That means nothing is too torn or too worn to get a second life!

Director Crystal Moselle created a dope film which was launched in support to the global H&M Garment Collecting campaign, Bring It (watch below).

Lets close the loop together by getting involved at an H&M near you.

Watch | Aisha & Wayne on their Caribbean Trip

This vlog is definitely overdue but I am happy to share it with all of you. The vlog covers our trip to the Caribbean for Wayne’s cricket tournament (The Caribbean Premier League). He was part of the Barbados Tridents team again this year, which was awesome because we got to see some of our amazing Bajan friends. I was particularly excited to meet some new people in Trinidad this time around and to get the chance to see a new island, the island of St Lucia. The Caribbean will always have a special place in my heart because that was our first trip together as a married couple so going back is always really exciting and makes me feel so relaxed and happy!

I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I enjoyed editing it!

Xo Aisha

Caribbean Resort Style Guide

Ever since my first trip to Barbados last year, I have been in love with the Caribbean and its culture. I love how carefree Caribbean people are, I am not sure if its the music or the sun or a mixture of both but these people are real friendly and real fun. I love shooting here with my favorite photographer Shane Leecock, you may know him from his instagram @shaneleecock.

This time around I was inspired by the Hilton Resort hotel we have been inhabiting for the two plus weeks we have been here. We stayed here for a couple days last time too, the sunsets are the perfect gold for our shoots. I packed in some of my favourite local brands to shoot on the beach. Shane, my go to Bajan photographer does amazing things with light so I was excited to showcase some of my favorite local brands.

The one I am wearing most here is Lalesso – an ethical fashion brand birthed in the African content. They do some of the greatest swimwear and cover ups and I have loved their stuff since the launch and they’re the first local brand I really got to know when I first started out in fashion years ago.Their 2018 resort wear range is launching online soon, but I have been lucky enough to get the sneak peak! Make sure you guys subscribe to their newsletter for an update on when the collection is live and shopable.

I was keen to collaborate with Pichulik once again. I had shot their jewelry a bit in Dubai when I was there a couple years back. Their jewelry is truly special and native to South Africa. The designs garners attention and intrigue from anyone who sees me in them. I am sure you guys will be eager to pick up some of the earrings I am wearing so be sure to check below for credits and shop links.

Finally I squeezed in the most gorgeous dramatic Atlantic blue silk kaftan from Papushka. Check below for full outfit details and links to shop my looks!

How to Break-up With Your BFF

Break-ups are never easy, breaking up with a bestie is probably up there with one of the most challenging break-ups you can go through. One minute you’re braiding each other’s hair and the next you’re subtweeting the heck out of each other. I have had my fair share of #bestie break-ups, some harder than others, but all equally disappointing. Here are some of my reasons to break-up with your bestie, and what you can do to smooth things over after.

Toxic or Nah?

Establishing whether the relationship is toxic for your health and wellbeing should be the first and most important reason for breaking up with a close (or any) friend.

  1. They’re a bad influence on you and you’re no longer yourself around them
  2. You feel exhausted after leaving their company and make excuses not to be around them
  3. They bring up you insecurities, and make you feel bad about yourself
  4. You’re giving up things you really want/like just to please them
  5. You’ve generally lost respect for them and/or vice versa

If you have checked any of these, it’s time to dump your BFF. But how do you leave a toxic relationship? This is something I always struggled with! I would either find excuses to start speaking to the person less, hoping they wouldn’t notice (duh, they always notice) or I would start a random fight and then ignore them forever. Each of these really don’t work! In my experience the best way to separate from the relationship is in one of three ways, each of which only work in certain situations:

1. Chat to the person about whats bothering you

this works if the friendship is one you really dont want to lose, having a mature conversation and establishing new boundaries can help the relationship flourish into an even stronger one. Everyone deserves a second chance in my book. Sit your friend down and discuss what you think is going wrong in your friendship and them know you’re not happy. This could go one of two ways, if your friend has an open mind (and heart) they would respect you and be able to respect your feelings too. If the conversation goes south, it’s time to consider whether the relationship is salvageable or not.

2 . Start speaking to them less and seeing less of them

This is the easiest option in the book! However this only works if your friend isn’t really as committed to the relationship as you are and you both low key want to end it, simply chat less and don’t make concrete plans, the friendship should fade out. A cautionary tale, I have tried this and it really doesn’t work if the friend wants to keep the relationship going, you will find yourself back at square one. If so proceed to the big guns…

3. Breaking up for real

Being honest about how you feel with someone who doesn’t suspect there is a problem, can be really frustrating for you and hurtful to them. Unfortunately this is a necessary evil! I suggest doing this formally over the phone, seeing someone in person can be really awkward – I mean splitting the coffee bill and waiting for the card machine is awks trust me! If you’re really chicken, a long detailed email can sometimes work. Don’t expect a response until they have licked their wounds, this one can be totally tricky. The best way to go about it is to be honest but not rude, try to be calm and rational when going through your reasons for ending the friendship.

Remember the most important thing in your life is a healthy mental space. If someone is disregarding this, whether intentionally or not, breaking it off with them is the best thing you can do for yourself and for them. Make sure to greet them and ask them how they’re doing the next time you see them.  Make the first move in being the bigger (or nicer) person by going up to them and saying “Hi how are you”. If the person flat out ignores you, thats okay they will eventually be able to respond to your greeting. It might be awkward at first but the last thing you want is bad vibes that last a lifetime.

Keep it classy and keep it moving.

Now Playing: Carpool Karaoke

In previous months we featured some awesome curated playlist by our go to guy, Mario Ogle. Mario has gifted us his Songs of Mars playlist from time to time (check em out here if you missed it) . This time round I am going to share what I am listening to on Apple Music. I get so many DM’s about my music so I thought I would share my monthly playlist with you guys.

There’s nothing I love more than a GREAT playlist that mixes a little old school RnB flavor and modern musts. For those who know me, and my insta story antics, you know I love a good sing-along-song. I was beyond excited to see the launch of Apple’s spin off series, Carpool Karaoke, with James Cordon. Cordon is famous for his celebrity carpool sessions, naturally his first collaborative episode with Apple was a viral sensation. Episode 1 features Will Smith, a helicopter and vintage hip-hop! I grew up on the Fresh Prince, so needless to say I was totally enamored by the first episode! The best yet, is the series features an accompanying playlist for each episode. After listening to this one you will want to go on a 6 hour road trip with your BFF’s – I dare you not to sing along !

Add the Playlist to your iTunes here Here