Must Have - Truefitt and Hill 1805 Bath/Shower Gel

As communicated in the previous post, Truefitt and Hill is finally available in South Africa at Victorian Bathrooms stores. Gentleman, since grooming and taking care of ourselves is becoming a norm, it is vital that we use high quality products to ensure our skin stays in tip-top condition!

I had the pleasure of using Truefitt and Hill’s bath/shower gel from the 1805 range. The bath/shower gel is amazing and has an oceanic scent (fresh, clean and masculine). It contains top notes of bergamot, mandarin and cardamom combined with lavender, geranium and clary sage heart resting on a sandalwood, cedarwood and musk base. I really liked using this luxurious product and how the smell stuck on my skin.

In addition to the amazing scent, the bath/shower gel also contains pure essential oils such as lavender oil which has soothing properties and encourages a great night’s sleep!

The bath/shower gel is high foaming and deep cleansing and promotes a feeling of complete well-being. I highly recommend Truefitt and Hill’s 1805 bath/shower gel for each and every dapper gentleman reading this post. It will leave your skin, clean, soft, hydrated and smelling great!

The 1805 bath/shower gel from Truefitt and Hill is available at Victorian Bathrooms stores for only R195.

Truefitt and Hill Brings Royalty To South African Gentleman

Victorian Bathrooms Hyde Park Store   

Established in 1805, and holding the title of being the oldest barbershop in the world along with being the Royal Warrant holder to H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh, Truefitt and Hill products reflect 200 years of research and intimate customer relationships and now offers the South African gentlemen products that are both sophisticated and practical.

Truefitt and Hill brings a sense of royalty to all gentlemen. Over the years, Truefitt and Hills clientele included the male line of the Royal Family, members of visiting Royal households, Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill-to name but a few.

The Product ranges consist of the 1805, Trafalgar, West Indian Limes and Grafton ranges. Ingredients in these ranges vary from Lavender, Sandalwood, Bergamote and Cardamon. Products include a full line of shaving, fragrance, hair and bath products to provide daily grooming solutions for the modern gentlemen.

I have used the following products from the 1805 range:

• 1805 Cologne;
• 1805 Shaving Cream; and
• 1805 Bath/Shower Gel.

I will be posting my reviews in the next couple of days, so visit the site daily to see what I have to say about the products!

Gentleman, Truefitt and Hill grooming products are now exclusively available at Victorian Bathroom outlets!

Victorian Bathrooms Hyde Park Store 

Victorian Bathrooms is a specialist supplier of luxury bathroom products in the classic Victorian style. Truefitt & Hill's Gentlemen's Toiletries, including the world's finest Shaving Cream, After Shaves, Colognes, Hair Preparations, Shampoo, Soaps and Bath/Shower Gels, and all are carefully blended with natural fragrance and are available at the following Victorian Bathrooms stores:

Cape Town

Cape Quarter

Shop 123, The Square, Cape Quarter, Greenpoint

021 418 0855

Somerset West

3 Lourensford Road, Somerset West

021 852 3439

Opening Soon (October 2014) - Wynberg Showroom

53 Constantia Main Road, Wynberg

021 704 2340

Johannesburg

Hyde Park Corner

Shop 56, Middle Mall, Hyde Park Corner, Craighall

011 325 5503

Gentlemen deserve the best in everything they do. If you are looking for the finest in men’s grooming, visit Victorian Bathrooms and try it for yourself!

Image Credit: Victorian Bathrooms

Spree Spring/Summer 2014

On Thursday 11 September Spree.co.za, SA’s leading online fashion retailer, hosted their eagerly awaited Spring / Summer Lookboard 2014 event at the stylish Brundyn Gallery in Cape Town.

The event saw SA fashion royalty out in force and included media, well-known celebrities and Spree Boutique designers Marianne Fassler, Malcolm KLûK, Christiaan Gabriël du Toit, Gert-Johan Coetzee, Thula Sindi all in attendance.  Spree’s designer platform Spree Boutique was also launched at the Lookboard event. Spree Boutique aims to showcase the incredible quality of design that can be found locally.

“At Spree we always opt for a new way of doing things. By inviting our guests to a curated Lookboard-styled event we offered a ‘Spree’ perspective on the 2014 summer trends,” comments Viljoen.

According to Chris Viljoen (Spree’s Fashion Director), consumers should look out for the following trends this season:

• Florals. We are obsessed with flowers in every shape and form, and on everything from dresses to separates.
• Art Inspired Prints. We love bold brushstrokes, paint splatters and anything reminiscent of an artists studio on our clothes this season.
• The Tropical Holiday. Jungle motifs, large leaves and anything Tropicana serves as a retro look book this season, with an emphasis on our favourite colour green.
• The ‘ugly’ shoe. For the first time comfortable shoe trends are all rage. Stilettos have been replaced by sliders this season. 
• Matchy matchy. Match your tops to your bottoms this season to amplify your separates. 

Spring/Summer menswear trends:

• Blues. From cobalt, indigo, ink all the way to light blue is definitely the colour you want to wear this summer.
• Shorts. Shorts are back in a big way. We advise you to invest in pleats.
• Tropical. Everything from micro dots to Hawaiian motifs and dark flowers.
• Colourblocking. Whether it be colourblocking, texture blocking or panel blocking its definitely something worth investing in this season.
• Street Active. Sportswear has been taken to the streets. Think gym staples like sneakers paired with your trusty chinos.

Visit www.spree.co.za to shop the spring/summer 2014 collection and also to see their beautiful editorial-style lookbooks, fashion stories and the Spree Journal.

Image Credit: Simon Deiner / SDR Photo 

The Macallan Single Malt Scotch Whisky x El Celler de Can Roca = A Boundary-shifting Taste Experience

Having already moved the boundaries of exclusive luxury whisky pairings with its Masters of Photography initiative, The Macallan is once again responsible for a paradigm shift with its Masters of Taste collaboration with El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain.

The result of this collaboration is a dinner that features 14 courses of the most exquisite meals ever created by the restaurant, paired with 14 of The Macallan’s rarest and oldest whiskies. Spaces for the dinner on 15 March 2015 are on sale to food fanatics around the world (including South Africa) who want to experience the limits of culinary luxury. Tickets cost approximately R 105 000.00 per person.

Those South Africans not able to attend the international installment of this collaboration should not despair. The Macallan is currently in talks with some of the most exciting and exclusive local chefs and restaurants to create a South African Masters of Taste. As with the international event, foods and whiskies that are not available to the public will be on the menu. Details about this exciting venture will be released towards the end of the year.

The 14 whiskies served will consist of 10 unreleased single cask malts that are not available to the general public, as well as the No 6, the record-breaking M, The Macallan 62-year-old in Lalique crystal and a 67-year-old whisky, the oldest single malt ever presented by The Macallan distillery. Each guest will receive a 50ml miniature of one of these 14 whiskies served. A one-off bottle of one of the unreleased single cask malts will be auctioned off for charity to benefit charity: water at each of the dinners.

The menu, which will never again be replicated, not at El Celler de Can Roca or anywhere else in the world, is inspired by the flavour profiles of the 14 whiskies that accompany each of the 14 courses. The dinners are open to a very limited number people globally. With a key focus on charitable giving, the net proceeds from the dinner, together with a further contribution from The Macallan will go to charity.

“The Ultimate Dinner with The Macallan and Roca” will involve the most exquisite combination of gastronomy and whisky making, from exclusively designed dishes, inspired by the flavour and character of The Macallan, to an outstanding range of The Macallan whiskies.

El Celler de Can Roca was recently voted the best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in their annual list that combines the opinions and experiences of over 900 international restaurant and industry experts. Much like the staff at The Macallan, the three Roca brothers, Joan, Josep and Jordi, have different skills sets, but a single vision of crafting peerless taste sensations of the highest quality.

The Macallan also holds global distinction after breaking its own Guinness World Record when a six-litre Lalique crystal decanter of The Macallan M sold for US$628 000 on auction in Hong Kong earlier this year.

Much like The Macallan, El Celler de Can Roca is at once steeped in history and culture, while also embracing the most modern techniques and forging a path for others to follow. Together, these partners share the core values of craft, mastery, skill and innovation. While the bringing together of whisky and food is not a new concept, a project of the scale and ambition that these two icons of their industries have created has not been seen before. The collaboration is not about simply improving on whisky and food pairings, but to challenge existing notions and taking the concept to new and exciting levels.

For The Macallan, The Masters of Taste is a spiritual return to its roots, as the distillery is remarkable for its exclusive use of Spanish sherry-seasoned oak barrels. The Macallan spirit’s journey therefore starts in the oak forests of northern Spain. Likewise, El Celler de Can Roca’s brothers have been heavily influenced by their Spanish heritage. Their food champions a dialogue between the countryside and science, which has earned the restaurant three Michelin stars since 2009.

Unlike the Masters of Photography series, which features a different world-renowned photographer every year, the Masters of Taste partnership with the Roca brothers is designed to last for many years.

Guests will be able to visit the kitchen, cellar and other parts of the restaurant to get a better appreciation of the space that the Roca brothers have created to inspire their peerless cuisine.

Bookings for the dinner on 22 March 2105 can be made by emailing themacallan@rocadinners.com or by calling +34 93 222 49 95.

This should be quite an experience!

Event: 4th Street’s 'Retro 50’s' Inspired Launch – Introducing The Single Serve!

Have you tried the 4^th Street single serve yet?

If yes! Way to Go! Perfect drink to enjoy this spring at all the cool music festivals, concerts and socials!

If no! Why not? What are you waiting for? Give it a try and let us know what you think? 

A few weeks ago, the Swag Craze team attended the 4^th Street single serve launch party at Shine Studio’s in Johannesburg.

The event was well attended by celebrities, fashionistas and media. We drank a lot of 4^th Street on the night and enjoyed delicious gourmet sliders, fries and sweet treats.

The Shoowap Girls (Tamara Dey, Mariechan and Melissa) performed and we had so much fun and ended up dancing the night away with the convienient 4th Street 300ml bottle. 

Guests had so much fun, that the party ended up trending on Twitter. Way to Go 4^th Street!