South Africa

Frazer Parfum

Last week I was lucky enough to be Frazer Parfum's guest instagrammer, which meant I got to spend a whole morning in their store and factory, smelling beautiful things and lathering it all over me.

This super gorgeous and luxe brand is run by Tam and Jenny Frazer - sisters every bit as lovely as their products.

Founded in 2008, Frazer Parfum creates organic and natural perfume products, handcrafted while collaborating with local artists - the end result is to die for.

Tam spent some time explaining to me how she makes each scent, in all their various forms - a LOT of love and attention to detail goes into every tiny thing.

She also explained their Chapters Collection, which includes nine scents inspired by places that she's travelled to, including Corsica, Madagascar and India. They also have the African Collection - six scents inspired by raw materials on the continent.

My very favorite scent is African orange blossom - perfect for winter.

It uses a resin from Ethiopia called opoponax, which has a treacle note - it's used in many creative perfumes and gives a sweetness even though it's a resin. Resins are one of the rare ingredients that are both fresh and long lasting.

Even better news is Frazer Parfum does not use any synthetic molecules or chemicals and in no way are any of the raw materials tested on animals. The palette consists of rare absolutes, concretes and resins coupled with chemotyped essential oils, petals, woods, roots, grass and zest.

I love how you can get your favourite sent in so many forms - there's really no excuse not to smell delicious! I love to layer my coffee & orange blossom shea butter and solid perfume to get a truly luxe feel and scent. If you spot me on the streets of Cape Town sniffing at myself, you'll know why!

My favourite "vessel" is the parfum solide. The scent is captured in beeswax, and you can choose between an equally beautiful Protea porcelain egg and an African Blackwood compact. Because I'm the most clumsy human, I opted for an African Blackwood Compact. Perfect for keeping in your purse!

This Shea butter is the most luxurious feeling moisturizer I have ever put on my skin. It's an intense natural salve, that comes in a handmade porcelain or Tamboti wood container. I'm completely smitten with the beautiful fine porcelain.

Tammy is the granddaughter of Graham Wulff, inventor of Oil of Olay. Following in his footsteps single-handedly launched her personally handmade perfumes in eclectic retail environments in Europe, North America, UK, Ukraine, Oceania, Nigeria and South Africa.

She inherited her grandfather's beautiful albums of ladies in the factories in their pink lab coats - I immediately felt that my life would be incomplete without one just like it!

Read more about Tammy’s journeys in her column “Making Scents”, published every Friday in the Mail & Guardian newspaper, and online HERE.

To check out what I got up to last week, follow them on Instagram at http://instagram.com/frazer_parfum/ - it's a feast for your eyeballs in there!

Thanks ladies! I left an even bigger fan than when I walked in. *sniffs self*

Win with Blossom Handmade and Hello Pretty! - CLOSED

One of the best parts of my job is giving away nice things on a Monday - what better way is there to brighten someone's day?

Today, in celebration of Blossom Handmade's new Hello Pretty Facebook store, we are showering you with gorgeous goodies:

All to the value of R755! Are you feeling lucky yet?

To enter:

Leave a comment here and tell us where you would wear your lovely new things.
Like Blossom Handmade on Facebook.
Get an extra entry by tweeting @HelloPrettySA with the hashtag #BlossomComp, and letting us know in the comments below.

Entries close at 10am on Friday 20th of March. Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply.
Only one entry per channel will be counted.

#WDC2014 Desktop Wallpapers! - part 4

Guys. No but guys. Look at these yellow cats. Are they not the best?

Fathima, fellow cat lady from Happiness Is... has done this most amazing illustration for this months #WDC2014 inspired downloadable wallpaper, and we LOVE it. Can you tell?

Download this bit of tech sunshine for free over HERE.

Talented right? She's so brilliant. You should all go visit her Hello Pretty store right this second!

Check out our past wallpapers over here.

#WDC2014 Desktop Wallpapers! - part 3

Yayayay! It's that time again - and this time, we have the artistry of Terry Angelos for you all to pretty up your various tech with.

Download your free wallpaper over HERE, and visit Terry's Hello Pretty store over here - you won't regret it!

At the Miss+Meisie Showcase and I Heart Market in Durban - gorgeous right?

#WDC2014 Desktop Wallpapers! - part 3 with Terru Angelos

In the Homeology and D&M Made With Love DIY and Styling ebook, available here.

Stunning! And the best part is being able to own a piece of Terry Angelos art free and gratis. Get downloading, and tag us in pics of you and your new fancy computer wallpapers!

#WDC2014 Desktop Wallpapers! - part 2

We loved last months WDC2014 inspired downloadable wallpaper so much, that we're doing it again!

This month we have the lovely Lilian Fairall treating us to not one, but TWO gorgeous hand illustrated wallpapers:

1. Download HERE

2. Download HERE

Gorgeous or what? It's so hard to choose a favourite!

Send us a photo of how you're rocking your wallpaper this month - remember to tag it #hpwdc14, and visit the Lilian Fairall Hello Pretty store to check out more work by this talented lady: http://hellopretty.co.za/lilian-fairall

#WDC2014 Desktop Wallpapers!

So guys, it's no secret that we are privy to some pretty fantastic talent here at Hello Pretty. South Africans have some mad skillz - and we're super proud of being able to support them, see and help them grow, and revel in their general awesomeness.

One such human is Jeanine from Love Mary J - this lady specialises in geometric, linear inspired illustrations that will just knock your socks off.

We were lucky enough to have her treat us to a really gorgeous, illustrated World Design Capital inspired downloadable desktop - cool huh!? AND it involves pugs and polka dots. I mean, if that's not a recipe for success, I don't know what is.

So you should all check out her Hello Pretty store here, (especially her pet portraits) and download this super fun wallpaper right over here.

Nice right?

#HPVotes Voting Day 2014

Well hey there good looking!

Yesterday we put out the call for voting selfies, and were thrilled by the response. I was flooded by warm and fuzzy feelings as the notifications rolled in.

Just look at how awesome you all are!

I would high five you all if I could. You are too lovely.

Well done Pretties!

Voting with Hello Pretty!

Hello Pretty wants to see you voting! #HPVotes

Pretties! We want to see you voting!

Show us your good looking faces in the voting queue, your thumbs, your queue snacks (just not from inside the booths or your ballot. You know, legal stuff.) - get involved, and tag us in your voting selfies, with #HPVotes.

We'll be rounding them up on the blog, so join in!

Love affair with black gold: my #seedtocup tasting experience at Factory Cafe

It all started with a plan hatched by a fellow blogger, to smuggle me into an event…

With a history of being teachers pet, the plan wracked me with guilt until I came clean, and worked up the courage to just ask, hey, you guys are cool and I like you - can I come to your event?

Naturally my fears were unfounded. The lovely people at Colombo andThe Factory Cafe welcomed me with big smiles and open arms, and I found myself rummaging through my closet early last Saturday morning - what does one wear to a coffee tasting filled with super trendy bloggers?

I arrived at The Factory Cafe (best coffee in town, and I’m not just saying that because they invited me to their party) and immediately spotted the bloggers - gorgeous swanky cameras littered the table, and made me swear to myself that my next purchase would be a proper camera! After introductions were over, everyone settled into an easy chatter, as though we had all known each other for ages.

When Arno, Colombo’s resident coffee aficionado, tried to get us to all settle down and take a seat, I have a feeling that he may have been able to compare it to herding cats - so many fabulous people! And fabulous conversations and pretty things to Instagram! (The Factory Cafe is exceptionally instagramable. Also, if you didn’t Instagram that coffee, did you even really have it?) Eventually we tore ourselves away from the banter to focus on Arno, and that turned out to be an exceptionally good decision. This guy. He knows his stuff, and his passion for coffee is contagious. He introduced us to Dan, who took over while Arno got to work grinding coffee beans - Dan explained the origins of coffee (from #seedtocup) while the coffee aromas swirled around us, making us feel like those old cartoon characters that got lifted off their feet and floated towards the delicious oversized lamb chop.

Dan told us about where coffee was grown and the most suitable climates for it to thrive in, (known as the “Coffee Belt” - that’s an accessory I can completely get behind) the planting process and different types of harvesting. The point that stuck with me the most, and impressed me to no end, is Colombo’s commitment to sustainable harvesting. Not only that, but their support for farms that give back to their communities. The folks at Colombo have hearts you guys, and they’re pretty much golden.

After timing it just right, we used spoons to crack through the grounds that had raised to the top of the glass, and sniffed away while swirling it around three times. Again the smell of the coffee changed – it’s kind of amazing to notice the progression of the coffee in such a short time. Arno gave us a particularly useful nugget of information at this point – “Don’t burn your nose. That’s never cool.”

This is when things got really fun. Note that the coffee is particularly concentrated at this point, and we got to taste it. Queue central nervous system hyperdrive! After removing the froth from the top of the coffee, you have to slurp it as hard as you can from your spoon, so that it sprays over every part of your mouth. I learnt something about myself then – after only drinking coffee for a year, it turns out that I really enjoy super strong coffee.

And then they plied us with more coffee and food and gave us treats! We all left with tummies full of the best ciabatta sandwiches and I had my first ever flat white (You can all call me a proper hipster now, thanks), as well as a goodie bag with some coffee to take home, cute stationery and the best biscotti (that lasted for about five minutes).

I had such a great time, and am really glad that I was able to go – so many many thanks to Factory Cafe for having me, and for a great event. I have this philosophy that unless you teach me something or make me smile, I probably won’t follow you. The Factory Cafe and Colombo provided both smiles and knowledge in spades. So if you’re in town, you should DEFINITELY get in on the action – they endeavor to provide coffee that’s so good that it doesn’t need to be altered by milk and sugar, and they’re putting on repeat performances free and gratis every Friday afternoon at 3pm. To get involved, pop Arno an email at arno@colombo.co.za to book your spot.

You can also show them some online love by checking out The Factory Cafe’s website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as Colombo’s site,Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Coffee for everyone!

Coal Mine Canary / Hello Pretty Promotion

Exciting little promo we’ve got going on with our friends over at Coal Mine Canary: if you were thinking of selling on Hello Pretty, now would be a good time!

It’s an exciting time for online in South Africa. Coal Mine Canary are a pretty, new, South African startup who showcase quality artist, designer and photographer portfolios.

The promotion is this: like both Hello Pretty and Coal Mine Canary on Facebook, then email hello@mycoalminecanary.com and tell them who you are. If your application is approved, you’ll be given a beautiful portfolio site (see Boss Models photographer Teri Robberts’ gorgeous portfolio as an example) for 6 months, and an Unlimited Store Plan on Hello Pretty for 3 months. For those who already have a Hello Pretty store and decide to take advantage of the offer, we’ll give you a voucher for 50% off your next seller plan purchase.

We’re looking forward to meeting you.