Introducing the gorgeous new Puma Tropicalia range. I’ve only featured the sneakers below, but there’s some pretty awesome clothing and luggage too. Click here to find out where you can get your paws on these puppies in South Africa…

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This year GAP invited me to join their global ambassador program STYLD.BY. It’s essentially a collective of bloggers, influencers, artists, photographers and stylists who create content for STYLD.BY, GAP’s lifestyle blog. The idea is to put together a few looks using a key piece, and this month’s theme is Spectrum of Colour and how to incorporate pops of colour into your wardrobe. I chose to feature the 1969 Destructed Sexy Boyfriend jeans which I am basically living in at the moment. The skinny brown braided belt is also from GAP. Here’s my first look, I’ve used bright red lips to inject a bit-o-colour into the look…

That’s my staple wardrobe; whites, blues and brown leather. I’m trying to be more adventurous with colour, especially using lipstick. It’s such an easy way to transform a look. My next edit is a little more on the sporty side. These are my favourite PUMA running shoes and I thought I’d let them see the light of day in a look that doesn’t comprise spandex alone…

And lastly, as we gear up for a rainy Cape Town winter, this is how I’d add a colour pop to a comfortable weekend look…

Check out the STYLD.BY blog by clicking here. GAP is available in South Africa through Stuttafords. 

brandslut xoxo

Photographs // Craig Kolesky

I was recently invited to experience the annual marula fruit harvest with the Amarula brand team in Phalaborwa; a once in a lifetime opportunity. 70 of us were flown from around the country to the Kapama Private Game Reserve to experience the brand and its roots in all its glory. Last year Samsung had approached me with the proposal of a review of the NX300 camera and this trip provided the perfect opportunity to put it to the test. Before I get into the technical review of the camera, here are some of my favourite pictures from the trip. Note, I’m not a photographer. Hell, ISO sounds like something delicious you frost a cake with. That said, I think these turned out pretty well despite my lack of skill/knowledge. 

I loved reviewing the Samsung NX300. And I won’t bore you with the technical details until the end where I’ve listed them in bullet points for those who insist. But for amateurs like me, interested in taking a decent photograph with a camera that’s easy to navigate, small enough to carry around without the hassle of big bags and lenses and things, then the NX300 is your guy! It’s got fancy features like built in WiFi which allows you to share via your smartphone and social media, but two of the things I like most are its design (there’s something retro about it) and its shutter sound. It makes that amazing, raw old-school ‘click click‘ sound. 

The Samsung NX300 also comes with some nifty Instagramesque editing filters to help you get the effect you’re after. If you’re not comfortable with editing on the camera, it comes bundled with Photoshop Lightroom 4 which is also easy to use and fun to fool around with. I edited some of the photos in this post with it for the purpose of this review. 

Samsung NX300 Product Features:

• Comes in 3 colour options: all white, silver & black, brown leather & silver
• WiFi direct link, share to Android or iOS via the Samsung Smart Camera App, option to save to camera and smartphone, or camera only
• Remote viewfinder function via the App
• Movie recording functionality
• Smart filter settings
• Bundled with Photoshop Lightroom 4 software
• Large APS-C sensor with excellent high ISO performance
• 18-55mm kit lens
• No viewfinder
• No built-in flash (attachment only)
• In-camera battery charging (accessory available)

If you’re wondering about the elephants in the last few photos, this is the orphan herd from the incredible Jabulani Camp at Kapama. These elephants were rescued from Zimbabwe by Lente Roode and rehabilitated. The attempt to release them back into the wild was unsuccessful as they’ve only ever known humans. They now live in a semi-wild camp at Kapama. Go ahead and add this experience to your bucket list!

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When I travel to new cities I can’t help but consider the PR and brand machines behind them. New York, Paris, Vancouver and, well, any Scandinavian city are right up there with the best of them. And don’t for a second think that the positive PR is all organic; beaucoup de cash is spent by city tourism departments on generating awareness, creating new news, profiling hip new places, securing movie locations etc. My thought thread always leads to the same place: Johannesburg needs better PR.

If I had a Rand for every time I’ve promoted Jozi to a stranger I wouldn’t have to work. I caught myself doing it on a flight from Cape Town last week with an elderly couple from Raleigh, North Carolina. That conversation prompted me to write this; it’s something I’ve wanted to do since I left Johannesburg a year ago.

But before I get into the stuff that makes Johannesburg awesome, I need to say this:

You see, what’s worse for me than ignorant foreigners is ignorant South Africans. Enter *that* Capetonian. You know the one, the one who hot-foots it out of Johannesburg faster than a Mitchell’s Plain gangsta in a new Opel Astra OPC. The one who goes to Midrand for a meeting and declares Johannesburg a shit-hole. The one who once visited a relative in Kempton Park and decided Johannesburg is ugly. The one who’s never been to Johannesburg but could never live there.

This person is Johannesburg’s worst enemy. But I’m not here to sling mud; I’m here to say that we all have a role to play in promoting this incredible country in which we live. And that means talking up cities and places other than Cape Town – she needs no help, having won nature’s lottery. Johannesburg on the other hand needs a leg up, and it’s up to us to give her one. That includes you, Capetonians. 

One of the most memorable conversations I’ve had was around a dinner table in Gloucester Road, London with dear friends of mine Clare and Omar. She’s British, he’s Pakistani, and they have a knack for throwing dinner parties of epic proportions and bringing together people from all over the world. After too many cigars and fine Tequila one night I found myself having a debate with a Mexican and a Pakistani over which city was more amazing; Mexico City, Lahore or Johannesburg. We weren’t finding some sick pleasure in recounting horror stories about crime and poverty, we were PRing our native cities.

Crime. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t exist in Johannesburg. It does. As it exists the world over. I’ve had one experience with crime. Fortunately for my brother and I we came out on the lucky end of what I fear could have been an awful encounter in an alleyway trying to access a hotel in the wee hours of the morning. Oh, and that was in Cincinnati, Ohio. Every city has ruin, dangerous bits and no-go zones. So, no-go there! And for God’s sake don’t venture there in your khaki safari attire with your camera slung around your neck. You don’t do that in New York or in London, so don’t do it in Johannesburg – it’s not a safari.

I was born in the Johannesburg General Hospital in the 80s and grew up in Benoni. Somewhere between the mine dumps, Bunny Park and the East Rand Mall a love for the place was born. Instead of it waning as we moved overseas for my father’s work, it grew. In 2010 I was finally reunited with my birthplace and it exceeded every expectation I had of it. Here are some of the reasons I love Johannesburg, some of the reasons I’d encourage any visitor to spend some time there and not simply pass through en route to Cape Town or the Kruger National Park. I heart Jozi because of…

If you’ve got any other tips, must-sees, must-dos, please add a comment. And if you share my sentiment, please send this to someone, foreign or not, who thinks Johannesburg is ugly. One by one we can help PR this incredible city.

brandslut xoxo

*I’ve linked all images to their sources. If you’re the owner of one of these images and would like it removed, or credited within the caption, please just drop me a line. 

I’m so glad I stumbled upon this little home-grown brand earlier this year (blog post here). And so are my feet. Founder Frances Koep has certainly delivered on her vision of creating local shoes of a global standard. Her collection is on-trend, handmade, all-leather. Here’s a little look at my favourites from the Spring/Summer 2013 collection, available to order online now…

Click here to buy online.

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This summer Cell C will be hosting #SubmergedSundays at Shimmy Beach Club (CT), featuring Gold Fish and a host of other epic local and international DJs. The sessions start at 3PM until late, with Gold Fish playing a 2 hour set starting at 9PM. The kind folks at Cell C have generously offered brandslut readers 4 double tickets to each of the three Sunday sessions below:

• December 29th
• January 5th
• January 12th

Winning is easy, all you need to do is tweet in the week leading up to the event, remember to use the following social cues:

• @brandslut_
• @CellC
• #SubmergedSundays
• #CellCBelieve

… I’ll also be rewarding creativity. So if you feel like making a video, recording a song, drawing a picture, instagramming (@CellCSA), cross-stitching, whatever, I might just flick some double tickets your way.

I snapped this at the launch of #SubmergedSundays on December 8th. The DJ was on fire.

If you haven’t seen the new Cell C Believe campaign ads, you can watch them below. My favourite is the second one, poking fun at what life would be like without data.

Fingers crossed!

brandslut xoxo

I think the ‘like a boss/baws‘ phrase should change to ‘like a Bezos‘. The guy’s a genius, a technological gangsta. He’s from the future, and so is his latest innovation and R&D project, Prime Air. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, announced his drone package delivery plan today. The aim is to deliver packages up to 5 pounds to homes within a 10 mile radius within 30 minutes. Bezos plans to launch the service in the next four to five years. Here’s a little look at how the drones will operate…

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Pinterest recently partnered with Foursquare to add mapping functionality to its boards. I love this, and I think it’s particularly handy for small business, tourism, travel writers and dreamers. You create a standard board, select ‘add a map’ and follow the prompts. To illustrate this new feature, I’ve created a board called Cape Town and I plan to add my favourite bars, restaurants and hangouts. My aim is to provide inspiration to Cape Town visitors, a little inside info. It’s limited in its content right now, but I’ll add to it slowly. The place you add gets mapped with a corresponding number, hover over the number to reveal the bussiness’ details – neat, hey?  Click here to check out my Cape Town board.

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This is not new news, it’s a month or so old, but worth writing about nonetheless. If you weren’t aware, Louis Vuitton have revamped their iconic City Guides and included glorious Cape Town in the mix – eee! The 15th anniversary of the collection spanning 15 cities across the continents, provides stylish travellers with tips on design, fashion, dining, accommodation and more. I’m absolutely fine with receiving one of these for Christmas, you can get them at Louis Vuitton stores in Cape Town or Johannesburg, just saying. And here’s a sweet little video to help you escape from your life for a few moments…

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Gurls, I gots treats for ya. And no, they’re not any old treats, they’re treats from Australian swimwear brand Seafolly – swoon! You see, Constantia Village Courtyard is hosting its annual Style & Beauty showcase this Friday and Saturday November 15 & 16, and they’ve kindly offered brandslut readers the opportunity to win some gorgeous summer staples, read on…

The Style & Beauty showcase is between 11AM and 5PM both days and shoppers will be treated to fashion shows, gourmet treats, bubbles, entertainment, style & beauty advice and more. Right, so here’s a look at the summer treats you can win online courtesy of Seafolly and Madison Boutique:

If you want to get your paws on this hat and tote, you’ll need to click here to find brandslut on facebook. Simply omment on the ‘Win with Seafolly and Constantia Village’s Style and Beauty at the Courtyard’ facebook post and you’re in the running. Entries close at midnight on Thursday November 14th and the winner will be announced the next day.

Fingers crossed!

brandslut xoxo