Fairlady January 2019

1. This year is the first year that we won’t have a schoolgoing teenager in the house! I resolve never to make a lunchbox again, to loll around in bed for another 30 minutes every morning instead of racing through the school run and to go on holiday during school time (cheaper and quieter). I can’t wait. Happy New Year to us all! – Suzy Brokensha, editor 2. To try to embrace my empty nest syndrome with good grace and mindfulness and to use my ‘freedom’ to do more of the things I have been wanting to do for a long, long time. – Caryn McArthy, deputy ed and creative director 3. To learn to speak at least one foreign language. I am interested in Spanish, Italian and French. I’m…

WINNING LETTER Growing older As women, one of our greatest fears seems to be the fear of growing older. So many women fear that as they age they’ll become ‘invisible’, or dependent on others. Girls in their mid-20s start using anti-wrinkle creams and exercising because ‘it’s all downhill from 30’. It reveals a very real cultural narrative in society. I wonder if any of these fears are warranted. I like spending time with older women – wisdom, confidence, beauty and peace seem to accompany their age. They’ve taught me that no matter how old you are, you’ll always have the freedom to truly be yourself (wrinkles and all). All the negative perceptions about ageing should not diminish our inner light. Ageing is a part of life. We can try to…

Science meets nature with SIX Sensational Skincare, which uses effective active ingredients and fruit extracts to help you maintain healthy, glowing and beautiful skin. Your skin deserves to look good, and be the first line of defence against irritants, toxins and environmental stresses. As a perfect number, SIX is related to purity, harmony, balance and nurture. So love your skin and give it the glow-up it deserves! THE HAMPER CONSISTS OF: Micellar Cleansing Water, Instant Firming Mask, Glycolic Acid Foaming Face Wash, Broad-spectrum Sun Protection and The Sixth Intelligence WRITE TO letters@fairlady.com…

Safety first You can never be too careful when it comes to your safety, especially with the current spike in human trafficking abductions that have been taking place in our country. I’ve finally found a way to stay connected with my family without the schlep of texting them constantly about their whereabouts: the Life360 app. It allows you to view your family member’s location in real time and features a panic button in case of emergencies. You can even see if their battery is running low. The Life360 is free (there is also a premium version) and is compatible with both iOS and Android. – Johan Gin o’clock I recently tried the first gin from Inverroche’s Creative Collection: the Coco Carissa Gin. The key ingredients are the seeds of the…

‘No one thought I would be an actress because where I grew up it wasn’t a job you could do – I never met anyone who had so much as made a cup of coffee on a film set.’ For much of her life, Margot Robbie has been addicted to fear: to the electric adrenaline that surges through her when she’s sure she can’t do something but forces herself to try regardless. ‘I love feeling terrified; I love it when I think I can’t pull it off this time,’ she says. It’s this compulsion that made her – then a 23-year-old unknown – unexpectedly slap Leonardo DiCaprio in the face during her screen test for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (it got her the job!). It’s also this…

BARKER AND QUIN HANNELI VAN DER MERWE & CHRIS WIUM Start-up costs: ‘It’s difficult to give a figure as we’re constantly putting money into the company,’ says Hanneli. ‘We pretty much used all our savings; I used my pension fund build-up and Chris cashed in his shares.’ Turnover: ‘We sold almost 500 000 units in the first 12 months and our growth is about 230% per annum.’ Hanneli van der Merwe says the idea for Barker and Quin was sparked during a business trip she had taken with her business partner, Chris Wium. (At the time, they were both working for a cork company.) ‘While we were wining and dining our clients in Portugal, I noticed how many G&T options were on offer. The craft gin market in South Africa…