Desire Lines: Thalia Heffernan jewellery and Brat WHOOP bands

Plus: vintage fashion in Kinsale, Clarins' cult-classic serum, and ukulele festivals

Sat, 17 Aug, 2024 - 02:00

The jewellery

Since moving back from New York, Thalia Heffernan has been on the hunt for a new project to call her own.

She's found it in this new collection with Betty and Biddy.

Edgy and fun, just like Thalia, it features charm necklaces, mixed metal chains, bangles, pearls and signet rings, with charms including cowboy boots and 'chill pills', with one bangle engraved with the phrase 'Save horses, ride cowboys'.

From €22, bettyandbiddy.com

The vintage shop

Sister Vintage opened its doors in Kinsale at the end of 2023, and has built quite the following. The brainchild of Eve Russell, she was driven by her environmental focus to find a fast fashion alternative.

After a year of selling at vintage markets and fairs around Ireland, the bricks and mortar shop opened its doors, specialising in clothes and accessories from the 60s right through to the 90s.

Eve travels to Europe to hand-pick every item. One to seek out.

The serum

It is already a beauty go to. Clarins Double Serum has a cult following. Now, a new formula has revolutionised it, focusing on epigenetics, the study of the impact of lifestyle on gene expression.

Their new Double Serum targets signs of ageing caused by environmental factors - they call it epi aging defence technology. Combining science and nature, 94pc of women felt their skin looked younger than the previous day.

New Clarins Double Serum is exclusive to the Clarins Boutique & Spa, Wicklow St, Dublin 2 and online at clarins.ie until August 22 and available nationwide from August 23.

€76 for 30ml, €99 for 50ml and €135 for 75ml, clarins.ie

The family event

It's Bug Bonanza Weekend at Fota Wildlife Park. Showcasing a variety of rare and interesting invertebrates from around the world, zoologists and the education team will present talks about the insects in the tropical house and their roles in global biodiversity.

fotawildlife.ie

The dinner date

Six by Nico's six-course menus are always a treat, but their new Guilty Pleasures is a particularly delightful way to spend date night.

Launched this week and only running until September 1, diners can expect an elevated twist of some of your favourite dirty indulgences.

Food for thought: the 'cheeseburger and chips' course is an unctuous beef tartare garnished with briny dill pickle, golden shoestring potatoes with a dusting of parmesan cheese, while the Nico Fried Chicken is a tender chicken thigh cloaked in a signature crumb, accompanied by a moreish black garlic emulsion, charred corn and a robust gravy.

Six course tasting menu, €55, matching wines available for an additional €40. sixbynico.ie

The hooley

Thousands of ukulele fanatics from Cork to Honolulu will descend on Dun Laoghaire next weekend for its world-famous Ukulele Hooley.

Now in it’s 13th year, the event will see a line-up of homegrown groups and international ukulele players delight crowds, including six-time Grammy Award winner Daniel Ho and Germany's Bad Mouse Orchestra.

A highlight of this year's festival is a free concert in the People’s Park, Dun Laoghaire, which will take place from 11:30am on Sunday, August 25.

ukulelehooley.com

The wearable

After two weeks of Olympics magic in Paris, we are as inspired as we'll ever be to take on some new fitness goals. If you want to bring some brat into the gym with you, WHOOP have recently launched a new HydroKnit band, €49, in the lime green colourway.

It dries twice as fast as the original SuperKnit band, making it ideal for those who want to wear it doing water sports or, if you sweat as much as us in a spin class. We spotted Cork's gold medallist Fintan McCarthy sporting a WHOOP band at the Games, and hey, if its good enough for him...