Some incredible things I have bought

I know. I know. I have been a little SubSLACK and I really am sorry. I can’t lie, I’ve been having a blast with hefty amounts of work and play.

Firstly I need everyone to know about a couple of glorious full circle moments that happened. Most people who know me are aware of my mid-life morph into a KPop fan. No one is more taken aback by this than me, but we are where we are. First up, I was lucky enough to score tickets to the BST Hyde Park gig a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to go because the incredible Taemin was performing.

While it’s well known that I am a rabid BTS fan, fewer people know that my head was first swivelled to KPop - with whiplashed violence - by this guy. I still think this song is the best thing that KPop has ever produced.

He is a better dancer than Michael Jackson ever was. Yeah that’s what I said. And obviously not even slightly as problematic.

Well…after his brilliant set I GOT TO MEET HIM.

My friend David runs Kpop artist liaison for a big PR firm and, knowing how much I adore Taemin, he invited me back stage for a little meet and greet. I could not believe it. It was fast, we only exchanged a few words. I think he understood me when I said, ‘You are the reason I got into KPop,’ because he smiled and nodded a lot . But when I said, ‘You are a better dancer than Michael Jackson ever was,’ he seemed to be losing for his interpreter, a bit panic-stricken. But then he was whisked from my stalker clutches to go and meet Flo and film something cute for Tik Tok.

But who cares because now I have the evidence that I MET THE ACTUAL TAEMIN, a proper god of Kpop. If you are so moved by my fangirling, the essential Taemin playlist includes Criminal, Move, Want, Guilty, Sexy in the Air and Idea. And he is also a member of the powerhouse group, SHINee.

And the KPop joy kept coming because…. finally: We got the BTS comeback when the group landed for their London shows. As I’ve written recently in You magazine, becoming part of the BTS fandom - ARMY - has brought some very close friends into my life and we all got to go together last week.

We sang, we danced, we screamed. A lot. I was not the oldest person there, as many of my friends who take the piss had predicted. There were many guys there, too, but like this adorable soul, they knew their place.

I went both nights and I’d have done more if they’d done more. They are so talented, so good looking and they model a delightful brand of masculinity that I wish we could extract from their veins and make into some kind of injectable serum for all men.

Here’s that list I promised of good shit I’ve bought and one piece of unbelieveable shit. Some affiliate links incoming, I hope that’s OK.

My BTS Arirang T-shirt

Is £65 too much for a T shirt? Certainly. Do I wish I’d bought this and maybe two more? Abso-bloody-lutely. I love the… ‘unobviousness’ of the image. I know it’s RM, my bias, as will all BTS fans, but it’s also just a cool pic. I think it was photographed by Alexi Lubomirski. Yeah I think I might need all seven.

This Alemais dress

I do try to be very strict with myself when it comes to Vinted and only use it to sell, not buy. (You can find my page at bellaluna38). But my god, this dress practically threw itself at me. It’s Alemais. A favourite brand. An Aussie brand. And it was £200 (once I’d haggled a bit) when it would easily be at least double that retail. I am exceptionally pleased with it and it got lots of compliments on its debut outing, when I hosted Jo Malone CBE at Soho House to talk to her about her new(ish) Jo Vodka brand, below.

Diptyque fragrance

On a 35 degree day in London, when I’d arrived at Soho House to interview Jo Malone via the vileness of a packed, un-airconditioned tube carriage, I was cringing as Jo, the fragrance genius of our age, pulled my sweaty carcass in for a hug.

‘Ooh you smell nice!’ she said. We must thank Diptyque for this utter miracle. It’s not the first time my scent of choice, Eau Capitale, has elicited compliments but I’ve never been more grateful for a product to do its one job. In all my years of being a magazine editor, I was a very spoiled cow on the fragrance front - many bottles would arrive for me, most weeks. Now that I’m paying, I’m very faithful to Diptyque.

Train ticket to Tunbridge Wells

After a false start when the heatwave buckled the tracks and all the trains got cancelled, I finally got to go and visit a friend who’s having a traumatic time. She is still having a crap time and there are many tough days to come. Texting’s all very well, but the chance to sit with my friend and listen - even to the silences - are worth it. I hate that I can’t do much at all, but being there really did strengthen the bond for both of us. I think, anyway. Probably the best £21 I have spent in some time. If someone’s been in your thoughts and on your mind, for whatever reason, try and go and see them. You’ll be both be so glad you did.

Melissa Odabash lounge set

Before we did an episode of Friday Night Fashion in her beautiful Chelsea store, I’m embarrassed to admit I had no idea how much more than swimwear Melissa Odabash does. And I was powerless to resist this sparkly PJ set. First chance I get I’m wearing it to a fancy dinner. It’s loose and lightweight but still dressy. It comes in a pretty pale blue too.

The Suri toothbrush

This toothbrush is brilliant. The charge lasts for weeks. As do the plant-based, fully recyclable brush heads. They last about three months and you can send them back and they use them to make lightweight soap dishes. Plus, most importantly, a brilliant thorough clean with a built-in timer. Would highly recommend.

This Uniqlo dress

It is a great, easy summer dress and then, as it is the colour of BTS’s comeback - thanks to the red and white of their Arirang album cover, it was the perfect thing to wear to night two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Paired with my red and white Adidas sneakerinas, I was ready for the sweltering conditions in the stands and the long walks to and from the tube station.

But this is shit

Yes. I am one of the human victims behind this headline:

It was an ad on YouTube - and I love YouTube. I appear on it every week, so it must be wall to wall reputable, right? And this technology that ‘cools any room in 90 seconds’ was developed at Nasa!

Did the thing (pictured at the top of this piece) look pathetically small and like it had maybe just snapped off the bottom of a fridge? Was £60 a suspiciously small sum to pay for such groundbreaking comfort? Yes and yes again. But… guys… Nasa. They invented space for crissakes. Clickety click click click, and here’s my debit card number, you science geniuses. In the three weeks it took to arrive I assumed I had been scammed out of £60 for no reason, but then, last Tuesday, I discovered that I had been scammed out of £60 for a piece of landfill crap that serves no purpose. I’ve been cooler from letting the dog pant on me. Ross has not stopped laughing and sending me the above article on repeat.

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