Summer is the season to spend time in the sun and be merry, and what better way to do that than by hosting a pool party. Sometimes an impromptu get-together can turn into a memorable party, but planning something magical that your guests will remember takes a lot of thought and preparation. But fear not, we have great tips and ideas to get you there. 

Some of these items can now now be shopped at the click of a button. Hover your mouse over the products you love to see if your favourites are available directly from our catalogue.

Here are five facts the book has taught us about one of the most inspiring women of our time.

After a five-year-old Michelle Robinson got one wrong answer in a kindergarten colour quiz, she obsessed about it, unable to sleep while lying in bed surrounded by stuffed animals: ‘The embarrassment felt like a weight,’ she remembers, ‘like something I’d never shake off’. The next morning she immediately asked her teacher for a do-over and aced it in one go. ‘I like to imagine Mrs. Burroughs was impressed with this little black girl who’d found the courage to advocate for herself,’ she says.

Whilst preparing to graduate high school in the top 10% of her class, a young Michelle was told by her guidance-counsellor that they weren’t sure she was ‘Princeton material’, her first choice for college. Whilst most teenagers would have been crushed, she was once again determined, changing her tactics and seeking a recommendation letter from her assistant principal instead. 
‘I wasn’t going to let one person’s opinion dislodge everything I knew about myself,’ she recalls. Instead, she wrote one killer admission essay, and was accepted. She never did tell the counsellor they’d got it wrong.

After deciding to go back to work after the birth of her daughter Sasha, Michelle attended a job interview for an executive director role at a local hospital and, unable to find last-minute childcare, arrived with the three-month-old in tow. As she remembers, ‘She was a fact of my life. Here is me, I was saying, and here also is my baby’. She would go on to get the job but to her, that wasn’t the point, as she recalls: ‘no matter how it panned out, I knew I’d at least done something good for myself in speaking up about my needs’.

After persuading the National Park Service, who was in charge of the gardens, Michelle tore up one of the most iconic lawns in the world and planted a vast selection of fruit and vegetables – a symbolic launch pad for her fight against childhood obesity and advocacy for a healthier America. ‘Barack’s administration was focused on providing better healthcare, and for me the garden was a way to offer a parallel message about healthy living,’ she reveals. ‘The garden was simple, prosperous and healthy – a symbol of diligence and faith. It was beautiful while also being powerful.’

On 26 June 2015, the Supreme Court in the US issued the decision that same-sex couples had the right to marry in all fifty states. Looking out of her window at the White House that evening, Michelle Obama noticed a big crowd had gathered outside to see the famous residence illuminated in the colours of the pride flag.
‘I found myself suddenly desperate to join the celebration,’ she remembers, and after grabbing her eldest daughter Malia, she made a break for it, ignoring the protocol to check in with Secret Service agents and speedily running outside to the lawn. In their own private corner, mother and daughter gazed up at the world’s most famous address – and their home – lit up in Pride colours, just as everyone else was seeing it.

Becoming by Michelle Obama (Penguin Random House) is now available to buy in hardcover at a RSP of R399.

Hugo Boss has unveiled Fifty Shades of Grey frontman Jamie Dornan as the new face of its Boss Scent campaign. Following the footsteps of the brand's previous famous line-up of ambassadors, including the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth and Jared Leto, the Irish actor is the latest to join the Boss family. Known for his confidence and impeccable taste, Dornan is the perfect embodiment of the Boss brand, and together with model Birgit Kos, will kick off a new, sophisticated and enthralling campaign for the fragrance.

When it comes to combatting oil and shine, Lab Series has always led the way with its dedicated oil-control line. And now its launched a new three-step, 8-hour oil control system, consisting of three core products. The Oil Control Clay Cleanser + Mask eliminates grease and grime; the Oil Control Clearing Solution removes any remaining oil and dead skin cells, and lastly the Oil Control Daily Moisturiser is an oil-free hydrator that keeps skin shine-free for up to eight hours.