Events in Waikato: Chiefs, Magic and running event all on the calendar
From bold outdoor landmarks to the intimacy of a gallery setting, the exhibition celebrates Waikato's public art. Photographs of landmark sculptures in our region are presented with smaller works by the same artists. Free entry.
● French Film, now until June 18, Lido Cinema Hamilton
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- NZ Herald
My Secret Auckland: Singer Linn Lorkin shares her favourite spots in the city
Epolito's Pizzeria, Grey Lynn. The crust is authentic New York style - the original owner, Chicklena, learned how to make it from her immigrant Sicilian grandfather when she was 13 and passed the method on to her staff, Gabriel and Natasha, who now own the business. They do a mean salad to have with your pizza. Favourite place to take a visitor to? Hoppers on a Sunday evening. The ambience is hip-kitsch, a bit like the Budapest 'ruin bars', with Tiffany-style lamps and a movable skylight roof. The band is world-class, super funky, playing R&B classics, the rhythms irresistible and all ages leap up to dance with each other in a great community way. An Auckland treasure. Favourite spot to finish a night out? Whenever I've just finished a gig, I love to stay in the venue, hang out with the stragglers, drink some wine, have a bite, wind down. Favourite place to get coffee? Neighbour, top of Hakanoa, a high standard of baristaship, lovely staff and I can get a good matcha! Favourite trail for a hike? It's not a hike, it's a walk, but you can't beat good old Grey Lynn Park of an evening. You can walk around the whole perimeter, past gorgeous old oak trees and the community doing its thing: little kids on the playground swings, pre-teens doing the Pump Track on their bikes, teenage girls and boys learning rugby skills from expert Pasifika coaches, happy dogs and their owners. Favourite venue for a gig? Epolito's, see above. I get to sing in French and Italian with French Toast. It's happy hour prices with happy people. Then there's Botticelli in Takapuna. A great live-music bar, and I sing and play my songs with my quartet. Favourite place to find a bargain? The regular pop-ups organised by the non-profit Dress for Success, which provides Auckland women with professional work attire. Good labels, excellent prices and sometimes an everything-at-$5 sale. All proceeds go to their charity. Linn Lorkin has just released Linn Lorkin's 101 Songs: The Songbook – A treasure trove of handwritten lyrics, piano parts, stories and more, celebrating New Zealand's musical legend.
NZ Herald
06-08-2025
- NZ Herald
Good Enough To Eat: What Are Gourmand Scents – And Why Do We Love Them?
Whether sparkling and sweet or fresh and fruity, these seven gourmand scents are luminous reminders that spring is inching closer. There's something inherently nostalgic about sweet scents that land somewhere between melted ice cream and toffee apple. Gourmand scents that tend towards sugary confections were synonymous with growing up in the late 1990s and early Noughts – and many millennials may remember the chokehold Britney Spears' Fantasy had on us all. So it was with much collective delight when gourmand scents made their steady return to the zeitgeist, starting in 2024 and gaining momentum in 2025. Derived from the French term for enjoying food ('gourmandise'), the fragrance family is defined by sweet, edible notes including caramel, chocolate, vanilla and toffee, along with savoury elements like freshly brewed coffee or salty popcorn. In 1992, Thierry Mugler launched the world's first gourmand fragrance with the now-iconic Angel. 'It was unheard of to have a feminine fragrance without florals, so it was particularly groundbreaking,' says Danielle Lagos, communications and social manager for L'Oreal Luxe and PPD New Zealand. Danielle agrees sweeter scents tend to bring us back to our childhoods, which is why we subconsciously lean into them. She adds gourmand notes of coffee and vanilla continue to be popular – as seen in the original YSL Black Opium and the new Black Opium Glitter, which adds notes of marshmallow. Juicy fruits are also considered gourmand, and Danielle adds strawberry has been tipped as the next 'it' red fruit for its association to love and passion, as seen in Si Passione Red Musk. Armani Si Passione Red Musk 50ml eau de parfum, $230 What it is: The newest iteration in the Armani Si family comes Passione Red Musk, a sweeter take on the original with its blend of soft musk and luminous strawberry. Described by Armani as a scent that wears like a second skin, Si Passione Red Musk captures both the passion and intensity of the fragrance house – exemplified further by the vibrant red bottle and matching cap. What it smells like: Top notes of luscious strawberry and clean musk, a heart of milk and rose absolu, with a sensual base of sweet vanilla and warm musk. Available from: Farmers or Jo Malone London Raspberry Ripple 100ml cologne, $296 What it is: Dreaming of summer? Jo Malone London's playful new scent channels a scoop of raspberry ripple ice cream with its blend of sweet, juicy fruit and soft white musk. The uplifting fragrance evokes a sun-soaked summer day by juxtaposing gourmand notes with verdant undertones to channel the freshness of being outdoors. It promises a lingering scent trail, especially when applied to wrists, neck and pulse points, allowing body heat to help diffuse the fragrance throughout the day. What it smells like: Fruity top notes of redcurrant and blackcurrant, a heart of fresh red raspberry, with base notes of clean and powdery musk. YSL Black Opium Glitter 50ml eau de parfum, $242 What it is: A sparkling memento sure to illuminate any bedside or dresser, YSL's glittering new take on Black Opium oozes magnetism and sex appeal. With its shimmering silver bottle, Black Opium Glitter highlights a blend of marshmallow musk accord, freshly brewed coffee and luminous orange blossoms, said to ignite feminine energy of the wearer as they shine long into the night. What it smells like: Citrusy top notes of green mandarin, pear and lemon, a heart of orange blossom, with vanilla absolute, coffee, marshmallow, musk and patchouli as its base. Ellis Brooklyn Guava Granita 50ml eau de parfum, $201 What it is: Escape to Palm Springs with Ellis Brooklyn's tropical new olfaction – one designed to capture both the irreverence and luxury of its fictional Club EB beach club. Bedecked in hot pink to channel the hue of ripe pink guavas, Guava Granita contains Haloscent, a proprietary and patented technology that enhances fragrance longevity by helping to release raw fragrance materials over time (but without being overpowering or cloying). What it smells like: Juicy top notes of guava, banana, bergamot and tropical waterlily, a heart of Cavaillon melon, coconut palm and mango blossom, with a comforting base of vanilla, sandalwood and almond milk. Available from: Mecca or Marc Jacobs Daisy Love Eau So Sweet 50ml eau de toilette, $140 What it is: Considered a sheer floral twist to a sweet gourmand, this Marc Jacobs offering builds on the Daisy story with Daisy Love Eau So Sweet – capturing the addictive and unexpected spirit of the Daisy Love woman. Captured on film by fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan, the campaign is fronted by model of-the-moment Kaia Gerber, the brand's new muse. What it smells like: Top notes of white raspberry, bergamot and crystallised cloudberries, a heart of daisy tree petals and jasmine milk, set among a base of sugar musk and white iris woods. Available from: Sephora or Burberry Her Intense 50ml eau de parfum, $215 What it is: A bolder, sweeter take on the original Burberry Her, Her Intense is classed as a vibrant gourmand. The ultra-feminine fragrance is designed to accompany the wearer on whatever adventure awaits, with its intense blend of sweet citrus and comforting woods. While the bottle still acts as a call back to Burberry's British roots, the flacon is dressed in a deeper shade of lacquered matte pink, cementing the scent's feminine energy. What it smells like: Another strawberry-scented gourmand, the olfaction options with wild strawberry, unfolds to a heart of orange blossom and culminates with a warm, ambery wood in the dry-down. Available from: Sephora or Jean Paul Gaultier Scandal Le Parfum 50ml eau de parfum, $235 What it is: Few fragrance bottles are quite as recognisable as Jean Paul Gaultier's shapely bust, which was turned on its head (quite literally) when Scandal was welcomed into the fold – a flacon celebrating bare legs akimbo. Scandal Le Parfum is as cheeky as the bottle itself, an intense floral amber fragrance with sweet caramel notes and intoxicating vanilla. With each spritz, a daily reminder to unleash your fabulous, free-spirited side. What it smells like: Sweet and sensual, it opens with top notes of jasmine, a heart of salted caramel and a base of black vanilla. Available from: Farmers or More beauty Curious about facial sculpting? These two at-home techniques are the perfect introduction, plus four beauty entrepreneurs share their most regrettable beauty moments. How To Sculpt Your Face: A Beginner's Guide To Face-Sculpting Techniques To Try At Home. Activate your lymphatic system and sculpt facial contours with these two easy at-home massage techniques. Four New Zealand Beauty Entrepreneurs Share Their Biggest Beauty Regrets. Because even the biggest names in beauty are not immune to a few fake tan faux pas along the way. . This new, probiotic-rich skin treatment is the perfect introduction to microneedling, writes Ashleigh Cometti.
NZ Herald
05-08-2025
- NZ Herald
Book of the day: Liar's Game by Jack Beaumont
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Beijing airport: Scene of the crime in a twisty tale featuring the Chinese secret service. Photo / Getty Images Jack Beaumont is the pseudonym of an ex-operative for the DGSE, the French equivalent of the CIA. Liar's Game is the third thriller featuring spy Alec de Payns, which has seen Beaumont become a surefire bestseller in Australia, where he now lives with his wife and children. When an apparent North Korean defector is killed at Beijing airport while de Payns is attempting an extraction, questions begin to be asked: is there a traitor in the service, or is this an elaborate power play by a faction in the government to wrest back power over the agency? Will the blame for the botched operation be laid at our protagonist's feet? There's also an ongoing case of a wealthy Russian businessman who is buying up South-East Asian cybersecurity technology, and a French tech executive who is unwittingly in the cross hairs of the Chinese secret service. If that's not enough, de Payns is trying to salvage his relationship with his wife, an OECD economist, who is becoming increasingly resentful of his job and the effect it has on him. He's day drinking and mentally brittle after decades of service – a job where most burn out in five years. Beaumont's intelligence background means there are plenty of authentic trade craft and real-world operational details, as well as vivid descriptions of the challenges of working clandestinely in cities across Europe and Asia. De Payn's day-to-day life – clearly based on Beaumont's experience – involves living under various aliases as required by the job, one day a man 'working in computers', the next a post-grad tech student, the next a European tourist. There's also – inevitably – a beautiful Russian woman, who de Payns must befriend, a process helped by his good looks and quick wit. But will she be the first to challenge his rule of not having sex with a target and remain true to his wife? While Beaumont's not the prose master John Le Carré was, his writing is clear, concise and engaging and shines in action set pieces, which are never overplayed. A daring, airborne escape from Vietnam after another botched operation is a highlight. And, like Le Carré, Beaumont writes of the unending bureaucracy of the service, budget constraints and inter-departmental rivalries (Beaumont provides a handy diagram of the complex French intelligence agencies as an afternote). That leads to some levity in what is otherwise a pretty dense narrative, as our protagonist laments the strict service allowance for DGSE meals while on the job and contends that '… if you wanted to find the French spy on a plane, just ask all the passengers to empty their pockets; the one with a small pile of €10 receipts was probably from the DGSE.' Much of the novel's plot focuses on AI, cybersecurity and quantum computing, and the competition between powers to gain advantage in the escalating tech race ‒ all timely subjects. Beaumont is excellent at describing the mental toll that clandestine work can take while also relaying the sense of camaraderie built between team members whose lives depend on each other, because, as de Payns will find out, sometimes those you work for will turn their backs as soon as things go wrong. Liar's Game is another excellent addition to the series and a must-read for spy-fiction aficionados.
