The heat of the season

Although the fall seems miles away, now is the time to start preparing for the new school year, while fighting the heat with cool drinks, fun outings and a good night’s sleep.

By NERIA BARR
Shopping cart (Illustrative) (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Shopping cart (Illustrative)
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Back to school
Although it is only the beginning of August, many parents and children are already shopping for back-to-school items. If you are looking for cool stuff kids will love, try the new designs by Disney Israel. We absolutely loved the Mickey Mouse backpacks for small kids. Other fun items include Spiderman pencils, Star Wars folders and diaries and much more. Most items are produced and sold locally by Kal Gav and Kravitz.
Bags and more
The most popular brand for backpacks is Modan, and this year, as in every year, its schoolbags brand “Explore” orthopedic bags has new designs in all its departments, including the leading two-in-one bag, which can be separated into two bags depending on what the child needs to take to school or to after-school activities. This year the bags in this line are all designed in the hot trend of sports clothes and have a special padded space for a laptop. Other lines include fashionable bags for high-school kids, anatomical bags and trolleys. NIS 79 to NIS 179 for older kids, NIS 189 for two-in-one bags, NIS 239 for trolleys.
Kids in the trend
Yolo (its motto: “You only live once”) is a trendy chain of stores for school and play items. Its back-to-school collection is as trendy as ever this year, including schoolbags, pencil cases, pencils, erasers, notebooks, desk lamps and calculators, all designed in the coolest colors and shapes. The designs change regularly, so kids can always find a new cool item here. Available in 15 stores around the country. www.yoloshops.co.il
Flowers and butterflies
Romantic girls and moms will love getting equipped with Michal Negrin’s new items for school. The back-to-school collection by Negrin, adorned with roses and romantic drawings, includes diaries, various sizes of notebooks, wall diaries, and designed paper for the printer. Available in all Michal Negrin stores and online at www.michalnegrin.com
Growing pains
Kids grow up fast and they quickly fall out of love with designs. But it is not always possible to transform an entire princess-pink room into a cool teenager room, so adding new items can help change a room at small cost. Etzmaleh has expanded its collection and now sells design items that upgrade children’s rooms, such as throw pillows, creativity tables, designed boxes, shelves, mirrors, hangers and more. Each item comes in various colors and designs to match changing tastes. Prices range from NIS 39 for pillows to NIS 159 for star mirror. www.etzmaleh.co.il
No more acne
The product line AC-Clear is specifically designed for the daily care of greasy-oily skin with excessive sebum production and inflammatory tendencies. All products are based on balanced herbal combinations that have been specifically formulated for this skin type and support the regulation of sebum production. The products are oil-free and therefore non-comedogenic. The mild formula protects the skin and supports the skin’s moisture balance without drying it out. All products of this line are paraben free and are suitable for adults and children. There are three products in the AC-Clear line: face cleanser, face cream and spot treatment, and a kit of all three together. The products have been clinically proven and the company promises clear skin within 12 hours. NIS 143 for kit, NIS 45 for wash, NIS 55 for spot treatment, NIS 59 for cream. Extra 15% reduction when purchasing online at www.kamedis.co.il/. Available in pharmacies.
Unfiltered flavor
Tempo has launched a new packaging for its popular unfiltered Goldstar beer. The ½-liter glass bottles in the new basket packaging make this very good value because the bottles can be returned, and on every three liters of beer the customer gets a refund of NIS 7.20 (50 agorot per bottle). Goldstar Unfiltered is a dark lager with a fruity flavor and thick foam. NIS 45 for six-pack.
Go green
Green tea, considered one of the “superfoods,” is believed by many to improve concentration, enhance energy, slow down aging processes in the brain and reduce stress, anxiety and depression. During the summer, instead of drinking it hot, try drinking cold green tea. A new product, Greentea, is a concentrated drink to be prepared with cold water. It consists of whole green tea leaves with added herbs such as chamomile, hibiscus, lemongrass, mint or verbena, sweetened lightly with sugar; the prepared drink has only 12 calories per serving. A 750-ml. bottle makes 30 to 40 cups. Home delivery is available at greenteaeveryday.com, or at Super Yehuda in the Tel Aviv area. NIS 55 for 750-ml. bottle. Kosher.
Perfect cover-up
Clinique has extended its very successful line Beyond Perfecting, adding a new Beyond Perfecting Super Concealer Camouflage + 24-hour Wear, the cover-up solution for hot days. Anyone who uses makeup knows that it is hard to keep your makeup fresh when the temperatures outside rise and even the shortest walk outside gets the face covered with sweat. The new concealer promises to stay in place and not change color or texture for 24 hours. It covers imperfections smoothly with one easy stroke, leaving a clean canvas for applying makeup, without caking or smearing. It comes in three shades at the pharm chains and eight shades in Clinique stores and online. NIS 119. www.clinique.co.il
Herbal cosmetics
The French natural cosmetic company Qiriness is now available in Israel. Based on herbal essences and seaweed formulas, Qiriness offers a full range of spa treatments for the face, specially created to respond to the needs of different skin types and their specific needs: cleansing, exfoliation, hydration, anti-aging and more. Qiriness was founded in 2004 by Mi-Ryung Beilvert, who learned the importance of skin care from her mother in Korea. Passionate about cosmetology, beauty and well-being, she created a brand that offers efficient and meticulous cosmetic treatments. Selling all over the world, the brand’s products are now available for Israeli women, offering the brand’s most popular products, among them enzymatic peeling cream, body wraps, bath products and cloth masks. NIS 162.90 for thermal cleansing mask, NIS 17.90 for cloth mask, 10 bath balls for NIS 157.90, anti-aging serum for NIS 429.90. Available at Hamashbir and Super-Pharm stores.
Extra room on the go
A new folding car-rooftop cargo bag, Chimigag, developed in Israel, fits perfectly on any size car and provides a fantastic solution for families on the go: Pack everything – from folding chairs to sleeping bags, mattresses and baby carriages – and go. The folding bags come in various sizes, and you don’t need anything in order to attach them. Weighing between 2 kg. and 5 kg., this folding bag can be taken also for overseas trips. Made from elastic materials, the bag is easy to assemble and is airtight. The bag has a five-year warranty, and it is possible to rent the bags. Available in Auto Depot stores and Yesh Hesed. For outlets and details: www.chimigag.com, 1-800-200-333.
Stop the sweat
Hot nights are a nightmare for people who suffer from hyperhidrosis, or for those who simply sweat a lot. A new pillow made by Polyron in Kibbutz Zikim solves the problem of sweating scalps by reducing the temperature of the head and helping to reduce the temperature of the whole body. The pillow, Visco Clima, which includes Lineaflex fibers, spreads the heat evenly over the whole area, and the pillow’s outer cover – made from Clima Active material – evaporates the sweat, while helping to repel house dust mites. Our tester said she had not slept so well in years. NIS 290. Available at www.polyron.co.il and at stores around the country.
Last but not least
Writing about toilet paper can be a little bit embarrassing, but this new Lily toilet paper by Kimberly-Clark is different. The new Lily Triple Comfort is thicker and stronger, with added texture that allows for use of less paper and provides a cleaner feeling. Also available now from Lily Natural Care with added aloe vera and chamomile.