If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the stain-remover pen and the tongue cleaner. We asked Tolani Shoneye, Milena Sanchez, and Audrey Indome, hosts of The Receipts podcast (whose book, Keep the Receipts, is out now) about the shortbread biscuits, fake eyelashes, and gold hoops they can’t live without.
Tolly: When Crocs first came out, I was like, “No, these are disgusting, why would you ever wear these things?” But as I have grown up, I’ve gotten into them. Something about the bulkiness, and the off-the-beaten-track nature, I’m just really into it. I have four pairs in total, including a lined pair, which are great when it’s a bit colder, and a white pair that I wear gardening. The thing that makes Crocs so good though is the two modes; you have normal mode, where it’s an open-heel shoe, and then you can pull this rubber bit down and it turns them into what I call “sports mode” — it provides enough support that you can run in them. You can wear these with just jeans and a top — I like fashion that has a “Oh, no biggie” vibe to it. They’re the perfect travelling shoe, too, since they’re very easy to take off at the airport and provide ample room if your feet swell. You can wear them in the ocean, unlike pool slides. And finally, NHS staff wear them in hospitals. Who makes better decisions than NHS staff?
Milena: I love card games, particularly blackjack. And I love how much you can get out of a pack of cards; you can play snap, you can play 21, even strip poker.
Tolly: I have a friend who takes a pack of cards on dates. Just in case the date gets a bit dead, she can bring them out.
Milena: I especially love playing cards with someone you fancy, like, let’s see how competitive you are, or let’s see what you’re like when you lose, if you flip the table or something.
Tolly: That’s me. I am that person.
Milena: When I grew up, we played Ludo, but in Spanish it’s called Parchis. I played a lot of card games in lockdown, too, with my sister. Anytime we got bored, we’d be like: Let’s play a card game. Even if it was just building a pyramid with them. We tried board games, like Scrabble, but I have a 6-year-old who can’t spell so we stuck to cards.
Audrey: I drink a lot of tea, and PG Tips is the only brand I go for. It’s so British of me. I know what the girls are going to say, though —
Milena: You don’t even drink it! She likes holding a cup of tea.
Tolly: She’s a holder, not a drinker.
Audrey: I like the comfort of tea, and I do like the taste. However, the way I drink my tea is very particular. Nobody else would like it. Firstly, I drink it with oat milk. I don’t have ‘dairy’ milk in the house any more. But I also have a drop of condensed milk. That’s the Ghanian in me — it is such an African thing to take your tea that way. We just love condensed milk. I will then add my honey, so the end result is quite creamy, light, and sweet. I have been told I have the taste buds of a child but I find most tea just too strong. Tolly makes a good cup of tea though.
Tolly: I remember having a cup of tea for the first time outside of my house, because it wasn’t made with condensed milk. I was like, “What the fuck is this!?”
Tolly: I love a gold hoop. What I look for is a plain, solid gold hoop, because I like to wear my hair back a lot. I like the statement of it. It makes me look a bit jazzy and a bit slutty, which I’m into. The bigger the hoop, the bigger the ho. I also like the “funky” style ones, which have twists and bends in — they can sometimes knock against my AirPods though, so I don’t wear them as much. During the first lockdown, I wasn’t wearing makeup or doing my hair, but I wore hoops almost every day. In terms of how big I go, if I can fit my fist in it, then it’s a great size. I get mine from ASOS, but there’s also this place in Essex … Audrey, do you know Half Price Jewellers?
Audrey: That’s the one in Romford?
Tolly: Yeah, it’s still there! It’s just good quality jewellery, very affordable. They used to do an offer where you could get three sets of studs for £9.99, I bought those a lot when I was younger. It’s a very Essex thing.
Audrey: I don’t wear earrings a lot — I’m not even a jewellery person — but if I wear an earring, it’s got to be a big gold hoop. But not real gold. I’m talking like, Primark.
Milena: When it comes to makeup, I’m not too fussed on using contour or foundation unless I’m going out, but putting my eyebrows on is essential. This is the eyebrow pencil I’m using right now, and it’s so good for a “daytime” look because it’s not too heavy. I can apply it quickly and my eyebrows don’t look bald in the morning. Honestly, some days I wake up and I look like Phil Mitchell. On those days, an eyebrow pencil really does save my life. But I also use it for my lips because I cannot find a lip liner in this exact shade. They always have a red tint to them, which I don’t want. I want a dark brown lip liner.
Audrey: Mac’s Chestnut is the perfect brown lip liner.
Tolly: Maybe not for Milena’s skin tone.
Audrey: Yeah, you actually need to go a shade down. This is the perfect shade for me though.
Audrey: I am really particular about the lashes I wear. I like mine to look fake. I want them to look like big spider legs. I don’t opt for natural-looking lashes; I want theatrical and very out-there. Randomly, I found the perfect lashes on Amazon, from a company in China. I wear them every day, and one pair lasts me about five days. I first put them on on Tuesday and I’ll wear them until Saturday. They’re very durable, and look just as good on the last day as they do on the first. They’re also thick enough that you don’t need mascara, although sometimes I do apply some, just to emphasise them. The only thing is, I don’t sleep in them. I remove them before bed.
Tolly: Shortbread is a luxury biscuit for me — growing up we’d only have them every so often. The shortbread biscuits from M&S are the best ones ever. These are the ones I indulge in if I’ve got some spare change, or an invoice has just come in. Now that I have my own place, they’re the only biscuits I buy, and I have a special glass jar that I decant them in. I genuinely feel like the classiest, fanciest girl when I eat one.
Audrey: Honey is my honey. I have it in everything, so much so that I have a little jar that I take with me, just in case the place I’m going doesn’t have honey, or if someone doesn’t have honey in their house. I buy a big jar, and then fill up my little pot so I can take it with me. I use it in my tea, and I love that honey is natural and comes from the earth. It does everything it’s supposed to. Plus, it smells so good.
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