GRAPEVINE’S PURCHASES THAT JUSTIFY EXISTENCE

Coalface from Lush
About 1000 ISK.
Lush is the soap store on Laugavegur and at Kringlan. Inside the store is a black bar of soap called Coalface: it includes liquorice root, sandalwood and charcoal, and, if you are a man, and you use it before you shave, your face will feel and look better. Yes, we are being sexist and writing as though men don’t enter soap stores. But just go in, ask for the black soap, and get out. It will be painless, and your shaving will hurt less. Also, Annie Hall (as in the Woody Allen movie) mentioned it way back when. If you’re a movie buff. Costs about 1000 ISK for a bar.
3M 1100 Orange Ear Plugs from Tiger
For only 70 ISK, you can save your hearing. Okay, you want to be a rebel. Well, here’s one thing better, you can also see six or seven concerts a night with a little less exhaustion when your ears aren’t bleeding.
Skyr Bar at 10-11
249 ISK.
One up on the island’s favourite salad bar, the skyr bar includes various varieties of yoghurt products, along with fresh fruit and cereals. Be selective, however; if the blueberries and kiwi—luxury fruits, by all standards– have been replaced by apples and grapes, storm out.
Vice Magazineat the Llevi’s Store.
FREE.
Vice is a gutsy, often ironic glossy magazine made by a cast of artists and rejects from Williamsburg Brooklyn. At its worst, it is essential reading.