The mind-boggling array of flavours, the suspiciously fat straws, the disconcertingly long queues… for the uninitiated, boarding the bubble tea bandwagon can be a daunting prospect. Fear not: Lucy Zee is here to walk you through it. You see them on Queen Street, wearing rare TNs, the latest Off-White™ jacket and some $320 Travis Scott … Read more
Lucy Zee celebrates the little blue powder compact tucked away in every New Zealand makeup bag. You’re at a house party. You’re not quite drunk but tipsy enough to feel emboldened to look through the bathroom cabinet after your pee break. Behind the Korean face masks, Revlon ColourStay foundation, next to the antihistamines and Mario … Read more
From fine art school graduates to hobbyists, magazine-making talent from all over the city is showcased in Auckland Zinefest. Lucy Zee went along to check out the zines and meet some makers. Aucklanders love a festival. If it’s not food, wine or farm equipment, then it’s celebrating creatives. You may have come across a flour-pasted … Read more
Lucy Zee recounts the worst job she ever had: working as a sales assistant in video game retail. Every so often, a conversation topic will come up: “What is the worst job you’ve ever had?”. I couldn’t name one, I could name six. When I worked clearing tables in a Chinese restaurant? Or when I … Read more
Lucy Zee looks back on the late-nineties, early-aughts infomercial craze that was… Nad’s. In my prepubescent tweens, I started to notice body hair on myself. My arms, my legs, my armpits, my upper lip. I wasn’t so much upset but more curious than anything. Why did we grow hair in these places? When does it … Read more
If you’re addicted to watching Claire whip up gourmet Twinkies and Brad ferment garlic while you eat microwaved pasta in your pyjamas, then this is the list for you. First the world was given The Beatles, the cast of Friends, the Paris, Nicole, Britney and Lohan era, One Direction and Zayn, the Kardashians and BLACKPINK. … Read more
Because dating isn’t already horrible enough, an app named Attractive World recently launched in New Zealand aiming to make it worse. Current members decide whether prospective members are hot enough to be allowed in. Lucy Zee went undercover to see if it was as shitty as it looked. First published on August 22, 2017. Last … Read more
Lucy Zee pours a cup of tea and delves into the creepy slow-burn that is the Chanui ad universe. Can we just all agree straight away: the Chanui ads are really fucking weird. Basically it’s just a guy telling us to buy his tea and about three people seemingly held at gunpoint telling the camera … Read more
Lucy Zee counts the many ways the Transforma Ladder infomercial impressed audiences everywhere, from its multitude of uses to its dapper salesman. Imagine you’re a kid, home alone, feeling smug because you managed to convince your parents that you were too sick to go to school today. Jokes on you, because your brother locked the … Read more
New Zealand’s unlikeliest spokesmodel is at it again, fronting a strangely timely apocalypse-themed ad campaign for Arnotts. But what other products should Steve Hansen put his unique talents behind? Lucy Zee has some suggestions. Some of you might know Steve Hansen as the All Blacks coach who led us to victory at the last Rugby … Read more
Because dating isn’t already horrible enough, an app named Attractive World recently launched in New Zealand aiming to make it worse. Current members decide whether prospective members are hot enough to be allowed in. Lucy Zee went undercover to see if it was as shitty as it looked. Last month, Attractive World was launched in … Read more
Lucy Zee revisits the sensual Toffee Pops ad of the 90s starring Carlos Spencer and a whole lot of lust. The best factory produced, mid-range, supermarket shelf, chocolate coated cookie in New Zealand according to this statistically accurate twitter poll is: I am going to be honest here guys, I was expecting Toffee Pops to … Read more
In this rare Spinoff sealed section, Lucy Zee rounds up some of the most memorable sex scenes in local TV history. I hate sex scenes. They’re awkward, unnecessary and – the worst – they’re grossly unrealistic. But New Zealand can’t seem to get enough of a steamy romp and a glimpse of a muscled male arse on their … Read more
Lucy Zee remembers the iconic TV2 ad where a penguin drove a bus and Suzanne Paul had a garage sale. If you (still) watch a lot of TV, you might have noticed that channels air short branding ads in between TV shows called ‘brand identities’ – ‘idents’ for short. These can range from short simple … Read more
New Zealand was spoiled for choice of after school anime shows in the early 2000s. Lucy Zee remembers the female heroes who shaped her childhood. Cartoons rule my life. You name it and I’ve probably watched it, seen the comic, bought the merch and read the fan fiction crossover. My love of cartoons and anime … Read more
Everyone loves a nostalgia trip, remembering a time when the world wasn’t melting so fast. Join Lucy Zee as she looks back at the white guys who once were on New Zealand TV way too much. Imagine a world without white men. Well for starters, New Zealand would have hardly any television commercials. My parents … Read more
For years Lucy Zee thought maybe she had dreamed a hot and steamy TV series set in Auckland’s boy-racer underworld. But it was very real, and there hasn’t been anything quite like it since. In the middle of the 00s, New Zealand was struck with boy-racer fever. You couldn’t step outside your house without hearing … Read more
Lucy Zee remembers the iconic infomercial to end all infomercials. The first time I saw the Magic Bullet advert, I didn’t realise I was watching an infomercial until it was too late. It looked like a cooking show, but also a sitcom, but also a soap opera. Who were these people, what were they doing … Read more
Brave scientist and television enthusiast Lucy Zee attempts to solve one of the last remaining mysteries of modern times: at what moment does Elliot in Mr Robot become irresistibly attractive? Originally posted September 22, 2016 There’s no doubt that Mr Robot is one of the most engrossing, trippiest shows of 2016. But apart from the intriguing storyline, … Read more
Lucy Zee salutes Chanel Oberlin of Scream Queens, the alpha of the comedy-horror series who never wears the same fur twice. The late 90s and early 2000s gave us the best teen films and TV shows of all time: Mean Girls, Clueless, Bring It On, Buffy and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Sadly, in more recent … Read more
John Key was a lot of things to different people. For some, a hero. For others, a villain. And for illustrator Lucy Zee, a nude model. Unless you’ve got John Key muted on your feed from that time every white man online was savagely trying to out do one another with who could make the … Read more
Cartoons, whether they do so intentionally or not, play a large role in shaping the beliefs and prejudices of children. Lucy Zee looks back at the ’90s cartoons of her youth and how they may have been more forward-thinking than they’re given credit for. There’s nothing better than being 8 years old, nursing a big … Read more
Brave scientist and television enthusiast Lucy Zee attempts to solve one of the last remaining mysteries of modern times: at what moment does Elliot in Mr Robot become irresistibly attractive? There’s no doubt that Mr Robot is one of the most engrossing, trippiest shows of 2016. But apart from the intriguing storyline, the Emmy-winning acting and the … Read more