Getting an invitation to meet Tyra Banks at her flagship ice cream shop was not something I expected to do on a casual Thursday.
But there I was, in the middle of her shiny new SMiZE & DREAM store in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, and suddenly I was face-to-face with a supermodel that I had only ever seen on TV.
Tyra walked into the store with such grace, full of a big smile and absolutely beaming with confidence (I mean, I would too – if I were Tyra Banks).
Right at her side was her mum, Mama Carolyn, whom she credits as the inspiration for her ice cream business.
“So the name of my ice cream company, SMiZE & DREAM, is after myself and my mama. So I’m the SMiZE, which means smile with your eyes and be fierce. And the DREAM is my mum, because my mum sacrificed so much to make her dreams come true, and decades later, to make my dream come true,” she tells New Idea exclusively, adding “and then if you look at our logo, it’s at heart with an eye in it. The eye is the smize and the heart is the dream!”
The two have a special history with ice cream.
According to the SMiZE & DREAM website, it was a ritual they shared every Friday night, where they would grab an ice cream and dream their “biggest, most outrageous creative dreams together”.
The 51-year-old tells me having her mum next to her at the store opening is “everything”.
“My mum, I think, is accredited to a lot of my self-esteem. Because life is hard and challenging and she always just says, ‘get your ass up’. It’s gonna be okay. It’s like this tough love…” she says.
“I remember getting heartbroken by a guy, and I couldn’t get outta bed, and she fed me chicken soup. And then after about a week, she’s like, ‘okay, put your clothes on, brush your teeth, let’s get up. We are not gonna miss work for this man’!” she adds.
And let’s be honest, this story of hers is great alignment – what’s better for a break up than (a lot of) ice cream?!
Although the ex-America’s Next Top Model host had a stylist on-site and was dressed to the nines, she told me that she has an “interesting relationship with the public eye”.
“Because I’m such an entrepreneur, and so most of my days I have on sweatpants or my dressing gown on a zoom, and so having to put on the celebrity thing again, it takes a lot mental work for me because I’m just so into the business world,” she reveals, adding “so, it’s a challenge, kind of pulling Tyra together, but I know I still gotta pull her out of the bin sometimes!”
So what’s the verdict on the ice cream??
I put it on myself to do the hard work.
And yes, that means I tried every flavour so you don’t have to.
Scribbling down notes onto my phone, here’s my list of best to worst:
- Matcha Mochi Dough-chi
- Purple Cookies & Cream
- Super Dope Caramel
- Cookie Dough-dough-dough
- Mama Carolyn’s Favourite
- Tyra’s Favourite
- Chocolate and cookies dream
- Fairy Dough Diva
- Strawberry Birthday Cake
- Coffee In Bed
- York’s Favourite
- Popcorn Candy Bar
- Hojicha & Waffles
- A Darling Harbour Dream
- Miss Coco Lamington
- Dubai Choc Bar Smize’d Up
- Mango Glow Up
- The Best Vanilla I Ever Had
Disclaimer – this is based on my personal taste only!
What’s the store like?
SMiZE & DREAM has done a couple of pop-up shops around Sydney before, and its permanent home is not hard to miss.
Tyra says that she specifically chose the lighting that made “everyone look good” (although I think Tyra would look good in any lighting, to be fair…)
But, it’s not the lighting that caught my eye-or should I say ear-as there’s a big chance you’ll hear it before you see it.
There’s an added layer of pizzazz (do people still use that word?) – the staff!
They ran through a series of chants (and in-sync clicking of fingers), and it really hyped me up to get my hands on a scoop.
The chants would start with one person yelling a phrase, and the rest of the staff responding, such as “dreams do” and “come true!”.
That’s just one example, but I’m loving the positive energy…
All in all, if you’re in Sydney or happen to be anytime soon, give it a try – and don’t forget to smize when you order!
