1. When I was a kid, poi balls were made from crumpled newspaper, plastic bags and yarn. Spin-balls update the concept by fashioning the Maori dance implement from soft plastic and sticking a multicolored LED light inside.

The lights have a multitude of blink and color settings, much the way Christmas tree lights can be customized.The construction has changed but the swinging, twirling fun is the same.

Pick them up at Soha Living, $29.80 for a kit with two balls, a carrying bag and an instructional DVD for those who never had to perform with poi balls at May Day. Check them out at spinballspoi.com.

— Donica Kaneshiro

2. My first facial was with esthetician Kapua Browning at her home deep in Palolo Valley in 2010. She taught me a cleansing routine that was specific for my skin type and mixed concoctions of olena (turmeric), coconut oil and other natural ingredients in her kitchen.For selfish reasons I would nag her to bottle her mixtures for sale.When she finally debuted her Honua Skincare line, I was one of the first in line to purchase her products.

My daily routine includes the Pa‘akai Cleansing Cream ($24 for 2 ounces), made from Hawaiian sea salt, seaweed, hibiscus flower and essential oils. After cleansing, I slather on Aloha Youth Serum ($58 for 1 ounce) made with awa root, comfrey, olena, noni and other herbs and fruit oils.

Find her line at honuaskincare.com.

— Lacy Matsumoto, Liliha

3. It’s hard to have too many black T-shirts. Hard Rock Cafe offers a new option with its Pitbull Signature Series: Edition 35 shirt, featuring the Grammy Award-winning rapper. The turquoise and pink lettering is a tribute to his hometown of Miami.

Men’s and women’s shirts are $27.50 at RockShop.HardRock.com or the local outpost at 280 Beach Walk in Waikiki. A percentage of sales will be donated to SLAM! (Sports, Leadership, Arts and Management), a national program that prepares mostly low-income students for college and careers in the sports industry; visit slamfoundation.org.

— John Berger

4. It’s been nearly 80 years since the first “Curious George” book was published by French couple H.A. and Margret Rey.

Seven classic “Curious George” titles featuring the little brown monkey and his friend, the Man With the Yellow Hat, were released from the 1940s through the ’60s, followed by a second wave of books in the 1980s and ’90s. Then, in 1998, Houghton Mifflin revived the series with new stories based on the original characters.

This is where “The New Adventures of Curious George” pulls its content from, with eight tales spread over 200 pages to provide parents with text large enough to read comfortably and plenty of illustrations for kids to explore during storytime.

Titles like “Curious George and the Puppies” and “Curious George Goes to a Movie” may not have been around when I was a kid, but they seem familiar enough — and packing eight titles into one book provides excellent value for $10.99.

— Jason Genegabus

5. No matter one’s skill level as a musician, having a guitar or ukulele in tune is vital.

Digital clip-on tuners make it easy: Attached to the head, they read notes not by sound but from vibration. The Charactune tuner is the fourth one I’ve owned, and the best. The others broke under the rigors of gigs with Motley Uke, but this one is more rugged. It also has a brighter screen, a larger illuminated indicator that shows whether a string is in tune, and the clip is stronger. Plus, the bat silhouette is cool.

Other characters include owls, aliens and skulls. The price is $19.99 at alohatuners.com.

So, whether I’m playing Hawaiian music with pals in a Waimanalo backyard, recording metal songs with my band in a Honolulu studio, or rocking out on a San Francisco stage, my ukulele is in tune. Now to work on my timing.

— Jeff Clark

“5 Things We Love” is a shortlist of newly discovered stuff you have got to see, hear, wear, use or eat. Please keep in mind that featured products may be in short supply and may not be available at all store locations; prices may vary. Tell us what you are loving by emailing features@staradvertiser.com.