One of Beyoncé’s Tour Costumes Looks Oddly Like My Favorite Kitchen Tool

Just like Queen Bey, this Amazon-exclusive is an all-star performer.

Originally published with Food & Wine

Something I know to be true is that adding even a little spice can completely open up a dish. The same can be said for when pop stars are promoting their work. Take Beyoncé as an example. For her Renaissance world tour, she’s switched up her set list and revealed at least one new stage outfit with almost every city she visits. As it turns out, variety — be it with style or ingredients — can be truly refreshing.

Having worked throughout different sectors of the fashion industry, one look during her tout that caught my attention was a Courrèges bodysuit pulled from the brand’s Fall/Winter 2023 collection. This space age outfit made sense since it was worn during her performance of ‘Alien Superstar.’ But after watching numerous video clips, something dawned on me. This bodysuit reminded me of yet another high performer I have in my own kitchen: a pepper mill.

Unicorn Magnum Pepper Mill

Just as Beyoncé is not just any pop star, this pepper mill is no ordinary pepper mill: It’s the Unicorn pepper mill. Like the Courrèges bodysuit, this mill has a standout ring in the middle, a feature that makes the two disparate objects look nearly identical. However, unlike the bodysuit, this ring performs a function (beyond looking fabulous).

To get started, all you need to do is twist the body to open the loading ring, pour in your peppercorn of choice, and set your desired coarseness level, which can be adjusted from medium-fine to extra-coarse. From there, twist the top like a normal pepper grinder to get a grind.

But here’s where things get interesting: Unlike a normal pepper grinder, this one is able to produce way more ground pepper with a single twist. This means that if I’m in a rush to grind pepper into a dish, I don’t have to panic — one to two twists usually does the job. And this is great for me because I really love pepper.

Even when full of peppercorns, the Magnum isn’t heavy. At only 6-inches tall, it easily blends in with most other items in my pantry. The only colorway this mill comes in is black, the plastic exterior giving it a slight shine.

There’s only one problem with this pepper mill, and one Amazon reviewer was able to put their finger on it in a way that evaded me. “The only thing is the…well, the ugliness,” this shopper wrote. “Maybe it's so ugly it's cute?”

It’s true: Putting the Magnum up against other pepper mill options on the market and judging it based on appearance alone would probably result in a loss. Maybe it would stand more of a chance if it came with leather gloves and thigh-high boots like Beyonce’s bodysuit? Still, we all know that part of beauty is performance. If Beyonce routinely failed to put on a good show, no amount of pageantry would be able to sustain such a blistering hot career.

That really should be the key takeaway for the Unicorn Magnum: Its stunning performance day-in and day-out. In my opinion, the consistent value provided far exceeds the price. And, at the end of the day, maybe you should look at it this way: It’s way less than a ticket to see Beyoncé on tour. 

At the time of publishing, the price was $49.