When I saw the Anastasia dress I immediately though what a great idea it was, a dress that could be changed to suit your mood and the occasion. Vanessa Knox’s Anastasia dress can be the staple piece in your wardrobe that can be used to create a multitude of looks. I wanted to try out just how variable the dress could be and set about to see how it would fair over a seven-day period. I found it so amazing that I had to extend the time to 10 days and even after that I was finding I was still excited about the flexibility it gave me.
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Bombarded by fertility facts and figures, women are increasingly obsessed with the tick tock of their biological clock, with the desire to find ‘Mr Happy Ever After’ feeling all-consuming. And movie’s like The Back-up Plan starring Jennifer Lopez and the delicious Alex O’Loughlin don’t help with the unrealistic expectations of love.  Read more... (595 words, 2 images, estimated 2:23 mins reading time)

Russell Brand Says Goodbye To Tragic  Amy
It was sad news that talent but troubled singer Amy Winehouse passed away this past weekend.While many people were shocked, it wasn’t entirely unexpected given her history of drug and alcohol abuse. Even her mother said that ‘it was only a matter of time but her passing so suddenly still hasn’t hit me.’ Now bad boy of comedy turned Hollywood movie star Russell Brand, 36, has penned a poignant note to say goodbye to the 27-year-old singer that he’d been friends with for eight years.
‘When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call. There will be a phone call. The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, telling you they’ve had enough, that they’re ready to stop, ready to try something new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad nocturnal chime from a friend or relative telling you it’s too late, she’s gone.’ Brand knows only too well how hard it is to struggle with addictions as he too had used heroin everyday for 11 years. In recalling first meeting Amy, Russell says: ‘I was myself at that time barely out of rehab and was thirstily seeking less complicated women so I barely reflected on the now glaringly obvious fact that Winehouse and I shared an affliction, the disease of addiction.’ He went on to admire her talent saying she had: ‘a voice that was filled with such power and pain that it was at once entirely human yet laced with the divine. We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease.’ Such an eloquent farewell from someone who know the disease of addiction that she suffered.  Read more... (1018 words, 6 images, estimated 4:04 mins reading time)

A recent study found that three quarters of women avoided having their photo taken because they hate how they look in the resulting picture. It seems that almost half of us hate how we look in pictures with the majority sighting their smile as the main issue. Facebook hasn’t helped with this fear as a lot of us fear the catty remarks that people may make if the picture is posted on the site.  Read more... (259 words, 2 images, estimated 1:02 mins reading time)

TV psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos seems to have it all, she’s intelligent, looks fabulous, has a great job, a loving husband and daughter and insights into what makes us tick as human beings.  Read more... (941 words, 3 images, estimated 3:46 mins reading time)

Last weekend saw inventor Tom Pellereau win the final of 2011’s The Apprentice, having captured the imagination of Lord Sugar with his abundance of ideas for new inventions and nice guy personality.  However, in this difficult market it takes more than clever ideas and a big smile to win over your potential new boss.  Read more... (1069 words, 3 images, estimated 4:17 mins reading time)

[main shot: Sir Elton Headboard by MyricaDesign. £540 from Cloudberry]

With so much going on in our lives it can sometimes be hard to get a good night’s sleep. However by creating the right mood in the bedroom, going to bed can be a dream! Making your boudoir and sanctuary of calm will help you to unwind.  Read more... (452 words, 3 images, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

We love ice-cream, music festivals and British summer fairs and there is one festival that brings them all together, the Ben & Jerry’s Sundae festival.  Read more... (309 words, 2 images, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

Men huh – can’t live with them and can’t live without them but do we tar them all with the same brush letting mass generalisations dictate how we deal with the more rugged sex. We decided to let journalist and our Beau About Town Phil Boucher set us straight! So what are his qualifications to give us this advice? Well he’s the father of two daughters, been married for seven years, has busted knees from playing way too much football and has just agreed to become the drummer in a rock’n’roll band, despite the fact that he doesn’t own any sticks and has never played the drums – the perfect person then!  Read more... (1504 words, 4 images, estimated 6:01 mins reading time)

Beckham’s Welcome New Fashionista Harper
David and Victoria Beckham have finally welcomed their much wanted baby daughter into the world. The girl was born yesterday morning at 7.55am LA time and weighed a healthy 7 pounds 10 ounces. Proud dad David announced her arrival on his facebook page saying ‘I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham.Victoria is doing really well and her brothers are delighted to have a baby sister xx’  The announcement finally puts an end to the speculation about what they will call their little girl with favourites being Luna, Angel, after the city she was born in or Beverley, after the suburb Beverley Hills where the family live.
Meanwhile Kate Hudson and Muse’s Matt Bellamy have welcomed a baby boy. The child is Kate’s second as she has seven-year-old son Ryder with former husband , Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson, and Matt’s first. They haven’t yet announced the baby’s name. Wonder if the new-born pair will have play dates any time soon?
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