A woman has taken to Facebook to complain after one of her wedding guests came to her wedding with 10 Tupperware containers to take food from the buffet home with her.
The bride explained that in total she had only invited around 25 people, and the guest in question was her dad’s friend’s daughter, who she had allowed to come along as a favour.
The woman was supposed to come with her husband, but ended up coming alone – ditching her date for a load of Tupperware.
The bride explained that the woman loaded seven containers with food to take home, plus an extra three filled with homemade cookies from a separate buffet table, and to top it all off – a couple of bottles of beer, and most of the centrepieces.
We know: Unbelievable.
The bride said: I didn’t notice any of this, because I was too busy with the whole wedding – but my dad told me about it the next day.
‘And when we opened up our “gift” from her – she gave us $5. Not even kidding. A five dollar bill.’
The bride added that the woman is not poor – and is probably better off than she is, writing: ‘I’m assuming it’s because she just freeloads from anyone and everyone she can! But seriously! Who tf does this?’
People were shocked by the rudeness of the guest and rallied around the bride with support.
One woman said: ‘Some people have no shame, I would be mortified to scab off someone like this, esp [sic] at a wedding.’
Another called the woman a ‘scab’, while someone else called her ‘super trashy’.
One woman suggested asking the guest for money to cover the cost of the food and centrepieces she took. Which, to be honest, would be fair enough.
What do you think? Was the guest was wrong to take all that food from the wedding?
The theme for the Met Gala 2019 was ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ – and it proved a tricky and elusive one to master, with some stars missing the mark completely.
The chosen theme for this year’s event is a play on writer Susan Sontag’s seminal essay, ‘Notes on Camp’, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newest exhibition is set to explore this theme in even more depth.
Sontag’s 1964 essay examines how irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.
Put simply – it’s all about being extra and fun is at the heart of it.
The exhibit, curated by Andrew Bolton, takes us through more than 250 objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present
The collection is a valiant attempt to define the aesthetic boundaries of the concept of ‘camp’ – if any such boundaries exist. It is an explosion of colour, fabric and wild experimentation – a joyful expression of the exuberance of camp.
Here are some of the highlights:
Looks like we need to book some flights to New York to check this out for real.
The exhibition takes place from the 9th May – 8th September.
The annual fundraising event always causes quite the stir, with many rich and famous performers and creatives truly going all out in the name of fashion and fundraising for the The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute.
Looking at the outfits on the pink carpet this year, you might be hard pressed to guess the theme if you aren’t already in the know.
Here’s what you need to know about the theme of the Met Ball 2019, and what it really means.
The meaning of this year’s Met Gala theme
The theme for the Met Gala 2019 was ‘Camp: Notes On Fashion’ which was taken as a deliberate nod to Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay on the subject of camp called Notes On Camp.
Notes On Camp sought to define the notion of camp, as it was and still is something of a fluid concept.
As Sontag put it, ‘the essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration’.
However she also outlined that ‘Camp which knows itself to be camp (camping) is usually less satisfying’, which would therefore make the very goal of adhering to the ‘camp’ theme of the Met Gala that much more difficult.
With an arguably intangible yet undeniably extravagant goal to meet, those stars who dressed for the Met Ball theme this year went all out to show what their understanding of ‘camp’ means to them, and, from Ezra Miller’s many eyes to Billy Porter’s golden wings, it was a joy to see.
Most people have a ritual before they leave home – such as checking they have their keys or turning their oven off.
But for me, I never leave the house without checking the pollution forecast.
That’s because just a whiff of dirty air could put me in hospital with a life-threatening asthma attack.
I grew up in the Norfolk countryside and lived with mild asthma for years.
My condition improved as I got older and I thought it was gone completely, so I stopped taking my asthma medicines.
But when I moved to London I got a nasty shock. I had swapped the clean, fresh air of the countryside for the dirty, polluted fumes of the capital.
I wanted to take full advantage of London life and experience everything the capital had to offer, but every night I’d get home struggling to breathe.
I felt wheezy and my chest was tight, but I didn’t realise these were classic asthma symptoms until it was too late.
I woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe and had to be blue-lighted to Homerton Hospital in East London.
The ordeal was terrifying – I thought asthma was something I had put behind me, but it was very much in my present.
Even when I’m feeling good there are some places I’d never go – like Oxford Street – because I’m afraid the high levels of pollution will make me wheezy, and at worst, put me in hospital with an asthma attack.
I was given steroids to stabilise my breathing and had to be monitored for eight hours.
After years of living trouble-free from asthma, I knew immediately what my trigger was. The thick pollution blanketing the capital had caused my airways to narrow and left me gasping for breath.
Asthma is a serious condition and three people in the UK die from an asthma attack every day. I didn’t want to be one of them.
Determined to make sure this never happened again, I saw my GP every month for four months and kept a daily peak flow diary. This meant I could track my symptoms and avoid my triggers like pollution.
Since then I take my preventer inhaler every day and make it part of my routine – like brushing my teeth or putting on mascara. I never go anywhere without my reliever inhaler in case I get a flare-up of symptoms out and about.
After my asthma attack, I was terrified I would have to dramatically change my lifestyle to stay safe.
But despite my fears, having asthma doesn’t keep me from being as active as I can and I’m a regular at my local spin class. But I’ve learnt the lessons from the past and now I listen to my body – if I have a tight chest or I’m feeling wheezy I’m not afraid to miss a session.
Simple things like checking the air pollution levels online before I leave the house means that I’m always prepared.
Luckily, my friends have been really supportive, and they don’t expect me to travel if I’m not feeling well.
Even when I’m feeling good there are some places I’d never go – like Oxford Street – because I’m afraid the high levels of pollution will make me wheezy, and at worst, put me in hospital with an asthma attack.
Pollution is a real concern for people with asthma, and toxic air has been linked to an increased risk of children developing asthma and stunting their lung growth. It’s a scary prospect that if we don’t reduce emissions and tackle rising pollution our health could seriously deteriorate.
Cleaning up toxic air could save my life and many others like me.
Jemma Rix supports Asthma UK’s call to the Government to commit to targets that reduce emissions – such as nitrogen dioxide – to legal levels recommended by the World Health Organisation.
For the last year, we’ve been taking you around people’s rented properties in London for our weekly series, What I Rent.
We reckon it’s time to venture outside the city.
We’ll still be looking around places in London, of course, but a good way to understand the reality of renting is to compare it to other places in the UK.
To start off, we’ve headed to Surrey to spend some time with Claudia and Steve.
Claudia and Steve are a married couple with interesting lives and a home to match. Steve, 54, is a professional prop maker, creating products for film sets, commercials, and events. Claudia,46, is a customer relations advisor and credit controller for a big security company. They’ve been together for 10 years and married for nearly two.
Hey, Claudia! How much do you pay to live here?
£1,260 per month. Bills are around £250 a month.
And what do you get for that money?
Two bedrooms, an open plan kitchen/diner/living space and a garden.
Do you think that you have a good deal?
Yes, we do. Considering that we get a house, garden and garage for our money, absolutely. We both are fully aware that the same money would not stretch this far in London itself and that many pay more for a flat. Our rent is average for the area we are living in.
What do you like about living in Walton-on-Thames?
We both like the countryside, rivers, open spaces, etc.
We also like to possibility to be in central London in less than 40min, which is perfect for work, events or outings with friends. However, the Surrey Hills, Guilford, Woking, etc are also just 30min away, so we have the best of both worlds.
Steve and I are not the biggest fans of crowds and busy surroundings, so a small town like Walton was the perfect decision for us.
Do you feel like you have enough space?
No, but that’s entirely down to us. We love to collect things, plus, Steve is continuously creating new pieces.
We are slowly running out of space and always say that we don’t buy any more things. Unfortunately this is one of the resolutions we somehow never manage to keep.
As long as we are still able to move around, it’s okay with us.
How did you find this place?
Online via a property renting/ letting site. We viewed a few places on the day but as soon as we stepped in to this house, we knew that this is the right one for us.
What’s it’s like living together?
We love it. We both enjoy talking, laughing, crafting together, we truly enjoy each others company.
We share all the duties in the house (cleaning, etc) and have found the perfect balance between doing things together and giving each other space and the freedom to enjoy hobbies, meeting friends or simply reading a book.
How have you made the place feel like home?
Well, as you can see on the photos, we love to collect things… a lot of things. Steve is also adding to our collection by building more models.
Our style is a mix of gothic, alternative, pagan, sci-fi, Hot Rod/retro items, it’s a pretty unique mix and we admit this.
We recently upcycled our furniture to match our style, giving our house a look that’s even more us.
We are aware that this style is not everybody’s cup of tea but we love it and, until now, everybody felt at home, comfortable and welcome in our place, which is exactly the vibe we wanted to give our little sanctuary.
Are there any issues with the house you have to put up with?
The house is in a good condition, we do not have any issues at all. We are lucky to have a great landlord, who will sort things out as soon as we report them, which is amazing.
Do you have any plans to move again?
We will move again in the near future, not just because we need more space, we are also planing ahead. Steve would like to have a workshop and I would live to have a conservatory, plus, we both would like to have pets, which we are currently not allowed to have.
My husband is self-employed and a workshop would be great for his job, a garage without power simply doesn’t work for him.
Luckily for us, the neighbour’s cat has sort of adopted us and sees this as his second home. He does visit us daily and plays the temporary cat. Our landlord knows about him and doesn’t mind at all.
Have you considered buying a place?
Yes, we have, but, we are currently not willing to risk this step, especially in this economical climate.
We are also not sure if we want to commit to a mortgage at this stage in our lives, especially as it is not impossible that we make the decision to move to a complete different area, maybe even a different country (especially considering Steve’s work).
You never know what’s around the corner and where your journey takes you.
True. Shall we have a look around?
What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am. Check back next week to have a nose around another rented property in London.
How to get involved in What I Rent
What I Rent is Metro.co.uk's weekly series that takes you inside the places in London people are renting, to give us all a better sense of what's normal and how much we should be paying.
You'll need to have pictures taken of your kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a few photos of you in your room. Make sure you get permission for your housemates!
You'll also need to be okay with sharing how much you're paying for rent, as that's pretty important.
Still suffering the lingering effects of your bank holiday weekend hangover?
Don’t worry – a new study has found that drinking wine could actually have some health benefits – and that’s both red and white.
Great news if you’re big on your vino.
Scientists have found that wine is actually a disinfectant for germs, including those that cause dental plaque and sore throats.
An old study in 1988 found that wine had antibacterial properties, and the latest research has concluded that the acidity and alcohol concentration in wine isn’t what’s responsible for this, as was previously believed.
Instead, it is thought to be due to a number of organic compounds found in both red and white wines.
The study, published in the journal of agricultural and food chemistry, found that the compounds found in wine kill 99.9% of dental bacteria and germs that cause sore throats – so if you’re coming down with a cold, a medicinal tipple could actually help ward it off.
‘Several studies suggest that moderate wine consumption has beneficial effects on human health,’ wrote the study authors.
‘The antioxidant and antiradical properties, particularly of red wine, attributed mainly to a high polyphenol content, appear to protect against the risk of coronary heart disease and cancer.
What are streptococcal infections?
Streptococcal infections are any type of infection caused by the streptococcus (“strep”) group of bacteria.
There are many different types of Streptococci bacteria, and infections vary in severity from mild throat infections to life-threatening infections of the blood or organs. Most streptococcal infections can be treated with antibiotics.
Streptococci are divided into two key groups:
alpha-haemolytic – made up of two groups, including Streptococcus pneumoniae
beta-haemolytic – made up of several groups, including Group A and Group B streptococci
NHS
‘Our findings seem to indicate that wine can act as an effective antimicrobial agent against the tested pathogenic oral streptococci and might be active in caries and upper respiratory tract pathologies prevention.
‘In conclusion, both red and white wines were proved to exert in vitro antibacterial activity against several oral streptococci.’
So if you enjoy the odd glass of wine this is really good news. Indulging in a warming Malbec or crisp Sauvignon could mean less pesky colds and less trips to the dentist – it’s a win-win.
Imagine if you could tell people about your fave films and TV show binges without opening your mouth?
No, we don’t mean wearing a t-shirt that says ‘I heart Chandler from Friends’, we’re talking about incorporating the scenes from iconic films and shows into your makeup looks.
That’s exactly what one make-up artist is doing, paying tribute to important pop culture moments with a bit of clever lip paint.
Ryan Kelly, from Maryland, U.S, has been painting famous faces such as Rihanna, The Beatles, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper on her lips.
The talented artist also recreates scenes from TV shows and films we love, like Game of Thrones and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, as well as family favourites such as Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire, and Harry Potter.
Ryan – who boasts more than 70,000 Instagram followers – has been working on her craft for four years.
And it’s not just lip art she dabbles in, Ryan also creates stunning nails to complete the look, whether that’s letters from The Notebook, the blindfold in Birdbox, Jared Leto’s joker smile.
On her YouTube channel where she uploads video tutorials of the designs, Ryan has 6,000 subscribers.
She certainly knows what she’s doing. Just be careful not to lick those carefully crafted lips though.
The Met Gala can be an infuriating time for sticklers for a theme (me). Why, when you get invited to a prestigious themed party, would you decide to bypass it and go for a plain ballgown?
Thankfully, those that we’ve chosen for our best dressed picks of 2019 decided to run with the theme – which was Notes on Camp – and absolutely nail it.
Sadly we had no Rihanna this year. She usually acts as a great benchmark of how well everyone else is dressed, and leaves us all gasping for air under her thigh-highs.
Thankfully there were a few other VIPs who set the bar high enough for us to still be short of breath.
Lady Gaga
With a series of extra outfit changes, and some over-the-top posing on the pink carpet, it was clear Gaga was born for this theme.
Going from being dressed in a giant pink ball gown to laying spreadeagled on the stairs in her bra and knickers was a moment to behold from the ASIB actress.
Billy Porter
Probably the most iconic moment from this year;s ball was Billy Porter being carried in by a horde of burly men.
Aside from the Pose star’s entrance, his outfit itself was magnificent, and gave us the glamour we craved with the personality we needed.
Tessa Thompson
Although Tessa looks extremely elegant here, the leather daddy nods have enough subversiveness to make it perfect.
We hope there was plenty of hair whipping and whip whipping throughout the night.
Ezra Miller
Ezra always comes through for the Met Gala, but we’re seeing a whole lot of NYC Club Kid in this outfit.
From the bedazzled corset to the train to the amazing makeup, we’re big fans.
Lizzo
Lizzo looks like her third husband has mysteriously vanished, and she’s roaming his mansion in her finery waiting for the will to come through.
The ostrich feathers give this piece a gorgeous shape, but the Lil Kim meet Marie Antionette wig is the cherry on top.
Zazie Beetz
Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz could very well marry herself in this fit, switching from front to back and handing the ring to herself.
It’s great to see a woman serving a suit in a new way and making an androgynous look her own.
Cardi B
What’s more camp than a dress so heavy you need an entourage to carry it?
Cardi is chanelling two camp icons in this piece: The hormone monster from Big Mouth and HIM from the Powerpuff Girls. We stan.
Celine Dion
Celine has been an icon long before many of the pink carpet walkers were even born.
She doesn’t really need to try, but she did because she’s great. We will be seeing her in our dreams for the foreseeable.
Tracee Ellis Ross
Give Tracee’s stylist, Karla Welch, a medal for this.
With a nod to Harlem’s African American Day Parades, she’s a true work of art – and has interpreted the theme in a new and fun way.
Janelle Monae
This year required attendees to go big or go home, and Janelle’s four hats are pretty big indeed.
Looking like a Picasso come to life, she has nailed the whole bad-good-taste vibe of the evening.
Kacey Musgraves
The Golden Hour singer has really come to embody modern camp fashion of late, and a full-length pink leather number is another one of her triumphs.
Moving away from Susan Sontag’s pre-French Revolution camp origins, she’s giving us her Barbie Dream House interpretation of the theme.
Katy Perry
Props to Katy for embodying the most important Beauty and the Beast character (Lumiere, obviously) in her outfit.
She also dressed as a burger for the afterparty, and God loves a trier.
Hamish Bowles
This cape is a thing to behold, and was designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela.
What else did we expect from the always turned-out European editor-at-large for the American edition of Vogue?
Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Lyonne has gone from bucket hat wearing Jessica in American Pie to our favourite lesbian OITNB jailbird to everyone in the world’s deepest crush.
Not pictured here is the pill-shaped clear handbag she carried, full of cigarettees.
Laverne Cox
It was pretty bold of Laverne to dress all in black for this gala, but she’s the only one that does so to perfection (looking at you straight men in black tuxes).
The drama in the shoulders and on the train are truly everything.
Costa fans, it’s time to get excited – because your favourite coffee chain’s summer menu is here.
Costa has launched its summer menu and it includes some incredibly refreshing drinks – which are all made with strawberries.
These include; a new Strawberry Lemonade, a Red Summer Berries Fruit Cooler and a Strawberry Cold Brew Coffee, served ice cold. Yum.
Apparently, the limited edition cold brew coffee takes 20 hours to brew in-store and is made up of coffee and strawberries, combining sweet and bitter in one freezing cold up.
Each new drink is priced between £2.65 and £2.95, which is pretty decent.
Alongside the new drinks, Costa’s usual summer beverages will also be available – including iced teas, Frostinos and Fruit Coolers.
If you fancy sticking to the strawberry theme, you’ll be happy to know a strawberries and cream Frostino is on the menu.
There is also food on the menu, with new choices including an Italian mozzarella and tomato wrap, a roast chicken salad sandwich, tuna nicoise salad bowl, harrisa chicken and grain salad, chicken and bacon pasta salad and a mango and lime fresh fruit salad. Delicious.
In terms of sweet treats, you’ll now be able to find pink meringe, sweet and salty popcorn, vegan sugar-free cola bottles, vegan sugar-free gummy bears and a raspberry and blackcurrant ripple cake.
Basically, Costa is the place to go if you fancy a quick snack and a fresh summer coffee on your way to work.
From risky locations to bringing in an extra person – the figures highlight our deepest sexual desires. But would any of the things on this list get you off?
Sex in the shower – 20%
In at number one is shower sex.
We get it, it’s warm, soapy and wet – what’s not to love?
Although the realities of leverage issues, a lack of upper-body strength and precarious shower curtains can make the whole experience a bit of a damp squib.
Having a threesome – 19%
The classic ménage à trois scores highly on this list, with people keen to bring in a third party to spice things up.
Whether it’s a sexy stranger you meet as a couple, or maybe you’re the stranger livening things up, there are plenty of exciting scenarios involving three people.
If everyone is on the same page, a threesome can be amazing – but it’s all too easy for someone to feel left out.
Having sex outside – 17%
Whether it’s a tropical beach, an idyllic meadow, or the car park behind Tesco – having sex outside certainly has its appeals.
There’s the novelty of being at one with nature, feeling the breeze on your naked skin – not constrained by walls or ceilings or bed sheets.
But with the British climate we’re quite surprised that so many people are willing to brave the elements – you are braver than us.
Having sex at work – 13%
I mean, sure. Work is boring. Having sex would definitely bring a new meaning to hump day.
And again there is the element of taboo and naughtiness that so many people find exciting.
But the realities are tricky – where would it happen? Under the desks? In the disabled toilet? The office gossip machine would go haywire if anyone found out.
Having group sex – 10%
So once again it seems that when it comes to sex, it’s a case of the more the merrier.
10% of people fantasise about having group sex – maybe it’s the anonymity of it, or the possibility of more action in a shorter space of time. Maybe you’re just being efficient.
Either way, it seems that for lots of people in the UK, two people aren’t nearly enough to get them excited.
Sex on a plane – 9%
In sixth place is joining the mile high club.
We’ve all been there – long haul flights can get super boring and there’s always the temptation to get a little handsy under those ugly airline blankets.
We can see the appeal of the risk factor and the novelty of being suspended in mid-air. Add in some unexpected turbulence and you could be in for the time of your life.
Open relationship – 9%
Also on 9% is the fantasy of an open relationship – so you can have your cake and eat it too.
All the benefits of being in a relationship without any of the restrictions, like pesky fidelity.
We would be interested to know if the people who voted for this fantasy have partners who feel the same…
Sex on public transport – 7%
To be honest, we are struggling to get behind this one.
Tubes are gross, buses are gross – we can’t imagine a situation where we would want to take our underwear off on any public transportation.
But – each to their own. Maybe the appeal is in the rocking motion? Or the crowd of baffled commuters.
Sex with the same gender – 6%
For gay people – this is just their reality, but turns out – 6% of straight people fantasise about sex with someone of the same gender.
This isn’t surprising, lots of schools of thought suggest that sexuality is a sliding scale – so this could simply be a reflection of innate sexual tendencies that we all have to some degree.
Having sex at the gym – 6%
Tied in tenth position is sex at the gym.
This we can understand. Your blood is pumping, you’re already hot and sweaty, everyone’s wearing lycra – the gym is a hot bed of sexual tension.
Forget the post-workout sauna, we’re looking for a different kind of steamy session.
A New York hotel has just introduced ASMR to all its rooms.
If you thought that the ASMR trend was staying on YouTube, you were sorely mistaken.
Edgy and millennial branch of the well-established Marriott Hotel, Moxy in the Chelsea area of New York, is set to provide guests with ASMR bedtime stories as a way to aid blissful, endorphin-rich sleep.
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or ASMR, is described as a ‘drug-free mental massage’ is the sensory phenomenon where viewers feel pleasurable tingles from specific visual, auditory and tactile triggers.
The bedtime stories will be created in collaboration with a company called Whisperlodge, which delivers care, relaxation and sensory exploration through carefully-crafted immersive experiences.
Whisperlodge co-creator and artistic director, Melinda Lauw said: ‘We love Moxy’s vibrant, playful energy and we’re so excited to partner with Moxy Hotels and Moxy Chelsea to bring our unique blend of art and wellness to guests at Manhattan’s most exciting new hotel.’
These limited-edition in-room videos are the latest installment in the millennial focused Moxy, which lives by the adage: we want you to have it all.
The videos will feature 60-second stories that are uniquely placed under themes such as ‘chill out’, ‘go out’ or ‘pass out’.
These stories are then told by actors and singers who tell the stories while interacting with playful props that reflect their personalities – including pizza, sweet and sequins.
New York is an intense place, so who wouldn’t want to relax after pounding the streets, lacing up the bar and getting drawn into the allure of the Big Apple?
The hotel, having done its research, found that people don’t tend to use their wardrobes and have ‘grab-and-go bites’ – they just to stay ahead of the curve and give every guest their perfect home-from-home experience.
Looks like we know where we’re off to on our next city trip.
A new study has found that trans and non-binary students are more likely to be assaulted if they aren’t given access to the correct bathrooms.
The pediatrics study surveyed over 3,000 trans and non-binarry students aged 13 to 17 in all 50 states in America, and the results were shocking.
Over a quarter said they’d been a victim of sexual assault in the previous twelve months, with this number rising to 35% among those who were denied access to the correct facilities.
The study also found that transgender girls were more than twice likely to be attacked if they were made to use the wrong bathroom, while for trans boys that figure was 26% more than average.
Lead study author Gabriel Murchison told Reuters: ‘We can’t tell from this study whether restrictive restroom and locker room policies cause sexual assault. However, at the least, they seem to be a marker for an environment where trans and non-binary youth are at risk.’
It’s a stark contrast to the talking points of some who seek to ensure people use the toilets for the gender they were assigned at birth (many of which centre around cis people’s risk as a result of trans people using different bathrooms).
It also comes at a time when this topic is still at the forefront of the news. After Donald Trump rescinded protections for trans schoolchildren to be allowed the bathroom matching their gender identity. Since then, Tennessee lawmakers have advanced a bill that would stop trans students using their correct bathrooms completely.
You can now show off just how much you love your partner – by getting their face printed on a pair of flip flops.
Yes, for once, being able to walk all over someone is a good thing.
The £39.99 Face Flops can have anyone’s face printed on them.
They’re being sold on Firebox, and a spokesperson claimed that their summer footwear was ‘perfect for sliding into your crush’s DMs’.
Though to be honest, we think sending a photo of to your crush of their face stamped on your flip flop isn’t a good idea and is frankly quite weird. Please don’t do it.
But Firebox disagrees.
They said: ‘Let’s face it, nothing says ‘I fancy you’ more than taking someone’s fabulous facial features and wearing them on your feet. That’s true 2019 love right there.
‘Sure, they might reject you even after you’ve gone through the trouble of putting their face on your new footwear, but at least you can walk all over them in return if it doesn’t work out.’
The only rule with the footwear is that you can only have one face printed on them.
The spokesperson continued: ‘These unique sliders are this year’s must-have summer accessory.
‘Just upload a picture of any face and a team of expert personalisation wizards will pop them on the strap of these super-stylish white sliders, just in time for you to rock them at a festival, on the beach, or simply as a tribute to your favourite person.
‘Adorn them with your own face and show your dazzling confidence, or go bold and choose the person you fancy.
‘Forget Gucci sliders, slip your feet into these eye-catching pieces of footwear and take your favourite face with you wherever you go this summer.’
In Lake Como I realise a dream I never knew I had: feeling like I’d successfully completed a diamond heist and jetting away into the sunset with a lover.
That’s not the reality, to be clear. I’m still on the right side of the law.
But driving a boat along el Lago di Como, past pastel hued homes and George Clooney’s villa, does make you feel like a badass.
That’s just one experience you need to include if you’re planning a visit to Lake Como, in Lombardy.
The good news: you can fit all the luxury and relaxation of a break to the area into one weekend.
Here’s what you need to do.
Go on a boat ride
We stay at Il Sereno, a luxury hotel that lets us rent out on of the three Cantiere Ernesto Riva boats to drive along the river.
It’s an incredibly freeing experience – wind in your hair, wide open water ahead of you, gorgeous villas on either side of the banks, that sort of thing.
You’ll need to try going full speed, of course, and plot out exactly how far up the lake you’d like to go.
If you’re up for renting out a boat for the entire day, you can make stops off at lakefront towns Torriggia, Laglio, and Nesso.
Those who want a more laidback experience (let’s say you prefer sipping champagne to steering a speedboat) can ask for a ride on Il Sereno’s Vaporino boat. Bring along an ice bucket and glasses.
Don’t panic if you’re staying elsewhere; there are plenty of boat rental companies all up and down the lake.
Take the Funicolare Como-Brunate
A steep and speedy train up the mountain takes you up to the village of Brunate, where you can take in panoramic views of the lake.
The train has been running since 1894, running every day (apart from Sunday) every thirty minutes. It’s the steepest track in the area, with a gradient of 55%, so feels a bit like a significantly more chill roller coaster.
Ride up with a picnic in tow then relax at the top for an hour or so.
Soak up the views
Common knowledge, but Lake Como is gorgeous.
Make some time to have a stroll around the streets with no planned destination, taking in the tree-lined hills, the boats bobbing on the shore, and the hidden away villas and churches.
It’s gloriously picturesque, and not just for the sake of your Instagram.
You don’t need to wedge your weekend itinerary full of activities for every moment. The pleasure of Lake Como comes from taking time to go slow and take in your surroundings.
Shop at the boutiques
As you wander around the towns, keep an eye out for silk scarves – they’re the accessory Lake Como is known for.
There’s more to the silk scarves than the pretty patterns. Back in 1400 the Duke of Milan planted mulberry trees along the banks, which attracted a host of silkworms.
Crafting schools opened, the art of silk-making became more refined, and soon the area’s production of silk was world-renowned.
There’s now a museum dedicated to the craft (called the Lake Como Silk Museum, which makes sense), and you can find stunning options to take home in Bellagio.
Eat delicious food
You can’t go to Lake Como without indulging in sauce-soaked pasta, fresh seafood, hunks of bread dragged across olive oil, and bottles of sparkling wine sipped by the water.
Go for a fancy tasting menu at Michelin starred Berton Al Lago – nine courses of shellfish, veal, risotto, and twirled spaghetti – one night, then opt for a more relaxed dinner at the first restaurant you come to following a stroll along the shore.
You don’t need to bother researching menus and comparing reviews. Every restaurant you go to will serve up something simple and delicious.
Once you’re done, grab a gelato for dessert. Then have another the next day. You deserve it.
Hit the pool
If you venture over in summer, you’ll be able to dive straight into the lake from the side of your speedboat.
But when it’s a little chillier, a heated infinity pool is where you need to be. Same views, same feeling of pure bliss, but with warmth and the option of spaghetti and a glass of wine by the poolside. That’s the dream.
Where to stay in Lake Como and how to get there:
Where to stay:
We stay at luxurious haven Il Sereno, in the town of Torno.
Every part of it is glorious, all designed with a modern touch by Patricia Urquiola. Walk around the lobby and the suites and you’ll want to snap hundreds of photos for interiors inspiration, from the Scandi-esque sofas to the hidden touches in each room; a hidden bathroom mirror that extends from the counter, to mention just one secret surprise.
Each of the 30 waterfront suites in Il Sereno has floor to ceiling windows for beautiful views each morning. We’d recommend leaving the balcony door slightly ajar and the curtains flung open so you wake with the sunrise to the sound of boats steering down the lake.
If you can bear to leave your room and its tub (that’s harder than it sounds), take time to sit on the balcony overlooking the lake, marvel at the living wall of plants in the courtyard, eat breakfast with a view, and take your coffee up to one of the seats on the ledge to marvel at the location.
Oh, and spend plenty of time in the 60-foot-long freshwater infinity pool.
The hotel’s concierge service can sort you out with plenty to do if you feel restless after laidback mornings drinking prosecco. Alongside the boat shuttle service, on offer are hiking trails, fishing tours, and riva factory tours.
Go to the Valmont Spa to try the new anti-aging facial and body treatment, Purity, then take a book to pore over in the relaxation area with the sounds of the lake soothing your mind.
Rates at Il Sereno start at €800 (£685) per night.
How to get there:
British Airways offers flights to Milan Linate from Gatwick airport. When you arrive, Il Sereno is a short drive away.
When you’re not being overfed by your grandparents, you’re probably teaching them some technological hacks (and by hacks, we mean texting).
We love them to bits but they take to technology like oil to water and it can be pretty hilarious to watch.
So when a teacher tried to show her grandmother how to use her shiny new iPhone to take a selfie, hilarity ensued.
Kai Pruitte, from Tennessee, U.S, tried to get 70-year-old Barbara to take a picture of herself following an accident the grandmother had.
The 25-year-old wanted her beloved mamaw to be able to send the selfie to show the rest of her family she was okay and that she bought a new headwrap.
Kai showed off the funny conversation she, her mum and aunties were having where they all gave various instructions to Barbara.
Poor Barbara was seen trying and repeatedly failing to take a standard selfie – sometimes cutting off half her head or leaning too far back.
In the end, she conceded defeat and claimed her arms wouldn’t reach far enough to do it.
‘We have a group chat and there’s around six of us in there – my mum, my grandparents and my mum’s siblings. I’m in there as well because I’m the oldest grandchild,’ explained Kai.
‘Me and my aunties were trying to get her to understand that selfies are supposed to be taken straight on, but every time we told her she kept leaning back further.
‘She just wasn’t getting it. We were trying to get her to understand the right way.
‘In the end, I just called her and said we’d give her some lessons.’
As Barbara had recently upgraded from a flip phone to a more in-vogue iPhone, she was eager to show off how tech-savvy she had become.
‘We had to coach her on how to use it too, but now she knows how to conference call us so we do a lot of family messaging,’ added Kai.
‘She’s typically super sassy and the most selfless person I know. She’s always upbeat.
‘She wanted to show us how she was feeling more confident. It was really cute.
‘When I told her I’d posted our chat online, she didn’t know what it meant that she’d gone viral, but now she keeps saying “maybe you guys want my autograph?”‘
A young woman who shaved her head because she couldn’t stop ripping her hair out is now a hair stylist helping other people disguise their bald patches.
Dorin Azerad, 25, suffers from trichotillomania, a rare condition and form of obsessive complusive disorder where individuals experience irresistible urges to rip out their hair.
She began tugging on her eyebrows and eyelashes when she was just four, and by the age of eight she was tearing out handfuls of hair from her head.
Dorin spent 10 years in therapy grappling with the compulsion and even hid her hair loss from boyfriends, pretending a wig was her real hair.
Eventually she grew tired of the uneven bald patches and last February filmed herself shaving her head.
She now wears wigs and false eyelashes daily and works as a stylist in a salon dedicated to helping clients cope with hair loss.
Dorin, of Houston, Texas, said: ‘Some of my clients have been pulling their hair out for 40 years and I’m the first person they’ve spoken to about it.
‘There’s so much shame associated with trichotillomania.
‘It’s difficult to accept permanent hair loss when our hair looks different from typical beauty norms.
‘I want to show that there’s more to life than just our hair.’
When Dorin first started pulling out her hair as a child, doctors initially diagnosed her with allergies.
‘I was four years old when I developed trichotillomania,’ she said.
‘I was pulling the hair out from my eyebrows and eyelashes.
‘My doctor said I had allergies, that my eyes were irritated and that was why I was pulling out my hair.
‘When I started ripping the hair out from my head, I pulled out two inches of my hairline.
‘I went to a neurologist and a psychiatrist and they tried everything they could to make me stop.
‘The internet then wasn’t as big as it is now – there wasn’t much information on trichotillomania.
‘I was my doctor’s first patient diagnosed with the disorder.
‘I was in therapy from the age of eight to 18.
‘It did help me be aware of my feelings when I pulled my hair, whether I was stressed or anxious, but it didn’t stop me doing it.’
Dorin described the sensation that trichotillomania sufferers experience when they pull out their hair.
‘For hair pullers, the feeling of pulling out a hair doesn’t feel bad. It’s actually a good, tingling sensation,’ she said.
‘Imagine having an itch and you need to scratch it – that’s what it feels like.
‘It’s a self-soothing behavior.’
Soon Dorin’s hair pulling was so extreme that she had to hide her bald spots with strategically placed headbands and ponytails.
‘I was wearing headbands and a ponytail to cover up my bald spots,’ she said.
‘I had to wear a hat to cover them up completely.’
She felt intense shame around the compulsion and kept it a secret from friends.
She said: ‘I avoided talking about it with people and it held me back from doing a lot of things.
‘Girls do each other’s hair when they are children and I didn’t want to do that.
‘I didn’t want to go to summer camp.
‘I closed myself off from a lot of experiences and friendships to avoid it coming up in any way.
‘I was 16 when I first wore toppers and hair extensions and I’ve been wearing them, and wigs, ever since.
‘I would pretend that my wig was my real hair and if I got a new one that was longer, I pretended that I had got hair extensions.
‘My hairline is now gone.
‘There’s a palm-shaped bald spot on the top of my head and a hand-sized one on my left side.’
In Feburary 2018, Dorin shaved her head.
She said: ‘I had gotten to a point of acceptance.
‘I had struggled with my hair loss for so long and it controlled so much of my life.
‘I wanted to take back control.
‘It was a therapeutic, letting go moment.
‘It felt really powerful.’
She also switched careers to help other women battling hair loss tend to their locks.
She said: ‘The hair salon can be a really embarrassing place for people with hair loss.
‘You don’t want to expose your bald spots to people who have no idea of what you’ve gone through.
‘I didn’t go to the salon a lot as a kid.
‘I only went once every couple of years because it made me anxious.
‘I realized I didn’t want to live my life ashamed of my hair pulling.
‘This was the biggest thing that I was hiding from everyone like it was a terrible secret.
‘I started telling friends and family and putting it on social media.
‘I ended up going to cosmetology school with the intention of working with people who have trichotillomania.’
In November 2017, Dorin became a hair stylist, She started her first job working in a general hair salon, assisting with cutting and colouring.
A year later, she began working at Elan Hair Studio, a hair restoration salon in Houston, Texas, which specialises in helping men, women and children with thinning hair.
Dorin said: ‘99% of our clients have hair loss of some kind.
‘The clients I take on now have trichotillomania or alopecia and I have one client who is going through chemotherapy.
‘For many people with hair loss, talking about their hair is very difficult.
‘Often they don’t take care of their hair because they are ashamed.
‘I clean, cut and dye wigs and toppers so that their hair can stay on trend if they want.
‘To be able to give someone back confidence and say, “Hey, you can have hair again”, is unbelievably rewarding.’
Despite shaving her head, Dorin admitted she still pulls at any remaining tufts and accepts that she may always suffer from trichotillomania.
She said: ‘Some of my hair won’t come back at this point because I’ve been pulling for 20 years.
‘It becomes automatic.
‘I don’t realize I’m doing it until I’ve pulled out a couple of hairs.
‘I spend a fair amount of time pulling out my hair but it doesn’t keep me from doing things in my day-to-day life.
‘I accept the fact that trichotillomania may be with me forever, but it doesn’t have to define my life.
The Met Gala 2019 did not disappoint in the beauty department.
The Met Gala’s ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ theme inspired some seriously beautiful and standout beauty looks to match the over-the-top hair and outfits on offer.
From Gaga and Gigi’s extreme lash statements, to Jennifer Lopez’ dramatic purple eyeshadow, the red (well, pastel pink) carpet was full of colourful and campy beauty trends.
And it seems some of the best beauty looks from the night including Lady Gaga, Halsey and Lily Aldridge all share one thing in common; they used Marc Jacobs first-ever skincare product – Youthquake.
The Marc Jacobs Youthquake Hydra-full Retexturizing Gel Crème made it’s first appearance backstage at fashion’s biggest night.
The new release, which will officially launch at the end of the month at Harvey Nichols and Net-a-porter, is brimming with skin-resurfacing fruit enzymes, antioxidant-rich dragonfruit extract, and hydrating and plumping hyaluronic acid.
The weightless gel-cream exfoliates and nourishes skin at the same time. But, notably, the multi-tasker creates a smoother, plumper and instantly glowy makeup-ready base – perfect for prepping the skin for the red carpet.
The Marc Jacobs Youthquake Hydra-full Retexturizing Gel Crème was the first step of Lady Gaga’s standout beauty look.
Global Artistry Ambassador Sarah Tanno said: ‘Prepping the skin is always the most important step in any makeup no matter how clean or how intense. I started with the first ever Marc Jacobs Beauty skincare called “Youthquake” moisturizer.’
‘It’s the perfect start to add hydration and plump the skin before makeup. I used the Accomplice concealers instead of a foundation and topped with the Accomplice powder for a soft focus natural glow.’ she continued.
After Sarah had ensured ‘the skin was balanced and beautiful’, she used the Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayons in the Shade Pink of Me in the waterline and Blaquer to define and line the eyes.
She followed with lashings of Marc Jacobs Beauty fan-favourite Velvet Noir Mascara and applied the Liquid Lip Crayon in Flaming-Oh!, topped with Enamored Hydrating Lip Gloss Stick in Sweet Escape onto her pout to compliment her hot poink Brandon Maxwell gown.
Here at Metro.co.uk Lady Gaga’s Met Gala look has us transfixed and is undoubtedly an excellent excuse to get bangs, invest in a new mascara and a buy a new pair of extra-large sunglasses.
It’s safe to say that it’ll be hard to top this beauty look.
There is a brand new app on the horizon – and it’s changing the way we think about mental health.
‘Fika’ is the new fitness app with a twist: its focus is on emotional fitness instead of physical fitness.
Founded by friends Gareth Fryer, 36, and Nick Bennett, 46, the ‘fitness’ app will focus on varying aspects of combating stress and anxiety by applying similar methods athletes use when training.
What is the Fika app?
The Fika app provides five-minute emotional exercises based on techniques that combine the science of positive psychology, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, sports psychology and mindfulness.
Most importantly, it emphasises the need for taking the time to talk, listen to your emotions and those of your friends, which all help to combat the impacts of stress and anxiety, which in a world dedicated to screen time, is a much needed approach.
Bennett said: ‘The world is emotionally out of shape. We all know the benefits of regular physical exercise, but what about regular emotional exercise?
‘We are bringing Fika to market to address this problem and raise awareness of the benefits of emotional fitness, to get the best out of our lives.’
Fika Origins
What does ‘Fika’ mean?
Fika is a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for fika every day.
It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat.
How To Use The FIKA App
Users start by choosing an outcome focused pack, such as ‘Achieve your goals’ or ‘Strengthen your relationships’. (Each pack has a series of guided exercises based around a key question.)
Form the habit: The exercises have a five minute timer and audio guide to help with focus and the formation of a healthy daily exercise habit. .
Fika on your own to build confidence. You can also do it with friends or with someone you know face to face by taking it turns to talk through the exercise while your friend uses the prompts to help you.
The exercises in the app are designed to help users emotionally challenge and push people. Whether that means building on strengths, or adapting to circumstances the aim is to build emotional resilience.
Fryer said: ‘When dealt with in the right way, stress can actually be good for you.
‘Success is 75% dependent on your mindset – your sense of optimism, how you perceive and handle stress, how connected you are to others, how you respond to things.
‘Athletes understand this: in order to optimise your performance, you have to have your brain right.’
That’s it, we’re sold – let’s get emotionally fit.
If my friends, family or fiancée are reading this, no offence intended, but I have a fantasy where I wake up and I’m the only person left on earth.
I see out the last 40 years of my life watching nature begin to reclaim what it rightfully owns and start the millennia long process of reversing the destruction we have caused.
Vines begin to grow up the sides of Big Ben, The London Eye and my local Tesco. Structures that we once thought, in our arrogance, a permanent part of the world, realise their true fate, blinks in the history of the universe, ground down to dust by time. Deer run riot through huge swathes of suburban housing, flowers spring from ever increasing cracks in the road and, whilst desperately researching how to brew beer after all the barrels have gone off (I reckon I’ve got a good six weeks of going absolutely crazy), I begin to get a sense of how things ought to be, had we never been here in the first place. Nature wins.
There is one flaw in this plan, one contradiction that exemplifies the environmental crisis we are all in right now, in the fantasy I am there. Nature will win one day, we will die out, it will find a way, it will rebalance over millions of years. Yet for now my own survival still trumps this dream of environmental regeneration. I am there. And I’m increasingly convinced that our very presence on earth is incompatible with the recovery of the forests, species, climate and oceans we all pretend to care about.
Damning study upon damning study, statistic upon statistic, report upon report, all with the same inevitable conclusion: we’re f***ed.
This chilling UN report is, at the time of writing and before the Royal Baby was born, the lead article on the BBC news website. And it hasn’t yet troubled their top 10 most read stories. Which, in a nutshell, is our problem. That a report detailing that 25 per cent of all species are under threat, that 100 million hectares of rainforest have been lost in 30 years and that only 13 per cent of wetlands present in 1700 still remain, is not all anyone is talking about, shows the scale of the problem, and the impotence of the solution.
To the logical brain there can be only one solution, the end of the human race. We hand in our notice, say thank you to the landlord for putting us up, and apologise for completely and utterly trashing the place. Our deposit unreturned.
I put this solution to my fiancée as we walked back from the same Tesco I’d imagined one day consumed by undergrowth and I have to say she wasn’t entirely keen.
‘What if we all got a red button and we all pressed them at once and we’re all wiped out instantly, so in a million years everything is back to normal.’
[pause]
‘Ummm, no thanks…’
[a longer pause]
‘Bubba, you do have some very bleak thoughts don’t you?’
I then tried to explain that actually it’s a very hopeful, optimistic thought, imagining that one day we’ll all be gone and it’ll be like the earth has had the most positive clear out of its life, the ultimate in Feng Shui.
I’ve had this conversation with a few people recently and, alas, it seems the more one argues for the complete annihilation of mankind, the more one is referred to as ‘Captain Bleak’.
I’m absolutely no activist and I do no more to protect the environment than your average person. My concerns for doing my bit are all to often outmanoeuvred by convenience, cost and effort. I drive an old diesel for example. Why? Well, I was told it was the right thing to do at the time and it’s cheap to run. It cost me £3000 second hand and, as anyone who’s looked into it will understand, the price of a new electric vehicle is currently out of my price range.
But Greta Thunberg is right: ‘you can’t be little a bit sustainable. You are either sustainable or you are not’. I am a ‘bit sustainable’, therefore, I am not sustainable. None of us are.
I recently spent a weekend in the blissful Machynlleth, an idyllic Welsh town that is not only host to my favourite comedy festival, but is also the location of the Centre For Alternative Energy, a wind farm, and EcoDyfi, an organisation to support a greener community and economy in the Dyfi Valley.
In short, it’s bag for life central, plastic cups have a £2 refundable deposit at all the festival bars and they even employ people to pick through the recycling bins to prevent cross contamination. And yet. Pop to the local pub and they’ll still put a plastic cocktail stick in a lime and soda. Plastic bottles of water still line the supermarket aisles. Endless receipts you never asked for are still printed. Disposable cups are still used. There is still litter. Diesel is still sold. Meat is still farmed. Even the most ecologically conscious place I’ve visited in Britain, is still only ‘a bit sustainable’.
And there’s the rub. I don’t think we’ll ever do enough. I think human beings are completely incompatible with the environment. I think it is in our nature to consume, to put money before trees, to throw away, to take the easy option. It is in our nature to destroy ourselves. There’s no harm in trying, in doing our best, but it will not work. The seas will boil as we sip from plastic pint glasses because we have to take them outside to catch the blazing sun. You are the problem, I am the problem, we are the problem.
I read that article on the BBC news website and it made no difference. I might try to remember my reusable coffee cup more often, but when I inevitably forget it, will I forgo a disposable one? I doubt I will. And were that red button in front of us all now, would I press it? I think I might.
H&M has launched an adorable new collection so that mothers and daughters can match their outfits this summer.
The You & Me collection features a range of outfits that are perfect for holidays or days out in the park.
It includes coordinating outfits with prices starting at £9.99 for a pair of shorts, going up to £39.99 for mules.
Launching the collection, H&M said: ‘Take your little one by the hand and have a fun and playful summer in matching outfits!’
The range is already becoming seriously popular, with some items already sold out online.
This includes an embroidered palm tree dress which has completely sold out on the website, and a buttoned-front pinafore dress and patterned body – which shoppers aren’t too happy about.
People have even been taking to H&M’s Instagram to express how they upset they are that they weren’t able to get their hands on some of the items before they sold out.
One person said: ‘This is great but it’s SOLD OUT before it even gets to UK which is very annoying.’
Another wrote: ‘Love this dress but sold out x’.
However other people who were quick enough to buy have said the outfits are ‘cute’ – with some suggesting H&M consider making a mother and son range, too.
The items are currently still available to buy in some UK stores – and to save you disappointment you can check stockists on the website.