Content warning: Contains descriptions of sex and drug addiction that some readers might find distressing.
Hello, my name is(n’t) Michael and I’m a sex addict.
I’m 43 and I have had a sex addiction for 25 years, but I’m now thankfully in recovery and have been for 10 years this year.
After a decade of regaining control, I’m so proud of myself but the truth is, I’ll always be a sex addict. At least I now know how to cope with it.
I would say that my addiction to sex started when I was 18. I’d had sex before then and it was enjoyable, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t always the act of having sex that I enjoyed the most.
Sometimes the thrill was more about everything else that came with it; the initial flirting, the conversation, the drinking, the drugs, the dancing, the thoughts of ‘will we, won’t we’.
Ultimately, it was the whole build-up to the sex. Everything about it gave me such a rush of adrenaline, and when it ended with sex, well, that was just the icing on the cake.
What I’ve later learned is that the enjoyment I got from that build-up was my way of trying to create a relationship, which was something I craved. Even though the relationship would be over the next day, I didn’t mind, I’d still had it.
Most importantly, I’d wanted someone and they’d wanted me in return. I wanted to be wanted and loved, even when I didn’t love myself.
At that time in my life I had a really high-pressured job. I worked in central London for a huge corporate insurance firm and it was unbelievably stressful.
I had to have the build-up to sex and the act of sex at least once a day. In all honesty, sometimes it was more than once a day and I used to pride myself on having sex with a different woman every day.
There were never-ending targets to hit, but when we hit them we celebrated. When I watched The Wolf Of Wall Street I thought it painted a pretty close picture.
I started to experiment with cocaine as someone told me it would help to keep me ‘on the ball’. I absolutely loved it. And with that came the ability to keep awake for longer, so that when I finished work I could go out drinking and stay up until all hours, trying to find a lady to end the night with.
This I had to do, every night – doing otherwise wasn’t even an option for me.
I had to have the build-up to sex and the act of sex at least once a day. In all honesty, sometimes it was more than once a day and I used to pride myself on having sex with a different woman every day.
I just found it so easy and enjoyable to do, so why wouldn’t I?
My life quickly snowballed into addiction, without me even realising it. I was taking cocaine to keep me awake at work because I’d been up having sex most of the night. And then once I finished work, I’d go out partying, drinking, and take more cocaine to make sure that I was awake enough to flirt with someone enough so that we would end up having sex.
It was, without me knowing, a very vicious circle and I was well and truly in it for the long haul.
It couldn’t end, because I had this ever-growing hole inside my stomach that I just couldn’t fill, no matter how much sex I had.
No matter how nice the woman was, I always felt empty before, and empty afterwards; nothing I did made me feel better but the compulsion to keep going was overpowering.
Every so often a woman expressed her interest in us developing more than a sexual relationship and, no matter how much I might have liked her as a person, I just couldn’t let myself get too involved. To be honest, I wanted her to want that involvement, because it made me feel wanted.
Sex addiction splits your emotions in half. You want the attention but when you get it, you run away from it. I wanted the build-up to sex, as well as the sex, but when someone wanted that little bit more, I backed away. It was genuinely burdensome.
I finally realised I had a problem when I got married and the addiction didn’t stop. I had three great children, but I couldn’t stop, no matter how nice and well packaged my life appeared on the outside. I was still empty on the inside.
I attended a sex and love session, and, not only did I realise and accept that I had a problem, I was welcomed and made to feel like I wasn’t alone.
Unfortunately my marriage didn’t work out, but through treatment and the sex and love groups, I began to love myself. I began to accept myself for who I was and who I wanted to be.
My compulsive need to fill the empty gap inside of me slowly subsided and I stopped everything else as well; the cocaine, drinking, the whole lot. I had to. I didn’t think I could do one without the rest of them.
That was 10 years ago. I’ll always be an addict, but I’m in recovery and that’s where I’ll stay.
Eytan Alexander, Founder of a leading addiction treatment firm discusses sex and love addiction:
Those suffering with sex and love addiction might not recognise they have a problem because they will tend to mask it with some form of substance abuse.
When we treat our patients, and we really dig deep into the why they do what they do, we generally reveal their struggle with relationships, boundaries and respect.
Sex addicts will have huge egos but incredibly low self esteem. They’ll be addicted to love but at the same time, will avoid love.
They’ll experience both sets of conflicting emotions at the same time, which causes them real mental pain.
Ultimately, no one can have a healthy relationship with another person until they have a healthy relationship with themselves.
Being a sex addict is not something to quaff at; it is a very real problem that we believe people suffer in silence with.
Hopefully, the World Health Organization recognising it as a disorder will encourage more people to come forward and seek the help they need.
For more information on the signs and symptoms of sex and love addiction, visit ukat.co.uk
A couple of smuggled teddy bear puppies who went viral two years ago after they were photographed in flower pots, have been reunited.
Cruel puppy farmers had bred the Chow Chows in Eastern Europe before illegally transporting them into the UK where they were intercepted by border patrol staff in Kent.
Dogs Trust Canterbury, which provides support for illegally smuggled puppies through their time in quarantine, was given the job of finding the cuddly animals a new home.
(Picture: Dogs Trust Canterbury / SWNS.com)
Staff at the rescue centre photographed Dandy and Lion in flower pots to coincide with the first ever dog-friendly garden which Dogs Trust launched at Hampton Court Flower Show.
The puppies went viral and then were separated after the images garnered lots of interest. They were eventually adopted by Catherine Tate and Wendy Zhanwei.
(Picture: Dogs Trust Canterbury / SWNS.com)
Two years on, and now named Cherry and Teddy, the dogs were reunited for a photoshoot – although this time they were too large to fit in the flower pots.
Puppy smuggling from Eastern Europe is a growing problem which campaigners and authorities are trying to clamp down on.
(Picture: Dogs Trust Canterbury / SWNS.com)
So-called ‘designer’ breeds like French bulldogs and Chow Chows are separated from their mothers when they are weeks old because they look smaller and cuter.
They were then transported hundreds of miles across mainland Europe before being smuggled into the UK where they are sold for a handsome profit.
(Picture: Dogs Trust Canterbury / SWNS.com)
Many of the young pups suffer health problems due to bad breeding and being taken away from their mum at such a young age.
Harriet Blaskett, Dogs Trust Canterbury’s rehoming centre manager, said: ‘These two pups are thriving two years on and it’s lovely that they have been reunited.
‘They have bloomed into wonderful characters with their new families and whilst they might not fit as snugly as they did into the very same flower pots they did – I’m assured they are still the same playful, cheeky puppies that they were then.’
A little girl was left crying in agony and unable to walk for an entire holiday due to severe sunburn – which her mother claims came as a result of Boots SPF 50 sun cream failing to do its job.
10-year-old Anya Tucker came home with her shoulders covered in pink scars after burns turned into painful blisters and began to scab up while on a family holiday in Elounda, Crete.
The pain has left her so paranoid of being burnt again that the primary school pupil has been left terrified of going outside in the UK’s recent heatwave and begging her mum to pick cold holiday locations in the future.
Mum Monique, 34, claims she applied the factor 50 sun cream every one to two hours and each time her children got out of the pool during the first day of their holiday on 19 June.
But she was left shocked later that day after discovering her daughter’s feet were so burnt she couldn’t walk.
(Picture: Mercury Press)
Dad Richard, 29, had to carry her to a local pharmacy for treatment where they were given a moisturising cream.
The burns meant Anya was unable to enjoy the rest of her holiday and had to stay in the shade covered with a blanket for a week while her siblings played in the pool.
The Boots website claims the Soltan Kids Once 3hr Protect & Swim SPF 50+ can ‘give up to eight hours sun protection, including three hours in the water from just one application’.
A spokesperson for Boots said they were sorry to hear about what they called an ‘isolated’ incident and reassured customers that all products are ‘rigorously and independently tested’.
Customer assistant Monique, from Crook, County Durham said: ‘Anya cried every day. She had to sit in the shade with a blanket over her and keep her top on if we went on a day out.
‘Over the week it started to blister and it was bright red. When I touched her skin she would flinch and cry because it was so painful.
(Picture: Mercury Press)
‘She kept saying that she wanted to go home and was having regular paracetamol to control the pain.
‘Because of the burns, she couldn’t get in the pool with her brothers or sisters so she was getting really frustrated.
‘It was our first proper family holiday and it just put a complete dampener on it.
‘Every time she cried I cried because I couldn’t do anything to help her.’
She continued: ‘It was a factor 50 plus and it said that if you didn’t go in the pool it would provide protection for eight hours.
‘It had a five-star UV rating and I thought as it was from Boots it would be a good sun cream, I think a lot of parents would trust it.
‘I put it on all four of my kids. My four year old and one year old were kept in the shade all day anyway so they didn’t get burnt.
‘However, Anya’s feet were red raw and all her shoulders and back were burnt.
(Picture: Mercury Press)
‘I only used this one on the first day and I applied it every one to two hours and when they got out of the pool because I like to make sure my kids are protected.
‘That was more than the eight hours the bottle suggested.
‘Me and my husband noticed after going back to the room that Anya’s feet and shoulders were really red.
‘She couldn’t walk because her feet were so burnt. We had to take her to a pharmacy but her dad had to carry her because she was in so much pain.
‘They gave us some cream to try and repair the skin but there weren’t any quick fixes.’
Since returning from the family holiday on 26 June, Monique has filed a complaint through the Boots online feedback form, and claims that after receiving no response she took to social media to contact them.
Boots offered her a £35 voucher but Monique refused it, saying her daughter’s pain was worth much more than that and that she wanted the issue investigated.
Monique said: ‘Despite the fact that my daughter doesn’t shop in Boots, her pain wasn’t worth £35 and they needed to look into it.
(Picture: Mercury Press)
‘When I got back to them to tell them I was unhappy with the offer they offered me £45 and told me that they thought that was suitable.
‘They told me it is a one-off incident and they haven’t had any other complaints of this nature.
‘Even if I am the only person who has complained about it there could be other mums who haven’t been able to complain yet or it could happen to another child.
‘I just don’t want anyone else to be in as much pain as what Anya was in.
‘She has ended up being really paranoid of being burnt, especially with the weather in the UK now.’
She added: ‘I have been looking at holidays for next year and she keeps saying that she doesn’t want to go anywhere hot. I don’t want her to be this worried about burning.’
A Boots spokesperson said: ‘We are very sorry to hear about this isolated incident and we are working closely with the family involved.
‘We take the safety and well-being of our customers very seriously and the quality and safety of our products is of the utmost importance to us.
‘We have always been committed to protecting our customers’ skin from the sun and our products are rigorously and independently tested to ensure they are safe and effective.’
In an era when more and more people are using dating apps to find love, it’s not surprising that not everyone is totally honest about themselves online.
People have resorted to online dating because it’s just easier than socialising in real life. We’ve grown accustomed to using our phones; swiping left and right just seems so much less nerve-wracking than approaching someone in a bar to see if they’re single.
The main problem? Online dating can give a false perception of who we are. On Tinder, all you need to do is sum yourself up in a few words and upload your best photos. You’re putting forward your best self – and therefore it’s much easier to gain attention.
And sometimes, that desire can stray into the realm of catfishing.
In case you haven’t seen the MTV show, catfishing is where someone uses another person’s photos and pretends to be them.
Some people even go as far as changing their names and details about their life.
Catfishing really ends well, and the victims often end up feeling hurt and lied to, unable to trust in future relationships.
Metro.co.uk spoke to a few people who had been catfished about how what happened when they found out the person they’d fallen for wasn’t actually the person in the pictures:
The one who catfished their ex
‘I was messaging someone while in a relationship with my ex. But this was when things were really bad between us.
‘She was emotionally abusive to me on multiple occasions and gaslit me, she started to ice me out and refused to see me on our date nights.
‘I’d moved out but she still had access to my passwords and apparently, I was messaging her “friend” who turned out to be her on Plenty of Fish, and we then rowed about it.
‘She failed to see the whole catfishing thing and hacking into my other social media accounts was bad.
‘I was accused of all sorts that she was doing such has harassment and cheating, later picked up her phone when we were out and saw that her ex was messaging her inviting, her to a hotel with rosé.
‘But she failed to see this was wrong either.’
(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
The one who catfished thousands of miles away
‘I wasn’t catfished, but someone catfished someone else using my photos.
‘In 2012, I got a message from a guy who had found me through Facebook. He had been talking to a woman who had been using my photos for months.
‘The two had fallen in love and were planning to be together. He was from England and she was from America.
‘In the end, he travelled over to America to meet this girl – only to be met by someone who obviously wasn’t me.
‘He was pretty gutted when he found the real me and that I was already dating someone, funnily enough who I’d met online myself (but most definitely was not a catfish).’
The one who two friends fell in love with
‘So this was back when Myspace was popping. I was either 15 or 16, and I was on Myspace minding my own business, and came across this guy called Darnell from California who was amazing.
‘We hit it off instantly, and would frequently call (Skype) and text each other on MSN messenger.
‘I used to tell my best friend all the gossip and I really wanted her to suss him out and see what she thought of him too, so she added him on MSN messenger.
‘To cut a very long story short, this went on for about three years. He never got on camera, however, he’d always send random videos of himself goofing around to me. At the time, I didn’t really think much of it, neither did my friend.
‘He always said he would come to London to meet me, but then plans always ended up changing. Anyway, we had an argument about it and didn’t talk for about a week.
‘My friend tried to get us both to talk again, so she would communicate with him frequently. Eventually, they started liking each other, and she fell in love with him. He dumped me for her and they started “online dating”. I was devastated.
‘Fast forward a year, I was heartbroken while they were making plans on seeing each other (she’d booked tix to go).
‘I was on Myspace and saw another profile of his which I thought was a CATFISH account. So I messaged the account to ask why he’d stolen Darnell’s pictures.
‘Turned out, this was the real account – the guy’s name was “Romero” from California and was aware that people had been stealing his photos and videos. He sent me a proof video of himself mentioning my name, the date and that he was sorry I had been duped.
‘I cried for HOURS.
‘I told my friend. She ended up getting depression over it. It was horrible. We confronted him on MSN group chat and he blocked us. Four years, over like that! It was a horrible time, but looking back, the red flags were so clear!’
(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
The married catfish who pretended to be divorced
‘We started speaking on Plenty of Fish, (great start I know!) and he seemed to be really open to begin with. He told me he was technically still married but they had been separated for 6 months and that they’d simply fallen out of love.
‘He told me about their two-year-old daughter and that he wanted to find someone that he could introduce to his daughter and settle down with.
‘I told him I appreciated the honesty and opened up to him about my mental health issues. He then went on to explain he had been in the army and had PTSD. Again, I was impressed with how open he seemed to be.
‘As we talked more he seemed to be really invested in me, and mentioned a friend of his to me.
‘He said they had been intimate in the past and if I was interested that this girl would like to join us one time! Let me just stress that we had never even met each other at this point, let alone bringing someone else into the “relationship”.
‘He gave me her number and I spoke to her a little bit. She said she was single, had no children and was around my age.
‘Things began to feel slightly off, I can’t exactly say what, and their stories matched up perfectly so I had no reason to doubt them. But the conversations started to fizzle out.
‘It was around a month or so later that I received a text message from the guy out of the blue. He said he couldn’t stop thinking about me and wanted to meet. Before replying I decided to check him out on Facebook.
‘That’s when I saw his relationship status was still married, and when I clicked on his wife’s profile, she had posted a photo with the caption “my little family” just three days before.
‘I replied to his text. “I’m not interested. You’re married.” To which he replied, “Not anymore, my divorce came through.” I replied “bullsh*t”.
‘I screenshot the texts and typed out a message to his wife, something along the lines of “I’m really sorry to have to tell you this but I think you deserve to know”. I briefly explained the whole story, told her if she wanted to know anything else I’d help in any way I could, I apologised again and attached the screenshot of the texts.
‘I was shaking because I knew I was potentially turning her whole life upside down.
‘She replied the next day, clearly upset but thankful that I had told her. She asked for a few more details and I mentioned the friend he had involved too.
‘She said this girl was one of their best friends and was also married with four children! She told me she was leaving him and he would never see their daughter again.
‘We spoke for a couple of days and I reassured her she deserved better.
‘I checked back on her profile a few months later to see how she was doing, and again there was another recent post with him in. I guess she took him back. I hope he’s learnt his lesson though. Girls gotta stick together!’
(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co,uk)
The 13-year-old catfish
‘It started back in the summer of 2015. I met a girl online who went by the name of “Jess”. We became friends but soon after it turned into something more.
‘I’d never fallen in love online before so it was a massive thing for me, but I could see a future with her.
‘We began dating and that’s when her made-up stories would come along. She’d watch soaps and steal ideas from that and make up her own sick and twisted stories from them. I didn’t find that out until later on.
‘She basically used me to make herself feel better. Once she was satisfied with how she felt, she left me with no contact for weeks on end which completely broke me and then came back claiming her ex-boyfriend had locked her in an abandoned house and set fire to it, which I was so stupidly in love to believe.
‘She claimed he was called Chris and was abusive. He’d pushed her down the stairs and killed their unborn child. She then became very close to one of my friends and tried it on with him, I was one of many victims.
‘She had numerous lads on the go, under different names. Still to this day she’s doing it, I believe she goes under the name of ‘Jade’ now.
‘How I found out was through some of her old friends. She’d also catfished them and then hurled abuse at them on her real account.
‘She turned out to be a 13-year-old named Eve Woodbridge. A true psychopath.
‘When I confronted her, she denied it endlessly and then pretended to be her cousin and claimed Eve had committed suicide. Days later, she admitted everything was a lie and she was ‘lonely.’ She was a twisted individual who lied and manipulated to get others to feel sorry for her.
Those nervous moments in the bathroom when you first get your period usually consist of reading a tampon pamphlet cover to cover.
As if you’re not scared enough about having to put this thing in your body, you learn about toxic shock syndrome.
This will then be the cloud that hangs over your period-having self every time you think you might have left your tampon in for five hours instead of four.
Toxic shock syndrome is definitely something to be mindful of, but is the intense worry that a number of us have warranted?
What is toxic shock syndrome?
Toxic shock syndrome – or TSS – is a condition caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus.
One in three of us have this bacteria living on our bodies (whether that’s in our armpits, groins, or vaginas) but, when certain strains of it grow in a person without the antibodies to fight them, TSS can occur.
Symptoms include high temperatures, low blood pressure, vomiting and diarrhoea, rashes, confusion, muscle aches, seizures, and headaches.
They tend to come on quickly, and you’re advised to go to hospital right away if you think you have TSS, as in some cases it can be fatal. You should also take out your tampon if you have one in.
(Picture: Getty)
How common is it?
According to the Toxic Shock Information Service, there are around 40 cases of toxic shock syndrome reported each year.
About half of these are linked to tampons, while the other half are linked to localised infections after things like surgery or insect bites.
Of these cases, up to three people yearly will die from TSS.
Due to its rarity, most health professionals will never see a case of it in the careers.
However, as it can be fatal, it’s still super important to be vigilant.
How can you lower your chances of getting it?
Obviously, since some cases are linked to the use of tampons, you can stop using them and go for pads or a menstrual cup instead.
That won’t take away your risk completely, but will significantly reduce it. There have only been two recorded cases of TSS associated with menstrual cups, and both of these women had left them in for around seven days.
So, no matter which method you use, you still do need to ensure you’re practicing proper hygiene and using according to the instructions.
If you do still want to use tampons, go for the lowest absorbency you can and change every four or so hours.
Also, make sure to always wash your hands before and after changing pads, cups, or tampons.
Michelle’s memoir ‘Am I Ugly?’ is released today (Photo: Michelle Elman)
When I titled my memoir ‘Am I Ugly?’, I definitely didn’t have the forethought to consider that that would be how I would introduce myself for the rest of my life.
An inadvertent consequence of choosing that title has made me realise how much of a gut reaction most people have to the word ugly. We have given such a small four-letter word so much power.
It was a question that dictated my childhood as I grew up with scars that covered my body from my head, to my neck, to my stomach and even my ankles.
I believed these scars meant I would never be beautiful or worthy of love.
While I grew up constantly asking that question, now I really don’t care for the answer. I refuse to give away my power by letting it dictate my self-worth.
Body positivity always talks about how all bodies are beautiful and, while that it is true, this message seems to override other core principles.
While body positivity is quick to reassure you that you are beautiful, and the only reason you think you aren’t is due to rubbish beauty standards, body positivity as a movement also states that you are more than your body, and you are not defined by your beauty.
It’s this second part of this messaging that is often forgotten.
Ugly exists as one of the worst insults in our society. We saw an example of that most recently on Love Island when Ellie called Georgia an ‘ugly c***’. I thought it was shocking that people were more offended by the first word than the second.
Michelle after surgery (Picture: Michelle Elman)
Ultimately, beauty is subjective. Just because someone says you are ugly, doesn’t mean you are. Instead, we need to focus on why, as people, we are so much more valuable than our physical appearance.
If we placed less importance on our beauty and beauty in general, words like ugly would lose their power. We should be asking what’s really that bad about being ugly?
In my world, there are a lot worse insults than ugly, because, in reality, even ugly people can live completely fulfilled lives.
I think what I found most worrying about the Googling statistic is the difference between asking ourselves that question and asking the internet.
Questioning and doubting your beauty is a normal part of growing up in a society that emphasises beauty as a measure of self-worth, but going to the internet for validation might as well equate to self-abuse.
Instead of going to loved ones who can be trusted to engage an open and vulnerable conversation, people are entrusting something really personal to strangers on the internet who hide behind their cloak of anonymity while they rate looks on Reddit threads.
In doing that, people everywhere are allowing a complete stranger’s opinion to be more important than their own. We need to teach boys and girls that when someone calls them ugly, it means nothing – beauty and ugliness are subjective.
When I tell people my book title, I see an instant knee-jerk reaction; people rush to tell me I’m not ugly. The thing is, I’m not asking for validation. I’m not stating that I am ugly. The awkwardness seems to come from me asking the question.
If just the mere mention of the word can induce such a reaction, I think we need to really start addressing our associations with this word altogether.
It’s our responsibility to put the brakes on this, by voting with our wallets. Instead of spending loads of money on bottled mineral water, why not treat yourself to a chic reusable water bottle and chug tap water instead?
When you think about it, we’re so incredibly lucky to live in a country that has safe drinking water coming out of the tap, so we may as well make the most of it.
Here are some fancy water vessel options that you’ll be proud to wrap your lips around.
1. S’well x Liberty stainless steel water bottle 500ml, Liberty, £42 each
Feel like treating yourself to a super chic water bottle that will stand the test of time?
Get one of these highly covetable S’well x Liberty print water bottles, created in collaboration with the iconic Liberty Fabric.
Thanks to its triple wall, this bottle keep hot drinks hot for 12 hours and cold ones cold for 24 hours, so this one doesn’t just look good – it does a great job, too.
2. Pret x Chilly’s water bottle 500ml, Pret, £20
(Picture: Pret)
Prety teamed up with water bottle company Chilly’s to bring you a reusable bottle that keeps your cold drinks cold for 24 hours, and hot drinks hot for 12 hours.
You can get them in Pret stores – click here to see which Pret stores have filtered water stations to fill your bottle up free at.
We’re also big fans of Pret’s new reusable coffee cup, which looks exactly like a regular Pret cup but is reusable. Big fans. It’s 355ml (the same size as Pret’s drinks) and costs £10 in store.
Plus, you get 50p off hot drinks when you use a reusable cup.
3. Love Island personalised water bottle with fruit infuser 740ml, Love Island, £15
(Picture: Love Island)
Get the water bottle of the summer with your very own personalised Love Island water bottle.
You can get it personalised (up to 12 characters) in pink, orange or blue writing.
It’s not just a trendy bottle either – the fruit infuser is so useful for flavouring your water with lemon/cucumber without floating bits, and the spout is mega handy for mess-free sipping.
Big fans. Crack on with this one.
4. Hip pink plastic water bottle 650ml, Oliver Bonas, £15
(Picture: Hip)
Massive fans of this one – it holds 650ml liquid but is in a really handy shape to pop in your bag.
Don’t want to be the devil on the shoulder, but what a great-sized hip flask to slip into clutch bags for weddings? Yup. Also a great size for taking alcohol into festival campsites where you’re not allowed to take glass in.
Made from BPA-free plastic, it’s got a textured silicone sleeve, which comes in two other colours.
It’s also dishwasher safe – happy days.
5. Joseph Joseph dot tracking water bottle 600ml, Lakeland, £9.99
(Picture: Joseph Joseph)
So, this is pretty cool. This leakproof BPA-free plastic bottle actually tracks how many times it’s been refilled.
Each dot represents 600ml water, so your own bottle is holding you accountable.
This is mighty expensive but it looks cute and is insulated, so will keep your drink cold as ice. It keeps your beverages hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours, which is pretty magnificent.
Plus, the cap comes off in one twist, and you can pop it in the dishwasher to give it a good old clean.
9. S’well stainless steel sport water bottle with swing cap 500ml, Country Attire, £34.95
(Picture: S’well)
These matte finish S’well bottles have a sports handle for use of use when being ~active~.
We’re big fans of S’well bottles – they’re insulated and keep drinks hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours.
We once made a really hot coffee to take on a day out during winter and it was still too hot to drink hours later. What a double-edged sword.
It’s not always practicial to be running around with a glass or steel bottle, so if you’re looking for a lightweight, squeezy BPA-free plastic number, this is a good option.
Lululemon partnered with Specialized to develop a squeezable water bottle for ‘high speeds, high tension, and easy-access hydration’.
Nice.
12. Leon crest stainless steel drinks bottle 500ml, John Lewis, £12
(Picture: John Lewis)
Healthy fast food chain Leon have the cutest artwork, and this branded water bottle is no exception.
Exclusive to John Lewis, it’s hand wash only and had a useful swing handle.
A young mum had the shock of her life when she got up in the middle of the night thinking she needed the toilet, and ended up giving birth to surprise twins instead.
Beth Bamford claims she had no idea she was pregnant and was stunned when she ended up giving birth alone in her bathroom.
The 21-year-old, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, gave birth to 5lb 10oz daughter Willow on her own, as boyfriend Andy Morris, 22, lay sound asleep just along the landing.
Beth called for an ambulance and emergency services talked her through pushing out the afterbirth – but instead she pushed out twin Freya, weiging 5lb 1oz.
Beth was terrified as Freya, who was breech, wasn’t breathing – but thankfully the quick-thinking emergency service caller was able to coach Beth through a lifesaving ‘little shake’ and the smaller twin took her first breath.
Beth, who was already a mum-of-two, had visited her doctor numerous times thinking she was ill but neither the mum nor her doctors realised it was because she was pregnant.
She claims she showed no signs of pregnancy because she was still having her periods, was not eating any more than usual and put the small amount of weight gain down to ‘fat’.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
However Beth says the new babies are a great surprise addition to her family.
Beth said: ‘It’s a big shock but a nice surprise. I didn’t know I was pregnant at all.
‘I was in bed with my partner and I was getting pains. I didn’t say anything to him but I went downstairs to get a glass of water and they got worse and I thought I needed the toilet.
‘I was still sitting on the toilet when I gave birth. I didn’t really have time to feel anything as it was happening.
‘It was a rush. One moment I was getting pain and the next moment I have got two new babies.
‘I hadn’t phoned an ambulance but I called the emergency services and they talked me through it as I gave birth to the first one.
‘They told me I needed to get the placenta out. I pushed again but another baby came out, not the placenta. It was a shock.
‘The second one wasn’t breathing because she was breech. I was panicking about what to do because I wasn’t sure what to do with one, let alone two.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘Nobody was answering me when I was shouting and I couldn’t wake my partner up because I was on the floor with the babies and couldn’t move.’
Beth says that when Andy finally woke up, he walked into the bathroom and ‘just looked’ at her.
She recalled: ‘He went to his mum’s bedroom and said: ‘Beth’s got two babies in the bathroom’.
‘She thought he had lost the plot because she knew we had two children already.
‘Two ambulances came and asked lots of questions, like how far along I was or where my notes were.
‘They assumed I knew that information and had notes, but I didn’t.
‘I told them I didn’t know I was pregnant or having twins, but nobody believed me – even my partner thought I had hidden it from him.
‘I had had the shock of giving birth to babies, and then people accusing me of not knowing.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘I had nothing, no nappies or anything, to take with me to the hospital.’
Doctors believe Beth was around 37 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to the non-identical twins on February 21.
She was told that if she had given birth in hospital, she would have had a C-section because Freya was breech.
The newborns and their mum spent a week in hospital where she and the babies were checked over and monitored for signs of distress.
But Beth, who is already mum to Elsa-Mae, three, and Alivia, two, was happy when all three of them were given the okay to go home.
Beth said: ‘I feel lucky because it could have been a lot worse.
‘I have settled down a bit now, but it is scary going from two to four. It helped having a lot of support.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘I have not had to go to and buy anything for them, because people went out and bought clothes and baskets and things for them.
‘I showed no signs of pregnancy and I even had my periods.
‘I have got ulcers in my mouth which stopped me from eating so whatever I was eating went to the babies.
‘During my pregnancy I was just doing normal things. I was lifting heavy things, and if they had known at work, I wouldn’t have been there.
‘I am a fussy eater and I don’t go out much anyway but I was still dancing like normal and doing everything that you would do if you’re not pregnant.
‘Doctors thought I had a viral infection. I don’t feel angry. It didn’t pop into my head I could be pregnant.
‘It’s a bit of a struggle but I just have to get on with it.’
There’s just one thing that plant-based cuisine fails to get right, however, and that’s patisserie.
Oh, for those heady days when we used to scoff buttery croissants on our way to work. Urgh, what you wouldn’t give for a cream puff as light and airy as a cloud – and full of dairy.
But you know who does pastry best? The French.
And a vegan Parisian pastry chef has finally opened the first plant-based patisserie in London.
Clarisse Flon launched her new menu at Cafe Forty One opened at La Suite West Hotel earlier this week, with promises of updated French favourites.
‘British and American food seems to revolve around sugar and heavy things like brownies and cupcakes right now,’ Clarisse tells Metro.co.uk.
(Picture: Miranda Larbi)
‘Everything’s really colourful or got icing on top. My training was in French patisserie and in France, you’re really concentrating on textures, fresh fruits and the best ingredients.’
Bizarrely, she admits that she’s not actually a massive fan of cakes and pastries.
‘I don’t have much of a sweet tooth; I might make pastry but I’m more of a savoury person so I like fruits and nuts and I like to play with texture.’
As well as cakes and flakey offerings, Cafe Forty One is also offering a new vegan breakfast, lunch, and Afternoon Tea.
She’s got a ‘smoked salmon’ and cream cheese offering made from seaweed, miso and liquid smoke-infused carrot, as well as Asian slaw with gluten-free breaded shimeji mushrooms.
(Picture: clarisseflon)
And of course, there’s a mushroom bourguignon pie and mash – a nod to her mum’s pie back in France…a traditionally vegan-unfriendly country.
‘I’ve been vegan for five years and still, my mum asks if I’m still vegan when I come home!
‘Come on – it’s my career mum! She’ll be like, “I’ve made beef bourguignon – you can just fish out the mushroom”.’
Clarisse turned to veganism, as so many seem to do these days, following an ‘undetectable digestive system illness’. She started looking into food preparation and its impact on health and the environment and after working in a patisserie, realised that there were few vegan or gluten-free options out there.
So, she set about creating them herself.
(Picture: Miranda Larbi)
She launched her own business, The Sunny Spoon, in 2015 and spent a year working at a luxury hotel in St Barths, before being appointed as Head Chef at La Suite West – which hopes to become the first fully vegan hotel in London.
Cool huh?
When we tried some of Clarisse’s offerings and they were everything we’d hoped for.
Flakey, creamy millefeuilles. Super airy meringues (made from chickpea water and sugar). Moist madeleines filled with fresh jam and topped with thick coconut fondant.
(Picture: Miranda Larbi)
Most of the vegan croissants that I’ve tasted have been crushing disappointments – heavy, dense and tasteless.
Anyone who’s ever tried to make pastry beyond simply bunging a Jus-Rol slab into the oven knows that it’s incredibly tricky to make vegan pastry taste anything like the regular stuff.
‘It’s so different to classic pastry,’ Clarisse says of making vegan patisserie.
‘I tried to translate my classic training to veganism and it was so hard – it took me years to develop a recipe. Now we have amazing vegan butter, oat milk, rice milk…in French patisserie, you just tend to have one kind of milk and now we have all plant based things.’
One can only hope that other vegan businesses somehow get hold of Clarisse’s recipe, or at least figure out a way of turning stodgy pastry into nut-based delights.
A schoolgirl is entertaining the internet with an Instagram account which documents the adventures of her malformed hand, Fred.
16-year-old Haylee Gardner is missing fingers due to amniotic band syndrome, which cut off blood flow to her left hand while she was in the womb.
Amniotic band syndrome is a rare condition caused by strands of the amniotic sac separating and entangling parts of the fetus.
Physical birth defects can occur if those strands become wrapped around the digits, arms, legs, head or face, and internal organs can be affected.
(Picture: SWNS)
In Haylee’s case, the condition resulted in her being born with a malformed left hand.
Growing up, she would doodle on her ‘little hand’ with a marker pen, bringing it to life with eyes and a smile.
Haylee nicknamed her hand Fred and after realising it made her friends laugh, decided to set up an Instagram page devoted to her alter ego.
She has since staged photoshoots showing ‘Fred’ in a range of real-life scenarios – including driving a car, travelling on a plane, playing scrabble and blowing bubbles.
(Picture: SWNS)
Haylee hopes her Instagram will raise awareness of limb differences, while entertaining her followers.
Haylee, from Macksburg, Iowa, said: ‘When I was younger I would get bored and draw on myself.
‘I would draw mostly faces and I noticed my thumb kind of looked like a nose and the other ones looked kind of like a mohawk.
(Picture: SWNS)
‘My mom really stressed when I was growing up that I shouldn’t be afraid of showing it to people or hiding it.
‘I drew on it a whole bunch because my friends thought it was really funny and one of them suggested I make an Instagram account.
‘Normally if I’m walking around and looking at stuff in my bedroom I’ll think, ‘Oh, how could I make this into a funny face?’
(Picture: SWNS)
‘I have to take the picture and work my hand around so it is sometimes a struggle.’
Though the reaction to Haylee’s hand is mainly positive, it sometimes draws unwanted attention.
However, she’s learned to be confident thanks to the support from her parents and her followers, and she hopes her profile will help normalise limb differences.
(Picture: SWNS)
Haylee said: ‘I had one bully when I was at school who was really nasty to me.
‘Mostly it is little children staring which doesn’t bother me as much, but then their parents shoo them away.
‘If they would just come up to me I would gladly tell them.
‘I hope my page will make people laugh, but I also hope people, when they see someone like me in public, will have known this is a thing before that moment.
‘Hopefully, they won’t be as likely to stare or point.’
Not only are they amazing in a pavlova, but apparently raspberries are great for the blood and help with circulation too, according to new research.
The berry recently showed ‘promising’ health benefits in a trial involving healthy young men.
The study involved men aged 18 to 35, who each consumed fruity drinks prepared with 200g and 400g of frozen raspberries, or a control drink which matched the juices in terms of colour, taste and macronutrient breakdown.
The fruit drinks contained either 201 or 403 mg of total polyphenols (they’re the compounds found in plants, which largely benefit the human body and help fight disease).
(Picture: Getty)
Researchers said those involved in the trial showed signs of short-term improvements in blood vessel function after they ate a manageable amount of red raspberries. They were looking at the effects on the vessels two and 24 hours after consumption and found that those who drank the red raspberry drink had better flow-mediated dilation (FMD), an indicator for heart disease risk.
FMD increased significantly two hours after they had the raspberry drink compared with the change in FMD in those that had the control drink and results remained the same after 24 hours.
And as it turns out, the number of red raspberries eaten didn’t matter – as no significant differences were found between improvements in FMD if the men drank 400g of the raspberry drink or half the amount.
(Picture: Getty)
Study senior author Doctor Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, of King’s College London, said: ‘The research study suggests that ellagitannins, a type of natural compounds present in red raspberries, may play a role in driving the positive effects seen on blood vessel function in the study’s participants.’
The research, supported in part by funds from The National Processed Raspberry Council, was published in the journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
Tom Krugman, executive director of the National Processed Raspberry Council, said: ‘We’re excited about these findings and what they may potentially add to the growing list of benefits from consuming red raspberries.’
We all loved the days when there would be a toy waiting in your cereal box. Imagine that but on steroids.
This luxury Miami penthouse has just gone on the market, and whoever buys it will get a ‘free gift’ of a rare pink diamond worth $500,000 (£373,000).
The apartment is located in the Regalia building in the Florida city, and has a hefty price tag of $36 million (£27 million).
It has six bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and three more partial bathrooms. Y’know, just in case the whole neigbourhood needs to come in for a wee.
After they’ve relieved themselves, you can entertain them in the 1,100-square-foot game room and a home cinema.
(Picture: MIAMI MLS/TNI PRESS LTD)
This already seems like a dream, but it gets dreamier. The property has a private glass elevator and a chandelier-topped stone perfect for when your third husband mysteriously goes missing and you need to look dramatic.
As well as this, the 1,500-square-foot bathroom has a steam room, sauna, hydrotherapy Jacuzzi, and towel-warming wall (all of this worth $1 million).
Hop up to the rooftop and you’ll see a waterfall flowing into a private pool with a bar.
Another private pool has a bbq area for al fresco dining looking onto the beach.
(Picture: MIAMI MLS/TNI PRESS LTD)
Although you’ll have to provide bar and cooking staff yourself, there is a separate part of the house specifically designed for guests and staff, so you’ll have plenty of room.
The walk-in closet is another highlight, as are the incredible views from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Then, the pink diamond is just the icing on the cake of the whole thing.
Basically, we’re jealous, but someone’s got to live there and Instagram it all so we can live vicariously through them.
If you have more money than most of us can ever hope to see in our lifetimes, you can get your hands on it here.
A sporty shape is finished with a chunky sole with a 90s feel.
Upper: 65% Leather, 20% Textile, 15% Polyurethane
Specialist clean only.
There is doubtless a great deal of difference in the craft and materials but a lot of that price difference is because of Balenciaga’s standing as a premium brand.
Topshop’s versions come in a variety of colours including yellows, blacks and metallic – and if you want to get your hands on some, you can do so here.
It’s about shunning animal products in all areas of life, not just your fridge – and that includes skincare.
However, it can be difficult knowing what to look for when buying beauty products, as animal derivatives are disguised at every which turn.
We’ve included a fact box at the end of the article letting you know which ingredients to look out for, but it’s good to be able to instantly recognise brands that have the same ethics as you.
We tried out a wide range of vegan cleansers, covering all budgets.
All brands featured are cruelty-free and don’t trade in places like China, which require animal testing, as we don’t believe a company putting profit over ethics makes them animal lovers.
Some of the brands are fully vegan, while some have a few non-vegan products. These are clearly stated.
Here’s how we got on.
1. Rosa Centifolia No.1 Purity cleansing balm, REN, £25 for 100ml
(Picture: REN)
‘I’ve been a fan of REN products before I knew they were vegan – I’ve been using their Clarimatte mask for years now.
‘For cleansing I usually use Glossier’s milky jelly plus some micellar water to get rid of my eyeliner, then something more intense for proper cleansing purposes, so I’m impressed that REN’s cleanser gets rid of every scrap of makeup without needing to scrub.
‘I use it with a hot cloth so it feels all luxurious, and I love that it feels really gentle and nourishing. Big fan.’
Is REN 100% vegan? Not all of them, find out which ones here.
2. Rejuvenating frankincense refining cleanser, Neal’s Yard, £20 for 100g
(Picture: Neal’s Yard)
‘This smells dreamy and is really gentle, so not great if you’re wearing heavier makeup, but fine for taking off BB creams and the like.
‘It doesn’t leave your skin feeling stripped and the muslin cloth (included) is a nice one, which helps exfoliate the face.’
Is Neal’s Yard 100% vegan? No, beeswax is in some products. Find out more here.
‘Because this is an oil-based cleanser, it doesn’t feel the way you expect it to as you think of cleansers as being more squeaky clean, but this feels a lot richer.
‘It smells amazing, the sort of thing that Cleopatra probably bathed in, and the scent is very luxurious and essential oils-y. The rich texture and smell go together to give you a pretty unique cleansing experience.
‘It leaves your face feeling really soft and not at all tight, but it does still feel clean.’
Is Beauty Kitchen 100% vegan? No, some products contain beeswax. Find a list here.
4. Sukin foaming facial cleanser, Boots, £7.95 for 125ml
(Picture: Sukin)
‘This is okay. It’s a nice basic cleanser to use with a facial spritz and Sukin moisturiser, but it’s not the best cleanser I’ve ever used.
‘Sukin is a great value vegan brand though, in general.’
Is Sukin 100% vegan? Yes.
5. Pure hydration hot cloth cleanser, Waitrose, £7 for 150ml
(Picture: Waitrose)
‘The cleanser comes with a muslin for application, and feels grainy and frothy against my skin.
‘It’s definitely one for exfoliating rather than soothing and not suitable for very sensitive skin. I found it took my makeup off very efficiently but I’d need something smoother for my skin type.’
Is Waitrose 100% vegan? No, other products contain animal derivatives.
‘I am used to using face wipes but decided I should be kinder to my skin and opted to try this one.
‘I found it did take a fair bit to get it all off (I don’t wear that much make up) and was tricky to get off mascara – but it left my skin really soft afterwards and the cleanser smells really nice and would definitely buy again.’
‘It’s got green tea, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid and a whole host of other promising natural ingredients going for it so I was really excited by what it could do. It’s easy to use – the slightly viscous liquid comes out of a pump and foams up a little when it comes into contact with skin and water. And although it says it doesn’t take off make up, I find it does a pretty good job actually. Plus, it smells pretty lovely too.
‘But honestly, after a month, I’m not that convinced by the results. My skin isn’t noticeably smoother or clearer compared to normal, and if anything, it’s more flaky than usual, while still being greasy. I have a feeling that my sensitive, and annoyingly greasy, skin was a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience.
‘I don’t think I will be switching from my usual cleanser.’
Is Bea 100% vegan? No, some products contain animal derivatives.
8. Gentle cleansing foam, Weleda, £15.95 for 150ml
(Picture: Weleda)
‘This Weleda gentle cleansing foam is very gentle but it’s powerful enough to take off makeup.
‘It smells a bit herbally which makes you think it’s doing good things. It’s a nice smell.’
Is Weleda 100% vegan? No. Some products do contain things like beeswax, lanolin and goat’s milk. Find out more here.
9. Nourishing cleansing balm, Lucky Cloud, £21 for 60ml
(Picture: Lucky Cloud)
‘This smells absolutely delicious! It has neroli (my fave), geranium and sandalwood (another fave) essential oils which are really uplifting.
‘I love using this to take my makeup off as it feels like a mini spa experience massaging it in. It’s got jojoba oil to balance out skin’s natural sebum levels, which is great for my combination skin.
‘Lucky Cloud is handmade up in Scotland so it feels nice to support a small business. Plus, the packaging is 100% recyclable, which is important to me.’
Is Lucky Cloud 100% vegan? Yes.
10. B Pure Micellar Oil, Superdrug, £6.99 for 100ml
(Picture: Superdrug)
‘This is a faff to use. The bottle means you either get one drop or one pint of oil onto your cotton pad, which is annoying. Also, you have to wet your face before you use it, which kinda defeats the object of a micellar oil/water.
‘My skin felt okay afterwards but not as clean as I’d like it to (and I have dry skin so don’t even go for a stripped clean feel). I’ll probably decant some into a smaller bottle for holidays, but otherwise it’s not for me.
‘Oh, also it stings your eyes.’
Is B 100% vegan? Yes.
11. B Men volcanic cleanser 4 in 1 face wash, Superdrug, £3.99 for 150ml
(Picture: Superdrug)
‘This 4 in 1 wash smells great and does the job. It’s nice to use right after getting in from my commute, as it feels like it properly gets the city grime off my skin.’
Is B 100% vegan? Yes.
12. Orange and grapefruit clay cleanser, Heavenly Organics, £8.99 for 110g
(Picture: Heavenly Organics)
‘For those who love natural cosmetics, this is as good as you’ll get without making it yourself, as they’re all natural, ethical and handmade.
‘Containing ingredients like white kaolin clay, sweet orange peel oil and grapefruit peel oil, it has a lovely, zingy essential oils smell as it cleanses.
‘It’s nice to massage it in, leave it on while you shower and then wipe off with a muslin cloth. I also add tea tree oil to mine for added antibacterial effects.
‘The Bulldog face wash was a little harsh on my skin. However, I do have super sensitive skin and a friend of mine who also tried it said it was really good.’
‘I truly love Lush, but the 9 to 5 cleanser is a no from me. It pains me to say that. First off, the instructions: not good. Rather than massaging the cleanser into your face to break down makeup and dirt, the packaging advises you to apply the cleanser to a hot cloth or cotton pad.
‘I’m surprised such an eco-friendly brand would recommend a cotton pad (it’s how they use the product in their on-site video), but I didn’t want to completely wreck my cloth – if you’re applying the product with a cloth, the makeup and dirt will go straight to the cloth, rather than being broken down by a cleanser *before* being wiped away.
‘I had to use four pads in total, and after that I still had rings of mascara and eyeliner around my eyes. My skin felt hydrated, but not as clean as I’d like – it felt like the oils sunk into my face and left a residue behind. That might be good for someone with dry skin, but I like to be properly cleansed before I put on my facial oils.
‘The smell is also pretty strong (nice, but strong), so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who prefers things unscented.’
Is Lush 100% vegan? No, around 80% of Lush products are but some still contain things like milk and honey.
‘This is such a lovely, luxurious cleansing oil, and would make a great gift for a beauty buff.
‘Wild Source is botanical-based beauty made in small batches, and the oil has some sort of plant in it (which made me jump when I first saw it, as I thought it was an insect…!).
‘All Wild Source products are raw, and made with things like flowers, stems, roots and leaves. As well as sounding great, it actually does a good job, and takes off my makeup a treat.’
Is Wild Source 100% vegan? Yes.
16. Foaming face wash, 31st State, £12.99 for 150ml
(Picture: 31st State)
’31st State is a line of natural skincare for teenage boys, but I’m a grown man and I’m into it.
‘The face wash has a really nice smell to it and leave me feeling really clean, but not stripped.’
Is 31st State 100% vegan? Yes.
17. Glycolic fix skin cleaning pads, Nip+Fab, £12.95 for 60
(Picture: Nip+Fab)
‘You know what can be a massive faff? Cleansing. All that…liquid. But it’s got to be done, unless you want to end up with really oily, polluted skin.
‘If only you could combine a genuinely great cleanser with something super convenient like a face wipe. Enter: Nip+Fab’s glycolic fix skin cleaning pads.
‘Simply get some micellar water, give your eyes a good going over to get rid of any makeup, then whizz these bad boys over your skin. SO simple. SO effective.
‘My skin felt really clean after – like I’d actually gone to the effort of using a muslin cloth and cleanser. Combined with the Nip+Fab No Needle Fix serum, it was just really bloody nice.’
Is Nip+Fab 100% vegan? No, some of their products contain animal derivatives, and a list can be found here.
18. Foaming facial wash, Skin Genius, £17.99 for 150ml
(Picture: Skin Genius)
‘Skin Genius is aimed at ‘teenage skin’ but we all know that acne can hit at any age.
‘Managing acne doesn’t have to involve completely stripping your skin, and this is a really gentle, but effective cleanser. It smells nice and zingy and makes your face feel soft, while also feeling like it’s doing its job, with all the natural active ingredients like witch hazel, nettle and calendula.
‘Also a massive fan of Skin Genius’ clarifying lotion (£19.99 for 100ml). It’s a lovely gel-like lotion that you let soak into your skin after cleansing, full of natural ingredients that work to kill bacteria and sooth inflammation.
‘My acne has mostly gone now and I use this as maintenance. Couldn’t live without it.’
Is Skin Genius 100% vegan? Yes.
19. Glycolic fix cleanser, Nip+Fab, £7.95 for 150ml
(Picture: Nip+Fab)
‘I’ve never used cleanser before – I am a skincare cavewoman and usually use face wipes – but this was an all round good experience with my first cleanser.
‘I used it with Nip+Fab’s glycolic fix liquid glow extreme 6% liquid exfoliator and my face felt smooth and moisturised afterwards, in the same way it does after I use a face scrub or face mask.
‘The exfoliate made my face sting a bit because my skin can be a bit sensitive but it did a good job in getting rid of the gross dirt and germs that I probably don’t get rid of when I use facial wipes.
‘I’m excited to continue using these.’
Is Nip+Fab 100% vegan? No, some of their products contain animal derivatives, and a list can be found here.
20. Drops of Youth gentle foaming wash, The Body Shop, £9.50
(Picture: The Body Shop)
‘Imagine a spa in the middle of the Finnish fjords, full of pines and fresh water. Now imagine bottling that smell, that cleanliness and then whizzing it up into a foam and rubbing it all over your face. That is what the Body Shop has done here.
‘The Drops of Youth foaming face wash smell divine – invigorating enough to wake yourself up first thing in the morning without being too aggressive on the senses.
‘My face felt really nice and soft after. Definitely the best face wash I own.’
Is The Body Shop 100% vegan? No, some of their products contain animal by-products like beeswax.
Animal-derived ingredients to look out for
Beeswax – used as an emollient in skincare products.
Honey – from bees, obviously. Often used for its naturally antibacterial properties.
Chitin – a polysaccharide that was first discovered in the cell walls of mushrooms, but now more commonly comes from the exoskeletons of crustaceans, insects and arachnids. Basically, it’s ground-up crab shells.
Collagen – a major structural protein found in animal connective tissue. It usually comes from cows, pigs or fish.
Elastin – a protein found in animal artery walls, intestines, lungs and skin.
Lanolin – animal fat extracted from sheep’s wool.
Stearin/stearic acid – derived from the fat of cows, sheep or pigs. Often a by-product of animal agriculture.
Every day, a young person in Britain is diagnosed with HIV.
Despite this, schools are still not legally required to provide relationships and sex education (RSE) for pupils, let alone lessons that are LGBT-inclusive.
Two years ago, Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) released its report, Shhh… No Talking, which detailed the experiences of RSE lessons from over 900 young people aged 16 – 25 across Britain.
Unsurprisingly, the report highlighted inadequate or non-existent RSE provision in many schools, and found that 95% of young people hadn’t learned about LGBT sex and relationships in school
And that was at the schools that were even teaching RSE in the first place. We found out that one in seven had received no RSE at all.
Progress has been made since the report’s release, with THT winning its campaign for RSE lessons to be both compulsory and inclusive, but we still have a long way to go.
For instance, not only has the government delayed implementing compulsory, inclusive RSE until September 2019, but it’s also yet to provide any kind of draft guidance on lessons.
Inclusive lessons are also extremely important to ensure that young lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people see themselves reflected in sex and relationships.
We’ve also had no commitment from the government that money or resources to support teacher training in this area will be made available.
Britain is in the midst of a sexual health crisis, and young people continue to remain the group greatest impacted by STIs.
Denying young people their right to learn about relationships and sex in an inclusive, safe and supportive classroom environment will only further this, and can absolutely have a negative impact on their emotional wellbeing.
Young people who don’t learn about STI and HIV prevention at school then have to seek this information elsewhere, either through friends or online. Often this information can be based on misconceptions or myths about STIs and HIV.
This puts young people in an extremely vulnerable position, and increases the risk of them contracting and then potentially transmitting STIs and HIV.
LGBT-inclusive RSE is even more vital for gay and bisexual young men who are disproportionately impacted by HIV.
Inclusive lessons are also extremely important to ensure that young lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people see themselves reflected in sex and relationships.
For pupils who aren’t LGBT, learning about difference in an inclusive and supportive space is also extremely important, to ensure young people grow up not just equipped to enjoy good sexual health but also to respect others and embrace their differences.
Just last weekend for example, the trans community was subjected to a barrage of hate during Pride in London, when a group of transphobic lesbian protesters stormed the parade to spew hate and challenge their right to exist
At the same time, LGBT hate crime continues to rocket in Britain.
For us to ensure that young people know how to practice good sexual health, understand differences and stand in allyship with marginalised people, we need compulsory, LGBT-inclusive RSE here in Britain
And we need it now.
We also must ensure that inclusive RSE is done right, as more than half of young people who have had RSE lessons rated them as ‘poor’ or ‘terrible’.
For this to happen, it’s crucial that those who teach RSE are equipped with the adequate knowledge, tools and support to deliver it adequately.
It’s vital that the government understands this, and treats it as a priority, to ensure that young people in Britain are set in the best stead possible.
A woman has revealed how a life-saving 12-hour surgery for bladder cancer – which included removing part of her vagina – has made it difficult to have sex.
For nearly a year, 55-year-old Julie Morawaka saw her doctor several times, believing she had a urinary tract infection.
In August 2016 it was discovered she had an aggressive walnut-sized cancerous tumour filling more than half of her bladder. It required immediate surgery, or she would die.
Julie, a mum to Scott, 31, Sian, 27, and Danny, 22, first experienced problems passing urine in December 2015 and was treated for cystitis – a common UTI.
But, as the months wore on with no obvious improvement, she started to worry.
‘I just wasn’t getting better and I didn’t think it was normal,’ said Julie. ‘It crossed my mind that it could be bladder cancer, but there wasn’t any blood in my urine, which is the classic sign.’
Eventually, in August 2016, by which time she was taking strong doses of antibiotics, she pressed her doctor to send her for a full abdominal scan at Spire Hospital in Brentwood.
The scan revealed a 5.5cm tumour, which took up more than half of her bladder, and had started to burrow into the lining of her muscle tissue.
(Picture: PA Real Life)
Julie said: ‘Because it was so aggressive, the doctors said I would have to have my entire bladder removed to give me the best shot at surviving.
‘It was devastating news. It was such a shock, because for nine months I’d just thought I had a water infection.
‘My whole life really did flash before me and, immediately, I imagined the worst – my children living their lives without me.
‘Then reality kicked in and I realised that wasn’t an option – that I had to have the surgery, no matter how horrific, because I’d do whatever I could to keep living.’
The news also came as a massive shock to her family – in particular to her eldest son, Scott, who had recently lost a close friend.
Julie continued: ‘I think he thought that everyone was leaving him, so he seemed to take the news the hardest.
‘I didn’t cry much myself but, sometimes, little things got to me.’
The day before her operation at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, performed by consultant urologist Pardeep Kumar, Julie was setting up her out-of-office email response at the bank, when she suddenly broke down in tears.
‘I said to my colleague, “I don’t know what to write about when I’ll be coming back because I’m not sure if I will”,’ she said.
Julie had a 12-hour operation two weeks before Christmas in 2016, spending two days in intensive care – with her family waiting on tenterhooks to see if she would be well enough to come home for the festive celebrations.
(Picture: PA Real Life)
They vowed only to turn on the Christmas tree lights if she was there to join them on the big day.
‘The hospital only told me that I could come home on Christmas Eve, so, suddenly, my kids got into a mad panic – rushing around to try and find the lights!’, said Julie.
The operation was a success and within three months, she was back at work.
Now, Julie has an artificial bladder and is fitted to a catheter which runs through her stomach and has to be emptied regularly.
She said: ‘It means I’m always having to clock-watch and makes it tricky to go out anywhere for the day.
‘I have to carry a bag of medical supplies with me everywhere – even to the supermarket. I can never just take my keys and purse with me.’
The mother-of-three, from Great Wakering, Essex, whose partner Mike Griffin, 57, has been hugely supportive, says her love life has been made very difficult ever since.
She said: ‘It’s not the same as it was. All the nerves have been taken away from that area, so I’m still very numb all around my legs, pelvis and tummy.
‘It’s also very painful, because things aren’t as lubricated as they were before. I’ve essentially had large chunks of my body taken away, so not everything is still where it should be.
‘But, obviously, I have to offset that against the fact that I could be dead instead – so I always have to be thinking about that.’
(Picture: PA Real Life)
Before Julie – diagnosed with stage three bladder cancer – had extreme surgery in December 2016, to remove her womb, bladder and part of her vagina and fit her with a catheter through her belly button, she was given just two years to live.
Now recent scans have shown her to be cancer free and, in January, she was overjoyed to celebrate the arrival of Myla, her first grandchild, something she once thought she would never live to see.
She recalled: ‘Meeting her was incredibly emotional for me.
‘After being diagnosed, I really never thought I’d see the day when I became a grandma.
‘Holding little Myla for the first time, everything that I thought was never going to happen suddenly became real.’
Julie, who doesn’t smoke – nor does anything that is ‘usually’ associated with bladder cancer – says bladder cancer is the ‘Cinderella of cancers’.
She said: ‘It isn’t one of those cancers that gets talked about much, not in the same way as breast cancer or leukaemia.
‘It’s the Cinderella of cancers – the poor relation.’
Now Julie, whose son Scott will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital – a centre of excellence for cancer treatment – is keen to raise awareness of bladder cancer.
She said: ‘It’s so easy for people like me, to have what they think is a water infection, only for it to turn out to be something much worse.
‘Doctors and nurses need to be made aware of all the symptoms of bladder cancer.
‘It’s easy just to write a prescription for antibiotics, assuming it’s a UTI, but they should be encouraged to look further.
‘If I’d had a scan just a few months earlier, some of this terrible ordeal that I’ve been through over the last 18 months might have been avoided.’
This week, we’re speaking to 28-year-old Anneli Roberts, whose late mother, Brita, was diagnosed with BPD in 1993.
We wanted to speak to Anneli to find out what it was like to grow up with a mother who lived with a personality disorder, how it affected her and whether it’s had any impact on who she is today.
Anneli tells Metro.co.uk that her mother, Brita, was diagnosed with BPD when Anneli was three years old and her mother was 23.
She said: ‘As with so many people who have BPD, she was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met – people were just drawn to her.
‘She definitely cared too much and found the world difficult because she seemed to kind of absorb the suffering of others. She self harmed and had problems with binge drinking.
‘She also had a tendency to be reckless. She liked to test people – push them away to test how much they cared.
‘In some ways she was quite childlike – but not in that she was immature – more that she never actually lost that playfulness kids have.’
What is borderline personality disorder?
Borderline personality disorder, also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder, is a mental illness that causes the inability to manage emotions effectively.
The disorder makes a person experience very intense emotions and can affect relationships.
A person with BPD may have no sense of who they are, a strong fear of abandonment, frequent mood swings, and may embark on reckless or impulsive behaviour.
Anneli says that her mother’s BPD ‘affected her so much’ – both in good ways and in bad.
She feels the disorder exposed her to self harm and suicide attempts, which she says ‘tested’ her. At times, it felt like she was the parent in the relationship.
She said: ‘There were definitely times after I became a teenager when I felt like I was the parent in the relationship, but in a way that was nice because we were friends in a way most people aren’t with their mum, in that there had to be a two-way trust.
(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
‘I was always very protective over her and proud of her.’
Anneli feels growing up around her mother’s illness has made her a more compassionate and understanding person, and it has inspired her to use her own Twitter account to raise awareness of mental illness.
She said: ‘Her having BPD definitely made listening to people talk about mental illness “normal” for me from a young age.
‘I first heard “borderline personality disorder” at 11 years old, but my parents had always been very open with me so even younger than that I would have had some kind of an understanding.
‘There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a BPD parent, and I wouldn’t change a thing about how I was raised – it’s made me who I am.
‘The only thing I’d say is that there is an enormous responsibility on any person to keep themselves safe – especially with children in the picture – and that I find it incredibly sad how little self worth and self love my mum had.
‘She genuinely believed she was unloved – but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
‘I’d go as far as to say that the “sensitivity” that she had was the number one thing in life that has brought the compassion and love I have for others now and I think that’s the most important thing anyone could ever teach a child.’
As advice to other children who have parents living with borderline personality disorder, Anneli says it’s important to reach out for support if they need it – and to remember that doing so is absolutely not a betrayal to their parent.
She said: ‘It’s ok for you to get some help – it doesn’t mean you don’t love your family.
‘I know it’s hard to figure out how you should respond to certain behaviour, but as long as you love openly, then you can also be open sad, openly happy and openly scared.
‘You’re not alone – believe me, even though it feels like it now there are plenty of people in the world who are feeling how you feel.’
Morrisons will now reward you for recycling your plastic bottles and cans… with coupons.
The supermarket is trialling vending machines that’ll allow customers to deposit a maximum of 20 bottles or cans a day to be recycled.
In return for dropping off your waste, you’ll get Morrisons More points and coupons. Or, you can choose to donate 10p to cancer charity CLIC Sargent instead.
You can only donate single-use plastic bottles and cans, not your old Tupperware, as the machines will only accept plastic bottles and aluminium cans that have a barcode, or Morrisons own brand multipack bottles.
The scheme is currently running at two stores – one in Skipton and one in Lindsayfield – for six months, with Morrisons checking in on customer feedback to see if they’ll roll out the machines in more stores.
Morrisons group corporate services director Andrew Clappen said: ‘We want to play our part in making sure plastic bottles are collected and recycled. We’ll listen to customers as they use these machines.’
Not everyone’s on board with the supermarket’s latest move.
A Plastic Planet are keen to make people aware that just recycling plastic bottles isn’t enough – we need to drastically reduce the plastic we’re buying and using in the first place.
Sian Sutherland, A Plastic Planet co-founder said: ‘Despite Morrisons’ good intentions, this trial will only go so far as to delay the inevitable of these bottles ending up in the environment for hundreds of years.
‘We are pumping out a million plastic bottles a minute. Just one year’s worth of plastic bottles stretch half way to the sun. Where do we think all this plastic is going to end up?
‘Conventional plastic can only be recycled a handful of times before it becomes completely useless. Do not be fooled – one bottle does not become another bottle.
‘We need to dramatically reduce the use of plastic in food and drink and just turn off the plastic tap.
‘We call on Morrison’s to show leadership in this and introduce plastic free aisles throughout their stores to give their customers the choice to buy their groceries plastic free and therefore guilt free.’
