3 Beauty Myths Shattered

amandaeliasWe are all guilty of believing old wives tales or taking myths to the extreme when it comes to beauty. Thanks to the facial therapist, skincare expert and Bravura London founder -Amanda Elias – you can now put these 3 beauty mistakes to bed.

 Blemishes are caused by oily skin 

FALSE. Dry skin can suffer from bacterial breakouts too. Particularly when the skin is dry and flaky as this excess skin will block the pores and cause bacteria to multiply, therefore creating a spot.

Collagen creams will help put collagen back in your skin 

FALSE. The natural collagen in your skin is too deep for any cream to penetrate. A collagen based cream will help nourish your skin but it won’t stimulate the collagen production. Products such as glycolic acid and lactic acid increase skin turnover which in turn can also stimulate collagen.

 Facial oils are only suitable for dry skin 

FALSE. Even oily skin can become dehydrated; but the oil you use is very important. Opt for oils such as Jojoba which has similar properties to your skin’s natural oil, or Castor Oil which can help to clear blocked pores.

 

Amanda Elias is the founder of Bravura London, which prides itself on providing the best quality, effective pharmaceutical skincare products at affordable prices.

Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines: Eye Witness Report

 Typhoon Haiyan, phillipines, Aid worker, Sandra Bulling, CARE International, is with CARE’s Emergency Team in the areas affected by the Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Nov. 11, 2013, 19:00 local time

 

“We arrived by boat at the port in Ormoc City. As soon as we stepped onto the port, we were in the middle of a disaster zone. Everything was destroyed. Tin roofing sheets were hanging off trees like wet blankets.

 

“All the houses along the coast are completely flattened. Everything is destroyed. Further inland, about 80 percent of the houses are roofless. About five percent of the houses are completely collapsed – these are mainly wooden houses. It seems like everyone we’ve seen has a hammer or tools in their hands, trying to repair their houses and their roofs. People are picking up poles and pieces of wood from the street. There are long queues at hardware stores, pharmacies. We waited in line for two hours to get fuel. So far the roads are okay, but it’s taking a long time to get anywhere.

 

“I talked to a shop owner whose shop was destroyed; he lost everything. He’s wondering how he’s going to feed his five children. I also met a little girl, who was trying to dry out her books. Her house was totally destroyed, but there she was, worried about her school books, because she wants to go to school. And it’s the only thing she has left.

 

“We just arrived in Jaro, a small town on the way to Tacloban. It’s dark now, so we can’t go any further. We’re staying in the police station tonight – not sure where we’ll sleep, maybe in the car, or outside. There’s an electricity pole that’s leaning dangerously over the police station, so everyone is trying to steer clear of that. Thank  you to the police for letting us use their toilets! Our plan is to go to Dulag, just south of Tacloban. Our driver just came from there, and says it’s very bad, and they need help.

 

“People are becoming quite desperate. Some officials just came and told us that there has been looting in the area, people trying to get rice for their families. People haven’t had food for three days, and they’re trying to feed their families. That’s why it’s so important to get food and emergency supplies in to these areas as soon as possible. In Ormoc, there was food; we could buy chicken and rice. But there were big queues at the food stalls and shops. We’re in an urban area now, and I don’t even want to think what it’s like the rural areas. We’ll start moving again at first light. I don’t think anyone is going to get any sleep tonight.”

 

Jura Launches Search for the World’s Best Stories

 

writing competition, writing, Jura Whisky has launched a search for the world’s best stories, with the chance to win two all-expenses paid trips to the 2014 Jura Whisky Festival.

 

Jura Whisky is calling on all budding storytellers to submit a story in 1,000 characters or less. Every fortnight for ten weeks Jura Whisky will provide a different story theme for inspiration. The themes kick off this week with Travel Adventure, followed by Day Dreams, A Brush with Death, Into the Wild and Happily Ever After.

 

Art Wednesday will provide further inspiration by producing a series of videos which tell the stories of interesting, influential creatives and their work. The first two videos will feature writer Marcel Theroux and musician Nick Mulvey (previously of Portico Quartet), with more to follow.

 

From the competition entries, three stories will be chosen each week and turned into bespoke illustrations by creative agency Holler which will be posted on to jurawhisky.com.  At the end of the ten weeks, each of the 30 winning stories will be put to the public vote to find the favourite. Voting will remain open for two weeks.

 

The winner with the most votes will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Jura for the 2014 Whisky Festival to help select the new special edition festival bottling which will be launched at the 2015 Festival. Staying in the luxurious Jura Lodge, the winner will be treated to a VIP tour, taking in all of Jura’s ‘must sees’, including a speedboat trip to the Corryvreckan whirlpool, tea on the beach and a visit to Barnhill where Orwell wrote 1984.
The competition will run right through until Friday, 10 January 2014, is part of Jura Whisky’s new ‘Story Season’ campaign. The competition is open to entrants from all countries.

 

 

Rally For The Rainforest At Online Celebrity Auction

Want to shop and do good? Of course you do.

‘The 12 Days of Christmas’, the RFUK’s fabulous and exclusive public auction of one-off gifts donated by celebrities, luxury labels and esteemed Foundation friends, returns for a fourth year. Open to everyone through an RFUK pop-up shop on eBay, the 12 day auction, running from November 20 to December 1, will offer various gleaming goodies for every savvy shopper ready to raise funds to protect the world’s rainforests.

James Bates - collage in a white box frame

James Bates – collage in a white box frame.

The auction can be found at www.ebay.co.uk/12days

 

As well as countless surprises to be announced in the lead up to the auction launch, lots currently include: A catered day out at the Wiltshire Lakehouse Estate home from Sting and Trudie Styler, VIP autographed guest tickets to the filming of QI from Stephen Fry, signed goodies from Sir Bruce Forsyth and Mark Rylance, signed sporting goods from members of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs FCs, Tea for Four in Parliament with The Rt Hon Zac Goldsmith MP, many course meals with wine from the OXO Tower Restaurant, Terre a Terre and the Michelin-starred Quilon, tickets for award winning London shows including Spamalot, Woman In Black  and The English National Ballet’s Le Corsaire, exclusive London Fashion Week items from Volcom, Emma J Shipley, Eda London and Begg Scotland, a stunning bracelet from Zoe & Morgan plus limited edition signed art from Rob Ryan, Kid Acne, Ben Frost, Eelus, Rosie Emerson, Russell Marshall, Graham Carter and a very rare 1 of 3 paint on canvas from acclaimed artist Fin DAC worth over £1,000 (kindly donated by art concept store Beautiful Crime) and much, much more! This is just a sample of what is available at what will no doubt be a spectacular fourth year for the 12 Days of Christmas event. More lots to be announced soon via @RFUK, Facebook and the RFUK website.

Russia: Disclose Whereabouts of Missing Pussy Riot Member. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova Still Missing

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Pussy Riots, Russia, missingConcern grows for missing Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova.

Amnesty International has condemned the continuing refusal to disclose the whereabouts of a member of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot, who is rumoured to be in transfer to a prison colony in Siberia, saying it is clearly yet another attempt to silence her.

Denis Krivosheev Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director at Amnesty International said:
“Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has publicly complained of threats she received from prison officials. We are concerned that she now may be being punished for this and for speaking out about deplorable prison conditions.

“The Russian authorities must immediately tell her family where she is and allow her access to a lawyer. She is a prisoner of conscience who should have never been taken to jail in the first place. Refusing to say where she is simply fuels rumours of the worst case scenario.
“If reports are true, transferring her to a prison colony thousands of kilometres from Moscow would make it almost impossible for her relatives and lawyers to see her. This would be a violation of her human rights and of Russia’s own laws.”

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova’s whereabouts have been unknown since 22 October when she was reportedly taken from the penal colony where she was serving a two-year prison sentence. It is believed she is being transferred to another place, but the destination has not been revealed.
Her husband has now said a penitentiary administration source informed him of the possible move to a prison colony in Siberia.

Amnesty has made Nadezhda Tolokonnikova the subject of an urgent action campaign, calling on the authorities in Russia to disclose her location immediately.

Entertainment for Lazy Weekends

It’s a cold, wet Friday night in winter. You’ve been fending off anxious clients and reassuring harassed colleagues all week. Like everyone else in the city, you’ve been getting up, and going home, in the dark.

ricksterbot-winter-photo-751x500

You listen to the beautiful “clunk” of the front door closing as you step inside the house. You decide that, if possible, it’ll be the last time you hear that sound this weekend.

 

Home alone. Fantastic! It’s going to be a properly lazy weekend – but how are you going to keep yourself entertained?

 

 

What’s On Telly?

 

Fifteen years ago you’d have been circling things you wanted to watch in the Radio Times with a red biro. With broadband and Freeview, your options are almost limitless. You won’t get through every episode of Breaking Bad this weekend, but you could make a start. If it gets a bit grim (which – spoiler alert – it does) try interspersing it with episodes of Modern Family. Or Bagpuss.

bagpuss-1024_195496k

No need to traipse down to the video store anymore either. How about a World War Z / This Is The End / Frances Ha marathon? World War Z was supposed to be terrible – it isn’t.

 

 

Games

 

When all that drama gets too much for you (Bagpuss can be quite draining), there’s a huge number of online games to consider. They’re not going to play themselves, you know! Everything’s available, from MMORPG’s like the free-to-play Pandora Saga to online versions of the nations favourite game, Bingo. The hardest part will be deciding what to play.

 

 

Read

 

At some point you may feel the need to step away from the screen. Maybe just swapping to a smaller one – like a Kindle – would do the trick? That Morrissey out of The Smiths has a book out, you know. We’ve also heard rumours of some kind of Bridget Jones follow-up. There may even be an actual book on the shelves to read!

 

Morrissey_crop_tie

 

Listen

 

Now we’re going retro. Is there a forlorn-looking pile of vinyl LP’s in the cupboard? A decent record player in the attic? If you’ve spent the last decade listening to MP3’s, and you have a reasonably good system, you might just amaze yourself with the upgrade in quality. There’s a reason people are still releasing vinyl records!
Billie_Holiday_0001_original
 

 

Eat, Play, Sleep

 

Once you’ve located the Billie Holiday LP, why not try cooking something you’ve never tried before out of that Rick Stein book that Auntie Beryl got you for Christmas? And when you’re done, you could hoist the dusty old guitar out of the basement and take a lesson on YouTube!

 

Or maybe it’s time for a nap. Whatever you decide to do on your Lazy Weekend, remember that catching up on sleep is never something to feel guilty about!

 

 

 

(Images courtesy of awsmblog.com, thesundaytimes.co.uk, wikipedia, wikipedia)

Chelsea Named as Britain’s No 1 Mistress Hotspot

If you are a newly wed then don’t move to Chelsea, it is where single women prowl for married men to have affairs with.

And ‘staid’ Tunbridge Wells comes second

Chelsea is the no 1 hotspot for single women seeking affairs with married men, according to new research from AshleyMadison.com.  The world’s leading dating site for extra-marital affairs has found that 43.96% of its women members who are seeking affairs with married men in Chelsea are actually single.

UK.mistress.hotspots

Noel Biderman, AshleyMadison.com founder and CEO says: “Chelsea is part of London’s richest borough and home to some of the capital’s wealthiest men. Single women are drawn to status, to men who have made something of themselves, even if that includes having a wife and family. As Oscar Wilde said and James Goldsmith famously paraphrased, “When a man marries his mistress he creates a vacancy.” It’s no accident that so many mistresses live in Chelsea and our female members such as Lady Catherine and Rosetti Lover are looking for their own Jimmy Goldsmith.’

At Mistress Hotspot no 2, Tunbridge Wells has a more conservative image with its prep schools, Georgian architecture and spa heritage. Yet 42.04% of the women there are single and actively seeking an affair with a married man.

Noel Biderman says: ‘Does ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’ have an alter ego as Ashley Madison’s HardAsRock or RugbyJunky? There are a lot of well heeled, successful men there, however staid they may or may not be. A Tunbridge Wells man obviously holds promise as a lover, even if he is married.’

St Albans is 3rd on the list for would-be mistresses and Loughborough comes 4th.

With Oxford bottom of the list, it seems that while the single women of the city are inclined to stick to their studies, the academic world is not immune to passion.

Mistress Hotspots: % of female members who are single:

Chelsea, London          42.04%

Tunbridge Wells           42.04%

St Albans                      41.01%

Loughborough              39.17%

Dartford                        38.91%

Hemel Hempstead       38.36%

Chester                         36.94%

Newcastle upon Tyne  36.55%

Bristol                           35.70%

Oxford                          35.45%

Are you going to avoid these areas?

The Buckley Poppy Now Available in Support of The Royal British Legion

In support of the Royal British Legion, QVC has introduced the beautiful Buckley Poppy to mark Remembrance Day on 11th of November. These great accessories are available as cufflinks, key-rings, bracelets and brooches. QVC has raised £378,000 so far, help them to raise more by splashing out.

300167 Buckley Crystal Poppy Brooch  £21.00 B1077 BT747 KR007Available from QVC.co.uk