International Dog Day deals: Save 50% at Petco through DoorDash or up to 35% at Wild One
TL;DR: August 26 is International Dog Day and you can celebrate by shopping deals on
2023-08-23 01:25
US Airfares Seen Bottoming as Overseas Ticket Prices Stay High
Lower domestic airfares that travelers have enjoyed this summer will start to disappear after mid-September, with a new
2023-08-09 00:19
Gemma Collins blasted for promoting headset as ‘magic’ cure for depression
Gemma Collins has been criticised by her followers for using misleading wording in an advert for a “medication free” headset, which is apparently used to treat depression. The TV star and presenter, 42, who is best known for appearing in realty series The Only Way Is Essex, shared a video of her wearing the Flow Neuroscience Headset, telling her followers that she had been using the product for one week and was already feeling “lighter” and “brighter”. In the caption she wrote: “According to Flow’s data it reduces depression in 88 per cent of people. And the NHS are trialling it too.” She finished the caption with “#ad” to indicate that she was asked to promote the product. The Independent has contacted Collins’ representatives about the terms of the advert. In the video, Collins told the camera the product is “literally amazing”. “I am loving life now off of my depression tablets. This has been a real game changer for me,” she said. According to Flow, the headset sends a “small electrical current” to “the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex”, which causes “neurons to fire more frequently, strengthening the neural pathways in the prefrontal cortex”. Collins continued: “Flow is a new medically approved depression treatment. It focuses on the front cortex of your brain. This ultimately helps you to relax and it also helps to remove negative depressive symptoms.” “For people that can’t get access to therapy, or don’t want to be on antidepressants, they have a new option which is Flow.” “Flow actually works faster and better than antidepressants,” she claimed in the video. “It’s like having your own therapist in the comfort your own home and you’re fully in control of your own treatment.” She concluded that using Flow would be “the best thing you do”. Social media users have been criticising Collins’ messaging in the post, arguing that she is promoting the product as a “quick fix” for depression and encouraging people to stop their medications without first consulting a medical professional. “People PLEASE speak to your medical team before stopping any medications,” one person urged in the comments section. Another pleaded to Collins: “Please don’t promote people just abruptly coming off their medication !!” Others remarked that Collins had not linked to any scientific research to support her claims, or given insight into how the product actually works. A representative for Flow Neuroscience told The Independent that it is “very clear” on its website that anyone with depression should “always speak to their doctor first before trying new treatment”. The statement continued: “At a time when society is attempting to remove the stigma associated with mental health – people like Gemma are helping enormously by being open and transparent about their own mental health journey.” “Gemma has struggled for years on antidepressants, and it’s brilliant that she is now having this positive experience using Flow.” The spokesperson added that Collins’ posts are a “reflection of her own personal experience” and the post had not been “edited or scripted” by Flow. Collins has previously said that the side effects of using antidepressants have not worked for her, which drew her to using the headset. Flow’s spokesperson also said that the company’s mission is trying to “increase accessibility” to mental health treatments. At present, the headset does not require a prescription before use and is available to purchase online. The company says that “83 per cent of its users reported improvement in their symptoms within 21 days” and that less than two per cent of its users on its database reported minor side effects, which are “typically mild irritation of the kind and mild headaches”. It added: “We believe the Flow platform is an important tool in this process, but it has never been our intent to present Flow as a quick fix or magic bullet.” Read More Prince Harry court – live: Duke of Sussex stokes political storm by slamming ‘rock bottom’ government Ioan Gruffudd’s 13-year-old daughter ‘files restraining order against him’ Busy Philipps calls out Leonardo DiCaprio for ‘dating’ model who looks like her teen daughter Gemma Collins says she wouldn’t ‘need to’ consider surrogacy Fitness fanatic, 26, diagnosed with stage 4 cancer after feeling dizzy The telltale sign of lung cancer everyone should know
2023-06-06 19:50
Tiffany Young named Moschino's new house ambassador
Tiffany Young has been named as Moschino's new house ambassador.
2023-08-22 18:18
Wayfair is offering a buy 3 get 20% off deal on Le Creuset cookware
TL;DR: Classy, long-lasting kitchen items are always a smart investment for your home, and no
2023-08-19 00:53
My Taylor Swift exercise class has led me down a luxury fitness rabbit hole
Amid flashing strobe lights at a SoulCycle class in Notting Hill, our instructor MJ stands on a platform, his baseball cap flipped backward and his facial hair trimmed into designer stubble, looking as if he’s straight out of a boy band. “I’ve had a f***ing s*** day and I didn’t want to come to work,” he says, softly, through his head mic. “But I’m so glad I did, as the energy is bringing me to life!” Everyone around me – women between the ages of 25 and 35, all of them dressed in one-shoulder leisurewear – roars in response. “Sit up tall, don’t let anyone make you feel down,” MJ continues. “You’re all legends, don’t let anybody judge you!” I pause for breath after yet another manic burst of energy cycling on the spot. Then we have to pick up dumbbells while atop stationary bikes and do a choreographed workout to a Taylor Swift song. This special Swift-themed class is taking place at 8.30 on a Monday night and in the same venue where First Lady Jill Biden and Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty attended a spinning class together after King Charles’s coronation in May – reportedly with 10 security guards in tow. I feel slightly out of my depth. I spent two hours looking for my lycra leggings and I’m totally unfit. Apart from walking my dog, I haven’t done any real exercise since 2017, when I had a go at clean eating and did a few weeks of high-intensity training at the gym. But now I’m ready for SoulCycle’s “unique mind-body-soul experience”. This leap back into exercise is partly inspired by Apple TV+’s dark comedy Physical, which is returning for its final season next month. It’s about a housewife played by Rose Byrne who battles her demons and a vicious and self-critical inner voice while finding solace in aerobics. Could it work for me, too? Is exercise the answer to my endlessly spinning mind? Would it serve as an instant catapult into a world of empowerment and success? Everyone in this class knows the words to every Taylor Swift song that booms from the speakers. “Drop everything now/Meet me in the pouring rain”, she sings on “Sparks Fly”. “Kiss me on the sidewalk/Take away the pain.” But all I can think about is the pain I’m currently in. We’re wearing special shoes that click into the pedals of the bike, so it’s not easy to detach oneself. But soon I become grateful for it: if I’m superglued into this class, I can’t give up so easily. As MJ says: “No struggle... no progress”. It doesn’t matter if you can’t move the wheel at the front of the SoulCycle bike, or if you’re peddling down on it like a gazelle; if you’re sweating and panting, you’re part of this love-in. And wow, it feels great. I’m not alone in adoring it, and some of my fellow riders were here even earlier, for “part one” of a class modelled after Swift’s setlist on her current US tour. (Each class costs £26, while a renewable package of four is £86, or eight at £160). It’s a little pocket of joy I knew nothing about while I was sitting at home snacking in front of my laptop and gaining weight. As I leave the SoulCycle studio and wander into the night, I take a deep breath. It feels good to be back in the saddle – even though my legs are like jelly. I have to ask my friend to drive me home because I’m not sure I’ll make it on foot. There are a few reasons I haven’t been hitting the gym, or even doing the occasional relaxed yoga class. Having children on my own has been an intense journey. For years my idea of exercise has been holding a baby or running after two kids in a park with an unruly dog. But when I read a few different headlines lately (“Fit and fabulous at 54: Jennifer Aniston emerges from her new workout class”; “Nicole Kidman, 56, flashes her incredible abs in revealing black dress”), I felt a pang of guilt. These women are older than me but super fit. My daughters, aged five and seven, are both at school now, so there’s no excuse for being so inactive. I had some blood tests done and my cholesterol is creeping up. I’ve been told I need to give up sugar and take up exercise. How can I be a good role model to my kids if all they do is see me eating the chocolate rolls meant for their pack lunches? And where do I even begin with fitness? After the excitement of my Taylor Swift class, the idea of strolling along to my local Virgin Active feels mundane. I ponder whether it’d be easier to stay fit if I was super-rich. I can see myself signing up for four workout sessions rigged up to an electrical current. Because why not? I can’t possibly afford the bespoke, members-only gym Bodyism in London’s Westbourne Grove, whose clients include heiress Tamara Ecclestone. It caters for high-intensity, low-impact training, with top-tier packages costing £23,000 a year. More affordable, though, is their class membership – which costs £1,500 a year for 72 classes and promises to help elongate and tone the body. But it’s also full of the clean-eating squad – I might not fit in. Then there’s London’s BXR, a private, boutique boxing-themed gym that’s spread over two floors. From the street below I can glimpse a massive boxing ring behind enormous glass panels – a manifestation of the idea that celebrities feel they live in a goldfish bowl. It’s also packed with A-listers who get free guest passes while staying at the luxury hotel Chiltern Firehouse that’s located opposite. Membership costs from £2,500 a year and up (by a lot), and the Vogue editor Edward Enniful and fashion designer Julian Macdonald are apparently fans of BXR’s Versaclimbing – a high-intensity, low-impact workout on a Versaclimber. This cardio fitness machine has a 75-degree vertical rail with pedals and handles that mimic the natural motion of climbing. When I hear that the machine burns up to 800 calories in a 45-minute session – well, I’m on the phone to the bookings team in a flash. Unlike treadmill or spin classes, it’s exercise that is full body but low impact – meaning it “minimises unnecessary stress or trauma to your body”. At the state of the art Repose, a wellness clinic in London’s High Street Kensington with members including Made in Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh, the speciality is “anti-gravity fitness”. It might sound unusual to exercise from a silk hammock suspended from the ceiling for £40 a class – but sessions include pilates, suspension fitness, air bar and both restorative and aerial yoga. Models and celebrities, including Poppy Delevingne, are also queuing up for personal training at London’s E-Pulsive, which costs £85 a session. The electrical muscle stimulation class (EMS) sees you strap yourself into a full-body vest that zaps you with low-frequency electric impulses to manually contract your muscle fibres while you exercise, increasing the intensity of your workout. It seems ideal for people like me who are too busy to exercise but who want superfast results – apparently, a 20-minute EMS workout burns 500 calories and can offer the same results as a 90-minute high-intensity gym class. It sounds like heaven. Then there’s roller-skating at model Liberty Ross’ glamorous Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in West London or New York – the original LA Flipper’s in the 1970s was run by Ross’s dad Ian Flipper-Ross, and was so associated with glam fitness that it was dubbed “Studio 54 on wheels”. A one-to-one beginner’s class at the new skate school costs £50, or £35 in a group lesson of up to 12 skaters. Or you can just book in for a general skate with your kids – which kills two birds with one stone as they have fun while you burn calories. A two-hour skate session for adults starts from £15.50 and from £11.50 for children. All of this sounds great – but if I went for a workout schedule of my choice, I can’t see it totalling less than £30,000 a year. Bearing in mind that exercise is addictive and makes you feel good, it might be far more in the long run, too. It’s also a tad out of my price range – I don’t plan on dropping into Equinox on Kensington Roof Gardens or the Bulgari Hotel gym any time soon. Instead, I can see myself signing up for four workout sessions rigged up to an electrical current. Because why not? If money wasn’t an obstacle, I would install a gym and a pilates studio in my own house, with a cryotherapy chamber and a personal trainer on tap. But until then, I plan to start running with the dog, my two kids behind me on their scooters. It’s far cheaper and – unlike the late-night Taylor Swift class – won’t require a babysitter. Read More I keep forgetting my dog’s birthday – could a luxury pet party make it up to him? ‘I’m here anyway, why not?’: My non-surgical facelift has got me thinking about more procedures I’ve never had a platonic relationship with a man – sex can’t help but get in the way Husband fired from family business after wife roleplayed with reborn dolls Montana Brown explains why she chose a home birth as a ‘non-white person’ 8 healthy habits to help you live longer – according to a new study
2023-07-25 13:58
Winfrey, Maddow and Schwarzenegger among those helping NYC's 92nd Street Y mark 150th anniversary
Oprah Winfrey, Rachel Maddow and Arnold Schwarzenegger will be among those appearing this fall at the 92nd Street Y, as the New York City cultural institution marks its 150th anniversary
2023-08-09 00:27
Lululemon outlook lift thrills Wall St as yogawear stays in vogue
By Deborah Mary Sophia Lululemon Athletica Inc raised its annual sales and profit forecasts on Thursday as wealthy
2023-06-02 06:26
How to save money in the kitchen according to top chefs
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, many of us are looking for ways to save money where we can. Food shops are one of the main things that have become more expensive in recent years – so are there any easy ways to save a bit of cash in the kitchen? Chefs are on hand to share their top money-saving tips… Make simple swaps Suzanne Mulholland, author of The Batch Lady: Cooking On A Budget (HQ, £22) recommends letting go of loyalty to brand names. For example, she says: “You’re not going to notice a difference in flour – yet it’s about a fifth of the price of a branded one.” Mulholland continues: “If you love to eat haddock, then buy hake instead. If you like to eat cod, buy coley instead – monkfish? Buy seacat. These are all very similar fishes, but they’re just not the most popular ones everybody else buys. “You wouldn’t actually notice the difference between eating a different type of fish, because hake is very much like haddock – yet because it’s not that popular, it’s half the price. It’s also locally sourced, because these are all British fish.” Maunika Gowardhan, author of Tandoori Home Cooking (Hardie Grant, £25), also advocates cost-effective swaps. “If it’s a chicken recipe, I normally use chicken thighs over chicken breasts,” she says. “It’s a cheaper cut of meat, and it’s a more flavourful cut of meat.” If you’re a keen baker, The Great British Bake Off’s Kim-Joy (Bake Me A Cat, Quadrille, £16.99) has a top tip for you. As butter “has become so much more expensive”, she recommends “using more vegetable oil in baking”. Make a plan “Most people are cooking blindly,” says chef Max La Manna (You Can Cook This!, Ebury Publishing, £22), “Pulling ingredients together and cooking – they do the same when they go to a supermarket, they buy ingredients – and a lot of waste happens when people don’t have a plan.” La Manna’s top tip is firstly “cook the food you already have before you go out and buy more”. After that, it’s all about making a plan. “Shop smarter,” says La Manna. “Create lists when you go to the supermarket, and stick to that list.” Make your ingredients last longer Throwing away produce that’s gone off is money down the drain – so La Manna is keen for us all to make ingredients last longer. “You can extend the shelf life of ingredients – for instance, most people throw away bag salad or herbs,” he says. “What I do with my bag salad, once I bring it home I’ll wash it and also let it sit in cold water – because it firms up and it gets crisp and it stays fresh a little longer.” Once he’s washed the salad, he divides the bag of leaves – putting half in a container in a tea towel (“to absorb some of the moisture”) and use within the next three or four days. “The other half I cook in hot water – blanch it really quickly, squeeze out the water, then I have this kind of pre-cooked spinach. Roll that up tightly, place it in the freezer and then when I need something in a week’s time – a stew, a soup, a curry, a stir-fry – pop those in.” You can also reduce waste by knowing how to store all your other produce properly. “That’s where a lot of waste is coming in, people put ingredients away, they turn their back and the food’s already gone bad,” says La Manna. “Know how to store your produce and where to store it – potatoes should be kept in a cupboard somewhere dry, dark, cool but well-ventilated so they don’t begin to sprout. Same thing with onions. Bananas like to have their own space – bananas don’t like to be with other ingredients, because they release a chemical and will ripen quicker.” Instead of throwing away bananas on the turn, La Manna says: “It’s great for the freezer, [or] use them in smoothies. Use them as a batter for cupcakes or cakes.” Use every part of your ingredients “With Chinese food, there really is a ‘no waste’ policy,” says Kwoklyn Wan (One Wok, One Pot, Quadrille, £16.99) – and he suggests this ethos could help you save money in the kitchen. “Even when you peel your onions, use the onion skin in the stock” – along with anything else you might normally throw away, such as the top ends of carrots or fish heads. “That’s so important – if people learn to use every part of that ingredient… You can have a fantastic dish with all the best bits, and at the end of it, you’ve got this fantastic soup base. All you’ve got to do is add really cheap noodles into it, and maybe a few veggies and tofu, some chicken – whatever. “You’ve got this lovely broth – and that’s your next meal completely free, or near enough.” Be smart with your ingredients Most of us are guilty of buying an exciting-sounding ingredient for our store cupboard and only using it once. If you really want to save money in the kitchen, it’s all about being smart with what you buy – and making sure you’re going to use it a lot. Lydia Vernon, co-author of Caught Snackin’ (Hamlyn, £20), says that on Caught Snackin’s wildly popular TikTok channel,”we like to keep with the same ingredients for each recipe. “We stay around things like mixed herbs, garlic powder, plain flour – those kind of staples you have in your cupboard all the time, which are going to be cost-effective.” Food writer Gurdeep Loyal (Mother Tongue, Fourth Estate, £26) takes this one step further, saying: “My advice would be to equip your pantry with four or five very flavour-forward ingredients – things such as tamarind paste, things such as brown miso, things such as fennel seeds, for example, or something like tandoori masala powder. “Because these four or five pantry staples can transform anything really simple and basic – just adding a spoonful of this is going to amplify your cooking into hundreds of different directions. “It means you can use very basic supermarket staples, then turn them into something incredible” – without having to spend money on fancy new ingredients every week. Read More The dish that defines me: Mallini Kannan’s baked honey-soy salmon Breakfast for dinner and four other things you should cook this week Money-saving chilli con carne that absolutely slaps with flavour How to pimp up your instant ramen (and save money) Do it for the Gram: Speedy but spectacular goat’s cheese linguine Where to find the best Guinness in London – and how to spot a bad one
2023-08-16 13:57
Anheuser-Busch hopes its new ads will change the conversation
As Bud Light continues to face fallout from its partnership with a transgender influencer, its parent company is rolling out commercials centered on some of its 65,000 workers and partners.
2023-06-28 21:24
How did Tammy Slaton lose weight? '1000-lb Sisters' star reveals massive drop in her clothing size from 8XL to 2XL
'1000-lb Sisters' Tammy Slaton donned an oversized denim shirt over a black t-shirt as she held a peace sign to the camera
2023-08-28 09:51
J.Crew Might Just Be Made For Masc Lesbians
Welcome to Prideful, a month-long stretch where we celebrate our identities with pride and honor queer-owned brands, whether it’s fashion items that give us gender euphoria or our favorite queer-friendly sex toys.
2023-06-08 06:24
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