Life Style

“To dry Jan, or not to dry Jan?” you ask yourself as you hold up one of the empty bottles still hanging around from party season, destined for the recycling bin. If you’re guilty of going bigger than ever on the booze at the tail end of 2024 — or frankly, the whole year — you're not alone. Alcohol Change found that just over a quarter of adults (26%, excluding non-drinkers) drank more in 2024 than 2023, with 15.5 million of them saying they plan to cut down in 2025. Perhaps you’ve tried Dry January before and made it to the end, perhaps you only managed to hack it a few days. Though, whether you're seasoned after several successful Dry Jans, or contemplating it for the very first time, we could all do with a little help to make it enjoyable.If you can hack it, the benefits are clear: resea...

Christmas has come and gone, and as we enter the New Year, it’s the perfect time to invest in your health and wellness. And whether you want to turbocharge flagging energy levels, or eat your way to enhanced weight loss, there’s a nutrition trend or a secret ingredient that promises to get you there faster. Here’s our pick of the 2025 wellness aids you need to know about.Polyphenols that mimic the Ozempic effectThe buzz around Ozempic and other GLP-1 weight loss drugs is going nowhere. With the NHS rumoured to start prescribing Mounjaro to patients who fit their criteria from as early as March, we’re likely to see an enormous surge of GLP-1 interest in 2025. But as popularity in weight loss jabs piques, research into natural alternatives that mimic the GLP-1 hormone is also catching on, so...

When I was drinking, I knew these benefits: better sleep, better skin, weight loss, improved concentration, brighter mood. In the depths of my addiction, a hard-won period of abstinence would reveal these benefits to me in what felt like a rebuke. The way, for example, I could use a keyboard without my hands shaking or the ability to answer the phone without having to lie about where I was. Each of these revelations held a thorny conundrum at their core; are you an alcoholic if you can stop, even for a day? It is my experience that alcoholics can stop drinking for certain periods of time, but they are not able to stay stopped for good. I certainly couldn’t manage more than a few days at a time, but I could, through gritted teeth, stop. See? I’m fine. Source link

Unfortunately, if you have sensitive eyes or wear contact lenses, Dr Denton Dombrowski says glitter products are an absolute no-no. Also, you should never grab the nearest pot of glitter and go to town — if it’s not cosmetic grade, you’re taking an even bigger risk. “There are major differences between craft glitter and cosmetic glitter,” she explains. “Craft glitter is often made of metal or glass! So one can imagine, if that were to inadvertently end up in the eye, you're putting yourself at risk for irritation, pain and possible infection as well.” Source link

Once a publishing house, the brutalist building on Merab Kostava, now known as Stamba has fast become one of my favourite hotels, not only in Georgia but in the entire world. Centering around a leafy courtyard complete with a defunct electrical pylon, the 64 bedrooms are expansive and well-designed, with gorgeous antique parquet flooring, high ceilings, and unique works of art by local Georgian artists. But the hotel also plays host to a quirky café complete with mint green and pale pink decor, elaborate chandeliers and vases of fresh daisies on every table. Plus, there’s a chocolaterie, funky outdoor amphitheater and a set of amazing micro ‘space farms’ where the hotel grows its very own leafy greens, edible flowers, and miniature vegetables on site, too. stambahotel.com Source link...

It’s black tie season! With festive cheer comes dress codes to wrangle, and the toughest ones to nail can be the classics. What exactly is the difference between black tie and white tie? How long or short should you go with your dress? What style of jacket should you wear? Well, here’s your crash course guide (with a little help from Debrett’s trusty etiquette guide) to save you turning heads for all the wrong reasons.  What is a black tie dress code for men?dunhillAccording to Debrett’s, a true men’s black tie outfit will feature a dinner jacket made from barathea (a super soft silk, wool and cotton weave) or ultra-fine herringbone.The jacket should be single-breasted or double-breasted with silk peaked lapels (or a shawl collar) and covered buttons.White dinner jackets have also been tra...

The study highlights sigma, the term for a lone wolf “bad boy” type, as the most popular term, with 167 searches per 100,000 people in the UK. Following closely behind are aura (meaning charisma, attractiveness) and Skibidi (from the viral Skibidi Toilet YouTube show) each recording 75 searches per 100,000, while other terms such as brat, mid and rizz garnered 61 searches per 100,000. Source link

When I lived in St George’s Square, Pimlico, my favourite walks were always along the River Thames. My journey would start with a coffee and daydream in Pimlico Gardens, whatever the time of day I would notice how high or low the tides were; visually measuring how close the water came up to the base of the bridges. I’d stroll past a few, first Chelsea Bridge and then onto my favourite Albert Bridge; I love that it’s painted pink instead of industrial grey. If time and the weather permits I’ll pop into Chelsea Physic Garden, one of the oldest botanic gardens in Europe to buy some seeds and walk around the meditative gardens. Directly across the river is a great view of The Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park. Then back along Chelsea embankment to Cheyne Walk to see one of my favourite sculptures...

They are Julian Osborne and Sam Matanle, both 30, who two and a half years ago set out to do a fashion brand differently, leaving their jobs in brand and operations management with little experience in the industry — and have enjoyed a promising start. This December they opened their 2000sq ft flagship store at 9–11 Shorts Gardens, off Seven Dials, Covent Garden, having signed a 10 year lease. Source link

Food is such an integral part of our day-to-day lives - and the festive season is one of the best times to let loose and enjoy the seasonal offerings. From artisanal mince pies to mouthwatering mulled wine, food is a massive part of celebrating, and particularly at this time of the year.Believe it or not, the average person makes a whopping 200 food-based decisions per day, whether you’re deciding between porridge or eggs or breakfast, fine-tuning your smoothies so that they contain the perfect ratio of veg to fruit - or deliberating on that second helping of pigs in blankets. We all have our own personal relationship with food, from self-imposed routines to inherent rules and specific dietary requirements which can impact how we digest ingredients and their respective nutrients. Even if ...