•  

Home Page 5379

Get the look: LMFF Runway 1 & 2

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love
Getty Images

Getty Images

The hair and make-up looks on the LMFF runways were breathtaking. Take a look at how you can create them for yourself at home (with a little bit of practice)

Runway 1

The look: A classic look, flawless skin with a strong red lip vamped up with a wash of bronze lipgloss. A soft golden eye with the longest of lashes balances this look perfectly.

We love it: This look attracts attention and screams ‘look at my lips’. A statement lip, such as this, will see you through autumn into the winter.

Get the look with L’Oréal Paris Studio Secrets Professional High Definition Lipliner in Red (051) and then fill in with L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Anti-Age Serum in Luminous Scarlet (501) & L’Oréal Paris Glam Shine 6H Bronze in Timeless Ruby (502).

Runway 2

The look: This look makes a statement with a bold and striking eye emphasising the shape of the eye with a strong sweep of black eyeliner. The focus stays on the eyes by keeping the lips soft.

We love it: with the hype surrounding Alice in Wonderland, the sensationally dreamy Tim Burton creation has filtered into the everyday. While this look might not be seen off the catwalk, for the show it took us to a place filled with magic and mystery.

Get the look: Winged eyeliner is making a comeback, jump on the bandwagon with L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Liquid Eyeliner in Black, L’Oréal Paris Color Appeal Trio Pro eyeshadow in Night & Day Black (408) and L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara in Carbon Black.

See the best looks from LMFF

Your say: What is your favourite make-up look for autumn/winter? How do you like to wear your hair? Share with us below.

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Married people twice as likely to become fat

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love
Getty Images

Getty Images

The old cliché that people “let themselves go” after getting married has been given some scientific backing by researchers in Greece.

Married couples were found to be twice as likely to become fat or obese as their single counterparts, according to a new study.

Scientists from Salonica and Ioannina universities found that married women were twice as likely to have weight issues while married men were three times as likely to become fat, the UK’s Daily Telegraph

Gallery: Celebs’ weight-loss journeys

Survey: Marriage better for men’s health than quitting smoking

The study of more than 17,000 couples aged 20 to 70 found that married couples exercised less, had less sex and had worse diets but were more “comfortable” with their lives.

Married couples apparently spend more time eating together, watching TV and ordering takeaways and were therefore more likely to suffer from “abdominal obesity, or belly fat” than single people, who exercised more to stay in better shape in order to find a partner.

Professor Dimitris Kiortsis, one of the study’s co-authors who presented their research to the Panhellenic Medical Conference last week, said that the weight problems were directly related to changes in lifestyle after marriage when people “let themselves go”.

“The need to hunt for a partner is reduced,” he said.

“Stress and anxiety is reduced in a good marriage, there is less smoking, and therefore one’s appetite increases.”

The study recommended that married couples exercise more, snack less and follow more of a Mediterranean diet, which includes fruit, vegetables and olive oil.

Related video

“If one of the partners decides to go on a diet, then the other partner also often follows,” said Professor Dimitris Papazoglou, the other co-author.

“Obesity is the biggest threat to public health in the entire world”, he said.

The 2004-05 Australian National Health Survey found that 40.5 percent of adult men and 24.9 percent of women were overweight. Overall, 16.4 percent of adults were reported as obese.

Obesity is measured using the body mass index (BMI). BMI is a weight-to-height ratio, which is considered to be a reasonable measure of body fat to height of most people. It is calculated by dividing body weight in kilograms by the square of height in metres. A BMI greater than 25 is classed as overweight while one greater than 30 is considered obese.

BMI tool: Calculate your body mass index

Your say: Do you think that people do let themselves go when they get married? Share your thoughts below.

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Lots of lettuce

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love
Getty Images

Getty Images

Lettuce is one of the world’s most popular vegetables and is commonly used in salads. There are thousands of different types of lettuce available.

Some of the more common lettuce varieties include:

  • Butter: a soft leaf lettuce that has a bright green head and a mild flavour.

  • Cos: this is a crisp pale green lettuce with elongated leaves.

  • Iceberg: also known as common lettuce. This lettuce has coarse crisp leaves and a tight head.

  • Mignonette: has a curly, small soft leaf with red edges. The leaves at the centre of this lettuce are pale green, but still tinged with the darker colour.

  • Radicchio: has a bitter flavour and comes in different colours and shapes, some varieties are dark red or can be streaked with dark red.

  • Oakleaf: a light green or reddish loose-leafed lettuce and the leaf is shaped like an oak leaf.

  • Mesclun: this is a mix of leaves, providing a variety of lettuce leaves, as well as leaves such as rocket, chervil, and mustard.

Nutritionally speaking, the darker the lettuce leaves, the higher its content of carotenoids. Carotenoids including beta carotene, are converted by the body into vitamin A. The body requires vitamin A for growth and development, good vision, immunity and tissue repair. Lettuce also provides a source of vitamin C, dietary fibre and folate.

Choose lettuce that has bright, crisp leaves and does not look wilted. Lettuce that has wilted will have lost some of its nutrients. Store lettuce in a sealed container or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Your say: We’ve named a few varieties here but there are many more, what’s your favourite type of lettuce?

This information is provided by the Sanitarium Nutrition Service.

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Brad tells all about his beard

Brand logo of Woman's Day
Profile picture of Now to Love
Bard Pitt

Rumours have been circulating for months about why Brad Pitt has been sporting a grey over-grown beard and now the actor has finally revealed why.

According to a UK newspaper, the sexy star is growing the beard simply because he is bored.

“It’s boredom. No other reason than that,” Brad told the Sun when he was in London on Monday to promote an action-comedy, Kick-Ass, which he helped produce.

At one point over the last few months the 46-year-old’s beard was beaded in a Pirates of the Caribbean style, which prompted rumours his buccaneer-style facial hair was in preparation for a new role.

The star of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has been wearing the beard since November last year as part of his Halloween costume. He had dressed up as DJ Lance Rock from the children’s TV show Yo Gabba Gabba!

After the Kick-Ass afterparty, Brad returned to partner Angelina Jolie and his six children in Venice where Ange is shooting her new movie The Tourist with Johnny Depp.

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Courage under fire

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love
Photography by David Hahn. Styling by Teagan Sewell.

Photography by David Hahn. Styling by Teagan Sewell.

There is no greater honour than the Victoria Cross – a medal so rare it had not been granted for 40 years. So just how has VC hero Mark Donaldson gone from dodging bullets to family life? Sue Williams reports.

It hurts to send the man you love off to war. For Emma Donaldson, wife of Trooper Mark Donaldson, the first Australian to win the Victoria Cross in 40 years, it is always an agonising wrench. Emma has sent Mark off to battlegrounds in East Timor and Iraq, but the time she remembers most vividly was when she sent him off to fight in Afghanistan.

Standing outside their home in Perth, WA, Mark hugged their then 18-month-old daughter, Kaylee, before kissing Emma and turning to step into the waiting car. Urgently, Emma pulled him close, holding his face in her hands. “I love you,” she said. “And if you die doing something stupid, I’m going to be so angry!”

Emma, 34, is nothing if not a realist. As a soldier herself, she knows that when Mark, a member of the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment, goes into battle, doing a good job automatically puts him in harm’s way. Yet, in August 2008, Emma had no idea that the man she loved was going to do something so extraordinary, so heroic, that it would change their lives forever.

The first she heard about it was a few weeks later, as she was pounding the treadmill at a gym in Perth. On the TV news was a report of a fierce gun battle in the distant deserts of Afghanistan in which a number of Australian troops had been injured. Emma’s thoughts turned to Mark, but she pushed her fears away, knowing that if something was wrong, she would be told soon enough. Two days later, her fears evaporated when she picked up the phone and heard Mark’s voice.

They chatted about their daughter and their lives at opposite ends of the world and, just as they ended their conversation, Mark added, almost as an aside, “I’ve done something you’re probably not going to be too impressed with, but I’ll tell you about it when I get home”.

Almost two months later, when his regiment returned home, Mark sat Emma down and sketched in the details of how he and his mates had fought, under heavy machine gun and rocket fire, to escape a bloody Taliban ambush, the same one she had heard reported on the television. She was stunned by what she heard.

“I lost the air from my lungs and I had a sick feeling in my stomach,” she tells The Weekly. “I didn’t want to listen, but I had to and I couldn’t show how scared I was because I didn’t want to upset our child. He told me there had been bullets going everywhere and that a guy had been blown from a car, and he had got him and brought him back. In the end, I thought, ‘Okay! That doesn’t sound too bad!’ ”

Your say: What do you think about this story? Share your opinions below…

Read the full story in the April issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly on sale now with Michelle and Barack Obama on the cover.

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Guru to the stars

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love
Snapper

Snapper

On the eve of his Australian tour, controversial spiritual guide Dr Deepak Chopra explains his philosophy of life to Larry Writer – and why the global financial crisis was a spiritual wake-up call.

Dr Deepak Chopra, like countless prophets before him, has been pilloried for his unconventional views. Yet, today, many of his critics are choking on their words. Dr Chopra is too gracious to say, “I told you so”, but in the wake of the global financial crisis, which has swept away fortunes and property like sandcastles by a turning tide, it’s clear that some have learned the hard way that he was onto something when he preached that spiritualism, not materialism, is the key to happiness.

This month, at seminars in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the India-born sage, physician, author and lecturer on mind-body medicine, spirituality, quantum mechanics and peace, is bringing that message and others, such as “our body is a soul made flesh … the end product of our experiences, love, suffering, emotions and aspirations, and to live a full life, we must get in touch with and resurrect our soul”.

7 Secrets of Success

In 1994, Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success: A Practical Guide To The Fulfillment Of Your Dreams (Amber-Allen Publishing, rrp $33.99) became a worldwide best-seller. And little wonder given its message is that we do not have to work relentlessly until we drop of exhaustion in order to make our dreams come true. All we need to do is follow a simple set of rules.

  1. THE LAW OF PURE POTENTIALITY

Take time to be silent, to just be. Meditate for 30 minutes, twice a day. Silently witness the intelligence within every living thing. Practice non-judgment.

  1. THE LAW OF GIVING AND RECEIVING

Today, bring whoever you encounter a gift: a compliment or a flower. Gratefully receive gifts. Keep wealth circulating by giving and receiving care, affection, appreciation and love.

  1. THE LAW OF KARMA

Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. Choosing actions that bring happiness and success to others ensures the flow of happiness and success to you.

  1. THE LAW OF LEAST EFFORT

Accept people, situations and events as they occur. Take responsibility for your situation and for all events seen as problems. Relinquish the need to defend your point of view.

  1. THE LAW OF INTENTION AND DESIRE

Inherent in every intention and desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment. Make a list of desires. Trust that when things don’t seem to go your way, there is a reason.

  1. THE LAW OF DETACHMENT

Allow yourself and others the freedom to be who they are. Do not force solutions – allow solutions to spontaneously emerge. Uncertainty is essential and your path to freedom.

  1. THE LAW OF DHARMA

Seek your higher self. Discover your unique talents. Ask yourself how you are best suited to serve humanity. Using your unique talents and serving others brings unlimited bliss and abundance.

Read a full interview with Deepak Chopra in the April issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly on sale now with Michelle and Barack Obama on the cover.

Your say: What do you think of Dr Deepak Chopra? Do you think these steps could help you fulfil your dreams? Share with us below.

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Painted ladies

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love
Photography by Grant Matthews. Styling by Amanda Moore.

Tara Moss and Clare Hampshire. Photography by Grant Matthews. Styling by Amanda Moore.

Once the sure sign of a wayward life, tattoos are now appearing on people from all walks of life. Ingrid Pyne discovers what inspired these women’s body art.

Gone are the days when tattoos were the preserve of sailors and soldiers, prisoners and prostitutes, or dockers and drug addicts. Body art has hit the mainstream. Celebrities from Angelina Jolie to Victoria Beckham and Australia’s Ruby Rose are the best-known of today’s tattooed women – and ordinary women of all ages are rushing to get inked. British acting great Helen Mirren even complains that a tiny tattoo on her thumb makes her feel conventional. “I decided to get a tattoo because it was the most shocking thing I could think of doing,” she says. “Now, I’m utterly disgusted because it’s completely mainstream, which is unacceptable to me.”

Tara Moss, 36, AUTHOR

I got my first tattoo – a black, three-clawed dragon – on my hip in 2004, after a long wait. I had loved tattoos on other people for so long that I’d literally started to feel “untattooed”. Since then, I’ve added a writing quill to my left arm and recently had amor eterno [eternal love] tattooed on the back of my neck, as a wedding present from my husband. My tattoos represent significant times and sentiments in my life.

I have never regretted my body art, so I’m not sure why Julia Gillard – whom I respect – felt compelled to comment on women and their tattoos. I don’t believe that women are likely to regret their tattoos more or less than men, or more or less than other decisions they make.

My tattoos are very much a part of me and I would feel naked without them. They are the art I carry with me everywhere I go.

Related video

Clare Hampshire, 26, TATTOO ARTIST

Ever since I was 14, I knew I wanted to be tattooed. I had always been into alternative culture and body art was part of that. I got my first tattoo just after I turned 18. Some of my designs have personal meaning – I have tattoos for my parents, my grandparents, my fiancé and my dog. I also have a random assortment of images for no other reason than they make me happy.

Sometimes, my tattoos attract disapproving stares, like when I go to nice restaurants or hotels, but that doesn’t bother me. Tattoos will always draw a strong reaction and if you’re not prepared for this, you shouldn’t get inked. My parents were pretty unhappy when I got my first tattoos, but they’ve gotten used to them. They realise this is who I am, that I’m still the same person I always was.

Your say: Do you have a tattoo? What is the meaning behind it? Do you think people will regret getting body art when they get older? Share your opinions below…

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Michelle Obama: In love with a President

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love
Getty Images

Getty Images

When up-and-coming lawyer Barack Obama met Michelle Robinson, he was blown away. She, on the other hand, resisted his offer of a date, but he never gave up trying to win her over. Here, CHRISTOPHER ANDERSEN reveals the intimate details of how the future US president wooed his First Lady and why she fell under his spell.

Barack Obama?” Michelle asked, one hand planted firmly on her hip. “What the hell kind of name is Barack Obama, anyway? Who names their kid Barack Obama?” It wasn’t the first time she had listened to a colleague at [law firm] Sidley Austin rave about the gifted, handsome, suavely urbane Harvard first-year law student who was coming to work there as a summer associate.

In pictures: Glamorous first ladies

In pictures: Obama — History in the making

Newton Minow, a senior partner at Sidley Austin, had been instrumental in spreading word of Barack’s imminent arrival, going so far as to praise his letter of introduction to the firm as poetic. Soon the firm’s rank and file were buzzing about his towering intellect, his exotic background and his equally exotic good looks.

In a less than subtle manoeuvre to bring together two of the relative handful of black lawyers in the 500-lawyer Chicago office, Michelle was assigned to be the new arrival’s mentor. She was not amused. She had already pledged to her mother just a week earlier that she was “not worrying about dating. I’m focusing on me”. Besides, Michelle insisted, she really didn’t have time “to babysit some guy”. As for the breathless comments from her co-workers, Michelle reacted with characteristic scepticism. “I figured,” she later said, “they were just impressed with any black man who has a suit and a job.”

After all, it wasn’t as if Michelle hadn’t been down this road before. Barack, she said, “sounded too good to be true. I had dated a lot of brothers who had this kind of reputation coming in, so I figured he was one of those smooth brothers who could talk straight and impress people.”

Before he arrived, Michelle pulled out Barack’s bio. “I”ve got nothing in common with this guy,” she thought as she read it. “He grew up in Hawaii! I’ve never even met somebody who grew up in Hawaii. He’s biracial. Okay, so what’s that about? Hmmm. This guy’s going to be a little strange, a little weird, a little off-putting.” She had managed to create in her mind “an image of this intellectual nerd”.

Extracted from Barack and Michelle: The Love Story by Christopher Andersen, rrp $35.

Read the rest of this extract in the April issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly out now with The Obama’s on the cover.

Your say: What do you think of Michelle Obama? Share your opinions below…

For health, beauty, celeb gossip and more, visit:

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

What can I use to replace egg?

Brand logo of Now to Love
Profile picture of Now to Love

Question: I have an egg allergy. Is it possible to leave eggs out of a recipe or can they be substituted?

You should avoid any products that are labeled as containing albumin, dried egg, egg whole, yolk, protein or solids, globulin, livetin, lysozyme, ovalbumin, ovaglobulin, ovomucin, ovomucid, ovovitellin or vitellin and pasteurised, powedered or whole egg.

Sometimes you can leave out the egg in a recipe that calls for only one or two and replace them by adding water. However this is not recommended with most baking recipes, so you will need to either use commercial egg substitution (available from most supermarkets) or experiment with other substitutions.

If the purpose of the egg is to bind the ingredients, you can try substituting mashed banana, apple puree, soft tofu or gelatin dissolved in hot water. If the egg is required as a thickening or setting agent you could use wheat, rice or corn flour blended to a paste with a little water to do the job.

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Home Page 5379

Victoria Beckham’s celebrity fans

Brand logo of Woman's Day
Profile picture of Now to Love

Victoria Beckham has been given a little boost by fellow former Spice Girl, Melanie C, who wore one of Posh’s fashion creations on the red carpet at the Lawrence Oliver Awards in London recently.

But Sporty Spice isn’t the only one sporting Posh’s designs. A number of other celebrities have opted for Beckham’s label during this awards season.

Celebrity fans include Courteney Cox, Cameron Diaz and Heidi Klum.

The new crew of celebrities happily wearing a VB creation has provided the singer-turned-designer with a great deal of publicity.

The 35-year-old recently held a preview of her autumn collection at New York Fashion Week.

Victoria Beckham in a gown from her Fall / Winter 2010 collection

Former Spice Girl Mel C recently wore one of Victoria Beckham’s creations

Cameron Diaz in a dress from Victoria’s Fall / Winter 2010 collection

Courteney Cox in a dress from Victoria’s Spring Summer 2010

Heidi Klum in a Victoria Beckham design

Profile picture of Now to Love
Now to Love

Related stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter conversion description. Get the latest in your inbox.

Disclaimer: By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use