fashion and lifestyle

The big idea behind the ‘tiny house’ movement

It offers a way to avoid mortgage debt and landlord enrichment — and live a scaled-back life




fashion and lifestyle

Bedazzling four-poster beds

Humble, grand or fanciful — these designs have serious bed cred




fashion and lifestyle

The chandelier made from recycled nitrous-oxide canisters

How discarded laughing-gas cylinders were used to create glitter from litter




fashion and lifestyle

The lilac in literature

The flower is a motif found in writers from Eliot to Proust to Turgenev




fashion and lifestyle

Properties with literary connections

From an 18th-century farmhouse in the US to a traditional Deià-style home in Mallorca




fashion and lifestyle

Villa Majorelle: inside an Art Nouveau restoration

This cornucopia of vegetation in ceramic and bronze is the apotheosis of the style




fashion and lifestyle

Let’s stop turning our homes into boutique hotels

Coronavirus puts into perspective the cult of perfection in interior design




fashion and lifestyle

Five of the world’s best homes for sale for children

Running downstairs is b-o-r-i-n-g when you can slide or use a fireman’s pole instead




fashion and lifestyle

New zen — why interior design is looking to Japan

This season’s hottest trend takes in all things Japanese - from Macaque to Japandi




fashion and lifestyle

Traditional design ideas that give a contemporary bathroom a Moroccan feel

Style options distilled from a confluence of African, Arab and Mediterranean cultures




fashion and lifestyle

How vintage Ikea became a hit for fans of flat-pack chic

There’s more to the Swedish interiors giant than Billy bookcases




fashion and lifestyle

How to create a stylish reading sanctuary in lockdown

Nooks for books can be created anywhere in the home




fashion and lifestyle

Royal Wedding beauty products fit for a Princess

On the eve of the Big Day, Elsa McAlonan looks at the best Royal Wedding beauty buys...




fashion and lifestyle

Vodka, salt and lemon juice¿ and that¿s just for her hair: Real Housewife Kelly Bensimon¿s bizarre cocktail for glossy tresses

On a Friday night it's more common to be sipping a vodka cocktail than to be applying one to your hair.




fashion and lifestyle

Need a new scent? Try some candy: The confectionery that will leave you smelling like roses

Usually it's a dab of perfume or a spritz of deodorant that makes us smell good, but a new company believes that candy is the way forward when it comes to body fragrance.




fashion and lifestyle

Lady Gaga effect: Violent Lips launches temporary lip tattoos

Call it the Lady Gaga effect, but with make-up becoming increasingly outlandish, it was only a matter of time before lip transfers were developed.




fashion and lifestyle

Would you pay $300 for a snakeskin manicure?

Terri Silacci, from Monterey, California, uses discarded skins, which are naturally shed by the animals, with a gel manicure for the unusual treatment.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Make yourself blossom with flower-power beauty

To celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show, we bring you the best in floral beauty products...




fashion and lifestyle

Justin Beiber teases tween fans with launch of new 'Someday' fragrance (but is the bottle a poor girl's Marc Jacobs Lola?)

Just when you thought Justin Beiber's influence on his teenage fans could not get any bigger, he's now deciding what they should smell like.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty confidential: Fake your way to being a bronzed beauty

Wondering how to pick the right fake tan to suit your skin? We have tested the newest products in a quest for the top tans this summer...




fashion and lifestyle

Could science behind the Blood Type Diet be set to change the future of skincare?

Dr James D'Adamo - who pioneered the eating plan - has launched a beauty regime that promises radiant, soft, younger-looking skin.




fashion and lifestyle

Dita Von Teese reveals her DIY beauty routine

Instead of relying on expensive beauticians, the 38-year-old admitted that she dyes her naturally blonde brows with a men's home hair dye kit.




fashion and lifestyle

Justin Bieber won't be sued by Marc Jacobs over copycat fragrance bottle

The purple-tinted glass and pink rose lid bore many similarities to Marc Jacobs' much-loved Lola fragrance.




fashion and lifestyle

Expert guide: How to get a daytime smokey eyes look

This week, celebrity make-up artist Rozelle Parry’s step-by-step guide to creating a daytime smokey eyes look.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty confidential: Get the lowdown on this summer's hottest trends

Our beauty experts pick the coolest looks and share their best tips and tricks to get you set for summer...




fashion and lifestyle

Younger hands: Miracle cream promises to reverse the aging process by 10 years in just six weeks

Even celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Madonna, who are known for defying the ageing process with their taut physiques, have been undone by their hands.




fashion and lifestyle

Blondarexia: Lady Gaga and Jennifer Aniston sport latest bleached hair craze

Blondarexia followers (or should we say sufferers) include Jennifer Aniston, Mischa Barton and Rachel McAdams.




fashion and lifestyle

Why rose scents are blooming this season...

Rose perfumes are the fragrance equivalent of the little black dress. They’re timeless, wearable day and night, elegant but still alluring.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty confidential: Our pick of the summer skin-savers

We round up a bumper crop of new products that will get you glowing for summer...




fashion and lifestyle

Top-to-toe body wax: It's not just the price that will make your eyes water

Areas Leah Hardy got pruned included her eyebrows, lip, chin, underarms, full arm, including hands, full leg, including toes a Brazilian or Hollywood bikini wax and, ahem, her bottom.




fashion and lifestyle

Father's Day gifts: Indulge your dad with a grooming gift

You don't have to struggle to find the perfect present for Father's Day as we've tracked down grooming gifts galore to make him look, feel and smell like a new man




fashion and lifestyle

Olay Professional: Stampede expected as £45 anti-wrinkle range goes on sale

Olay are about to launch their first ever range of professionally-inspired anti-ageing skin care, aptly called Olay Professional. The range sold out in 17 minutes in the U.S.




fashion and lifestyle

Travel essentials: Keep your beauty regime going on the move

Our pick of the top travel essentials to keep your skin radiant and feeling fresh on the move.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Your essential guide to getting smoky for summer

As unlikely as it sounds, the smoky eye is proving the look for summer. More typically associated with winter glamour, the look works extremely well with a bold summer wardrobe. And it’s a surprisingly easy trend to create at home.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Hold back the years for under £30

As it’s revealed that women spend more than £24,000 on wrinkle creams and treatments in a lifetime, we show you the products that will save a fortune while getting the results.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Summer's hottest buys

Summer's most wanted beauty products for the face, body and hair are selling fast, so get them before they go!




fashion and lifestyle

MAC make-up gets the Cindy Sherman treatment

The artist, 57, has created three collections for the make-up giant, which take their lead from typically unconventional subjects.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: The ultimate make-up bag!

Women spend as much as £2,000 a year on make-up, according to a recent survey. Here we present the fantasy make-up bag with enough products to last a year.




fashion and lifestyle

The organic myth: The label says organic, but how 'natural' are the products you're forking out for?

The laws governing the labelling on organic foods do not extend to beauty products. A product can be called organic if it contains only tiny amounts of organic ingredients.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Sizzling sun care

With so much choice, where do you begin with sun protection? We’ve done the hard work by finding some of the best products around. Here, we help you choose the best sunscreen for your age, skin type and budget...




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Hair heroes! Top products to rescue sun-baked summer locks

Hair can suffer at this time of the year, with sun and sea leaving it dry and unmanageable. But there are plenty of products designed to restore hair health in a matter of minutes.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: My miracle masks

Face masks are the unsung heroes of the beauty world, as they immediately give skin a boost. But some now cost more than a salon facial.




fashion and lifestyle

Treatment of the week: A mystical massage by candlelight

I had no idea what to expect when I volunteered to go and try Ila’s Kundalini back treatment. What I received is quite hard to put into words.




fashion and lifestyle

We should coco! From skin creams to health drinks, why coconuts are the new must-have ingredient

Celebrities such as Madonna and Demi Moore guzzle coconut water by the gallon while cosmetic companies are also promoting its benefits.




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Back to beauty school... with new pens, pencils and crayons

The kids are going back to school, so with a little more time on your hands there’s no better time to brush up on your beauty routine for autumn.




fashion and lifestyle

Best of British: How Jersey cream and stinging nettles are making home-grown

The new crop of high-end, locally produced bath and body goodies are as patriotic as they are luxurious. So raise a flag for the best British beauty products .




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: Wonder creams for every wallet

New wonder creams to help prevent the signs of ageing have swept into the beauty market this season. Here, we reveal the best — to suit every skin type and budget 




fashion and lifestyle

Beauty Confidential: You can be a catwalk beauty queen too!

Here we examine the season’s four top trends, as seen on the fashion runway, and how to make them work for you.




fashion and lifestyle

Freezeframe serum: 5-minute face cream that beats Botox (with 14k on its waiting list)

The latest product promising to work miracles has arrived in the shape of a face serum which claims to achieve smoother skin in minutes with just a few gentle dabs.




fashion and lifestyle

Last orders please: How beer can make you beautiful

Beer just got classy. So classy, in fact that I ended up being massaged and bathed in the stuff, with no hint of morning-after shame - and all this in a five-star hotel.