Florence Welch has had a busy few weeks ? she’s performed at the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week, her new album Ceremonials went straight to No1 when it was released last month, she performed on The X Factor last weekend, and now she?s jetted off to Australia. Phew! Florence is in Sydney to perform at a one-off concert for the Debit Mastercard Priceless Series at the Seymour Centre tonight, and looked gorgeous as she posed for a photoshoot outside super-luxe hotel The Establishment in the heart of Sydney. Florence worked ?40s chic in a fedora hat and a floral-print jumpsuit ? a print she picked from the Liberty archives to be included in the Liberty 2011 fabric range. Performances at major fashion shows and now teaming up with one of London?s most iconic department stores? We’re praying for a Florence Welch high street fashion collection! HE

Back in September we watched in awe as Charlotte Free, Kelly Mittendorf and the rest of the Topshop Unique crew stomped down the London runway in Hieroglyphics-inspired graffiti tops, gold shorts, and beetle print accessories. It was one of the coolest odes to the gilded opulence of ancient Egypt we’ve ever seen, and the best part is, we don’t even have to empty out our bank accounts to get the look.

Unfortunately we’ve still got a few months to wait until we can buy the clothes, but the brand-new Smoke & Mirrors makeup collection will tide us over until then. Featuring favorites ilke a velvety, non-clumping mascara, an ultra-smooth kohl eyeliner (made with kajal, the secret ingredient in Indian eye darkeners) and a blush-bronzer hybrid, these are the kind of staples we’d expect to find in a young Elizabeth Taylor’s beauty drawer.

And is it really any coincidence, considering the actress once starred as the sultry Egyptian queen in the 1963 flick Cleopatra? Maybe, but we really can’t think of a better match made in makeup heaven.
–LIZA DARWIN

Buy it here.

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The Week?s Best Dressed

By Alannah Sparks | Posted: Fri 11 Nov 2011

Shine on, you crazy diamonds. It was a week of sequins, spangles and heavy metal in the world of celebrity dressing this week, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Zoe Saldana and Freida Pinto leading the (Milky) way.

Top of the twinklers was Freida Pinto, who lit up the red carpet in a goddess-like Antonio Berardi gown for the premiere of her new film ?Immortals? in LA last week. Paired with a simple plaited updo and Chopard jewels, the blush dress was an apt choice for the premiere.

But her competition in the goddess stakes this week comes via Gwyneth Paltrow and Zoe Saldana, who both employed the celestial powers of Elie Saab for their moment in the spotlight. Gwyneth went full-on glamazon in a split-to-the-naval emerald gown at the 2011 Bambi Awards in Germany on Wednesday, while Zoe?s take was more demure, in a t-shirt cut Kelly Green gown with a skinny belt to define her minuscule waist. But which is your favourite?

And from green goddesses to golden girls, Cara Delevingne was the perfectly punky party girl in top to toe Burberry at the Harper?s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards earlier this week. Selena Gomez also brought on the bling for her turn on stage presenting the MTV EMA?s – our favourite of her eight looks from the night was the spangly pair of Topshop hotpants she wore together with a vivid yellow top, perfectly setting off two of her best assets: her legs and her tumbling black hair. 

But not everyone this week appealed purely to our magpie sensibilities: Jessica Alba was divine in Armani; Victoria?s Secret model Julia Stegner brought a touch of nonchalance to the glamathon that was the Victoria?s Secret after party; Dree Hemingway bewitched in a voluminous black Dior gown made to reproduce one worn by Marilyn Monroe. And finally, Coco Rocha was pretty as a picture in jewel-toned Dior at the ?Picturing Marilyn? exhibition opening.

View the gallery of the week’s best dressed celebrities

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“I had a stroke and woke up gay!”

Friday 11 November 2011

This week we were aghast at the story of 19 stone rugby player, Chris Birch, who ?woke up gay? after a freak accident at the gym.

After suffering a stroke after a freak accident at his gym, Chris regained consciousness and claimed he had been become gay. Despite being engaged to his girlfriend, who had kept a vigil at his side throughout his recovery, Mr Birch now lives life as an openly gay man with a teenage boyfriend and has dropped 8 stone and retrained as a hairdresser.

The ex-rugby player had been attempting a back flip in front of friends on a field when he fell down a grass bank, breaking his neck and suffering the stroke. He was taken to hospital where his fiancée and family spent days waiting anxiously at his bedside before he delivered the shocking news.

Mr Birch recalled: ?I was gay when I woke up and I still am. It sounds strange but when I came round I immediately felt different.

?I wasn?t interested in women any more. I was definitely gay. I had never been attracted to a man before ? I?d never even had any gay friends.

?But I didn?t care about who I was before, I had to be true to my feelings.?

Joe Korner, director of communications for The Stroke Association in the UK believes stroke can potentially have a massive impact on a victim’s life though he has never heard of it changing someone?s sexuality.

“Strokes are traumatic, life-changing experiences, which can make you reassess life and your feelings so perhaps that’s the reason behind it,” Korner tells CBS News. “Whether or not the stroke turned Chris gay, or whether he was gay anyway but unaware of it, his experience seems to be a positive one, which is great.”

Have you ever undergone a complete personality or lifestyle change and what prompted it?

Posted: November 7, 2011

Beloved cosmetic industry member Johann W. Wiechers, PhD, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, after contracting a dangerous form of pneumonia. Wiechers was known in the industry not only for his expertise in skin penetration and delivery, but also for his zeal for life and pursuit of science.

Wiechers was well-known for his affiliation with the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC). He was a member of the IFSCC Praesidium from 1998 until 2009, serving as president (2007?2008), and held various other positions such as scientific editor of the IFSCC Magazine (2001?2004) and chair of the science and education committee (2000?2003). He was chair of the scientific committee of the highly successful 2007 IFSCC Conference in Amsterdam in September 2007, when he was named president of the IFSCC. He was also a member of other scientific organizations such as the ISBS, Society of Cosmetic Scientists, Society of Cosmetic Chemists and the Dutch Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NVCC). He was a board member of the NVCC.

Wiechers was also a highly published author in cosmetics and other industries, particularly for Allured Business Media, publisher of Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine. In addition to serving as technical advisor for the magazine, for which he wrote numerous articles and columns, Wiechers served on the magazine’s Advisory Board. He wrote Science and Applications of Skin Delivery Systems for Alluredbooks in 2008; in addition, his witty and thought-provoking columns for Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine were compiled for the e-book, Wiechers on Cosmetics: Memories of a Cosmetically Disturbed Mind.

In all, Wiechers has published nearly 450 papers, posters, book chapters, books, columns and podium presentations in the field of topical drug delivery and cosmetic science. He was a regularly invited speaker at both scientific as well as commercial conferences all over the world. He won Best Paper Awards at the 1998 SCS Annual Conference (Manchester, UK), the 1999 SCC Annual Scientific Conference (New York, USA), the IFSCC Congress Best Poster Award (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; 2002), the 2003 IFSCC Conference Award (Seoul, Korea; 2003) and the ISBS Best Poster Award (Orlando, FL, USA; 2004). And, in 2010, he was nominated by his colleagues in the industry for the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award for Cosmetic Science. 

Wiechers completed his doctorate in 1989 at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, in the subject of skin penetration enhancement. Following six years at Unilever Research in the UK, he joined Uniqema in Gouda, The Netherlands, in 1995, where he served as skin R&D director. In April 2007, he was appointed visiting professor at the University of London’s School of Pharmacy. In September 2007, he founded JW Solutions, his cosmetic science consultancy, which focused on his interests in formulation optimization, cosmetic claim substantiation, noninvasive skin bioengineering, skin sensory techniques, clinical trial design, skin penetration and biostatistics.

Back in September we watched in awe as Charlotte Free, Kelly Mittendorf and the rest of the Topshop Unique crew stomped down the London runway in Hieroglyphics-inspired graffiti tops, gold shorts, and beetle print accessories. It was one of the coolest odes to the gilded opulence of ancient Egypt we’ve ever seen, and the best part is, we don’t even have to empty out our bank accounts to get the look.

Unfortunately we’ve still got a few months to wait until we can buy the clothes, but the brand-new Smoke & Mirrors makeup collection will tide us over until then. Featuring favorites ilke a velvety, non-clumping mascara, an ultra-smooth kohl eyeliner (made with kajal, the secret ingredient in Indian eye darkeners) and a blush-bronzer hybrid, these are the kind of staples we’d expect to find in a young Elizabeth Taylor’s beauty drawer.

And is it really any coincidence, considering the actress once starred as the sultry Egyptian queen in the 1963 flick Cleopatra? Maybe, but we really can’t think of a better match made in makeup heaven.
–LIZA DARWIN

Buy it here.

Blake Lively and Sarah Jessica Parker have both stepped out in these lion paw Louboutin?s, which quite frankly have us all torn here in the LOOK offices. Some of us love them, while the other camp are slightly freaked out by the hairy toe claws on the front of the shoe! It?s a definite step further than animal print, but if Blake and SJP can both rock animal claw feet then it?s a trend that?s worth considering ? watch this space! RS

?I?ll never stop missing my Jo?

Tuesday 08 November 2011

The full horror of Jo Yeates? shocking murder came to light last month when her vile killer Vincent Tabak was put on trial.

Jo?s heartbroken mum Teresa, dad David, brother Chris and boyfriend Greg Reardon watched in anguish as Dutch Tabak cried in the dock, denying murdering the landscape architect at her Bristol flat last December.

But the prosecution tore apart his claims that he strangled Jo, 25, by accident ? arguing it was a calculated murder driven by sex.

Tabak, a 33-year-old architect, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Now, devastated Teresa, 58, is trying to focus on remembering how happy her daughter had been before her horrifying death.

She tells Closer: ?Jo was the happiest she?d ever been in her life. We will never know for sure what would have happened, but we all feel her boyfriend Greg was The One. Jo felt that too. They had that one true love that you feel will never ever go away.?

She adds: ?I?ll never stop missing my beautiful Jo.?

Greg had been away visiting family when Jo went missing on 17 December.  She?d returned alone to the flat they shared in Clifton, Bristol, after Christmas drinks with work colleagues.

The court heard how Tabak, who lived next door, called on her after they made eye contact through their kitchen windows.

He claimed he was enticed to kiss Jo by what he claimed was her ?flirty? behaviour. When she screamed, he insisted he accidentally strangled her trying to silence her.

But his story was deemed false by the jury, who ruled the attack was a cold-blooded, sexually motivated murder ? a verdict backed by evidence since released, which shows Tabak?s preoccupation with violent internet porn and strangulation.

When Greg returned to find Jo missing on 19 December, he raised the alarm and a huge police search followed ? with Tabak laying low and researching definitions of murder, sexual assault and manslaughter online. He even tried to find out how long it takes a body to decompose.

Jo?s snow-covered body was finally found by dog walkers on Christmas Day and she had a sock missing ? which it?s believed was taken by Tabak as a trophy. Her body had 43 separate injuries.Tabak was arrested on 20 January.

Since Jo?s death, her family have tried to regain some sense of normality. Her brother Chris, 28, married four months ago, but Jo?s absence was overwhelming.

Teresa, a supermarket assistant, says: ?It was a quiet, low-key wedding. During his speech, Chris said he?d always remember Jo and wished she could be there. Jo would probably have been a bridesmaid. She?d have loved it. It was a happy occasion, but also poignant because Jo was in our thoughts.?

Seeing her son move on made Teresa painfully aware of what Jo?s lost. She says: ?Jo?s missed out on her dream of getting married, having children and  designing a lovely family home.?

She adds: ?But Greg has a new life ahead of him and must try to move forwards.?

Teresa?s next ordeal is to clear out Jo?s flat ? which is still decorated for the Christmas she was never able to celebrate. Teresa says: ?I?m dreading going to the flat ? it was once full of love and laughter but is now where my daughter lost her life so violently.

?But it?s something a mum has to do and I will. I don?t want anyone else to. It?s a sinister place now, not Jo?s home.?

By Emily Retter & Tracey Kandohla

A MEMORIAL garden in tribute of Jo Yeates is being planned near her family home. It will take pride of place in a meadow overlooking a lake in the county-council owned Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum in Ampfield, Hants.

The garden, inspired by landscape architect Jo?s butterfly project while she worked there in her gap year, will feature a bench in the shape of a butterfly wing and a maple tree surrounded by shrubs and wild flowers. It is being designed by the Landscape Institute South East Branch and has been warmly welcomed by Jo?s parents.

Teresa says: ?It will be a beautiful garden of remembrance and a very fitting tribute to Jo.? Phil Deacon of Southampton-based landscape architects Influence, who is leading the project, says: ?We hope this will bring a bit of joy to Jo?s parents, to know that people are still thinking of them and their daughter.

?We hope the garden will open next spring. We are now at the commissioning stage.?

Nearly half of the £20,000 to pay for the landscaping and upkeep has so far been raised.

To sponsor the Jo Yeates Memorial Garden, visit mydonate.bt.com/charities/ joyeatesmemorialgardenfund.

Blake Lively and Sarah Jessica Parker have both stepped out in these lion paw Louboutin?s, which quite frankly have us all torn here in the LOOK offices. Some of us love them, while the other camp are slightly freaked out by the hairy toe claws on the front of the shoe! It?s a definite step further than animal print, but if Blake and SJP can both rock animal claw feet then it?s a trend that?s worth considering ? watch this space! RS