Archive for the ‘Style’ Category

BMW Owner?  Are you having an affair?

Do you think your partner is having an affair?  What kind of car do they drive?  You wouldn’t think these two questions would have anything in common but actually they do - apparently the flashier your car the higher your chances of being involved in an affair…naughty!

The UK’s largest extra-marital dating site, illicitencounters.com, is claiming that expensive car owners are more likely to cheat on their partners compared to those with cheap cars.

Driving you to cheat?

The site completed a survey amongst its 300,000 customer base and found that drivers of cars like BMWs and Mercedes were more likely to cheat compared to drivers of Vauxhalls and Fords.

Are you starting to panic yet?  Has your partner get a Porsche?  According to a spokeswoman for the website, Sara Hartley, has pointed out that owners of expensive cars are more likely to know what they want and go out and get it.

“Many of those actively seeking an affair tend to be go-getters, which is reflected in their choice of car and their chosen profession.  They are often conspicuous consumers,” said Hartley.

The survey undertaken by the site found that 20.9 per cent of those questioned drove expensive cars - making up the numbers saw 16 Bentleys, 135 BMWs, 31 Porsches and 5 Aston Martins.

It doesn’t end with cars…

But according to the site the tell-tale cheater signs don’t stop with cars - apparently your career is also a dead give away to your intentions.  The site is claiming that Yachtsmen are more likely to have an affair over other professions.

Rosie Freeman Jones, another spokeswoman for the site, is claiming that professions have a great deal to do with affairs as they involve some cunning and a great deal of good time-management.

“Scheduling is unbelievably important when you’re having an affair. If you are living with your partner but seeing someone else full time then you need alibis, you need to know which friends to tell and which not to, so it is a juggling act and if you don’t have planning skills then you are going to fail,” said Jones.

Boats to blame?

The site goes on to also point the finger at marine industry workers as they are known for their unsurpassed time management skills which makes the whole affair business a little easier.

Sarah Hartley continued by blaming the recession for the amount of affairs that take place within the transportation and logistics industry, saying, “the economic crisis has had a profound affect on our site.”

“Those working in the transportation and logistics industry are currently experiencing a lot of cut-backs - that means more unemployment, tighter deadlines, underfunding. These things can cause pressure at home, which is the main reason men and women have affairs.

“Those in this industry have an advantage in that their jobs involve a great deal of scheduling. A successful affair requires planning, time-management, to avoid getting found out,” said Hartley.

An Affair To Remember?

Does you or your partner own an expensive car or work with boats?  Do you think there is any basis to these findings?  Let us know what you think…

It’s a big billion dollar business – staying young is something that everyone is ready to pay money for!  However, it doesn’t have to cost the Earth – keep on top of these tips and stay younger for longer at practically no cost.

Drink Water

Water is great for making you look younger – water rinses off cell waste and washes away blood poisons as well as environmental toxins from the body.  Stick to the normal mineral waters and herbal teas to give yourself a youthful boost.

Inhale/Exhale

Stress is a massive cause of ageing so it makes sense to take stress out of the equation if you want to look younger.  A great way to relieve stress is to breathe.  Breathing clears the old air sacks in the chest, promotes focus and by breathing you will actually be working out your tummy.

Eat

We all eat but most people aren’t doing it properly.  You should forget the old “3 meals a day” rule and instead should be eating 5 smaller meals through the day.  By eating through the day you’ll be keeping your metabolism working which will keep you burning off that little bit of extra weight.

Don’t Over Exfoliate

You might think that the odd peel here and burn there might be making you look younger – in fact you are actually weakening your skins immunity.  Too much of a good thing and you’ll find that you will eventually kill your skin cells making you look older than you ever wanted!  Go easy with the skin…

Minerals

Minerals are a vital part of your diet – stay on top of your mineral intake and you will be strengthening your cell’s ability to fight off cancer, viruses and bacteria.  You should be getting minerals from food on a daily basis, but if you find that you don’t get enough minerals in a day then turn to liquid minerals.

Go Easy On The Sugar

Refined white sugar can kill vitamin B12 – 1 tablespoon of refined white sugar will kill all the vitamin B12 you have taken in one whole week.  Vitamin B12 protects the myelin sheath which protects nerve endings so next time you find yourself in the vitamin aisle at the chemist don’t be afraid to pick up a bottle of vitamin B complex.

Stretch

Stretching can do great things for your posture.  Do short stretch blasts through the day and notice your posture strengthen up in no time.  Don’t go over board and remember to take breaks between stretches.

Eat Fats

There are good fats and bad fats – the bad fats are found in processed foods for example and you should steer well away from them.  The good fats are found in foods like avocados and other vegetables and provide a great source for essential fatty acids which work to aid the heart and protect it against disease and cancer.

What about you?

What tips do you have for staying young?  Did you find our advice helpful?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Grooming tips for the modern man…

In today’s world it would seem that the better you look the further you are going to go, whether it’s with the ladies, in your career or when getting served at the bar – what a skin deep world we live in!

However how are you supposed to know what to do?  Where are the tips, the advice and the guides on how to look your best in 2009?  More and more men are turning to grooming products to help them out…read on to find out exactly what to do with them!

Say goodbye to those unwanted grays…

Gray hair can add years so it makes sense that getting rid of them can take years off again!  Get the gray hairs early – the earlier you can hide them the less obvious it will be.

Grab hold of an easy-to-use colour which you can slap on at home…you’ll reap the benefits of easy application with professional results…

If the facial hair is the first area to go gray then you also have the option of using a non-drip comb in colour that will work really well so give it a try…

Shave it…

The comb over died in the 50s so why balding men still fall back on this obvious method is beyond me…if you’re losing hair then don’t be afraid to shave it short.

Instead of hiding from the truth you will be embracing the modern man inside yourself while being comfortable with the new look…baldness is not the end of the world and it can actually look stylish!

And when those nose, ear and back hairs start to crop up when the head hair starts to vanish then don’t forget to keep on top of those hairs too.  Whip out the wax or trimmers and keep unwanted hairs at bay.

Look after your skin…

Wrinkles are unwanted and the best way to avoid them is by protecting your skin from harmful sun rays.  Use a daily moisturiser with a UV protection which will keep your skin looking good and safe all at the same time.

You should set aside some TLC time for your skin everyday – allow time for cleansing and gentle exfoliation followed by a moisturiser with sunblock.

Hands and feet…

One of the most basic hygiene tips involves looking after your hands and feet.  Manicuring your nails will go a long way to boost your personal hygiene and if anything you will feel a lot cleaner doing so.

A big problem with men is often smelly feet – we have all smelt the nasty odour and if we want to be a well groomed man we want to avoid it.  You should be scrubbing your feet everyday, drying them thoroughly and then applying odor-eaters to your shoes.  Don’t get caught with smelly feet…it’s gross!

What about you?

What tips could you pass on to other men willing to take the time out for grooming?  Perhaps you have some tried and tested methods that have worked for you over the years?  Let us know…

Common hair loss myths – are they fact or utter fiction?

For men hair loss is more than an everyday worry – for some men it consumes their every thought…but why are we so worried.  It’s probably because over the years there have been so many myths created around baldness…but which ones should we listen to?

Myth – Smoking makes you go bald…

Yes…we’re not living in the 50s any more and no one is pushing cigarettes to children in the street because the dirty habit just isn’t good for you.  Smoking ruins your hair follicles and puts obstacles in the way of your blood and hormone circulation in your scalp.

Throwing a statistic at you, you should know that smokers are four times more likely to go gray than non-smokers – it’s hard to imagine that smoking isn’t linked to baldness either.

Myth – Once bald, always bald…

No…don’t give up hope, there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel of hair loss doom.  Don’t fall prey to the obvious scandals out there, telling you to rub raw eggs on your scalp.  Instead take a look at the real medicines out there for baldness.

In a trial for the new drug finasteride around two thirds of the men managed to re-grow some hair – don’t forget to do the necessary research beforehand though…don’t rush into anything!

Myth – I’m bald, therefore I’m clever…

Yes…as hard as it is to believe it is actually being proven to be true.  Research from Berlin is proving that there is a link between levels of brain growth proteins and hair loss – the more evident the protein the weaker the hair.

Next time you’re part of a pub quiz, try joining the bald team and sit back as they answer all the questions.

Myth – Cut it and it comes back thicker…

No…don’t be silly.  Hair is dead!  I’m sorry to tell you this but it doesn’t have an agenda and cutting it won’t make it decide to grow out thicker just to annoy you.

The myth comes from seeing cut hair which gives the illusion of being thicker – think about when you shave a short beard and the hair is short…it may look thick but that’s only because it’s short…end of story.

Myth – Bread crusts puts hair on your chest…

Yes…once again scientists in Germany are in control of the situation and are ready to back up those schoolyard rumours with scientific facts.  The scientists found that the crusts of bread contain eight more antioxidants than the rest of the loaf.

Taking in those all-important antioxidants is vital to providing thicker and nicer hair – the antioxidants boost your scalp circulation and make melanin.

Maybe all the worrying people do about the myths that float around the offices and school yards in the country are one of the main causes of baldness in men – think about all the unnecessary stress that you’re going through worrying about whether it’s going to happen to you.

Chill out and enjoy life and if it happens then it happens…no big deal, right?

The word “chav” is unacceptable and should be banned, a left-wing think-tank has suggested. The widely used term according to the dictionary is derogatory slang for a young person of low social status, often wearing designer sportswear.’

Tom Hampson fro the Fabian Society, says the term betrays a deep level of “class hatred” and is “deeply offensive to a largely voiceless group” - which is utter nonsense IMO if you hear the abuse these kids give out on a Saturday night.

Simon Donald, the co-founder of Viz Magazine, feels the word was meant to be an insult and that it should remain.

Mr Hampson, who is Fabian Society editorial director - and was obviously born with a stick up his backside - says in an article due to be published in the Fabian Review that the word is “sneering and patronising”, and compared it to other controversial words such as “faggot” and “pikey”.

“Some uses of some words fall below the threshold of acceptability and some are definitely above it.

“Chav is way above that threshold. It is deeply offensive to a largely voiceless group and - especially when used in normal middle-class conversation or on national TV - it betrays a deep and revealing level of class hatred. It is distancing, turning the chav into the kind of feral beast that exists only in tabloid headlines”.

It was an example of the middle classes using language to belittle the lower classes, he said. “The middle classes have always used language to distinguish themselves from those a few rungs below them on the ladder - we all know their old serviette/napkin, lounge/living room, settee/sofa tricks. But this is something new. This is middle class hatred of the white working class, pure and simple.”

But Mr Donald, speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle, said it was the Fabian Society itself which was patronising.

“Amongst everyone who I can see who uses the term it’s meant as a term to put others down and there’s always going to be language in society that does that, and I think the Fabian Society’s attempts to step in and become the voice of the working classes is frankly patronising.”

The Oxford English Dictionary classes chav as derogatory British slang. It is defined as “a young person of a type characterised by brash and loutish behaviour and the wearing of designer-style clothes (esp. sportswear); usually with connotations of a low social status”.

Tony Thorne, a language consultant for Kings College London, said people who were called chavs actually used the word themselves.??”It is part of today’s vocabulary, whether we like it or not, the word had originally been used by travellers to mean friend”, he added.

Its modern meaning became widely used in 2004, although it had been used in certain areas such as Essex and Kent for some time. Mr Thorne said: “What chav seems to me to mean is an aggressive, self-assured, unashamedly materialistic person. I don’t think ‘chavs’ are an innocent group of victims. We’re dealing with a genuine social phenomenon. Chav is like ’skinhead’ - it describes a type of behaviour and appearance that’s very identifiable.”

Apparently British men are losing our masculinity due to the fact many of us are more comfortable ironing socks than tinkering under a car bonnet.

The study by Brylcreem found that over 60 percent of young men aged between 18 and 29 are competent ironers, with a paltry ten percent unable to maintain a car and almost half unable to change a tire.

The news gets worse as the study found that 85 percent ? that?s EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT!! ? are so in touch with their emotions/feminine side that they are comfortable crying in front of ?others.?

We are statistically more obsessed with ourselves than any other generation, with two thirds of blokes hitting the gym to try to attain a perfect body.

James Brown, founding editor of men’s magazine, Loaded, said: ?A bloke’s masculinity used to come effortlessly and his place in the world was clear cut. Nowadays, women are confident and men are confused.”??

“As men have been reacting to being told ‘how they should behave’ rather than ‘how they really are’, they’ve crossed the line from just ‘changing with the times’ to committing outright gender surrender?.

Also, to run salt in the wound, according to the survey, two thirds of women aged 18 to 29 complained that men are not masculine enough with 60% saying they’d prefer a man to take control in their relationship.??

It?s a sad truth, but it?s probably true and I know whose fault it is ? David Beckham.

That?s right, I said it. If it wasn?t for him, men would still be rockin? a middle parting and a wedge, not wearing designer clothes that go out of fashion quicker than you can afford it and they would be under the car bonnet, up to there elbow?s in grease and oil instead of straightening their hair and reading Heat magazine.

I don?t needs some study to tell me how wet us men are getting these days. Just take a look at the men?s departments in Top Man or H&M ? more colours than the rainbow, V-neck sweaters and accessory stands bigger than my living room.??

It astounds me that women want their men to be more controlling. In my experience they want you to ?dress nice?, ?speak politely? and worst of all, ?can I get a back rub? ? and then like little pansy?s we are, we do it.

Men. I think it?s time to grow a set. Stop getting pushed around, your forefathers wouldn?t take it and neither should you. Next time Brylcreem do their little quiz ? we?ll kick its @%#$ like its 1945.