Discriminating against women because they are pregnant or might become pregnant is illegal under the Equality Act 2010, but new statistics reveal a worrying proportion of British employers hold attitudes that are decades behind the law.

Research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that more than half (59%) of employers believe a woman should have to reveal whether she is pregnant during the recruitment process; nearly half (46%) think it is reasonable to ask whether a woman has small children; and over a third (36%) believe it is okay to ask women about their plans to have children in the future.

YouGov, which conducted the research on behalf of the EHRC, questioned 1,106 senior decision makers in business to decipher their attitudes towards pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

The commission described the findings as "depressing" and evidence that "we are still living in the dark ages"

Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the EHRC, said: "It is a depressing reality that, when it comes to the rights of pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace, we are still living in the dark ages."

She said it should be more widely known that it is illegal not to appoint a woman because she is pregnant or might become pregnant. "It’s clear that many employers need more support to better understand the basics of discrimination law and the rights of pregnant women and new mothers."

In addition to their outdated recruitment attitudes, a sizeable chunk (44%) of employers believe women should work for a company for at least a year before having children, and the same number said women who have more than one child while in the same job can be a "burden" to their team.

Many questioned pregnant women's commitment to their work, with 40% saying they have seen at least one woman "take advantage" of her pregnancy (whatever that means). Roughly a third also said becoming pregnant and being a new mother suggests a woman is "generally less interested in career progression" than other employees in their company.

Joeli Brearley, founder of the pregnancy discrimination campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, was sacked when she was four months pregnant with her first child by a children’s charity in the northeast of England, where she worked on a contract basis. Her employer gave no explanation and she was left unemployed with a mortgage to pay.

Given her own experience, Brearley said she was "not at all" surprised by the EHRC's report. "We have known for a long time that discrimination occurs at the recruitment phase but it is so hard to prove," she told Refinery29. "Most employers won’t ask outright if you are planning on having children, they will ask other subtle questions about your life to glean the information. The statistics show the bias that exists among employers towards women of childbearing age."

Pregnancy and maternity discrimination is having a negative impact on the gender pay gap, business and our economy, she continued. "If an employer is not recruiting someone because they are worried they will have children, they are not choosing the best person for the job and are missing out on a large talent pool."

Pregnant Then Screwed is calling for a greater focus on the economic reasons for not discriminating against women on the basis of pregnancy and maternity leave. To prevent the problem, it is also lobbying for, among other things, subsidised childcare from 6 months old; access to six weeks' leave at 90% of pay for both parents; mandatory reporting by companies on how many flexible working requests are made and how many are granted; and an increase in the time limit by which women must raise a tribunal claim against an employer.

"If we look at countries like Sweden where they have high-quality, subsidised care and legislation which supports dads taking time out to look after their kids, far fewer employers discriminate and they have a really strong economy."

The EHRC has launched Working Forward, a campaign to improve workplaces for women and new parents by encouraging companies to pledge to treat them fairly, and has so far enlisted 280 organisations including Transport for London, Royal Mail and Barclays.

The commission is also encouraging people to share their experiences of pregnancy and maternity discrimination with the hashtag #maternitywrongs. Women and new parents can also share their stories anonymously with Pregnant Then Screwed.

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Yogis are not happy with The New York Times after it published a controversial opinion piece on Sunday attacking one of the key tenets of their attire: yoga pants.

In the hotly debated article, "Why Yoga Pants Are Bad for Women", writer Honor Jones says women only wear yoga pants "because they're sexy" and calls on people to ditch them in favour of sweatpants while exercising.

Remember sweatpants? Women used to wear them, not so long ago. https://t.co/FnOAYdUpLe pic.twitter.com/LBiKxwdJsd

— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) February 17, 2018

In the now-viral piece, Jones decries the omnipresence of skintight workout leggings, claiming you can't go to an exercise class without coming across women wearing them. "What is it about yoga in particular that seems to require this? Are practitioners really worried that a normal-width pant leg is going to throttle them mid-lotus pose?" she asks.

Then comes the kicker that got people really riled up: "We aren’t wearing these workout clothes because they’re cooler or more comfortable. (You think the selling point of Lululemon’s Reveal Tight Precision pants is really the way their moth-eaten design provides a 'much-needed dose of airflow'?) We’re wearing them because they’re sexy," Jones claims.

"We felt we had to look hot on dates — a given. We felt we had to look hot at the office — problematic. But now we’ve internalised the idea that we have to look hot at the gym? Give me a break," she continues.

"The gym is one of the few places where we’re supposed to be able to focus on how our bodies feel, not just on how they look. We need to remember that. Sweatpants can help," she adds, citing their benefits as the fact they provide more "breathing room" and that they take the pressure off looking good.

Jones also rails against the "whole booming industry around women’s exercise", including the rise of studio classes, which she claims has turned expensive leggings into "more [of a] necessity than extravagance". "We may be able to conquer the world wearing spandex. But wouldn’t it be easier to do so in pants that don’t threaten to show every dimple and roll in every woman over 30?" she ponders.

Unsurprisingly, her polarising argument got people talking on on social media. Many have swooped in to defend form-fitting workout wear as more practical and hygienic than sweatpants.

As someone who has practiced yoga for years, it’s unbelievable that you think we wear yoga pants because they’re “sexy?!” We wear them because they allow us to maneuver in ways other clothing doesn’t. Alternatively, seeing if you aren’t in the proper position is just as important https://t.co/cy70QBWnrF

— kimmie caruba (@kimmiecaruba) February 18, 2018

And those sweat pants you are talking about are not made from moisture wicking fabric so they are not a good idea for working out!

— EC2012 (@SidneySD2012) February 18, 2018

1. Yoga is really hard to do in sweatpants bc the loose fabric moves around and can actually injure you if you’re in a pose and your pants slip.

2. 🙄🙄🙄 to this whole thing in general https://t.co/J5WsNTlgSt

— Selena Larson (@selenalarson) February 18, 2018

I wear yoga pants not because of how I look. I wear yoga pants because I am a yogi and an athlete and they are performance gear that allow me to do athletic things with my body that make me physically, spiritually and mentally healthy and strong. https://t.co/mEIji1keY2

— katie rosman (@katierosman) February 19, 2018

Others criticised Jones' argument as anti-feminist.

Okay @nytimes. 1) I am sure you had your pick of thoughtful opinion pieces for this Sunday’s edition...and this was your choice? 2) Women writing op-eds about other women’s sartorial choices is bad for women 3) You can have my yoga pants when you pry them from my cold dead booty https://t.co/8RU9l8iVde

— Candice Adams (@TheCandiceAdams) February 18, 2018

I always thought smoking, not sleeping enough and patriarchy are bad for women. Turns out I was wrong. It's yoga pants. https://t.co/APb8Uqs9Lc

— Eva Horn (@habichthorn) February 18, 2018

“It’s not good manners for women to tell other women how to dress” and yet Honor uses another several hundred words to do just that in this piece. Is this really making or breaking women’s success? If so, then look within at that problem. This is a waste of space. https://t.co/zjhkFFQ2IE

— Annie Heckenberger (@anniemal) February 18, 2018

Others criticised The New York Times for stirring up needless controversy.

why [throws a dart at a dartboard from 2011] yoga pants are [spins the adjective wheel] bad for [pulls a name from the Oppressed Groups hat] women https://t.co/t2WAPJ4t2R

— maya kosoff (@mekosoff) February 18, 2018

Some people even posted photos of themselves in yoga pants directed at the author. How long until the inevitable hashtag campaign begins?

Anyway, I’m like Honor Jones’s worse lady nightmare (bonus, Alabama) pic.twitter.com/9so2XKINiG

— Celia (@_celia_marie_) February 18, 2018

Hey Honor Jones, I'm good. #YogaPants #womenover30 @nytopinion pic.twitter.com/npuTdwFvvD

— Jessica Ellis (@baddestmamajama) February 18, 2018

Hey @nytopinion here's my giant size 22 fat ass in "yoga pants" (and an @Abercrombie shirt because we know how much they love fat people) not in a gym. I'm also over 30. Fuck you "Honor Jones". pic.twitter.com/iUnFwXaMxq

— Fat Anarchy (@fat_anarchy) February 18, 2018

A demonstration could also be on the cards.

I think we should march on the Times in our yoga pants. https://t.co/I2hP2Tfq2e

— ana marie cox (@anamariecox) February 19, 2018

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In the above documentary, Refinery29 producer Jacki Huntington features three women working to transform the landscape of addiction medicine, drug policy, and recovery services: Dr. Lipi Roy, Kassandra Frederique of the Drug Policy Alliance, and Cortney Lovell.

Lovell has been in long-term recovery from heroin addiction for the past decade. She is a public speaker, recovery coach, and addictions councillor based in her hometown of North Chatham, NY. As a public speaker, Lovell often shares the traumatic story of “slipping” into addiction and her journey to recovery. This is her story, as told to Jacki Huntington.

I was 16 when I tried an opioid for the first time. My friend offered it to me and said, “It's harmless. Doctors give it out. You'll like it. We're just gonna sniff it instead of taking it how we should. It's still the same drug. It's okay." At first, I resisted, but the logic made sense to me; I tried it.

That first time, I got pretty sick after using it, but eventually this warmth flooded my body. It was like I had been going through life freezing cold, and suddenly I was wrapped in a warm blanket. That was the high of pain medication. The next time it was offered, I was a little hesitant. The time after that, I didn't even question it. By then, I started to seek it out.

During the same time, my mum was diagnosed with cancer. She was that one good thing in my life, and her diagnosis was the perfect excuse to sabotage myself. I didn't know how to deal with it, so I just opted out. At 17, I slipped deep into my addiction like a ghost in the night. I started using every day, dropped out of high school, and only returned to the school parking lot to buy pills.

Once you use opioids for more than a few weeks, you become physically dependent. My life became a cycle of doing whatever I had to do to get money and buy drugs. I couldn't stay in college and I couldn't hold a job, so I would manipulate my parents and come up with crazy, asinine reasons why I needed £30. My parents were worried and concerned, but it was hard to distinguish between teenage angst, depression, and drug use. I could cover it up, so I did.

A year after my first opioid experience, I visited my biological father's side of the family in North Carolina. I barely knew them. That's when I experienced my first withdrawal; I brought pills with me, and I thought that I could just taper down the amount I was using to get by for a whole week. But I didn't – I couldn't. By the second day, I used everything I brought with me, and I started going through withdrawal. I was unable to sleep, and I couldn't function. I tried to hide it and said I had the flu.

That night, at two in the morning, a distant relative came into my room. I finally begged him for help. "Please don't tell anyone," I said. "I'm going through withdrawal, and I don't think I'm going to make it."

My relative said that he knew some people in town that we could ask for methadone or suboxone — medications to help with withdrawal. Everyone had been drinking. But that frontal lobe of mine was shut down, and it didn't matter. Going through withdrawal, you feel like you're going to die. Your mind convinces you it's the end of the world. I was in survival mode.

So we left in the middle of the night against all logic and rational thought, and we didn't make it anywhere good. My relative pulled over into a school parking lot and raped me in his car. I never got help that night.

Afterwards, I blamed myself. I kept telling myself, "You shouldn't have gotten in the car. You shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with. It would never have happened if you weren't addicted to drugs, if you weren't living this lifestyle. This was the one person who was trying to help you, and this is all your fault." I couldn't tell anyone, and I went through withdrawal for the entire week. I didn’t sleep for at least five days.

When I finally got home, a friend picked me up from the airport, and we went right to a dealer. I was vomiting bile, because I hadn't eaten. And I did something for the first time that I never thought I'd do: I shot up heroin.

I did something for the first time that I never thought I'd do: I shot up heroin.

As soon as I stuck that needle in my arm, my pain and worries disappeared so quickly, like a switch. I vowed to never experience withdrawal again. I was going to live and die a drug addict, because I would never face all of that stuff that the drugs pushed away. It was not an option for me.

In the next two years, I did whatever I had to do to support my habit. I stole money and things from people and businesses. I had 27 felony charges across four countries – mostly grand larceny – and many misdemeanours against me. I couldn't live at home, so I left home and slept wherever I could. But by 19, I was tired of it – running from myself and running from my pain. I tried to end it all – to overdose and die and slip all the way into that darkness. I used the last of my heroin and my cocaine, and I filled it all up into a needle. I smoked my last cigarette, and I shot up. It was winter in upstate New York, and I went to sleep in my car in somebody's front yard. I thought I would never wake up again. I knew what my tolerance was; it was a science to me at that point.

I shouldn't have woken back up, so when I did, I was really confused. At four in the morning, it was cold and dark and snowy, and I wanted a cigarette so badly. I knew that I wasn't going to get any more drugs. I didn't know what else to do, so I turned my car on and drove home to my parents' house. I knew the cops were looking for me; I knew what going home meant. When I got there, everyone was still sleeping. I went upstairs to my room, crawled into bed, and fell asleep.

Not long after, my mum woke me up. She hugged me and told me that she loved me, but she had to call the cops. It was over.

The state trooper took out the handcuffs, read me my rights, and asked me really kindly if I wanted the handcuffs to the front or to the back of me – a blessing of my white privilege. I could hear what was going on, but I felt so far away – like listening through water. My parents asked, “What happens now?”

It was in jail that I finally got the help that I needed — a sad reality.

I went through withdrawal in jail, in this cold, concrete box. I begged my parents to bail me out, but they refused. They knew it was better than letting me be free to kill myself. It was in jail that I finally got the help that I needed — a sad reality.

After five months, I was forced into treatment programs, but my bad behaviour landed me in a therapeutic community, where I used toothbrushes to clean stairs. The idea was to break you down to rebuild you – not a common approach used at all anymore, but this was 10 years ago.

While I was isolated, my mother was finally placed into hospice care. After two and a half years of fighting cancer, she told me over the phone that she wasn't going to make it.

That was the moment that changed everything for me. It wasn't the jail, stopping substance use, or even the treatment programs. It was that profound moment of realising my mother was going to die. She was a beautiful, kind woman who wanted to live; I was hurting and broken, trying to take my own life on more than one occasion. Yet I was still alive, and she wasn't going to make it for much longer.

The drug court pulled me out of the therapeutic community, and I was able to come home and see my mom. I made amends to her and said goodbye. I told her that I would live the life that she wasn’t going to be able to live anymore. I made that decision right then and there. That's all she wanted for me, and I could actually give that to her. I held her hand as she passed away.

Just because I made the decision to heal did not mean that life was suddenly rainbows and sunshine – it wasn't.

The first few years of my recovery process were all for her. There are these cliché sayings in recovery: "Fake it till you make it," "Go through the motions," "Take the next right step." I lived by those words in the beginning, and it wasn't easy. I was raped again in early recovery by a friend who was supposedly being supportive. I went through trauma counselling. Just because I made the decision to heal did not mean that life was suddenly rainbows and sunshine – it wasn't. What was different was that I finally understood that I had a choice. I had power, and I could do something different, no matter what I was faced with.

Today I know that recovery is always possible. As of 9th February I've been sober for 10 years — 10 years of discovering who I am beyond a victim to circumstance, my own torture, or my own hurt. I threw myself into my recovery, and eventually my recovery wasn't just about doing it for my mom. It was about me. The self-esteem, self-worth, and self-love that I hadn't had my whole life started to develop, and it has been this remarkable – sometimes beautiful, sometimes painful and hard – journey. I am empowered, healthy, and whole.

If you are thinking about suicide, please contact Samaritans on 116 123. All calls are free and will be answered in confidence.

If you are struggling with substance abuse, please visit FRANK or call 0300 123 6600 for friendly, confidential advice. Lines are open 24 hours a day.

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With the pressure to be "camera-ready" at all times and celebrities openly endorsing cosmetic surgery on social media, it is increasingly difficult to be satisfied with our bodies in the modern world.

The latest body part giving people a complex? The humble belly button. According to plastic surgeons, surgery on the navel area, known as umbilicoplasty, looks set to be one of the biggest cosmetic surgery "trends" of 2018.

Women are already under pressure to have designer vaginas, to ensure their butts are looking perkier than ever, to fix their "armpit vaginas" and even to be able to boast back dimples. So it was only a matter of time until one of our most innocuous body parts came under attack.

Darren Smith, a plastic surgeon working in New York, said he has seen an increased interest in "belly button aesthetics" recently. He told Allure: "The belly button is a very important cosmetic feature of the stomach."

There are two main ways of altering the appearance of the navel: umbilicoplasty, which involves changing the shape and size of the crevice to make it larger or smaller, and umbilical hernia repair, which involves turning an "outie" into an "innie".

People's reasons for wanting the surgery are varied, plastic surgeons say. Some women want it after pregnancy, others want to have excess skin removed after weight loss, while others simply want to change the look of a part of themselves they have always hated.

Describing the procedure, Smith said it is easier to work with belly buttons that are deemed too big than those thought to be too small. "Belly buttons that are 'too large' can be made smaller by removing extra belly button skin and tightening the bordering abdominal skin around the belly button," he told Allure.

The latter operation, meanwhile, involves "removing some of the surrounding abdominal skin and gently stretching the belly button tissue to reach the enlarged border caused by removing the abdominal skin."

We will not know the extent of the "trend" in the UK until next year, but there are signs it has already taken off. According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons' (BAAPS) 2017 report, abdominoplasty, otherwise known as the tummy tuck, was the fourth most popular procedure last year. (Umbilicoplasty is sometimes carried out as part of this and other abdominal surgeries, although it is unclear exactly how many were conducted in this way.)

The top three most popular procedures among the 28,000 conducted in the UK last year were breast augmentation and breast reduction (both of which saw a 6% rise on the previous year), and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery).

Cosmetic surgeon Alex Karidis MD FRCS, of Karidis Clinic in north-west London, told Refinery29 he had seen an increase in the number of women contacting him about abdominal procedures, particularly those who have recently given birth, but said it was "only a limited number of cases" in which women enquire solely about the belly button.

Commenting on its report, BAAPS said women in the UK are increasingly preoccupied with surgery altering their bodies rather than faces, because while "the advent of myriad filters in social media platforms allows for the ubiquitous enhancing and facial feminising of ‘selfies’... There are fewer options to reach online ‘fitspiration’ when it comes to body goals."

The trend for activewear, particularly yoga pants and lycra leggings, being worn in everyday life may also play a part in women's increased fixation with altering their bodies, as these "demand a more toned shape", BAAPS added. It is reasonable to assume that the ascendance of crop tops and sports bras, which are increasingly worn without anything over them, are considered under this umbrella – hence the appeal of belly button surgery. What a time to be alive.

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If there's one thing you can be sure of at London Fashion Week, it's that Sophia Webster will create a magical world of her own and invite you to step inside. In previous seasons, we've seen ice queens ruling a winter wonderland and delicate fairies perching on gigantic flowers in a botanical woodland. For her AW18 presentation, she arguably went bigger and brighter than ever, inviting guests to shimmy their way through a joyous ballroom, soundtracked to a mash-up of jazz classics like "Tequila Song" by The Champs and the Spice Girls.

Webster's inspiration this season was two-fold. "My sister and I used to watch Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom over and over as children," the designer explained. The film's central character, Tina Sparkle, could be seen emulated throughout Webster's presentation, from the crystal fruit embellishment on the highest-heeled dancing shoes, to the opulent beaded clutch bags and fuchsia satin stilettos.

Webster's biggest inspiration, however, came from her own youth. The footwear and accessories designer danced competitively for many years, winning awards and trophies for rock'n'roll to the foxtrot, and her choice of outfit, shoes and accessories was essential to being noticed by the judges. "My sister and I would spend months thinking about what colour we'd wear, as you had to stand out from the other dancers on the floor," she told Refinery29. "I was always thinking of unique colour combinations, and I think that has generally infiltrated the way I design and the colours I put together – but this was the collection that I wanted to really go for it with."

One of the locations where Webster danced competitively as a child was the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom, and its sumptuous Rococo ceiling has inspired many a peep-toed sandal. Webster wanted to bring the character of the dance hall to London by hosting her presentation at the Hotel Café Royal's Pompadour Ballroom, where models shone on podiums, kicking out their bedazzled feet and shimmering beneath the light of the room's disco ball.

Walls were lined with the very trophies Sophia and her sister won – "They've been in my mum's garage for 20 years" – her new collection sitting prettily among the retro memorabilia of a youth spent tapping toes and throwing jazz hands. Highlights included a pair of black satin open-back kitten heels, complete with Webster's signature butterfly embellishment, and a baby-pink pair of caged and studded heels, topped off with a cloud of feathers.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Sophia Webster collection without a tongue-in-cheek statement bag, and this season she brought us gilded-handled speech bubble bags stitched with the words 'Groove is in the heart'. Sweet mini bucket bags with 3D flying insects, and pearl-heeled two-strapped shoes completed the line.

Outside, two ballroom dancers tangoed their way across the hotel's terrace beneath a Coca-Cola billboard – a reference to a scene from Luhrmann's film, and a brand Webster is currently collaborating with – while Joy Joseph performed live drumbeats in time with the joyful set list.

What was Webster's favourite ballroom outfit from her youth? "It was the last costume I wore before I stopped dancing," she told Refinery29. "It was a black lace crop top with matching leggings, and rainbow crystal beads on the waistband and calves. It was so cool, I loved it!" We may not have had the pleasure of seeing the designer recreating her best moves at the Hotel Café Royal, but her laser-cut, beaded and sparkle-clad collection made us long to spend a night on the tiles. And isn't that exactly the point?

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Rihanna has been hailed as a fashion powerhouse and beauty mogul. GIFs of the bad gal offering up an epic side eye through a car window or twerking in a see-through Swarovski gown are among some of Giphy's most popular. She's even often praised as a symbol for body positivity thanks to her penchant for proudly showing off her nipples and a "who cares?" attitude amidst criticism of any weight gain.

Yes, RiRi is often given props for her status as a cultural influencer. What sometimes gets lost in the conversation surrounding her is the singer's historic impact on the world of pop music. In addition to all of the above, she's not just a chart-topper — Rihanna is a music icon. Since being discovered by Jay-Z in Barbados in 2005, Robyn "Rihanna" Fenty has racked up nine Grammy Awards, over a dozen American Music Awards, and an MTV Music Video Vanguard Award, to name just a few of her accolades. She's had seven certified platinum albums and released 71 (!) singles, 14 of those hitting number one on the Billboard charts, making her the youngest and fastest solo artist to ever hit that number. In fact, there was a period in her career where Rihanna was releasing a studio album every single year, a habit that only stopped in 2012 when she was finally able to take more artistic control over her distribution schedule.

But perhaps most impressive of all? Rihanna has achieved all of the above before turning 30, a milestone she hits on 20th February. And that in itself is something to be celebrated.

Musically, the Barbados-born singer is often criticised, accused of not actually being a talented singer because of her very specific voice, which is not quite standard powerhouse, but more ambient, growling, and breathy at the same time. But that's nothing new to the music industry; just look at everyone from Janet Jackson to Britney Spears. Rihanna's voice might not be the most classically impressive, but it is one of the most versatile of our generation. She can lend vocals to a bass-pumping house hit, a mumbled Caribbean dancehall mix, or a tear-filled, wailing ballad best consumed with a side of whiskey, and it's almost guaranteed to climb the charts. Part of her longevity since she released her first album, Music Of The Sun, is thanks to that unmistakable voice, multifaceted and adaptable enough to glide as easily through that tropical debut album as it roars over the guitar riffs of Rated R. Chris Martin once famously compared her voice to a "beautifully squeezed tube of toothpaste...this whole, rich thing, solid like a tree trunk." And if you listen closely to the radio, influences of Rihanna's vocal styling can be heard in everyone from Sia to Lorde to any bass-pumping club-house hit featuring a lesser-known female singer.

It was Rihanna, in fact, who started the trend of female vocalists pairing up with house DJ Calvin Harris. The 2011 single "We Found Love" on Rihanna's album Talk That Talk was the DJ's first number one Billboard hit, helping skyrocket him into a household name in America and sparking a slew of other catchy radio hits featuring female vocalists. Harris admitted that the collaboration was "different sounding" for the time, but it worked: He'd later go on to create hit singles with the likes of Ellie Goulding, Florence Welch, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Kehlani. He's also since said that he loves working with female vocalists because their voices are "at the perfect frequency to play in a club." Still, in the U.S., some of the Harris's most successful singles were the ones with Rih, including "Where Have You Been" and "This Is What You Came For." And one of his other chart toppers, "How Deep Is Your Love" — featuring the vocals of Norwegian singer Ina Wroldsen — sounds like the sibling of a Rihanna-Calvin collaboration.

The music industry can also thank the now 30-year-old for bringing island vibes to the mainstream, particularly recently. Several Caribbean-born artists have managed to break onto the charts over the years, from Shaggy to Sean Paul. And every so often, a reggae-tinged song — think Magic!'s "Rude" in 2014 and OMI's "Cheerleader" in 2015 — will explode everywhere as unexpected summertime hits. But since her debut with "Pon de Replay," Rihanna has consistently released projects representing her Bajan roots (including "Rude Boy," "Man Down," "What's My Name"). Her biggest island-infused success, though, was 2016's "Work," which broke the then-record for most streams in one week at 2.056 million. That song also achieved what many before hadn't: Instead of remaining a singular outlier, "Work" made dancehall sounds a mainstay in pop music, in the form of Justin Bieber's "Sorry," Major Lazer's "Lean On," and a resurgence of reggaeton on the American music scene (hello, "Despacito"). And while rapper Drake has credited the Caribbean tunes of his album Views and mixtape More Life to the West Indian communities he grew up around in Toronto, Canada, it's possible those projects may not have found such success had the hits of his rumoured ex not preceded them. Would there be a "One Dance" or "Controlla" without "Work?"

Rihanna has also set the stage for Black female artists post-early aughts to be unapologetically carefree with their music, in a way we hadn't seen in mainstream music since Sade and Janet Jackson in the '80s and Lil' Kim, Erykah Badu, and Aaliyah in the 90s. Since she first emerged as a polished product of the music industry, Rihanna slowly blossomed into a woman with swaggering bravado who is equal parts fearless, sexual, and confident. This appeared in yes, her performances; her show at the 2015 iHeart Radio Awards in a Lil' Kim-reminiscent look belting out the lyrics to "Bitch Better Have My Money" is one of her most memorable (and has nearly 69 million views on YouTube).

The messages in her music, though, are what have been the most boundary-pushing. Rihanna has only co-written many of her songs, so she's not necessarily a lyricist. But she hasn't shied away from radical lyrics since her first foray into edgier music with 2009's Rated R, which featured the formerly PG-13-friendly singer delivering songs like "Russian Roulette," "Rockstar 101," and "Te Amo," about a tryst with a female lover. Next was 2010's Loud, which had the Bob Marley-inspired "Man Down" about a fictional murder; 2011's album Talk That Talk included "Cockiness" with the mandate "Suck my cockiness/lick my persuasion/eat my words/and then swallow your pride, down, down." In her lyrics, performances, and music videos, Rihanna has been a champion of swapping the stereotypical gender roles Black female pop stars are often boxed into. That swagger-filled, sex-positive branding only further widened the door previously opened by the likes of Jackson for current artists like Kehlani, who now dips between music genres and often rocks gender-bending clothing, and R&B singer SZA, who's currently burning up the charts with a barely-care aesthetic and raw, honest lyrics.

And then there's Anti. RiRi's eighth studio album was a game changer. After consistently releasing album after album, Anti was deliberate, long-delayed and without any obvious radio hits, a major risk for a star of her status. Instead of following the house pop formula that had birthed some of her most recent smashes, it was instead completely experimental in sound, a kaleidoscopic blend of R&B, rock, and hip-hop, with one song, "Higher," featuring wailing vocals so raw, listeners can never be sure whether to cringe or cry from sadness. The New York Times called it "the record you make when you don't need to sell albums." But its ethos was a relatable soundtrack for women, particularly Black women. With Anti, Rihanna gave her listeners encouragement to be as comfortable flipping their exes the middle finger with "Needed Me" as they are revelling in oral sex (thanks, "Kiss It Better"). It was, surprisingly and unfortunately, snubbed by the Grammys last year, overshadowed by Beyonce's Lemonade — a reminder that the awards show does not offer room for more than one Black woman to shine. Still, Grammys aside, the 13-track, idiosyncratic album was a critical and commercial success; just this week, it broke the record previously held by Katy Perry's Teenage Dream for most number one dance club songs from one album.

There is something to be said, though, about Rihanna's impact on fashion and beauty and the way that therefore intersects with her music. Last year, Vevo released a study that revealed that the looks showcased by stars like Rihanna in music videos — among others, like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift — heavily influences fashion and beauty trends. And for all of her impact on the music industry, Rih is a change making influencer across all industries — a quintuple threat as a music artist, clothing designer, beauty maven, actress, and philanthropist. She's been outspoken about education since being named an ambassador to the Global Partnership for Education last year, helping them raise 2.3 billion dollars earlier this month at the Global Citizen conference in Senegal, a move that will no doubt inspire other artists to become more internationally involved. And in between it all, this June, Rihanna will star in the all-female cast of Ocean's 8, which she somehow managed to film in her spare time.

There is a popular Pinterest quote that's been plastered across mugs and t-shirts and Instagrams millions of times that reads "You have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyoncé." But Rihanna should be an equally motivating tour de force for all of us, a woman who has never been afraid of taking on new adventures, musical experiments, and business ventures — and that was just as a 20-something. So happy 30th birthday to a woman who has already built a historic career on just being herself: fuck-free. I'll always be watching closely to see which piece of Fenty Beauty I need in my cabinet next (right now, more Trophy Wife) or what over-the-top fashion trend I should try next. But above all else, I'm most excited to hear what's next from you. Until then, I'll just keep the eight albums you gifted us before 30 on repeat.

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This morning, London Fashion Week favourite Erdem unveiled his exquisite AW18 collection at the National Portrait Gallery but the fun didn't stop there, as just a few hours later NARS Cosmetics announced its latest makeup collaboration with long-time partner, fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu. Debuted at Erdem's latest show with stunning looks created by Val Garland, the limited-edition Erdem for NARS 'Strange Flowers' collection will launch worldwide in April 2018 with a 13-piece range of products for eyes, lips and cheeks.

Erdem Moralioglu brings his signature aesthetic of bold femininity to the makeup capsule collection, where nostalgic romance meets an eerie, dreamlike narrative. It features an unexpected palette of daring and demure shades packaged in soft-touch floral cases with one of three original Erdem prints created for the collaboration. Lipsticks named after wild flowers bear beautiful names such as Moon Orchid, Larkspur and Carnal Carnation.

“It was really interesting to explore my aesthetic in collaboration with NARS and see how far we could push different elements through colour and product,” Erdem explains. “It was fascinating to develop new pigments and palettes as well as the cosmetics themselves.”

A glance at the @erdem for NARS Strange Flowers Collection. See stories for the full collection.

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NARS and Erdem have partnered on and off the catwalk since 2013; backstage at London Fashion Week, on the red carpet at the Met Gala, and in the pages of the designer’s 10th anniversary book, ERDEM X. This marks the first time the two brands have collaborated on a makeup collection.

The Erdem for NARS collection is unveiled hot on the heels of the success of the Erdem x H&M collection, which launched last November. The news also comes after NARS' most recent designer collaboration with another London Fashion Week favourite, Christopher Kane. Last September, NARS unveiled the second collection from their collaboration with the Scottish designer, named 'Chrome Couture'. We're counting down until April to get our hands on the Strange Flowers collection. Our spring beauty look is already sorted.

The Erdem x NARS collection will be available exclusively from 15th April at Selfridges and nationwide from 1st May.

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A group of students who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida is leading a march to make changes to gun regulations.

To elevate the conversation of gun control and to instigate widespread changes, these students are leading the March For Our Lives on March 24 in Washington D.C. And their goal is to ban civilian ownership of semi-automatic and automatic weapons.

In addition to Parkland student activists, the march is organised and supported by Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit organisation which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Walkouts have also been organised by other groups including one planned in part by the Women's March organisers. The first will happen on March 14, marking one month since the shooting. The event calls for students and faculty to walk out of their schools at 10 a.m. local time for 17 minutes, one minute for each life lost in the South Florida shooting. Another is planned for April 20, which marks the 19th year since the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. So far, more than 22,000 people have signed a petition pledging to walk out of the classroom, reports USA Today. The March For Our Lives Twitter shared a list of all the events calling on their followers to support all of them.

"My message for the people in office is: You're either with us or against us. We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around," said high school junior Cameron Kasky during an interview with CNN. In another interview with CBS This Morning, students Delaney Tarr, Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, and Cameron Kasky questioned lawmakers and what it means to have gun rights as they called for a ban on semi-automatic and automatic assault rifles. "They have no place in civilian society," stated Gonzalez.

Many celebrities have expressed their support of the march as well as announced their plans to march alongside the students including Rowan Blanchard, Justin Bieber, Amber Tamblyn, Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde, Bryce Dallas Howard, Julianne Moore, and Alyssa Milano.

17 of their classmates and faculty were killed and 14 more were injured when a former, expelled student came to the school armed with an AR-15 rifle. Mere days after surviving the ninth deadliest school shooting in United States history, these students don't believe lawmakers when they say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. "This is about us begging for our lives. This isn’t about the GOP. This isn’t about the Democrats. This is about us creating a badge of shame for any politicians accepting money from the NRA and using us as collateral," Kasky said in the same CNN interview. It is no secret that many of the lawmakers who offer messages of "thoughts and prayers" receive considerable funding from the National Rifle Association. Some are paid sums totalling millions of dollars. Instead of attempting to make it more difficult to purchase a deadly weapon, lawmakers have actually made it easier as recently as this past year.

"Our message is simple: We want to stop the gun violence," students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School told Refinery29.

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Call Me By Your Name, the Oscar-nominated film that swept us all off our feet, wouldn't have been the same without that gorgeous home. Timotheé Chalamet and Armie Hammer running around the villa's grounds (along with a little, uh, interlude by the peach tree) was the ultimate eye candy — especially when you noticed all that beautiful antique furniture that they casually draped themselves over.

If you've dreamed of making your CMBYN dreams come true, and you have around €1.7 million (£1.5M Euros) to spare, that house can be yours. The Italian villa that serves as the background for Luca Guadagnino's already-beloved film is up for sale, and we've got the drool-worthy interior photos to make you cry — if the movie didn't make you sob enough.

As it turns out, Guadagnino had his eye on the palatial estate for some time. "I had known that house for many years; I even dreamed of buying that house, he told Architectural Digest. He immediately thought of it when scouting locations for the film. "Once I realised that I couldn't afford it and didn't really want it for my life, I knew where I was going to set the action of the film—this place with faded, aristocratic charm, that a professor and his wife might have inherited but can't quite keep up."

If you have the budget, the official home listing is on House & Loft, in Italian. It has 14 bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and dates back to the 16th century. The estate features a library, charmingly overgrown gardens, marble statues, and original woodwork and painted frescoes that have to be seen to be believed. Click through to see interior photos and swoon along with us.

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Of course Christopher Kane couldn’t resist redesigning another incredibly 'ugly' shoe. After all, this is the designer who sent plain old Crocs accessorised with charms down his SS17 catwalk. At the time, it was just another example of the fashion industry’s seemingly never-ending obsession with polarising shoes (see: Birkenstocks, Uggs, and “dad trainers” as further proof). But Kane’s latest piece of footwear has taken the trend to new — albeit even more comfortable — heights.

On Monday, the designer presented his AW18 collection during London Fashion Week, for which he partnered with an actual orthopaedic shoe company, Z-Coil, to outfit his models in next-level 'ugly' shoes. Featuring a wash of crystals over the toe, strap, and heel, the black leather shoe includes velcro fastenings and a coiled spring heel.

Considering the collection was inspired by the 1970's handbook The Joy Of Sex, Kane's juxtaposition certainly proves interesting. Although, perhaps there's an argument to be made about crystal embellishment being able to sex-up just about anything.

"Once more intrigued by the utilitarian and the extravagant, a new collaboration appears in the form of shoes by Z-Coil orthopaedics," a statement from the designer reads. "At once practical and echoing something more deeply historical, the shoes, like the collection itself, are at once playful, prim and perverse."

Z-Coil was clearly thrilled with the fashion-forward co-sign; the company shared a snap from Kane’s show on Instagram — a photo of a model wearing a knit purple dress with embellished shoulders, a co-ordinating bag, and the orthopaedic shoes in all their sparkling, bouncy glory — captioning it: “Coils making a statement on the runway!”

“It’s reality,” Kane told Footwear News of the shoes backstage. “They’re quite weird but I like an ugly shoe, as you know.” Plus, he added: “They’re very good for your back, for your posture.”

With the initial outrage about Kane's Crocs soon turning into lust, we're sure these will be seen on the feet of several street stylers come next season's fashion month.

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I started modelling a year ago and entered fashion at a time when the industry could no longer drag its heels in terms of diversity and model welfare. Since then, I have already noticed the new developments happening at castings, catwalks and backstage. That isn’t to say that the industry has not been slow in its uptake, and still has a considerable amount to improve on, however, I do believe modelling is a vocational choice that is an incredibly selective privilege. When it's good, it is exceptional, but when it's bad it can be mentally and physically exhausting. Each fashion model has an experience as unique as their appearance, and I personally came at a time of progressive changes.

I am mixed race, 23 years old and a new-face model on my first full ‘fashion circuit’ of New York, London, Milan and Paris. This unbelievable opportunity for me is also an indication of the broadening of fashion’s diversity in ages and ethnicities.

The job of being a model requires you to be available 24/7, which is why we are constantly glued to our phones. There are no set start or finish times and the call times vary from location to brand to job type. As I am a new face, my schedule during New York Fashion Week was especially erratic. I needed to meet all of the casting directors a week before, to then be invited back for specific brand castings for the shows. As soon as I landed in New York, my agent warned me that ‘I would hit the ground running’ and I immediately began dashing across Manhattan to get to the various casting locations. The casting days during NYFW can be tedious; quite often you will be in long queues with dozens of other models for hours. Then you wait to receive an email that could confirm a callback, or hopefully a fitting for the show. The toughest aspect of fashion week is rejection, which is also inevitable; the most bizarre part is being photographed by the small hordes of street style paparazzi stood outside many of the casting locations.

New York Fashion Week is the most important step for new models because it can decide how well you will do throughout the rest of the fashion calendar. During this period, I wouldn't know my schedule until the evening before, and it could change throughout the night and following day. Most days would begin around 9am and finish in the early evening, depending on how many castings I had that day, which could range from one to five. I would then return to the normalcy of my friend's Brooklyn home and be in bed by 10pm as a way of keeping myself refreshed, and energised for the following day; being tired is not an excuse for eye bags. I like partying and modelling has definitely been a big learning curve in taking better care of myself physically, and learning how to conserve my energy.

I'm signed with IMG who are proactive in their models' welfare, and prepped all of us new faces for the lows and highs of NYFW. We had a nutritional session with a chef, met the team who’d be on call for us and had a discussion with the casting director Ashley Brokaw, who books shows like Calvin Klein. The evening reminded me that although it can be isolating, every new face is in a similar position, which formed a sense of camaraderie. Preparation evenings like the one I received are relatively new and not a statutory requirement of all agencies. Like a lot of the changes now being made within the industry, it is still left to the discretion of individual companies to choose how, and if, they implement protections for models as employees.

I love that fashion gives us gangly, odd-looking folk such an incredible opportunity to travel the world and come together in a sort of dysfunctional clan. Being away from home for over a month and having no fixed abode, finding and befriending other models is a way of retaining some warmth and familiarity at the castings, and staying grounded during shows. As the scope of diversity continues to broaden in the industry, so have my friends' nationalities, which have widened and continue to educate my worldview. I respect the models of colour who began their careers when there just weren’t the same welfare protections I am now experiencing. They have worked hard for years to be given a respected place in the upper echelons of the industry, and through the stories they have told me it is incredible to see just how much the attitudes of the industry have already changed. These girls have been the ones who have given me the best advice, shaped my perspective and saved me from the expense of model apartments by letting me crash at their homes in New York and Paris.

My first experience of walking a New York show was with Tom Ford, which was overwhelming. I was deeply inspired by the dedication he and the in-house team had in custom-making my sequin suit, for a show that would be over in minutes. I was particularly impressed not only by how diversely James Scully had cast the show models, but also by how diverse the makeup, hair and dressing teams were. This is definitely one of the best parts of the job and it humbled me to be sharing this moment not only with models of colour, but also with the people of colour staffing Tom Ford.

You oat me ( innit )

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This New York Fashion Week was meant to be the first time that all shows would have private dressing areas for models backstage. Having been publicised by The Model Alliance, this seemed like the most active confrontation by the industry in dealing with its own #MeToo problems. In addition to Tom Ford, I was also honoured with walking the Sies Marjan and Derek Lam shows during my NYFW. Each show had its own separate area for us to change in with our dresser, and dressing gowns for us to wear while getting ready for the show. However, this wasn’t the case for all of the shows, as one of my friends had a completely different experience during the same week. Out of the eight shows she walked, three of them did not have any private dressing areas. Her definition of private dressing rooms was an area in which "there is a place to change without photographers present". Although steps such as the ones being publicised are edging in the right direction, they are still only guidelines, which allows for some brands to continue trivialising concerns surrounding models' working conditions.

However, I am optimistic about fashion not falling behind on welfare and diversity. I believe that we are already seeing a lot of progression, which is being spearheaded by advocates such as James Scully and continues to gather momentum. The next steps need to be strides towards ubiquitous standards for every person employed as a model, which unlike the privileged position of modelling should be expected and not have to be demanded.

If New York is the place to get ahead in the fashion circuit, then coming back to London was the opportunity to try out the shows on my home turf. I debuted on my first women’s London catwalk with Port and closed my stint with the new label Symonds Pearmain at Fashion East. London is the city for nurturing and developing new designers who have their own, very eclectic sense of style. For me the additional perk with walking for Symonds Pearmain was that I got to work with [stylist] Max Pearmain, who has styled me on shoots and campaigns before. It was comforting after New York, and not seeing my friends and family, to be part of an intimate team coming together to support one another. Fashion gets a lot of stick for its vapidity, which there certainly is a lot of, however, there are also the genuine connections you can make with people you work with.

Another highlight of LFW was dancing the night away on Sunday evening at Vogue 's Fashion & Film party, hosted by Edward Enninful, Steve McQueen, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. I really had to check my privilege as I walked through the bustling cocktail lounge, which was a who's who of the fashion, music and media world. However, the most inspiring part wasn't the famous faces but the real diversity of the attendees of the event, who had been pre-approved by Enninful – an observation which reenergised my optimism for equality, and motivation to push for an industry which in the future has more than just a couple of non-white people in positions of power.

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There are two topics of conversation in the world which are fascinating to the speaker but deathly boring to everyone else: 1) What happened in your dream last night, and 2) Your baby. Yep, mentioning your kids to a stranger in a bar-type scenario makes people assume you are devoid of personality. Just another mum bore, heading home to catch up on Mumsnet. In fact, the word has almost become an insult: "This haircut makes me look like a mum"; "That jacket is very mum"; "It's okay if you are tired/ look like sh*t /are boring, because you're a mum!"

But is it warranted? And do fathers get the same flack? "You do lose your cool a bit,” admits Phoebe Jones, a 35-year-old mother of one. "Even though I work and still see my friends, I've definitely lost a bit of status and a bit of excitement about me. Mums are inevitably removed from their social life, withdrawn into the home and not as up to date."

Despite the Instamums who seem to have the whole package – they have their kids but also go out and work – many mums are tied to the home, partly because childcare and babysitting are so expensive. Daycare costs for 1-year-olds in England have risen up to seven times faster than wages over the last decade. Even though the government provides working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds with 30 free hours of childcare, during term time, getting a job that fits with nursery pick-up times can be a struggle.

Okay, so unless you're loaded, maybe there is some truth in it. It's not easy to attend a hype fashion event, Insta from the afterparty and still be up at 6am with your baby. So is being a 'cool' mum partly down to wealth and status? Quite possibly.

According to Charlotte Faircloth, lecturer in the department of social science at UCL, there’s a lot of ambivalence around motherhood. “On the one hand we really hold it up very high on a pedestal, and on the other, it gets denigrated very easily,” she says. “Being ‘just’ a mum when someone asks what you do is still seen as a bit of a conversation killer.” Sharon Hays, author of The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood, links this ambivalence to the fact that parenting is held up as the key area of social life that isn’t governed by the relentless pursuit of profit in an otherwise pretty harsh capitalist system.

Tony Thorne, language consultant at King's College London, agrees. “We're now in a hyper competitive, materialist society whose 'values' are subscribed to by nearly all age groups, so being considered dull, square, unfashionable or undynamic are crimes against aspirationalism," he says.

Thorne also thinks it could be a generational thing, with the different generations prone to snarking at each other. He points out that the old-fashioned term 'mumsy' to describe a frumpy, dowdy item of clothing or someone mired in domesticity has long had negative connotations. "Doing down on mums is about dissing the middle-aged, not only as boring, but as unglamorous and overprotective."

Although terms such as 'centrist dad', 'dad-bod' and 'man-shed' are used to label middle-aged men, out of touch with the rest of the world, stay-at-home dads often become the centre of attention for doing something that is considered mundane when women do it. "Fathers who engage in the day-to-day care of infant children are highly valued in wider society," says Caroline Gatrell, a senior lecturer at the University of Lancaster. In fact, it's almost seen as heroic. According to Katherine Twamley from UCL's department of social science, research shows that most men who take a greater childcare role are even quite ‘evangelical’ about it, and therefore very vocal about their experiences around others.

“Because men taking a greater or more equal role in parenting is unusual, they get quite a bit of positive attention around it,” she says. "Women are under pressure to be present at work and present at home. There is not much respect in contemporary society for the full-time mother role, but there is not respect either for a full-time working mother, nor for a part-time working mother."

Mark Green, a 35-year-old dad of one, admits that, unlike women, when men take on the childcare it is often seen as progressive and interesting. "I know one guy who is a stay-at-home dad and local councillor and brings his child to meetings. It makes him seem quite heroic, but for a woman to get that kind of praise she'd have to be combining childcare with something extreme, such as running a company or giving a TED talk."

Perhaps it's time to rethink this generalisation of mothers. It shouldn't be that when you become a mum you are expected to lose your personality. Isn't it time we stopped labelling parents altogether? Bad mum, good mum, young mum, 'just' a mum? No, simply a person who is a parent as well.

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Engagement rings. A tradition that is believed to date back as far as ancient Rome, the conventionally diamond pieces of jewellery are now a bit of a bone of contention. How much should you spend? Should both halves of a couple wear one? And more importantly, is what you spend an indicator of how much you love your partner?

Some people have decided to swap engagement rings for something a little less traditional. While some opt to avoid jewellery, others have taken the ring concept to new heights, etching a band on their fingers for eternity. Others still have gone inventive with necklaces, shoes and swords.

Here several young couples tell us how they’re updating the notion of the engagement ring.

Holly, 32

"The proposal was quite a funny story. I’d been planning it for a while and had booked an appointment with my tattoo artist friend in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was going to propose in a local beer garden. On the morning of the proposal, my partner Ashley said she was too tired to go out (we had recently adopted a puppy) but I ended up convincing her. The weather took a turn for the worse so in the car, I blurted out: 'Do you want to get married? I made a tattoo appointment and it’s in one hour.'

We decided to get tattoos because neither of us is overly into jewellery and Ashley is a physiotherapist so a ring would interfere with her work. Regardless of whether we’re together forever, we both have reminders of one another permanently etched on our bodies. As much as we were cool with a non-traditional ring, we still wanted to show off our ‘diamond rings’ so the tattoo design was a simple diamond.

Our friends and family loved the idea but Ashley sometimes struggles, working with older people who find the tattoo ‘unprofessional’. We have never been a traditional couple and spending money on a ring neither of us would wear just wasn’t worth it."

Make sure you know why you want a ring. What does a ring really symbolise to you?

Alexandra, 29

"We’d been talking about the concept of marriage for a long time, but had some issues with the way things are traditionally handled. One of those was the engagement ring. We wanted to do something a little different so, lo and behold, in April 2017, I opened the door of our apartment to find my boyfriend surrounded by candles, flowers and wine. He got down on one knee and presented me with a 28-inch tempered steel Japanese sword in a blood-red scabbard.

I’ve always loved fantasy books and often refer to myself as a warrior. The sword makes me feel stronger and more powerful, rather than prettier or owned.

Most of my friends and family know me well enough that it didn’t shock them too much. The reaction outside my close connections was more along the lines of 'but you want a ring too, right?'

It’s worth understanding the foundation of traditions and deciding if you want to participate in that system. Make sure you know why you want a ring. Is it because that’s what everyone else does? What does a ring really symbolise to you?

Zenobia, 27

"He surprised me for my birthday and took me to Panama Beach in Florida. The morning after, we walked on the beach where he wrote 'Will you marry me?' in the sand. I thought he was joking but then he said: 'The second part of your surprise is we’re going to get you an engagement tattoo.' I was so shocked and excited.

Why a tattoo? I’m terrible with keeping up with jewellery. Almost every ring I’ve had, I’ve lost so I told him a while back that I didn’t want to do the traditional thing of getting rings when I got married. We also think it’s a waste of money and not as sentimental. A tattoo is there forever and shows our commitment to one another. I chose to get our engagement date in Roman numerals. A lot of people get a band design similar to a ring but I wanted it to stand out and be a little mystical too.

It’s hard to explain to family and friends that I don’t have a ring because it is something they expect to see to confirm an engagement. My mum and dad were more understanding than my grandparents.

With a tattoo, there’s thought; a rhyme and reason. With a ring, it’s all about what it looks like, how much it cost, if it’s real… If the marriage doesn’t work out, it becomes just another object."

Ami, 33

"My husband proposed to me on Christmas morning in 2016. With no ring. I’d already expressed that my ring from my first marriage had made me feel really uncomfortable after a while. It was beautiful and expensive and I was banging it around in my fitness job.

We live in the Canadian Rockies so the next day, he wanted to get me a new pair of ski touring boots costing around £570. He told me since he didn’t have to buy a ring, that would be my gift instead. I was stoked because they were way more of a practical gift than a ring. The two of us would rather spend money on good gear or use it to go on a sweet trip.

My family and close friends weren’t shocked. They knew my feelings about not spending tons of money on things like that. Our wedding took place two weeks later in our living room and we aired it on Facebook live for everybody that couldn’t come.

I know that the ring signifies eternal love. I had been excited to get a ring when I was proposed to by my first husband, but I was also 24 years old then. I’ve seen so many people get carried away with the ‘how much he spends on a ring is equal to how much he loves her’ narrative.

Leticia, 23

"When Tyler and I met two years ago, we immediately bonded over a love of weed. Together, we faced homelessness and weed got us through the toughest times. He knew I hated rings because I had a huge circulation problem – not to mention I lose things faster than the average human. We were cleaning out my mum’s house when we stopped for a smoke break. He took the bowl of weed and said: 'Leticia, will you marry me?' I was like: 'A proposal with weed – very classy.'

We discussed the option of a ring tattoo and decided we wanted to take it one step further. What’s more commitment than a face tattoo? We couldn’t think of anything cooler and plan on adding smaller hearts for each of our future kids.

My family hate it. They’re very progressive but don’t like tattoos so this is probably one of the worst tattoos I could get. But I’m not a fan of engagement rings at all. I used to be a lot larger so rings would get stuck. It gave me crazy anxiety. And I don’t support the diamond industry so a diamond is out of the question.

People have told us it won’t last but I wouldn’t have gotten a matching face tattoo with someone I didn’t plan on being with forever."

Jen, 26

"Tom and I got together when I was 15 and he was 17. In 2012, I had just moved to Melbourne for university. He came to visit me one weekend and on my bed, left a red rose and a note that said: 'Be dressed formal and ready to be picked up at 6pm tonight.' At 6pm, he took me to the most beautiful restaurant then to a suite at the Marriott Hotel, filled with candles and a box with a shiny ring. Over the years, I’d heard him talk about his dream watch. Tom isn’t someone who would spend lots of money on something for himself. When we got engaged, I decided to buy it for him. I knew I didn’t owe him anything but I wanted him to have something special.

I come from a family of strong, educated and assertive women so traditions aren’t concrete. Traditions are only as special as what they mean to you. Having an engagement ring or a watch doesn’t make your marriage work; it’s your intention behind it. I don’t even wear my wedding and engagement rings anymore because of eczema so instead I have a small heart tattoo on the side of my ring finger with Tom’s initials."

I think I cried for about 30 minutes before I said yes

Fallon, 25

"My partner proposed to me on New Year’s Eve with a necklace. It’s actually a replica of an engagement necklace given to a character in a video game (we’re both gamers). It has a ring on it, but it’s a bit too small to wear on my finger. I am considering getting it resized for the times when I’d be afraid to lose the necklace.

The necklace itself is so sentimental to me and I could tell he put a lot of thought into what would be a good fit for me as an individual, as opposed to just a pretty rock. I think I cried for about 30 minutes before I said yes.

I’m not really into big flashy things for the sake of having them. It could have been a simple silver band and I would have loved it all the same. My mum thinks the necklace is beautiful and so does his sister. I think they were a little confused when they realised I wouldn’t be wearing it on my finger, but they were enchanted by the necklace and its meaning all the same.

I know everyone is different, and there’s nothing wrong with traditional rings, but it’s really hard for me to justify spending hundreds on a rock."

Jill, 28

"My partner did propose with a ring; his mum’s wedding set that his dad custom-made for her. It meant a lot because his dad had passed away. We obviously talked about marriage before he proposed and we threw around the idea of getting tattoo rings. So the night he proposed (at 3am), we decided we should go and get tattoos done the next day, and that we just wanted a simple black band.

When it came to wedding rings, I wanted my dream ring. I love the idea of traditional rings. I think it’s all a personal preference; it’s nice to take the rings off but always have something there no matter what. For us, the tattoo signifies what marriage means. Even if you’re mad at each other and strip everything away, the tattoo will always be there. I’m sure some people think it’s a little too much and ‘what if?' but when you know, you know. I don’t ever regret getting the tattoo and my husband can say the same."

Isadora, 26

"I would never have met Marjorie if it wasn’t for my dream to be in Rio 2016. So Marj chose to propose at the Olympics with a yellow ribbon. It wasn’t so much of a conscious choice, but rather what was on hand at the time. She’d been working like crazy so she hadn’t had time to buy something symbolic.

We’d had a few conversations about our ring preferences (specifically our tight budget and the fact I can’t wear a ring when playing rugby). Moments before the proposal, Marj realised everyone would be expecting a ring, and she had nothing. At that moment, [Australian rugby player] Charlotte Caslick was giving an interview and one of her hair ribbons fell out. Marj was so nervous she had trouble tying it.

Engagement rings are a big part of Brazilian culture. Without one, it doesn’t really seal the deal. But we never got real engagement rings; I ended up using one of Marjorie’s (the only one that fit over my knuckle).

We don’t think of them as such a big deal as it’s the act of getting engaged that means a lot. But we acknowledge that wearing a wedding band as a lesbian couple is a conscious act of LGBT visibility, to show other couples that they can feel included in this tradition, however they choose to celebrate their relationship."

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From a beauty perspective, London Fashion Week AW18 has proven to be a tale of two cities: one host to pared-back minimalism, embracing models' unique features, and the other a playground of creativity, colour, texture and finish.

Backstage, makeup giants like Hiromi Ueda and Aaron de Mey spoke of fresh, dewy skin, natural brows brushed to bushy heights, and contemporary but understated eyeliner. Here, accentuating models' features was key, rather than distracting from their beauty with extra detail. At once, Charlotte Tilbury and Thomas de Kluyver took inspiration from different decades to bring us neon-bright eyes, burnt shades of '70s lips, and punked-up black vinyl pouts.

Hair this season was most certainly styled. A move away from the beach-waved cool girl hair that's dominated for so many seasons, the return of tools and product quite literally helped shape the styles backstage, from extreme side partings to crimped and permed locks via attitude-laden shaggy mullets.

Whether toned down or amped up, the beauty created backstage this season shaped the shows as much as the locations and set lists, helping to bring front row audiences closer to London's favourite designers and their visions for the season.

Click through to find the best beauty looks from London Fashion Week AW18.

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Bloating may be extremely common but it is often difficult to deduce the cause. It could be a sign of anything: harmless gas, PMS, IBS, an intolerance, or many other conditions.

But it could also be a symptom of something far worse, and many women are failing to take it seriously.

Only a third of women (34%) would visit their GP if they were experiencing regular bloating, according to research from Target Ovarian Cancer, a charity campaigning to raise awareness of bloating as a symptom of ovarian cancer.

Of 1,142 women questioned by YouGov on the charity's behalf, just 392 said they would be concerned enough by regular bloating to book a doctor's appointment. A greater proportion (50%) would consider changing their diet, for instance by eating more probiotic yoghurts and fibre-heavy cereal, drinking peppermint tea or cutting out gluten.

Previous research by the charity also highlighted a worrying lack of awareness of the potential seriousness of bloating, with just 20% of women able to identify it as one of the main symptoms. This knowledge gap means women are not being sent for the correct tests quickly enough and are missing out on early diagnoses as a result, the charity said.

“A probiotic yoghurt should not be preventing a woman from visiting the GP promptly if something is worrying her," said Annwen Jones, the charity's chief executive. "Women should not be risking their lives because of the enduring awareness gap around the symptoms of ovarian cancer."

The most common ovarian cancer symptoms

The key symptoms of ovarian cancer, according to Target Ovarian Cancer, are:

• Persistent bloating (the NHS recommends contacting your doctor if you have been bloating most days for the last three weeks)
• Pelvic or abdominal pain (tummy and below)
• Feeling full (early satiety) and/or loss of appetite (always feeling full)
• Increased urgency to pee and/or frequency (needing to pee more)

Other signs include:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Unexplained fatigue
• Unexplained changes in bowel habit

11 women die from ovarian cancer every day in the UK and most women (two thirds) with the disease are only diagnosed once it has reached other parts of the body, making it more difficult to treat. The moral of the story? Get to know your body and take any changes seriously.

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Missguided was roundly praised when it stopped airbrushing its models' stretch marks and released a totally unretouched campaign last year – and now there is another reason to cheer on the brand: its body-positive mannequins.

The high street fashion retailer has introduced a diverse array of mannequins representing a range of ethnic backgrounds and featuring natural body features, including stretch marks and vitiligo, Campaign reports.

The figures were created in-house with help from makeup artists and will be on show in the brand's two stores in Westfield Stratford City, London and Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent. They are part of the brand's ongoing #MakeYourMark campaign, launched in December 2017, which encourages people to embrace their so-called "flaws" and reject what "the world perceives as perfection".

Missguided also says it is committed to changing attitudes towards body image within the fashion industry as a whole, so it will be interesting to see if any other high street retailers introduce the same modifications to their dummies.

The retailer isn't the first to change its mannequins for the better, of course. Debenhams introduced size 16 mannequins, diverging from the usual size 8 or 10, in its stores back in 2013 to reflect the average UK dress size.

A study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders last year found that the average female shop mannequin in the UK looks very underweight, helping to reinforce an unhealthy “ultra-thin” ideal, which just goes to show the importance of Missguided's latest move. People need to see themselves reflected back at them when they go shopping.

The response to Missguided's decision to stop airbrushing its models was overwhelmingly positive, with people on social media hailing it as bold, refreshing and "a step in the right direction".

"This makes me feel so much better, after seeing my stretch marks in a changing room mirror yesterday I nearly cried," one woman tweeted. If that's anything to go by, we're sure the mannequins will go down a treat.

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It's official, our Hazelnut Crunch Chocolate Truffle Easter Egg is THE BEST! We're over the moon to come top, out of 142 (yes, 142!) in the @goodhousekeepinguk 2018 Easter Egg Taste Test. For the full results follow link in our bio. You can buy our beautiful Easter Eggs from good independent health food shops and delis @ethicalsuperstore & @ocadouk #boojabooja #organic #vegan #nondairy #dairyfree #glutenfree #soyafree #crueltyfree #chocolate #truffles #easter #handmade #shoplocal #whatveganseat #giftideas

A post shared by Booja-Booja (@boojabooja) on Feb 20, 2018 at 4:41am PST

Easter is nigh, which for many people means mostly one thing: chocolate. We know the usual suspects – Cadbury's, Galaxy or Nestlé – but according to a recent taste test, none of them is the most delicious.

The Good Housekeeping Institute conducted a 'blind' test of Easter treats (available in 2018) and the winner might surprise you: Booja-Booja’s vegan hazelnut crunch chocolate truffles, which contain no dairy, gluten or soya.

A group of 80 testers had the enviable task of tasting 142 eggs and giving them scores across eight categories, including taste, texture, aroma and appearance. Booja-Booja's offering came up trumps, scoring 89/100.

Booja-Booja has long been a favourite among vegans for its rich truffles and dairy-free ice cream. It's popular with food bloggers, too, with its products sold at selected stockists, including Waitrose and Planet Organic.

Its chocolate salted caramel dairy-free ice cream recently won the 'best food' award at the Organic and Natural Business Product Awards 2017, while its caramel pecan praline and hunky punky chocolate dairy-free ice creams both won Great Taste Awards. Chocolate this delicious doesn't come cheap, however, with the hazelnut crunch chocolate truffles sold for an RRP of £24.95.

Tesco Finest Dark Chocolate Belgian Egg (£5), which is covered in freeze-dried raspberries, came in second place with a score of 87/100.

The milk chocolate prize was picked up by the Co-op for its Irresistible Single Origin Ecuadorian Milk Chocolate Cocoa Pod (£7), which combines "complex vanilla and sweet roasted caramel flavours with subtle, refreshing fruity notes".

Lindt's classic Gold Bunny picked up the bronze medal for its "milky, caramel like taste", with 84/100 and winning in the kids' category.

Caroline Bloor, Good Housekeeping's consumer director, said traditional retailers were clearly having to do more to satisfy customers' ever-evolving tastebuds. "Seeing a vegan-friendly egg take the crown may come as a surprise to some, but this is why our famous blind tests are more important now than ever before!"

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If you thought your life was a mess, it's nothing compared to the mess Izzy has gotten herself into. Played by Black Mirror 's Mackenzie Davis (you know, from pretty much the only happy episode of Black Mirror) Izzy is the titular character in Izzy Gets The F*ck Across Town, a story about one day, one engagement, and zero cars. When her ex Roger (Alex Russell) and his new fianceé Whitney (Sarah Goldberg) throw themselves an engagement party, Izzy realises this is her last chance to convince him to come back to her and, hopefully, fix her entire life.

And trust me — her life needs fixing. She's broke, jobless, and headed nowhere. When she wakes up on the other side of the city, with her car nowhere near working condition, Izzy must convince friends and strangers to, well, get her the fuck across town. Through this adventure, she finds her friend Walt (Haley Joel Osment) whose girlfriend Agatha (Alia Shawkat) offers to give her the ride she needs. The only problem is that Agatha is just as all-over-the-place as Izzy, and the two end up getting into much more than they bargained for in the name of love and full-on desperation.

Of course, this is about more than a wedding. Izzy's life is in a state of turmoil that no ex-boyfriend can fix. Through this one-day adventure, she's forced to confront the worst parts of herself — and decide what she's going to do about them.

Izzy Gets The F*ck Across Town is written and Directed by Christian Papierniak and hits US cinemas on May 4 (UK release TBC).

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The sun moved from cool-customer Aquarius to warm-and-fuzzy Pisces last weekend, and that means one thing: From now until March 20, when Pisces season officially comes to an end, we'll all be in our feelings a little more than usual.

Whether you welcome or dread this period of heightened emotions and intensified dreams, you have to admit that Piscean people are an intriguing bunch. As the 12th (and final) sign on the Wheel of the Zodiac, they're often described as "old souls" and looked to for sage, transcendent advice. But, at the same time, Pisces get a bad rap for being too wrapped up in their own feelings and flights of fancy.

Turns out, both stereotypes are true. Rather than give you a bottom line on the Piscean personality, we'd rather celebrate the range of personalities this sign can encompass. Ahead, we've named three of the most common "types" of Pisces you'll meet in your life. Get ready to broaden your definition of the sign of the Fish.

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George and Amal Clooney are putting their money where their mouths are to end gun violence in the United States.

The superstar couple donated $500,000 (£358,185) towards March For Our Lives, the upcoming protest organised by survivors of the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead, according to Deadline. The protest, which will be held on 24 March in Washington D.C., is in direct response to Congress' inability to pass gun control legislation in the wake of mass shootings in schools, at nightclubs, in churches, and in movie theatres.

"Amal and I are so inspired by the courage and eloquence of these young men and women from Stoneman Douglas High School," Clooney said in a statement obtained by Deadline. "Our family will be there on March 24 to stand side by side with this incredible generation of young people from all over the country, and in the name our our children Ella and Alexander, we're donating 500,000 dollars to help pay for this groundbreaking event. Our children's lives depend on it."

Clooney couldn't be more correct in noting that teenagers and young adults are leading the change needed to prevent future mass shootings. Their generation has hidden in closets, run countless drills, and watched as their peers were killed by semi-automatic weapons, some of the same weapons used on the battlefield during war.

In the days following the Florida high school shooting, students like Emma Gonzalez called upon lawmakers to value the lives of their constituents more than the campaign contributions they receive from the NRA by requiring more in-depth background checks, funding for gun violence prevention research, and passing stricter gun legislation that will make it harder for people to acquire automatic and semi-automatic guns.

Students' efforts won't just take place on Capitol Hill. On 14 March, students and teachers across the country will participate in a 17-minute walkout to both honour the lives of the Parkland victims and to encourage local, state, and national leaders to take action to ensure no other school has to endure the same loss and pain.

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