Selena Gomez has been keeping a very low-profile of late, only recently making a quiet return to her social media stage.
The 26-year-old Come and Get It singer is coming back to our Spotify playlists this year, collaborating with Julia Michaels on her upcoming EP track Anxiety.
While the rest of us spent our weekends in a burrito blanket, bingeing Sex Education on Netflix, Selena was throwing her BFF a BRIDAL SHOW from heaven.
"The way you handle life’s most confusing moments is indescribable and graceful. You are moved by the littlest stories to the most heartbreaking ones, you will give someone your perfume if they say you smell nice, you are freaking hilarious and always stand firm in your faith, a loving sister, an amazing friend and a beautiful daughter."
"You are the definition of FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made baby!"
Selena has taken time out from the spotlight after continuous physical and mental health issues, we can't wait to see what 2019 has in store for the gal.
Hopefully she has found the help she needs and deserves, it looks like she's got a wonderful bunch of pals around her.
Becoming a social media influencer is one of the most sought after professions of our generation.
While it may seem like it's all about shmoozing at events, taking OOTD photos and Gucci belts, the industry is actually worth a heck of a lot as brands clamour to do business with the latest up-and-comer.
According to influencer marketing company Mediakix, Instagram influencing alone is worth a cool one billion dollars, and the company set out to conduct an experiment to see exactly what it takes to become an influencer.
Mediakix set out to prove that anyone can get paid to be a social media influencer if they're willing to pay out a little and scam their way up the ladder of social media popularity.
The company set up two fake Instagram accounts in two of the most popular influencer niches.
The first Calibeachgirl310, followed the glamorous, beach-based life of fashion and lifestyle influencer Alexa Rae, as she posed in the sand in a series of outfits.
The second, Wanderingggirl, portrayed travel blogger Amanda Smith living the dream and travelling from place to place.
However, when it comes to Amanda, all of the images were actually pulled from stock image websites, and always featured a blonde girl, though you could never see her face.
For Alexa's profile, Mediakixhired a model and spent a day shooting her in various locations in different outfits, to create a backlog of content they could upload over time.
The majority of their followers, likes, and comments are all paid for, with Mediakix using different fake follower, comment and like apps to artificially boost their following.
They also used a block of hashtags to boost their engagement further.
By using this numeric trickery, Medikix created 'influencers' who were deemed worthy by unwitting brands of paid endorsement deals.
Once both girls had reached 10,000 followers, which is usually the minimum number needed to be considered an influencer, they were able to sign both accounts up to marketing platforms which match brands with bloggers and influencers.
'We secured four paid brand deals total, two for each account,' reads Mediakix's report.
'The fashion account secured one deal with a swimsuit company and one with a national food and beverage company.'
'The travel account secured brand deals with an alcohol brand and the same national food and beverage company. For each campaign, the "influencers" were offered monetary compensation, free product, or both.'
After proving just how easy it is to inauthentically create an influencer, the company went on to highlight the fact that fake engagement and following is rife in the social media influencer industry.
'Influencers of all sizes know brand dollars are pouring into the space, and in order to compete and secure these sponsorships, influencers are increasingly inflating follower counts and engagement artificially.'
While we're sure our favourite bloggers are perfectly happy with their authentic following, the booming influencer business clearly needs a little more moderation.
Temple Street Children's University Hospital has claimed that a shocking 842 children who were attending its Emergency Department in 2018 were living in emergency accomodation, or didn't have a fixed address.
This means that there has been a 29 percent increase in the amount of patients who are being discharged into homelessness in Dublin, and one-quarter of the children were under one year old.
In 2017, the number of children discharged from ED who had no fixed address was 651.
The majority children last year presented with medical ailments such as chest infections, seizures, asthma, high temperatures and vomiting.
On the other side, 23 percent of children presented with trauma such as head lacerations, burns, self-harm and hand and arm injuries.
In the final three months of 2018 alone, 260 children attended Temple Street's Emergency Department without a fixed address.
Head Medical Social Worker at Temple Street, Anne-Marie Jones commented on the situation, condemning it as "shameful";
She said: "When these children leave our ED, they stay in temporary accommodation with cramped conditions and no appropriate cooking, washing or play facilities."
She added; "This results in accidents or traumas that wouldn’t normally happen if these families were housed in a family home.”
Dr Ike Okafor, Emergency Medicine Consultant , meanwhile, argued that children's recovery is massively affected by their living situation.
Dr Okafor claims that; "There are children where you do what you can do in hospital, and then you hope they'll go home and recover."
"But these accommodations aren't conducive for recovery for some of the conditions – so they're not the ideal," he said.
He described cases of children undergoing surgery and then having nowhere to go from there, as well as incidents involving children being assaulted trying to find accommodation.
The most recent official homeless figures from November show there were 3,811 children in emergency accommodation that month.
We can all agree that Vogue Williams has a stunning figure.
And now the presenter has revealed the secret behind her amazing body by showing fans what she eats in a day.
And it's definitely not what we expected.
Since giving birth to her first baby in September, the 33-year-old had snapped back into fantastic shape so we were keen to see what her diet consists of.
She took to Instagram to document her day-to-day routine.
She started off with her breakfast, showing us that she ate porridge made with milk , water, berries and honey followed by two marshmallows and two or three cups of tea.
Sounds like heaven to us.
This was followed by an after tennis snack of a yoghurt, pear and cup of tea…plus two sneaky marshmallows.
However, Vogue then posted saying, ''Then Spen gave me a piece of his chicken so I put the pear back.''
Then it was lunch time.
She snapped a picture of bread writing, ''I can't help eating the bread and then I kind of ruin my meal because I'm full.''
Her lunch was tacos to start followed by prawns and grilled octopus for mains.
Then it was on to sushi and lamb for dinner followed more chocolate and almonds.
This balanced range of food is something we can all realistically do and not deprive ourselves of anything.
Prepare the throne; Azealia Banks has officially declared herself 'The Queen of Ireland' after arriving to her gig in Dublin via…FERRY. Ok then, your highness.
The 212 rapper was forced to get the boat after storming off an Aer Lingus flight last night.
The 27-year-old seemed pretty confused after trying to change her travel arrangements, asking her Insta following if Ryanair and Aer Lingus were the same airline.
She claimed she had been given clearance to fly with Aer Lingus, whatever that means, according to Dublin Live.
Calling herself "Queen of Ireland", she ranted:
"I've been asleep, and I woke up to some excellent news. It's out, I'm the Queen of Ireland! I never knew I was the Queen of Ireland!" We never knew either, henny.
She continued;
"Aren't you happy to have such a Queen like me? Oh my God, the first black queen of Ireland! I really just woke up in the Irish Spring and the girls can't take it." She wasn't done yet…
"I got the pot of gold, b*tch. I've got the pot of gold, and I'm not even from here! Now wait, until I do this sold out f***ing show. Y'all b***hes are gonna see who the f***ing Queen of Ireland is."
Understandably, she got a fair few angry messages in her inbox, but Banks said she was sick of the "oompa loompa crazy looking b***hes". Oh my.
"The girls have scurvy, they're like vitamin deficient, they need some calcium tablets and some Camaraderie soap. Anyways, I'm back on the Chardonel (wine)." We Celts are just very pale, and can't do much about it unforch.
She enlisted the Notorious Conor McGregor for support, sharing a screenshot of a message, where she wrote; "Conor help they are bullying me".
Banks got into a massive row on Monday morning with a female cabin crew member, after boarding a flight from Gatwick to Dublin airport.
Aer Lingus confirmed that the rapper left the 10.55am flight from Gatwick but declined to comment on her allegations.
They have released a statement following the incident.
They said: "Aer Lingus can confirm that two guests scheduled to fly on 10:55am flight from London Gatwick to Dublin (EI233) this morning disembarked themselves prior to departure."
"The guests in question got off the plane safely of their own accord, while all other guests remained on board…Aer Lingus has a strict no-tolerance policy towards disruptive guest behaviour.
"The safety and security of our guests and crew remains our first priority."
Azealia, poor little divil, said she was 'treated like a wild animal' in the lengthy post, portraying the incident as her 'travel day from hell'.
Banks plays a sold-out show at the Academy on Abbey Street tonight, that should be an interesting one to say the least…
Whose second picture is them riding on an elephant. Or holding a sand bucket full of alcohol on beach wearing neon face paint with a flaming skipping rope in the background.
We get it, you've been to Thailand you daring adventurer you. Bonus points if their J1 was "the best three months of my life. Take me back."
2. New shirt, who's this?
I'm the kind of guy who wears the same outfit from his #Tinder profile picture on the first date. #ladies
As we scroll through the series of selfies and group shots, we notice a something sinister.
He's wearing the same shirt in every picture. Yes we get it, it could be his favourite, but donning the same threads every time he hits Coppers as his "night out outfit" just doesn't sit well with us. Or maybe we're too picky.
3. Group pic detective work
If your first tinder pic is a group pic how on EARTH am I supposed to think you can be a responsible parent to my future children?
We really really hate when a guy only has a multitude of group pictures and, by process of elimination, we have to try figure out which guy he is.
How awkward if you swipe right thinking he's the cute GAA player and then it turns out you've matched with the bearded lothario who's definitely not your type.
4. Holding a fish
Why are all the people who superlike me on tinder holding a fish
Unless a guy is posing with a cute puppy who will be part and parcel of our first date, men holding various animals isn't all that attractive.
Especially if they're dead animals who have just been snatched out of a lake and are struggling to take their last breaths while a guy poses cheesily beside it. No thanks.
5. Beside a tractor
If u think ur love life is bad, I've just been super liked by a tractor on tinder and I'm genuinely flattered pic.twitter.com/NYtWztZcDe
If there are damp patches on your shirt or tie from where multiple pints have been spilled during a heavy day of races boozing, we don't want to see photos of it on your Tinder.
Such drunken, laddish behaviour is rarely attractive, and no one looks their best after drinking a nagan before noon that they had to sneak onto the premises in their dress socks.
7. The mysterious shirtless torso
Just swiped past a guy whose photo was his shirtless torso and him wearing the same lace Victoria's Secret lace panties as me. Oh, tinder.
You may have escaped the clutches of your ex by de-friending them on social media and deleting their number, but there's nothing to stop them popping up on your Tinder if they're in the vicinity.
Prepare to struggle with whether to swipe left or right, just to see what way they would swipe. Dangerous territory.
9. Whose child is that?
i love when lads on tinder are like "the kid in the 2nd pic is my cousin not my child"
Aw, seeing a man holding an adorable baba would melt our hearts at the best of times, but then the imminent question arises: Whose child is that?
Kudos to the lads who tell us in their bio "there's me holding my lovely daughter," or "snap number two is of myself and my nephew," just to give us some clarity. We appreciate it.
10. Just a car
everyone knows the quickest way to a woman's heart is by putting a picture of your car as your 1st tinder pic
The joke of "is he a bloddy Transformer or something?" gets thrown around a lot in this country, as some Irish lads have a special place in their boy-racer hearts for their automobiles.
It's all fine and dandy if the boy is flaunting a Ferrari for the craic, but posing beside an absolute rust bucket is never cute, no matter how proud of it he is, becasue we don't want to play second fiddle in a relationship to his Subaru.
11. Up the GAA
Irish Man's Tinder
Pic 1:squad pic with The Lads
Pic 2:in a gaa jersey
Pic 3:holding a baby (which isn't his)
Pic 4:drink spilt on his top
If there are any lads reading this, please consider this to be a public service announcement: We do not want your unsolicited d*** picks.
We are sure there is a time and a place for that kind of carry on, but five minutes into a conversation about Stranger Things with a total stranger is not it.
It really is the year of nostalgia; Between the Spice Girls, Westlife and Carrie Bradshaw, it's clearly comeback o'clock.
News recently broke that one of the biggest legends of the early 2000s is making a musical return, with her sophomore album expecting to be released before the end of 2019.
We've all got more than fond memories of tunes such as Gotta Tell You and Always Come Back To Your Love, and soon we'll be hearing brand new music from the versatile singer.
We sat down for a chat with the woman herself, and once our starstruck fever calmed down, we managed to ask her a few questions.
There have been whispers of musical comebacks for many years now, considering her first album Gotta Tell You was released back in 2000 when she was only sixteen-years-old.
While the rest of us were figuring out creative ways to abandon school for a few hours and day-dreaming of Zack Morris from Saved By The Bell, Samantha was making CHUNES.
So why choose now to release her long-awaited album number two? Samantha is a woman of many talents, trying her hand at Masterchef in 2017, as well as appearances in Dancing On Ice and on ITV's Loose Women.
“It’s been in the works for a couple of months, so for me I did Manchester Pride last summer, and I was so blown away by the response. As I was onstage I was literally like, why don’t I have any new music to perform? This is stupid, like it’s ridiculous. I’m one of those people who gets in their own way all the time. Even if I think of doing something, I’ll think of 20 reasons not to do it. I thought, ‘No, enough it enough’. I was afraid to do it again. The timing just feels good, and now I’m seeing that everyone is coming back, I thought, ‘What is going on?’ Hang on a second, I was coming back first!”
Damn right she was. Samantha's popularity with a range of audiences and people of all ages has to be noted, but why do so many listeners seem to relate to her?
“That’s a great question, and I don’t really know the answer. It’s just one of those things, a nostalgia thing. I also think because I was so young when I started, a lot of people literally feel, and they have, like they’ve grown up with me. People have even stopped me in the street to say, ‘Oh hey, how are you?’ as if they know me. I’ve been around for a while, I think there’s that kind of connection where people have really gotten behind me, it’s like I’m a cousin of theirs. It’s that kind of thing, it’s brilliant.”
Samantha still returns home to Dublin fairly regularly, and her little daughter Sage calls it her home too. We wondered if she had stayed up to date on Ireland's current homelessness crisis?
“It’s scandalous, it’s absolutely shocking. That’s why I thought this Just Eat campaign was just such a no-brainer. I’d love if they could double what they did last year, which in itself was incredible. Even especially being home at the minute, and it’s so cold, you just think, ‘Oh my God’, it’s not right. There’s a lot of young kids that are homeless, and it’s heartbreaking. Being a mother now myself, it’s just awful. You never know what goes on in someone’s life, it can happen to anybody, you just never know what kind of bad things could come somebody’s way. It can happen to everybody, and everybody should chip in," she says.
She's partnered up with Just Eat this year for their annual National Takeaway Tuesday to raise funds for the Peter McVerry Trust, who do vital work for the homeless. To date, Just Eat customers have generated over €50,000 for the Peter McVerry Trust, enough to move five people out of homelessness and into better futures.
Samantha comments; "This takeaway campaign is perfect, because you can order food on a Tuesday, get a 10 percent discount and chip in 10 percent to 2019’s Just Eat charity of choice, the Peter McVerry Trust. So you’re doing something good."
Does she notice the homelessness which is also prevalent in Los Angeles too, while she's spending her down-time there?
“Again, who am I to talk about anything, but there are definite areas. Santa Monica area and Downtown area, what I find is that a lot of the problems there are mental health. These people should be in facilities, in LA for me I notice, it’s a lot more of that. Whereas here, it’s more people who are getting a bad run of things. It just seems to be different circumstances, I suppose," she emphasises.
Her daughter Sage was born in 2015, with her husband Torray Scales. We're immediately jealous of Sage, because she's already heard some of her mum's new material;
‘Nightmare before Christmas is her thing. We listen to that soundtrack, and I love it as well, so it’s great. Sometimes she said, ‘I wanna hear mummy’s songs’, she approves of the new songs, thankfully. She’s very sweet, but other times she’s like, ‘Ok, back to Disney’, she laughs.
“She says she lives in LA and lives in Dublin, she loves being home. She gets totally spoilt rotten at home. The back and forth is her norm, she doesn’t know any different.”
We couldn't let Samantha go without trying to get the dates for her new music to be released, it had to be done. For the good of mankind. Luckily, she was ready for the question;
“I was hoping to have a date already. I have to have it within the next two weeks, because I want my first release to be latest end of March, early April. So we’re working on it. I’d love to have two singles out by the summer, and the album definitely will be later on in the year, but I’m on it.”
Me: “Calm down, Shane. It’s only January 4th.”
Also me: “Okay, Samantha Mumba and Madonna, it’s 2019–where are the new albums?!?”
One core difference between now and when Samantha started is, of course, the power of social media. She's aware of it as a tool, and this time it's going to connect her even more to her fans;
“That’s what I’m enjoying the most, there’s no random people telling me what I have to do, I’m fully in control of everything. That’s kind of the most exciting part for me. The people I’ve been working with in the States are so creative, they’re really pushing me out of my comfort zone.”
In terms of teasing some collaborations in the pipeline, she's revealed a song with MNEK has been created, and we are SO HERE for it. The artist is known for working with some of pop's biggest names, among them are Dua Lipa and Zara Larsson.
“MNEK I have done work with, yes, I adore him. He’s incredible, he’s so talented. I have done one song with him, and I have my core group of people to work with. I think he’ll actually be in LA again in another couple of weeks, so we’ll do another session there as well. I’d love to bring him in with my people, because I think they’d all mesh really well. I’m excited for what that will bring. He’s such a talent and a joy to work with.”
Is there anyone she's especially got her eye on, in terms of new female talent?
“I just discovered her and I’m obsessed, it’s Donna Missal from the US. She’s incredible, I love her."
Samantha is 36-years-old, and time has only given her even more glamour, wisdom and thick-skin for the tough music industry.
Her new album is set to encompass that sense of maturity;
My new music is pop R’N’B, it’s current to where I am, I’m a grown woman who’s lived a life. I have a lot of things to say. I’m just expressing them, and hopefully other women will relate to it."
Samantha is the newest 2019 mood; let her reign begin anew.
It's the start of a new year, so what better time to try something new?
The four recipes, made from scratch, are Baked Almond and Blueberry Oatmeal, Chickpea, Sweet Potato and Spinach Coconut Curry, Easy Spotted Pancakes, No Bake Chocolate Hazelnut Squares.
Our mouths are watering.
Roz said, ''I’m a huge fan of a dairy-free drinks – for me, I love the taste and how they work with my recipes. When creating dishes using the range, I wanted to show that trying something new doesn't have to be daunting and that it can fit easily into your lifestyle.''
She continued, ''With up to only five ingredients used in each of the new range, these recipes are a great way to get cooking in 2019. Just try them yourselves they're simple and delicious!"
Her first recipe using innocent Almond Dairy Free is Baked Almond and Blueberry Otameal and is now available via Roz’s healthy eating blog Natural Born Feeder, and on innocent.ie.
innocent’s Dairy Free range is now available in Tesco, Dunnes selected Eurospar nationwide, along with selected Fresh and Donnybrook stores for €2.79.
The Spring/Summer season of style is already coming up fast for the new year, and with the dismal nature of Blue Monday, we want to look ahead at the key trends we can expect from our favourite fashion providers.
Boohoo is dropping it's brand new collection, and they have identified some key trends to snap up as the months get a little warmer.
Moving into 2019, the forecast is bright – literally:
TROPICAL NIGHTS
Looking for something to spice up your going out wardrobe?
We've been bombarded with classic animal prints in 2018, but 2019 calls for the same prints in zingy shades and textures.
With a mix of luxe fabrications including printed satin, crisp soft tailoring and asymmetric hemlines, it's all about clashing – in a good way.
GO FIERCE
Warmer months instantly make us look ahead to festival season – and this trend is all about incorporating neons and street wear in light fabrics.
Imagine what you would wear to an urban festival in the year 3019, and you're on the money.
Fun, futuristic and fruity shades, complimented with street wear in unexpected fabrics like organza and reflective sheens.
PRAIRIE
The little house party on the prairie is calling!
Milk maid tops mixed in with crisp, tailored pieces in sorbet shades, teamed with athletic accessories evokes a girly but edgy vibe.
Ruffled separates in clashing prints like florals and polka dots are the hallmarks.
ATHLETICA
Athletic, urban aesthetics are going absolutely nowhere for the new year.
Utility pockets and technical look fabrications get an update thanks to an additional layer of fisherman style gillets, utility vests and over-the-chest bumbags.
All of these items will be landing on boohoo.com between now and the end of February.
Ok so, we all know that people cheat. It's the harsh and shitty reality but it IS a reality and now we can see what both the male and female version of a love rat looks like.
All thanks to IllicitEncounters.com, the UK’s leading dating site for married people who compiled the typical profiles of their site users.
They checked the most popular characteristics of 5,000 male and female cheats based on preferences in their profiles and questionnaires and ta-da! here's what they found.
Your typical male cheater looks like:
A 43-year-old manager earning £58,000 a year.
He's 5ft 10in, has size ten feet, drives a Golf, his number one hobby is also golf and his favourite TV show isMatch of the Day.
He has dark hair with flecks of grey which he keeps undyed.
Oh-so cliche, right?
When it comes to the female cheat, these characteristics are what you should look out for:
She's 39-years-old, also a white collar professional and she earns £52,000 a year.
She's 5ft 4in, and more likely to wear high heels on her feet which are a size 7.
She drives a Mini, her main hobby away from work is going to the gym and her favourite TV show is The Great British Bake Off.
IllicitEncounters.com spokesman Christian Grant said, ''What these two profiles show is that Mr and Mrs Average love cheat are richer than your ordinary person but in most other respects they are typical.''
He continued, ''One other big giveaway for both sexes if you are trying to spot if your partner will be unfaithful is size. Cheats tend to be taller in both sexes and have a bigger feet.''
He added, ''The other big warning sign is age, particularly if they are entering the last year of a decade. If your partner is turning 30, 40 or 50 this year, do make an effort to spoil them because they may be thinking of making a change.”
Megan Barton Hanson was notably absent from the sidelines at last night's Dancing On Ice.
The PrettyLittleThing ambassador and reality TV star is known for her outspoken nature, and was anticipated to be cheering on her boyfriend Wes Nelson during the show, following drama that ensued following a message Megan had for Wes's dance partner Vanessa Bauer.
Megan previously labelled Vanessa's break up with her boyfriend ahead of the show as 'tactical.'
'If you're gonna spend three months with someone, 10 hours a day, it would just be natural [to speak to their partner],' she told the Loose Women panel.
'As a woman, she should have reached out to me and introduced herself to me.'
While online, Wegan fans speculated that the model may be sitting the show out due to the drama, Wes cleared things up with a social media post following the live show.
'Shattered now. Can't wait to get back to @meganbartonhanson_,' Wes wrote on Insta stories.
'She's been so unwell today make sure you send her a kind message.'
