Top Lifestyle News

If you want to step up your strength training at home, snag this compact set at a dealSign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better thingsIn a previous life, if I ever went missing, you could reliably find me at the gym. But since getting these Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells that replaced 15 pairs of weights during the pandemic, I haven’t felt the need to leave my at-home setup.When I earned my personal training certification in 2021, I was on a quest for a compact set of weights that would fit into my modest space, feel intuitive to use for beginner clients and still challenge veteran fitness buffs. These bells punch well above their weight in helpful specs, offering a solid range of five to 52.5lb in just one package. And as a ubiquitous pair of bells that boast a devoted following, I was surprised to find this generous Prime Day deal for up to 18% off. Continue reading...

People often forget social rules when dogs are involved, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But you’ll have to say something if you want things to changeRead more Leading questionsA good friend of mine stays with me regularly when she comes into town. She brings her husband and two dogs that don’t get along with my dog. They’ve “used the bathroom” in our house before. I try to be nice and help clean or pretend it doesn’t bother me so that they feel comfortable. But when she asks for a weekend to come back with everyone, I kind of dread it. I enjoy seeing her and she’s a great friend. I think our friendship would be better if she stayed somewhere else, but I would feel bad if she stayed in a hotel and I don’t think she’d visit as often. She cleans up after the dogs and whatnot, but I like my home to be my safe haven. This friend doesn’t handle confrontation well, but is understanding. What can I do to handle this?Eleanor says: It sounds as though you’re in the jam we all get into when we try to smooth things over: you can have the social ease of pretending something is fine; or the outcome from confessing it isn’t, but not both simultaneously. Continue reading...

Society tells us there is one way to live a life, and joy is a byproduct on the path there. But you don’t need a reason to enjoy the act of being aliveI have been dwelling on what it means to live well. Not because I have mastered it, but because I have become very comically bad at it. I have spent years rushing through my life, panicked and convinced I was running out of time. I worried constantly about work – getting it, keeping it, doing it, caring about it too much, hating it and losing it. I obsessed over being more productive. I fretted about money, mostly about not having any left after travelling too much. I poured so much energy into dating that it’s kind of impressive I haven’t had a relationship for the last six years.But most of all I became fixated on my fertility and how it dwindled in my early 30s, leaving me to make choices most women don’t have to until later. I tried to save my eggs and couldn’t. My lack of a partner in a conservative Catholic Lebanese family became a cudgel. Continue reading...

From Charli xcx and Rihanna to Victoria’s Secret and Prada catwalks, the fashion industry is keen to move on from the comfy, wire-free bras popularized in lockdownIt’s a trend that might have been expected to be kept under the radar – or at least under a T-shirt. But high fashion’s recent endorsement of underwire bras could not have been more visible.This fashion month, underwear as outerwear was omnipresent on catwalks, with underwire bras in red and black satin at Prada and black and silver at Tom Ford. At the Matieres Fecales show, Rihanna wore a bra from her own Savage X Fenty range peeking out of her unbuttoned jacket. Continue reading...

Sales at one UK retailer are up 200%, thanks in part to young people rejecting the informal look adopted by their middle-aged bossesName: Ties.Age: Originated in the early 17th century. Continue reading...

A creative way to use up the bits you already have around, all while getting in a healthy mixture of vegetables and whole grains This hearty dish is inspired by the diets of the Blue Zones, or those regions of the world where people live the longest, including Sardinia, where minestrone is a staple. Dan Buettner, who studied these communities, found that their diets are generally rich in beans, whole grains and seasonal vegetables. I’ve generalised ingredients into groups such as alliums, rather than simply suggesting the standard onion base, to inspire you to use up whatever you have in the house and what’s in season; I’d of course also encourage further diversification with the addition of other vegetables and subtle spices. Continue reading...

No longer messy and cumbersome, a new generation of powders blurs, sets and mattifies without the faffI can’t remember the last time I wrote about loose powder because, honestly, there’s been little point. Pressed compact powders have become so sophisticated in formulation, so finely milled in production, that most of us rely on those to keep shiny bits matte and makeup looking fresh past lunchtime. Loose powders – messy, cumbersome and barely improved in decades – seemed trapped in the past. But there have always been times when one absolutely does benefit from a proper dusting.A fine coating of loose powder locks down foundation and concealer like nothing else can – no bridal or TV makeup artist, dancer or performer would be without it. Now, seemingly all at once, a flurry of new generation powders are offering way more for your trouble. Continue reading...

Nutty in flavour and creamy in texture, autumn’s bounty of squash and pumpkin has many uses, both sweet and savouryThe shops are heaving with pumpkins and squash, and though there are so many different varieties to choose from, most of them are interchangeable. My favourites are kabocha, crown prince and delicata, for their deeply nutty flavour and creamy texture, plus they hold their shape well when roasted or braised. And if you’re carving a pumpkin for Halloween over the coming weeks, don’t waste the flesh: chop it up and throw into a risotto. It’s hard to imagine that such deliciousness could come from such a ghoulish grimace. Continue reading...