“Oh, I never wear foundation.” Have you ever felt a pang of envy when someone dropped that carefree statement into conversation? I have. “How nice for you, you radiant woman, but most of us aren’t blessed with clear, glowing skin every day of the week.” Well, my friends, since realising that the less cover-up you wear, the less you need to cover up, I’ve weaned myself off the hard stuff and come out the other side.

I’m here to give you the tools you’ll need if you’re looking to banish foundation from your makeup bag for good. Having worn foundation for over 10 years, this was no mean feat. Using a long bank holiday weekend to bear the brunt of my exposed skin, it’s taken two weeks in total to get used to not wearing the hero product of my makeup arsenal.

Why would I want to stop wearing it? Well, thanks to my oily complexion, while my skin looks pretty great in the morning, by the time I reach work it’s mostly patchy and, by lunchtime, there’s nothing left but an oil refinery. During my period, spots flare up that require heavy-duty concealer, which then builds up into a cakey texture. It’s all rather unpleasant and, after seeing friends who have foregone foundation in favour of natural skin, I rose to the challenge.

So why is foundation so problematic for the skin it's supposed to save? “Foundations are often high in mineral oil or other comedogenic ingredients, like silicones. This gives them a superb texture, but also congests the pores and inflames the skin, generating breakouts and uneven surface,” a spokesperson from REN explained. “Therefore using less foundation will allow the skin to breathe better and improve your overall skin health.”

While I’m not claiming that living a foundation-free life will guarantee great skin all the time, I do believe your skin will look healthier, and surprisingly fresh. Read on for the pro-approved tips and star products that will help you – from the oily and blemished to the dry and uneven – reach peak skin peachiness.

Perfect your base

First things first: in order to stop wearing your trusty cover-up, you need to work on whatever it is you’re trying to conceal. That means you still have to keep your skincare routine in check, so commit to a simple makeup remover, good cleanser, tailored serums and a moisturiser. “Your skincare routine should give you the base for perfect skin,” REN’s representative says. “It should protect, energise, and facilitate the skin’s renewal and health, so your skin looks perfect with or without makeup.”

Your skincare routine should give you the base for perfect skin

Up first? You guessed it: double cleanse. “Make sure you deeply cleanse your skin, morning and night. It is very important that you remove all traces of makeup, dirt, dust and pollution from your skin. We firmly believe in double cleansing, especially at night. This will prepare the skin to absorb and utilise at its best the rest of your routine.” REN’s Rosa Centifolia™ No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm gets down to the nitty-gritty without stripping your skin, while Pixi + Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse is an oil and cream duo that leaves you with plump, clean skin.

For those of us with oily skin, the idea of foregoing foundation to reveal our shiny selves is slightly scary. “One of the most common mistakes people with oily skin make is to avoid using a moisturiser,” Dr. Murad, founder of Murad Skincare, tells me.

“Hydration is critical when keeping the balance and harmony of the skin – it stops the sebaceous glands going into overdrive to compensate for the lack of moisture.” So prioritise a decent moisturiser. Murad’s Oil-Control Mattifier with SPF 15 is a great oil-free moisturiser, controlling that pesky excess oil, while REN’s Clarimatte™ T-Zone Balancing Gel Cream mattifies by evenly redistributing the oil on the skin and reducing its production, avoiding congestion and breakouts. The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid is also a great way to restore moisture to the skin without creating excess slick and shine come midday.

What about uneven skin tone and hyper-pigmentation? Foundation provides an amazing base tone to give your skin some equilibrium, so what’s the alternative? “Using products with brightening and illuminating ingredients will help even out skin tone”, Dr. Murad explains. Pixi’s Glow Tonic is the holy grail for its brightening abilities – sweep over your face with a cotton pad several times a week and you’ll notice a vast improvement. Tata Harper’s Replenishing Nutrient Complex is as rich in vitamins as it sounds, repairing cells and creating a barrier between your skin and the nasties of the world (pollution, weather, etc.). New brand Epara has a whole range based around the hyper-pigmentation most black women deal with, but it can be used by anyone who suffers with acne scarring, too.

And for those prone to breakouts: The Ordinary’s Advanced Retinoid 2% is really effective and after two weeks of use you’ll notice a huge difference in your complexion. It’s become a cult hit for a reason. Reducing redness is always key in keeping inflammation under control, and Murad’s Blemish Spot Treatment is a good place to start. “This actively reduces redness, enhances skin cell turnover with a blend of hydroxy acids, and instantly zaps spots with a combination of sulphur and zinc. Always use a cotton bud for hygienic application.”

Take it step by step

You don’t have to go into this cold turkey. “Try a step-by-step approach to let the skin recover”, Dr. Murad suggests. Try a few days per week without foundation until your skin improves and you feel confident enough to go the full seven days. Weekends, hibernation days or holidays are a great time to start if you’re self-conscious.

Weekends, hibernation days or holidays are a great time to start if you’re self-conscious

If your skin is really playing up or you’re just not ready to bare all, start with CC cream or tinted moisturiser and go from there. A personal favourite is Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturiser. It comes in a range of shades, divided into cool and warm undertones, and is so lightweight you’ll forget you’re wearing anything at all. As her cult Secret Camouflage proves, the brand doesn’t scrimp on decent coverage, and this base skirts around all manner of sins without caking. Another good one is Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s Instant Radiance, which contains SPF 40, makes tired complexions zing and adds a glow that doesn’t veer into glittery.

While we’re on the topic of SPF: most of us rely on our foundation having SPF built in, but this mustn't be an afterthought once you’ve stopped wearing base. “You may find your skin improves dramatically when you stop using foundation, but don’t compromise on sun protection”, Dr. Murad warns. I’ve been using the brand’s silky-smooth skin-blurring Invisiblur Perfecting Shield SPF 30, which acts as a pore-reducing primer as well as sun protection. Alternatively, Bliss’ Triple Oxygen Ultimate Protection UV Moisturiser with SPF 30 is a non-greasy, super-lightweight hydration hit.

Don’t worry about the bad days

Look, we’re all going to have poor skin days. Thanks to stressors like an unbalanced diet, transitional weather, hangovers, unruly hormones and lack of sleep, you’ll still have flare-ups occasionally. The trick is to accept what you’ve got and work with it, not against it.

For an emergency quick-fix, when I have angry blemishes, tired eyes or generally look quite grey, I always return to the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. It is the best concealer I’ve ever used and it miraculously removes all traces of stress, period spots, and last night’s tequila without sitting heavily on the skin. Another fabulous alternative is the aforementioned Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which provides two shades to reduce redness and dark patches.

When you have a little longer to deal with skin flare-ups and dull days, there’s nothing better than a restorative mask. The copper-rich NIOD Flavanone Mud Mask is fantastic for decongesting hormonal or hungover skin, while Farmacy’s warming Honey Potion mask uses antibacterial propolis and immune-boosting echinacea to blast life into your dermis.

Know your tools

Last but not least, understand that there are little things out there to help you if you get an attack of oil just before a meeting, or look so shattered by 3pm that your colleagues ask if you’re ill. The Clarins Pore Perfecting Matifying Kit includes a translucent powder and blotting papers for a two-pronged attack on shine; if your skin is more dull or dry, then facial spritzes are for you. Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir has a reputation for revival for good reason, with brightening and energising elements waking you right up, while the Molecular Saviour Mist from Allies of Skin is like a shot of moisture, feeding your skin some much-needed hydration.

That doesn’t seem too scary, right? Whether you’re trying to forego foundation in the build-up to summer, or you’re just kind of tired of covering up every day, I wish you luck in your voyage to a fresh, glowing, peachy visage. Now, go show ‘em some skin.

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Harry Styles has barely left the headlines since releasing his debut solo single "Sign of the Times" just a few weeks ago. Now, it's his love life that's got everyone talking – but, unlike with some of his famous former flames, you might not know anything about the lucky lady this time.

Styles, 23, was spotted with Ward, 27, this weekend while driving around north London, and the pair have been "secretly dating" after being introduced by mutual friends, The Sun reported. Ward began following Styles on Twitter in mid-February, according to reports.

“As soon as Harry met Tess there was an instant spark between them," a source told the paper. “They really bonded over their mutual love of quirky fashion and food – and things turned romantic quickly.

“They’ve been on a number of dates while Harry has been in London and he’s already introduced Tess to some of his close friends including his personal stylist Lou Teasdale."

The source said the relationship seems different to Styles' past relationships (we wonder which ones they're referring to!), adding that: "Harry genuinely is besotted with Tess and doesn’t want to risk messing this one up.” So who is Tess Ward?

What does she do?

Ward is a London-based food blogger and author of The Naked Cookbook, which espouses the virtues of "simple, clean, and pure foods" and detoxing. She has also written food articles for Grazia online, Fabulous magazine and other publications.

Let's go back.... best food in tulum (average company) 😉 @emmahoareau @hartwoodtulum #ff

A post shared by Tess Ward (@tessward) on Apr 28, 2017 at 12:54am PDT

Ward has also worked as a consultant with food brands including Fortnum and Mason, Itsu, Grey Goose and Kallo, The Sun reported. She also hosts “VIP dinners” for high-profile clients including Alice Temperley and Mulberry, according to her blog.

On top of all this, she's also a model with Models1 and has modelled alongside Millie Mackintosh and Rosie Fortescue from Made In Chelsea.

What's her story?

Ward was born in London in March 1990 and grew up near Oxford with her mother Kate, a yoga teacher, father Kit (Christopher) and younger brother Dashiell (Dash), 22. At 18 she picked up a parasite while travelling in India, which led her to change her diet and approach to food.

She studied History of Art at the University of Leeds and spent time at university doing yoga and kickboxing. It was there that she first began cooking and would make meals for friends on a budget. After university, she trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu and did brief stints working at high-profile foodie establishments The Ritz and River Cottage, according to her LinkedIn.

Final day of sun. Blessing on you tulum- you are a magical place! I willl most definitely be back!

A post shared by Tess Ward (@tessward) on Apr 2, 2017 at 4:34am PDT

Judging from her social media accounts, Ward is clearly a big traveller, having recently visited Tulum in Mexico, Italy and New York. We also know she's been offered TV and modelling opportunities in the US. Watch this space.

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"If you go home with somebody and they don’t have books, don’t fuck them," was the eye-poppingly sage life advice of director John Waters. The oft-quoted line hits the nail on the head: In our experience, people who read really do tend to be the best people.

Not only can reading regularly expand your vocabulary, build your imagination, reduce stress and even make you happier, the benefits may even extend to your personality, with new research suggesting people who read tend to be nicer and more empathetic.

Researchers from Kingston University questioned 123 participants about their preference for books, TV shows and plays, before gauging their interpersonal skills, such as how much they helped others and considered their feelings, MailOnline reported.

Fiction readers were the most empathetic and showed the most positive social behaviours, the research found. While those who spent the most time watching TV were found to be less friendly and less understanding of others' views.

The researchers, speaking at the British Psychological Society conference in Brighton, said "exposure to fiction relates to a range of empathetic abilities".

Particular genres were also more closely correlated to positive social behaviours than others, they added. "Engaging with fictional prose and comedy in particular could be key to enhancing people’s empathetic abilities," they said. Reading romantic novels was also correlated with increased empathy.

However, the study doesn't confirm whether reading books makes you a nicer person or whether nicer people are simply more likely to be drawn to reading.

Either way, the next time someone says you're being antisocial by burying your nose in the latest Haruki Murakami, just tell them you're working on your social skills.

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Amy Schumer is about to share the screen with icon Goldie Hawn for the mother-daughter buddy comedy Snatched. In the new flick, Schumer plays Emily, a newly-single woman who doesn't totally have it together — but is willing to have a great time regardless. While Schumer may play characters still figuring things out, the actress seemingly has a lot of the important stuff already nailed in her personal life.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Schumer knows exactly who she is: the actress radiates confidence in both her stand-up comedy and in her fearless sketches on Inside Amy Schumer, many of which take jabs at sexism and her own haters. Needless to say, she won't let naysayers (which seemingly come with the territory of being a woman in comedy) knock her off her feet.

Refinery29 spoke with Schumer about mothers, daughters, and how she cultivates her confidence:

What do you think mothers can teach their daughters about confidence?
They can teach them from example. If you see your mother looking in the mirror and going 'Ugh,' I think you learn that kind of behaviour. Having your own confidence [as a mother] is the best way to [teach your children.]

When you posed for Annie Leibovitz last year, you said you felt more beautiful than you ever had in your life. What was going through your mind, leading up to that photo?
Annie didn't want to do it. She was hesitant to do it, at first. She's really aware and wants everyone to be comfortable. I was like 'I really want to do it, I want to be nude, and I want you to be the photographer.' When she saw I was really comfortable with it, that changed. It felt really powerful, and I was really excited about it.

"There's nothing for me to get over. This is my body. This is my face. This is it. I don't strive for this other version."

So many people are shifting away from the pressure to love your body, and more towards body acceptance. Does that ring true for you?
That's so funny. People are just lowering their standards. [Laughs] I'm not like rolling around in bed going 'Yaaas,' but I think I can feel great. I can be feeling myself! Like I shot that InStyle cover and I was really feeling myself that day. I think that sort of acceptance... when I see myself in this movie, in a bathing suit, I'm fine. There's nothing for me to get over. This is my body. This is my face. This is it. I don't strive for this other version. I want to be healthy, and my weight fluctuates and whatever, but... I feel like other people need to work on accepting my body. Or not! People need time to decide how they feel about my body... I don't think about [my body]... I want to be healthy.

I've never worried about it. When I was younger my mom would be like 'Don't forget to suck in [your stomach.]' I was always like, belly out. I've never cared. I don't know why. I feel really lucky that I don't. I see friends who have a lot of pain about it. Girls who are way thinner than me, way prettier than me, who feel worse than me. I do wish for everyone to feel good about themselves. I feel so bad for this younger generation, growing up with all this social media and stuff. It just seems like such a hard time to grow up.

"Someone said that I punched Melania Trump and that I'm in jail... That was not true."

Do you think social media is changing how women feel about their bodies?
Yeah, and maybe some of it is good. There are really positive accounts. Or maybe they find the filter that they like and they use it and they feel better about themselves. But the constant awareness and need for material, well, you used to only have a website if you were famous. Now every child has a website, that's like 'Here's my life, that I'm curating.' It's a lot.

What was the most amusing fabricated story you read about yourself?
That I'm in jail. That I punched someone and I'm in jail... Someone said that I punched Melania Trump and that I'm in jail... That was not true.

But you know, there are so many lies. It's really interesting when it starts happening to you, because you read about celebrities in magazines your whole life, and when it happens to you, it's so weird. At first you really want to fight for the truth to come out, and then you realise that the truth does not matter to anybody... Or, well, not anybody. The people like me, who like me, they know the truth. It's the people who have already made their mind up who [you can't change the mind of.]

The surveillance is weird. Now, anytime I'm outside, there is a chance that someone is going to take a picture of me. That's weird.

Does that change your behaviour in public at all?
[Laughs] No! It's this weird feeling. You're walking down the street, and it's fine, and then people pop out and take pictures of you. So you're walking down the street and you have a constant fear. It's just a violation. If your friends started coming up to you and started taking pictures of you, it would annoy you. So if it's strangers, taking photos of every angle of your body to post [online], it's a violation... It sucks. There are people with worse situations, but it sucks.

Who is your favourite role model of 2017?
I think Gloria Steinem is pretty badass. She's someone who's willing to put their money where their mouth is and dedicate their life to hard decisions and bigger work. I think it's really noble.

What do you do to get your confidence back on days you feel not-s0-great?
Sending really unflattering pictures to your friends. Just laughing with your friends about it. Or just going out for a walk, moving. I think that's it.

What message will Snatched send to mothers and daughters everywhere?
I think it'll be different for everybody, but everyone I know who has seen the movie has called their mom. I saw it with my mom, it was really special. I imagine it's really triggering because you watch it and you're like 'Ugh, that's how my mom makes me feel.' But [the movie] is really sweet, and I think it shows the perspective of both mothers and daughters.

Snatched is released in the UK on 19th May

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Young people are widely assumed to be disinterested in politics. While more of them may have voted in last year's EU referendum than was originally assumed, it's true that many young people could use a little push to get them to the ballot box.

Parliament has risen to the challenge, offering 18 to 24-year-olds a little incentive to convince more of them to vote in the snap election on the 8th June. Alas, they won't be gifted a new iPhone or a pair of Nike Air Max, but they will qualify for a free tour of the Houses of Parliament. The lucky devils.

A guided tour of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Westminster Hall usually costs up to £28. During the tour they'll see inside the debating chambers and voting lobbies of both houses, and will be given the opportunity to register to vote with help from parliamentary staff.

“We hope that young people from all over the UK will take this opportunity to visit Parliament and play their part in the democratic process as a result," said House of Commons clerk David Natzler.

Tours will be taking place from Monday to Saturday between 11th and 20th May, and from Wednesday to Saturday between 25th May and 3rd June.

If you're interested in going, you'll still need to book a ticket (either online, by calling +44 (0)20 7219 4114, or in person from the ticket office), and will need to show proof of your age.

Recent government figures suggested that 390,000 people under 25 have registered to vote since Theresa May announced the snap election – an impressive 42% of the total number so far.

However, there are still fears that students could be the most under-represented group in the election. Campaign group Hope Not Hate last week warned that students may miss out on the chance to vote because they don't know whether they should register at home or at university, the Huffington Post reported.

If you haven't yet registered to vote, you have until 22nd May. It really does take less than five minutes and can be done here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

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Depression is a filthy thief. It can rob you of everything that makes you, you: your sense of humour, your humility, your ability to connect with other human beings. It can make you virtually unrecognisable to the people who love you. It can replace all your loveliness with a miserable, aching numbness that makes normal human interaction difficult, if not impossible.

That’s the first thing you should know, if you’re trying to love someone who has depression. When the person you love is struck down by the illness, they will not be the person you think you fell in love with because they will not be themselves. It’s that simple, and that complicated. They might be short with you, or abrupt, or cold, or angry. They might be distant or cruel, in a way they’ve never been before. They might be more timid, shy or quiet than you've ever seen them. They might simply need extra care and love, and for you to be gentle with them.

They will come back to you, in time and with the right treatment. But for a time (possibly a long time), do not expect necessarily to deal with the sweet nature or rationality of your beloved; the real them may have vanished for a time – to return upon the balancing out of the chemicals in their brain. You will need to be extraordinarily patient. It will be hard. It will be sad. It might make you angry. But if you love your depressive, you do what you can to help them find themselves again.

Clinical psychologist Abigael San has a few practical clues for handling this potentially very difficult situation. “The most important thing is to be able to look after yourself so you can provide support to the other person,” she says. “Make sure you don’t get dragged into the depression because you cannot help from there. Do not feel like you have to stay home all the time with your partner; it is better for both of you if you stay strong so make sure you’re doing nourishing activities for yourself.” It’s the old oxygen mask thing: you have to put yours on first before you can help anyone else with theirs. It’s not selfish to look after your own emotional and mental wellbeing while your beloved is unwell; it’s pragmatic and it’s essential. Spending time with friends, being out in nature, perhaps even seeing a therapist are all things that may help you maintain some semblance of normalcy in your life. That means that when they’re ready, your loved one can join you in your old life, rather than knowing they sucked you into the melancholic vortex of theirs.

How do you protect yourself, when misery can be contagious? Refer and escort your beloved to a trained professional, for a start. “You can talk a bit about things in the relationship, but it might get too heavy for the non-depressed partner to absorb it all and difficult for them to stand back from it, so that’s when you need to encourage them to get professional help," says Abigael. "They should see their GP and a therapist or psychologist. After a few sessions, a therapist might invite you, the partner, to join the session to provide another perspective on what’s going on. They’ll try to find out what role each person usually takes at home, if you live together and see how things have changed since the person has been depressed. Then you can work together to gradually re-introduce some of the things that make life normal. If the person is really low, it can be too hard to get their neutral thinking going so you’ve got to begin with activities – they could start out by making the bed or walking the dog. Light things that are not too demanding.”

Even this could be difficult. Depression can make you lethargic, despondent and mortally exhausted. It can make tying your laces seem like a gargantuan effort. So be patient and try to understand that getting out of bed every day feels almost impossible when you’re depressed. Functioning seems like a distant dream, and so does emotional stability. Everybody reacts to depression in their own way, but it’s possible your loved one will have difficulty identifying with love. Depressives often say that they feel as though they don’t, or rather can’t, love anyone anymore. They can’t work out how to love themselves, so how could they possibly love anyone else? Depression can take that away from you, you see, that very basic and beautiful capacity to feel love. It can make you feel worthless, alone and destitute. It can make you feel as though you don’t deserve to be loved and like perhaps you will never feel that sweet love feeling ever again. Of course none of that is true, but depression likes to lie to its victims. All of this will affect your relationship, so please, try not to take it personally. It’s the depression you’re dealing with here.

“It’s fairly common for people with depression to shut down in their relationship, particularly if the partner is keen to know what’s going on. They might get impatient and frustrated. It’s very difficult for them to get in touch with any positive feelings at all, they are quite significantly affected in that way and they can feel detached and find it very hard to relate,” says Abigael. “That’s why it’s so important as the partner you should be looking after yourself, because you will not get your needs met. You need to know that and prepare for that. Try as much as possible not to make the other person feel the full weight of the impact this is having on you. Once they’ve been working on the issue and they’ve started therapy, it could be the right time to bring up how it has affected you. When life becomes reinforcing and activity levels increase, they might have the capacity to think about their impact on people.”

It will probably feel unnatural to keep your own distress private; you’re used to sharing your feelings with this person and it’ll feel weird to keep anything from them. It will be particularly difficult to tone down your own feelings if your beloved is unusually cold or distant or abrupt. This is why it might help to see a therapist yourself. Supporting a loved depressive is a very delicate, difficult task and you need to be as kind to yourself as possible. Try to be superhumanly patient, educate yourself about depression so you might glimpse what the person you love is going through, and above all else try not to take their behaviour personally. As I said, depression is a filthy, lying, festering thief. It can and will rob your beloved of everything you love about them, for a time. With treatment, you can and will get them back.

Samaritans is available around the clock, every single day of the year, providing a safe place for anyone who is struggling to cope. Please call free on 116 123, or visit samaritans.org to find details of the nearest branch.

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Former acting attorney general Sally Yates had no time for condescending nonsense during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

Fired in late January by President Trump because she refused to defend his travel and immigration ban, she testified about her concerns surrounding former national security adviser Michael Flynn. She told the Senate subcommittee that she warned the White House in late January about Flynn, who eventually resigned because he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his Russian contacts. She also said that the Trump administration was aware of her concern that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia.

"We wanted to tell the White House as quickly as possible," she said in her testimony. "To state the obvious: You don’t want your national security adviser compromised with the Russians."

Back in January, Yates made her explicit warning to White House counsel Donald McGahn.

"The vice president was unknowingly making false statements to the public and ... we believed that General Flynn was compromised with respect to the Russians," she said Monday during her testimony. "We felt like the vice president and others were entitled to know that the information that they were conveying to the American people wasn't true."

Still, it took 18 days for the former national security adviser to be ousted. (The move was triggered by a The Washington Post story about Flynn, detailing many of the events confirmed by Yates yesterday.)

Her testimony and unflinching behaviour in front of a barrage of questioning by hostile Republican senators got her a lot of praise on social media.

Wonder Woman is in theaters June 2nd. But if you want a sneak preview, watch Sally Yates' performance in front of the Senate.

— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) May 8, 2017

Turns out, the Q. stands for Queen. #SallyYates pic.twitter.com/fiFLOedMDB

— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) May 8, 2017

@VennMultiverse Sally Yates epitomizes the word HERO in every way.

— Robert Joseph (@RobJosMPAW) May 8, 2017

Be right back, I'm going to my local tattoo artist to get a Sally Yates tramp stamp because she's my fucking queen

— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) May 8, 2017

One of the main reasons Yates was so celebrated was how she handled the way some male senators approached her. She was poised but firm when answering their questions and explaining her decisions.

Sally Yates handles condescending men so well you'd almost think she'd been doing it her whole life.

— Liana Maeby (@lianamaeby) May 8, 2017

#SallyYates has the face of a woman who has had to patiently explain things to men way too many times. pic.twitter.com/ZlXzwz2eGx

— Navah Wolfe (@navahw) May 8, 2017

But the best part was when she clapped back hard at not one, but two different senators who questioned her integrity and diluted the reasoning behind her decision to not defend President Trump's travel ban.

First Cornyn, then Cruz. It's like it was "reduce a Texas senator to ashes, get another one free" day. #SallyYates pic.twitter.com/4wpUV1AqN7

— shauna (@goldengateblond) May 8, 2017

Sally Yates just shut down Ted Cruz on Constitutional Law. pic.twitter.com/ONlwEYm64D

— jordan 🌹 (@JordanUhl) May 8, 2017

In my darkest hours I will think of Sally Yates destroying Ted Cruz on national television, and it will sustain me.

— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) May 8, 2017

That burn Ted Cruz got from Sally Yates will forever be a pre-existing condition.

— shauna (@goldengateblond) May 8, 2017

In the end, the congressional hearing was a master class on how much condescension and mansplaining women have to deal with every single day.

Mansplaining in one gif pic.twitter.com/lwFV7wiPni

— Colin Jones (@colinjones) May 8, 2017

What do you call mansplaining in question form? Asking for #SallyYates.

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 8, 2017

Every time Sally Yates punks out a mansplaining Republican senator, an angel gets its wings. https://t.co/9ceEC0PXuC

— Brian Pelts ✊ (@Brian_Pelts) May 9, 2017

@thehill #SallyYates, the Clap-back Queen who schooled a group of mansplainers on the Constitution and moral fortitude.

— Stephanie Swann (@SwannDives) May 9, 2017

Predictably, Yates got a shoutout from President Trump, who seemed to dismiss her testimony, even though it opened the way for a lot of new questions the White House needs to answer.

Sally Yates made the fake media extremely unhappy today --- she said nothing but old news!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017

Whatever happens next, Yates will remain a hero in the minds of many. She is the woman who declined to defend an executive order she thought to be unconstitutional, who warned the White House about Michael Flynn, and who schooled Sen. Ted Cruz and other mansplainers without batting an eye. We all have to admit she's an incredible woman, right?

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#GettingTo5050, a global movement rooted in actionable tools and resources, aims to catalyze the conversations that will inspire a more gender-balanced world. Because true equality doesn't just lift women—it lifts everyone. Learn morehere.

Teen activists aren’t often met with a pop star’s welcome, but Malala Yousafzai’s arrival can ignite a fever-pitched frenzy worthy of the Selenas and Biebers of the world. That celebrity effect is on display during a recent swing through Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There’s the young woman at the indoor food bazaar, who leaves Malala’s embrace in tears, and the teen refugee who cries so hard she can barely speak. Admirers gather for autographs and photos everywhere Malala goes (a suited security guard and small army of staff trail closely behind). At a local high school, throngs of teens rise and scream when she enters the stage. “I can’t believe I got to ask Malala a question!” one gushes in the hall outside.

The roaring reception is a testament to the power of Malala’s story: At 15, she was viciously attacked by the Taliban for daring to go to school in Pakistan's Swat Valley. She’s since emerged as the most visible champion of girls' education worldwide. By 17, she had become the youngest person in history to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Malala is 19 now and once again bringing her message of gender equality to the masses, this time through a high-wattage international tour. Lancaster, a small city that has earned a reputation for welcoming refugees from around the world, is stop number one on the just-launched Girl Power Trip, a four-continent, months-long travel blitz that will include her first visit to Latin America this summer.

The idea behind the tour is for Malala to spend her summer on the road meeting young women who can help her carry the mantle of girls' education for the next fours years and beyond. That's because, come this fall, the global activist is going to college, which means at the moment she is, understandably, a bit preoccupied with getting an education of her own.

That much is evident when we sit down to talk in a sparse career services classroom at Lancaster's J.P. McCaskey High School. Her 5-foot-1 frame and gentle voice make for a softer, slightly shyer version of the powerful public speaker who has no problems calling out world leaders on their failure to act. She appears preternaturally calm, especially given the frenzied response to her surprise visit to town (a short time before, the school hallway was so congested that she couldn’t make it out to use the bathroom). But once she starts talking, it’s clear that there is one thing stressing Malala out at the moment: her homework. “People often forget that winning a Nobel Peace Prize doesn't mean that you know much in your studies,” Malala insists. “I’m doing economics, maths, and literary studies. All of them are quite hard. I have my papers with me, in my bag.”

Despite speculation that she’d apply to Stanford, Malala has opted for Oxford, which is closer to her family’s adopted home in Birmingham, England. She wants to study philosophy, politics, and economics, a path that could help prepare her for her own lofty ambitions (she’s said before that she wants to be prime minister of Pakistan someday, following in the footsteps of her personal hero, the late Benazir Bhutto). But first, she needs to get in. Oxford extended a conditional offer to her, and in order to make it official, Malala still needs to ace her final assignments and tests. The April 11 trip to Lancaster falls in the middle of her senior spring break, and Malala is hard at work on no fewer than four papers, in between events like accepting a new major honour from United Nations and meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that is. (When I ask if she’s excited about Trudeau, a sheepish smile reveals the teen girl within: “Oh yeah.”)

People often forget that winning a Nobel Peace Prize doesn't mean that you know much in your studies.

This is an exciting time for Malala but it comes at a particularly fraught period for her cause. Educating girls is widely recognised as a crucial step toward improving gender parity overall, but its importance has long been overshadowed by other pressing humanitarian concerns. An estimated 130 million girls worldwide don't go school. The reasons are wide-ranging and difficult to tackle: child marriage, threats of violence, and even shortages of sanitary pads can hinder access. Progress was already slow (one 2015 analysis found efforts to meet UN-backed goals to close the gap “stalling” in 80 countries), but now with the refugee crisis and the nationalist mood spreading across the west, the issue of girls' education is at risk of getting pushed aside once again. It doesn’t help that another high-profile effort, Michelle Obama’s White House initiative Let Girls Learn, is reportedly on the chopping block. (The Trump administration recently denied reports that the program is being cut.)

All this puts extra pressure on Malala, who, through the force of her conviction and communication savvy (and resultant best-selling memoir and documentary), transformed her story into a call to action for the plight of girls everywhere.

“It is a big challenge because there are so many issues: from child marriage to child trafficking to culture issues and taboos and poverty,” she tells me. She vows to "stay strong, stay focused, and remain clever" in her efforts to push world leaders to make education a top priority, especially when it comes to aiding young refugees. “If you don't support them now, [children] who have already been out of school for so many years, they will be a generation lost," she says.

In the midst of all this activism, the high school senior is readying for another new challenge, one that will involve stepping away from the international stage for the Ivory Towers of Oxford. And then, the crossroads of adulthood awaits. All this raises a question that only Malala can answer: What happens when the world’s most famous child activist grows up?

“It’s remarkable, because she now gets to choose who she is, what she does next,” says Shiza Shahid, a Malala Fund cofounder and former CEO who has known the family since before the attack. “She’ll always be guided by a core sense of impact and mission — how she does it may evolve.”

Malala’s path from pupil in a remote region of Pakistan to one of the most famous activists in the world is formed in tragedy. After the Taliban came to power in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, they banned girls like Malala from going to school. Malala was 11 at the time and, encouraged by her father, who ran a chain of local schools and was a longtime activist in this field, she quickly emerged as a voice for girls’ education. There was an anonymous blog on the BBC, followed by less anonymous appearances and interviews. The work came with risks, but Malala and her family underestimated how many — no one thought the militants would hurt a girl.

On October 9, 2012, they were proven wrong. Malala was riding in a converted truck that doubled as a school bus along with her peers. She remembers being in a good mood because she got high marks on a paper that day. But then a man boarded the bus. Who is Malala? He asked. He pulled out a Colt .45 and fired, striking Malala in the head. Two of her friends were also injured in the attack.

Miraculously, Malala survived. She was taken to a military hospital for emergency surgery, then eventually to a hospital in the United Kingdom for treatment. Her family, including two younger brothers, joined her there; it was clear then that it would be too dangerous for them to stay in Pakistan. To this day, they have not been able to return.

Less than six months later, Malala slung a pink backpack over her shoulder and returned to school, this time in Birmingham, England. And in 2013, the Malala Fund was born.

Since its creation, the fund has poured £6.7 million into the cause, lobbying world leaders and supporting school construction, along with creative efforts to help girls learn in the face of crises like the Ebola outbreak or threats of kidnapping and rape. In the coming months, the fund will welcome a new CEO, Farah Mohamed. Aside from the Girl Power Trip there’s the newly launched Gulmakai Network, an effort to “speed up progress” on levelling the education playing field. The fund is pledging to spend up to £8 million a year on the initiative, named after the pseudonym Malala used as an anonymous blogger back when she was just a girl.

Both projects are also a chance for the Fund to embrace the next wave of activists. Malala is no longer a child struggling to get a basic education. Soon, she’ll be a college-educated twentysomething continuing to fight for that right on behalf of the next generation of girls. Malala’s picture is notably absent from the Gulmakai launch page. In its place are members of what the Fund is calling its inaugural class of “champions,” young organisers hailing from places like Lebanon, Nigeria, and Malala’s native Pakistan. “Over the next several years, we expect to see the work of these remarkable women and men result in substantial gains for girls’ education,” the page reads.

“I don’t think Malala is ever not going to be the most visible global presence in the fight for girls' education,” says Taylor Royle, the Malala Fund communications director. But the hope, Royle says, is that she won’t be the only one: “We want to meet the next generation of leaders who are coming up behind Malala,” she says.

This effort is underway during the April 11 visit to Lancaster. Minutes after speaking to a sold-out breakfast of 200-plus, Malala is sitting in a sparse conference room where a small group of teenage immigrants and refugees are sharing their stories.

It’s remarkable because she now gets to choose who she is, what she does next. She’ll always be guided by a core sense of impact and mission — how she does it may evolve.

“There’s a lot of struggle,” explains Marie Claire, a refugee from Central Africa. “We can’t do what other kids can do. You can’t type the way other kids can.”

Marie Claire runs her fingers back and forth beneath the edge of the wooden table. She’s 20, and, like Malala, a survivor of unimaginable trauma. Her family fled their home in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo when she was just a girl. They moved to Zambia, but things got even worse. She didn’t know the language and couldn’t go to school. One night, a group of attackers broke into their home and murdered her mother in front of her eyes. Her dad was severely beaten, but he survived. “We thought they were both dead. But God is good,”she says. They moved again. Marie Claire, who had long dreamed of moving to the United States, started to lose hope.

In 2015, word arrived they would be coming to America after all. Marie Claire enrolled in Lancaster’s local high school. She graduated last year and got into college. The prospect of taking out loans — something she had never even considered before — hasn’t deterred her. Next to Marie Claire, another local teen refugee is sobbing. She too, begins to cry, “I will be a nurse one day.”

Malala is sitting at the head of the table, listening rapt. In small groups, she has a tendency to try to let her gregarious and joke-cracking dad, Ziauddin, do the talking. But when a stranger opens up in her presence — something that happens a lot — Malala gives them her full attention (during an earlier breakfast, she was so engrossed by a panel of refugee speakers that she barely touched her orange juice and pastry).

"You have a very strong message,” she tells the refugees. “And I know you’ve inspired many, including me.” Hours (and several appearances) later, Marie Claire’s story is still on Malala’s mind. During our interview, she brings it up twice in the span of 20 minutes.

“The girl who lost her mother, she's still dreaming to go to university, get a higher education, become a nurse, and help her community,” Malala says. “She still has hope, and that gives me hope as well, to believe the future is positive.”

Within two weeks, Marie Claire’s story will be featured on the Malala Fund blog.

“Marie Claire shares her story because she hopes it will empower other girls,” it reads. “Her advice: ‘Your past shouldn’t stop you from moving forward and trying to change the world.’”

Meanwhile, school is never far from Malala’s mind. Later in the day, we join refugee resettlement workers with Church World Service and other community leaders for dumplings and curry at a restaurant owned by a family from Nepal. In between sips of a mango lassi, Malala eagerly tells the table about an assignment related to Brexit. Midway through the lunch, someone hands her a homemade quilt as a token of gratitude. Malala smiles: “I’ll bring it to university!”

There is a serene aura about her. Even after all that’s happened — the shooting, the separation from friends back home, the ongoing threats against her life — she’s not angry or afraid. “I have seen the worst I could,” she says, matter-of-factly. “This is reality.”

But beneath her cool and mature veneer are flashes of Malala the Every Teen. She touts steps tracked with her black FitBit (she logged a whopping 18,700 at the UN the day before), pops Pringles in the back of her crew’s black Mercedes van, and binges on her favourite show, the British version of The Apprentice (“ Not the Trump one,” she adds with a smile). She wears a brightly coloured tunic and headscarf. Nude peep-toe heels peek out from the crisp white pants; onstage at the high school, she cracks a joke about needing them to reach a mic. Those big talks don’t bother her, by the way, but speaking in class does. She gets so nervous that she shakes. “I respect my teachers a lot,” she explains. “And in school you always want to be the perfect one, the best one. There's a lot of pressure.”

In school you always want to be the perfect one, the best one. There's a lot of pressure.

Back home in England, Malala bickers with her loving but occasionally annoying younger brothers. “When I go to their rooms, they just tell me to get lost,” she says. Ziauddin corroborates this. “We have a very normal lifestyle; they fight with each other,” he says. “Yesterday, when she was designated as the youngest-ever Peace Messenger for the UN, I whispered in her ear that now we will have peace in our home.”

Malala's A-level exams start this month, and she graduates in early July. She lights up as she talks about entering “a new phase of life where you're not living with your family anymore.”

“You are managing and organising everything on your own: from your breakfast to what to wear, who to meet, what time to go to bed,” she says. “I think it's quite exciting.”

Oxford is just an hour away from her home in Birmingham, but the entire family is bracing for big changes as their firstborn readies to leave the nest. Malala is sitting for a photo shoot at the end of her visit to the high school. She leans against a table, tilting her chin up as she smiles and sets her gaze beyond the camera. The scene is reminiscent of a senior portrait. Across the room, Ziauddin reflects on the tectonic shift to come.

“After this trauma, we have been together always, we depend on each other too much,” he says. There’s a softness in his typically effusive and upbeat tone. “It will be hard, but you have to do it. She has to live her life.”

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Stranger Things ' second season won't hit Netflix until Halloween. But that doesn't mean we won't be gobbling up every clue about the show until then.

Luckily, if executive producer and director Shawn Levy's statements to Mashable are any indication, there's plenty of Stranger Things in our future. Levy explained that the crew had so many ideas for the second season, it was hard to narrow them down. So if Netflix picks the show up for a third season — and why wouldn't they? — there will already be plenty of material to work with.

"As the episodes were written by the Duffers, they realised that there was too much story for nine episodes. So it forced us to be judicious in which stories we tell this season," Levy told Mashable. "So one of the surprises was, not all of our grand ideas are going to be serviced in one season... If we had 40 ideas going into the season, 30 [we] are going to pick, and the rest go in the back of our head for, hopefully, future chapters."

As some writers at this website have argued, Stranger Things ' first-season plot wasn't always the strongest. At times, the episodes dragged and didn't really make sense. But as with any good show, it's not just about the storylines themselves, but the characters who bring them to life.

"As much density of story as our show has, we have to service the characters — and the moments and relationships between characters — above everything," Levy told Mashable. "If we stop being character-anchored, and we become pure genre, I think we take the beating heart out of Stranger Things, and we take the thing that people maybe don't write articles about the most, but I think it's what they love the most — these characters on screen."

So if you're still sad about Barb (Shannon Purser) being gone, at least take solace in the fact that loss will bring Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) together this season. Their relationship is one of the show's strongest points, along with the gang's relationship with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Although, we're still dying to know what's up with the Demogorgon these days, too.

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Have a hard time knowing how you feel after a fight with your partner? Just can't make up your mind about whether to stay in a job that's comfortable or push yourself for something more ambitious? Take the blame for spilling three of the six coffees you volunteered to get for your team even though you know deep down it was at least 65% Carol's fault? If you have trouble tapping into your emotions or standing up to others, it turns out, you might just be a co-narcissist. Here's what that means — and why you don't have to resign yourself to accepting the stress that it almost certainly brings you.

But let's start with what it means to be a straight-up narcissist: "The essence of narcissism is a lack of ability to empathise," says Alan Rappoport, PhD, a psychotherapist based in San Francisco. "The person’s entire reference is themselves." Everything a narcissist does is centred around how it makes them look, whether or not it advances their goals, and how it makes them feel.

A co-narcissist, then, is "the reciprocal of the relationship," Dr. Rappoport explains. If a narcissist is performing, the co-narcissist's job is to serve as the audience. According to a 2005 paper in which he formalised the concept, these are patterns we're taught in childhood, often with a narcissist parent and co-narcissist kid. "A child is rarely going to act in utter defiance of the parent — they’re going to do whatever they can to get validation from the parent," says Ramani Durvasula, PhD, a psychologist and author of author of Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Surviving A Narcissistic Relationship.

So, as a co-narcissist child, you'll grow up believing that the only way to feel validated — loved, accepted, understood — is to give in to your narcissistic parent's needs. "You don’t call them out and you let them do their shit," Dr. Durvasula says. "You validate the narcissist."

As a result, your own inner world takes a backseat and, as an adult, you may have trouble putting a finger on your emotions or knowing how you feel about a situation because you're so used to spending the entirety of your energy caring about the way someone else is feeling. Co-narcissists also tend to take the blame for relationship issues, have feelings of low self-worth, and feel selfish when talking about their feelings. "Those on the darkest side of co-narcissism are prone to substance use and eating disorders — what we call 'disorders of regulation,'" Dr. Rappoport says, "because they’ve gone so far over the edge of trying to please."

Of course, as with pretty much everything in psychology, narcissism and co-narcissism are both on a spectrum. That means that we all have some capacity to be both narcissists and co-narcissists, but very few of us wind up at the extreme end of either one.

Another major downside to having a narcissistic parent: It sets you up for challenges when it comes to romantic relationships later on. You might seek out narcissistic partners because that dynamic feels familiar to you, Dr. Rappoport explains. Or, if you're in a relationship with someone who's more co-narcissistic than you are, you could fall into the role of narcissist to "balance" things out.

Sounds like a case for some serious therapy, right? Well, narcissists, almost by definition, tend to avoid therapy for fear of being seen as inadequate. That means it's the co-narcissists who are actually more likely to get professional help to change the way they act in relationships with narcissists. Luckily, therapy is pretty darn effective at helping you overcome those co-narcissistic tendencies: "If you have preserved empathy and can be present with other people, that’s good raw material in therapy," Dr. Durvasula says. "Once the co-narcissist becomes aware that this is their pattern [through therapy], they are much more likely to be able to say, 'Ah, I'm doing this again," and change their behaviour."

However, you may feel at first like you need to adapt to your therapist, as you would with your narcissistic parent. You might, for instance, always need to ask how the therapist is doing or ask what they think about a certain situation rather than trusting your gut and talking about your own perceptions. Dr. Rappoport says it's the therapist's job to not accept that dynamic and, instead, focus your sessions on exploring and valuing your own experience.

How do you know that you're making progress in changing those deep-seated behaviours? "It's a subtle thing," Dr. Rappoport says. "You're really looking for the [co-narcissistic person] to become more spontaneous and authentic" as they feel more and more like their experience is real and appreciated. And although you may not notice those changes in yourself right away, he explains, your therapist should start to see them even after your first session.

That's why you shouldn't hesitate to seek out the help of a therapist if you think you may have some co-narcissist tendencies. Co-narcissism isn't a disorder in itself, but working on it can help alleviate the symptoms of disorders related to that dynamic in your life — and it can just make your life easier to live.

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President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, saying it was necessary to restore "public trust and confidence" in the nation's top law enforcement agency following several tumultuous months.

"The FBI is one of our nation's most cherished and respected institutions, and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement," Trump said in a statement. The White House said the search for a new FBI director was beginning immediately.

The White House made the stunning announcement shortly after the FBI corrected a sentence in Comey's sworn testimony on Capitol Hill last week. Comey told lawmakers that Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, had sent "hundreds and thousands" of emails to her husband's laptop, including some with classified information.

On Tuesday, the FBI said in a two-page letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that only "a small number" of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices. Most of the email chains on the laptop containing classified information were not the result of forwarding, the FBI said.

Comey, 56, was nominated by President Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term. Praised for his independence and integrity, Comey has spent three decades in law enforcement and has been no stranger to controversy.

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For years, the struggle to get an authorised Tupac Shakur biopic to the big screen has been riddled with controversy, including wars on music rights and a slew of other hurdles. And despite the trailer for All Eyez On Me — a biopic which will be released by Lionsgate in early June — there’s clearly more of the late icon’s story to tell.

According to Deadline, Steve McQueen is now set to direct the latest project, a full-length documentary about one of the most critically acclaimed rappers of all time.

In a statement, McQueen said, “I am extremely moved and excited to be exploring the life and times of this legendary artist. I attended NYU film school in 1993 and can remember the unfolding hip-hop world and mine overlapping with Tupac’s through a mutual friend in a small way. Few, if any shined brighter than Tupac Shakur. I look forward to working closely with his family to tell the unvarnished story of this talented man.”

The 12 Years A Slave director will team up with Nigel Sinclair ’s White Horse Pictures and Jayson Jackson to produce the fully authorised project. Recently Sinclair has produced several musical films, including the recent Beatles documentary, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week–The Touring Years, while Jackson is known for his work on Whatever Happened, Miss Simone?, a Netflix-released documentary about the life of Nina Simone.

The deal was brokered between Tupac’s estate and Amaru Entertainment, the company created by the rapper/actor/poet’s late mother, Afeni Shakur. Her only sister, Tupac’s aunt, Gloria Cox, will executive produce.

Any biopic or documentary with a greenlight from the family and estate sounds promising. Deadline also reports that the McQueen-directed doc also has the support of Interscope records and Universal Music Publishing Group. Meaning we can already expect to hear a lot of music and intimate samples throughout the film.

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The news that FBI Director James Comey has been fired by the White House raises myriad questions and concerns.

"The FBI is one of our nation's most cherished and respected institutions, and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement," Trump said, adding that the search for Comey’s replacement will begin immediately.

The White House cited Comey’s mishandling of Hillary Clinton’s email investigation as the reason for his termination, but people aren’t quite buying it. Until today’s shocking events, Comey was the leader of an investigation into whether Trump’s advisers colluded with Russia to swing the presidential election in the Republican candidate’s favour.

Whenever anything major happens in politics or any other sphere, people flock to Twitter to share their reactions. Humour has become a coping mechanism over the past several months so there’s no shortage of jabs — but the overarching sentiment is that an independent investigation is needed immediately.

EXT. JAMES COMEY'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Comey opens a box on his stoop containing whiskey and a card.

It reads, "Suck it, you asshat. - xoxo HRC"

— Lily Herman (@lkherman) May 9, 2017

And as Comey was being fired, he whispered a defeated "But... her emails..." as a last attempt to prove his worth.

— Anne T. Donahue (@annetdonahue) May 9, 2017

Trump Nominates Mar-A-Lago Chocolate Cake Slice to Replace Comey as FBI Director

— kara vallow (@teenagesleuth) May 9, 2017

You know what Trump did by firing Comey? He confessed by taking that action.

— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) May 9, 2017

Firing FBI Director Comey to stop the #TrumpRussiaInvestigation is more Nixonian than anything Nixon did during #Watergate pic.twitter.com/TrtFKSOYQj

— Jonathan Riley (@JonRiley7) May 10, 2017

#RussiaGate is looking more and more like #Watergate pic.twitter.com/VOiUxaThut

— AWW (@Mom2cjandaj) May 10, 2017

FUN FACT: President Nixon never fired the Director of the FBI #FBIDirector #notNixonian pic.twitter.com/PatArKOZlk

— RichardNixonLibrary (@NixonLibrary) May 9, 2017

An incredibly ominous sign, no matter your view of Comey. He investigated + was removed by Sessions, who is implicated in interference case. https://t.co/zNgMqkCnus

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) May 9, 2017

FBI Director James Comey was just fired. How is that not Treason to fire the head of the investigation into your illegal actions.

— George M Johnson (@IamGMJohnson) May 9, 2017

People who were fired while investigating Trump:

Sally Yates

Preet Bharara

James Comey

An independent committee is essential #Watergate

— Victor Stoddard (@VicStoddard) May 9, 2017

If Bill Clinton got an independent investigation over a blowjob, Donald Trump deserves one for screwing the entire country.#Comey

— Greg Hogben (@MyDaughtersArmy) May 10, 2017

@JohnCornyn Senator, I'm a Texan, I'm a Republican. Step up and do the right thing here, not make petty jabs. Independent investigation now.

— Christopher Vega (@TheVega) May 10, 2017

We need an independent investigation. We also need an a GOP that isn't complicit in the president's crimes. We need lots of things.

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) May 9, 2017

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Described as the deadliest civil conflict of the 21st century so far, the war in Syria has left more than 470,000 dead and caused 11 million people to flee the country. Two Syrian women talk to Refinery29 about becoming accustomed to the everyday reality of war, hunger and death during the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.

Judy Aras, 23, lives in Homs, Syria, with her mother and four sisters

"I live in a besieged neighbourhood in the city of Homs. It's a sad life. It's not easy. We are bombarded every day. We do not have food or drink.

Our neighbourhood fell under the control of the fighters four years ago. When the residents refused to leave, the Assad regime besieged the area and prevented the locals from receiving food, drink and medicines. They began to shell the area and destroy it completely.

We have experienced a lot of suffering. We are constantly bombarded by planes and high-explosive rockets. We're hungry. We can't buy food because it's scarce; when you can buy it, it's very expensive. There are no vegetables or meat; we always eat rice. We miss having a normal life. There is no market or stadium. There are no hospitals here to care for the wounded, and you cannot go out for a walk or play sports because of the constant bombardment. I wish I could see a street or a building free from bombing, or a family unaffected by death.

My life revolves around my work and my family. I work as a television reporter, writer and photographer. I work with a group of friends and we report on the suffering of civilians. I do this every day because there is no holiday in Syria – the suffering never stops. Even if there's heavy shelling, I'm there reporting. I used to work in humanitarian aid for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent until I was arrested by the authorities in 2012. The experience of my arrest was very painful. I was beaten and insulted. I was released on the condition that I work with the regime, but I fled to the Damascus countryside with my family and I was able to go back and resume my work.

What saddens me is that I couldn't complete my education. I dreamt of studying at university but the institutes and schools have closed because of the shelling and destruction.

I lost my only brother four years ago. He died after being hit by a tank shell. I loved him very much. He was the source of my inspiration and strength. I don't know where my father is. He disappeared more than a year ago. He had been abroad since the beginning of the revolution, but he returned to Syria two years ago and settled in the city of Aleppo. From that day, I do not know where he is.

A lot of my friends are dead like my brother. I always cry and think back to all the times we spent together. Some of my friends have moved on but I talk with them online. I miss them all the time.

I cannot say that life in Syria is normal, but I try to live a normal life as possible. When I finish work I go home and try to have fun with my mother, my sisters and friends. I cook, play cards, read books and study political science. I make coffee, talk to my mother every morning and listen to music, and that makes me happy despite all the hard times I've been through.

I decided to stay in Homs because I grew up in this city and love it very much. However, we found out today that we cannot stay in the neighbourhood any longer. The regime wants to move us to another area of Syria. In two weeks, we will leave for the countryside, north of Aleppo. Many people have left Syria, but I hoped that I would live and die in it. I cannot expect anything from the future. I'm entering the unknown. But I will try to make my dreams come true."

Wa'ad al Kateab*, 26, lived in Aleppo with her husband and daughter until four months ago. They fled to Gaziantep in Turkey but are considering returning to Syria.

"Life was never normal in Syria. It was controlled by the government. Before the war, I always dreamt of studying media and becoming a journalist but my parents told me that that you can't be a journalist here, you'll be a pen with the government's hand.

I was in the final year of studying marketing at university when the revolution started. I couldn't graduate because we were in the midst of protesting. We thought the revolution would be over within four months. I started to film the atrocities in Syria and ended up working for different TV stations including Channel 4. I've covered everything from Isis' entry into Syria in 2013 to Russian forces coming in and destroying the opposition areas.

Journalists have had to go into hiding. I swapped my camera for a mobile phone as I couldn't hold a camera in the street as I feared being arrested. Did I ever just want to leave? Yes, I've been scared that I could lose my life, but you have to think about what you are doing for your country. I knew I had to stay and cover it even if it was dangerous. I needed to show the world what was happening in Syria.

Staying alive during my final six months of Aleppo was really difficult. We had no water, no food. There was no milk for babies. No medication. The regime was taking control of more areas and wanted to take Aleppo and kill all the people inside it. There was heavy shelling. The last hospital was directly attacked in the morning and the evening.

I wanted to stay in Aleppo but we couldn't, it became even more dangerous. My daughter had turned one and I was pregnant with my second child. We fled. We're now in Gaziantep in Turkey. We feel lost. We're trying to work out what to do. We want to return to the western side of Aleppo but the situation is too bad. There's attacks and a lot of Islamic militants. Another choice is to stay in Turkey, but I don't prefer that. We're waiting for our child to be born and then we will decide. In the meantime, I'm working on a documentary about the last days of Aleppo, and have recently visited London for media training with Channel 4. But ultimately, I do hope to return to Syria."

*Wa'ad's real name has been changed to protect her identity

You can find out more about Judy's workhere ,here &here.
You can find out more about Wa'ad's workhere.

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There are some mornings when your snooze button has been hit more than once, and you find you have 10 minutes to tear yourself out of bed and head off into the world. On those mornings, style experimentation isn't always the first thing on your mind. However, we'd argue that compromising positions (juggling your coffee and tying your shoelaces while refreshing CityMapper to see when your bus leaves) can often lead to surprising results.

The next time you're late for an important work meeting or behind schedule for breakfast plans with pals, take a look through your Instagram feed to see how the most stylish women wear their locks. From slicked-back with statement earrings stealing the focus, to no-fuss low-slung buns, we've chosen our favourite hairstyles that take around three minutes to recreate.

Bandanas and beanies to hide unwashed roots? Yes please. Tousled fringes that don't need a blow dry? That's right. No matter your length or texture, you'll find something ahead to make those time-deficient mornings that little bit easier. Now go catch that bus.

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No matter where in fashion history you look, white is a constant. Marilyn Monroe’s iconic white dress in 1955’s The Seven Year Itch paved the way for the seductive glamour of that era, while Studio 54 queen Bianca Jagger wore the colour at every turn, breathing new life into tailoring with her white YSL suit. The draped dress Princess Leia wore to fight battles of the galaxy? All white. And what did the Spice Girls wear to the 1998 Hollywood premiere of Spiceworld? Matching white suits, of course.

While there’s no doubting the impact of head-to-toe white – whether you’re emulating '70s bohemia, the disco dance floor, or '90s athleisure – there’s something so perfect about it for spring. Designers certainly agree; the catwalks of SS17 were awash with white, from Hermès’ belted palazzo pants to Burberry’s deconstructed shirts. There was ultra-feminine white tulle at Dior, while Lanvin showcased new-age trenches with sheer white sleeves. Loewe played with white mesh and Max Mara models strutted in icy '80s power suits.

Now our Instagram feeds are white hot, with fashion’s most switched-on seen in the (achromatic) colour of this spring. Click through to see our roundup of the best white get-ups.

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"When I was 20, I needed to see a gynaecologist," Michelle tells me. "I ended up going to five, three of whom told me that all of my symptoms were due to my weight."

"It was summer, and because it was hot, they said being fat was making the problem worse. Having been overweight for a while, I was insistent that it was not. Finally, the fifth doctor discovered what the actual issue was."

Now a qualified NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) coach with her own company, Mindset for Life, through which she promotes body positivity and confidence in her clients, Michelle says that when you’re overweight, "often when you walk into a doctor’s office they won't look beyond your fat" – and she's not the only one who feels this way.

Body positive Instagrammer Cheyenne, also known as the Goofy Ginger, has been subject to this kind of scrutiny on numerous occasions. "Initially the visit seems normal. They’ll take my vitals, blood pressure, and weight," she details. "But instead of asking me why I'm coming in, they will ask, 'So, are you here to get treatment for diabetes?' 'Are you here to ask about gastric?' 'Have you checked your BMI recently?'"

"I dread stepping on the scale, not because I can’t handle it, but because I know they'll look at me like I'm a disgrace. Immediately I feel ashamed, and I regret even going in."

Individual experiences of routine medical care can differ vastly, it seems, depending whether you’re in your accepted weight range or whether you have a BMI of 25 or above, and are officially an "overweight" person. Many say that things worsen when you hit a BMI of 30 – or become by NHS guidelines, "obese".

In 2010, research from Yale found that almost 70% of overweight and obese women delayed seeking healthcare because of their weight, and 83% said their size was a barrier to getting the treatment they needed. Many felt "disrespected" by their doctors and embarrassed by the frequent unsolicited advice they received about losing weight.

Similarly, a 2012 study highlighted that professionals, including doctors, nurses, dieticians and nutritionists, demonstrated significant levels of "fat phobia", with only 1.4% of participants showing "positive or neutral attitudes" towards those with a high body mass index. Other surveys conducted with medical students have revealed that obese patients are often perceived as "lazy" and "non-compliant with treatment".

Notably, women say that they experience far higher levels of weight bias than men, even when they’re carrying fewer excess pounds, and it’s this bias that has the potential to be dangerous – either because they become so self-conscious that they stop seeking medical help altogether or, as Michelle recalls, the symptoms they do report are overlooked because of their size.

Body positivity doesn’t just address weight, or those who are overweight, but it is a term often used in part to celebrate bodies that don’t fit conventional size norms. "It’s not okay to make assumptions about people by their appearance, gender, or any other superficial aspect. Body positivity for me is celebrating my own body and respecting others," Cheyenne explains.

But while the hashtag may boast almost 2,500,000 posts on Instagram, that doesn’t mean that medical professionals will recognise it, or indeed, advocate everything that it represents.

Health expert and NHS weight-loss consultant Dr. Sally Norton, who founded healthy living site VavistaLife, says she’s noticed a rise in body positive patients in recent years.

"Don't forget it is now 'normal' to be overweight or obese – well over 50% of the population are," she says. "That means it is becoming more and more accepted and people are, quite rightly, fighting back against stigma or 'body-shaming'. I completely support this – but at the same time, we shouldn't be accepting 'fat' as the new normal."

Although she agrees that overweight patients certainly shouldn't face shame or discrimination, Sally generally wouldn't hesitate to mention a patient's weight to them – even if it wasn't related to the problem for which they'd booked an appointment.

"Denial doesn't help. Most of my patients may be upset to talk bluntly about their problems to start with but soon realise we are there to help, that we know they have been struggling for years, and they are glad to have that opportunity."

London-based GP Toni Hazell, on the other hand, won’t mention weight if it’s not related to the issue: "I don't have the time and it isn't appreciated and leads to complaints," she admits. "If I do bring it up, I'm quite sensitive in the way that I phrase it. I say things like 'losing weight is really difficult – if it wasn't, there wouldn't be a multimillion dollar slimming industry – you're not the only one'."

However, both doctors conclude that it’s unlikely you can be obese and healthy long-term.

"If you're overweight, it's better to be healthy with it," Sally says. "But there is no real truth in the belief that you can be fit and fat. Some studies have shown that distribution of fat is important but we are increasingly seeing that obesity is linked to many other issues like cancer and joint problems, so being overweight is highly likely to catch up with you."

"Overweight and healthy, probably," Toni ponders. "There is good evidence that lack of physical activity is a risk factor for cancer and it may well be that being overweight and active is better than being slim and unfit. But obese or morbidly obese, I don't think so."

An alternative message is presented by the organisation Health at Every Size, a group which "gives up on" the idea that there is an attainable "ideal weight or size", instead stating that "people in good health come in all shapes and sizes", and encouraging the adoption of healthy behaviours by people of all weights.

Linda Bacon, author of the book of the same name, points to various research from the last three decades which shows that bigger patients are less likely to obtain preventative health services like cancer screenings and pelvic exams, are more likely to cancel or delay appointments, and typically have physicians more likely to spend less time with them, leading to higher incidences of misdiagnosis and mistreatment.

She shares the story of her father, who was by her definition "fat", and had the same knee condition as she now does at a lower weight. She has been offered physical therapy, strengthening exercises and surgery. He was simply recommended diets, "over and over again".

"Carrying more weight may have aggravated my dad's joint problems; no doubt there are ways it's hard to be in a fatter body, although there are also ways it confers health advantage," she says. "But trying to lose that weight is no kind of solution. I can assure you, my father – almost all heavier people – they've tried already." (The HAES manifesto cites several further studies that show that dieting is a "strong predictor" of future weight gain.)

I’m reminded of Gemma, another blogger I spoke to, who has polycystic ovaries, and is constantly told that she must lose weight to manage the condition. While she acknowledges that this is recommended and can be helpful for people with PCOS, she says she has never been offered information outside of this one treatment option.

"I’ve given up going back because they always say the same thing," she discloses. "I am confident but after going to the doctor I just feel deflated, like there’s no one supporting me or willing to listen outside their 15-minute slot."

According to Linda, it’s an "unfortunate truth that larger people are likely going to need to set their own boundaries and advocate for themselves to get good treatment."

"My advice in training healthcare professionals in respectful care with larger people is to start by considering how they would treat someone in a thinner body," she suggests. "Appropriate exercise? Meds? Surgery? Then do what you can to support your patients in implementing your advice and handling the challenges posed by their particular body."

And as things stand now, is it possible for self-proclaimed body positive women to visit a doctor without experiencing any negativity – perceived or otherwise – towards their bodies?

"I've only ever met one body positive doctor – my cardiologist," says Cheyenne. "He has always listened to every symptom and struggle before making his assessment. He makes me feel heard, and it’s obvious he genuinely cares about the wellbeing of his patients."

"Everyone deserves the respect and understanding I've found in my doctor, and I hope by spreading body positivity we can make that happen."

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Lately, there’s been a surge in live-action adaptations of classic fairy tales and folkloric kids’ stories, from the recent Beauty and the Beast and Snow White and the Huntsman to the 22 films planned to come out of Disney’s studios over the next few years. The stories we’re used to are fluffy, comforting, and obviously PG – once upon a time, good vs. bad, happily ever after – and yet the original fairy tales’ beginnings were much darker. Of course, there’s a reason we don’t show these versions to children, but there’s no doubt the roots of these folk stories have embedded themselves into our cultural landscape.

One such adaptation that has departed from idyllic reimaginings is the excellent A Monster Calls, starring Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones and Sigourney Weaver. It’s a postmodern fairy tale following Connor, a young boy processing his mother’s illness through a fantasy world in which he befriends one of Tolkien's Ent-like monsters. The monster, a 21st-century reimagining of The Green Man, a pagan figure that symbolises the move from spring to summer and life to death, tells Connor three stories in a patchwork of riddles which he must decipher before he can finally let go of his mother. It’s a highly emotional, no-frills portrayal of grief and loss, but it still maintains the mystical and magical element of storytelling.

From single, older women being cast as the archetypal ‘witch’ or ‘spinster’, to anti-semitic portrayals of ‘money-swindling’ men, we’re perhaps not fully aware of the impact of fairy tales on our cultural landscape. I spoke to Dr. Miles Leeson, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Chichester University, about the classic tropes that have formed the way in which society views women and ‘the other’.

Attributing an author to classic fairy tales has proved difficult as they’ve mostly been told through word of mouth. What do we know about the origins of them?
Fairy tales have a long and complicated history of development; at once part of, but separate from, folklore and myth. In the same way we look at someone’s DNA to trace their family lineage, we look at tropes in these stories to trace their history. We originally thought fairy tales to be mid-European, but new research suggests that they’re not just pre-Christian, but pre-Western European. They go back nearly 4,000 years to the Persian empire, where Arabian Nights and Aladdin came from. Beauty and the Beast is certainly that old.

Have fairy tales always been bedtime stories for children?
They were used to tell each other stories, not just to entertain, but to educate and inform about the dangers that were out there. One of my favourite authors, Vladimir Nabokov, wrote that stories didn’t start when the little boy came back into the village shouting “There’s a wolf!” but when villagers realised there wasn’t a wolf behind him. It’s the very beginning of fiction. Fairy tales have a huge part to play in people’s fears of something that wants to hurt or destroy us, or our family lives. They were primarily there for teaching purposes and much later, in 16th-century Italy, they became passed around in salons for entertainment for the upper classes. That moved through 18th-century France, then to Germany with the Brothers Grimm, and ultimately into the nursery.

There’s a myth that the Grimms traipsed around the German empire and listened in at the fireside to old women telling stories to their grandchildren, but that’s not quite what happened. Most people came to them and paid to hear their stories. The stories they told are really violent and erotically charged. They brought out about six or seven different editions, and each edition toned down the sex and violence so that by the end you get the stories we know now. In Rapunzel for example, the old woman realises the prince has visited her not because he’s climbed up the castle, but because she’s pregnant. Cinderella’s ugly sisters had their eyes pecked out at the end of the tales. It’s not unusual, though, as we see these themes in Shakespeare and Chaucer, too.

How did fairy tales portray ‘outsiders’ – the old, the working classes, people of colour, women – in a negative light?
Many cultures throughout the Western tradition have used cliched 'types' to ostracise those who are deemed 'unnatural' (witches most often – how damaging that has been in 17th-century Europe and beyond), 'disfigured' in some way, or as a religious stereotype of an unwanted race (almost always Jews). The persecution of Jews, gypsies, old unmarried women, the disabled, and so on have often been supported by the use of fairy tales. And in turn, fairy tales have been changed and formed by a variety of cultures to promote the degradation of certain types of people.

Outsiders, people that didn’t fit in, always had a disruptive part to play in the stories. If there’s a man and a woman who are ‘bound to fall in love’, then those who are marginalised are the ones to disrupt that – wicked stepmothers, Rumpelstiltskin, the wolf in the woods. Anybody outside of the white, upper-class, European male is either demure – like the girl he should marry, or the poor-girl-done-good like Cinderella – or plays a supporting role for comedic value, like the ugly stepsisters, for example.

People of colour are often portrayed as dangerous and connected with money, often associated with dishonest dealings. We see this in the way Rumpelstiltskin is portrayed by the Brothers Grimm: he becomes tied into this mythic Jewish figure which gets horribly used by the Nazis in Germany in the 1940s. People see fairy tales as throwaway children's stories, but they’re absolutely essential to how we understand Western culture. They tie into cultural and class concerns and into our emotional attachments to family and the places we come from. They help us to see how Europe has developed over time.

In A Monster Calls, fairy tales are used to help a young boy move through his mother’s illness and ultimately, to let go and process grief. Can you tell me a bit more about the allegories in the film?
The use of fantasy, folklore, and fairy tales within A Monster Calls is not as straightforward as it may initially seem. Patrick Ness, the author and screenwriter, appropriates various mythic tropes and subtly updates and transforms them, providing a narrative drive for the film but also enabling character development. Each relationship is positively altered by the recognition of the needs of others. This is achieved not only through suffering, but by the recognition that suffering is universal, and must be worked through via human engagement.

The Monster is a version of The Green Man, and his relationship with Connor is arguably the most important of the film as, without the Monster, Connor would be unable to transition to a place of relative stability and acceptance. The three tales the Monster tells Connor are bricolaged fairy tales (a postmodern technique of taking classic fairy tales from the European and near-Eastern tradition and putting elements of them together in a patchwork). The specific character types of prince, king, witch, poor girl, stepmother and so on are reworked by Ness to enable Connor to work through his fears of loss and acceptance. The film shows that in every human there is both darkness and light, hero and villain: life is both messy and contingent, illnesses are unfair and can and do afflict the innocent. Connor comes not only to accept his mother’s death, and his working through of his nightmare, but also the qualities of both his departed father, and his distant grandmother. Fairy tales then provide not only solace and comfort, but a means to accept the present and move forward to an uncertain future.

I guess that’s why they were turned into children’s stories. They’re very good at making you realise that the problems and questions people face are universal – someone has felt the same way as you, albeit 3,000 years ago...
Exactly. The best thing about fairy tales is that they make you realise you’re not alone and that people have gone through this before, and they’ve survived and come out the other side.

A Monster Calls is available on digital download now and Blu-ray and DVD now.

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Theresa May appeared on the BBC's The One Show last night (of all places), alongside her husband Philip, and their interview was quite something.

The pair clearly considered their slot on the tea-time show as an opportunity to "connect" with those pesky hard-to-reach voters, saying just enough about their relationship to pique our interest, but not quite enough to reveal anything of substance. Here are the most interesting things we learned from the prime minister's first foray into light entertainment.

She believes in "boy jobs and girl jobs"

Yeah, this didn't go down too well on social media. When asked how the couple divided up chores around the home, her husband, a financial executive, said: “Well it’s a good question. There’s give and take in every marriage. I get to decide when to take the bins out, not if I take the bins out.” The PM chimed in: "There's boy jobs and girl jobs you see." To which Philip replied: “I definitely do the taking the bins out, I do the traditional boy jobs by and large.”

Aside from the infantilising language, the nod to traditional gender roles smacked of something from a 1960s chat show. Twitter users were incensed, with Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale saying the comment made her despair.

Seconds in to The One Show, the Prime Minister tells the country there are "boy jobs and girl jobs" at home - i despair 🤦🏻‍♀️

— Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) May 9, 2017

Boy jobs and girl jobs. #everydaysexism from the top. Good thing we've got a female prime minister to tackle this. Oh, wait a minute ...

— Sasha Scambler (@SashaScambler) May 10, 2017

The couple don't do everything by the gender-stereotypical playbook, however, with Philip saying, "If you're the kind of man who expects his tea to be on the table at six o'clock every evening, you could be a little bit disappointed" in the relationship.

It was love at first sight

The pair were introduced at a student disco while at Oxford University by mutual friend Benazir Bhutto, the future prime minister of Pakistan (failing to clarify that it was held by the university's Conservative society). "I thought 'What a lovely girl' – it was love at first sight," said Philip. "Likewise," the prime minister added. How romantic.

They were once the subject of fake news

May revealed that the couple, who don't have children, were once the victims of false reporting. When she was first selected to stand as a Conservative MP, a local newspaper claimed it might be difficult for her to stand because the couple had a new baby. Her mother-in-law apparently rang them hoping there was happy news. "So she was disappointed," May admitted.

She’s wanted the top job for ages

May said that while she had wanted to be an MP since she was a child, it wasn't her lifelong dream to be prime minister. But Philip revealed his wife had in fact been harbouring prime ministerial ambitions for a pretty long time, since she joined the shadow cabinet in 1999. We bet he got a bollocking for letting that one slip.

Her shoes inspired one MP into politics

May is well known for her love of fashion and leopard-print shoes (thanks, Daily Mail) and, according to her, they've been more influential than we might have assumed. When asked the oft-repeated question of whether her love of fashion is a help or hindrance, she recalled meeting a young woman in the House of Commons lift. After admiring each other's shoes, the woman apparently admitted it was May's interest in shoes that got her into politics.

The UK isn’t leaving Eurovision

Perhaps the most important revelation of the interview – we're not leaving the Eurovision song contest because of Brexit. Hurrah! When asked the all-important question of whether we'd be leaving, she replied: "No. Although I'm tempted to say in the current circumstances I'm not sure how many votes we will get." We wonder if she'll be tuning in on Saturday.

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The wedding of Pippa Middleton and hedge fund manager James Matthews is just over a week away, and the world can't get enough of the finer details.

Admittedly, much of the speculation has centred around one particular guest: Prince Harry's girlfriend Meghan Markle, who, we recently learned, will be attending both the ceremony and post-wedding party after all, in an exception to Middleton's "no ring, no bring" rule. And now, the nosiest among us can scrutinise not only the guest list but the cost of the entire wedding.

Experts from the wedding planning app Bridebook have broken down the estimated cost of the nuptials and we hope you're within close proximity of a comfy surface, because you're about to need a lie-down.

Bridebook says the event will cost almost 15 times the average at an eye-watering £246,949 ($320,113, €292,699). Apparently, there will be 4,333 other weddings happening in the UK on the same day, but we doubt any will be as pricey as this one. This is what the couple's money is thought to be going towards.

The dress – £10,000

Giles Deacon is rumoured to have designed the all-important dress; a previous creation of his for Abbey Clancy's wedding cost £10,000.

The veil – £2,000

Celebrity milliner Stephen Jones is rumoured to have designed Middleton's bespoke veil, which explains the price.

Hair and makeup – £1,700

The team behind Middleton's bridal look is expected to be Hannah Martin of Bobbi Brown and Richard Ward, who also did Kate Middleton's wedding makeup and hair.

Wedding rings – £19,900

The couple's wedding rings are expected to be from Cartier, with Middleton's diamond-encrusted ring predicted to cost £15,500 and a platinum band for Matthews totalling £1,440. Let's hope rumoured best man Spencer Matthews (yep, that one, of Made In Chelsea fame), James' brother, doesn't lose them.

Venue/marquee – £65,000

The wedding may be taking place at the Middleton family home, but with 350 guests thought to be attending and the unreliability of the British weather, a super-sized luxury marquee will likely be needed, along with a wet-weather solution for the drinks reception, Bridebook predicts.

Catering – £70,000

Luxury wedding caterers The Admirable Crichton are expected to serve up the wedding meal and will charge around £200 per head.

Drinks – £17,720

Bridebook reckons around 233 bottles of champagne will be guzzled during the drinks reception and speeches, which will cost £9,320. Add to that the wine for the wedding breakfast and open-bar cocktails during the evening.

Flowers – £16,000

Luxury florists Lavender Green will be providing the flowers for the marquee, for inside the church, and the bouquet itself.

Cake – £2,600

The cake-maker is rumoured to be either the London-based Domino Purchas or the local Berkshire-based baker Rosalind Miller, who both charge roughly this amount for their six-tier creations.

Bridesmaids' outfits – £2,250

Bridebook reached this figure based on the fact that the average cost of a designer bridesmaid's dress is £750 and the average number of bridesmaids a bride in the UK has is three.

Flower girls' and page boys' outfits – £1,698​

Prince George and Princess Charlotte are expected to be among the flower girls and page boys and Nicki Macfarlane, who provided the flower girl outfits for the royal wedding, is expected to be on hand, charging around £226 for a page boy outfit and £340 for a flower girl dress.

Groomswear – £6,050

Matthews will likely don a bespoke suit from Savile Row, where a tailcoat alone costs roughly £4,400.

Other expected costs will include photography (£3,500), videography (£4,000), stationery (£5,125), music (£6,750), church fees (£456), decoration and production (£6,000), entertainers (£1,500), wedding favours (£700), and "luxury facilities", aka toilets (£4,000). Is your head spinning, too?

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