THE BAROMETER
From fizz and David Attenborough to Piers Morgan and M&S, Sarah Young brings you what’s hot and what’s not
Going up:
Festive fizz
Christmas is right around the corner and for many the big day just wouldn’t be complete without a glass of bubbly. That being said, a bottle of the real stuff tends to come at a hefty cost. Until now, that is.
This week, consumer watchdog Which? revealed that Co-op’s own-brand champagne was voted as the best bottle to buy this Christmas. The Co-op Les Pionniers NV champagne, which sells for £19, scored joint first place with Mumm Cordon Rouge, which can cost up to £35, in a blind taste test by five distinguished champagne experts.
Scoring 78 per cent in the tests, the bottle of fizz replaced last year’s winner from Waitrose as the best value deal for bubbly, with experts describing it as “elegant and well-balanced”.
If prosecco is more your thing, the good news is that Aldi recently launched a six-litre bottle of the stuff, which is the equivalent to eight regular-sized bottles.
David Attenborough
It’s been a great week for Sir David Attenborough, but not in the way you might expect. While the wildlife broadcaster has been revelling in the success of his latest TV series Dynasties, it’s his Christmas endeavours that have really got people talking.
That’s because, not only has Sir David’s face been featured on a festive jumper, but the naturalist is also making a bid for Christmas number one. The sweater, created by online retailer notjust, features a depiction of the broadcaster on the front, with a robin perched on his hand. Motifs of the planet Earth also adorn the knitwear, in recognition of his incredible work on programmes such as BBC’s Planet Earth and Blue Planet.
As for his bid to top the charts, Sir David has revealed that he will be releasing a double CD album of field recordings from earlier in his career. The first single from the album is titled La Llegada (The Arrival) and is a recording of indigenous musicians in Paraguay.
Kevin the Carrot
Earlier this month, budget supermarket Aldi kicked off the season of Christmas adverts with its festive campaign, featuring Kevin the Carrot for a third consecutive year.
The character has proven extremely popular ever since the supermarket first introduced him in 2016, so much so that fans of the walking-talking vegetable are clamouring to get their hands on Kevin the Carrot toys being sold by the supermarket this year.
People took to Twitter to describe scenes of “carnage” as eager shoppers queued outside stores from the early hours in the morning, while the sheer number of fans who tried their luck online caused the Aldi website to crash.
Last year, the Kevin and Katie plush toys were resold for £1,000 on eBay.
Anne Hegerty
Anne Hegerty has been flooded with praise for opening up about her autism diagnosis on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Best known for appearing as “The Governess” on The Chase, Hegerty has spoken candidly about her experience with Asperger syndrome – a condition that can affect a person’s social interactions, communication, interests and behaviour – on the ITV series.
As well as receiving support on social media, Hegerty has also been commended by the National Autistic Society, which said: “We’ve loved seeing the outpouring of support for Anne Hegerty. We hope this will be the start of better representation of autistic women in the media and help everyone understand the diversity of autism.”
An 11-year-old boy also reached out to the star with a now-viral letter in which he spoke about being diagnosed with autism at the age of five. “Some people are mean to me because I am autistic, but watching you makes me see that other people can have autism too and maybe I can have a cool job like you when I am older,” Joseph Hughes wrote.
Menstrual cups
In the wake of 2018’s plastic revolution, more and more women are considering the impact of using disposable sanitary products. Instead, switching to more environmentally-friendly alternatives such as menstrual cups.
The Women’s Environmental Network says every UK woman uses an average of over 11,000 disposable menstrual products in their reproductive lifetimes – and in total this results in more than 200,000 tonnes of waste a year. According to the organisation, pads can in some cases be made up of about 90 per cent plastic, which may end up in landfills or even in the sea.
Compare this with the Mooncup – you only need to buy one and it will last years. It’s made out of silicone, but is vastly better for the environment because it’s reusable.
In light of their popularity, fashion retailer Asos has made them even more widely available by selling the Mooncup for £22 on its website.
Going down:
Dolce & Gabbana
This week, Dolce & Gabbana cancelled its fashion show in China after a new campaign was accused of racism. A video, which was posted to the fashion house’s Instagram, showed a Chinese woman dressed in the brand’s clothes giggling as she attempted to eat pizza, cannoli and spaghetti with chopsticks.
The videos were meant to promote Dolce & Gabbana’s new campaign DG Loves China, but instead they were met with criticism and allegations of racism on social media.
As a result of the furore, the brand issued an apology and decided to cancel its “The Great Show” catwalk in Shanghai.
Dolce & Gabbana was also criticised by a number of celebrities, including the editor in chief of Vogue China, Angelica Cheung, who said: “As I have voiced time and time again publicly and privately, western brands seeking to enter and expand in China should be aware of Chinese cultural sensibilities. Instead of dictating everything from head office, they would gain a lot from listening to the opinions and insights of their Chinese teams.”
Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan was publicly called out by Ariana Grande and her mother on Twitter this week after he attempted to slut-shame British girl band Little Mix. The TV host accused the group of “using nudity to sell records”, after seeing a picture of them posing nude with insults such as “ugly” and “irrelevant” written on their bodies.
As a result of his comments, Grande and her mother tweeted the presenter to show their support of Little Mix. Grande herself wrote: “I look forward to the day you realise there are other ways to go about making yourself relevant than to criticise young, beautiful, successful women for everything they do. I think that’ll be a beautiful thing for you and your career or whatever’s left of it.”
The pop star then shared an image of Morgan that featured him sprawled naked in front of a fireplace, with just a piece of red fabric covering him. “When you do it it’s OK though, right?” she remarked.
Marks & Spencer
High street retailer Marks & Spencer came under fire for its Christmas window display, which sees women posing in “fancy little knickers” alongside men dressed in suits. The windows form part of a wider campaign that presents a series of festive “must-haves” but the contrast between the suggestions for both sexes has sparked outrage.
After spotting the windows, the organisers of FiLia, which is described as the largest annual feminist conference in the UK, wrote on Twitter: “To be clear: @marksandspencer believe that the ‘MUST HAVES’ are: For MEN: ‘outfits to impress’. For WOMEN: ‘fancy little knickers’. Imagine for a moment if those window displays were reversed. Go on M&S ... we are watching. PS Who signed this off? #sexist
#marksandspencer.”
The contraceptive pill
A new BBC Two documentary, titled The Contraceptive Pill: How Safe Is It?, has shed light on the severity of the pill’s side effects, revealing how it’s left some women suffering from depression and experiencing suicidal thoughts.
A survey conducted by the team behind the documentary found that one in four women taking the pill said it had negatively affected their mental health. Similarly, a study discussed in the programme revealed that women taking the pill – either the combined pill or the progestogen-only pill – were more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant than those not on hormonal contraception.
Skin bleaching
Instagram star Blac Chyna has faced criticism for promoting a skin-bleaching cream on social media. The 30-year-old partnered with Whitenicious by Dencia to create a $250 (£195) skin-brightening lotion that, according to the brand’s website, “gives a brightening glow for younger-looking skin” and “brightens and lightens without bleaching skin out”.
Chyna endorsed the cream in numerous social media posts, including one on Instagram that announced she would be launching the product with an upcoming appearance in Nigeria.
People were quick to call out the star for promoting European beauty standards, taking particular issue with her plans to plug the cream in Nigeria – where 77 per cent of women use skin lightening products on a regular basis.