Stylist December 1, 2021

“Joy at your fingertips” Last week I caught a colleague grimacing at the sight of my broken, flaky fingernails and ragged cuticles. “Been decorating…? No, gardening?” she asked innocently. “No, these are just my nails,” I shrugged, swiftly moving my hands out of her line of vision. The truth is, in my busyness and my need to quite literally get my hands dirty several times a day, my nails are overlooked. A functional trim, an occasional rounding off with a nail file, the odd splash of black nail varnish – often applied en route to a night out – is about as much love as I’ve managed to give my fingernails. When I do find the time to have a manicure I notice a whole body and mind shift – exaggeratedly…

A ONE-DAY DIARY FROM FLAT WHITE TO LIGHTS OUT Mireille Harper, Commissioning Editor at Square Peg Mireille, 26, is  a   commissioning editor at the   publisher Square Peg. She lives in south London My alarm goes off… At 8am. When I’m working from home (which I do for half the week), I’ll push it to 9am, but on commuting days, I give myself a bit more time. Once I’ve woken up, I’ll quickly have a shower, get dressed and ease myself into the morning by picking up a coffee on my way to the station – it takes me a good two hours to become a functioning human without it. Square Peg is part of Penguin, and our office is in Vauxhall, so I take two trains to get there.…

wild, wild country A heavenly hideaway in the Peak District Nature and wellness collide in the best possible way at this spectacular Derbyshire hotel, finds Molly Saunders Waking up from my first night in the Bluebell Hive at Derbyshire’s Callow Hall, the smell of fresh air and freshly rained-on ground gave me a sudden pang of nostalgia for childhood camping trips. Only that’s where the symmetry ended. No soggy tents here. Instead, I was high up in the trees in one of Callow Hall’s 11 one-bedroomed ‘Hives’; a little pocket of cosy luxury that sits nestled in the estate’s ancient woodland. Wildhive, as the complex of Hall and Hives is known, is new to the staycation scene following a £7m renovation, and with its formula of luxury and wellness rooted…

“is ‘anti-type’ dating the way forward?” words: billie bhatia I know ‘unprecedented’ has been overused this year, but let me reprise it for this week only. Because the recent conscious coupling of Kim Kardashian and Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson is truly unprecedented. In the year of unexpected couples (see Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck part two, Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum, Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker), this one really tops the WTF charts, and I am here for it. The doubters will say there are a multitude of reasons why this relationship has come about. And since I hold no place in the Kardashian inner circle, I can’t refute or confirm them. After all, this relationship has all the hallmarks of a Kris Jenner headline-grabbing mastermind and it smells…

STYLIST ADVERTORIAL Join our new barre x strength workout series with the Strong Women Training Club We’re thrilled to announce the new Strong Women partnership with the UK’s leading barre workout group, Barrecore. Join us for a series of unique strength-infused barre workout classes hosted at Barrecore’s Chelsea and Mayfair studios, led by their head trainer, Emily King. Even better, we’re offering our members an amazing 20% off these studio classes. To book a session for £20 instead of £28, simply sign up to the Strong Women Training Club and check out our latest offers. Or if you’d rather work out from home, Emily will also be leading a series of live-streamed classes at the training club. Join her every Wednesday morning at 8am throughout October and…

forever friends The Greatest Love of All: How friendship replaced romance The pandemic brought into focus just how central friendship is to our lives. Here, Stylist’s Alix Walker explores its physical, emotional and historical significance Pop quiz: what is the single biggest indicator of life longevity? A passion for kale smoothies? Great genes? A personal trainer called Fabian who bangs on your door with a kettlebell at 5am? Guess again. It’s friends. Specifically, good friends. You don’t need a lot. A party guest list that runs into double figures won’t keep you healthy, but a handful of good friends – the ones who know your deepest secrets and your go-to lunch order – will help you live longer, stave off depression and anxiety, and are even your best chance at…