Australian Women’s Weekly NZ May 2021

It’s a simple six-letter word. It’s not glamorous or fashionable. It’s not shouty or bold. Yet simply thinking about it can create images of comfort and care alongside heart and home. It has been said that it is often the first and sometimes the last word to roll off our lips in life. It’s the word “mother” and more than 40,000 people in 102 countries voted it the most beautiful word in the English language. Freedom and liberty, peace and passion, renaissance and destiny are all right up there on the 70-strong list of favorites. Even twinkle and flip-flop get a look in, but none come anywhere close to toppling mother. There are many definitions for mother, but for me, it is best summed up by this… A mother is…

Ask anyone, I’m hopeless at reapplying lippy – it’s there in the morning, but come afternoon, I’m taking the nude lip to literal levels. But that was until Revlon ColourStay Satin Ink Lipstick, $30, which lasts for 16 hours. Life-changing! If you’re having a good hair day, you can take on the world! I got my first GHD hair stylers in 2005 and they’re still going strong. To mark 20 years of this revolutionary tool, a special edition has been released, $350. This cult product needs no introduction. It was a fave when I was pregnant and I never stopped using it. Now there is an all-natural version, made from wonderful oils like rosehip, chia seed and chamomile, which still has the efficacy of the original. $42.99.…

A portraiture project created by the Duchess of Cambridge to capture the trials and quiet triumphs of the COVID-19 pandemic has been turned into a book to raise money for much-needed mental health support. Through her Hold Still project, Kate invited people from all over the UK to submit portraits, saying, “I wanted to use the power of photography to create a lasting record of what we were all experiencing.” For MORE Featuring 100 curated images, Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020 ($49.99) is available to pre-order online now.…

Toni Collette The Aussie actress is making her directorial debut! Toni and The Crown’s Nick Payne will write a screen adaptation of the novel Writers & Lovers. Serena Williams After auctioning off personal memorabilia, Serena gave all proceeds to the Black Dog Institute’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre. Kiritapu Allan The Labour MP has bravely opened up about her battle with stage three cervical cancer, urging other women not to skip smear tests.…

In 1939, jazz singer Billie Holiday was handed a song that would change her life. Strange Fruit had been written two years earlier by Jewish poet Abel Meeropol and when Billie sang it to close her shows, the haunting lynching story of “black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze” shot her to fame – and put her firmly in the crosshairs of the FBI. This is the story told in new film The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, which is due to hit cinemas on April 22. According to civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, while it was drug possession that would see Billie (played in the film by Oscar-nominated actress Andra Day) jailed in 1947, it was fear of the effect of Strange Fruit that made the crime agency…

Michael Crawford The original and arguably the best, winning a Tony Award for his Broadway performance. Gerard Butler Despite having no experience with musicals, the Scottish actor impressed in the 2004 film. Anthony Warlow The homegrown baritone took the lead in the 1990 Australian version before reprising the role from 2007 to 2009.…