Table of contents for Issue 823 in Grazia

AS VALENTINE’S DAY looms, we’ve been tackling the thorny issue of modern love in this issue of Grazia. First up, lust… On page 42 we reveal our first ever Libido List – a rundown of what’s turning us on right now, from suction toys to the new sex symbols. But if your focus right now is less sex and more self-love, there’s plenty that talks to that theme, too. Fearne Cotton opens up about how she’s learning to be kinder to herself (page 34) and we investigate the rise of cutting out toxic friends (page 46). Meanwhile, we’ve also got a 12-page interiors special, full of hero homeware and easy hacks to create a happy, calming space. Because isn’t that the ultimate act of self-care? @hattie_brett / feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk…

DEAREST TRACKSUITS, By the time you read this, I’ll be gone. Ah, I say that – what I mean is: it’s you that’ll be gone: laundered, folded and packed off to the charity shop, out of my drawers – and my life – forever. There comes a time in every woman’s pandemic, sweet tracksuits, when she must move on. Away from the fashion statement that carried her through the trickier times: those times when her life offered so little in the way of form, schedule or certainty, that a terry towelling two-piece with an elasticated waist and a drawstring on the hood was the only thing that made any sense. Life in limbo required a wardrobe in limbo, and that, sweet tracksuits, is what you are to me. Not quite…

. PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM/DUALIPA WELCOME BACK to (almost) real life. That means we’re back in the office, back on the school run, and back at back-to-back appointments (yes, the pub counts). Up-to-date iCals and copious patience aside, the only thing you need to keep up to speed right now is go-the-distance footwear. We’re talking trusty trainers, bring-it-on boots and hot heels (that are actually wearable). Get your curated edit right and you’re also able to tackle spring’s tricky transitional weather in style. Sure, Mondays might call for stomping in snow boots (and a bikini – if you’re Dua Lipa) but Fridays are made for sashaying in disco platforms. So, here are our new season shoes to try now. Dress code? Sorted. Weather? No problem. Up to date iCal? Over to you.…

PHOTOS: STEPHANIE SIAN SMITH, GETTY Struggling with the winter blues? You’re not alone. After a disrupted Christmas and another month of soaring bills, we’re feeling the hangover – with experts warning that the pandemic will impact our mental health for some time to come. So, what better moment to give up punishing ourselves, says broadcaster and author Fearne Cotton “HOW MANY TIMES do you click the ‘like’ button on social media per day? If you’re anything like me, it could be anywhere between 10 and 30, depending on how much time I spend doodling around on my smartphone. Just today I’ve already pressed that little red heart on a photo of a leopard-print jumpsuit my friend Sinead bought, a snap of my mate Jen’s homemade birthday cake and a post…

*NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED. STYLIST: JULIA HARVEY. HAIR AND MAKE-UP: VIORELA COMAN AT GARY REPRESENTSUSING WESTMAN ATELIER. JACKET, £280, RAILS AT FENWICK. TANK TOP, £145, VINCE. TROUSERS, £55, RI STUDIO PHOTOGRAPH BEN QUINTON TOWARDS THE END of the first lockdown summer, I found myself being friend-dumped by Mark* , a guy I’d known for 10 years, and I still remember the hot shock searing through me in the heatwave that day. I’d just left the worst relationship of my life in London and had moved back to Bath, where he was my only friend in the city. We’d been talking a lot because he’d had an abusive relationship with some similarity to the one I’d just left, and was propping me up, as I’d propped him up then: listening to…

Selfridges and Paco Rabanne are celebrating the work of Victor Vasarely, father of the Op Art movement. In store, find original artworks, exclusive products and archive Paco pieces available to rent. Universe Paco Rabanne & Fondation Vasarely at the Selfridges Corner Shop until March To celebrate its brand refresh – including a new logo – Boss unveils its #BeYourOwnBOSS campaign, starring an A-list cast including Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner. Varsity jacket, £525, Boss  Africa: The Fashion Continent by Emmanuelle Courrèges celebrates the diverse and exciting work and perspective of the creatives ‘redefining the continent’s aesthetic grammar’. £55; published by Flammarion on 10 February After a seven-year hiatus, label Clements Ribeiro is back with a collection of colourful cashmere knitwear that will bring some much-needed jolliness to February. From £560,…

1. Make rooms feel different ‘Giving each room its own character and mood creates a sense of space,’ says Beata. She does this by layering in a variety of colours, textures and objects, such as mismatched vintage tables and clashing fabrics and adding unusual touches such as feet to sofas. ‘A bit of everything in a space ensures that there are lots of different things to look at; this makes a room more interesting to be in,’ she adds. ‘Use materials that age well – in a small space everything is used quite a lot.’ 2. Add character with accessories ‘I keep the walls and floor neutral – a favourite shade of mine is Farrow & Ball’s Strong White, which I use on walls, ceilings and woodwork to unify the…

AT A HIGHLY PRESSURED inner-city hospital, junior doctor Adam Kay has been assigned to the obs and gynae ward, or ‘brats and twats’, as it is renamed by our wry anti-hero. Dr Adam is a partially closeted gay man, one eyebrow permanently raised, who lives with his beefy Irish partner but hasn’t got round to telling either his mum or colleagues yet. His work-life balance, partly told in the now obligatory Fleabag to-camera asides, is set permanently to ‘hectic chaos’. But – and here’s the clincher – he is played by Ben Whishaw. Therefore, he is Paddington-levels adorable. This Is Going To Hurt is a first-class BBC adaptation of Adam Kay’s humorously moving book of life at the coalface of the NHS crisis. Kay has written the TV scripts himself…

Have your say… Email us at feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk ■ Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GraziaUK SEEN AND HEARD Grazia View (7 Feb) made me sit up and take notice. Recently, Prime Minister’s Questions has been very stressful. It’s political chaos and I am struggling to keep up. There are many issues I feel strongly have been mishandled by the Government. You’ve made me see I can have a voice. I will most certainly be writing to my MP to raise awareness of the issues I feel the Government have got wrong and need to correct. MPs, after all, represent all their constituents, whether you voted for them or not. Thank you for the encouragement. Annabel SUPPORT OUR MIDWIVES My stomach churned as I read ‘The UK’s maternity service is…

1. New in ROSE MATAFEO This is your new-series-incoming klaxon for Starstruck (BBC Three). Matafeo’s genius stars, but special mention to Minnie Driver, as Matafeo’s accidental movie star boyfriend’s agent. 2. Up KALEB COOPER Whose glorious return in the new series of the show no one realised they needed like the desert needs the rain (Clarkson’s Farm, Amazon) has been foretold by new publicity shots. 3. Non-mover TOM FROM CELEBS GO DATING The double entendre is a dying art form; fortunately, we have this precious jewel, this shining star of the DE firmament, whose elegant turn of phrase is no less smutty for it. 4. New in NICÔLE LECKY The full cast for the TV adaptation of her stage show Mood (formerly, Superhoe) is announced. We are officially excited for…

A NEATLY MATCHED crew neck and cardigan, once the stuff of the Women’s Institute, is now instant cool (do it like Gen Z and wear with a mini-kilt and platforms. Cher Horowitz could never...). For those less into Y2K cosplay, wear your 2022 twinset with an ankle-grazing pleated skirt or denim with the right amount of slouch. But the twinset isn’t just limited to the cardi-and-crew combo. According to global shopping platform Lyst, searches for sweater vests are on the up, rising almost 40% in a month. There’s a reason for that: they are the perfect transitional piece, and ideal for layering. Come spring, wear with bare arms but, until then, try layering with a cardigan in a clashing colour. Or you might want to try a ‘bradigan’. This season,…

Getting dressed is emotional. We ask people worth listening to about their style inspiration, fashion fails, and who they really dress for. It’s fashion, with feelings. PHOTOS: GETTY Scan the QR code or listen via your usual podcasting apps on your iPhone or Android device…

IT'S A LIE THAT the best things come in small packages (have you seen Jason Momoa?), but there is something to be said for micro-dosing. And the good news is, you don’t even have to trawl the dark web in search of psychedelics to give it a try. Part of the appeal of Wordle – the viral word guessing game just snapped up by The New York Times for a seven-figure sum – has been that only one puzzle is made available per day. Super-fans wait until midnight for a new brainteaser to drop, and having everyone compete against each other in real time creates a sense of community that has been sorely lacking during the pandemic. The fact you can’t ‘complete’ the game by racing ahead is a pleasing…

“WE’RE TAKING OWNERSHIP OF OUR DESIRES” OUT THERE UNDERWEAR Time to retire those tired old briefs, kink is back. Sarah Shotton, creative director of Agent Provocateur (the spiritual home of raunch) says her woman is ‘looking for something a little out of the ordinary’. Selling well: the Inezza bumless body with marabou trim (£310), Hinda quarter cup bra (£125), and ouvert crotchless knickers (£85). ZADDIES Who wants a boy band hunk when you could have a zaddy? Thank you, Prada (where Kyle MacLachlan and Jeff Goldblum walked the runway). And I don’t know about you, but my body temperature is yet to return to normal since those pictures of actor Oscar Isaac surfaced last year. CONSCIOUSLY SINGLE Pandemic-era singledom has been tough, but it’s also been illuminating: haven’t we all…

PHOTOGRAPHS DANIEL FRASER FASHION MOLLY HAYLOR Model Lily-Jean Harveyat Viva London Hair LewisStandford Make-up CeliaEvans using Jones RoadBeauty Production andcasting Jessica Harrison Photographer’sassistants CameronJack, Jack Gray Fashionassistant Jack O’Neill…

GROWING UP SURFING on the South Carolina coast, the designer Louisa Ballou always loved swimwear. ‘My coastal upbringing combined with my Central Saint Martins background gave me an unconventional perspective on fashion and I wanted to bring that into the resortwear space.’ Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid and Gaia Repossi have packed Ballou’s swimwear in their suitcases, but you don’t need to save her designs for holidays. ‘Blurring the lines between swim and ready-to-wear, we strive to create elevated pieces that transcend the beach.’ The pre-spring collection, with its hand-painted tropical prints, is inspired by Paul Gauguin and Mark Rothko. ‘At the heart of the brand is a celebration of the human form and its relationship to the colours, textures and shapes of the natural world,’ she says. ‘This resonates with…

*GRAZIA SURVEYED 500 WOMEN ABOUT THEIR ATTITUDES TO COSMETIC SURGERTY Collagen A structural protein found in the body, it forms the building blocks of skin, giving that youthful bounce. We lose collagen with age, so skin can start to sag. Botox The brand name for the commercial form of botulinum toxin A. A neurotoxin produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum, it blocks chemical signals from our nerves telling our muscles to contract so that they stay relaxed. Fillers Substances injected into the skin to provide volume, structure or hydration. Most are now made from hyaluronic acid, which is generally a well-tolerated option. Lasers These are either ablative (targeting the top layer of skin) or non-ablative (penetrating beneath the skin, leaving the surface intact). Fractional lasers bridge the gap between the…

Watch Live… Chloe The Crown’s Erin Doherty gets her first starry vehicle in a six-part series by Sex Education writer and director Alice Seabright. With a story that involves a Smiths lyric, multiple personality disorder, lots of art openings and a yoga studio, it’s the most ludicrously implausible psychodrama this side of Doctor Foster. Sundays, BBC One, 9pm Catch Up On… Station Eleven Hiro Murai, one of the few modern visual iconoclasts who can genuinely claim to have changed the way we watch telly with his work on Atlanta, is back with his adaptation of the best-selling novel Station Eleven. It’s a post-apocalyptic Shakespearean meta-drama that starts slow, if stylishly. Stick with it, the rewards are rich. Streaming now on Starzplay Wallow In… The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Our favourite, ever-reliable…

PHOTO: IONA WOLFE/BAFTA /CAMERA PRESS 1 Life’s too short for bad socks and underwear. This is something I’ve only come to terms with in my late twenties. However, I say this knowing that I own pairs of underwear that are seven years old. But my advice is that you should buy quality; don’t buy tons of crap underwear or socks because they’re going to fall apart and you’re going to have to throw them out. That goes for all dress codes in general. After lockdown, I’ve learned that you must start dressing up in your best clothes every day, because when else are you going to wear them? 2 If you’re not a plant person accept it and move on. I’ve just bought two plants for my new flat and…

It has never been about ‘one bad apple’ “The quotes were distressing to read, and they were everywhere. A report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct revealed a now-defunct team at Charing Cross police station had shared vile messages about rape, domestic violence, racism and homophobia – dismissed by officers as ‘laddish banter’. But this was ‘not isolated or the behaviour of a few bad apples’, the police watchdog found. Finally, the defence trotted out by Met police chief Cressida Dick in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder has been called out. About time. If we are ever to protect women, the misogyny rife in police culture has to be acknowledged – and stamped out.”…

TAKE NOTE This gorgeous notebook, from Dior’s Cupidon collection, is the perfect place to record my innermost thoughts. £65, Maison Dior INTERIORS INSPO Hoping to win a sizeable amount of money on the Lottery this year so I can fill my house with every single piece of Swedish designer Gustaf Westman’s furniture. Consider his apartment on my permanent mood board. gustafwestman.com COOL CLASSIC Jasper Conran’s S/S ’22 collection drops on 14 Feb and is full of easy-to-wear summer staples. This obi-belted kimono dress is versatile enough to be worn year after year. £200, jasperconran.com READY FOR YOUR CLOSE - UP ? Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Primer not only ensures any make-up you apply over it goes the distance, but absorbs excess oil, too – win, win. £50, Hourglass CHUNKY CHARM The…

PHOTOS: DIGGZY/SHUTTERSTOCK,SPLASH, INSTAGRAM/BADGALRIRI WHETHER SPLASHED on a front page or shared on Instagram, by now you will have probably seen the images of Rihanna debuting her baby bump. Last month, the internet went into meltdown at the photos of a pregnant Rihanna walking hand-in-hand with her boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky. Despite New York City’s freezing temperatures, Ri showed off her stomach – adorned with a 1980’s Christian Lacroix necklace – by keeping most of the buttons on her vintage 1996 Chanel coat undone. But, unlike regular A-list pregnancy reveals – which tend to happen with a portrait shoot posted directly to Instagram, Beyoncé-style – Rihanna did things her own way. An expert at controlling (and monetising) her image, the news was broken with staged paparazzi pictures, released by photo agency…

PHOTOS: @TOMMY.DORFMAN/INSTAGRAM, GETTY IN A 1991 VANITY FAIR profile of Madonna, her brother Christopher Ciccone told writer Lynn Hirschberg of her shape-shifting incarnations: ‘My sister is her own masterpiece.’ Cut to 2022 and couldn’t that sentiment also be applied to Julia Fox, who has catapulted from cult indie-scene celebrity to international mega-stardom in mere weeks thanks to her fledgling relationship with Kanye West? (To recap: Ye, as he is now known, met the actor-artist-model in Miami on New Year’s Eve. The couple have been column-inch catnip ever since.) It’s easy to draw parallels between Julia and her friend Madonna, certainly more so than with her romantic predecessor Kim Kardashian. There are biographical similarities, sure – both Italian-American, both having cultivated their nascent celebrity in downtown New York – and…

MAIN PHOTO (POSED BY MODELS): GETTY LATE LAST YEAR, I got on the train to York thinking I was pregnant and got off knowing I wasn’t. The nurse at the London Women’s Clinic – with whom I’d become friendly with over the three years I’d been having fertility treatment – phoned me between Peterborough and Doncaster to say my hCG blood test (measuring hormone levels that can indicate pregnancy) had come back too low to be viable. The positive result I’d seen 12 days after my embryo transfer was what’s known as a chemical pregnancy. I looked out of the window as the train plunged into the darkness of a tunnel. I didn’t want my wife and our three-year-old daughter to see me cry. Jen reached for my hand but…

A A-line Micro-minis may reign supreme this season, but the A-line skirt is waiting in the wings. At Dior, perfect pleats fell to the knee, while Margaret Howell’s indigo number is your everyday go-to. MARGARET HOWELL DIOR B Baggy If you broke up with your jeans in lockdown, spring’s slouchy shapes will win you back. At Balenciaga, Valentino and Molly Goddard, baggy jeans were (almost) as comfy as sweatpants. MOLLY GODDARD VALENTINO C Cocktail jackets The denim jacket now has cocktail dress status. Dries Van Noten’s came dripping with crystals; Schiaparelli’s was stitched into a conical bra (and has already been worn by Julia Fox). We say: why not? SCHIAPARELLI D Double denim The Canadian tuxedo got a makeover courtesy of Dior, Loewe and Rejina Pyo, who gave her true…

SHOPPING: CHARLOTTE PAVITT PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/CAMILLECHARRIERE LOVE TOKENS SINCE NO TWO love stories are the same, why settle for a ring that is anything less than unusual? Right now, the most stylish brides are saying ‘I do’ to wedding and engagement rings that are irresistibly unpredictable; like Camille Charrière’s swirly Sophie Bille Brahe band (top left). While there’s a comforting classicism to be found in diamonds, there’s no need to stop there, just google the custom Stephen Webster emerald and diamond ring that now sits on Megan Fox’s finger. And if you have yet found (or don’t want) someone to get on one knee? Well, buying one for yourself is the most modern move of all.…

FULL COLOUR ‘When the budget is tight go hard on colour,’ says Sophie Robinson, interior designer and host of Dream Home Makeovers currently on Channel Five. ‘I transformed a bedroom using blocks of colour that wrapped around the whole room, moving across doors, skirting boards, woodwork, radiators and ceiling. It’s a high impact look so opt for a strong colour palette of three shades from pale to dark. Use masking tape and a spirit level for crisp lines.’ HEAD START Create a boutique hotel vibe without the price tag. When Fallon Powell (@fallonpowell home) revamped her guest bedroom she created this smart DIY headboard. ‘I used 2cm thick MDF batons which I cut to be 57.5cm longer on each side than a standard double bed, so the headboard was wider…