Gertie’s Gentle Guide to Controlling Stress

Ah, the wonders of the modern age! Think of all the marvelous inventions over the past 100 years that have made our everyday lives so much easier. There’s the car, the washing machine, the Hoover, the dishwasher, the telephone and the iPad. I mean, imagine if we actually had to walk, scrub clothes in a tub, sweep, hand-write letters AND there was no method in which to immediately communicate to all of our friends which of the mundane tasks we had recently completed and whether our friends in turn ’Liked’ it or not.

Don't Make-do: 5 Marvelous Makeup Tips

A lot of women I meet don't use makeup. Not because they wouldn't love to glam up, but because they don't know which products to use where and how, and which colours suit their skin tones. There is also the real worry that you can over apply, creating looks akin to clowns and drag acts.

5 Fab Tips for Frugal Food Shopping

It might sound odd coming from somebody living in an enchanted place like Monaco, but I do make it a habit to buy my groceries on a strict budget. Life here is not all about Ferrari’s, Fred and Fendi; there’s working-class girls in Monaco too (and no, I am not talking about ladies of the night).

Be mine....

One Valentine’s Day, my first husband gave me the gift of a gym ball. That occurrence was quickly followed by my first divorce.

Let's Talk About Sex (Selection)

Do you know to have sex when you want to conceive a girl and when for a boy? When you ovulate and for how long? Which rules are scientific fact and which fiction? No? I didn't either until I met up with a good friend of mine last week.

She needed a good rant over a bottle of Pinot Grigio or two and I was happy to oblige.

The Flu

Recently I got the flu for the first time. Naturally I woke in a panic, called my gentleman friend (from bed, he was downstairs in the kitchen) and demanded his presence in my bed chamber. “I have throat cancer”, I announced, trying to elicit as much sympathy as I could muster. To my surprise he wasn't convinced by this diagnosis and in a typically logical and irritatingly male fashion