Please, please, please don’t make the same mistake as I’ve done, for some reason, even though I’m bombarded with TV Ad’s, Billiboards and I internet campaigns. The fact that it’s Mother’s Day THIS COMING SUNDAY, seems to have eluded me, for some unknown reason, I think I just can’t believe we are already half way through March !!!!!

Thank Gawd for Mrs Mc, who came home over the weekend to a panicked yours truly, only to be reassured, “I’ve bought the card and the presents are ordered. Have you sorted out the gift guide for the blog?”

So here we go guys, we never let you down, honest, this year’s undisputable best Mother’s Day gift guide known to man in 2015.

For the new Mum, with great Product names like Grumpy Cow and Knackered Cow, if your partner is celebrating Mother’s Day for the first time or generally Cowshed products are a must. Plus if your feeling partic flash how about a little trip to one of their spas ?

For the Country Mum, she doesn’t have to be Audrey Forbes-Hamilton to enjoy a bit of outdoors chic and it doesn’t get much better than this great Barbour X Liberty get up.

For the Foodie Mum, the name of this website is the mantra for this year’s Gift Guide, Dontbuyherflowers.com offers loads of original and well thougt through presents. So if Mum is a bit of a Gastro delight in the kitchen, give her a night off with this brill hamper which includes COOK vouchers and if you don’t know what COOK is you need to check it out.

For the Mum, who just loves presents, this is a great gift idea, Elizabeth Arden are offering a limited edition Preen tote bag with any two products purchased from their counters in department stores Nationwide.

For the Travelling Mother, no I don’t mean in a Big Fat Gypsy Wedding kinda way. I mean the kinda girl that enjoys the cultural experience travel can offer. This LUXE Travel companion set, available from Net-A-Porter.com offers guides to some of the world’s best shopping destinations.

For the traditional Mother, how’s about some of your finest bone China ? Ted Baker and Portmeirion have come together to produce the Rosie Lee collection. This puts the fine into dining and uses Ted’s signiture prints and is gilded in 22carat Gold.

For the note making Mother, well if there isn’t something some Mum’s love doing, it’s leaving notes, lil scribbles like, “You’re dinner’s in the bin.” “You treat this place like a Hotel.” And my personal favourite, “Can you not use a telephone anymore?” Just so you know your Mammy still loves you, make sure she can leave you those keepsake notes with a nice Parker pen that shows off her handwriting skills to there best.

For the Designer loving Momma, the Blossom Tote by Mulberry in Oak is finished in their signature Natural Leather, a beautifully soft and tactile leather that ages to become unique to its owner. A subtle embossed Mulberry tree is the only decoration this bag needs, well that and the smile on your mum’s face each and every time she uses it.

For the Stylish Momma, the Breton stripe sweater is an enduring fashion classic, and is a fine example from Jaeger. This comfortable and chic piece is crafted from the purest cashmere to a fitted, crew neck shape.

For the Momma who is far away, we can’t always get to be with our Mum’s on Mother’s Day but this individual and specially Personalised ‘Home is Where Mum is’ Map by Mapsinternational.co.uk is centred on your chosen postcode and is a brilliant way to create make a thoughtful, individual gift for your beloved mother this Mothers Day.

For the Tea loving Mammy, who does love a good cuppa and no better tea maker then your Mum. GettingPersonal.co.uk give your gifts a much much more individuality and that you’ve thought about your gift. This bone china tea set cleverly combines a teapot, teacup and saucer into one convenient set, or Personalise her own biscuit tin providing everything she’ll need for a really good cuppa!

For the Candle loving Mammy, you just can’t go wrong with this Betty Jackson Black Large purple agapanthus scented candle from Debenhams.

18th December this year is a date marked on many calendars around the world, as it sees the cinematic event of not only the year but the decade as we witness the first NEW live action Star Wars film in a decade, Star Wars, the Force Awakens.

Now call me a cynic but I’d bet my shirt that we will be inundated with a total mix of merchandise ranging from the incredible Musthaves to the more dubious reject bin fodder. Now my advice would be simple, get in quick and the subject of today’s post has been the first and so far best line I’ve seen, in quite some time.

Since taking their first tentative steps onto the London underground scene more than a decade ago, CHUNK is now widely recognised as a quintessential urban-British label with an international reputation based on originality and that great British sense of humour.

With a unique visual signature informed by bold graphics, tongue-in-cheek humour and smart design quirks, Chunk tees quickly garnered a loyal and enthusiastic fan-base and spawned a number of high-profile collaborations.

This glowing international reputation for producing great and unique collaboration is how their Star Wars partnership came about. Since their first collaboration in 2006 of bold, witty and with a signature twist that makes a CHUNK graphic garment unmistakeable, and many designs such as DJ Yoda, DJ Vader and Class of 77 have attained iconic’ status.

To mark this special year – CHUNK have gone back to the very beginnings of the intergalactic story as the inspiration for the SPring 15 capsule range. Bold, old-skool graphics play out against retro vintage ringer style tees, sweats, hoodies and vests. And to further consolidate the collection’s vintage credentials, the original Star Wars logo created by Ralph McQuarrie in 1975 makes a rare and timely appearance.

COMPETITION TIME

Fancy getting your hands on one of these BRIILIANT Tees ? Well you can, it’s simple we’ve got 5 to giveaway and all you have to do between now and Midnight (GMT) 31st March. Is sign up to our & Chunk’s Instagram feed. Yep it truly. Is that simple. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.

A recent poll by Trevor Sorbie’s MG Grooming range revealed that while the fairer sex admitted to sneaking a peek at themselves up to 9 times a day, the average guy gazes at themselves more then 10 times each day,enjoying an extra 343 admiring glances each and every year.

It also found, one in four men in London admits that Mr Beckham is number one when it comes to hair idols! And fellas in Northern Ireland: (26.30%) spent the longest on their hair, followed by Wales (23.40%) then London (20.30%). So the big question is from all this research what exactly are the vainest cities (well by by mirror glances, anyway) Edinburgh: 13 times per day London: 12 times per day Cardiff: 12 times per day Birmingham: 10 times per day Liverpool: 9 times per day.

Surprisingly a whopping 18% of those questioned confessed they devote the most time preening their hair to perfection, with hair styling taking priority over shaving and even choosing their clothes. You might think looking perfectly coiffed was primarily the concern of the much maligned Southern male, traditionally considered to be vainer and more effeminate than their Northern and Western counterparts, but nearly a third of men in Cardiff admitted to spending longest on their hair, closely followed by those in Northern Ireland at 26%, compared to only 20% of Londoners. Whilst many men are happy to admit to using and buying their own grooming products, 5% of men admit to pinching their partner’s hair products to make sure they look their best. It’s the northern lads who top the poll as hair product pinchers with 11% of Geordies most guilty of cosmetic theft! For the Scots, fashion comes tops! When it comes to grooming they take the most time perusing their wardrobe, with over a quarter of those from Edinburgh spending longest on their sartorial choices, pipping fashion conscious Londoners to the post, with a more modest 18% claiming fashion as their priority.

Despite the increased vanity and focus on hair styling, the nation’s men are still choosing to play it safe with classic cuts like the short back and sides, and the crew cut proving most popular. While the influence of flamboyant footballers like Ronaldo was most pertinent in the early noughties, the matinée idol look is back in favour with all age groups. Shockingly, more than 5% of so called stylish Londoners admit to rocking a less than fashionable bowl cut, while more than 20% of those from Norwich are sporting luscious long locks!

Style 1: Short Back and Sides The classic short back and sides style clearly still resonates with modern men, emerging as the clear winner with a whopping 29% voting it their favourite look. Groomed but casual looking men such as model and actor Jamie Dornan (above) have been championing this look for some time, proving that classic doesn’t have to mean boring, with the right cut and styling products of course! Hailing from Northern Ireland, Jamie clearly represents his region with nearly 50% of those asked citing it as their favourite hairstyle. Interestingly Mancunians, long famous for their love affair with the mullet back in the 90’s, also chose this as one of their favourite looks. TOP TIP: Use MG Moulding Mud (below)to impart your own personality and stop this ‘do from looking too ‘done’.

Style 2: Crew Cut The classic crew is popular with British males, with 14.10% of men in the nation currently sporting the style. Crew cut celebs such as Jason Statham and Channing Tatum(above) proved equally popular in the celeb poll, voted the 6th most influential male celebrity hairstyle. TOP TIP: Use the MG Deep Clean Shampoo (below) to keep your scalp in tip top condition and prevent grease and product build up.

Style 3: The Combover Once the territory of older gents, the combover has clearly made a comeback with the younger generation in recent years proving most popular with 16-24 year olds, with 15% of those asked choosing this style. Tom Connell from the Trevor Sorbie Covent Garden salon, says the number of clients requesting this look has increased drastically in the last few years. “It used to be that we would get much older gents asking for this, although they do favour it flatter on the top than this latest incarnation. But now the ‘short on the sides, long on the top’ take on the combover is frequently requested from our younger client base, who often cite David Beckham as inspiration at consultation.” TOP TIP: Use MG Fibre Wax (below) to make sure your combover is kept in place, with minimum touch ups required pre-selfie.

Long before their was Apple and their I-this and I-that there was a brand that truly fused anaesthetic beauty and technology. Everything they produced had been throughly thought through and was as much a piece of artwork in itself as the implement it was designed to be used as.

To mark Bang & Olufsen’s ninetieth anniversary, the brand announced the launch of the ‘Love Affair‘ Collection, it sees six of the company’s current products rejuvenated with a new palette option in keeping with the surge in interest towards beautiful materials – especially rose gold, which is experiencing a renaissance in the jewellery industry. One of the most emotive aspects is its underlying meaning. While white gold represents friendship and yellow gold means fidelity, rose gold represents love and is therefore the ultimate inspiration for this collection.

During the roaring 20s, Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen started their journey into technology when it was still an almost magical phenomenon, and with the accompanying flourish of Art Deco, it was clear that luxury, glamour and exuberance were at the heart of the time. Fast-forward 90 years and the company is pleased to launch a collection that truly captures the mood and style of the time, setting the stage for a love affair that could last the ages. Combined with the warm colour fabrics recently developed in a cooperation with fashion designer Stine Goya, the company hopes it will truly capture the hearts of customers who have enjoyed a love affair with the company over the years.

The Love Affair Collection consists the following six current products; the first is the majestic and recently launched BeoVision Avant 85, and then the all-in one entertainment solution BeoVision 11-46 and BeoRemote One. Also included in the range is the extremely popular magic-touch BeoPlay A9 music system and the elegant, lightweight BeoPlay H6 headphones. Last but certainly not least, the collection will include the classic, slender and straight-lined BeoLab 18 with a new walnut lamella front and a cabinet in a stunningly elegant rose golden version.

The Holy Grail for any brand is to be so identifiable with the mass populist that they don’t have to even feature their name. Many try, too achieve that true and heady status. Think about it McDonalds, Apple, Nike, Chanel, but one brand that is the real Daddy when it comes to this practice, that has to be Coca Cola ! I mean, all we need to see is the silhouette of their iconic bottle and it’s enough to get our mouth’s watering.

For Spring of this year the fizzy beverage global superbrand have teamed up with one of Britain’s brightest creative design talents in Kit Neale, who has produced a vibrant and fun collection which provides a wide range of playful pieces including Silk bomber jackets.

Neale launched his signiture brand back in early 2012 and has built its name through pioneering quirky statement prints on wearable wardrobe staples with a unique larger than life perspective.

CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

Top gift ideas for the Lady in your life, you can’t afford to forgot – Mother’s Day Gift guide

The Force is Strong in this one – Chunk’s Star Wars Range -COMPETITION TIME

COMPETITION TIME

Mirror, mirror on the wall who’s the fairest of them all – The Male Vanity survey by Trevor Sorbie

So much more than a gadget – Bang & Olufsen commemorates its 90th Birthday with the Love Affair Collection

It’s the real thing – KIT NEALE X Coca Cola

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