A right royal rip off? Princess Madeleine's recently released engagement photo looks suspiciously similar to William and Kate's

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it looks like even the bluest of blood doesn't make you immune from the urge to copy other people.
Sweden's recently engaged Princess Madeleine has released an official photo that looks surprisingly similar to that of Britain's very own Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The Cambridges' intimate engagement photo was taken ahead of their 2011 wedding by fashion photographer and favourite of Princess Diana, Mario Testino, while Princess Madeleine's was shot by the French photographer, Patrick Demarchelier.

Haven't we seen this pose somewhere before? Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neil's official engagement picture has echoes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Like the Cambridges, the Swedish royal couple lean into each other, with Madeleine's hand and engagement ring prominently displayed on the shoulder of her British-born fiance.
The duo also wear similar happy smiles to their British counterparts and both brides wear simple, white blouses.

 

Even the hair is similar with both the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Madeleine choosing to wear their glossy dark hair in long, loose waves.
Madeleine, 30, announced her engagement to British banker, Chris O'Neil, 37, last Thursday via the palace website.
In a video recorded at the Drottningholm Palace just outside Stockholm, Madeleine revealed that O'Neil proposed at the beginning of October and said she was extremely happy.

Engaged: Princess Madeleine of Sweden, 30, and British-born banker, Chris O'Neil, 37

Low key: Both couples enjoy quiet lifestyles: the Cambridges in Anglesey and Madeleine in New York

Blushing bride: Should we expect to see long lace sleeves on Princess Madeleine's wedding dress?

Mr O'Neil added: 'Madeleine and I have known each other for two years and I recently summoned up the courage to ask her to marry me. Thankfully she said yes,'
He also tried a few words in Swedish, saying he was trying to learn the language but admitted that he found it 'difficult.'
Although no date has yet been set for the nuptials, it is expected that the pair will marry in Stockholm like Princess Madeleine's older sister, Crown Princess Victoria, 35.
Victoria married her husband Daniel Westling, formerly her personal trainer, in a lavish ceremony in front of 1,000 guests in 2010 and the couple now have a baby daughter, Princess Estelle.
Victoria, her husband and their daughter will certainly be part of Princess Madeleine's wedding celebrations, as will their brother, Prince Carl Phillipe, 33.
Whether or not Madeleine chooses to have such a large wedding remains to be seen, although the dress is a matter of some speculation.
Should we expect to see lace sleeves and a long train like the Duchess of Cambridge? If Madeleine's engagement photos are anything to go on, it certainly looks likely.

Sister act: Or will Madeleine plump for something simpler like her sister, Crown Princess Victoria?

Chris O'Neil's future family: (L-R) Prince Carl Philip, fiancee Princess Madeleine, Queen Silvia, King Carl Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Not exactly a Disney princess... Brandi Cyrus covers face in black and white face paint and dresses up as a skeleton for Halloween

When it came to making effort for Halloween, Brandi Cyrus really did put in some sterling work.
The singer arrived for a scary holiday party with a face full of make-up that made her look like a spooky skeleton.
Brandi was seen heading into the luxurious Roosevelt Hotel, in Hollywood, with her pretty face hidden by black and white face-paint.

Scary star: Brandi Cyrus dressed up in a saucy skeleton costume for a Halloween party at the Roosevelt Hotel, on Tuesday

Even as a skeleton, the sister of former Disney star Miley looked pretty as she completed the boney style by wearing a black dress.
Brandi 's short frock came fully printed with a set of ribs and hip bones to emphasise exactly what she had chosen to go as.
While the Party In The USA singer was not around, Brandi stole the spotlight and made a huge effort with gaunt face paint, but her mother Tish looked less convincing.
Branid tweeted: 'I haven't been up this late in awhileeee! It's gonna take me another 30 mins to get all this makeup off #halloween'.

Back to black: Brandi's mother Tish also joined her at the party but her costume was a lot less impressive than her daughter's

Grin and bone it: Brandi matched her face paint with a tight black skirt that had bones printed on it

Tish was dressed as some sort of glam-rock artist and wore a spiky black wig with leather trousers, matching over-the-knee boots and a sheer top.
While Brandi may have slightly raised temperatures with her racy interpretation of a skeleton, it was nothing compared to what sister Miley has in store for her next single.
According to TMZ, she has hired a porn star to play the leading role in her next musical release, Decisions.

Eyes wide shut: Brandi 's face surprisingly still looked pretty even with her face full of scary make-up

The pop song was written about porn star Jessie Andrews, who is an ex-girlfriend of Miley's collaborator Israeli DJ Borgore, and she agreed to be in it.
Miley's changing appearance from child friendly entertainer to adult songstress will be complete when she ties the knot with Liam Hemsworth.
According to Star magazine the pair will have three ceremonies to mark the special day with a reported budget of $1 million.
One service will take place in Liam's native Australia, one will be in Miley's home town of Tennessee and the third will be in Los Angeles where the couple live.

Head over heels: Brandi will likely be present when Liam Hemsworth and Miley have three different ceremonies when they get married

Supermarket checkouts make you fat! Serial dieter JENNI MURRAY says it's so hard to resist those naughty little treats by the tills

Doing the weekly food shop used to be a pretty uncomplicated business. You’d go the supermarket, stock up with the necessities to produce nourishing meals for the family and, maybe, as a special treat for the children, pop a bar of chocolate into the trolley.
Then the retailers got clever. You began to notice sweets and cakes were appearing at the checkouts. Things you might once have ignored, or avoided altogether, were right there, practically shouting ‘Hello! Buy me’. You were particularly vulnerable if you had children with you.
Then, last week, we learned it’s all part of a plot designed to make us spend more money.

Temptation: I know from bitter personal experience how nefarious these supermarket tactics are

The supermarkets meant to tell us the extent to which they plan wholeheartedly to embrace the new traffic light system, designed to steer us away from unhealthy products loaded with sugar, fat and salt.
But then Asda’s head of Corporate Affairs, Sian Jarvis, let slip on the Today programme on Radio 4 that one in three Asda checkouts are ‘what we call guilt-free checkouts’. To which the presenter, Jim Naughtie, quickly retorted, ‘So two out of three are guilty?’.
So I conducted an experiment. I toured my local supermarkets to see how tempting those ‘guilty checkouts’ might be and, sure enough, I found myself waiting at the checkout aisles to pay for my groceries and — surrounded by sugary temptation — mindlessly adding to my basket more bags of jelly sweets and chocolate than any family should consume in a week.

 

At Waitrose, I found every checkout had sugary sweets or cakes on display. Marks & Spencer and Boots forced every shopper down a ‘walk-through queue’ towards the checkout, loaded with sweets and chocolate.
Tesco, I discovered, puts its sweets and chocolate bars on what’s known in the trade as a Gondola End. They’re the exposed blocks of shelves at the end of an aisle where the special offers are usually displayed. The sweets stand out.
I didn’t bother with Asda on account of Jarvis’s clear admission of these tactics.

The battleground: The checkout areas - the guilty ones - are, apparently, known as grab zones

No wonder we’re facing an obesity epidemic.
As someone who finds it particularly hard to resist temptation, I know from bitter personal experience how nefarious these supermarket tactics are.
As some of you may be aware, I’m a bit of a serial dieter. I start out with gritty determination. I buy and eat healthy food. I lose a couple of stone. I feel great.
I move more easily and begin to enjoy my dog walks rather than see them as a struggle and a chore and then I go food shopping, and, like the ex-smoker who thinks just one won’t do any harm, I meet the Bounty bar en route to the checkout, it finds its way into my trolley and ba-boom! All the good work of the preceding weeks and months is undone.

It must have been those check-out chocolates I ate last night!

It’s even worse if you happen to have children with you. I can’t count how many times on my tour of supermarkets I watched the harassed mother I used to be trying to deal with pester power.
How well I remember those days of having a tot in the seat of a loaded trolley, a toddler hanging on to my skirt, and carefully steering us past the biscuits, cakes and big bars of chocolate you find in the aisles.
All fine until the checkout when the wailing begins. ‘Mu-um, can I have . . . ?’ You’re struggling with the packing, the paying and making sure your precious offspring don’t get abducted while your attention wavers for a second. You give in.
And that whole cycle of another generation seeing sweets as a regular part of their diet begins again.
It’s infuriating, whatever the circumstances, when you realise how easily manipulated we are by the tricks of a billion-pound retail trade. And they play dirty because the competition between the big stores is fierce.
As a nation we shell out £160 million every day on food and the shops employ the most sophisticated psychology to persuade us to patronise one famous name rather than another and, once inside, to spend, spend, spend. As we enter, there’s a display of fresh fruit and vegetables, lulling us into that false sense of security that whatever we find in store will do us good.
But, if we want a bottle of milk, we have to pass the bakery and, if it’s a bottle of wine you’re after, you probably have to trail through the cereals, crisps, cakes and biscuits.

'I will never again shop without a list. I will buy nothing that is not on the list. I will mutter "Get thee behind me, Satan" as the sweets say "Naughty but nice".'

The checkout areas — the guilty ones — are, apparently, known as grab zones. You’re exhausted from the hour you’ve spent traipsing around the store, you grab yourself a little treat as a reward for your efforts and bingo! A bit more money goes in the shop’s coffers and another inch on your hips.
It’s not a new idea. Psychologists have known for a long time that a ‘guilty’ pleasure is often irresistible. Remember the famous cream cake ads in the Seventies that persuaded us it was OK to have something that was ‘Naughty but nice!’? We fell for it then and we fall for it now and, in the meantime, the entire nation gets fatter and fatter.
I wish I could shop the way my grandmother did. She walked for 15 minutes to the village. In the butcher she bought her meat, her fish from the fishmonger. The  Co-op sold cheese, ham, coffee, tea, porridge oats, flour and fats over the counter. She never bought too much because she had to carry it all home and she never went to the bakery because she made her own bread and cakes.

Supermarket sabotage: Writer, broadcaster and serial dieter Jenni Murray knows when sticks to her diet she enjoys, rather than dread her dog walks, but often falls off the diet wagon at the checkout

But these things don’t exist any more. We get no exercise in the shopping process because we go by car. We buy more than we need because it’s easy to transport. And those ‘guilty’ checkouts which were the subject of my researches are every bit as seductive as I suspected. So, I have made a resolution. I will never again shop without a list. I will buy nothing that is not on the list. I will mutter ‘Get thee behind me, Satan’ as the sweets say ‘Naughty but nice’.
And I will not walk around the supermarket like a lab rat in the expected order. I shall go in reverse, starting at the back with the milk and the wine, dashing to the pet food and ending up in the fruit and vegetables.
That way the soft foods won’t get squashed at the bottom of the trolley and the retail psychologists will be stymied!

Jackie Kennedy’s social secretary and etiquette expert Letitia Baldrige dies aged 86

Jackie Kennedy’s social secretary and etiquette expert, Letitia Baldrige, has died at the age 86.
The queen of manners, who educated America on everything from how to eat gracefully to the art of letter writing, passed away on Monday at the Sunrise at Fox Hill nursing facility in Bethesda, Maryland.
According to her longtime friend Mary M Mitchell, she had severe osteoarthritis and cardiac complications.
Before joining the Kennedy White House to help her friend and fellow Vassar alumna, the former Jacqueline Bouvier, Ms Baldrige served as the public relations director at Tiffany & Co.
She was reportedly the company’s first female executive.
As part of the Kennedy administration she was responsible for organizing and issuing invitations to glittering social occasions and state dinners.
She left her post in June 1963, less than six months before President John F Kennedy’s assassination.
Explaining the reason behind her resignation, she said that she ‘ had had it,’ with the long hours and demands of the job.
However, in a 1964 interview for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, she remembered the Kennedys as perfectionists and the president as an exemplary manager.

 

Ms Baldrige, known as Tish, recalled: ‘He was like a wonderful department store manager who goes through the store and knows everybody’s name and knows how all the departments work and knows how to wrap packages better than the wrappers in the wrapping department.’ 

Letitia Baldrige, standing left, looks on as a smiling Jackie Onassis throws the dice as she plays 'Counterstrike' with the game's inventor, Roger Tuckerman in 1975

Lea Gallic, known as 'Miss Candy', presents a matched pair of antique candy jars to Letitia Baldrige, then secretary to Jackie Kennedy, who accepted the gift on behalf of the First Lady

Tea in honor of Letitia Baldridge hosted by Laura Bush

She went on to found Letitia Baldrige Enterprises, a public relations and marketing firm, which had offices in Chicago, New York and Washington.
And since the late 1970s, she became known for her memoirs and books on etiquette, notably her updated version of The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette in 1978.
When her face appeared on the cover of Time magazine the same year, she was hailed as the nation’s ‘social arbiter’ of ‘new American manners’.
Ms Baldrige was born on February 9, 1926, to the future Republican congressman Howard Baldrige and his wife Regina and spent her childhood in Omaha.
It was at Miss Porter’s private school in Farmington, Connecticut, that she first met Jacqueline Bouvier.
From the start she was an admirer of the future First Lady.
She wrote later: ‘Her classic good looks were complemented by her sense of style. Nothing ever looked wrong on her.’
Ms Baldrige is survived by her husband, Robert Hollensteiner, their two children,  Clare and Malcom, and seven grandchildren.

Letitia Baldrige, right, who has died aged 86, was social secretary to Jackie Kennedy, left, while she was First Lady

Interesting Facts About Oil Paintings

Oil Paintings seem to be the most beautiful creation by man - they have the possibility to place a hold on the viewer. Oil paintings are fantastic art forms whose antique elements are continuing to leave their mark through the years.
Why oil paintings?
The great artisans and the past artists want to work with oil paintings for they rendered a truly realistic output. These paintings differed from the ones produced with water colors, for oil paintings look very attractive and rich.
Oil paintings came into existence in the Middle Ages as the requirements of waterproof painting were at their peak. Fantastic artists decided on oil paintings, because of the durability and lasting resistance to the environment.
The hard work is imbued by all oil paintings!
The beauty in oil paintings is a result of hard labor done by an artist. Classical works may take up to several weeks or months to be finished. Color binders and pigments are the ingredients of most oil paints. Poppy seed oils, linseed oils, walnut oils and safflower oils used to be added to the pigments. Brushes that used to paint were made of different fibers.
Oil paintings are said to require a lot of dedication, because they do not dry up as easily, and should the artists want to draw in layers, they had to wait for the paint to dry at every level - that may take a week or so. The oils used would dry, each at its own speed.
The artist is able to make alterations during the drying period of the paintings, which is not possible with water painting. Oil paintings do not dry by means of evaporation, they must be oxidized. Then the paints get varnished in a year or six months. Some art conservators think oil paintingsto be ready only after they are 60 or 80 years old.
The Oil paintings reached their pinnacle at the renaissance, when artists began selecting wooden panels for the base medium. These would stretch the canvas over a wooden panel. Artisans used a number of brushes to make different types of unique effects; blades and knives were used too. Some artisans are painted with fingers as well.
Oil paintings today
An oil painting is an astounding art form, because even now there are a lot of artists that work fabulously with oil paints. However, today there are highly sophisticated tools for producing oil paintings like water miscible oil painting. These paints could be cleaned up or thinned with water, compared to using turpentine. Before, turpentine was utilized as a cleaner of oil paint. The water miscible oil paint reduces the deep smell of toxic chemicals

Why Get An Abstract Oil Painting

Although a number of people do not exactly know how to judge an abstract oil painting, there are a number of reasons for why this art style has become a staple in so many homes. A person who may not have a formal training in evaluating these works of art will always receive some sort of message from any abstract oil painting. With that, homeowners have always been enticed to purchase these abstract works of art. There are a number of instances wherein homeowners would find the need to purchase abstract oil paintings.

One of these reasons is to fill an empty wall space. A bare, cold wall is never aesthetically pleasing. For that reason, homeowners opt to break the space by adding an abstract piece of artwork. If this is the intention, one has to take into consideration the color of wall at the same time the abstract design. Picking out an abstract oil painting which is full of bright colors will clash when it is against a boldly painted wall. It is better to have a colorful abstract oil painting against a wall that is painted a neutral color.

Another reason for why one would consider purchasing abstract work of art is when the furnishings in the room do not tie together and the piece of art is utilized to harmonize everything together. In order to choose the appropriate work of art which can bind the entire room together, one has to think about a specific color which goes with all of the other items in the room. Once one has already accomplished that task, one simply has to pick out an abstract oil painting which features that specific shade.

Some people decide to purchase abstract oil paintings because they treat them as investments. Good art pieces will fetch a higher price in time especially if the artists have established themselves in this field. This might mean that a person will have to know more about the basics of abstract work of art before he or she can become a smart art collector. Most of the art collectors who truly strike gold are those who invest their money on works of obscure painters who later make it big. Regardless of the motivation for purchasing abstract oil paintings, a buyer should always pick out pieces which he or she can personally relate to and enjoy looking at for years.

Adorn Your Living Place By Using Oil Painting

The world of fine art is vast and to the beginner art collector the broad selection of oil painting art may seem confusing. Oil is a wonderfully textured medium that lends itself to bold colors and amazing versatility. There are many avenues to explore when it comes to collecting new artworks.

You could visit a gallery or take a tour through an art show and discover oil painting art that catch your eye. You might find beautiful oil painting art at an auction or you might be lucky enough to inherit a masterpiece. Always keep in mind that the oil painting pictures should appeal to your senses and should be something that you will enjoy having in your home for years to come.

Purchasing expensive oil painting art simply because they are considered trendy or are highly sought after when they do not suit your taste could leave you somewhat disappointed with your purchase at a later date. At the end of the day, no matter the price tag or the artists reputation, it is up to you, the buyer to choose art that you find beautiful.

There are many different styles of art. You could purchase an abstract work of art, a portrait style painting, a beautiful depiction of a landscape, but whatever you choose, it should be a piece that complements the room that it is intended for. Size, color and overall theme need to be considered. When selecting a piece of art for a room you need to decide whether it is going to be a focal point or simply an addition to the overall decor.

Color and theme is of great importance. The size, shape and color of the frame are almost as important as the content of the painting itself. You want to select a painting that is going to complement the overall theme. A high-tech, ultra modern room would be better suited to a modern art piece. A homely country cottage is going to be the perfect atmosphere for a sentimental depiction of a spring meadow.

Try to match the art to the atmosphere, but always keep in mind that your choice should always come down to your personal preference for color and content. Having a work of art that reflects colors found elsewhere in the room adds to the overall atmosphere, but is not a necessity.
Lighting is a very important aspect of showcasing your artwork and care should be taken to ensure that your painting is properly displayed with the correct lighting. Different lighting effects can completely alter the appearance of a painting and even the difference between spotlights, down lights and harsh fluorescent lamps can alter the appearance of a painting.
If your chosen oil painting art is the focal point in a room, find ways to build the decor around them using complementary color in accessories and soft furnishings. This can be done inexpensively by placing candles on a mantelpiece that reflect a chosen color in your artwork. A decorative rug or scatter cushions on a strategically placed sofa can pick out textures or colors in a painting with equal ease.

Wonderfully Designed Famous Oil Painting

Everyone likes different art work because everyone is an individual. Famous oil painting make wonderful gifts for lovers of fine art. There are many talented oil painters who have their own individual subjects and styles. Well known art always costs a lot of money even when it is reproduction. People expect to pay a lot for fine art because it is a high standard and looks exquisite.

Many famous oil painting artists have been trained and cultivated in schools and colleges. Artists train for many years to be proficient at their craft. Real artists take true pride in their work and strive for perfection. Artists are never truly happy until they have created a masterpiece. They go from one project to another drawing inspiration from the world around them.
A beautiful painting often takes pride of place in a person's home. It can make a room stand out and be the center of attraction. Guests and relatives in the home will gaze at the painting and talk about its beauty. A person that owns a beautiful piece of art is proud to show it off to friends and family. It is a talking point that people will mention each time they visit your home.
When artists get a design they use pencil to outline it on white canvas. The first layer of an oil painting is usually created using pencils. During this stage, the oil painting is still rough and there is only a few big colour blocks. A few days later it dries and the second layer is then begun. The whole stage of developing the art work is a process.

Once the third layer is done the reproduction usually comes into being. A painting is created by a highly trained and skilled famous oil painting artist. Art is a fantastic aspect of life that is available in many varieties. Although there are many wonderful art forms in the world, oil painting is considered one of the newest forms of art.

The meaning of oil painting is using oil pigments. Until the fifteenth century, artists had a mythological and decorative outlook to art. During the Renaissance, artists started looking for alternative ways of propagating their art. Over the years art has changed dramatically.
It was Jan Van Eyck who first conceived oil painting. He had the desire to copy nature in his paintings, but discovered it was impossible to achieve using the existing tempera paint. Tempera paint dries up very quickly so smooth transitions in painting were impossible. Jan Van Eyck wanted to create a way of designing realism in paintings. Therefore, he invented oil paint.
There are many famous oil painting artists that have created a name for themselves over the years. Many artists have transformed the world of oil painting. To own an original famous oil painting is a delight to the owner. There is often great detail in the painting that is attractive to the owner. Hanging the art on your wall in the right place is almost like an art form itself. However once the perfect place is chosen then the painting can be enjoyed for many years to come.