If so, then this is the one I’m going to marry. I have bought so many of their gorgeous items, my cupboards keep complaining. When this site was down over Xmas, I emailed begging for updates. OK, enough gushing.

As Seen on Screen is exactly what it says on the tin. The gorgeous clothes you see on celebrities can be yours at a fraction of the price.

They email you love letters, I mean newsletters, which if you are wise you will delete straight away so you’re not tempted by the newest and most glamorous of items as seen on the red carpet or on stars gadding about town looking ab-so-lutely and effortlessly amazing.

Not that any of us want to look like Kate or Sienna (er, well actually I do). This site is easy to use, has fab sales all the time, and is generally marvellous.

You do not want to leave it to the last minute, when all the other parents are grabbing the items off the shelves and running for the hills, I mean tills. Shopping early can save a lot of tears and tantrums, from the parents at least.

Personally, I’m a great believer in shopping online. You can tick a few boxes, click a couple of times on your mouse, and hey presto just like magic in a few working days you have everything you need for your kids to start school (who needs Harry Potter?).

There are some great online versions of the high street stores, and here are some I would recommend.

BHS School Shop is really good for all your basics, and the price is right as well. You can get entire school outfits for under a tenner.

Marks and Spencer has a great online store, with the good quality clothing you would expect. “This is not just any school shirt…this is an M&S school shirt.”

Littlewoods has a good range of clothing, with free delivery, and as we know, every little helps, especially when you have an entire brood to buy uniform for.

Woolworths has a selection of uniforms online, and often has special offers and deals, though I admit that to get the pretty little summer dresses with the lovely ruffles and bow detail you have to venture into, horror of horrors, the actual shop!

Adams offers really nice school wear, at reasonable prices and made from good quality materials, with 20% off your first order and free delivery when you spend over 25 pounds.

La Redoute first caught my eye when I saw the catalogue at a friend’s house a few years ago. It’s a catalogue shop with a difference. It’s French. That means lovely styles, different models (Grattan, Additions, Choice all seem to use the same ones) and a different way of organising the catalogue. All in all, a very nice change.

The problem, I later found out, is that they also have a different way of handling fulfillment and customer support.

I have ordered from La Redoute 5 or 6 times now over the last few years. And while that may not be enough to give me the label of an expert it means I do have some experience with the mail order company. I usually order from the website although the ordering is more often than not the result of the print catalogue or an “order now and get this free” offer put through the letterbox.

I have unfortunately never had a perfect ordering experience with La Redoute. More often than not the website just doesn’t work. It is there but won’t let you search, takes you to the wrong page, doesn’t let you put any items in your shopping cart and so on. When I have managed to get it to work I have been pleased with the lovely items it lists at very reasonable prices.

However, that’s just the beginning. After the order goes off you would think I’d receive the items I ordered, right? Hmm, not so sure. The coat I ordered for my son in November didn’t arrive until late January. In the UK we are used to very quick fulfilment of mail order and online orders. Even the stuff I order from eBay sellers usually arrives the next day. So I have not been overly impressed with La Redoute’s extremely laid back approach to order fulfillment. I have never received an item in less than 2 weeks and most have taken around a month.

Now that I’ve finally received my items it’s inspection time. To be honest, it’s been so long since I ordered the outfit that I can’t remember what it was supposed to look like. I have kept some things and others I’ve sent back.

That’s where the second major problem shows itself, their customer service certainly leaves something to be desired. After waiting a month for a refund on an item I sent back I finally emailed them about it. The reply was “be patient”. What???? What do you call waiting an entire month?

Maybe I’m just spoiled. If I send something back to Figleaves or ASOS I get an auto email stating it’s been received, then I get an auto email stating when they will refund it and then another one a few days later saying the money has been returned to me. So maybe it’s not the French company’s fault, maybe it’s the fault of UK mail order companies for being so efficient.

So back to the original question, do I like La Redoute. It’s still hard to say. I love the clothing, the prices are great and I think the catalogue is refreshingly different in its layout and choice of models. But I haven’t bought anything from them for several months and don’t see myself rushing off to do so any time soon. Maybe I will if they finally decide to refund me for that item, but apparently I’m still supposed to “be patient”.

La Redoute Website

Today’s cosmetic dentistry is about more than pretty teeth. The most advanced cosmetic dentistry techniques incorporate aesthetically pleasing techniques that are not taught in most dental schools. To learn these techniques, the world’s leading cosmetic dentists attend the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI).

Cosmetic dentistry offers solutions to many dental problems including:

Chipped, cracked, and broken teeth

Gaps and missing teeth

Crooked or crowded teeth

Misshapen teeth

Discoloured teeth

Teeth which are too short

A “gummy” smile

Uneven gum line

Dark fillings and/or crowns

When navigating cosmetic dentistry options, there are some basics which you should know.

Why Porcelain?

Porcelain is used in many cosmetic dentistry solutions including fillings, caps, and veneers. Originally, the only option was metal, which is very visible and tarnishes. Tooth-colored materials were eventually developed, but they had a dead, flat look and a tendency to stain. Porcelain can be colored to perfectly match the tone of your natural teeth and has the same translucence, so it reflects light in the same way. It has a texture like glass which makes it resistant to staining.

Veneers, bonding, fillings, caps or crowns?

Porcelain veneers are a thin shell of porcelain which is bonded to the front of your teeth. They can be used to cover one or several teeth and can solve many dental problems at once including:

Chips, cracks, and broken teeth

Discoloration

Gaps

Crooked or misshapen teeth

Short teeth

Bonding can solve the same types of problems as veneers, but involves applying the material as a paste, rather than a shell, and then sculpting and polishing it to the perfect shape. It requires less of your original tooth for support and, for broken teeth, can replace up to half of a tooth.

Fillings are used to fill small holes in your teeth. Unsightly (and possibly unhealthy) metal fillings can be replaced with porcelain inlays which are invisible, seamless, and do not become discolored.

Caps or crowns cover an entire tooth, rather than just filling a small hole or covering the front of the tooth. They allow you to keep and strengthen the original tooth, and are used when there are large areas of decay, when fillings have failed, or after a root canal.

Implants
Dental implants can be used to replace one tooth or all of your teeth. A titanium rod is inserted into the jawbone replacing the root, and an artificial tooth is attached. They are better than dentures and partials because they do not slip or cause discomfort, and there is no bone and gum shrinkage. However, implants are not appropriate for everyone. You must have adequate jaw bone material to support the implant.

Dentures and partials
For those who are not good candidate for dental implants, dentures and partials are used to replace missing teeth. Dentures replace all of your teeth. Partials replace groups of teeth, and used the surrounding teeth to hold them in place.

Tooth whitening
Tooth whitening is safe, non-invasive, and allows you to choose between a gradual, subtle process or one with quick, dramatic results. Peroxide treatments, prepared by your cosmetic dentist, are used at home and can lighten your teeth up to five shades over time. On the more dramatic end of the spectrum you can choose a procedure which lightens your teeth up to ten shades in one treatment and using a light activated gel.

Tooth straightening
Veneers or bonding can make your teeth appear straight in one procedure, but some people prefer to have their teeth truly straightened. Braces used to be the only way to realign teeth. Now we have Invisalign, which uses a series of clear tray-like appliances to gradually realign and straighten adult teeth over a period of several months to two years.

Gum re-contouring
An imperfect gum line can give the illusion of imperfect teeth. Excess gum tissue can make teeth look too short and create a “gummy” smile. An uneven gum line can make your teeth look crooked or unhealthy. Gum re-contouring used to be done with a scalpel and caused pain, swelling, bleeding, and carried a high risk of infection. Today, laser gum re-contouring is used with much greater precision and a safer and more pleasant recovery.

Neuromuscular dentistry
Neuromuscular dentistry has transformed the world of cosmetic dentistry from a practice which used to provide short-term cosmetic solutions for your teeth to a life-changing experience with results that are not only more beautiful, but can relieve chronic pain and prevent future dental problems.

TMJ/TMD is a painful neuromuscular disorder which causes symptoms such as headaches, neck and shoulder pain, tooth grinding, and ringing in the ears. Many of the symptoms of TMJ/TMD do not appear to be related to dental problems. The condition is often misdiagnosed and therefore goes untreated, leading to years of chronic pain. It not only causes damage to your teeth, but can cause poor posture and affects the muscles in your face distorting your profile and causing premature ageing. Neuromuscular dentistry can treat TMJ/TMD by correcting your bite.

A neuromuscular dentist applies neuromuscular dentistry principles to any cosmetic dentistry procedures you may need. For many dental needs, such as crowns or dentures, traditional dentists rely on impressions alone to determine fit and alignment. While the initial results may look perfect, there are subtle imperfections which will affect your bite and cause damage over time. Neuromuscular dentistry uses the most advanced technology to ensure a truly perfect fit and precise alignment.

Smile makeover – the ultimate in cosmetic dentistry!

A smile makeover is the ultimate combination of beauty and function, science and art. It addresses all of the aspects of your smile. Using neuromuscular dentistry techniques and the precise combination of procedures that you need, a neuromuscular dentist can give you a full smile makeover which improves not only the way you look, but the way you feel, too.

To learn more about improving your smile, contact an LVI trained neuromuscular dentist or a cosmetic dentist today.

Written By Sandra Duke

For more information on Cosmetic Dentistry please go to Page 1 Solutions

Disclaimer: This article was not written by the Everything Chic Editor and the information contained is solely attributed to the author.

Maybe it’s time you tried Primark. Now, I’m not saying that the quality is amazing, but if like me, you like to treat yourself (and I think I deserve it) to something but your bank manager gets mean about it, it’s definitely worth a try.

They have the new trends in at a fraction of the price, for the cost of one dress in a high street shop you can be lugging home two large bagfuls of swag. 40 quid can get you a couple of outfits, shoes and a bag. Not bad going.

I get lots of compliments about the way I dress, and though I don’t stick to only buying from Primark, a lot of the items I wear are from there.

And accessories! They all seem to be a quid, so it’s pretty much disposable. If you need to jazz an outfit up but only have change in your pocket, this is the place to go to get your necklace, bracelets or earrings.

Now the downside to this is that the smaller sizes to sell out quickly, I hate it when I’m piped to the post. Also it gets extremely busy, so if you go on a Saturday make sure you go early or the queues can be horrendous. My battle plan is to basically go in and do a supermarket sweep. I fill up my basket (or two) to overflowing with everything I like the look/colour of, then off to the changing rooms to try it on.

Now I’m giving away my secrets, I then go to the children’s section to buy my loot, as the queues are generally shorter. After that, go home and try to fit everything in your wardrobe, hmmm, that reminds me, I must have a clear out.

Primark Website

I look forward to my friends having babies just so I have a legitimate excuse for being in the shop. Mothercare sells lovely baby items, from clothes to cots and feeding bottles. All the basics you need for your new born baby’s entry into the world, as well as absolutely fabulous outfits that make you swoon.

I adore everything, from the teeny socks to the party clothes and ‘street’ wear. Mothercare also have a range of shoes and school wear for the under 10’s, and you can be sure that everything is made to a high quality.

Mothercare Website

Easily affordable clothes for going out that you can wear a couple times and when your bored of them, it’s not like you spent a fortune, just get more!

I’m always tempted into the store by all the lovely colours they seem to have on display. Lots of clothes for going out clubbing, or nights on the town.

Pilot have all the latest fashions, from little dresses, skirts and tops, to work and leisure wear. They often have special offers or buy one get one half price, which means you can have four or six items, surely that saves you money, as the more you spend the more you save?

So pop into Pilot if you fancy something new for that night out or hot date, or just to cheer yourself up as you don’t have a night out or a hot date.