Meghan Markle's go-to £26 collagen cream is heading into the Love Island villa
It's about to be a long, hot summer– even if the weather doesn't know it yet. Love Island is returning to our screens in a matter of weeks, meaning we're about to be treated to some sizzling new on-screen romances. And while we wait for official word on 2025's line-up (non-celebs, this time), we've been given word about some other bombshells that are definitely hitting the villa. Beauty bombshells.
Boots is back as the official Love Island beauty sponsor, and in very interesting news, the in-villa line-up is featuring more niche brands than the usual crowd pleasers like Fenty and No7. This year, Boots will be stocking the Love Island villa with an impressive array of over 130 beauty brands, including exciting new additions like Medicube, GHD, Tocobo and Glow for It.
If Medicube rings a bell, it's likely because it has one very famous fan: Meghan Markle. The Duchess listed the brand as a favourite on her ShopMy page, and quickly got picked up by fans and press because of how affordable it is in comparison to the more premium brands she listed alongside it. The exact product she noted as a must-have is Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream, £26 from Boots.
Our Mirror beauty editor Laura gave the product a try for herself and says: "This was the product I was most excited to test. I'd heard that Korean brand Medicube had been making waves in the US thanks to its clever textures and formulations, but until recently, it was only available through Amazon. Now, it's finally launched at Boots – and this lightweight gel-cream, packed with hydrolysed collagen, is possibly the standout of the range.
"The texture is unlike anything I've ever come across: a vivid red, bouncy formula with a firm, jelly-like consistency that you scoop out with a little spatula. I usually find gel moisturisers don't offer quite enough hydration, sinking into my skin too quickly – but not this one. It left my skin feeling smooth, plumped, and with that coveted 'glass skin' finish, minus any greasiness you sometimes get with ultra-dewy creams.
"I used it before bed and genuinely couldn't believe how good my skin looked – almost like it had been coated in a clear film of PVA glue (in the best way possible). A total surprise hit… next time, I'll be saving this glow for the daytime!"
Also, it appears ghd is the new hair tool brand gracing the villa's glam room, which is excellent news for the contestants. With new-in tools like the Duet Blow Dry Brush, £389, and Triple Barrel Hair Waver, £159, likely to be on offer, we're going to be seeing a lot in the way of mermaid waves and blow-dried lengths.
We'll eagerly await more information from inside the Love Island villa glam room!
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Meghan Markle aides who accused her of bullying were frightened of 'what she would do to them' because of her 'infinite capacity for revenge', veteran royal correspondent claims
Royal aides who accused Meghan Markle of bullying were frightened of 'what she would do to them' after they spoke out, it was claimed today. The Duchess of Sussex's staff were left 'in a psychologically delicate state' and 'viewed her capacity for revenge as infinite', an expert has alleged. Meghan, 43, has always denied the allegations of bullying while she was working as a royal, which she described as an orchestrated smear campaign against her. Veteran royal correspondent Valentine Low broke the bullying story in May 2021, just before Harry and Meghan were to appear on screen with Oprah Winfrey to discuss Megxit. He claims that some of the royal staff who had worked with the Sussexes were still in a 'very fragile state' more than two years later - and despite the royal couple having emigrated 5,000 miles away to the US. 'They were very worried about what Meghan would do to them. They viewed her capacity for revenge as infinite', Mr Low said. 'They'd left the employ of the Royal Family and they still were in a psychologically delicate state as a result of what happened to them at that time'. He added: 'If they [the Sussexes] were difficult to work for then, they're difficult to work for now'. Mr Low was speaking to American royal commentator Kinsey Schofield's Unfiltered YouTube show. He told her that he believes that Harry and Meghan tried to stop and then discredit his story detailing allegations of bullying, adding that he believes that the fact they have lost 25 staff since 2017 shows they remain tough to work for. ''It was a very important factor, the litigious nature of Harry and Meghan. I had sight of various bits of documentary evidence. I saw things which totally backed up the story. I had utter confidence', he said. 'Before publication we put the allegations to Harry and Meghan and we got a very very long letter from their lawyers. Sometime later we got another slightly less long letter from their lawyers. It was very very feisty, very strong, saying basically "watch out". 'Then we published and after that we didn't hear a word from them'. Valentine said the story had to be published before the Oprah interview. 'If the story had come out after the Oprah interview, it would have just looked like sour grapes. It'd be lost in the noise. Meghan would come across as this this heroine, this person who'd been victimised', he said. 'The whole narrative would be about what she and Harry said about their experiences with the royal family. It would just get lost and no one would really care. 'You look back to the Diana years. Stories had come out that the marriage was in trouble. No-one knew for certain until Andrew Morton's book came out. People then realised that it was the truth. 'That is what happened with my bullying story'. He said when a newspaper ran the Meghan bullying story and 'doesn't get sued' it means 'there's probably something in it and suddenly you realise all those tabloid stories earlier suggesting she might be Duchess Difficult, actually maybe they're true'. A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused Mr Low of 'recycling false, offensive, and long-discredited allegations' and spreading 'harmful gossip'. 'These claims—rooted in anonymous, unverifiable sources—form part of a broader and deeply troubling agenda that seeks to dehumanise a woman who has consistently stood up for fairness, dignity, and truth', they said. The spokesman said Meghan 'has faced years of unfounded attacks' part of a 'never-ending smear campaign'. 'Meghan remains undeterred by the noise and firmly focused on her family and work', the spokesman said. Jason Knauf, who is CEO of Prince William's Earthshot Prize, was once exceptionally close to the exiled couple. The New Zealander was one of just two people Harry told he was proposing to Meghan before they fell out over the Duchess' alleged poor treatment of staff. He and his colleagues have since been dubbed the 'Sussex Survivors'. He quit the royal household after accusing the Duchess of Sussex of mistreating two colleagues and undermining their confidence. Meghan has been haunted by claims she bullied royal staff - and Mr Knauf has repeatedly stood by his claims. In February this year, Jason insisted he 'wouldn't change a thing' and has 'no regrets' after he accused Meghan Markle of bullying staff 'out of the royal household'. In his first TV interview he stood by his complaint about the alleged 'totally unacceptable' behaviour of the Duchess of Sussex that leaked just before the couple's Oprah interview in 2021. 'The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights', he had written in an 2018 email where he accused Meghan of 'bullying' and undermining the confidence of two staff. Harry later addressed the bullying claims in the Sussexes' Netflix docu-series, saying it was false and all the result of him and Meghan speaking truth to power. 'I can't think what my mum went through all those years ago by herself', he said. 'To see this institutional gaslighting that happens, it's extraordinary. And that's why everything that has happened to us was always going to happen to us because if you speak truth to power, that's how they respond'. Jason quit the royal household in 2021 but in April this year Prince William made him CEO of his beloved Earthshot Prize. Mr Knauf, a New Zealander who worked as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 's press secretary, appeared in a new documentary for 60 Minutes Australia, Where There's A Will - broadcast four months ago. In 2018, he had sent an internal email raising concerns about Meghan's alleged poor treatment of staff in the royal family, which was later leaked after Megxit. 'I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X was totally unacceptable,' he allegedly wrote. 'The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.' He also said the estrangement between Prince Harry and Prince William has been 'hard and sad' but added that William has chosen to be 'private' about it. Jason was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in 2023 - showing how good the relationship still is. And then he returned to work for William this year. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, has always denied the allegations of bullying, which she described an orchestrated smear campaign against her. Harry and Meghan's spokesman said at the time: 'Let's just call this what it is-a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation.' There was also a statement to the media calling the bullying claims defamatory. Buckingham Palace launched an internal review into the bullying claims, but the findings were never made public. Prior to their disagreement, Jason said he'd had 'great times' working with the Sussexes, and said their 2018 Windsor wedding was a 'magical experience'. He said: 'We had lots of great times, working on their wedding was an amazing magical experience and I wish them absolutely all the best with their lovely family.' Writing in his biography about the staff who serve the royals - titled Courtiers - author Valentine Low said the palace 'needed evidence of the duty of care the organisation had showed them [the Sussexes]'. Mr Low wrote that Meghan was already leaving a 'trail of evidence behind, so that when the time came for them [Harry and Meghan] to leave the monarchy, she would be able to say: look how they failed to support me'. Such as when Meghan went to HR for help and was given a 'sympathetic hearing' but the department was ultimately there to deal with 'employee issues, not members of the Royal Family'. Samantha Cohen and other courtiers were aware of bullying allegations lodged against the Sussexes as early as 2018. 'Samantha The Panther', as she was known, told Australian media that she was one of ten staff members interviewed by the Palace following the complaints. However, it was Meghan that won in the battle to air her grievances first when - according to Mr Low - she 'hijacked the narrative by making it all about her mental health' and all the things royal staff had done to help the couple succeed were forgotten, allowing Meghan to point out all the times they had failed her. These failures were then singled out for millions to see during the Sussexes' interview with Oprah in 2021. Among her claims that concerns about her mental health were not taken seriously by staff, the couple also said separately that the Royal Family was racist. Producer and journalist Jane Marie, who worked with Harry and Meghan during the development of Archewell Audio projects, insisted to Vanity Fair that Meghan is 'just a lovely, genuine person'. Other staff members have claimed that she would send her employees gifts ranging from dog leashes to skincare products. These wildly varying accounts of the work culture Meghan presides over are supported by a source that worked with her in the run-up to her wedding in 2018, who said she was 'lovely when it is all going her way but a demon when the worm turns'.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The birthday 'gimmick' Meghan Markle project that never was: Royal expert reveals the Duchess's scrapped plans that would've featured Adele and Stella McCartney but was 'quietly shelved'
As Meghan Markle celebrates turning 44 today, royal observers may be reminded of the bold campaign she launched for her birthday in 2021 - which was dropped almost as quickly as it began. Meghan celebrated her 40th birthday by announcing an initiative to help women back into work after the pandemic in a film featuring Melissa McCarthy and a 'comedy' cameo by Prince Harry. In a project titled '40x40', she asked 40 of her friends to commit 40 minutes of their time to mentor and support women going back to work. Meghan was hoping to create a domino effect of counselling wider than her circle. But soon after the Archewell campaign went live, there was radio silence from the Duchess. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail he believes the initiative was a 'gimmick' designed to 'boost Meghan's appeal'. He said: 'The idea seemed, on the face of it, an imaginative way to celebrate her 40th birthday. 'It also promoted the cause of gender equality which she had publicly supported for many years. 'What made this particularly significant was that she had several top celebrities on board.' He said: 'Melissa McCarthy starred in a rather dotty video launching the idea with Harry doing some juggling in the background. 'Adele and Stella McCartney publicly backed it, as well as Princess Eugenie. 'Apart from Serena Williams, Meghan and Harry have struggled to get A-list support for their projects, being reportedly estranged from, for example, David and Victoria Beckham. 'Some of the big names who attended their wedding hardly knew them. 'However, this potentially worthy project appears to have been quietly shelved, lending credence to the claim that Meghan is incapable of organising anything properly. 'There was never any clear idea of how it would be funded or how exactly it would be beneficial to spend just 40 minutes with someone. 'Also underlining the Sussexes' global reach, this was supposed to have a "ripple effect" around the world boosted by social media. 'She called for "a global wave of compassion and positive change". In a statement on the Archewell website, Meghan described how the scheme was meant to empower the millions of women who lost their jobs during Covid 'This has not happened and very few reportedly shared her birthday poem connected to this project. 'It was clearly just a gimmick designed to boost Meghan's appeal, which she may have overestimated both then and now.' And this was not the only time Meghan appeared to over-reach and under-deliver in her promises. The royal expert said: 'Her new cookery series With Love, Meghan has failed to reach the Netflix top 300 for the first half of this year, which is ominous news for the Sussexes. 'Perhaps she would benefit from 40 minutes of mentorship! 'She recommended "time spent in service to others", a topic about which she knows very little, though she did, as a senior working royal have the chance to serve and didn't last long in it.' Meghan has always touted herself as an independent person and has embarked on a number of projects both before and after marrying into the Royal Family. Before marrying Harry, Meghan was an actress, starring on the hit series Suits, and an avid lifestyle blogger as the creator of The Tig, where she wrote about style, food and travel. It was quite popular until she had to shutter its doors in 2017 ahead of her wedding. And while the public opinion about them started to sour after they stepped back from the Royal Family, it didn't stop them from getting Hollywood business deals. Together, the couple only became more lucrative as they pursued a combined $120million deal with Spotify and Netflix. Their faces suddenly became splashed across TV screens more than ever as they completed a series of interviews and documentaries one after another. Meghan also launched her 'Archetypes' podcast on Spotify, where she interviewed various power players like US talk show host Andy Cohen and tried to 'subvert the labels that try to hold women back'. However the podcast didn't seem to take off as it was promptly canceled after one season. Meghan, Harry and the Spotify team produced only one 13-episode series of a podcast for the company and then parted ways. They were later called 'f***ing grifters' by Bill Simmons, who was the head of podcast innovation and monetisation at Spotify at the time. This did not help Meghan's reputation of being hard to work with. Personal branding and publicity expert Katrina Owens told the Daily Mail Meghan's projects have all seemed to be 'short-lived' and lacking follow-through in a way that feels 'messy and uncoordinated'. At the end of her 40x40 video, McCartney said: 'See you at 50!' Perhaps we will finally see her project come to light in six years time. Daily Mail contacted Archewell for comment. Meghan: Hey Melissa, do you have a second? McCarthy: Hey yeah, of course. I'm working on that email I told you I was going to do - that organic garden? That's what I'm doing. [McCarthy is seen solving a Rubik's Cube, unaware that her camera is on] Meghan: You know your camera's on, right? I can see you. McCarthy: Aha, hang on, I'll be right back. [McCarthy gets up from her chair] Meghan: No no, it's no problem, its fine. McCarthy: I think this will probably seem better for you. [McCarthy sits back down wearing a posh hat and carrying a cup and saucer] Meghan: Ok, it's my 40th birthday and I've got an idea. McCarthy: I know what it is. Meghan: Really? McCarthy: My first guess- is it another photoshoot under a tree where you're looking very peaceful? Meghan: Peaceful under tree is me every day. McCarthy: No? Ok. Are we finally getting matching tattoos? [McCarthy holds up an illustration showing Meghan and McCarthy surrounded by roses underneath a banner which says: 'Besties Forever'] Meghan: I mean, you know I already have something very similar across my back. McCarthy: This one's you, and that one's me, cause sometimes I'm like: Are we twinsies? Meghan: You know, maybe we save it for when I turn 50. McCarthy: Are you finally going to do a Suits reunion. Meghan: Why would I do a Suits reunion for my birthday? McCarthy: Why would the cast of Friends do a reunion for my birthday? But they did it. Meghan: They did say they would only ever do it for a historical event. I think the bigger idea is - McCarthy: Yacht party, yacht party! Who's ready for a yacht? [McCarthy puts on a beach hat and sunglasses while Meghan giggles] McCarthy: When you say no yacht, do you mean zero yachts? [Meghan shakes her head] Meghan: No, here's the idea. Because I'm turning 40, I'm asking 40 friends to donate 40 minutes of their time to help mentor a woman who's mobilising back into the workforce. Over two million women in the US alone and tens of millions around the world have lost their jobs due to Covid. And I think if we all do it and all commit 40 minutes to some sort of active service, we can create a ripple effect. You in? McCarthy: Yes times 40. Forty forty forty, and then 40 times I say yes. Is it ok if I still do it in the hat? Meghan: I wouldn't expect anything else. McCarthy: Thanks friend. Bye friend. Meghan: Cheers.
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Love Island fans work out reason Dejon apologised for his behaviour with ‘PR speech' during awkward Aftersun grilling
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DEJON Noel-Williams has defended his romance with Meg Moore on Love Island – while saying he needs to "reflct on his actions". The couple, who have split viewership with their romance were put up against Ty and Angel on tonight's episode for a shock final dumping led by Maya Jama. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 6 Dejon spoke about his behaviour in the villa on Aftersun Credit: ITV 6 Maya grilled him on the choices he made and the public's perception of him Credit: ITV Former islanders delivering their brutal verdict by returning for a face-to-face vote, Dejon and Meg were sent packing a day before the final in a nailbitingly tight vote. Appearing shortly after on Aftersun, Dejon and Meg were grilled on their romance and time in the villa, with Maya asking them about missing out on the final. "We definitely expected it. We were really to go home, to be honest," Dejon told her. "I mentioned to the few boys that, like, I feel like my Love Island experience is finished because I came here and got what I wanted with Meg." During the final vote, the pair's connection was called into question, with some noting that they didn't think Dejon could remain faithful outside the villa as he had his "head turned" with newcomers frequently. However, others thought they had already passed the honeymoon period, with their squabbles being a sign of a settled relationship. "It was interesting the way that we got dumped, because I feel like the decisions were definitely… you kind of heard from both people's point of view," Dejon said. "Some people saw bad things and some people saw good things. So it definitely made me in this time of being like reflect on my actions over the villa." When Maya asked if he understood why some people may have thought he had a game plan, Dejon added: "Yeah, definitely. "Coming in, I just thought, I'm on Love Island. I'm gonna explore connections, I'm gonna be flirty, I'm gonna see what my strongest connection was," he explained. Love Island OG's Meg and Dejon DUMPED by returning islanders "But in the back of my head, I always knew it was Meg, so I definitely see why that kind of… there's a lot of opinions about that, and I feel like I could have explored connections with being less flirty and stuff." "I definitely understand why people have their opinions regarding that, and even there's times that, honestly, she's stuck by me, and she tells me how she feels, and she stuck by me more than more than she should. More than I deserve a lot of times. "I'm very, very grateful for her, and now hopefully I can show what she deserves." While the sweet moment seemed to go down well with Meg, viewers still remained unconvinced, questioning Dejon's authenticity and claiming his comments were "practiced" and for clout. 6 The couple have left boyfriend and girlfriend, asserting they're set to last Credit: ITV 6 Dejon and Meg were one of the longest standing couples in the villa Credit: Eroteme "The PR tour has started already with Meg and Dejon on #aftersun 'ready to leave' sureeeeeee," wrote one. "Giving too much pr don't let dejon get away with it," noted a second, while a third said: "Dejon doing the old PR routine in this interview." While others thought he had an ulterior motive, claiming: "The way Dejon keeps waffling on on Aftersun it reeks of trying to still get a brand deals when he's actually back in the UK." "Dejon is doing a whole lot of talking but not actually saying anything," said another. 6 Dejon and Meg have divided viewers who have questioned their authenticity Credit: ITV
