Issue #127 - Ladies To Watch This Season!

[Witch Weekly]

  

[Witch Weekly]

Should you trust a mysterious potion in a recycled bottle? How do you tell your friend that you'd obviously look much better in her dress, without ruining your friendship?

Miss Portia Lilly Takes Your Beauty Questions Miss Portia Lilly is the resident Witch Weekly expert on fashion, beauty, and style. Since many of our letters this week revolved around those themes, she has temporarily taken over Miss Aidesworth's column to answer them. Q: I recently ordered a beauty potion by mail--it was a brand I've used before, but the bottle wasn't properly sealed when it arrived and the label looked a bit worn, and now I'm worried that I've actually been taken in by a scam. Could this potion be a fake, placed in an old discarded bottle from the good brand? I don't want to do anything silly, but I'm hesitant to throw it away (it cost a pretty penny!) Is there any way to be sure it's safe to use? A: There are ways to determine whether it is safe, however, without trying it out on a human (or human-like being such as a vampire), there is no way to know whether it will be effective. Here are some recommended tests: ~ Dab a spare rag in the potion and attempt to light it on fire with your wand. A true beauty potion is not flammable, and therefore the rag should be difficult to light and slow to burn. ~ Procure a worm from the pet store (these are available in large quantities as owl treats) and lay it in a small tray of the potion; if it is safe to ingest, the worm should not die but will be able to crawl out (Witch Weekly is not responsible for any mutated or giant worms resulting from this process) ~ If it has passed the first two tests and has the proper smell and color, it is unlikely to be fatal. Ensure that the first time you use it, you have a ready excuse to avoid company for at least a few days, because it may end up having the opposite of the desired effect, and may even leave you feeling queasy or ill (but it most likely will not kill you). Q: My friend has the worst fashion sense when it comes to pairing dresses with accessories--she always goes overboard and ruins perfectly good looks. I recently discovered that we purchased the same dress from a tailor in London, and she intends to wear this dress to a friend's birthday in a month. I was planning on wearing that dress, and I know that I will end up wearing it better than her--but I don't want to embarrass her. Should I try to talk her out of it? A: If you look as good in the dress as you think you will, it might be best to save it for another event. You don't want to put a strain on your friendship with this fashion-unconscious woman, and there isn't a way to mention this without making your feelings about her style choices obvious. Instead of trying to talk her out of her dress choice, perhaps try and talk her in to some better accessory choices. Maybe a subtle way to start would be suggesting that you come over before the next party and get ready together--or, even better, invite her to your house, so that she doesn't have access to her usual array of overblown accessories.

  

[Witch Weekly]

Ladies To Watch This Season! With the start of the 1887 season almost upon us, social events will begin popping up left and right. Based on the year so far, here are our picks for the most auspicious social butterflies--women that any man ought to try to dance with at least once, and any hostess ought not to keep off her invite list! With lovely dark locks and excellent coloring, everything about Miss Lestrange speaks of good breeding! Tatiana Lestrange debuted from the illustrious Pendergast School for Young Roses last year, and has shown herself to be a model of grace and elegance ever since. Her cousin, Ellory Pendergast, is in a similar position--though with a bit more colorful backstory, anyone with their eyes on Miss Pendergast for either a friend or a potential wife must needs be able to handle a bit of excitement! She only returned from her most recent (still somewhat mysterious) disappearance earlier this month! Both are upper class, with pure magical ancestry. Miss Wilhelmina Pendergast, known to her friends and family as "Minnie" (how precious!) is another alum of the Pendergast School for Young Roses, and another cousin to the young ladies mentioned above. Miss Minnie Pendergast may perhaps be said to be the somewhat less exciting Pendergast debutante, but that should not be a deterrant--surely there are many men who would prefer to have a beautiful young wife with no prior history of kidnapping! Ligeia Baudelaire could be added to the list of cousins, albeit only through marriage, as her sister Antigone became a very young bride to Tiberius Lestrange several years ago. The charming and clever Miss Beaudelaire doesn't seem to have set her own sights on marriage just yet, but we at Witch Weekly really cannot fathom why! A beautiful blond, Miss Apollodora Vablatsky also has a lovely figure, when she isn't hiding it beneath robes! On the subject of prestigious families, we really cannot overlook Apollodora Vablatsky. While the Vablatsky line is not as old as the Lestrange or Pendergast one, they do have a reputation that speaks for itself. As for Miss Apollodora herself, she has been delighting (and sometimes dismaying) crowds at social gatherings since before she even properly debuted, and is sure to be a priceless addition to any event's guest list!

Miss Ophelia Dippet's fashion sense has continued to be a topic of conversation in the most elite social circles! Of course we could not fail to mention Miss Ophelia Dippet on our list of ladies to watch. The only surviving relative of the famous Armando Dippet, Miss Dippet has already wowed the staff of Witch Weekly and, indeed, most of wizarding society with her excellent fashion sense and her charm--and, most recently, with her event planning skills through her grandfather's Quarter Millenium Birthday Party. A dashing young woman who would make an admirable wife for any man! A transplant from Beauxbatons, Rowena Holwick has been slowly making herself a charming fixture of the British social scene. Unfortunately without much established wizarding family to recommend her, Miss Holwick none the less continues to dazzle fellow guests with her poise and intellect. Miss Amelia Evans is a stunningly beautiful woman with auburn hair--and strikingly unusual, heterochromatic eyes! Amelia Evans may be a touch older than the rest of the ladies on our list, but she more than makes up for it with charm and wit. Miss Evans is a middle-class halfblood who fills her daytimes taking care of adorable animals at the Beautiful Beast Boutique. She was formerly seen in the company of Mr. Barnabas Skeeter, of dueling commission notoriety--but as no plans seem to be progressing she has found herself quite firmly on our list of eligible ladies. Another Amelia, Miss Amelia Scamander, seems to spend most of her time working--and certainly has her hands full as a healer at the Hogsmeade hospital! That being said, Miss Scamander comes from an excellent family line, as well as from money, and is very much eligible. Keep her on your guests lists, socialites, or the poor dear may find herself working far too hard this summer, and you know what they say--all work and no play makes Amelia a dull girl indeed! Finally, another middle-class Miss, though this one without anything to distract her from being a stunning addition to the social scene: Miss Lily Huddleston is a dark haired, elegant beauty whose energy adds life to any conversation. An absolute must-have at any of your intimate gatherings, Miss Huddleston is sure to infuse even the smallest group with new vigor.

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   Artemisia Carrow

[Witch Weekly]

Spring has sprung and with the upcoming season, the social circles are buzzing with gossip!

News Around Town! There's a whole lot of fuss going on at the Podmore Zoological gardens! Construction, scaffolding, it's all very hush hush! I wonder what's going on! You don't think something go out, do you? I heard that the Dueling Tournament was quite exciting! Apparently there was quite a bit of transfiguration going on! Mr. Vernon Avery was turned into a cat and Mr. Alexander Echelon had elephant ears! It seemed Mrs. Black's birthday party was quite the affair! So much so that Mrs. Antigone Lestrange seemed to have fainted! Perhaps the attire was too tight or maybe there's something else? Headmaster Black also managed to make an appearance at his wife's birthday! He was only briefly spotted a few times; clearly he wanted to let the light shine on his wife on her special day!

  

[Witch Weekly]

The sort of love one reads about in romance novels is not always realistic or even desirable! Excitement and passion cannot last forever and is so often like a house built on sand.

Ask Harmony Aidsworth Dear Miss Aidsworth, I have recently had a request of courtship from a gentleman whom I find to be very kind and really, very gentlemanly in every sense of the word. However, I do not think that I feel anything deeper than friendship and admiration for him. I have had my heart broken on more than one occasion before and I fear I may still have feelings for the gentleman who broke it last. I feel very dishonest for accepting this gentleman's attentions but I am advancing in years and how am I to know that feelings will not eventually form? I cannot believe he feels particular romantic affection for me yet, but I still fear I may be misleading him. What if he should fall in love with me and I cannot return his affection? Yours, Miss Lovelorn Dear Miss Lovelorn, Do not allow your past experience to frighten you from a happy future which you surely deserve! While love is an ideal we should all like in our married lives, sometimes a more platonic, companionable love is the sort that outlasts all else. That passionate romance often dies as quickly as it is ignited and may leave a married couple to a relationship of indifference, or worse. Give your gentleman a chance to woo you before making any rash decisions that you may regret forever. Sometimes the extent of our affection is unknown until we lose the object of it forever. Yours Sincerely, Harmony Aidsworth

  

[Witch Weekly]