The Emma Guns Show

The Russell Brand case has been big news, but since his sentencing, so has this idea that we're about to be faced with an avalanche of similar cases from the world of celebrity. I have some thoughts, having spent 10 years, from 2003 to 2012, interviewing celebrities as part of my job, not just on the cases we may expect but how the silence (including mine) needs to stop.

Also, some honesty about what I'm doing here, and on all the other platforms where I publish content...

Please do follow me on Instagram and Substack - I'd love...

This is one thing I wish everyone knew about hair loss is that you really don't need to do so much. Also, while I hate rage bait and creating content for your haters, this needed saying...

Oh, and this is the L'Oreal product I was talking about from Superdrug.

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Ateh Jewel (@atehjewel) is my guest in this episode of The Beauty Podcast and she tells me about her fabulous website Jewel Tones Beauty while we do a little bit of over-heating in her car.

In this conversation we talk about life, love, why taking the harder road is the most rewarding path, and a chat between Ateh and I just wouldn't be right without referencing the legendary RuPaul and RuPaul's Drag Race.

One of our topics of conversation is the piece Ateh wrote on her website called Mummy, why is your tummy so big? an...

Something rather strange happened online for me the other day. I spoke negatively about a beauty product. I didn’t name the brand just showed the product and said how displeasing it was to see medical professionals recommending it when they should know better. 

I thought I was about to come in for a lot of criticism for ‘starting’ but, as it turned out, the response was quite unexpected. I’d be curious to know what you think and whether it’s more helpful sometimes to have a trusted voice say ‘save your money’?

Also, in this episode...

Michelle Heaton (@wonderwomanshel / www.michelleheatonfitness.com) is a pop princess, TV presenter, reality TV star and actress, and there's a chance you think you have the measure of her. I wouldn't be so sure...

In this podcast Michelle and I talk about health, fitness, motivation and how to deal with anything and everything that life throws at you.

You don't need to follow the news too closely to know that Michelle has had her fair share of ups and downs. While she may have included us all in the good times via the glossy pages...

I my latest Superdrug Beauty Column, I share why the best skincare routine is one that hinges on the 'Core Four'. Four proven active ingredients that protect, hydrate, restore and regenerate your skin and provide the foundation for a truly epic, fool-proof routine. Would you strip your routine back to these four actives?

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Marc Elrick from Tan Luxe (@tan_luxe) is my guest in this episode of The Beauty Podcast and boy do we have a giggle. It's hard not to when you have someone like Marc in the room - he's positive, energetic and extremely creative, which makes him a joy to be around. 

Marc is the CEO and Founder of Tan Luxe, which has become an instant hit for its easy-to-use, no fuss approach to achieving a healthy-looking, believable tan, so I wanted to sit him down to find out about his incredibly upbeat approach to life and h...

Ampika Pickston is probably best known as part of the cast of The Real Housewives of Cheshire on ITVBe, where she navigates the glitzy world of fast cars, designer handbags and footballers' wives... 

When I found out she was launching her own range of haircare, Ampika Lox, I jumped at the chance to invite her on the show because, as a fan of Bravo TV's most successful franchise, I hadn't failed to spot Ampika's self-confidence and sense of self, so chatting beauty with one of my favourite housewives was a no-brainer.

Truthfully, I had no i...

I've written about my thoughts on Steven Bartlett's life-ruining alcohol consumption here and my Superdrug column can be found here.

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Lee Pycroft (@leepycroft) is a celebrity makeup artist, brand ambassador and business owner. She has been responsible for beautifying some of the world's most famous A-list talent for the red carpet, has made natural-born-supermodels look even more heavenly in front of the camera and is frequently quoted in the press for her incredible makeup skills and brand insight.

Lee invited me round for a pot of Buddha Tears Tea and this podcast where we talk about working with celebrities, love, relationships, setting boundaries and how to stay grounded and find balance - and she shares her pursuit o...

Have you seen it? Did we need to see it? Miranda Priestly is back but should she have told the town car to 'Go!' instead of making a soft return?

Also in this episode, details of my beauty column in Superdrug. Read my beauty column here: https://www.superdrug.com/emma-guns-may

Ad info: Paid partnership with Superdrug.

Hey! Why not share your thoughts and insights to make your listening experience even better. Complete this listener survey to tell me what you want to hear: http://bit.ly/theemmagunsshow-survey

...

In this episode I’m joined by the fabulous Terri White, editor of Empire magazine and fellow beauty enthusiastic. 

One of my reasons for inviting Terri onto the show - other than her utter coolness - was because she wrote a feature for Red Magazine last year where she talked about her love of eyeliner. As a fellow wearer of the feline flick I know that those black lines are often less about emphasising the eyes and more about putting a don’t-f***-with-me barrier between me and the world. She said it perfectly and you can read...

If you want an honest answer about pretty much anything to do with beauty then speak to Nadine Baggott. She has an encyclopaedic beauty knowledge and I've never asked her a questions she hasn't known the answer to. You'll see what I mean when you listen to the show...

We cover a lot of ground in this episode, but Nadine references a BRILLIANT article which you can read in full here --> Generation Y. 

We talk about the cult of contouring, what beauty buys you should and shouldn't spend your money on and why being y...

Joining me in this episode is Abi Cleeve the MD of Ultrasun UK. On the topic of sun care she is, quite simply, an oracle and if you've ever felt bamboozled by the meaning of UVA or UVB, wondered what on earth 'broad spectrum' means and whether SPF 20 means you can spend 20 minutes in the sun or not, then this is a show you need to tune in to. Oh, and if you worry about those high factor formulas on young children, then you won't want to miss her intel... She even corrected some bad SPF behaviour in this...

Helen Thorn is a Sunday Times Best-Selling author and comedian who joins me on the show to talk about her new book How to Face Big Change and Come Back Stronger. It's a brilliant and gentle guide, with the help of 50 incredible women, to navigating the crappy things that happy in life without letting you have any less of a good time.

I've always found Helen to be kind, warm and generous and this book, full of advice, wisdom and camaraderie is a book only she could have written. I highly recommend you buy a copy...

This isn’t goodbye, but it is the end of a chapter. In this episode, I’m sharing why I’m pressing pause on new episodes (although there will be some surprise mid-week pop-ups) and taking a step back to rethink the podcast and what I want it to become. I’ll be revisiting and republishing past conversations while I figure out what comes next.

Please do follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my Substack to keep up with everything I'm doing...

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This weekend was all about the Manosphere after I watched Louis Theroux's documentary Inside the Manosphere and read Jack Burke's piece in The Times on Looksmaxxing. Both of these phenomena focus on male-dominated online spaces that veer to the far right with extreme misogynistic and anti-feminist sentiments. They are two pieces of media that really made me think and I've unpicked, in part, why in my latest Substack, which you can subscribe to and read here.

I would absolutely love to know what you think - please do go to the comments section and share your...

If you subscribe to my Substack (I love you!) then you would have seen my column about how wellness messaging on products has, in my opinion, gone too far. We are all entitled to create a spa-like experience in our own home but it's my belief that brands latching the benefits of their products onto you taking a moment to yourself is really quite disingenuous. In this episode, I explain why it got me so riled and why we should expect better of brands.

If you've been here a while then you'll know I am often...

A little white ago I stepped away from conversations about hormones, perimenopause and menopause on this podcast.

Not because women’s health stopped being important, for from it! It was because the conversation became louder, more crowded and, for many women, more confusing than helpful. Conflicting advice, competing experts and endless rules have left many of us wondering what actually matters, and what we should actually do day to day to feel better.

In this episode, I’m joined by physician and bestselling author Dr. Amy Shah to discuss her new book, Hormone Havoc. Rather than anot...

The question I think I'm asked most when it comes to beauty these days is, 'should I be taking collagen?' It sells a good story, doesn't it? Take this daily supplement and all that collagen and youthfulness we're told starts to deteriorate after we hit 30, will be topped up and wrinkles, jowls and sagging will have a much harder time showing up on your skin.

It's all great but where's the proof? Just because we begin to lose our collagen stores as we age, doesn't mean eating or drinking collagen will do the job we...

Sometimes you just have to be honest with yourself and, when it comes to my latest efforts regarding my diet and training, I have to accept the fact that a seven week plateau is probably a sign that I've found myself doing 'just enough' instead of 'what's required to make change'.

That doesn't mean I'm defeated, far from it. I'd rather be realistic and adjust now than keep going for another six weeks and find myself in the same position. I've given it a fair crack but the science would say, I'm not doing enough (in...

I'm still persevering with this new nutrition and training plan but I'm not going to lie, it's not easy. Not to sound like a brat, but without any feedback (read: scale results) it's difficult to believe it's working so, six weeks in, I'm still leaning heavily into hope. I hope this works, I hope the effort will lead to reward and I hope that I am working smarter, not stupider.

There's no escaping that some really dark and frightening things are happening the world right now. Yes, we should all be aware and informed but the...

In the previous episode, I talked about how my new approach to diet and exercise - working smarter, not harder - had been a challenge because things got worse before they got better. Many listeners wrote to me asking me to delve a little deeper into this uncomfortable phases so, in this episode, I'm talking about the 'messy middle'.

Forget about the metrics, this 'messy middle' was more about the mental and emotional discomfort that started to show up. After years of being rewarded for control, I let go. I stopped restricting, I stopped over-training, I...

Right, we're in the hardest part of any change-making - the bit where it gets worse before it, hopefully, gets better. Changing my diet and fitness regime at the same time has meant learning lots of new lessons, perhaps more importantly, unlearning a lot of what I thought be true, and holding on tightly while the turbulence of change has me desperately wanting to 'eject'.

What I keep coming back to is that what worked for me before had stopped working and a new approach is the best way forward. Even though it's tempting to go...

Do you immediately assume that doing less equates to being lazy? More than that, do you feel that if you aren't constantly 'on' that the world will assume you aren't a motivated, successful, go-getter?

Over the last few weeks, I've been a guinea-pig in my own 'what's the worst that can happen if I do less?' experiment and the results, so far, have been surprising. Not least because, truth be told, I have created an identity around going above and beyond, over-delivering and always being poised to pounce on the next idea that to make...

Why doing 'more' is often the wrong move.

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It's not that I've been going wrong, as such, but after eight months of effort towards body recomposition, I've had to acknowledge that something wasn't working. I'm not mad or upset because, ultimately, I've maintained my 50lb weight loss. However, if you've set your sights on a goal and after months of effort, you are no closer, it's only sensible to take a look at your output and see what you could be doing differently.

The plot twist here is that my new approach actually feels like doing less.

But, if you don't...

It's natural to get to the end of the year and assess and appraise the 12 months that have just passed. As someone who has, for a few years now, found the 'new year, new you' and the whole resolutions/manifesting/visualisation/vision board culture borderline offensive AND ONLY TARGETED AT WOMEN, I haven't indulged too much in the idea that I need to make huge changes.

However, 2025 has involved a fair few realisations, epiphanies and general 'what has worked before is no longer working now' and it's become clear that it's time to try a different...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Evy Pompouras.

This episode was originally published in May 2021.

Evy Poumpouras is a speaker, mentor and former Secret Service agent who joins me on the podcast to share her feel-good habits, the strategies she uses and recommends to make sure every day is a good day.

In this episode, @evypoumpouras shares:

•Why avoidance gets you nowhere and it pays to face and address the things in life you find challenging.

•Why so many...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Lily Pebbles.

This episode was originally published in August 2020.

Lily Pebbles is a content creator who joins me to share her feel-good habits and how she stops a bad day from becoming a bad week.

Hey! Why not share your thoughts and insights to make your listening experience even better. Complete this listener survey to tell me what you want to hear: http://bit.ly/theemmagunsshow-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Hannah Ferrier.

This episode was originally published in August 2021.

Hannah Ferrier is a businesswoman and star of Below Deck Me who joins me to share her feel-good habits, the strategies she uses and recommends to make sure every day is a good day.In this episode, @hannahferrier234 explains: - Why she’s leaning into healthy eating and training, not just because her hens’ party is imminent but because the mental clarity is gives her, especially in lockdown, makes it a...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Alex Light.

This episode was originally published in Nov 2020.

Alex Light returns to the podcast to share her feel-good habits, the strategies she uses and recommends to make sure every day is a good day.

During our conversation @alexlight_ldn reveals:

•The importance of good sleep on how she feels.

•The role music plays in her day and why a session on the piano can clear her head.

•The power she fin...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Ruth Crilly.

This episode was originally published in April 2021.

Ruth Crilly is a writer, content creator and model who returns to the podcast to share her feel-good habits, the strategies she uses and recommends to make sure every day is a good day.

During our conversation @ruthcrilly reveals:

•Why walking is essential for feeling good, clearing her head and putting life into perspective.

•The joy of some time alone with a magazine and c...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Nadine Baggott.

Nadine Baggott joins me on the podcast to share her feel-good habits, the strategies she uses and recommends to make sure every day is a good day.

As you’d expect from Nadine, these habits are practical, honest and there is absolutely no sugar-coating whatsoever. To quote one of Nadine’s favourite films, ‘buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy night’. 

During our conversation @nadinebaggott reveals:

•The benefits of having pets and the...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Leanne Hainsby.

Leanne Hainsby is a UK @peloton instructor who joins me on the podcast to share her feel-good habits, the strategies he uses and recommends to make sure every day is a good day.

In this episode, @leannehainsby shares:

•Why exercise is such an important focus in her day - and not just because of her job.

•How she’ll choose exercise based on what her mind, body and soul really need that day.<...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Lucy Pinder.

Lucy Pinder is a model, actress and podcaster who joins me to share her feel-good habits, the strategies she uses and recommends to make sure every day is a good day.

In this episode, @pinderpix explains:

•Why it might be predictable but there really is something to be said for the way exercise makes you feel, not just physically but mentally and emotionally too.

•How she's come to appreciate the broader benefits of e...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. In this episode, Lorna Luxe.

This episode was originally published in July 2021.

In this episode, @lornaluxe and I discuss:

•The joy of staying in bed and why the narrative of getting up early somehow equals success isn't true.

•Why switching off devices, as advised by Marie Reynolds, has been a quick way to maximise sleep in the Luxe household.

•The Tony Robbins technique that helps Lorna prime every day to be a good day and why it...

Here's some twinkly goodness in the shape of my Top 10 Feel Good Habits interviews. First up, Caroline Hirons.

This episode was originally published in March 2021.

Caroline is a best-selling author, skincare expert, businesswoman and consultant who admits that while she doesn’t struggle with feeling down, she does have a series of habits that set her up for a great day. 

During our conversation @carolinehirons reveals:

•How and why she developed a ‘let’s just get on with it, shall we?’ attitude.

•Why she has surrounded herself with ‘no’ instead of ‘yes’...

If you've been with me and this podcast for a while, you'll know that a lot has happened in the nearly 10 years I've been publishing the show. Back in 2016 I was a very different version of myself; bruised from broken friendships, toxic workplaces and a type of slow erosion of myself caused by a rainbow of life's experiences.

I was chatting to a friend recently during a road trip about how life can sometimes feel as though it kicks you when you're down, how the pain of broken friendships is sharp, hideous and heart-breaking and she...

For a little while now, I've been feeling professionally frustrated. I am, as a reminder, a journalist who has specialised in health and beauty and interviewing. However, the landscapes within which I've worked for nearly 25 years have changed so drastically that it can sometimes feel as though you're always on the back foot. In the past 12 years, I've gone from being a print journalist to embracing social media, podcasting, video and now Substack and the need to be constantly aware of what the next big thing might be means one thing can fall by the wayside - quality.