With every new year comes a wave of new birthdays – whether they’re big 0′s or modest inbetween years, every year means finding the right birthday gifts for your friends…

Contrary to popular belief about Gay Best Friends, I’m terrible at buying gifts. I’m just like any other man in that I leave everything to the last minute. This is stupid and expensive. You see, if you plan way in advance of an upcoming birthday, you can take the time to source just the right gift, and have the added luxury of more time to hunt for a good price. Not only that, time allows you to make gifts that can often mean so much more. OK, making gifts does sound naff, but if one of my best girlfriends bought me a pair of jeans or made me a scrap book with all our photos in it – I know which I’d choose (no, not the jeans.)

Having said that, I have a demanding boyfriend, and an even more demanding group of best friends which means a lot of scrap books and a lot of time to make them. Luckily, we have the Internet at our fingertips. We’ve all heard of Groupon, right?! Well I was searching the Groupon site for deals in London and found some amazing local spa deals for the girls and I to go to – killing at least 4 Birthday stones with one search… How neat is that?

The moral? Either give yourself enough time, or rely on handy websites that offer great deals because no one likes to be the friend who gives crap Birthday presents, do they?!

Kylie’s back (again) donning a brunette hair-do and celebrating her 25 years in the music industry with ‘K25′…

25,000+ Kylie fans were quick to ‘unlock’ an acoustic Abbey Road performance of ‘Finer Feelings‘, officially opening the K25 ‘era’ in the process.

Kylie is due to release further re-releases of her classics throughout 2012. You can also check out Kylie’s 25-year timeline of her showbiz history over on kylie.com.

Watch the ‘Finer Feelings’ video below – what do you think?

Omg! #YES! The amazing David Guetta ft. Sia track ‘Titanium’ has been released with a video and everything! Good times.

I have been listening to the track for months on David Guetta’s album ‘Nothing But The Beat’ but I had no idea it would get released.

If I’m honest, whilst the song is fab – the video is pretty lame. A high school kid has supernatural powers and demolishes a school. It’s a bit budget to say the least.

There’s also a version featuring Mary J. Blige which I have put below too (not great at all though.)

Never mind – the song’s a cracker! Check it out!

Mary J. Blige’s Version:

Am I the only person in the UK who hasn’t heard of Eddie Redmayne?! Apparently he’s the face of Burberry’s Spring / Summer 2012 collection…

Previous British stars for Burberry (who I have heard of), includes Harry Potter star Emma Watson and Transformers actress Rosie Huntington-Whitely. So apparently this years’ line up is someone called, Cara Delevingne and Eddie Redmayne… Who the…?! I mean, the boy has freckles?! When was this OK in fashion?

OK, so I’m joking (a little). Eddie Redmayne plays the love interest in biopic ‘My Week With Marilyn’. But still – bring back Emma I say…

The one and only Kelly Clarkson has released the video to her second single and title track from her 5th studio album ‘Stronger‘.

I love Kelly Clarkson. I love how bitter and angry the majority of her songs are – perfect to sing along to when you’ve had a rough day! I must say though, Kelly is looking a little heavy recently – good look?!

Apparently he choreography was released before the video shoot, so her fans were able to learn it… Awesome.

Backcombing has been around since the sixties and earlier, when the beehive and bouffant hairdos puffed up all over the place. Now they’re back, and all kinds of styling products can help you get that bodacious hair.

You can spend hours teasing, spraying, tugging and combing or try one of the products that have been developed with the help of hairdressers. Try Babybliss root boost to get that backcombed style. It works by by adding textures to the layers of your hair, basically plumping the strands from root to tip.

There are a lot of different looks you can get with this tool; think the Supremes if you’re clubbing, James Dean for the movies, maybe even Debbie Harry at a cocktail party. The backcomb is fundamental to the alternative punk-rock look: gelled Mohawk, colourful extensions, eye makeup and a healthy dose of anarchy.

With the right tool, and enough hairspray, it’s easy to do. Section away your hair and begin with the layers underneath, starting at the roots. If you’re looking for maximum volume, divide the underneath layers and boost each layer, adding hairspray to each section to enrich the overall look.

Dividing small sections keeps the shape for longer because it condenses your hair. Be careful when sectioning short hair as this can give a finger-in-a-sparkplug look. Long hair will pick up a lot of volume, kind of like a messy tomcat, model-on-the-catwalk do. Work slowly with curly hair as this will pick up the most volume and may be prone to tangles!

Contrary to popular belief, I am not an advocate of dressing up dogs in ridiculous outfits. But I have to say, the Christmas outfit my best friend bought Amber really is adorable…

Christmas in my household is a big deal. There’s real holly on the tops of mirrors and canvases, a black artificial tree with red and silver baubles and beads to match the lounge and a real mini pine tree with silver and purple baubles in the kitchen. I really do love Christmas.

Now, courtesy of Beth, I have my very own Christmas dog too. #Fabulous.

I am super looking forward to seeing ‘The Vow’ starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams next year – what a combination.

So admittably, like most people, I’ve adored Rachel McAdams since her role as Regina George in the most amazing film ever made – Mean Girls. I have loved Channing Tatum, well, ever since I laid eyes on him. Total. Hotty. Let’s not to too shallow, he’s also been in some superb films.

The synopsis for The Vow is:

A newlywed couple recovers from a car accident that puts the wife in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, her husband endeavors to win her heart again.

Sounds like the perfect recipe for an awesome romance and, if there’s some topless or underwear shots of Channing thrown in to the mix, I clearly won’t object.

What do you guys think? Good film or total cheese? Check out The Vow’s trailer…

#YES! Little Mix have won the X Factor 2011!

Finally, the first girl band to ever win ITV’s X Factor talent show have been chosen and what more deserving winners than Little Mix?! The four girls delivered some absolutely outstanding performances throughout the series and I am so chuffed they won… I even voted – get me!

Mentored by UK talent Tulisa, Little Mix have simply proven that the bands can win the X Factor.

Check out one of my favourite performances from Little Mix with their mentor, Tulisa – they’re truly stunning. Were you guys pleased with the result?

Alexandra Burke has officially announced on Twitter than her new single will be called ‘Elephant’ and is due to be released on 26.02.12…

Alexandra tweeted:

‘I can officially confirm… My new single is called ‘Elephant’ Feat Erick Morillo … To pre order text AB to 80115 …. #Elephant … 26.02.12’

I am totally excited. Alexandra Burke is the only X Factor winner I’ve actually liked – I’m not even a huge fan of Leona Lewis to be honest… It’s a shame Alexandra is in Hong Kong right now on her way back from China… She should be performing at the X Factor final – OK.com, thank you.