When Meghan Markle stepped out in a $1,600 wool coat, Hermes scarf and Chanel flats last month, it wasn’t her outfit that caught attention. 

Her most talked-about accessory was a small blue sticker on her left wrist – an anti-stress NuCalm patch that has become popular among wellness gurus and biohackers and promises to provide ‘resonance and frequencies’. 

As a person with a high baseline stress level, I was immediately intrigued – and was prepared to pay the $80 for a pack of 20 NuCalm stickers (plus the $30-a-month for the company’s companion app).

If it is good enough to keep the Duchess of Sussex calm,  I figured it would be an easy counter to my daily stressors.

When I went to NuCalm’s website to learn what I was in for, I was met with jargon that only a Ph.D. student could understand.

The site said the sticker works by ‘tapping into the body’s Pericardium Meridian with particular electromagnetic frequencies of inhibitory neurotransmitters to interrupt the HPA axis and downregulate sympathetic tone.’ 

Come again? 

I couldn’t help but feel the jargon was intentional to mask the fact the sticker is based on traditional Chinese medicine techniques rather than sound science.

For 10 days straight, I wore the sticker on the ‘pericardium-6 acupuncture point’, which is a fancy way of saying the inside of my left wrist.

In traditional Chinese medicine, that pressure point is said to be part of the ‘Pericardium meridian energy pathway’ which, when stimulated through acupressure, can influence the flow of vital energy or ‘qi’ and blood along that pathway. 

If you rolled your eyes while reading that description, you’re like me. But for the first two days of my trial, I was surprised by how much I felt the reduction in general stress.

Whether it was a placebo effect or sheer optimism about a possible anxiety treatment that’s not a pill made by big pharma, I’m still not quite sure.

When you wear the sticker, you get a mild sense of pressure on your wrist which took a bit of getting used to.

After around day three, and I started to forget the sticker was there, the stress and anxiety came back – which makes me confident there’s something psychosomatic going on when it comes to NuCalm’s anti-anxiety effects.

There were long periods throughout the test where I noticed that my breathing felt smooth and more consistent than usual – but again, was I just hypersensitive to my body? I’m still undecided.

As the week went on, I would feel bouts of uneasiness creep back in – waiting on the claustrophobic subway platform during rush hour or holding my breath on the phone as the dial tone buzzed hoping my source on the other end would pick up. 

But periodically, when I spotted the sticker on the inside of my wrist again, my breathing would ease up, my thoughts would slow to a normal pace, and my muscles would loosen.

It was as if the sticker were a reminder rather than an actual medical device. 

I attempted to dig up some scientific research that could offer an answer to my question – was it all in my head? 

But the answer eluded me, even after following up with the NuCalm website’s repeated claims to be ‘clinically proven’. 

I found no such clinical trial or research on any sort of wearable bio-signaling disc.

When it comes to sleep quality, I did feel  marginally more rested over the 10 days. 

The NuCalm Deep Sleep channel on the app features music that can run for hours, though it’s not the actual music that lulls you sleep.

The frequencies from the music are said to synchronize brain waves to other frequencies associated with different states of being – alpha and theta, which mimic the body’s natural communication processes to initiate sleep.

The difference after a night of wearing the disc and listening to hours of low frequencies was marginal, though I noticed myself hitting the snooze button fewer times, suggesting the quality of my sleep was improved. 

Given the spotty science and tepid reviews from neuroscientists, it’s worth dissecting the company’s claims. 

The company likens the small disc inside each sticker to a battery holding a charge. 

When the sticker is pressed against a pressure point, the body pulls frequencies of energy from it that activate the part of the nervous system that modulates our responses to stress. 

The question of what exactly is inside this disc to prompt the sort of communication between neurons the company is so proud of remains a bit murky. 

The company credits frequency tuning and sound resonance to make its discs work but elsewhere on the site it says that the discs include ‘a proprietary blend of inhibitory neurotransmitters, primarily GABA.’ 

But elsewhere, NuCalm’s CEO Jim Poole has said the discs each contain a tiny Tesla coil to emit frequencies. 

The technology was developed over a period of 20 years by the late neuroscientist Dr Blake Holloway.

But Mr Poole is not himself a scientist, rather he was a business major from Babson College in Massachusetts.

Sophie Summers, a blogger on the Fitness Junkie Blog, said of her experience with a 30-minute session of meditation through the app coupled with the sticker on her wrist: ‘As the beautiful sounds swirled around me I could feel my whole body relax.

‘It was as though I could feel my entire body as once but also parts of it individually. My whole body, but especially my arms and chest became very heavy.

‘The thought of moving my arms seemed like an impossible task. But the feeling was so wonderful that I wouldn’t dare even try for the fear of losing the deep relaxation.

‘I was calm, relaxed, grounded.’

The price tag likely will not deter people who pride themselves on being attuned to their personal health, nor will its lofty promises deter so-called wellness gurus who have successfully monetized the quest for self-improvement.

Harry and Meghan enjoyed a date night out in Montecito to celebrate the Duchess’ birthday – a day after the couple made their first public appearance together in months.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were seen in good spirits, smiling and laughing, as they were pictured leaving the trendy Italian restaurant Tre Lune, a favourite among A listers including Kourtney Kardashian and Ellen DeGeneres.

Meghan, who turns 42 today, looked glamorous wearing a strapless column-style black and white Posse dress, priced at £188, paired with her beloved Cult Gaia bag and flat strappy black sandals. The Prince accompanied her wearing a linen blue shirt and white trousers.

The pair entered the popular eatery, where musician Travis Barker was spotted earlier that night, and they were joined by their good friend Matt Cohen, husband of the Duchess of Sussex’s friend of many years Heather Dorak.

It is the Californian-based royals’ second public appearance within days, after weeks of not being seen together, showing the pair are determined to present a united front and combat swirling rumours about strains behind the scenes.

Meals at the Italian restaurant range from $24 (£19) to $61 (£48). Italian-lovers can also choose from 24 different pasta and risotto meals, while an array of meat and fish dishes on offer, from salmon fillets $44 (£37) to filet mignon steak $65 (£55).

Photographs show the couple walking out of the restaurant front, before Meghan is seen pointing at something in the distance. They then jump in a car that appears to have been waiting for them.

The Duchess kept her jewellery simple for the outing, opting to go without any necklaces in order to allow her décolletage to remain on full display in the strapless dress design. She chose chunky gold hoop earrings, as well as a stack of bracelets on one wrist, to add a bit of sparkle, however.

This included her favorite $5,427 Cartier Love bracelet and what appeared to be her £3,736 Jennifer Meyer Gold Mini Bezel Tennis Bracelet.

The pair have been faced with mounting speculation about their future in Hollywood, after their deal with audio giant Spotify was axed and one their planned Netflix shows was quietly dropped.

Their celebratory outing comes after the couple appeared to combat their falling popularity and quash any negative rumours by appearing in a happy two-minute, 40 second clip released on Wednesday.

They were seen surprising US recipients of the first Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund (RTYPF) grants with phone calls to congratulate them. Their Archwell Foundation is a founding member of the initiative that will help fund 26 youth-led projects. 

Harry, 38, also mentioned their children Archie, four, and Lilibet, two, telling one winner in a call: ‘Thank you for doing everything that you do. Our kids especially are incredibly grateful.’ Meghan then added: ‘They don’t know it yet, but they will!’

The Sussexes are thought to be in danger of losing millions after their lucrative Spotify deal was axed and further concerns were raised over the future of their Netflix deal.

Further questions were raised over the future projects of ‘Brand Sussex’ after Hollywood powerhouse Jeremy Zimmer dismissed Meghan as ‘not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent’.

The dismissal followed the scathing remarks made by one of Spotify’s podcast chiefs, who branded the couple ‘f***ing grifters’.

Sources close to the couple insisted they were both ‘fine’ despite becomingly increasingly ‘fed up’ by the rumour mill, adding that the pair were determined to make their move to America a success.

The Duke and Duchess have been plagued by a series of gossip-fueled claims since their last public appearance in May.

The pair had been at an awards ceremony in New York but ended chaotically with opposing reports that they were chased by paparazzi through the city.

One suggestion was that the couple had stepped back from joint projects and were instead focusing on solo ventures.

The rumour came after Meghan was signed to power agency William Morris Endeavor, and Harry, 38, working on a Netflix series with a trip to Botswana.

The couple have since become increasingly irritated by the speculation swirling around them.

One source told OK! Magazine: ‘The Sussexes’ marriage is fine,’ adding that unfounded online snipes had stemmed from Harry’s upcoming solo trip to Africa.

‘That’s a work trip. It’s not a sign of trouble.’

Similarly, an ‘insider’ told PageSix last month that the rumours were categorically ‘not true. It’s literally made up’.

Others close to the Californian-based royals said that their struggle to make a mark on Hollywood and have their new careers take off was simply a result of ‘growing pains’.

The pair signed multi-million-pound deals with both Spotify and Netflix after moving across the pond in 2020, but these since stagnated.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lucrative Spotify project was dramatically pulled last month after they produced one 12-episode podcast and a festive special over three years.

The couple also reportedly did not produce enough content to receive the full pay-out from the reported £18million deal they signed after stepping down as senior working royals.

But sources have said that the deal ended early because there was too much ‘red tape’ and they were ‘given no formal lay of the land’, which set them up to fail.

There were claims that the couple had ‘lots of ideas and did pitch them’ but none of them ever took off and ‘things moved very slowly on both ends’.

One of those ideas, Bloomberg reported, was Harry’s suggestion to interview ‘controversial’ guests such as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump about their childhoods.

Another one of the Prince’s ideas reportedly touted was to interview the Pope on fatherhood – despite not having children.

Meanwhile their Netflix docuseries Live to Lead failed to take off, while a Meghan-driven animation called Pearl, about a girl inspired by female leaders, was quietly dropped.

But an industry executive told People that there was still time for the couple to turn things around, adding: ‘Has their final chapter been written? Absolutely not…Hollywood loves a comeback.’

The Inspector calls at Cliveden House, the hotel where Meghan Markle stayed before the royal wedding. However, he doesn’t exactly get the royal treatment. Here’s his verdict…

By The Inspector

Updated: 05:12 EDT, 20 June 2023

Advertisement

Jessica Mulroney, the one-time best friend of Meghan Markle, has continued her lavish London trip by visiting some of the city’s top cultural hotspots and restaurants. 

The Canadian stylist, 43, arrived in the UK on Thursday, and has since made appearances at a number of hotspots, including Isabel Mayfair – which is frequented by Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – and Claridge’s. 

Updating her followers on Instagram yesterday, she shared snaps of pieces of street art she came across in the city, before heading to the National Gallery. 

In the evening, the stylist changed into a form-fitting vest top to dine at one of the Ivy Asia restaurants. 

The stylist, who has previously been close to the Duchess of Sussex, arrived in London on Thursday – around a week before the King’s Coronation on 6 May.

The Canadian native took the time to gush over one of her favourite pieces by French painter Edgar Degas during her trip to the museum, before sharing a time-lapse video of her visit.

The evening was then spent fine dining, with the mother-of-two treating herself to some Asian delicacies served up on a steamy plate shaped like a dragon.  

Earlier in the trip, Jessica also posted a short clip panning the glamorous interior of Isabel’s.

Jessica was also spotted out on Friday night, this time heading to Claridge’s with  Emilia Serhant – who stars in reality TV show Million Dollar Listing New York.

Emilia and Jessica both posted photographs inside the extravagant Claridge’s, self-described as ‘one of the best five star luxury hotels in the world’.

The stylist wore a sheer, lace bodysuit for the occasion, paired with a chic black trouser suit. She left her hair loose around her shoulders, with a bold pink lip. 

It is unclear exactly what Jessica’s plans are while in the capital, but she is arriving just in time to join a coronation street party.

Posting a photo of the screen in front of her as she boarded her Air Canada flight on Thursday night, she wrote: ‘Bye Toronto!’ and signalled she was going to sleep.

The screen showed a ‘London guide’ which included a photo of Big Ben – which is just yards away from Westminster Abbey, where the coronation will be held. 

Jessica and Meghan have previously been very close friends, having met while the Duchess was just starting out on Suits.

However the pals appeared to become more distant in 2020 when the style guru was called out by lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter for comments she made regarding white privilege while the pair had a conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Since the awkward moment, mother-of-three Jessica has kept quiet on her relationship with Meghan.

Jessica’s visit to London comes after Meghan’s pal Gayle King has insisted the Sussexes are in a ‘really good place’.

The presenter claimed that the Sussexes are happier than ever despite the continuing tensions with the Royal Family following their Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir Spare.

She told US Weekly: ‘I think they make the decision that’s best for them. But I think — as [far as] his dad [Charles] — I’m glad he’s going’.

After the couple cuddled up watching the LA Lakers this week, but Meghan shunned a public kiss from Harry on the jumbotron, Gayle said: ‘You’ve seen the two of them together and I know what they have is really true-blue. And it’s good to see the happiness that they give each other’.