A cure for shopaholic girlfriends with hypnosis may seem a dream for some men but of course it's really just a joke that has helped raise £3000 for charity after a donation from Simon Cowell.

Simon was with his other half Lauren Silverman at  acharity auction in Barbados for stray dogs and paid £3000 for a private session with Famous Hypnotherapist Pail Mckenna. According to the Sun A source said: “It was a huge joke and the whole room roared with laughter when he bid. Simon is concerned with Lauren’s shopping and thought this was a great way to bring up the subject without being too confrontational. Lauren, her mum and stepmum thought it was great fun. She was a bit concerned later that Paul might make her look silly while under a spell.”

Of course the truth is that SImon and Paul have been friends for years and in fact Simon turned to him for help earlier in his career and credits him with helping to make him the music and television mogul that he is.

So, if you are wondering whether you can actually hypnotise someone to stop shopping...well that depends. If you really wanted to do it then hypnosis would help you to get what you wanted, but if you wanted to get someone to make your other hald stop shopping and they didn't want to then, it just wouldnt work. Remember, you can't make people do anything they don't want to do. A bit like the fact that Simon seems to struggle to get people to buy the latest X Factor winners single!