October 29, 2018 at 08:20AM If you’ve been to a wedding recently, you’ve probably witnessed this scene: The organs swell, the bride starts walking down the aisle…and dozens of smartphone-clutching hands crane to catch perfect snap of the whole thing. With the addictive effect phones have on us—and our the constant need to get the money shot at any and every occasion—it’s become commonplace for guests to experience weddings through their screens instead of their own eyeballs. To say the least, this behavior has brought about some negative results. Earlier this month, a bride posted a video of her cell-phone-wielding stepmother getting elbowed out of the way by the professional photographer who wanted (and was, like, kind of contractually obligated) to capture the couple’s first kiss. (The bride, it should be noted, was happy with the photographer’s course of action.) So, it’s really no surprise that more and more soon-to-be brides and grooms are opting to have an unplugged wedding. “It’s a special and magical day for people, and the only way to keep those feelings intact is to make sure that people stay present,” says Jen Glantz, the professional bridesmaid who founded Bridesmaid for Hire. “Couples want their guests to bask in all that they have to offer on that day. That’s why the no-phone policy is trending.” And, to be clear, the policy is trending: A Pinterest rep tells me “Unplugged wedding ceremonies” pins started gaining traction in 2016, have continued to ascend in popularity and spike every summer
Month: October 2018
Learn to fall asleep in 2 minutes or less using this genius technique from the U.S. Army
October 29, 2018 at 08:19AM Even if your bedtime routine earns a solid A+ on the chill scale (read: no phones allowed), you still might find yourself among the 35 percent of adults who clock less than 7 hours of sleep per night. So it’s worth adding one more two-minute technique to your zzz’s tool kit, courtesy of the U.S. Army, for those nights when counting sheep just doesn’t cut it. The speedy method—which was originally found to work on 96 percent of U.S. Navy pilots after six weeks of practice—first appeared in the 1981 book Relax and Win: Championship Performance, reports writer Sharon Ackman in the Medium article that got the sleep-deprived part of the internet aflutter about a possible solution. Here’s how to try the approach—which is super similar to a yoga nidra—for yourself. Step 1: Start by relaxing every muscle in your face, one-by-one, moving down from your forehead to your jaw. Step 2: Drop your shoulders one at a time, relaxing each as much as possible. Then, do the same with your upper and lower arms. Step 3: Move through your lower body, consciously relaxing each muscle as you inhale and exhale deeply. Step 4: Once you’ve reached your toes, spend 10 seconds trying to empty your mind before visualizing one of the following scenes: 1. Lying in a canoe on a lake staring up at a blue sky or 2. Lying on a black, velvet hammock in a dark room. (What?!) If you have trouble conjuring these images on the fly, just
Etsy’s top holiday decor trends of 2018 are here
October 29, 2018 at 07:38AM Not sure how to deck your halls for the holidays? This’ll cheer you up: Etsy has some serious inspiration in the form of its top holiday decor trends of 2018. Its picks are based on looking at what thousands of its sellers are creating, what’s trending in the wider market, and what shoppers are searching for right now. The results? “This holiday season is all about self-expression,” says Etsy trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson. “People want to show off their personalities and unique taste by moving away from traditional holiday designs and toward fun embellishments with a serious wow-factor.” By Etsy’s account, there are six major themes when it comes to making your home merry and bright this year. And it’s possible to incorporate each into whatever space you’re working with (be it a window sill or full house). “It doesn’t matter if the size of your home is big or small or your budget is low or high; the way your home makes you feel is the most important,” says Moll Anderson, New York Times bestselling author and home design expert. Below, she and Johnson share their best advice for how to translate each of Etsy’s holiday trends into your own home. Neon and bright “Last year, shoppers dipped their toes into unexpected holiday decor with colorful pastel accents, and this year, the trend has evolved into an even bolder style with vibrant neons and ultra-bright tones taking center stage,” Johnson says. Think pink disco ball
Set the timer: A derm says this is how long you should *actually* be washing your face
October 29, 2018 at 07:36AM Who’s with me? Some nights my skin-care routine is so luxe, so extravagant that it feels like it should belong in a movie montage and other evenings, the amount of energy I have to devote to my skin-care routine is seriously lacking. I grab my favorite cleanser, quickly swish it around my face, and wash it off in 10 seconds flat—but is that enough scrubbing to actually do my complexion any good? According to the experts, not so much. To get the results you want, it turns out cleansing your face has some of the same rules as other daily tasks like brushing your teeth. While your face-washing routine doesn’t need to be quite that long, there should still be more effort involved than a quick splash or two in the sink. “If all the prep—such as thoroughly removing your makeup—is already done, it should take 20 to 30 seconds to wash your face each morning and night, and after sweating,” Libby Rhee, DO, a New York City dermatologist, tells me. If you don’t have a makeup-removing pregame, however, you might go at it for a longer amount of time. “Sometimes I recommend a slightly longer or more complicated cleanse depending on someone’s goals, like using a gentle exfoliating brush while cleansing, which usually takes around 60 seconds,” she adds. Basically, there’s a happy medium when it comes to proper face-washing: not putting in enough effort could be keeping you from clear, glowing skin, but going in overboard
J.Lo’s trainer shares 3 core-blasting moves you can do with a medicine ball
October 29, 2018 at 06:43AM It’s easy to get fixated on fancy exercise equipment, but J.Lo’s trainer David Kirsch just reminded us that sometimes all you need are a few no-frills drills and basic props to get in a good sweat sesh. Kirsch—who also works with Kate Upton and Heidi Klum—recently shared an abs-blasting routine on Instagram using a weighted medicine ball and his own body mass that’s as core shaking as they come. (He’s not the only one who swears by the tool for a killer workout, either—Karlie Kloss and Cindy Crawford use ’em on the regular, too.) Scroll down to see the trainer’s go-to exercises. Hint: They’re ones you already know and love—just with a twist. View this post on Instagram Are you ready to #kirsch your #core Try these 4 moves #hangingkneeraises #medicineball #spiderman #plank #jackknives and #ballslams #ultimatefamilywellness #wellness #coreworkout #energy #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitfam #fitspo #getkirsched @thecoreclub video: @nikole_fit A post shared by David Kirsch (@davidkirsch) on Oct 23, 2018 at 10:39am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js 1. Spiderman plank Get into a plank position, pressing a weighted medicine ball into the floor with your hands. Keeping your core engaged, take turns bringing each knee out to the side and toward the ball, making sure you’re bringing your legs back into a plank position between sides. 2. Jack knives Lying on the mat, hold the medicine ball in your hands. Keeping both your arms and legs straight, raise your upper body and lower body at the same time until
The one calf stretch to know if your workout has a lot of jumping in it
October 29, 2018 at 06:21AM Whether you’re doing jumping jacks, box jumps, skipping rope, or penciling in dance cardio, jumping-inspired moves are a fitness gold mine. It gets your heart rate way up, ignites that lower-body burn, and sculpts what can only be called “designer calves” (and glutes, for that matter). Unfortunately, (ugh) it’s not without its risk of injury. “Jumping is actually a super high impact way of moving that can put a lot of stress and strain on the body, especially the calves, shins, and feet,” says dance sculpt instructor, Megan Roup, who happens to be leading our next Well+Good Retreat in Miami this December. “Stretching before and after jump-based workouts is really important because often times people will complain of really tight calves.” Too-tight calves, in addition to being about as pleasant as the taste of moldy bread, can also lead to painful injuries such as exacerbated shin splints, calf pulls, and even stress fractures. So, I talked to Roup about how to target calf muscle and ward off injuries that’ll side-line your fitness routine. She recommends a classic: The standing wall stretch, which helps to loosen up the calf. After all, if your calf gets too tight, you might all of the sudden notice problems with the Achilles or even suffer from ankle or foot issues. Before that happens, take to the wall and stretch things out. Photo: Getty Images/ franckreporter Find a wall, box, or pillar that is stable enough for you to put your weight into it. Stand
These tried-and-tested vegan deodorants will do your armpits right
October 29, 2018 at 05:27AM For the majority of my life, the idea of switching away from my beloved industrial-strength antiperspirant was pretty much out of the question. I simply did not have the emotional stability to play Russian roulette with my armpits. Excess sweat? An (ahem) odor? Rings around my underarms? Yeah, count me out. But as cleaner deodorants have grown in number and efficacy, I decided to rethink my stance and pursue not only an aluminum-free alternative, but a vegan deodorant, at that. Let’s get a few things out of the way about the confusing underarm lexicon from the get-go: First off, deodorants differ from antiperspirants in that they’re devoid of aluminum, which creates a plug in the sweat gland to prevent sweating from happening. Deodorants, instead, are a cosmetic product that help to sop up sweat with ingredients like baking powder and add a nice fresh scent in some cases. Vegan options, could theoretically contain aluminum so long as they’re devoid of animal byproducts and haven’t been tested on animals, but the ones that I tried out didn’t. They were vegan deodorants. In terms of using a vegan versus a non-vegan option, Tara Pelletier, co-founder of the vegan deodorant brand Meow Meow Tweet told me that the effect on your pits is roughly the same no matter which deodorant you choose, but she added that “in terms of sustainability, using plant-based ingredients from ethical, organic farming methods is often more environmentally friendly than farmed animal products.” And so
You Just Need 3 Ingredients To Make This Golden-Milk French Toast
October 29, 2018 The weekend brunch staple can make us feel like crawling right back into bed, but a simple makeover with golden-milk totally changes that. We took a bottle of REBBL’s Turmeric Golden-Milk elixir, which is thoughtfully crafted with black pepper to up the bioavailability of curcumin and created a whole new breakfast classic. Continue Reading… Author | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Don’t Throw Away Your Squash Seeds — Make This Mouthwatering Granola Instead
October 29, 2018 at 12:30AM The environment (and your pockets) will thank you. Continue Reading… Author Caroline Muggia | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
A Legendary Environmentalist Says That This Species Is The Key To Human Survival
October 29, 2018 at 12:25AM Here’s what you can do to help. Continue Reading… Author Emma Loewe | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue