Year: 2018

October 05, 2018 at 10:42AM Layering season has officially begun. But it’s not just your skin care and clothes that are better worn together this time of year. The same holds true for the dainty necklaces you never take off. With so many covetable pieces of tiny jewelry to choose from right now, it’s hard to pick favorites. This could be why so many women who wear it don’t—choosing instead to adorn their décolletage with several delicate chains at once. On their own, each is so subtle, it might go unnoticed. Together, though, they create a statement. The only catch is that most necklaces sold today come in the same lengths—typically a 16- or 18-inch chain. So, how do you create the right amount of distance between more than one worn at a time? The easiest (and cheapest) answer is to buy necklace extenders. (This hack is great for layering necklaces, but it’s also a quick fix when you find one you love that doesn’t hit you in the right place and getting a longer chain isn’t an option.) You can get extenders online at sites like Etsy, Amazon, Bloomingdale’s, and Shopbop. They come in different materials to match the metal of your necklace. My personal recommendation, especially for anyone with allergies, is to stick to either sterling silver or gold fill. Each costs about $8 and is hypoallergenic. And for those of you who put your dainty pieces back in your jewelry box in favor of channeling this season’s big

Read More

October 05, 2018 at 10:34AM Yesterday, the Internet got hyped about a bubble wrap case that’s basically designed to make the back of your iPhone even more addicting than the actual screen. Akin to watching hours upon hours of beauty ASMR, feeling a plastic bubble pop beneath your fingertip is just so strangely satisfying—but why? To find out, I asked a few experts to burst the, er, bubble of mystery around this particular phenomena. “Popping bubble wrap is about pressure and release, very similar to a build-up of stress and then immediate relief from it,’ says Tampa therapist Stephanie Sarkis, PhD, EdS. “Whenever we have a release from pressure, real or simulated, our brain receives a boost of ‘feel-good’ chemicals—dopamine and norepinephrine.” She adds that since puncturing the plastic spheres requires focus and repetition, it also lulls your brain into a meditative state. “Popping bubble wrap is about pressure and release, very similar to a build-up of stress and then immediate relief from it,” — Stephanie Sarkis, PhD, EdS While the delightfulness of this post-package receiving pastime has yet to be widely studied (for reasons I, for one, cannot understand), Nick Hobson, PhD, a research psychologist at PsychologyCompass, says some research does exist. “A study from the 90s found that people who had the opportunity to pop bubble wrap were more calm and focused afterwards compared to those who didn’t. The explanation is that little finger and hand movements is a natural anxiolytic [anxiety reducer] that brings about a sense of personal orderliness,”

Read More