Month: March 2019

March 01, 2019 at 08:37AM by CWC As a self-admitted clutterbitch, my makeup philosophy mirrors my decor inclination—I try to work in as many bright and sparkly cosmetics as I can to achieve the exact opposite of no-makeup-makeup. That includes: red and blue eyeshadows, a highlighter that is almost blinding, and the continued use of lip liner (despite it being, like, the only ’90s trend that hasn’t made a comeback). But, I’ve never really gotten into mascara, which is, for all intents and purposes, starter makeup to my crimson lids’ dash of daringness. That is, until 7 tubes of $8 Colourpop mascara made their way into my vanity. To be quite honest, I’m not sure that I’ve own another single full-sized tube of mascara. To me, mascara either didn’t have a noticeable impact on my eyelashes, it didn’t make enough of an impact once I put my glasses over my shellacked fringe, or it morphed my lashes into three giant long clumps. So, when I first tried Colourpop BFF mascara ($8) I was skeptical to say the least. The mascara comes in 7 shades total: black, lilac, hot pink, red, teal, yellow, and navy. Photo: Colourpop And so, I pulled out the black tube and mindlessly combed it into my eyelashes before sauntering off to watch TV, and TBH, I forgot I had it on. Half and hour later, I walked past a mirror and caught a glimpse of myself looking bold and beautiful. “Who is she?” I asked myself outloud. The mascara did make my

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March 01, 2019 at 07:19AM by CWC When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is stretch out my arms, my legs, and crack my back. That’s the extent of prepping my body for the day ahead though something I know I’m likely falling short on since my back and neck are likely the most strained parts of my body. And I know this isn’t just me either—there’s a reason we’re all so obsessed with our posture and the 21st-century boogeyman that is tech neck. According to Alain Saint-Dic, trainer at Stretch Relief, there are many other reasons that you could be feeling discomfort in your neck. “The first form can come as acute pain, such as being involved in something that causes impact (ex. car accident or contact sport), or rapid movement in the neck area which is surrounded by tight muscles groups, leading to a strain.” The second type of neck strain and tension is the more common one and comes from things like postural issues, or “by constantly leaning your head forward to look at a computer screen or phone, spending long periods of time driving, or sleeping in an awkward position.”  In general, Saint-Dic says that prevention is always better than treatment, which is why he advocates “stretching regularly when you wake up in the morning, or before you go to sleep every night.” But stretching your neck is not a cure for a serious issue, and if you suspect you’re dealing with something more

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March 01, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC I have not experienced every sensation available in the human experience, but I imagine persistent exhaustion—one I most definitely have felt—is up at the top of the list of the most terrible feelings. To paraphrase a prolific poet of my generation (memes in general), being an adult means telling everyone how tired you are all the time. I relate so hard. What’s crazy though is that I frequently get seven to eight hours of sleep…sometimes more. Yet I still have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, and I feel fatigued during the day. This is by no means a unique experience. According to the UK NHS, feeling tired all the time is so common, it has its own freaking acronym: TATT (tired all the time). And a recent Well+Good survey of nearly 1,500 people about sleep habits found that and 92 percent of respondents feel fatigued more than one day per week. But—plot twist!—on average, the people surveyed were getting seven hours of sleep, i.e., very close to the amount recommended by the CDC. So what gives? Why are we all so exhausted if we’re getting the right amount of sleep? Le major sigh. The main culprits behind fatigue—aside from, you know, not getting enough sleep—all have common denominator of disrupting your quality of sleep. In other words, you could be logging the right quantity of sleep, but not the right quality. Here, licensed psychologist and sleep-health expert Shelby Harris, PsyD, breaks down common

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March 01, 2019 at 05:15AM by CWC Whether you’re swinging kettlebells at boot camp or getting in formation to Beyonce at dance cardio, typically everyone heads into the studio, does their thing for an hour, and then goes home without so much as a high-five to the person on the mat next to them. Which is too bad, because for someone who’s looking to expand her squad, post-college—and who prefers not to hang out with coworkers after 6 p.m.—making new friends can be harder than perfecting a push-up. I decided to make it my mission to try and make one friend at a class. Hoping that there’s more camaraderie in boutique fitness than meets the eye, I decided to make it my mission to try and make one friend at a class. So, over the course of a week, I did everything from a recess-inspired gym class (remember how easy it was to make friends in school?) to an out-there group mindfulness exercise. How easy was it to bond with new a BFF? Here’s what I learned about looking for (platonic) love at the gym.   Photo: Stocksy/Jovo Jovanovic Get there early I kicked things off at Throwback Fitness in New York City, which incorporates grade-school games into the class. And you know what that means: team activities. Tip number one for making friends at your next class: Get there early. I learned right away that having 10 minutes or so to try and strike up a conversation is crucial. As soon as I walked into the studio, it was very clear that

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March 01, 2019 at 04:01AM by CWC I dipped my toe in the audio fitness fad with extreme trepidation. As in, *shakes head*, there’s no way, no how that a pre-recorded coach shouting at me through my earbuds could replace the heart-pumping joy of dropping in to a boutique studio class. Wow, was I wrong. Within a week of queueing up my first-ever treadmill workout on Aaptiv—an on-demand fitness app that offers almost every sweat modality, from boxing to HIIT—I wouldn’t shut up about it. Seriously, I became the company’s unofficial PR rep who blurted out my undying love for the app both to those who asked (like my charitable friends) and those who didn’t (my humble apologies, cashier(s) at Trader Joe’s). I’m not alone in my fanfare: All-in-all, the app creates heart-pumping content for 200,000 members in 20 countries across the globe. My mom, my sister, my cousin, two of my friends, and a few colleagues are now among them—so I’ve compared notes with a small pool of fellow-obsessives. While no, I haven’t done all 3,000 classes available on the app, I have sweated through enough to know which ones emerge supreme—at least, IMO. Below, I’ve rounded up 10 of the best-of-the-best with the hope that you, too, will be psyched to gush about your latest digitally-led strength training session to anyone in earshot. (And if you don’t have an account yet, consider hopping on their free trial.) Behold, the 10 best Aaptiv workouts to queue up for your

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