July 31, 2019 at 08:05AM by CWC There are few things in this world that I am willing to shell out $495 on. A flight to California, maybe. A portion of my rent, for sure. But a skin-care product? I’d have to take major pause (and calculate whether or not I’d be okay to go an entire month eating canned chickpeas) before swiping my credit card. That said, Sephora sells a $495 serum—Perricone MD Neuropeptide Smoothing Facial Conformer—that’s renowned for using proprietary neuropeptide technology to activate the renewal of the surface of your skin, making it a game changer for things like dullness, discoloration, under-eye circles, fine lines, sagging skin and wrinkles. And if the reviews on the product are to be believed, it’s the real deal. “Within one day I began to see positive changes in my skin—not just in toning, but it really does peel off the years,” wrote one fan. “I’ve used this for 10 days every night and morning and my skin is tighter, velvety smooth, and so bright,” echoed another. ad_intervals[‘412064_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘412064_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); While the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, if you’re not able to shell out that much cash, you don’t have to feel left out. We scoured the Internet to find the closest thing possible to a drugstore dupe. Our pick? Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum, which retails for only $15. Photo: Olay Like the Perricone MD serum, the Olay version utilizes peptides. “Peptides are made of
Category: 2019 Health
Asking for…myself and everyone else: Are simultaneous orgasms a real, achievable thing?
July 31, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC There are so many things components of sex that movies and television often glamorize, if not get dead wrong. Take, for instance, the situation of having perfect hair and makeup upon waking up the next day, and no one having a problem with morning breath. Also, anyone ever see a sex scene that starts with a lady peeling off her Spanx? Because I sure haven’t, and if movies mimicked reality, I sure would. That’s just scratching the surface of vignettes perpetuating what I feel to be an unrealistic sexual landscape—and another prominent example that comes to mind? Simultaneous orgasms. In the most PG version, it’s depicted by a a couple popping out from under the covers, panting from having both finished—together. (The R-rated version is simply more…detailed.) But really, I need to know (and I’m sure I’m not the only curious soul around): How common are simultaneous orgasms in real life—and if they’re not, in fact, mythical unicorns of the sex world, how can couples give them a whirl? ad_intervals[‘406061_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘406061_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); The simple answer, according to the experts, isn’t actually so simple. It seems that while simultaneous orgasms are possible, they often take a concerted effort to achieve. And since in execution they kind of become a main focus of the entire event, prioritizing them for every encounter can unknowingly deemphasize other aspects of sex, which obviously isn’t ideal. “The reality is
Found! The ingredient that targets acne and dark spots in equal measure
July 31, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC After having acne for such a long time (like, a r-e-a-l-l-y long time), I’ve become so well acquainted with the typical acne-fighting ingredients that I could rattle them off in alphabetical order. There’s benzoyl peroxide (the strong one that derms love), salicylic acid (the trusty chemical exfoliant), sulfur (it’ll dry those suckers right out), tea tree oil (a natural antibacterial), and a slew of others. It wasn’t until very recently, however, that I stumbled upon another all-star acne-fighter: azelaic acid. “Azelaic acid is a prescription medication used to treat mild to moderate acne and rosacea,” explains Shari Spelling, MD, a board-certified dermatologist. But it’s not just something you need to get an Rx for—beauty shelves have been filling up with over-the-counter products touting the ingredient, too. That’s because its benefits include more than just fighting acne: “It treats acne, but also rosacea, and can be used to treat pigmentation from acne in darker skin tones,” says Dr. Spelling, adding that it’s really great at reducing inflammation. “If you suffer from facial redness and acne, azelaic acid could benefit you because this acid soothes irritated skin,” says Joyce Imahiyerobo-Ip, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, echoing that it’s effective for hyperpigmentation and also that it functions like an antioxidant. ad_intervals[‘409083_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘409083_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); Since it’s effective at combatting inflammation, it’s useful for all almost all skin types. “Azelaic acid can be used in most skin types because of its
Your menstrual cycle is way bigger than just your period—here’s how it all goes down
July 31, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC Here’s a pop quiz for you: How long is the average person’s menstrual cycle? (No, you’re not allowed to Google it!) Stumped? You’re not alone. The average person will spend about 40 years of their life having periods. Yet most of us don’t fully understand the nitty-gritty process behind their monthly bleeding. A small 2016 survey found that while an encouraging 80 percent of women knew about their reproductive anatomy, 46 percent didn’t know what ovulation was and 50 percent didn’t know how long the average menstrual cycle lasts. (The answer, BTW, is 28 days, although it can be as short as 21 days and as long as 32.) From a purely biological standpoint, “the menstrual cycle exists to support a pregnancy,” says Molly Moravek, MD, MPH, a reproductive endocrinologist and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan. No matter your stance on having kids, it’s important for people to understand what’s going on with their cycles, adds Nazaneen Homaifar, MD, MBA, an OB/GYN and clinical instructor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. A regular menstrual cycle can be a sign of good health and is connected intimately to the functioning of your hormones. ad_intervals[‘411939_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411939_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Knowing what’s happening with your body every month can help take a bit of the mystery out of the fertility process if a person decides to have
6 foods for gut health a gastroenterologist wants you to eat every day
July 31, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC Every conversation about health seems to come back to gut health. Often referred to as “the second brain,” the microbiome affects more than just digestion; it’s connected to everything from mood and energy to immunity and weight management. Every wellness expert will tell you that having a healthy gut is very important. You probably already know that sugary and fried foods aren’t great for the gut while fermented foods work wonders at boosting the good bacteria in there. But when it comes to the top foods gastroenterologists recommend, you might be surprised at what makes the list: it’s not all kimchi and kombucha. Here, three top gastroenterologists share the top foods they recommend for better gut health. These are the foods for gut health a gastroenterologist wants you to add to your diet 1. Leafy greens “One of my top recommended foods is leafy greens of all sorts,” says integrative medicine doctor and gastroenterologist Marvin Singh, MD. The reason why Dr. Singh is such a fan is because of all the fiber they’re packed with. Fiber-rich foods contribute to gut health in many ways, including promoting the growth of good bacteria and killing off the bad guys. ad_intervals[‘411823_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411823_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); 2. Caribbean sweet potato Gastroenterologist and Happy Gut author Vincent Pedre, MD, encourages people to think outside the box and experiment with different varieties of the root veggie. “There are so many great
These bright, liquid lipsticks will stay put all. day. long.
July 31, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC The beauty team at Well+Good was recently confronted with a near-impossible conundrum: If you had to choose between lipstick and lipgloss for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Personally, I was stumped. Because how could I commit to only one? I’ve always loved the easy delivery system of a lip gloss, but as I’ve aged up my beauty look, I’ve come to depend on the creamy finish of a lipstick. Then, I remembered that there was a product category out there that would give me the best of both worlds: liquid lipstick. Liquid lipstick goes on the same way a lipgloss does, but that’s where the similarities stop. In fact, as celebrity makeup artist Natalia López de Quintana puts it, it’s actually the “polar opposite” of the glossy stuff. “Liquid lips tend to finish with a matte or satin texture whereas gloss is glassy and wet-looking,” she explains. “If applied to properly primed lips, liquid lipstick will give you a full day of satin to matte opaque lip color with minimal to no touch-ups.” ad_intervals[‘411723_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411723_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); For a more glassy finish, you can apply a gloss on top of your liquid lipstick which will make it shine and stay put without sacrificing the integrity of the shade. As makeup artist Daniel Martin revealed at a recent event celebrating the launch of Honest Beauty’s first foray into the category, if
5 of the best recovery drinks to fuel your sweat sessions
July 31, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC These days, I’m looking for water that has super powers. Sure, H2O is fine and delicious on its own, but this humid heat wave—combined with the fact that I’m still getting my workouts in—calls for a little something extra: recovery drinks that have added benefits to just hydration. Drinking traditional sports drinks—for the sake of electrolytes—isn’t the only way to get the good stuff that you need. Now, the recovery drink market is filled with plant-based electrolyte and magnesium tablets, more bioavailable hydration powders you swirl into your water, hydrogen water packets, and more. The end game of each of these is to fuel your body, without the added sugar. “In the summer it’s easy to quickly lose essential electrolytes through sweat and regular daily activities,” says Lisa Richards, nutritionist and founder of The Candida Diet. “Replenishing electrolytes is important as they keep your body in perfect balance. Recovery drinks with electrolytes replenish these compounds and keep your body functioning at full capacity.” ad_intervals[‘409812_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘409812_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); Similarly, sipping on hydrogen water helps boost your hydration and aid muscle recovery. “By adding hydrogen water to your post-workout routine, you can speed up muscle recovery post-workout,” says Richards, who adds that molecular hydrogen gives antioxidant properties, too, which can help with free radical damage inside your body. Besides those two star hydration ingredients, chef and celebrity nutritionist Nicolette Pace says that glucose and protein are
One-shoulder sports bras are trending right now—but can you actually work out in them?
July 30, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Sports bras have come a long way since the ’70s, when amateur runner Lisa Lindahl made the first one by sewing two jock straps together. (Seriously.) We now have our pick of zip-front options, bold patterns and colors, and long-line crops that double as going-out tops, all of which are way more comfortable, cute, and supportive than their predecessors from even 10 years ago. But the latest addition to the elevated sports-bra boom is one that feels a little counterintuitive from a performance perspective: single-shoulder styles. I first noticed this look on a few of my favorite fitness app trainers, and I was instantly shook. How were they avoiding nip slips as they cycled through burpees and Arnold presses? Could one shoulder sports bras possibly hold up boobs that are bigger than an A-cup? And wouldn’t that one strap dig into the shoulder, given that it’s doing the work of two? ad_intervals[‘407192_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘407192_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); To find out, I reached out to Avocado activewear—the brand responsible for the one-shoulder Mercury bra ($50) I kept seeing onscreen during my at-home workouts. Although it may look like a flash-in-the-pan trend piece, creative director Jessica Laursen says the Mercury is actually part of Avocado’s core assortment and is a firm customer favorite thanks to the bra’s seamless, yet supportive construction. “The stitch composition is body-mapped, meaning that each type of stitch is placed specifically in order to
The 3-step success system to help you crush any and every goal
July 30, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC It would be amazing if easy-to-follow, linear steps to success actually existed. I mean, as a kid, that’s what I was taught to believe: Get good grades, get a solid SAT score, go to college, become an astronaut, have a beautiful family, live happily ever after, the end. But back here on planet Earth (with no disrespect to the astronauts out there, of course), success isn’t a staircase a with clear and concrete upward trajectory. Instead, it’s an ongoing, fluid task to chip away at every day by not just setting goals, but implementing consistent habits to make ourselves strong and confident forces to be reckoned with. That is, it requires cultivating a success system. “My advice is to focus on processes over goals,” life coach Susie Moore tells me. “Because a goal isn’t enough to achieve success, you need a system to get you there. Systems work—they provide clarity and keep you on track.” So while it’s super swell to have an updated list of things you want to (and even plan to) accomplish, that list alone won’t make the things, events, and productive advancements of your success dreams fall into your lap. All of that certainly makes sense…but, um, what is a system? ad_intervals[‘410198_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘410198_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); “A goal is essentially an objective that you either achieve or don’t achieve sometime in the future,” Moore says. “A system is something you do
Esther Perel explains why infidelity doesn’t have to be ‘the ultimate betrayal’
July 30, 2019 at 01:24PM by CWC Infidelity is typically portrayed as the death of a relationship; the worst case scenario short of the actual death of a partner. But our view of infidelity as “the ultimate betrayal” isn’t necessarily accurate, argues relationship expert Esther Perel. It’s actually rooted in our own problematic views of romantic relationships. Perel recently sat down with Jada Pinkett Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris on Red Table Talk to discuss why infidelity is now seen as “the ultimate betrayal.” As per usual, her thoughts were disorienting (in a good way). “The modern romantic ideal is a tenacious model,” she explained. “The model is that, ‘I’m going to have with you everything that I was supposed to get in a traditional marriage, you’re going to co-parent and I’m going to have economic support, and we’re going to be partners, but on top of it you’re going to be my best friend and you’re going to be my confidante and you’re going to help me become the best version of myself.’” ad_intervals[‘411744_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411744_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); When we have the expectation to have all of our needs must be met by one person, infidelity becomes a crisis on multiple levels, she argues; it seems perhaps more holistically meaningful than it necessarily is because of how much stock we put in our romantic relationships. “I start to think this whole thing we created was a lie, and the whole thing comes