January 30, 2020 at 06:45PM by CWC As a beauty editor, I hate to play favorites with my products. Usually, as soon as I fall head-over-heels in love with “the one,” something newer and better comes onto the market and swiftly replaces it in my routine. But two years ago, I found the best tinted moisturizer for dry skin that I’ve ever used, and it’s been a mainstay in my winter regimen ever since. Beauty Counter Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer ($45) is, in my opinion, a perfect product. It offers sheer coverage that will even out your skin tone without making it look cake-y or packed on, giving skin a natural yet luminous finish. It’s packed with vitamin C, which offers brightening benefits beneath the surface, plus sodium hyaluronate (a sister ingredient of hyaluronic acid, a moisturizing superstar) to promote firmer, smoother skin. And what’s better, it also offers SPF 20 (though you should still be putting another layer of sunscreen on underneath, since dermatologists recommend wearing at least an SPF 30 every day). The product has earned itself 4.6 out of five stars out of more than 2,000 reviews on the brand’s website, and I completely agree with that raving assessment. Since I have such dry skin, my biggest pet peeve is when a foundation makes my skin feel even drier, but this tinted moisturizer does exactly the opposite. No matter how freezing it is outside, my skin never pills or flakes with this baby on… even in instances
Category: Fashion
Strengthen your feet, ankles, and legs with this alphabet workout
January 28, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC As someone with flat arches and weak ankles, I should regularly exercise my feet. But, I never do, and I can’t even use time as an excuse. Whether it’s balancing on one foot or walking in heels, working your lower leg is relatively simple, and can be done just about anywhere. Podiatrist Jacqueline Sutera, DPM, and Vionic Innovation Lab member, says one way to strengthen your feet and ankles is as easy as writing the ABC’s—literally. She recommends drawing the letters of the alphabet with your big toe. “This is really good for the overall strengthening of all four major muscle groups in your lower leg,” Dr. Sutera says. Quick anatomy lesson: there are four muscle areas located in your lower leg. The tibialis anterior in the front, the tibialis posterior on the inside, the calf at the back, and the peroneal on the outside. All four of these are worked when you do the alphabet exercise. “These muscles promote stability, prevent sprains, prevent falls, and prevent overuse injuries from exercising,” she says. You should perform this exercise seated, so feel free to do this while you’re typing away at your desk, or chilling on the couch. Extend your leg straight in front of you with your knee locked, and your toes pointed toward the ceiling. Draw the letters of the alphabet using your big toe as the pointer, but keep in mind that all of the motion is actually happening at the
8 healthy Super Bowl recipes that you will definitely make you a fan
January 28, 2020 at 01:00AM by CWC Watching the Super Bowl game at a party is fun, but let’s be real—the bigger draw tends to be all the incredible food. And while most spreads are made up of fried, super salty, and perhaps greasy offerings, it doesn’t have to be so. Some easy swaps can make your spread a bit better for you, if you’re looking to go that route. Whether you’re into wings, artichoke dip, nachos, or all of the above, these healthy Super Bowl recipes belong on your must-make and must-try list. Just be prepared: Once your guests get a taste, they may never want to leave. Whip up these healthy Super Bowl recipes for your party Photo: Food With Feeling 1. Cauliflower buffalo wings If you love cauliflower gnocchi, then you’re really going to love these crispy cauliflower wings that are smothered in delicious sauce. Photo: Minimalist Baker 2. Sun-dried tomato and basil pinwheels These healthy sun-dried tomato and basil pinwheels only take a few minutes to make, but they’ll impress your entire party. Photo: Veggiekins 3. Vegan kale artichoke dip Get in your veggies with in this dairy-free artichoke dip that’s made from cashews, almond milk, nutritional yeast, and plenty of greens. Photo: This Savory Vegan 4. Black bean and brown rice sliders Your guests will gobble up these little sliders that feature a black bean and brown rice patty and basil aioli topping. Photo: Pass the Plants 5. Vegan baked taquitos These taquitos get their
I do hundreds of yoga classes a year, but none has lit up my arms like this 10-minute flow
January 23, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYS8bWyvczU] Anyone who’s tried to execute crow pose (a Cirque du Soleil-worthy arm balance) knows that yoga demands a lot—I repeat, a lot—of arm strength. Even Vinyasa staples like downward-facing dog can light up your body from your fingertips to your armpits. So whether you find yourself longing to get comfier in basic poses or eager to incorporate moves like handstand into your practice, a yoga for arms sequence might be just what the teacher ordered. In our newest episode of Well+Good’s Good Moves, yoga instructor Andrea Russell walks you through an under-10-minute flow designed to work out the kinks in your wrists, forearms, upper arms, and shoulders (and there’s a killer move known as “turbo dog” that truly belongs in a league of its own). In less time than it takes you to whip up a quick, healthy dinner or catch up on your Instagram feed you’ll both tone and stretch the muscles that help you carry heavy grocery bags and do so, so much more. Let’s yoga. Try this under-10 yoga for arms sequence 1. Tricep stretch: From a comfortable, crisscross seated position, reach your arms overhead. Bend the right elbow and grab it with your left hand. Lengthen straight up and breathe. 2. Twist: Reach both arms straight overhead and twist your torso to the right, bringing your left hand to your right knee and your right hand to the ground behind you. Lift through the crown of your head and twist deeper
Macy’s basically just launched a wellness department (with our help!)—here are our 9 favorite items
January 20, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC Imagine discovering a one-stop-shop haven of wellness treasures that has everything you know you need—water bottles, candles, and foam rollers—along with life-enhancing goods you never even knew you desired. Well, imagine no more, because that haven is very, very real, and ready for you to peruse online and at select Macy’s stores nationwide. Well+Good has partnered with STORY at Macy’s, an experiential retail concept that focuses on a new theme every few months, to bring Feel Good to the department store’s New York City’s Herald Square location and 36 other STORY at Macy’s locations that span the country. Open until April, you’ll find curated merchandise and expert-led events designed to make you a student of your own health. Basically, it’s a limited-time Macy’s wellness department. At Feel Good STORY at Macy’s, you’ll be able shop items that promote balance, energy, and nourishment, all in line with Well+Good’s 2020 Wellness Trends. Think, chickpea snacks, take-anywhere workout tools, and smart skin care. And, along with your purchases, you’ll have the opportunity to attend events that feature pros who can speak to everything from astrology to mocktails and what healthy eating will look like in the years to come. The collaboration has created a place that makes you want to come in, kick off your shoes, and stay—cough, meditate—a while (which is thanks in large part to a partnership with the Calm meditation app providing complimentary mindfulness sessions). So get ready to get acquainted with the
Wonder what to do with old t-shirts? Here are 15 things beyond turning them into rags
January 20, 2020 at 04:01PM by CWC Every t-shirt has a lifecycle. There’s that first fresh-off-the-rack wear, when it feels brand new, followed by the first few washes when things feel extra soft and worn in. Over many sweaty afternoons and subsequent rinse cycles, your go-to, going-out tee transitions to become your favorite workout shirt, until it reaches the point where it definitely shouldn’t be seen in public any more. But instead of tossing your ratty old t-shirt into the trash, there are plenty of other—far more sustainable—things you can do with it, including upcycling. The reason it’s so important to upcycle versus recycle? “Clothing needs to be sorted into groups of similar material content if they’re to be recycled,” says Tiffany Threadgould, head of design at Terracycle, noting that it can be complicated to figure out how to sort your textiles to ensure they end up in the right place. “While many t-shirts are 100 percent cotton there are definitely cotton-poly and 100 percent poly blends, which would mess up a recycling system.” So even if your t-shirts make it into the recycling bin instead of the plain old trash, there’s no guarantee that they’re actually going to be recycled, which is why it’s more sustainable to find a new life for them to live. Recycling is important, but falls to third place on the list of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ because it’s more labor intensive,” says Threadgould. “Focusing first on the reduce and reuse is where you can make
A music scientist explains how to hack your playlist and make your workouts more effective
January 20, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC Picture this nightmare of a situation: you’ve mustered up all your remaining energy after a long day of work to pack your running shoes, sports bra and towel, only to realize once you got to the gym that you forgot your headphones. You now have a tough decision to make: go back home to get your AirPods, or tough out a workout that’s sure to feel a lot more monotonous and challenging? If going back home to retrieve your headphones so you actually survive this workout sounds like more, well, your jam, you’re not alone. “There have been scores of research papers and controlled studies demonstrating that music enhances athletic performance significantly,” says Eric Stensvaag, curator and writer at Feed.fm, a program that works with music scientists to curate motivating playlists for every situation.“Music can also create an increased commitment to exercise, resulting in people working out more frequently and for prolonged periods.” Specifically, a study from the journal Ergonomics found that participants who boosted the tempo and volume of their music while on the treadmill ran faster than those who didn’t. Bonus: The study also found their quickened pace maintained their perceived effort, which increased their endurance. Turns out your best training session yet doesn’t involve hiring a personal trainer. Here’s how to create the perfect playlist so you breeze through your next workout. Consider your workout type The music you bring to a sprinting sesh on the treadmill is going to
What the first new moon of the decade means for your big-picture goals
January 19, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC Over the last few weeks, we’ve experienced some of the most intense aspects that this generation will see. With the Saturn and Pluto conjunction in Capricorn happening opposite a lunar eclipse in Cancer, deep-seated issues likely surfaced, inviting you to devote some attention to handling past issues. The universe asks you to commit to what feels most urgent and pressing while commanding intimacy with yourself as you claim your sovereignty and integrity. This focus on transformation will continue throughout 2020. Now, as the sun moves out of Capricorn and into Aquarius on Monday, January 20, the mood shifts into the broader thinking that air signs provide. While still fierce, the sun in Aquarius heralds a time when progressive ideas instigate evolution, and connection with like-minded people elevates possibility. Along with the shift from Capricorn into Aquarius, the sun joining Mercury in Aquarius expands the periphery of perceived potential. Also happening on Monday is the moon moving through its balsamic phase, which invites you to release what you no longer need. As the moon wanes back to new, that invitation remains clear: Take time to digest how you’ve changed and continue to change. Develop a sense of coherence around who you are becoming, and actively seek to shed your commitment to the old. To support you with this, engage your tools of transformation: journaling, therapy, yoga, meditation, and contemplation of any kind can all help you. But come mid-week, you’ll be challenged by tension
‘1. 5 reps’ help you see results at the gym *twice* as fast
January 16, 2020 at 08:36PM by CWC Repetitions (the kids call them “reps”) are the building blocks of any strength training routine. Every rep carries you from the start to the finish of a move, but Katrina Pilkington, NASM-CPT, a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified trainer, says that one secret to how to gain muscle faster lies in making a rep last just a bit more than usual. Gym friends, meet the 1 1/2 rep. The 1 1/2 rep involves doing the second part of the movement twice before returning to your starting position. For example, in a squat, you would drop your butt down, bring it back up just a touch, then drop it down again before returning to standing. It’s simple, but according to Pilkington, it can speed up muscle growth by, like, a lot. “The use of the 1 1/2 method helps to increase the challenge of muscle tension in order to help overall growth,” she says. In a full rep, there will always be a “primary muscle mover,” or a muscle doing most of the work. “By adding the 1/2, you can maximize tension and enhance the use of stabilizers in between the primary movers,” explains Pilkington. That means the muscles designed to carry heavy loads (the primary muscle movers) and the muscles made to stabilize your body (the stabilizers) will be working as a team. A true Swiss Army knife-skill, 1 1/2 reps can be added to any move in your playbook to make it
Sage is the deodorant ingredient that doesn’t just cover sweat, it squelches it altogether
January 14, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC When you want rid your life of something negative, reaching for sage is practically wellness 101 (just ask my roommate how many crappy ex-boyfriends I’ve smudged away in the last year). But while we know the herb is great for zapping bad energy, there’s one other bad thing in life it’s great for banishing, too: body odor. Scan the deodorant aisles, and you’ll notice that sage has taken up residence on a lot of labels of late. Sweat, itself, is actually odorless, but when it comes into contact with the bacteria under your arms, it starts to smell. Research has found that sage can effectively help diminish that bacteria, stopping you from stinking, which means that instead of just masking B.O., it’s actually helping to stop the smell altogether. According to pros, this makes it a powerhouse pick for anyone looking to make the switch from an antiperspirant (that actually stops you from sweating) to a deodorant (though, I’ll remind you that there’s no clear proven link that aluminum is bad for you). “Sage addresses the cause of the bad smell and may prevent it before it even appears,” says Gretchen Frieling, MD, a Boston board-certified dermatopathologist. “Other standard deodorants mask the smell, yet fail to deal with the cause of the odor and could also clog pores and dehydrate the skin.” Sage is also rich in calcium and vitamin A, she adds, and it works as an antioxidant, antiviral, and anti-fungal remedy.