January 21, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC Riddle me this: What keeps a scaredy-cat away from acupuncture and getting a second piercing in their earlobe? Yes, that’s easy: needles. And, yes: I’m that scaredy-cat. While I completely understand, rationally, that acupuncture doesn’t actually hurt and the nice people at piercing stations generally give you a stuffed animal to hug while you get done up with ear jewelry, I still won’t commit to either practice. However, I can commit to auriculotherapy, a practice that covers both the aesthetic benefit of piercing and the wellness benefit of acupuncture and melds them into one with the help of ear seeds. And as an added bonus, no needles are involved. Before I get ahead of myself, some basics: Auriculotherapy is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) ritual that, as you can imagine, dates back thousands of years, when it first popped up in The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. And, the holistic treatment is getting a resurgence of interest today. So how does it work? Auriculotherapy is very similar in effect to that of acupuncture by way of activating your energy meridians. Your chi (or qi) is an energy current that flows through your body via different pathways or meridians, and TCM recognizes 20 of them. If a certain part of the body is giving you trouble, the idea is that the corresponding meridian is blocked. One way to rebalance yourself is by accessing acupuncture or acupressure points—and the ear features many of those. “In
Category: Beauty
I’ve tried it all, and this is the only tool that releases my neck and jaw tension
January 21, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC For someone who lives by the beach in Southern California—AKA one of the chillest places on the planet—I am surprisingly tense. I grind my teeth when I sleep and often find myself with a clenched jaw while I’m working at my computer, trying to meet a tight deadline. I scrunch up my shoulders while I’m navigating rush-hour traffic. Massage therapists are shocked by the size of the knots in my neck. I’ve tried to loosen up through yoga stretches and a variety of CBD-laced lotions, but nothing has ever given me more than a few hours’ relief. Until, that is, I discovered the Empress Wand ($65), the newest facial tool from skin-care brand Wildling. A cousin of the ultra-buzzy gua sha, the wand was designed to release muscle tension in the face, neck, and jaw while reducing facial puffiness, stimulating blood and lymphatic flow, and sculpting the facial contours. According to Wildling cofounder Gianna De La Torre, an acupuncturist and intuitive healer, jaw tension is extremely common in our digital age but no one’s really talking about it… yet. “When the head is tilted forward, as it is when looking down on a phone or computer, the jaw bears the burden of the weight of the head,” she explains. “When the head goes forward, the shoulders hunch, and this postural position is a recipe for tension.” Left unchecked, this can lead to headaches and neck stiffness. This is where the Empress Wand comes
A Sephora beauty director can’t stop gushing over these 5 skin-care products
January 20, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC When a beauty insider sweeps aside the curtain and lets you in on her beauty secrets, you get out a pen and take down notes. So when Sephora beauty director Myiesha Sewell shared the five Sephora skin-care products she loves the very most, you better believe my hand was cramping. From an exfoliating mask to a cleansing balm to her best-of-the-best hyaluronic acid, here’s what you’ll find in Sewell’s beauty cabinet. The 5 Sephora skin-care products an insider keeps on hand at all times All Photos: Sephora 1. The Ordinary “Buffet”, $15 “I feel like this is kind of like The Ordinary’s hero product. I was using a basic hyaluronic acid serum—I have so many I go between!—but I’m turning 34 soon, and I feel like I need to ease in some anti-aging during the day because I typically keep that at night. I love the fact that it feels like nothing, but I’m still getting the anti-aging ingredients with the matrixyl, peptides, and my hyaluronic acid. But it just kind of wears like this like very airy moisture on my face. So I love that,” says Sewell. 2. Glow Recipe Watermelon Pink Juice Oil-Free Moisturizer, $39 “I think most people are familiar with the sleeping mask, but the daytime moisturizer is actually a serum moisturizer, so it has hyaluronic acid in it,” says Sewell. “My skin isn’t sensitive but it can be reactive. My eczema will flare up if I’m physically stressed
Cut your makeup routine down to a single step with these primer-foundation hybrids that last all day
January 19, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC If I’m taking the time to put on foundation (… which happens, at best, once a week) you’d better believe I expect it to last all day. Most makeup artists would tell me to prep my skin with primer in order to make that happen, but I’m generally a beauty minimalist (read: lazy) and have no interest in adding yet another step to my routine. And so, I expect the best longwear foundation product out there to get the job done on its own. In order to do that, I’ve asked makeup artists for the low-down on just how to find the best longwear foundation formulas that will stay in place all day, without the help of a primer. “You don’t really need a primer when using a silicone-based foundation—those are usually heavier and act like a primer” says Mari Shten, makeup artist and founder of Mari Shten Beauty. “Glycerin will make your makeup last longer, and aloe vera can also act like a primer.” She also notes that you can skip out on the priming step if you’re using a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, since the added layer of product can feel superfluous when you’re trying to create a clean, “no-makeup makeup” look. Before applying a foundation without a primer, it’s key to properly prep your skin first.”You really want a fully and equally hydrated canvas before applying foundation. Oils and moisturizers are key in prepping skin so that you don’t
You can spot treat skin dryness just like you can breakouts, according to derms
January 18, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC We often think about spot treatments in terms of fighting breakouts. But newsflash: There are also spot treatments for dry skin, too. Think about it: It doesn’t really make sense to apply a cream all over your face throughout the day if only certain parts of your complexion are parched (especially if you wear makeup and have to reapply that, too). “Spot treating dry patches can help even out your skin tone, rather than applying lotion to the overall area,” says Gretchen Frieling, MD, a Boston-based board-certified dermatopathologist, noting that this is particularly the case for people with combination skin types. “If your forehead is dry, you can apply a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid to just that area.” The same applies to your cheeks (or your chin, or whatever is dry). As of late, this is getting easier than ever with the advent of serum sticks, which contain hydrating ingredients that are easy to deliver to skin and don’t require your entire complexion to be doused with a product. Dr. Frieling recommends looking for your MVP skin-hydrating ingredients to spot treat dryness, citing hyaluronic acid, ceramides, shea butter, and vitamin C as prime examples. “Skin replenishing ingredients like hyaluronic and glycolic acid help enrich the outer layer of the skin giving it a heavy dose of hydration,” she says. “Hyaluronic acid is especially beneficial for immediate hydration, as it grabs onto water and holds it within your complexion.” Ceramides, she adds, also help
The definitive ranking of boutique fitness locker rooms with the best beauty supplies
January 18, 2020 at 12:00AM by CWC My old apartment had a scary bathroom that I hated using. To avoid it, I’d book evening hot yoga classes at Y7 Studio so I could shower there. The shower lines are much shorter in the evening, and the Malin+Goetz shower gel they provide smells so good you forget all about the 60 minutes you spent slipping around in your own sweat. Boutique studios have seriously upped the gym locker room game—so much that you may go out of your way to shower at the gym. If you’re ever out of shampoo, or, like me, have a bathroom straight out of a horror film, you can literally just shower at the gym. Where is the best place to go, you ask? We’ve got you covered. The 7 best-stocked boutique studios locker rooms for showering at the gym Photo: Kiehl’s best body lotion: EQUINOX While not exactly boutique, Equinox set this luxe standard when they partnered with Kiehl’s back in 2009. The Crème de Corps ($40) is a real stand-out. It’s packed with ingredients like beta-carotene, cocoa butter, and sesame, which fight free radicals, moisturize and soften the skin, respectively. It’s so good, one of our writers swears by it to nourish her dry skin. Photo: Chanel Best serums: THE CLASS BY TARYN TOOMEY I don’t know about you, but Chanel serums aren’t exactly at the top of my restock list. Feel like a French girl and do your skin routine at The Class
The best predictor for bad skin days? Your weather app
January 17, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little head’s up when a bad skin day is about to go down? Unfortunately, asking your Magic 8-Ball isn’t the most accurate way to find out your skin’s future. But checking the weather on your phone just might do the trick. A Redditor recently shared a unique skin-care hack that utilizes any weather app. Some weather apps—like the Weather Channel app—have a “dry skin index.” Coupled with the UV index (you should be wearing SPF every day, by the way) and overall temp and humidity, you have all the intel you need to know on how to properly take care of your skin on particular days. Looks like I’m moisturizing today… So, how exactly do you use the info your weather app provides to upgrade your skin care routine? If it’s super dry out, you’ll know to slather on the moisturizer. And if the humidity is out of control, use products—like chemically exfoliating AHA/BHA cleansers and exfoliants—that will ensure the sticky, sweaty weather doesn’t make you break out. Who knows—taking a quick glance between Instagram scrolls in the morning before going about your routine might really change the game for your skin. Here’s the right way to wash your face, according to a facialist: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8F2SVbco8s] Here’s how to dry brush your winter skin in three minutes flat. Then find out the winter skin care hacks that will have you glowing. Author Tehrene Firman | Well
Plant-based creamers are making a splash in coffees everywhere—here’s how they compare nutritionally
January 17, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC It was only inevitable that once alt-milks became nearly as commonplace as cow’s milk that a slew of other trends-within-the-trend would follow. Nut milk yogurt, “nice” cream, and plant-based butters have since risen in popularity too, and now a new iteration of dairy-free products is gaining steam: plant-based creamers. Similarly to the plethora of alt-milks now available at your local grocery store, the new-to-the-market selection of plant-based creamers spans the gamut: hemp, almonds, coconut, soy, and banana all serve as popular bases, and some, like Urby, even include extra plant-based protein sources. You may be wondering what the point of these new creamers are anyway—after all, you already have alt-milk in the fridge. It’s a valid question. Traditionally, the difference between milk and creamer was that creamer tended to be heavier (and had more fat) and include added sugar for a sweeter taste. But brands have wizened up to the fact that healthy eaters are looking for simple ingredients lists, and with added sugar mostly left out, the difference is less clear. “The difference between plant-based milk and plant-based creamers is that the creamers are more concentrated,” says registered dietitian Marla Heller, RD, author of The DASH Diet Mediterranean Solution, among other books. While most alt-milks are primarily made of water—with the concentration of the actual nut or other primary ingredient being quite low—Heller says creamers are thicker and less watery. That makes the ingredients they do use pretty darn important. That said, she
8 skin-care products you can get from Ulta for under $20 from this new UK-based brand
January 17, 2020 at 04:17PM by CWC In case you haven’t heard yet, 2020 is the year of skin care—especially affordable skin care that still leaves your face as hydrated and radiant as the expensive stuff. Riding in on this new year, all-things-skin-care trend is Dr.Organic®, a UK-based skin-care brand that’s already won several European beauty awards for its products featuring select organic ingredients that are free of parabens, silicones, and phthalates, while also delivering the effortless glow this year promised you—just without the hefty price tag. Newsflash: Ulta carries the line, which means you’ll never have to shell out more than 25 bucks to get your hands—err, face—on these goodies. To help save you time on what exactly you should be adding to cart, we’ve rounded up eight Dr.Organic® must-haves to shop now. Keep reading for 8 products made with select organic and naturally sourced ingredients you can snag from Ulta now—all for under $20. Aloe Vera Hydrating Moisture Cream, $16 Winter weather leaving your skin dry and irritated? Soothe and hydrate with this ultra moisturizing cream that’s infused with organic aloe vera along with calendula and sweet almond oil to generously nourish. Tea Tree Purifying Face Scrub, $16 Help balance your oily skin—with oil. In this case, clarifying tea tree oil, which takes a starring role in this scrub to help gently exfoliate your skin without clogging your pores or leaving behind annoying irritation. Aloe Vera Hydrating Face Wash, $10 Just looking at this bottle, you can feel
How to get instant skin-care results, while protecting skin in the long run
January 17, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC In an era where we can order everything from a luxury SUV to $17 avocado toast with the tap of a button, it’s no wonder millennials have garnered a reputation as the “instant gratification” generation. We want what we want when we want it, and have come to expect immediate results from everything in our lives—including our skin care. But… that’s actually not a great way to approach caring for our largest organ in the long run. Plenty of skin-care products claim to deliver an “instant glow,” and in certain scenarios—a la before a first date or major event—these quick-fixes are great. In the long run, however, they need to be coupled with solutions that are working below the surface to promote healthy skin down the line. Take retinol. The ingredient is unmatched in delivering anti-aging results, because it plumps skin and promotes cell turnover with repeated use. However, when you first add it to your routine, it can sometimes cause dryness or flakiness until your skin adjusts. That’s why you should start thinking of your skin-care actives in two camps: those that work from the top down (short-term products), and those that work from the bottom up (longterm products). The first keeps the outer layer of your skin clear and bright, while the second helps build a foundation to keep it healthy over time. “The skin is very dynamic, and the cells are constantly turning over. So you get rid of one layer