Category: City

November 25, 2018 at 01:00AM I remember my first foray into body shimmer. It was seventh grade, and I was obsessed with Victoria’s Secret Love Spell glitter body lotion. Like, I slathered it over my entire body—and it was subtle neither in looks nor smell. I would also leave a trail of shimmer in my wake, which sounds pretty cool in theory, but in practice is quite messy. Like all things, I eventually grew out of my body shimmer phase. (Much to the relief of my mother.) But then, Meghan Markle was photographed at the Royal Variety Performance in London wearing a Safiyaa gown and looking particularly glowy around her clavicle. I’m positive Meghan is a naturally radiant person, but this particular instance wasn’t the sort of sheen you get from just a really good skincare routine and drinking a lot of water. No, this was a glow that could only be brought about with the help of some sort of cosmetic product. And, just like that, I’m ready to try body shimmer again. Definitely not to the excessive degree my junior-high self enjoyed, but a light dusting along my collarbone à la Miss Markle? I co-sign this look so hard. Here are the body shimmers I’m currently adding to my cart. Body shimmers are back, baby Buy Now Natasha Denona All Over Glow Face and Body Shimmer in Powder $38 Buy Now Kopari Coconut Body Glow $42 Buy Now Herbivore Rose Quartz Illuminating Body Oil $48 Buy Now French

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November 23, 2018 at 02:00AM If I had my choice of superpowers, I think I’d turn down invisibility, super strength, and even flying (so overplayed) in favor of one basic wish: To be able to thrive on little-to-no sleep. I mean, can you imagine the world crises you could solve, the number of yoga classes you could take, and all the Netflix you could watch with eight surplus hours in the day? Well, it turns out that while no one has the gift 24/7 consciousness, a small percentage of people have been found to possess a “short sleep gene” that allows them to operate normally with less than six hours of sleep a night. These so-called “sleepless elite” share a rare mutation of the DEC2 gene (which helps time your body’s circadian rhythms) with an estimated 3 percent of the population, reports Sleep Education. While the trait has only been analyzed in two studies so far, the most recent one—which was published in 2014—suggested that these Cullen-esque humans not only snooze less than their counterparts, they may operate better cognitively, too. In a comparison of 100 sets of identical and fraternal twins recruited from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that twins with the gene variant naturally slept about one hour less than their counterparts. Then, they tested their cognitive function over a period of 38 hours of sleep deprivation using the Psychomotor Vigilance Test. Those with the variant performed fewer lapses of performance on average than those without it and required less recovery sleep afterward. As

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November 22, 2018 at 04:00AM Sure, these days I write about myself on the internet for trade, but the form of self-analysis wasn’t always my go-to. Growing up, I was never someone who journaled. I kept the occasional diary as a little girl and infrequently published LiveJournal entires as a young teen. But those habits never stuck for long. I’d be gung ho for a few weeks, pouring every emotion out onto the page. But then I’d eventually lose interest and move onto the next thing. About a year ago, though, an astrologer friend suggested I start writing as a form of self care. “It’ll help you work out the thoughts that swirl around in your head,” he said. The advice wasn’t bad—I am prone to overthinking things, after all. But at the time, picking up a journaling habit seemed like just another thing to add to my already full plate. But then two weeks later, I was laid off from my full-time job. I quickly began displaying symptoms of depression. Given that I had no money and no way to support myself, I was unable to stew. I threw myself into work and brushed my emotional turmoil under the rug. This, obviously, was a terrible idea. The sadness didn’t dissipate. Instead, I’d have random outbursts of stress and sadness at extremely inconvenient times. Five months after my layoff, I took a two-week solo trip to Paris. When I landed, all the sadness I’d hoped to leave in New York

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November 20, 2018 at 11:33AM If your body is pretty much always hovering around Level 10 on the stress scale, you’re not alone. Sure, daily meditation sessions and yoga classes help, but all it takes is one overly aggressive email from your boss to get your heart pounding at full-speed once again. Even though there will always be stressors in your life (womp, womp), there are some smart techniques you can use to keep your levels in check—and one of them involves grabbing your jar of nut butter. Seriously. At last night’s Well+Good TALKS: Generation Anxiety event at The Assemblage NoMad in New York City, holistic psychiatrist Ellen Vora, MD, let listeners in on a potentially game-changing secret: A lot of of the stress and anxiety you feel throughout the day is actually linked to your blood sugar. “These days, we go into a stress response too readily, and one of the things that puts the body into a stress response is a blood sugar crash,” she said. “So many of us are walking around hangry, and if you really start to trace your symptoms with anxiety or panic attacks, it’s usually around the time of the day when you’re going through a blood sugar crash.” “So many of us are walking around hangry, and if you really start to trace your symptoms with anxiety or panic attacks, it’s usually around the time of the day when you’re going through a blood sugar crash.” —Ellen Vora, MD According to Dr. Vora, this is why

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November 20, 2018 at 02:00AM I’m standing on a crag in Newfoundland, Canada, with the summer sun gleaming, decidedly out of my element, and somehow in tune with the elements themselves all at once. Let me describe the vital forces of life at play: the crisp, chilled air; the water, which the salmon leap from; the fire we sit around at night; and yes, this rocky crag beneath me, and they all feel fierce and powerful in a whole new way. I realize that this kind of harmony and balance is the goal—not something you really get to witness in a bubble of an urban city—and in a moment of clarity, the clouds nearly part for me to realize the true meaning of life…until, all at once, I’m rudely interrupted. Like a harmonic chorus in its own right, my skin erupts with an itch and maddeningly ruins everything. Moment of clarity gone. Enlightenment over forever. All at the hands of dried-out skin. With a personal vendetta out for a parched complexion, I hit the books to figure out what’s up. Studies show that those who spend more time outdoors have compromised skin barriers, so it’s no wonder my complexion was having a rough time. “Dry weather or climate change can definitely make skin drier,” says Shirley Chi, MD, a California-based dermatologist. “It takes time for skin to return to a balanced state, so every time the weather changes it can disrupt that balance and get dry and flaky.” Bingo. “It takes time for

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November 17, 2018 at 05:00AM Adaptogens have recently become the buzziest thing in mainstream wellness, but in Chinese and Ayurvedic cultures, their health benefits have been touted for centuries. Take ginseng. It’s long been used in Eastern medicine, but Western science has only recently started looking into its benefits by comparison. As more people around the world start working with the plant, it’s important to understand both how it can boost your health, as well as its side effects, says Dana Nahai, RDN. First of all, when speaking about ginseng, Nahai notes that we’re talking about a specific Panax variety, which is native to China, Korea, and North America. “It’s bitter on the palate, and the pharmacological effect is far more potent when used as a tea, tincture, or powder than when infused, fried, or eaten raw,” she says. And when you’re looking for the herb, “quality and bioavailability count for everything,” she explains, adding that you should do your research on the herb or supplement before you buy it. The registered dietitian nutritionist advises buying the whole root intact. Read all about ginseng’s supercharged benefits below. 1. It combats inflammation “Ginsenosides, the class of plant that ginseng belongs to, may have anti-inflammatory effects, according to experimental results in Journal of Translational Medicine,” Nahai says. The research suggests that these ginsenosides target immune system pathways that ultimately combat inflammation. 2. It’s a potentially natural stimulant for focus and attention “Ginseng acts as a natural stimulant and is prized for its effect on

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