September 10, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC Workout clothes are akin to sushi in my mind: I’m extremely wary of a deal or discount. And so, I often admittedly question just how good a pair of inexpensive workout leggings that cost under $50 could possibly be. Now, before you start rolling your eyes at my choice to continually spend more on workout leggings than many pay for actual real-life everyday wears, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you’ve never been in a heated yoga class, sweating it out 110-degrees, trying to balance on a single toe while your top rides up and bottoms slip down. The thing is, I tend to go to so many sweaty hot yoga classes these days that I can’t possibly keep up with the laundry. So I’ve started buying more. And more. And more. All that money spent on leggings, though, has had me on the hunt for more affordable options that actually work. And guess what? I’ve found not one, but seven that have passed my test for performance wear. And spoiler: I’m pickier than most. From Danskin, Adidas, Target, and more, find my favorite workout leggings under $50…that are actually awesome, price tag aside. Photo: Danskin Danskin Classic Supplex Body Fit Ankle Legging, $36 These were actually my first legging loves back in the day before I turned to other trendier (… and pricier) options. But honestly, maybe I should have just stuck to the classics. The tights I’ve
Tag: Well+Good
Ok, TMI: Why do the back of my earrings smell absolutely disgusting?
September 09, 2019 at 11:15PM by CWC Tell me how accurate this scenario is: You’re sitting at your desk in the office, or cozied up on the couch, twirling your earring back (which is a soothing thing to do with your hands, much like twirling your hair or clicking a pen or making a friendship bracelet), only to catch a whiff of your fingers which smell like… white cheddar popcorn? Nutritional yeast? Stinky cheese? WTF? I know it’s not just me. Every single person I’ve talked to about this nods in solidarity, because it’s just a fact of having piercings that nobody happens to talk about. So, since I’m now fearful that someone in my life will think my fingers smell like yeast, I have done the important job of investigating the cheesy-behind-the-ear situation. And it all stems from oil and bacteria. Your ears are a nice, warm anatomical crevice for oil, bacteria, and the accumulation of dead skin cells. Hence why your mom always told you to wash behind your ears. “It’s so that you clean off the oil that accumulates there,” explains Purvisha Patel, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare. “These cause ‘ear cheese,’ aka an accumulation of rancid oil—oil that gets exposed to air—dead skin cells, as we’re constantly shedding, bacteria, and sweat. It’s more common in people who do not change their earrings much and who sweat a lot.” (Me.) Your earring backs are the perfect breeding ground for that cheesy smell, especially if
‘Cross-fiber friction’ saved my stiff neck—and made me feel 2 inches taller
September 09, 2019 at 10:53PM by CWC Every once in a while in yoga class, a magical thing happens: the teacher comes up behind you during savasana and gives you a neck massage. The five-second act of other care is worth the entire $30 drop-in free, in my opinion. But you don’t have to leave your house to give your neck tender loving care. Once you know about cross-fiber friction foam rolling, you can get that “Ooh, ah!” feeling in your very own living room. At this year’s Wanderlust 108 festival in Brooklyn, Julie Wu—an instructor with RAD roller—taught me a valuable lesson in foam rolling. Even though most of us are trained to just move the device north and south to knead out tension, a little east and west action is good, too. That’s why Wu had the group at Wanderlust place a Rad Rod (a tiny, tube-like roller) just beneath the nape our necks and wiggle it right and left as well as up and down. It felt like a euphoric out-of-body experience, and I walked away from class feeling like a gazelle. That is, a taller, more agile version of myself. A horizontal approach to foam rolling is called cross-fiber friction foam rolling. Rather than running the foam roller along the length of the muscle, you’re going against the grain of the muscle fiber. For example, if you’re trying to target your quads, roll the tool from side to side rather than from knee to hip. When
Why you don’t have to ‘forgive and forget’ to truly move on
September 09, 2019 at 09:13PM by CWC The act of forgiving someone is often put on a pedestal. Self-help books and page-after-page of Pinterest quotes will tell you that no closure truly comes without first uttering “I forgive you.” Despite the phrase’s sterling reputation, psychologists say that not every hurtful scenario is resolved with three words. In reality, it’s more complicated than a cut-and-dry “forgive and forget.” “Forgiveness doesn’t have anything to do with how the person who hurt you feelings. It’s about how you feel,” says Aimee Daramus, PsyD, a psychologist based in Chicago. After someone stomps all over your feelings and apologizes, you’re left at a crossroads. “The point is for you to be able to move on with your life and have some peace, so if you’re truly moving on, forgiveness might not be necessary. If you’re still hurting, then it might help to forgive someone,” says Dr. Daramus. Letting them off the hook isn’t compulsory; it’s a personal choice. “The point is for you to be able to move on with your life and have some peace, so if you’re truly moving on, forgiveness might not be necessary.” —Aimee Darmus, PsyD Obviously, emotions are slippery. So instead of wading into your #feels and trying to navigate blindly, Dr. Daramus recommends visualizing what moving on might look like for you. “If you want to move forward without forgiving, you need to have goals, or at least vision for where you’re going,” she says. “Short-term goals help a
Would you let your partner follow your location 24/7? These people do
September 09, 2019 at 07:28PM by CWC Shortly after Sahra Sajasi met her boyfriend, they went to a festival together. Since getting separated from your date in a crowd is categorically the worst, the pair wisely decided to add each other on Find My Friends—a mobile tracker app that comes preloaded on iPhone—just in case. Fast forward two years, and they still haven’t turned it off. Now, Sajasi says they occasionally use Find My Friends to check in on each other’s location for practical reasons. “We’re long-distance—[he’s in] London and [I’m in] Los Angeles—and if he doesn’t let me know he got home safely after a night out with friends, I might go into the app and just check that he made it,” she says. “We’ve also used it to see how far away we are from each other when one of us is driving or using public transportation. It’s sometimes easier just to check the app instead of waiting for a reply… and it’s also exciting to see our little icons get closer to each other when we’re used to being 5,000-plus miles away.” Sajasi and her S.O. certainly aren’t the only couple who are tracking each other’s moves via GPS technology—chances are you know someone who does the same, even if they don’t talk about it. Valerie Beesley and her husband use Find My Friends to streamline school pick-ups and drop-offs for their son, while cutting down on incessant text volleys. “The app actually helps reduce messages about
The 2-minute nail art design to steal if you hate doing your nails yourself
September 09, 2019 at 06:43PM by CWC Getting a manicure is kind of like the ultimate therapy for me. You sit there—phone stashed out of reach in your purse—and totally zen out as your manicurist transforms your nails. Doing your own nails at home, however, might not have quite the same meditative effect. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have a clean, chic, effortless look on hand for whenever you don’t have time to snag an appointment. Negative-space nails are the ultimate time-saver, and the trend just got an upgrade with some nail framing. On the runway at New York Fashion week, models in the Ulla Johnson show rocked a simple yet totally eye-catching look. And it’s ridiculously easy to copy at home. “Creating a partial outline of the nail with this curvy design gives the nails a sexy edge by exposing the natural nail while slightly framing it with a rich pop of color,” said Mabelyn Martin, Paintbox creative director and the creator of the design, per a press release. Unlike most of the designs you’ll see on the runway, this one only takes a couple minutes to master at home. Here’s exactly how to copy the look, according to Martin. Photo: Paintbox How to give yourself a nail framing mani at home 1. With a striping brush, trace the perimeter of the nail to the center fingertip down to the cuticle (creating a J shape). 2. Repeat for full coverage (so two coats). 3. With a
Skin-care ampoules are like the harder-working sister of serums
September 09, 2019 at 06:06PM by CWC These days, beauty counters are piled high with stacks and stacks of the latest creams, serums, and SPFs that all promise to whisk skin concerns and prevent new ones from coming on. In no surprise to anyone, super-concentrated active ingredients are highly covetable, and that’s why ampoules, a Korean beauty staple, are now making their way to the United States. Ampoules are highly concentrated active serums that are specifically designed for one-time use. “The amount and container size are strategically for preserving the pureness of the product,” explains Julie E. Russak, MD, a New York City dermatologist. “There are no added fillers, the product often features one main star ingredient, and, because of the way it’s packaged—it’s usually for one single use—so it isn’t compromised by the effects of being exposed to the environment.” This is especially important for ingredients like retinol and vitamin C, which David Lortscher, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and CEO of Curology, says are unstable and easily degrade when exposed to light and air. Howard Sobel, MD, a New York dermatologist adds that ampoules, such as Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Ampoules ($145) and Natura Bisse Diamond Instant Glow ($90), are of particularly high quality given not only their small, air-tight vials or capsules, but also the fact that they ensure that you’re applying the right amount of product to your face. What do ampoules do? Beyond the ingenious packaging, let’s talk about the benefits of actually adding them into
This $265 moisturizer is destined to be the next La Mer—and it’s worth every penny
September 09, 2019 at 04:07PM by CWC Every once in a while, a skin-care product comes along that completely changes the game. As of late, that product has been Augustinus Bader Cream ($265), a namesake moisturizer created by German professor Augustinus Bader, who reinterpreted his medical-grade, wound-healing hydrogel into a skin-care product for the masses…or at least for those willing to shell out upwards of two hundred bucks. At its advent, the hydrogel was created to help with burns and scarring; according to him, it greatly reduced the need for skin grafts and other scar revision therapies amongst patients. However, upon seeing how effective it was, Bader decided to use the cream to help with the skin’s four-week regeneration cycle. “It’s not about adding stem cells to the body or cultivating cells outside the body—it’s a totally innovative approach that works with the body’s own physiological communication systems to trigger healing for sustainable health and wellbeing,” explains Bader. Essentially, it stimulates your body to create its own new cells by giving it the building blocks of amino acids, vitamins, and nutrients in “the right location at the right time.” In addition to helping with scars, the technology can also be applied to other skin concerns, too, including acne and fine lines. “The formula was reported by clients to normalize oil secretion, while working to improve the appearance of dark spots that often remain after a breakout,” says Bader. “The creams were also reported to help to minimize the appearance of
How to make something less salty, because cooking fails happen to the best of us
September 09, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC I learned how to cook from my mom, which is to say I never formally learned at all. What I absorbed via osmosis involved a complete lack of any type of measuring device, meaning that I still tend to eyeball things. Where this becomes particularly problematic is in the salt department, as there’s something so satisfying in dumping artisanal pink Himalayan sea salt into a pot of fresh vegetables or pasta. Not so satisfying? The taste of overly salted food, which is *thumbs down emoji.* “Salt helps to bring out the natural flavors in food, but if you go overboard it can be jarring,” agrees celebrity chef and holistic nutritionist Shauna Faulisi. Once I’ve been liberal with the sodium chloride, I’ve always assumed it’s too late to salvage a palatable meal; however, kitchen experts tell me this isn’t true. “It happens to the best of us—that sprinkle of salt can sometimes turn into one too many,” says Faulisi. Thankfully with the right tricks up your sleeve, you can still salvage your dinner in no time. How to make something less salty, according to pro chefs There are a few ways to go about de-salting your dish. Faulisi says that generally speaking, the best thing to do is round out the flavors using fat. “Full-fat canned coconut milk is staple in my kitchen because it does wonders for flavor and for saving dishes,” Faulisi explains. “I love it because it’s not super heavy on
A psychologist’s take on why re-creating your first date feels like the epitome of romance
September 09, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC The basic anatomy of my first date in my most recent relationship includes two basic components: The dress (black lace, long-sleeved, scoop-necked) and the restaurant (Mediterranean, with an inexpensive wine list, mood lighting, and a location a block and a half from my apartment). The reason I remember these details so crisply? Because in times when many are left scratching their heads wondering how to spice up a relationship, my partner and I leaned on history by re-creating that very first date. And based on the fact that at least two of my co-workers have done the same for their respective anniversaries, I’m left believing this nostalgic, old-is-new practice of happy-memory re-creation is a promising one for preserving and also perpetuating some romantic intimacy. But, why do so many harvest nostalgia for milestones, be it that first-year anniversary, a proposal, or even a random Tuesday night? According to licensed clinical psychologist and relationship therapist Alexandra Solomon, PhD, the research of prolific relationship therapist John Gottman, PhD, of the Gottman Institute, is helpful for understanding why couples tend to glamorize their landmark memories. Dr. Gottman’s research on divorce points to happy couples deriving a sense of meaning through rituals of connection. Whether the couple realizes it or not, these traditions of sorts can help to strengthen a relationship because they can add in meaning or significance. “So that ritual—that kind of intentional marking of the passage of time—helps couples feel connected to each other