BellaSugar

A Sense For Beauty, Part IV: Hearing

BellaSugar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:59:31 PDT

OK, so the way that your compact snaps shut, or the sounds that your atomizer makes may not have the same effect on your senses as the way your body lotion feels on your skin, or the way a smoky eye makes you look sexy, but don't kid yourself, hearing does play a part on the the beauty products that you choose to purchase.

For example, Estee Lauder and Lancôme have both created a snug-fitting lipstick cap that makes a clicking noise when it's closed. This gives you the assurance to know that the cap won't fall off and cause any mess inside of your makeup case or purse.

Similarly, music is often played in the background at spas to help create a calm atmosphere in which to relieve stress and anxiety. Conversely, fast music is typically played at salons to create an upbeat, energetic environment. Do you have a favorite type of music that you play when you perform your at-home spa treatments?

Source

Glee-ful Highlights From Season Finale "Goodbye"

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:40 PDT

We say goodbye to McKinley High's graduating class of 2012 on this week's season finale of Glee, and while we'll be seeing a lot of these characters next year, for some, it was their swan song (pardon the pun). Everyone is feeling nostalgic, not the least of whom is Mr. Schue, who gives the kids an assignment of picking a goodbye song. The episode is mostly devoted to the characters giving each other touching send-offs, which made me feel sentimental too.

There's a pretty big development at the end of the episode that I was expecting, but it surprised me by how bittersweet it actually is. Ready to break down the highlights of the Glee season finale? Just keep reading.

Buzz Blabber: We're Counting the Days to The Dark Knight Rises

Maggie Pehanick — Sun, 06 May 2012 03:05:00 PDT

Last week we learned that Ian Somerhalder has his eye on the part of Christian Grey in the big-screen adaption of Fifty Shades of Grey. This week, it looks like he's got some competition, fellow member of the TV undead, Alexander Skarsgard. Rumors about the casting piqued your interest, and we were curious to hear what you had to say on the Ian vs. Alexander debate of 2012. Other topics that got you talking were the photos of the new lucky (or unlucky, depending on how the new season pans out) suitors vying for The Bachelorette's attention and the eerie third trailer for The Dark Knight Rises.

The new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises might be the best one yet

"I love it! I really like how Chris Nolan keeps every detail on secret. Can't wait to see it!" - Christie0010
"Wow, the suspense is killing me! Nolan is brilliant!" - gd101
"I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt and he so reminds me of Heath Ledger, wonder if I'm the only one who feels this way." - jaan_black

To see how guys felt about 50 Shades of Grey and more, just

Alexander Skarsgard as Christian Grey is a novel idea - or is it?

"If you read the description of the character, Alexander fits it perfectly. With the exception of his age, he could easily be Christian. His True Blood experience would give him an edge over the competition. Nudity? Check. Sexy? Check. Dark? Check. Smart? Check. Universal are you listening?" - pbartteacher
"Sorry, but I just don't see him as Christian. Ian is perfect for the part. Tousled hair, dark, smoldering stare - this is Ian, not Alex. I love him in True Blood, but here I say no." - emiad
"Yes please! I can absolutely see that. Give his hair some reddish tint, and um . . . yum. I may need to re-read now, just to cast it and watch it play out in my head. Girls, quit picking out cute, sweet looking boys with no fire. Christian has dark and evil inside him, with a puppy dog side that can get brought out. Christian needs real fire in him." - Cassie2645926

New Bachelorette Emily Maynard has quite the selection of suitors

"Yikes! I'm hoping it's just a bad picture for some of these guys." - likethedirection
"None of them look particularly clever. Let's hope they at least have a sense of humor." - noonehere
"Arie sure is cute!" - Angelica

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Fifty Shades of Grey, Fight Club, and the Complications of Male Dominance

The Good Men Project — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:00:55 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Clarisse Thorn sees nothing new in eroticized images of male dominance and violence, but she sees plenty that's thought-provoking.

Much is being made of the highly successful S&M erotica novel 50 Shades of Grey. People are blaming feminism for making women into submissives, blaming feminism for preventing women from being submissives, blaming women for having sexual desires at all, and a whole lot of other boring and typical stuff that comes up in any conversation about women and S&M. News flash: it’s not the feminist revolution that is "causing" women to have fantasies of submission. S&M fantasies have been around since the beginning of time. (And the 1950s S&M-sensation book, The Story of O, was much better written than 50 Shades of Grey.)

Top 10 Reasons to Use Condoms

As an S&M writer, I hear a lot of allegations about how "all" (or "almost all") women are sexually submissive and how this must Mean Something. This is echoed in the coverage of 50 Shades of Grey, in which everyone is demanding to know What It All Means About Women. I wrote a piece a while back called Inherent Female Submission: The Wrong Question, in which I took on a lot of this stuff. But there’s another submerged question here - about men. There’s plenty of talk and stereotypes about how men are inherently violent, or more aggressive than women, or "the dominant sex."

Keep reading below.

A Body Check That Won't Hurt: Tips For Proper Running Form

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:49:36 PDT

Running is all about stepping one foot in front of the other. Sounds easy enough, right? But if your running form is incorrect, you'll end up with aches, strains, and injuries that could prevent you from lacing up your sneaks at all. Make sure to avoid these running-form mistakes the next time you hit the treadmill, trail, or pavement.

Head: It sometimes feels good to close your eyes and relax your chin toward your chest, but don't keep your head down (or tilt your head up) for long periods of time. Prevent neck strain and encourage an open throat for easy breathing by keeping your head stacked over your spine. Correct head position also encourages a straight, upright stance, which makes you a more efficient runner.
Shoulders: Without even realizing it, you may be running with your upper back and shoulders tensed up toward your ears. (And you wonder why you have a pounding headache or aching neck.) Every so often, take a nice deep breath in and as you exhale, relax your upper torso and actively roll your shoulders back and down toward your pelvis. Do a self-check to make sure your shoulders are stacked over the hips. Hunching the upper body forward not only makes it difficult to breathe, it also puts pressure on your lower back.

I'm just getting started so keep reading to find out what the rest of your body shouldn't be doing while running.

Zac Efron Dishes on His Full-Body Transformation in Men's Health

PopSugar — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:35:12 PDT

Zac Efron shows off his newly buff body on the May cover of Men's Health, which is on newsstands on April 17. He'll soon be on the big screen when his most recent movie project, The Lucky One, is released on April 20. The former Disney Channel star showed up in a t-shirt and Vans for the shoot at LA's Weddington Golf & Tennis center, where he hit golf balls on the driving range. Zac has been all about the links recently. While in Sydney, Zac played golf solo on Easter. Inside the pages, the 24-year-old actor opens up about his work ethic, the changes his body underwent for his role in The Lucky One, and meeting with real-life Marines. Here's more from Zac Efron in Men's Health:

On his body's transformation for The Lucky One: "By the end of the movie I didn't recognize myself. You hear about guys like Christian Bale who dive into it and are really able to transform. I've always wondered if I had the willpower to actually do it. And I'll always have pride around the sense that I can."
On his work ethic: "I could pick up almost anything. If you put it in front of me, I could always find a way to tackle it. I was never a natural at anything, but I could always outwork everybody."
On meeting real Marines: "They were my age. 23, 24, even younger. And most of the staff sergeants were not huge guys. They were about my height, 5'9", 5'10", some shorter, but all very stocky. And I'm there in a backward hat and Vans, walking around like I'm still in college."

Dos and Don'ts of Running With a Buddy

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:03:02 PDT

Most days I fit my workout in whenever I can, so I tend to sweat it out alone. But I love the days when I can meet up with my running buddy and we hit the trail together - I run a lot longer when chatting it up with a friend. There are definitely some dos and dont's when it comes to running with another friend, so keep these in mind the next time you head out with a partner.

DO call if you're going to be late: It's hard enough to find an hour in your busy schedules that you're both free, so when you do, make every effort to show up on time. If you're running late, be sure to text or call to let her know - you don't want to keep her waiting, or worse, worrying that something is wrong.
DON'T bring your headphones: Unless you both prefer listening to your personal tunes and not conversing, save the headphones for when you're running solo. Or if you both want to listen to the same running playlist, put your iPhone on speaker so you can enjoy the music but still hear each other.

Keep reading for more dos and dont's when it comes to running with a fitness buddy.

"Feeling Stuck Between Genders"

Tres Community — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:05:00 PDT

This week's confession comes from our anonymous Confession Booth group in the TrèsSugar Community. Weigh in with your advice below.

I'm not entirely sure how to explain this, but I really feel the need to try and hopefully I will get some positive feedback from the community.

First I gotta give a little history. I was born male, but when I was 2 or so (can't remember exactly when) my father had a stroke that left him with a severe mental disability. It left him with physical and mental handicaps that made it so his presence in my life almost non-existent. He wasn't able to be that "Father" figure in my life (not his fault) but because we was still IN my life in some way, I never really found any other father figure either. He became a placeholder, in a sense. He was there, taking up that spot in my life as I grew up, but at the same time completely unable to fulfill that role because of his disability.

Because of this, my mother became sort of the "father" figure for me, and I grew up more like a daughter than a son, in terms of the things I learned in both how I act and what I was interested in. I was sensitive and emotional as I grew up, and never felt uncomfortable around girls. By the time I reached high school I had never really developed any strong relationships with guys, the few I made not being much deeper then a shared interest or pastime. Girls, on the other hand, I had a lot of very strong relationships with and more often than not I was "one of the girls" when it came to talks about things like periods, clothes, and their personal issues, and I was always willing to listen and help whenever I could.

Keep reading for the rest of this reader's dilemma and to offer your advice.

Eating Tips From The Bigger Loser's Former Nutritionist

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 04:17:18 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar!

When Cheryl Forberg - registered dietitian, James Beard award-winning chef, and creator of The Biggest Loser meal plan - signed onto the show for its first season, she was shocked at the contestants' states of health. "Most of what I did was not on camera; at the beginning of every season, the applicant pool was huge. Season five alone had 220,000 applicants. Once we weeded applicants out down to about 75, we could start doing physical tests while I met with them to talk about eating habits and their weight loss and weight gain tendencies," she said. "The first season was shocking to hear their eating habits, but after a few seasons, I realized I was hearing the same thing over and over again."

Read below as Forberg shares her experiences with The Biggest Loser, the nutrition factors she used to make the meal plan, and a healthy spread you can make easily at home.

What were you most surprised to discover about with the diets of the past contestants on The Biggest Loser?

I found all the contestants had things in common, like the belief that skipping meals promotes weight loss, drinking too many calories, having too much processed fast food, not eating very many fruits and vegetables, little to no water consumption, not eating enough whole grains, and forgetting to plan ahead. Everybody had a different combination of one these things, but what they all had in common was prioritizing their family, work, or something else over themselves. They needed to put their head in the game and get healthy so that they could be around to take care of the people and things they loved. They needed to start taking care of themselves.

More healthy eating tips after the break.

The Secret to Making Your Dollar Last

LearnVest — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:15:57 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Research psychologists have all the best tricks up their sleeves. Maybe it’s because they study humans like guinea pigs to figure out what really makes our complicated selves tick.

Feeling stressed? Reason yourself out of it (studies show this actually works). Rushed all the time? Slow down, and you’ll be a nicer person (a famous study we cite shows that this is true, no matter who you are).

Feeling broke? Or wish you could stretch your dollar more? We’d normally tell you to head straight to My Money Center and Budgeting Tool (you can’t have enough free tools at your fingertips) - but today, we’re going to give you a break. We’re going to let you in on an easy way to stretch your dollar and enhance your happiness, and it’s also totally free. It’s called savoring.

What Is Savoring?

Savoring is the ability to prolong and stretch enjoyment or positive emotional experiences. It’s the difference between wolfing down a meal vs. lingering over every bite. It relates to how much time you spend sitting in front of a sunset (if you even stop at all).

Scientists have consistently found that the ability to savor promotes happiness (see here or here). Which makes sense. The more you can prolong positive emotional experiences, the more positive emotions are filling up your day. In fact, the tendency to savor benefits individuals across the lifespan: studies show it predicts the subjective well-being for grade-school children, adolescents, college students, and the elderly.

Read on for more.