BellaSugar

A Sense For Beauty, Part I: Touch

BellaSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:00:22 PDT

Welcome to my series on the five senses and beauty products. You may not realize that you are drawn to certain items because they appeal to your sense of taste, touch, sight, hearing, and smell, but subconsciously these qualities have a huge influence over what you chose to purchase. This series is a great way for you to gain insight into your mind, body, spirit - and bathroom. Today's topic is touch.

Touch and beauty are correlated on many levels. For example, Body So Fine body balm by Benefit ($30) is one of the company's best sellers because of its unique velvety cream-to-powder texture. Also, products that have dense, oily, or milky consistencies can attract or deter people from using them.

Touch also plays an intricate role in a spa experience. Hands-on treatments (as opposed to saunas, steam rooms, and baths) are fantastic ways to boost your mood. Did you know that the human touch releases "happy" endorphins that can physically help reduce blood pressure, stress, and anxiety? Psychologically, touch can also make you feel less isolated and more secure. Do you love the way a certain bath, body, or hair product feels? If so, please share your thoughts with me in a comment below.

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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.

Gear Review: Lark Silent Alarm Clock

Leta Shy — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:48:00 PDT

You can count me as one of the 30 percent of people who don't get enough sleep every night, so when Lark sent me its silent alarm clock ($100) to test a couple months ago, I was all about it. Since then, I've been using it pretty regularly, here's what I think of the alarm clock.

First, here's what it is: The Lark is part app (compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad only at the moment, but an Android version seems imminent), part motion-sensing wristband that vibrates to wake you up and tracks your sleep quality throughout the night. It promises to both help you wake up more naturally and without disturbing your bedmate and change your personality from sleep-deprived night owl to well-rested morning lark. Included in the package is the Lark sensor, wristband, and charging dock where you plug your wristband into when you wake up - both to shut off the vibrating alarm and ensure that your wristband has enough juice to monitor your sleeping stats for the next night. The charging dock includes a USB port to connect your iPhone charger to it, so you don't have to use two sockets for each.

Who it's for: The Lark is useful if you have a partner and you both wake up at different times. Since it's a silent alarm clock, it rouses you with a series of vibrations through your wristband, so if your normal wake-up call is earlier than your bedmate's, your partner can snooze away without being disturbed. That may or may not be valuable enough for you to justify the $100 price tag, but it is an effective solution. Besides the alarm clock portion, the Lark app tracks several sleeping stats: how many hours you slept as well as how many times you woke up during the night and how long it took you to fall asleep (both based on your movements).

Keep reading for my thoughts on the Lark alarm clock.

9 Love Lessons I've Learned In 10 Years Of Marriage

YourTango — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:00:36 PDT

We're happy to present this excerpt from one of our favorite sites, YourTango. Today, we have tips for a long-lasting, loving relationship.

As much as we all want to believe that once we find our true love, we'll live out our lives in blissful happiness, reveling in that loving feeling forever, reality is not quite like that. We tend to think that love is something that happens to us, instead of something that comes from us. The truth is that successful relationships take energy, effort and attention from both partners.

This year, I'll be celebrating my tenth anniversary with my husband, and while that's certainly not a record-breaking accomplishment, there are a few things I've learned along the way regarding keeping a relationship healthy, or at least from falling apart at the seams. Here they are:

Touch him. As human beings we all crave being touched. It gives us that sense of being connected to others, that sense of bonding. I'm not necessarily talking about sexual touching, but things like simply touching his forearm when you're talking to him, running your fingers gently through his hair or rubbing his ears lightly when you kiss him goodbye. A little bit of touch goes a long way, and in these hurried modern times, we can all use more than we're getting.
Compliment him. We're all naturally quick to point out our partner's flaws or things they did wrong or could do better, but why is it so hard to comment on what's great about him? Once we get used to each other, the great things become expected and taken for granted. Pick three things that he does really well, and the next time you see him doing one of them, give him a nice little compliment like, "You're so good at that, thank you for taking care of that for us." If you aim to give him one compliment every day it will begin to become natural and soon you'll find yourself doing it even more often. And you'll also find his annoying habits won't seem so bad.
Keep your dirty laundry in your house. If he's done something that really bothers you, and you feel the need to complain to your friends, co-workers, or your mom, bite your tongue as hard as you can. Words spoken in one ear have a tendency to make it to other ears very quickly, and these people will think less of your guy long after you've gotten over it. Mom and Dad are particularly good at holding grudges against the guy that hurt their daughter. If you need to complain, write it down in a journal instead of voicing it, or if you absolutely have to voice it to someone, tell it to your therapist or a relationship coach.
Be a winning team. Look at life's ups and downs as something that you're both in together. If you work together as a team, always looking out for the other, you'll be able to handle whatever comes at you. Just as the various members of a team have different talents, you and your partner have unique talents, so put them to work together to create greatness.
Take him at face value. Know that he is what he is and also know that he's not going to change. Then love him for what he is. Instead of looking at his bad habits as annoying, look at them as quirky traits that make him such a loveable guy. Write down three things that you absolutely love about him on an index card and keep it in your pocket at all times. Any time he annoys you, pull out the card and read each to yourself; you won't be able to stay mad. (If you can't come up with three things that you love about him then dump him and move on. I mean, seriously.)

For the rest of the article, head to YourTango: 9 Love Lessons I've Learned In 10 Years Of Marriage

Written by Jane Garapick for YourTango.

Cameron Diaz Talks Loving Gwyneth and the Many Charms of British Men

Allie Merriam — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:56:40 PDT

Cameron Diaz strikes a sexy pose for the June 2012 cover of Harper's Bazaar UK. The full feature appears in the June issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK, which is on sale Thursday, May 3. Her next movie, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, will be out in the US next month. In the picture, Cameron plays a mother-to-be. She spoke about having kids in real life with the magazine and also touched on how she's happy with her life at the present. Cameron also spoke about her connection with pal Gwyneth Paltrow and even dished on the charms of British men. Click through to see more Cameron in the magazine, and here are highlights from Cameron Diaz in Harper's Bazaar UK:

On why she loves British men: "I love their sense of humour and the sense of chivalry and charm. It's something that is innately a part of the culture - we don't have that over here, it's not the same in America."
On her friendship with Gwyneth: "We became very close after my dad's death. She reached out and it was very sweet. We bonded on that . . . They (Martin/Paltrow) are exceptional people. We have known each other because we have been in the business for the same amount of time."
On being happy with the present: "I'm not sitting there going 'Oh my god, when am I going to get married? When am I going to have a baby?' I would be remiss if I was living my life wishing I had something other than what I have. If one day, I am blessed with the experience of having a child, I would be overjoyed, but I am not sitting here feeling empty because I haven't yet, or that I may not."
On her friends and family: "I'm a nurturer to all my friends. I don't feel alone in the world. I have so many friends, more friends who are like me (without children) than not. I also have girlfriends who have kids, and I have strong relationships with their children and my nieces and nephews. My happiest moments are when I'm with my friends - and I consider them to be my greatest wealth. They are my crown jewels."

Photos courtesy Tom Munro for Harper’s Bazaar UK

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.

Are Money Clubs the New Book Clubs?

LearnVest — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:15:41 PDT

Money clubs are a great and fun way to stay on top of your finances. With friends supporting you, you can conquer the world and money issues! LearnVest shares how you can start one.

Thea, 31, a lawyer, lives in Brooklyn, NY. Although her friends are, in her own words, “bright, savvy, awesome women,” many felt lost financially - much like she did. “In fact, almost all of them knew someone else who was in the same financially adrift boat,” she says.

That’s when she got the idea to start a money group.

“The first meeting was held in my studio apartment in Brooklyn,” she told LearnVest. She served pizza and Diet Coke as the group of women took turns airing their money issues and goals.

The women’s issues ranged from needing to pay down credit card debt after an amazing wedding to wondering how to invest in a 403(b) retirement account that she’d left empty for years. “We left that meeting,” she says, “with the same sense of empowerment we often feel in other areas of our lives, but that was usually missing when it came to our financial life.”

Although the women are still working through their money issues and goals, it is, as Thea puts it, “easier to take a journey with a group of amazing friends.”

Are Money Clubs the New Book Clubs?

There’s a reason Thea’s personal experience was so meaningful. Just like book clubs or wine clubs - or book clubs that double as wine clubs - money clubs are groups in which you can learn interesting stuff, discuss it, and get support from like-minded friends. And maybe even add alcohol to put people at ease.

In fact, while they’re now becoming popular again, money clubs have actually been around for a long time. Many groups of women in cities across the US meet up informally, but Candace Bahr, founder of the Women’s Institute For Financial Education, or WIFE, formalized the money club concept, creating the organization’s trademarked version back in 2004.

Read on for more.

Newton Vineyard Partners With Materious For Its Fourth Eco Chic Collaboration

Elka Karl — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:12:17 PDT

For 35 years, Newton Vineyard has valued sustainability in all of its practices, from estate design to each step of the winemaking process, and to celebrate Earth Day, it's releasing its latest Eco Chic collaboration piece, the Puzzle Tray, developed by Chicago-based designers Bruce and Stephanie Tharp of Materious studio.

I had the opportunity to try out the Puzzle Tray this morning, and its design is both clever and very satisfying in a tactile sense - I couldn't stop touching it and playing with each of the coasters that pops out of the walnut tray base.

Part of a limited run of 112 pieces, each tray has been made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified walnut wood, low-VOC glue, and mineral oil - all of which is food safe. The Puzzle Tray reflects Newton Vineyard's dedication to sustainability and the winery's personal background as well.
The tray's basic shape represents the golden rectangle, a traditional Western concept of harmony and proportion, while the symmetrical crosshatching is based on a Chinese motif, which reflects the Chinese-influenced architectural aesthetic of the estate as well as the specific block-like look of Newton's vineyards. The tray's "puzzle pieces" pop out and can be used as coasters for wine glasses, while the remaining recessed portions of the tray can be used to transport wine and glasses or food pairings - the smaller nooks are perfect for holding nuts or sea salt, while the larger are great for grapes, fruit, cheeses, and bread.

Keep reading for a video explaining the tray's design, as well as a look at the gorgeous estate!

See How We Would Style Lauren Conrad's New Beverly Hills Penthouse

Angela Swinderman Elias — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:48:48 PDT

After taking a loss of over $100,000 on her stunning Hollywood Hills Mediterranean, reality TV star and style maven Lauren Conrad finally found a new home in the hills. Beverly Hills, to be exact. Her new 3,233-square-foot penthouse condo includes three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a two-story living room, large family room, formal dining room, private balconies, and a shared pool, deck, and entertainment room. While the condo is spacious and flooded with plenty of natural light, it's apparent that the coveted 90210 zip code will come at a much higher cost than the $1.4 million price tag. Lauren's new home will not only need a decorator's touch, but also the help of a skilled contractor for some much-needed renovations. Still, we're confident that Lauren's strong style sense will undoubtedly play a hand in making over her new Beverly Hills pad. Take a look to see the inside of Lauren's new home, and find out which products we would decorate with if we were moving in!

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Zac Efron Goes Shirtless in Sydney

Katie Henry — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 19:46:08 PDT

Zac Efron caught a late flight out of LAX last night and touched down in Australia today. The actor is in Sydney promoting his upcoming Nicholas Sparks film, The Lucky One. Shirtless Zac hung out at his hotel and relaxed on the balcony before tending to his latest round of press duties.

We recently had the chance to sit down with Zac and his costar Taylor Shilling at the LA junket. The pair dished about working on location in New Orleans and what it was like shooting their love scenes. According to Zac, he and Taylor "kept a good sense of humor" during the film's most intimate moments. We'll have to wait until the movie opens on April 20 to see more of Zac's fit frame, but for now we can admire his toned six-pack!