Marie Claire January 2015

Hang Photos Like a Pro

1. Know your freebies - when buying from a dealer or gallery, make sure to ask if the price includes the frame. For a lot of first-time buyers, it does.
2. Defray costs - hit up Ikea for budget frames, or join Michaels mailing list and wait for coupons, which can custom framing prices nearly in half.
3. Use your accents - if your room has a bold accent color, try matching the frame to that. Got a neutral palette? Match the color of the floor.
4. Separate lights and dark - lights frames help a space look bigger. Darker ones draw attention to the fact that a room is small.
5. Master the salon - when collaging a bold or colorful work with less eye catching ones, don’t hang the focal piece in the middle. Use the pinwheel technique: disperse artwork loosely around the center of the wall. And use frames of a single hue.
6. Tame the mix - if salon style chaos isn’t your thing, try hanging art of different sizes and mixed media [a mask, an etching, a painting, a photo, etc] in a grid a bold but restrained effect.

Benefits of Meditation

1. Improved concentration - experienced meditators’ brain show more activity in the areas that control attention and focus than those of people who don’t meditate.
2. Weight control - in preliminary studies, meditators who practice “mindful eating” (focusing attention on the sensory experience of a meal) were able to control overeating more successfully than non-meditators.
3. Better memory - meditators have denser gray matter in the hippocampus (which is connected to memory and learning)
4. Less uneasiness - after analyzing nearly 19,000 studies on meditation. Researchers found that mindfulness practices ease anxiety.
5. Decreased stress - studies has found that meditation can reduce the expression of genes linked to inflammation and stress.

Redbook September 2014

Jumping - just jumping - can help decrease your risk of osteoporosis and fractures later in life, a new study says. All it takes is 10 jumps twice a day, but you can’t do them in a quickie row: space 30 seconds apart. In between, do an arm move… or take a deep breath and feel virtuous.

3 Rules for Vacation Eating

1. I will stick to my regular mealtimes. That’ll help keep your metabolism humming and stop you from getting so ravenous that you end up inhaling that family size platter of cheesy fries.
2. I will eat one salad a day without extra dressing or cheese. Not every meal has to be virtuous, but a daily bowl of veggies and greens guarantees you’ll get some nutrition - and leaves a little room for fun stuff.
3. I will split dessert. The first few forkfuls taste the best anyways: according to Cornell research, we’re usually satisfied with a smaller portion than we think we’ll need to calm a sugary craving.

Pickle, quickly - You don’t have to be frontier woman or culinary genius to pickle 2 pounds of produce. Combine 3 cups white vinegar, 1.5 cups of water, ¾ cup sugar, 3 tbsp pickling spice, 1 tbsp peppercorn, and 2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add 1 jalapeno and 4 dill sprigs. Pour over your fave veggies or fruit, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Cosmopolitan December 2014

New Smokey Eye Trends

1. Graphic Green - you don’t need to be an artist to master the precise, squared shape. Use pencil liner to create the box (keep cotton swab handy for wobbly-line cleanup), then fill it in with shadow. Blend away harsh edges with your finger.
2. Cobalt Cat eyes - put pigments on lockdown by layering powder shadow over a matching cream in this feline shape. Then rim inner lids with midnight blue pencil - kep to keeping the look edgy, not playful.
3. Red in reverse - instead of  dark lash line that gets lighter at the crease., rock the ombre version. Sweep a deep burgundy hue directly in your crease, then blend a light-reflecting magenta downward toward the lash line.

There’s a right way to pour a beer

1. Pour the beer slowly down the side of a tilted glass until its about three quarters of the way full. If you pour quickly, you get too much foam.
2. Straighten up the glass, and pour the beer straight down the middle. You should have about an inch of head at the top.

Self October 2014

Boost Your Strength

1. Maximize Cardio - on the treadmill, add an incline for 60 seconds intervals. Or hit the rowing machine for three minutes between weight training moves to raise your heart rate.
2. Plank - standard planks and rotating side planks strengthen your core, which can make you less prone to injury. Plus, you use a strong core in every activity, athletic or otherwise.
3. Do diagonal moves - exercises like chopping wood [using a medicine ball or weighted pulley] involve rotational strength and work muscle groups in one efficient action.

Boost Your Power

1. Just jump - try 12 to 24 inch box jumps (5 reps is enough to make fast-twitch muscle fire). Or opt for simple squat jumps - and do as many as you can for 30 seconds straight.
2. Play power sports - soccer, boxing, or tennis, for example, require total body strength and precision. Their targeted movements will help increase your power.

Boost Your Endurance

1. Mix up your cardio - alternate between classic cardio and more high-intensity exercises to increase your aerobic capacity. So in addition to Spin class or running a 5K, include CrossFit or sprint intervals.
2. Try rhythmic breathing - during yoga or a run, practice breathing through your belly. This forces you to use your chest less so you can take in more air. As you learn to breathe more efficiently, you’ll be giving your muscles the oxygen they need to last.

Boost Your Flexibility

1. Do active warm ups. move like front leg kicks, high knees and butt kicks target major muscles groups and improve circulation to those areas. This makes muscles and joints more limber and ready to work out.
2. Try foam rolling. It targets areas that are especially tight, like the glutes, quads and hamstrings. Research shows that rolling relaxes the soft tissues surrounding muscles and can increase anxiety.

Boost Your Recovery

1. Vary your workouts. Don’t jump the StairMaster every time you exercise. Changing your activities from day to day avoids repeatedly stressing the same muscles.
2. Mix it up - alternate active recovery like walking, a light jog or a swim with restorative options, like soaking in a hot tub or icing an overworked area
3. Get more sleep - Stanford University researchers found that when basketball players slept approximately two extra hours a night, their free throw accuracy increase by 9 percent.

Boost Your Agility

1. Do drills - learn to use the agility ladder and do shuttle runs. These activities increase agility by getting your body familiar with sudden movement.
2. Sprint - building leg strength improves agility because leg muscles tend to be key to moving quickly. Start with one 30 yard sprint, then recover about 60 seconds. Repeat four more times.

Women’s Health September 2014

Making Faces

Eye Shadow  - put your chin up and look down your nose at yourself [ like a mean girl ], eyebrows slightly lifted. Use an eyeshadow brush to sweep color from the inner corner to the outer corner of each eye. This angle removes crease and crinkles from the eyelid, creating a flatter area for cream or powder shadow, so color goes on evenly.

Lipstick - smile as big and as tightly as you can, showing plenty of teeth. Use a lip brush to apply color to every bit of lips, including the corners. Opening your mouth into a broad, cheesy grin exposes the corners of lips, so you can get lipstick where you want it ( when corners are missed, it looks like your lips were cut off the sides ) - and not where you don’t (surrounding skin and teeth). Plus,  the lip skin is stretched smooth for an even application.

Eyeliner - many women lean in towards the mirror - but you shouldn’t. Instead, tilt your head back and lift your brow skin up with your finger so you can get right next to your lashes with the liner. Rest the pencil vertically so the tip lays flat against your lash line. If you tend to blink a lot while saying, “Aaah”. Your lashes will look thicker, and eyes will appear larger. Saying  “aaah” helps relax facial muscles so blinking slows.

Blush -  Practice the fake smile. Keep it close mouthed and a little rigid, just lifting the corners of your lips a bit. Apply blush right at the top of the apple - the part that sticks out most - the blend up and out toward your temples. For cream blush, use a stippling or Kabuki brush (which has short, dense bristles and a flat top). For powder color, a regular blush brush is fine. Color hits the apples of your cheeks in exactly the spot where you’d flush naturally.

Bronzer and Highlighter -  suck in your cheeks and purse your lips. Use an angled contour brush to apply matte bronzer that’s two shades darker than your skin to the area inside the hollow of your cheeks. Starting an inch from your lips, blend bronzer upward toward your ear. Then dab a cream or powder highlighter onto the cheekbones, moving upward toward your hairline. This play of light and dark defines the angles of your face, making cheekbones appear higher.

Ancient Secrets Modern Beauty

Body Work - in ayurveda, a warm oil body massage (called abhyanga) isn’t a monthly indulgence: it’s a daily 10 minute self care ritual believed not only to soften skin but also to help fight cellulite and keeps muscles supple.

Eye Palming - relieving eye strain relaxes those muscles around the eyes that can cause fine lines and wrinkles. Warm your hands by rubbing them together. Close your eyes and press the heel of each palm on the corresponding cheekbone, then cup your fingers over the eyelid. Breathe deeply and slowly in this position for five minutes.

Oil pulling  - an inflammatory response in the mouth like gum disease could lead to having inflammatory responses such as heart diseases or diabetes. A healthy mouth can be a pathway to healthy body. High levels of bacterias can accumulate in the mouth overnight. Swish one tablespoon of organic oil around in your mouth for 10 minutes for the a.m. before brushing your teeth; spit into a toilet.

Tongue Scraping - by unclogging the pores on the tongue, you may taste your food more and feel more satisfied, possibly curbing your appetite.  Use a metal scraper spans the width of the tongue. Before brushing your teeth, but after oil pulling, gently glide the  scraper from the back of the tongue to the tip, then along the sides, repeat a few times. Make sure to rinse the scrap between each swipe.

Foot Massage - Ayurvedic practitioners believe that four major nerves in the feet connect directly to the eyes, so massaging feet in this manner is thought to help reduce stress from chronic headaches. Before bed, clean your feet with warm water. While sitting down, rest one foot on the opposite thigh. Using brisk strokes, start massaging from the top of the foot; when you get to the toes, bend them back up and down with your hand. Then firmly massage the bottom of the feet with your thumbs and the heel of your hand, using stronger pressure on the toes [many of the nerve endings in the foot are there]. Focus the flow toward the toes, using circular motions.

Better Homes and Garden October 2014

Create a fall window box

1. Ornamental kale - position 1 - 2 large ornamental kale or cabbage plants toward the front of the planter.
2. Mums - place 2 - 3 mums behind the kale. Add potting soil around the mums and kale to secure the plants. Position sheet moss around the planter for a polished look.
3. Pumpkins and gourd for the finishing touch, nestle an assortment of small pumpkins and gourds on each end.

Maximize your eyes for your type

Deep set - blend a shimmery taupe shadow onto lids and inner corners. To bring eyes forward, draw eyeliner just above the roots of your lashes.

Wide set - make sure your shadow color is as intense on the center of your lids as it is on the outer corners, and concentrate extra coats of mascara on the center of your lashes.

Closet set -  start your liner near the center of your eye (instead of the inner corner) and gradually widen the line until you reach the outer corner. Blend highlighter onto the unlined part of your lash line.

Downturned -  apply liner across the entire length of the lash line, then flick the end of the line upward, cat-eye style. Smudge shadow up and out toward the tail end of your brow.

Lucky November 2014

Master Class - French Girl Cool

1. Be a little boyish
2. Keep it simple
3. Take denim seriously
4. Less is more at night

Elle February 2014

Two’s Company

Thicker Lashes  - After two coats of black Lancome Definicils Mascara, she uses a brush to paint the tops of eyelashes with metallic  L’Oreal Paris Infalliable never fail lacquer line 24H in Bronze.

The happiest red lip - start with a layer of the sheer pink lip smacker Dr. Pepper lip balm, then use your finger to press an intense red coal red eyeshadow on the center of the mouth.

The longest lasting blush  -  Apply a cream blush and then use a blotting papers to pat against the cream blush. The sheets will remove the sheen, dewy finish but leave behind a natural looking flush.

Lucky October 2014

Master Class : Tomboy Style

1. Choose a well cut blazer - go for clean styles that aren’t nipped in at the waist and that have a defined line between the shoulder and the front of the lapel.
2. When it comes to boyfriend jeans, be picky - a truly straight cut and a natural - looking wash are key
3. Add a personal touch - something that adds a personal touch to your clothes, your initials
4. Visit the men’s section - wear a menswear suit with heels or chunky oversize sweater with a little short skirt.

Self September 2014

How to wear the bomber jacket

Keep it  casual - play up the jacket’s athletic feel with track pants in an unexpected materials like leather or silk, plus a simple V-neck tee and classic sneakers.

Dress it up - elevate the look with a pencil skirt or a fitted, knee length dress in a solid color, plus stilettos. For jewelry, try something sleek and modern, like a brushed silver ring.

Fresh for Fall

Bold Brows-

The trend - brows are filled in and thick but natural - creating a polished look that’s perfect for work. Your brow hair already has a bit of sheen to it. New formula contains mica particles that add just enough shine.

The trick - using light stroke, fill in brows with a brow pencil and cream, starting at the arch. Deposit color there first, because that’s where brows are most dense and dark.

Flushed Cheeks -

The trend - a brown contouring shade enhances bone structure; peach (if you have cool undertone) or hot pink (for warm undertones) mimics natural rosiness. Brown creates a shadow, which makes your cheekbones look more prominent.

The trick - blend brown brush from your cheek to your ear to create a shadow effect just below your cheekbones.  Use a fan brush because it deposits a thin veil of color. Dust peach blush on cheekbones or pink on apples of cheeks.

Berry Lips

The trend - Apply matte raspberry or blackberry lipstick, applied with a light touch.

The trick - apply the lipstick with your ring finger. Rub finger on lipstick, then pat into your lips, starting at the center and working your way to the corners.  Concentrating color in the middle creates the illusion of fuller lips. And working it in with your finger helps the pigment sink in.

Lucky August 2014

The Perfect Glow-

Microfine pigments are responsible for the incredibly natural shades in  summer’s newest bronzers. To leave skin sun-kissed and healthy-looking with a powder, trace a backwards 3 shape with a fluffy brush, moving from the sides of your forehead to your cheekbones by lightly dusting down the bridge of your nose and chin. You can also use powders for your body - a little bronzer along your collarbone, under your triceps and down the front of your legs create a slimming effect. Liquids also work for both face and body: Dab a bit with your fingers or a foundation brush onto spots that the sun might hit, like cheekbones, then blend outward.

Self August 2014

Easy Beauty Fixes - Gorgeous Hair

Add Volume -  a thickening mousse that fights hair flattening heat and humidity. New formulations are lightweight and contain ingredients that expand the diameter of each strand. B vitamins, panthenol, polyquaternium-4 and hyaluronic acid are a few to look for on the label.  Rub a plum sized amount between your hands first, then run fingers through your hair from roots to tips. Use a wide toothed comb to spread it out completely.

Strengthen your hair -  a deep conditioning mask that contains amino acids, keratin or ceramides - all proteins and lipids naturally found in hair - will make strands stronger. The speediest way to use a mask is to sub it in for  your conditioner whenever you wash your hair. Squeeze the water out of your hair before applying, so it doesn’t dilute it. Rinse after a few minutes. If  hair is very damaged, try this at least once a week: smooth the mask on dry hair right when you wake up, ten minutes to an hour later, shower and rinse it out, then shampoo and condition as usual.

Soften Strands - Natural oils - argan, sesame, avocado - soak deep into the hair shaft. Before bed, distribute a tablespoon or two through dry hair.  Shampoo clean in the morning, repeat the process each time you wash until hair feels softer.  If hair is extra dry, try a leave-in conditioning spray with dimethicone in addition to the oil. It locks in hair’s natural moisture.

Boost shine - an at home gloss. Glosses deposit clear or sheer pigments and silicone that makes the cuticle layer lie flat again. Apply one to damp hair for 10 minutes, then rinse. To play it safe, use a  gloss only every few months. Some contain a small amount of peroxide which can be damaging if overused.

Easy Beauty Fixes - Luminous Skin

Bring out your natural glow - spotlight features with a highlighter or luminizer. The shimmery liquid, cream or powder reflects light, making any area you apply it to stand out. Use the same highlighter to show off defined muscles. Swipe it  on shoulders and down the fronts of arms and legs.

Hydrated your complexion -  a hydrating tone or essence. Old school toners used alcohol to dissolve oil and left skin dry. Today’s versions still control oil, but most are alcohol-free and deliver light humectants, such as hyaluronic acid, that draw moisture to the skin. If you are very dry, layer on a light moisturizer too. The toner primes skin to better absorb any hydrator you put on next.

Get smoother looking legs -  massage a cellulite treatment that contains caffeine into thighs for five minutes. Vigorous rubbing breaks up fibrous bands, so fat distributes more smoothly under the skin. And caffeine dehydrates fat cells, shrinking them so they look temporarily look less bumpy.

Woman’s Day August 2014

Two Clever Uses for Balloons

1. Serve Dessert - Dip small, inflated balloons halfway into a bowl of melted chocolate, then place on a wax covered baking sheet and refrigerate until chocolate hardens. With a pin or scissors, pop and peel away the balloons so you’re left with edible bowls.

2. Anchor a tablecloth - prevent a gust of wind from pulling your table cloth up, by attaching it to homemade weights. Use a funnel to pour sand or rice into four uninflated balloons, knot them, then safety pin one to each of the tablecloth’s inside corners so they stay hidden while holding the fabric down.

Stress Less Mornings

1. Spend 5 minutes on the porch [or if you live in NYC by a window ---hopefully you don’t get an eyeful of your neighbor] Exposure to sunlight improves your energy thanks for the vitamin D, while increasing melatonin for better sleep at night.

2. Eat blueberries at breakfast. The berries are associated with a mood hormone that can help you cheer up when you’re feeling sad. They’re also packed with healthy antioxidants that may prevent cancer.

3. Have another cup of coffee. People who drink three or more cups of coffee a day may have a 37% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those who sip less than a cup. Researchers believe a compound in the brew improves how your body processes sugar.

Better Homes and Garden August 2014

Fast Fixes for your Foyers

1. Start here - if your entry is a mess, don’t get overwhelmed thinking it needs a major makeover. Hanging a couple of hooks and putting out a big basket for shoes can make a huge difference.

2. Coat check - consider offloading some of those parkas to bedroom closets or underbed storage during the off season.

3. Hide Away - a dresser is pretty brilliant in an entry. Line the drawers with shelf paper or cookie sheets for shoes, and add a tray to turn the top into a drop zone for mail and keys.

4. Grab and go - keep a cute tote bag hanging near the back door. Use it as a collection spot for whatever needs to leave the house next trip.

How to buy Summer’s Bounty Veggies-

Corn -Buy - look for corn with golden to brown silks and healthy green husks. Store - keep corn in its husk until ready to use, or remove kernels from the cob and freeze.

Green Beans - Look for slender, unbruised beans that snap easily. Thinner beans are sweetest. Store - place unwashed beans in a resealable bag. Refrigerate up to a week.

Squash - look for firm, smooth, unblemished squash. For yellow squash, choose smaller ones - the large ones have a lot more seeds. Place unwashed squash in an airtight container and refrigerate up to a week.

Instyle August 2014

Strong, Healthy Hair

Fried, Broken Ends

1.  Get a small trim. Every four weeks, get the ends dusted, so split ends can't move up the shaft and compromise even more of your length.

2.  A preshampoo layer of conditioner with vegetable oil and elastic can protect strands while helping to restore their bounce. Leave on for a few minutes, then rinse and follow with a gentle, detergent free wash.

3. Natural oils like shea, jojoba, and almond work in two ways: they soak into hair shaft to fortify it against future breakage, and they slick down pesky flyways. A dose of biotin rich rebuilder on dry strands can also temporarily seal frayed ends.

Dull, Frizzy Strands

1. Start in the shower by using an oil-based shampoo and conditioner duo. And if you are blow-drying afterward, you must commit to going at until strands are completely dry.

2.  Use a silicone free leave in spray to protect against sweat, humidity, and rain.

3.  Look for a sheer mist with a lightweight blend of botanical oils. Frizz prone hair soaks it up and behaves but still has some body.