Photo: Courtesy of BFFL

Join the fight against breast cancer while treating yourself (or your mother, aunt, or a friend) to something special.

Created by radiation oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson, this duffle is packed with all the necessities a woman needs after surgery or during chemotherapy visits. The designer bag has metal feet to keep it off hospital floors and is filled with everything from playing cards (for stress relief and waiting room entertainment) to a heart-shaped microbead pillow (for placing under the arm and taking pressure off the area where lymph nodes are frequently sampled during treatment).
 
$99, BFFLCO.com; 15 percent of net profits will go to The Cancer Resource Foundation

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Photo: Thinkstock

Yes, it could—so finds a recent study lead by author and assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard University, Nancy Etcoff. In addition, how you apply cosmetics (or if you wear them at all) could affect others perceptions of your level of likability, competence and, as you may have guessed, attractiveness.

The female subjects of the study were photographed barefaced and with three different makeup looks (natural, professional, and glamorous). One test group was shown the photos for 250 milliseconds; the other was allowed to study them for an unlimited amount of time. Both groups rated the women wearing makeup higher on the competence and attractiveness scale than those without it. However, the group given more time judged the subjects wearing the heavier, glamorous looks as less trustworthy and less likable. Sarah Vickery, a scientist and another author of the study, told the New York Times that a dark, shiny lipstick makes a powerful impression, but lighter, less glossy lip colors helps others view you as a more level-headed team player.

While these findings don't exactly prove that the years it took to perfect my liquid liner technique or the fact that I tried every pink lipstick on the market until I found the right shade was time and money well spent, it is interesting to discover that spending more time in front of the mirror in the morning—but not too much time—could earn me more respect at the office and in life.

Photo: Thinkstock

A friend’s “like” on Facebook recently caught my eye, in part because it was one of over 250,000 tiny thumbs up this particular post had gotten. What could be generating so much attention? I mean, how cute could this kitten video be? But no, the post was an image of a nude, gorgeous, full-figured model (you have to see the actual photograph; it’s just ravishing, and only slightly NSFW), and a personal anecdote.

The Facebook user was writing about a sign posted near the entrance of gym. The sign said: "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?" Here was one woman's response: "Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness...They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist."

80,000+ comments follow, many quite passionate, with untold skirmishes and debates unfolding within the thread. How can it be that in this day and age, it’s shocking to say a woman doesn't need to be thin to be beautiful, to see a model who has some curves? And I’m not being PC in my language here—the model is not overweight, just a regular curvy lady who looks like a sleeker version of the bodies I see in the locker room at my gym (which is not fancy enough to feature any sort of metaphor-laden sign). It seems to me that the more actual women’s bodies we see, the more normal and accepting we feel about our own.

As the original post says, "At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends." Amen to that! And please, count me among the whales.

 

More on having a good body image:
How the media skews your self-esteem
What Oprah knows about loving the body you have

Photo: Getty

The thing I look forward to at the salon is not the actual cut or the fact that all I have to do for approximately 45 minutes is sit, drink green tea, and watch pieces of my hair pile up on the floor. What I really enjoy most about the whole routine is the scalp massage that I get when someone else is washing my hair. I don't shampoo for two days prior to a cut so that I can spend more time with my head in the sink, inhaling the sweet scent of salon products.

When I heard via TechCrunch.com that Panasonic recently debuted a new and improved version of their hair-washing robot—complete with 24 fingers, wetting, shampooing, conditioning and drying functions—I had only one question: "Where do I sign up?" The robot allows you to store your head shape and preferred washing method so that you can repeat your customized experience the next time (all without the chit-chat or leaving a tip). While this miracle of modern science isn't available to the public yet, I can't wait to meet this beauty-bot, not talk about the state of my love life or own up to the fact that I purposely haven't washed my hair in days, and focus solely on its 24 robotic fingers at work.

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Photo: Courtesy of Carved Solutions

Join the fight against breast cancer while treating yourself (or your mother, aunt, or a friend) to something special.

Etched with the famous ribbon, this vegetable-based, triple-milled soap will look good in any powder room or sitting on the edge of your tub. Plus, the unique Satsuma scent (a citrus fruit from Japan known for its healing properties) will invigorate your senses every time you wash up.


$30 for 3, CarvedSolutions.com; 50 percent of each sale will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation

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Having recently been graced with a delightful (and gorgeous) Japanese daughter-in-law, I proudly admit to a bias toward all things Nippon. I share this bias, evidently, with Nicky Kinnaird—founder of the beauty apothecary Space NK. Inspired by her frequent trips to an onsen (hot spring) in the Japanese Alps, she worked with Japanese skincare chemists to create the Sai-Sei collection, including a bath and shower gel, body cream, and purifying soap, all aiming to capture the therapeutic benefits found in the hot springs. The company has donated $10,000 to the Japanese Red Cross Society and, in an effort to support the country's struggling economy, will continue to produce and distribute the Sai-Sei collection from Japan.

Photo: Nails Inc.

I am convinced that creating nail art requires the dexterity of a jeweler and the patience of a saint—neither of which I have. My recent attempts at copying the designs I've seen splashed on celebrities fingers have resulted in ten tiny splatter paintings...and not in an artistic, Jackson Pollock way. So when I came across a polish that effortlessly creates a sophisticated ripple effect (seen at left), I was thrilled. Iron powder in the formula gravitates towards a magnet (conveniently built into the bottle's top). You apply two coats of color to your nails, the second thicker than the first. While each nail is still wet, hover the cap above it to create a pattern. No tiny brushes, no messy stencils—just the beauty of science.

Nails Inc. Magnetic Attraction Polish, $16


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Photo: Marko Metzinger/Studio D

File this one under: Why didn't we think of that? The Sephora Collection Brush Wand ($10; sephora.com) uses magnets to nest four eye makeup brushes (for lining, smudging, shading, and blending), one on top of the other, into a slim, six-inch stick. A clutter-curbing, money-saving ($2.50 a brush!) stroke of genius.Look like a million (without going broke)

The other day my blonde 2-year-old spent a long time studying a picture book featuring a dark-haired girl. Finally she sighed, longingly, and said, “She has such pretty curly brown hair.” And so it begins: the everywoman’s struggle with wanting the hair you don’t have, from the curly-headed woman’s hour-long morning battle with the straightening iron, to the redhead’s love affair with the black dye bottle.

Redheads face this problem with special intensity, the Daily Mail reported recently in their story on International Redhead Day, when  thousands congregate in Breda, Holland. Reporter Marianne Powers writes of communing with others who, like her, had felt embarrassed of their red hair and freckles, endured childhood taunts, or were victims of ginger-discrimination (in 2007 repeated abuse forced a redheaded Newcastle family from their home). The lighthearted festival offers a respite from anti-redhead sentiments, with weekend full of events like lectures on redhead-specific topics, movies starring redheads, and above all else, a chance for members of this minority (2% of the world's population, according to Powers) to bond with each other. Bart Rouwenhorst,the festival's founder, told Powers,"If you see one redhead it's beautiful. If you see this many, it's like a dream."

I feel like everyone I know wants a different kind of hair than the hair she actually has. Maybe you believed your frizzy, untamed hair was the one thing keeping you from eternal high school happiness, or that if only you had a sleek black bob you'd get more respect at work. Luckily, we have some choices. There are clever people at these places called salons who can let you experiment, to see, for example, whether or not blondes really do have more fun. Or you can just laugh about your follicle foibles (so I'm at heart forever mousey, oh well) and move on.  That's been my either wise or lazy strategy, but even a boring old brunette like me (how I longed for Jennie Garth’s long, straight blonde hair as a tween!) got a chill reading Powers’ words: “Weird though the weekend has been, it has healed a little wound I didn’t even realise I had. For the first time ever I don’t just accept my hair, I love it.”

We can tell ourselves "it's just hair" all we want, but Powers' realization sparked a realization of my own: disliking even a small part of yourself can create "a little wound." Why not go ahead and love your hair?

Read More:
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Skewed self-image starts early. 

It happens at least once a day in one way or another. Yesterday it was someone on the street. "Look at those blonde curls! Those huge blue eyes! I love your tutu! Aren't you a little doll!?" the well-meaning lady screamed at my toddler, who was lounging in her stroller wearing her favorite floofy "dancing dress."

"No," my daughter said, confused by the lady's baffling mix-up. "I’m a pewhson."

I was as pleased with her response as I was turned off by the stranger's greeting. It always makes me feel weird when people talk to my daughter about how pretty she is. She is, after all, a pewhson. I mean, like every child her age, she is adorable. And she likes to dress herself in frilly pink dresses and strings of beads and my one pair of heels she deems dress-up-worthy, and then she likes to twirl in front of the mirror and pretend she's a fairy.  And of course I want her to feel good about herself, and to feel beautiful. So why don't I like that automatic "You’re so pretty!" people are always cooing into her (pretty) face? Aren't they just being nice? Luckily writer Lisa Bloom is smarter than I, and put her finger exactly on just what is wrong with greeting a little girl by saying "Oh, you’re so pretty!"