If you’re like the majority of women, you’ve had it drilled into your head that the “little black dress” is the answer to all your wardrobe issues. It’s listed in every “must-have” wardrobe list because it “looks soooo great on everyone!” But experts now say that in actuality, only 1 in 5 women look good in black.

Cue my heart shattering.

According to some, black has the ability to “severely age” a woman’s face. It can “highlight dark lines under the chin, shadows around the eyes and wrinkles on the face.” Plus, wrinkles and other sunken areas can “appear darker and more pronounced.” (Someone should clue Kelly Cutrone in on this one…) This means the older you are, the more haggard black can make you look. And no matter how slimming that LBD is, it won’t matter when your face looks like this. Read More »

Lately, it seems like the whole freakin’ world has been on a self-help kick. In recent years, the $11 billion dollar industry has flourished. It’s provided us with “miracle” books like The Secret and an array of self-proclaimed internet self-help gurus (or trust fund babies with pink hair and Daddy’s cash?) like Gala Darling.

Everybody’s trying out this “positive psychology” thing. Basically, positive psychology is the attempt to change self-defeating, negative thoughts, like, “I hate myself because my thighs touch and hers don’t” into more positive ones like, “My thighs might touch, but my calves sure do look hot in heels…and I bet she’s anorexic anyway.” Or whatever.

Well, somebody thinks we’re doin ‘ it all wrong.

According to Canadian researchers, “just thinking positive” can actually have the opposite effect. It can make people realize just how miserable they truly are.

The study started by highlighting old research that if people get feedback they believe is overly positive, they just feel like more sh*t than they did originally. Like when my boyf grabs at my tummy fat and a minute later tries to tell me that I have “such a nice stomach.” You better believe that as soon as that boy is out the door, I’m gorging my face with Peanut Butter Passion ice cream in shame.

The article in TIME, which reported this research, states that, “If you tell your dim friend he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlying his faults.” And no matter how dumb that person is, he knows it, you jerk. Read More »

In junior high, I wanted pink hair. Actually, maybe wanted isn’t the right word. I was more or less obsessed with having pink hair, and basically anything pink in general.

However, my mother – who let me get my tongue pierced at 14 – thought that Bubblicious-colored locks were just too radical for my upper-middle class suburban town. So I reluctantly settled for a bright, Ronald McDonald shade of red and completely embarrassed myself for the rest of 8th grade.

But my obsession with pink hair – and every girl I ever encountered sporting it – never ended.

So when I stumbled upon this website, created by a tattooed beauty who at the time of my discovery donned the exact shade of pink hair I so longed for in my wannabe punk rocker days, I developed my first-ever girl crush. Not to mention the fact that I was insanely jealous of not only her looks, but her success.

Gala Darling, the writer and sole creator of iCiNG, deemed “a tattooed Miss Manners with pink hair” here and “a local yet globehopping fashion genius” here is exactly what I would be today….if my mother hadn’t crushed my poor little teenage heart almost 7 years ago.

Except Miss Darling is from New Zealand, is much more insightful, and probably has better hair than I could have ever dreamed of pulling off with some Manic Panic and my 8th grade friends’ “kewl hair skillz.” Read More »

Sometimes the week goes by really f*cking slow.

Work, classes, friends, family…sometimes it gets a little too routine for my liking. So, I decided to make a change and really spice things up.

This week? I’m channeling Grandma. After 92 years, my grandma knows what’s up…I mean she better after almost a century, right?

Right.

So if you’re feeling like you’re in a bit of a slump, try out some of these suggestions or come up with your own takes on ways to make the week fly by!

Perfect Time-Waster: Crossword Puzzles

The internet is great and all, but this week I’m on a low-tech kick.

And for someone who majored in Journalism and minored in English, it would only make sense that I have been completely enamored with crossword puzzles.

It started out as a time-waster on the subway (thanks AM New York!) but has evolved into a true pleasure that I’m willing to spend a whopping $2.99 on. You know those puzzle books you see old ladies on the bus with? Yes, I’m totally into them.

Still addicted to the net? Check out some amazing crosswords here.

P.S. Try making it a couples thing…it worked for them. Read More »