Stuff We Love: Less Than $10

TerraGloss by Alba
This affordable yet indulgent lip color offers shine courtesy of light-reflecting mica, plus lasting moisture from vitamin E and beeswax. $5.95, albabotanica.com.

Lemon Cream Body Cream by J.R. Watkins Natural Apothecary
Smooth an indulgent treat onto thirsty skin and soak up the benefits of more than 10 natural oils and extracts — apricot, avocado, babassu, and more. $6.49, jrwatkins.com.

Shea Butter Lip Balm by Perfect Organics
One tiny tub packs a concentrated, just-sweet-enough balm formulated from the simplest mix of shea butter, organic oils, and vitamin E. $3.99, perfectorganics.com.

Organic Foaming Handwash by Deep Steep
Wash away dirt and germs the healthy way, with a frothy, paraben-free blend of organic herbs and extracts that leaves hands hydrated. $7.50, deepsteep.com.  Read more...

Personalized Music: iPods and mp3s-1

Music is a key element to most receptions, and deejays and bands have a new option to contend with — the mp3 player.

Using a digital player at your wedding offers several advantages over a deejay or band:

Cost: All you need is an MP3 player (actually, a few), some decent speakers, and a good ear.

Control: You play what you want when you want to hear it.

No deejay or band: Fewer people to worry about being on time and behaving professionally.  Read more...

Personalized Music: iPods and mp3s-2

What Do I Need?
Even more crucial to achieving easy listening is having proper sound equipment at the reception site. You can work with the venue’s existing systems, or piggyback on the setups provided by the band or deejay that you’re bringing in for other parts of the event. If the location lacks suitable equipment, consult with a sound expert to see what is needed and schedule a dry run on location before the big day.  Read more...

The Secrets to Natural Beauty-1

Read the news and you’d think invasive surgery and high-octane chemicals were the only avenues to beauty. But holistic wisdom says otherwise. “People are becoming more aware of the connection between health in our internal systems and the outward glow that results,” says dermatologist Dr. Alan Dattner, who has a private practice in New Rochelle, New York, and also serves as president of holisticdermatology.com. “With natural beauty therapies, you’re enhancing your total well-being along with your appearance.” In search of beauty that’s natural and vibrant, we enlisted integrative doctors, holistic aestheticians, and innovative beauty experts to reveal their key practices and techniques for looking your best without going under the knife. What we found is that with only a few changes — whether tried-and-true or more unexpected — you can radiate vitality in bright, smooth skin, eyes that shine, and hair that bounces. This three-part plan shows you how.  Read more...

The Secrets to Natural Beauty-2

With the basics down, it’s time to expand your horizons and try something new. Who knows? One of these techniques might make the difference between pretty and gorgeous.

Massage Your Face
This is a great way to loosen muscles scrunched into habitual expressions. “This brings blood to the surface, clears out puffiness, and reduces fatigue in the skin,” says Chris Haas, owner of Ra Organic Spa in Burbank, California. Don’t have time for an appointment? At home, all you need is a customized facial serum. Barbara Close, founder of Naturopathica, recommends a base of evening primrose and avocado oils with rose geranium, lavender, and German chamomile essential oils for dry skin, or apricot kernel oil with juniper, lemon, and rosemary oils for oily skin. Starting at the chin, move your hands in small circles and continue to the cheeks, around the eyes, and to the forehead. By doing this, you’re stimulating circulation and bringing more nutrients to the skin. Follow with a warm compress to increase the absorption of the serum.  Read more...

The Secrets to Natural Beauty-3

If you’re up for something completely different, these remedies deliver results without surgery or exotic lab concoctions. The beauty boost they provide just might surprise you.

Detox
It’s one of the most powerful ways to get your systems back on track-and your skin glowing. “A detox is not about fasting or deprivation, but about giving your body a rest and holiday. By ridding your body of inflammations, your skin looks clearer, brighter, and less puffy,” says functional medicine physician Dr. Mark Hyman, author of the new detox manual “The Ultrasimple Diet.” In the book, Hyman eases you in with a prep week that eliminates processed food, refined sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. A weeklong detox follows, built around greens, lean protein, and skin boosters like flaxseed, a natural laxative containing essential fatty acids as well as vitamins and minerals.  Read more...

Weight-Loss Action Plan-1

In the September 2007 issue of Body+Soul, one writer chronicles her weeklong experience at the Kripalu Integrative Weight Loss program in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Her most important lesson? Losing weight isn’t about finding a diet that works — it’s about creating a life that works.

Kripalu’s program tailors plans to participants — but anyone can use their core nutrition, exercise, and relaxation principles for lasting, healthy change. Here they are:

Prepare
Lasting weight loss isn’t just about the body, Kripalu’s experts say. You’ve got to get your mind on board, too, and take an honest look at your life. The following exercises will help.

 Read more...

Weight-Loss Action Plan-2

Eat Right

Managing your blood sugar helps reduce cravings and binge eating and keeps insulin levels low and steady. “When insulin levels are high, your body will store more of the food that you’ve eaten as fat,” says Bagnulo. “Keeping your insulin levels lower allows your body to use your fat stores as fuel for your energy needs.”

Go Easy on Sweets
Minimize consumption of added sweeteners, such as sugar, fructose, honey, and especially high-fructose corn syrup.  Read more...

A Healthy Jealousy

Go green-eyed when something special happens to a friend? Congratulations. Jealousy isn’t just normal, it can even be good for you.

I’m not the jealous type. I laugh it off when my boyfriend brags to me that the pizza joint cashier flirts with him every day at lunch and when he tells me an attractive girl in the car ahead of him paid his toll once. But when a coworker and good friend landed a job at a company I had been trying to get into for years, my “That’s great. I’m so happy for you” came with a mental chaser of You couldn’t possibly deserve to work there as much as I do.  Read more...

The Upside of Envy

Guilt, Shame, and Other Fun Stuff

Indeed, the real problem with jealousy may be how it makes us feel about ourselves. Randi Kuhn, 24, a guidance secretary in a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, high school, was nothing but excited for her pregnant coworker — until the woman started to get morning sickness. The mom-to-be never realized how her complaints sounded to Kuhn, who was diagnosed at age 21 with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a condition that doctors told her would make it difficult, if not impossible, to get pregnant herself. “I got unbelievably jealous of her,” Kuhn says. “I wished I could have morning sickness and swollen feet and backaches. I guess maybe I did feel she didn’t have a right to complain and should just be happy for the whole experience.” When her coworker recovered and started enjoying her pregnancy again, the feelings faded. But in the meantime, Kuhn felt so guilty about her thoughts, she made her friend a feel-better-soon basket.  Read more...

Next Page »