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HEALTHY LIVING

How wearing less makeup made me look and feel better

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By Taylor Lawson

I’ll be the first to admit it: I started experimenting with makeup in fifth grade. So for the longest time, I always saw makeup as a necessity each and every morning. Up to my freshman year of college, I was less worried about the health of my skin and more worried about the opinion of my peers.

I’m not sure exactly when it hit me, but one day I woke up and said to myself, “I really don’t want my skin to feel this way anymore.” Not only did I start to absolutely hate the feeling of my face being caked with beauty products every single day, but I also realized that I had lost the confidence to walk out the door without makeup. This is a sad truth that I’m sure many other young women have dealt with—but we shouldn’t have to! No matter what the media portrays as beautiful, every single one of us should love ourselves for who we are and be confident rocking a fresh face around campus.

Needless to say, I decided to challenge myself. I reduced my daily face makeup routine to one in which I applied minimal cover-up and just ahint of mascara. I’m not going to lie—I was a nervous, self-conscious mess at first (literally I wanted to put a bag over my head so no one would look at me). However, after two years I can say that the results have stuck and are spectacular!

Here’s what I learned:

When I wear a full face, I feel done up & amazing

It’s no secret that every girl likes to get fancy on the weekends! When I wore minimal makeup during the week, I found that on the weekends, when I splurged and rocked a full face (eyeliner, eyeshadow… maybe even a killer lipstick), I felt even more incredible than before! Not only did I feel better, but people took notice—and not in a bad way! It has been almost two years now, and the feeling I get when I rock a full face of makeup has yet to wear off.

My face feels more able to breathe

This one is so important to me—the less makeup that I applied to my face, the more that my skin could breathe (seriously, I swear I can feel the difference!). Nowadays, there are few things that I hate more than when I feel like my face is smothered with loads of concealer, powder, blush, bronzer, etc. It actually gives me a headache sometimes! I really don’t know how I used to wear so much all the time, but I am glad that those days are in the past.

My skin looks better

One of the most confusing paradoxes of being a woman is that we use makeup to cover up blemishes, which in turn creates more blemishes. I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it. The more makeup that’s applied to the face, the more challenging it is to remove it—this leads to irritation and inflammation that leads to breakouts. What I learned as a result of reducing my makeup is that my skin has been the clearest it’s ever been! Not only that, but since I have been seeing positive results, I have a newfound care for my health.

I save time (& money!!!)

Hello all you broke college girls—I am you!!! I can without a doubt say that reducing my makeup has (obviously? or not…) saved me so much money. I can’t lie, I’m a sucker for drugstore makeup; even so, I still find that my products last me so much longer. Also, I save so much time in the morning! A beauty routine which had taken me about 20 minutes every morning of every day of every year of my life since middle school now takes me about ten minutes at most. It may not seem like much of a difference, but we all know how much we cherish each extra minute in the morning.

Confidence, confidence, confidence

This is the MOST important thing I have taken away from reducing my face makeup—I feel more confident than I ever have in my life. It may have taken some time to get used to, but I can now honestly say that, while I generally opt for minimal application to highlight my face, I am totally okay with going makeup-free. There is an immeasurable amount of acceptance that comes with letting yourself just be yourself.

All in all, reducing my makeup has changed my life in so many ways. More than just my physical appearance, it has boosted my self-acceptance and made me a more confident individual in all aspects of life.

So, I challenge you! Try cutting down on the application of your makeup and see what happens. You never know—it may just change your life!

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HEALTHY LIVING

A lesson in kindness, inclusion and how kids eat differently

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y

(Feature Impact) The school year brings new classmates, routines and opportunities for children to learn about people whose experiences may be different from their own. They could include friends who use a wheelchair, carry an inhaler or even receive nutrition through a feeding tube.

Watch this video to learn more

https://youtube.com/watch?v=p9srvT963jE%3Fsi%3DFgjL9HX00c698jNa%26controls%3D0

For families who rely on tube feeding, it is an essential part of daily life but is often understood only by those who experience it. That limited awareness can leave children who are tube fed and their families feeling isolated or unseen, according to Gerard Minor, a pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology specialist.

Parents can use everyday questions as opportunities to help children understand there are many ways people receive nourishment. Teachers, classmates, caregivers and communities can also help make tube feeding part of the everyday conversation around childhood rather than something that separates children from it.

“Helping children understand those differences early can encourage curiosity, kindness and inclusion,” Minor said.

To help bring greater awareness, understanding and representation to children and families who experience tube feeding every day, Compleat, a leader in tube feeding formulas, launched “What Is Better Than How,” featuring “Sesame Street’s” Elmo and his signature warmth and curiosity. The original song celebrates the many ways people eat. Some people eat with a fork, some use a spoon and some use a tube, reinforcing a simple message: What matters is not how you eat. What matters is that you are nourished, loved and included.

To hear the song, create a personalized version and learn more about the campaign, visit Compleat.com/WhatIsBetterThanHow.

SOURCE:

Nestle Compleat

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HEALTHY LIVING

Dry eye: An overlooked perimenopause, menopause symptom

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(Feature Impact) Dry eye is one of the most overlooked symptoms of perimenopause, the phase of fluctuating hormones leading up to a woman’s final period, and menopause, the point in a woman’s life when she’s gone a year without a period.

In fact, 79% of women1 recognize hot flashes as a symptom of menopause, but only 14% recognize dry eye as a menopause-related symptom, according to the 2026 Bausch + Lomb (Peri)Menopausal Survey. What’s more, 78% of women1 were surprised to learn that dry eye is a symptom of perimenopause or menopause.

“Dry eye is still widely overlooked as a symptom of menopause, and many women think it’s just a minor nuisance, but the truth is it can significantly affect your daily life,” said Neda Gioia, OD, CNS, IFMCP, FOWNS, founder, Integrative Vision. “Early symptoms are often misunderstood or self-treated but it’s very important for women who experience symptoms to see an eye doctor and get an accurate diagnosis and treatment.”

During perimenopause and menopause, declining hormone levels can impact tear production, tear quality and tear evaporation, contributing to dry eye symptoms including redness, fluctuating vision and a gritty or tired feeling in the eyes, all of which can impact day-to-day comfort and quality of life. If left untreated, dry eyes may worsen over time, potentially impacting eye health and vision. Among peri-, menopausal and post-menopausal women who experienced dry eye, 80% said the symptom came as a surprise.

Respondents reported their dry eye symptoms caused difficulty reading (58%), difficulty using screens (53%), difficulty driving (26%) and reduced productivity (17%), underscoring the often-overlooked impact dry eyes can have on everyday life.1

However, there are a variety of products and treatment approaches available to help manage dry eye symptoms. For example, Bausch + Lomb offers a range of options designed to address the main causes of dry eye.

A doctor-recommended, clinically proven once-daily soft gel supplement that targets the key root causes of dry eyes, Blink NutriTears supports healthy tear production and provides lasting, continuous relief.* § As part of a comprehensive approach to dry eye management, the supplement can be used with Blink Triple Care Preservative Free Lubricant Eye Drops, which are designed to directly address tear evaporation, one of the leading causes of dry eye, and provide instant and long-lasting symptom relief.

An eye care professional can help determine the approach that’s right for each individual. To learn more about dry eye and products to help combat it, visit JustBlink.com.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

12026 Bausch & Lomb (Peri)Menopause Survey via Suzy, n=402; Women ages 30–80+ who are perimenopausal, menopausal, or post-menopausal
§Based on a clinical study

SOURCE:

Bausch + Lomn

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HEALTHY LIVING

Life insurance is on the to-do list right after cleaning out the garage!

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(Sheeka Sanahori) Being an adult comes with a never-ending list of responsibilities: Cook dinner. Scrub the bathroom. File taxes. The tasks grow even longer when sharing a household with a partner, building a family, or taking care of others. No matter how you define “adulting,” getting life insurance tends to be one part of the to-do list that keeps getting set on a procrastination loop.

New survey data backs that up: there are plenty of other tasks adults would rather focus on first.

The Adulting Task Americans Keep Avoiding

According to the 2026 Life Happens Life Insurance Survey, a financial literacy nonprofit organization, 39% of U.S. adults would rather clean out their email inbox than figure out their life insurance needs. Another 31% would rather clean out the garage or basement. One in five U.S. adults would be willing to sit on hold with customer service for three hours before life insurance planning. Even though many adults have it somewhere on their list, nearly half (46%) say they’ll either deal with it later or not at all.

They Know It Matters

Nearly a third of adults have already figured out a life insurance plan, and they feel good about their decision. Others are feeling more conflicted: 14% have a policy, but they’re not sure if they have enough. Another 12% say they either don’t know where to start or they think it’ll be too expensive.

It’s no wonder people are putting it off: Navigating a new-to-them form of financial planning can come with a lot of complicated emotions. Four in 10 feel either overwhelmed, anxious, or some combination of both. Sixteen percent of U.S. adults feel guilty for putting it off, but when the outcome is more procrastination, that feeling lingers.

Why Later Keeps Winning

If you’ve ever faced an important decision without having enough information to make an informed choice, you know how stressful it can be. While the generations have different takes on making major decisions with a gut feeling or “pure vibes,” most of the time, people want to feel like they’re making an informed choice. Forty-five percent of U.S. adults say cost concerns, confusion or procrastination are the main reasons they have delayed or would delay looking into life insurance. For more than one in five, the plan is to seriously look at it when they feel more financially stable. For 12%, they say they’ll do it when they’re older.

Men tend to feel more confident about their life insurance decisions to date; 53% of men vs. 41% of women feel confident their family would be financially protected.

The First Step Feels Bigger Than It Is

Learning more about life insurance, how it’s priced and how it works could help get many consumers out of their procrastination loop. A quarter of people say they’d make a decision if they learned it was easier to get than they previously thought. Thirty percent would make the purchase if they learned it was more affordable than they believed it to be. Others need an experienced professional to talk to or an online calculator tool to give them guidance.

Methodology: Life Happens commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,000 adults, including 700 Gen Z respondents, 700 millennials, and 600 Gen X respondents throughout the United States. The margin of error for the overall sample is +/- 2 percentage points and +/- 4 percentage points for each generational sample, with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between July 14 and July 20, 2026. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (couple using computer)

   

SOURCE:

Life Happens

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