5 Steps to Better Sleep

Do you ever struggle to fall asleep? Perhaps you've tried counting sheep or breathing exercises, but nothing seems to do the trick. Here are five ideas to put you on the path toward a full night's sleep. If all else fails, I'll try to make this post a total snooze so you can just read this each night and it's a win-win. You'll fall asleep effortlessly and I'll get a bunch of blog hits.

1. Don't Read in Bed

Many sleep experts recommend reading to relax before bedtime — as long as you don't devour that page-turner in bed. According to the American Sleep Association, reading in bed associates your brain with wakefulness. Or, y'know, you associate reading with sleepiness and fall asleep reading emails or at work if you're a magazine editor. Worst-case scenario, you read something crazy like Gone Girl and then you definitely can't sleep.

2. Don't Drink (Too Much) Coffee (in Bed)

As often as those trendy blogger-girls drink their coffee in bed, I can only assume they spend their sleepless nights dreaming up their next Instagram post. That's because they're likely not doing any real dreaming. A study found in Psychology Today urges you to stop drinking coffee by 2 p.m. to ensure that it doesn't affect your slumber. (Sidebar: Does anybody else feel really silly ordering either tea or decaf at coffee shops in the afternoon and evening hours? I always want to stand up and say, "Hi, I'm Ana, and caffeine adversely affects my sleep" to the 19-year-old barista who just chuckled to himself that grandma over here ordered a mint tea.) Back to the point at hand: If people think reading in bed associates the bed with wakefulness, then drinking coffee in bed certainly seems like a bad idea. And yeah, I'll probably still do it, but now I'll feel like some self destructive, rebel-without-a-cause cool chick when I do.

3. Turn off the Electronics

Back to those Instagram posts — it turns out ending your day by mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds is a bad idea. The National Sleep Foundation explains how light—even a small amount of light produced by a cell phone—can negatively affect our circadian rhythm.

4. Buy Cute Pillows

Buy cute pillows. It's not scientifically proven, but I think you sleep better if you're happy in your environment. On that note, buy cute pillows and clean your room.

5. Be Mindful

A lot of the advice out there on how to sleep better just starts with being mindful of triggers that may prevent you from a good night's sleep. If you have a tendency to overthink or worry at bedtime, chances are that you struggle with that during the day, too. Consider setting aside intentional time for prayer or meditation before bed instead of running through the next day's to-do list. A bedtime routine  could include shutting off technology early, drinking a cup of herbal tea or even yoga to calm yourself from a long day and prepare yourself for a long night of sleeping (instead of tossing and turning.)

P.S. Only take sleep aids (including melatonin) as a last resort, otherwise you might become totally dependent on them to sleep and then what happens when you go on a camping trip and forget your melatonin and you're awake all night and there might be bears and ...?

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What I'm Wearing White Now

Guys. Monday was Labor Day. Yesterday, I wore white jeans. Nobody cared.

I proudly and confidently marched to my closet because I knew what pants I was going to wear (and that never happens), and then I had a small moment of insecurity while I debated how to make the outfit look a little summery and a little fall-y; but mostly, I was feeling like a real rule-breaker. Give me a Harley and a studded collar, folks, 'cause I'm wearing white after Labor Day! But still, nobody cared. Not one person commented on how rebel-without-a-cause I dressed on September 2nd. 

Everybody knows this ancient fashion faux-pas, but then Vogue and Marie Claire and everyone are all "10 Ways to Wear White after Labor Day!" So, how and why did "no white post-Labor Day" become a thing, and then not a thing? Labor Day has been around for a long time, and so has this societal rule. L-Day was declared an official holiday in 1894, but the first two were celebrated on Tuesdays. Can you imagine that? It seems like a bad idea to have a national holiday on a Tuesday because if you don't tack a day off to the end of the weekend, there's just this awkward day in the middle of the week to sit around and eat ice cream or watch The Hills or something. Right? I'm not really sure what they were thinking.

There are several theories on how this whole "no white" thing became a thing. One theory is that back in the day, before Google existed and random girls like me had blogs, the NY-based fashion magazines influenced much of what was worn. Since whites are impractical for a wet fall and winter (nobody wants an accidental 'wet jeans' contest), they were reserved for summer wear only. Another theory involves the snooty society people in the late 1800s and early 1900s: High society was ruled by the mega rich socialites, until more and more people started becoming well-to-do, and started dressing that way. To create a societal divide between old money and new money, the theory is that the "old money" socialites made up a bunch of silly rules to distinguish those who were "in the know" from others who were just dressing the part. I favor this theory because it sounds like Mean Girls, so it's most likely true. 

Now, the "no white" rule is defunct, and maybe that indicates that our society is a little less snooty? I'd like to think so. I think the most important thing to learn from Labor Day is to dress for the season. Pleasepleaseplease don't be the girl who wears Uggs in the summer. Don't wear rain boots if it's going to sprinkle in the morning and then sun for the rest of the day. You can wear white in the dead of winter if you want (winter whites, amirite?) but don't dress like you're about to go yachting (Sperry's and all) in January because you will make everyone jealous and increase their winter-induced depression. You'd probably be cold, too.

So, the moral of the story is this: It's not 1894 anymore, so you can wear white if you want to. White now, even. 

Outfit details: Jeans - F21, Striped top - Urban Outfitters, Sweater - F21, Purse - Longchamp.

Photography by Nick Warnock.

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How to Brow

My friend, Katie, recently graduated as an esthetician and got a sweet job as an Ulta Prestige Beauty Advisor and Benefit Arch Expert. Since she's officially an expert on brows (wow), she gave me the lowdown on how to maintain awesome arches.

So, here's how to brow:

You start by painting a weird tribal mask above your eyebrows. This is important to get into the mood, so you'll have the whole Amazon woman thing going for you. (Just kidding.)

Katie suggests making these lines to guide your brows, which is a great idea for anyone who may not have a super well-defined natural arch. She uses a white pencil to guide where the lines should go, so it's easier to wipe off when she's finished. (Smart girl.) First, she holds a pencil straight up and down from the side of her nose, and draws the line where the pencil would hit. This guides where the brow should begin. For the second line, she holds the pencil from the side of her nose, and continues as if it would make a line through her pupil—it is approximately a 45-degree angle. She draws this line to see where the arch should go. Then, she holds the pencil again from the side of her nose and ends at the corner of her eyelid. That is where she draws the last line, and where her brow stops!

After the lines are drawn, Katie tweezes what's outside her guide. She recommends that you alternate between brows as you pluck, so that you don't over-tweeze one brow, and then have to play "catch up" with the other. Also remember, "eyebrows are sisters; not twins." It is more important that you follow your natural arch line than pluck each brow to look exactly like the other. Trade secret: It hurts less if you tweeze close to the root and in the direction of hair growth. Another trade secret: It also helps to have a cute cat to hang out with you.

Katie draws a sharp, straight line from the beginning of her brows and continues it until she reaches the highest point of her arch. She stops drawing the line at this point, and she uses a small brush to blend the liner both at the front and into the ends of the brow. Katie has learned that this looks most natural because eyebrows tend to grow in softer closer to the nose and darken a little as they complete the arch. Interesting, huh?

Katie uses a variety of brow products (I didn't even know brow products were a thing.. Look at how much I'm learning!), but she says the necessities are a good pair of sharp tweezers (for obvious reasons), and either a pencil or a powder to fill in your sparse spots.
Products from left to right: Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Caramel, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (to make the white guides around her brows), tweezers, Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter (to make corrections), e.l.f. Small Angled Brow Brush, MAC Cosmetics Eyebrow Pencil in Spiked (this is what she used in this post), e.l.f. Clear Brow Gel, and Naked 3.

Like you probably noticed earlier, Katie uses a pencil to fill in her brows instead of a shadow. Either is fine to use, but it is usually easier to get a well-defined brow with a pencil since a pencil makes sharper lines and is easier to control than a shadow. You don't need a fancy-schmancy "made-specially-for-brows" pencil, either; an eyeliner is just fine! Katie finishes her brows by covering up any color that made it outside the lines.

Picking the right color to fill in your brows is mega important. Best-case scenario, you'll find one that matches your hair color perfectly. But if this isn't the case, use this as a guide: Ladies with dark hair tend to look best with eyebrows a little lighter than their hair color, and blondes tend to look the best with brows just a tad darker. Katie recommends that you pick a brow color within two shades of your hair color. She also said one of the biggest "no-no's" is choosing a brow shade that is too red. So, when in doubt, choose a color that is a little more ashy than red-hot.

Ain't she just the prettiest?? I'll take beauty advice from this girl any day! If you want to see more of her makeup looks, you can check her out on Instagram @katielitter. Happy brow-ing!

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Coconut Cure-All

Looking for a new eye makeup remover? Coconut oil.  Need some new tanning oil, but don't want to glitter like Edward Cullen? Just use coconut oil. Are you out of Burt's Bee's, and your lips are feeling a little chapped? Don't worry--you've got coconut oil. Coconut oil is the trendiest "cure-all" for everything under the sun. My friend, Meghan, is on team coco oil (she may even be the captain of this team), so I figured I'd see how she uses it and learn about it.

The primary way Meg uses coconut oil is as a makeup remover/face moisturizer. Meghan doesn't wear a ton of makeup anyway, so the coconut oil is the perfect natural remedy for removing that end-of-the-day eyeliner.

Meghan uses coconut oil as a lip balm, for moisturizer for her face and hair, and in small doses, as an additive to food. Honestly, I thought she used coconut oil for everything. But then I found out some people really use the oil for everything. In fact, another blogger has a list of 101 uses for it!

There's obviously a lot of hype about coconut oil. But does it stand up to the claims?

Here are the facts I've learned:
- When using coconut oil on skin, make sure to get unrefined or organic coconut oil. Refined coconut oil is more likely to clog pores.
- Smells very coconut-y. Tastes less coconut-y.
- Effectively removes eye makeup. (I tried it. Meg was right.)
- Scientists are still studying coconut oil to confirm its benefits, but this blogger has an extensive post concerning the research.

Meghan puts coconut oil in her coffee for a natural flavor additive. Loooooots of people (everyone on the internet, I think) have taken to cooking with coconut oil because it has a higher smoke point than other oils. Frankly, I have no clue why that matters, but here's a link to the Wikipedia article on smoke points.

Other fun facts about coconut oil:
- It melts at 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Coincidentally, 76 degrees Fahrenheit is my favorite outdoor temperature.

Cya guys later; I'm gonna go bathe in coconut oil. I may or may not return as Wonder Woman.

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Storing Perfumes

Once upon a time, I read that the best place to store your perfume is the refrigerator. Um, what??

Perfume, the smell-good stuff people spray on their bodies, just chilling there next to some turkey. Or margarine. Or leftover meatloaf. No, no, no. That doesn't seem right at all.

As I researched this suggestion, it turns out there is some rationale behind the idea. Here's why some people put perfumes in the fridge:

The two biggest things that could affect perfume shelf-life and scent are light and heat. Too much light and/or heat can cause the fragrance to expire faster, and it can also cause the scent to give off different tones than when you first purchased it. I'm no chemist, so I have pretty much zero clue as to why, but I learned that's just how it is. To be honest, if you asked me to think of a cool, dark place, my first thought would probably be Alaska in the winter. My second thought would be the fridge, though, so I kinda see why people think that's a good idea. But only a little bit.

If you're like me and think cold-fridge-perfume is just too weird, here are some other "cool" ideas for storage:

Since the sun gives off both light and heat, keep your perfumes out of direct sunlight.

Put your perfumes in a darker location, perhaps in a dresser drawer. Bonus: If you put your perfume by your socks, maybe your socks will smell good. It's worth a shot.

Keep perfumes out of your bathroom, since the humidity can also affect how long your scents last.
Remember to keep the bottle tightly closed!

If you choose to store your perfume in the fridge, more power to you. But my fridge is already full of food!

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