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We’re giving away a limited edition Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 bundle!
We are kicking off our holiday giveaways with a bang! We’ve teamed with our friends at shoot it! to bring you this Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 limited edition console, a $400 value. The bundle includes a custom Xbox 360 console with exclusive design, a 250GB Xbox 360 hard drive, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, a pair of black controllers, and more. It hits stores on November 10th, and we’ve pre-ordered one that we’re giving away to one of you. Be sure to check out the giveaway rules to see how to enter!
In these current times of economic crisis I have a suggestion for moms and dads trying to come up with new toys for your kids. Go check your parents’ attics! Yesterday, my kids and I went to visit my mom and dad. Late in the afternoon I noticed that the kids were being very quiet upstairs. When I went up to check on them I was surprised at what I found. They had gotten into an old box of my brothers’ and my toys and found tons of things to play with! My daughter had gotten out My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, and even Barbies. My son had discovered my brothers’ endless supplies of Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were having a blast. The thing they were excited about was that these were the same toys they play with at home, just older versions. Sure enough, retro-toys are back in style. Thanks Mattel, Hasbro, and whoever else thought to bring back the toys from the 80s. Even though my daughter couldn’t understand why Barbie was wearing leg warmers (hey they were cool in 1986) and the lead paint was chipping off Optimus Prime, they had hours of fun.
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Dating Diary: War Stories
Posted by Mia Ricci Categories: Advice, Editorials, His Take, How To, Relationships
Hello beautiful (yes, yes on the inside too!) Girl Snark readers. Today, I will share with you a listicle of some of the worst break-ups I had.
This top secret list consists of five carefully selected individual incidents, out of umm… say twenty-four. Twenty-four, you say? Yes, that’s quite a lot. But that also makes me an expert. I am doing this so those of you who are on a “self-pity he-left-me-my-life-is-over” crying binge right now can see the silver lining, which is probably not the worst break-up in the world. Look at Mia! She’s experienced this a gazillion times and she’s still alive and kickin’! Yes my friends, I am still alive and very much kickin’. Cue that Destiny’s Child “Survivor” song.
Let’s go!
Click to continue reading Dating Diary: War Stories
What If He Is Not Marriage Material Now, But You Can See The Potential?
Posted by Marla Martenson Categories: Advice, How To, Marriage, Relationships
Forget it, ladies! Find a man who already has the qualities you are looking for. Now, I am not saying that if you are both young and he is still getting an education and will be moving up in his career that you should not be with him. I am talking about situations like he is forty and still living with his parents or has room mates and smokes pot all day; when he’s still trying at fifty to get that record deal while he expects you to support him, well, you get the idea. If you are fine with those scenarios or something similar, then that is alright, but if not, move on to someone who already has something going on. Don’t think that with your encouragement or advice that he will change into what you want him to be. So many women are so eager to fall in love and get married that they give a guy credit for qualities that he doesn’t have and won’t ever develop. Don’t fall for a guy until you know all that you need to about him. You want a man with good character and the qualities that are important to you now, not possibly one day.
Don’t commit to or marry a guy if:
* He is jealous and it has been an issue in his past relationships.
* He abuses drugs or alcohol. An addict will always give priority to his addiction. You cannot save him or change that; the desire to change has to come from within him.
* He is gay and you think that you can change him.
* He tries to isolate you and makes you give up your friends and activities that you enjoy.
* He makes fun of you or tells you that you are stupid.
I have never been a huge fan of flowery scents. While I love the smell of roses and lilacs outside, the artificial scent of rose or lilac candles, air fresheners or perfumes tends to make me gag. Ditto for jasmine, I scent I use to detest, until I realized there was a HUGE difference in the smell of artificial jasmine and jasmine essence oil.
When a friend gave me a jasmine scented all natural soap for Christmas, I smiled, said thanks and then shoved the soap in a drawer when I got home. About a month ago I stumbled upon the soap and, feeling guilty, unwrapped it. Once I took one whiff of the jasmine essence oil that was used in the making of the soap, I was hooked.
Yes, jasmine is a strong, sometimes heady scent, but in the essential oil form, it is light and uplifting. In fact, there are many benefits to jasmine essence oil, some that may surprise you.
Oh, my nerves!
Jasmine is a natural nerve relaxant. No, one sniff of jasmine will not make you fall on your face with no control over your body; rather, if you tend to be a nervous person, jasmine can help relax you, making you less stressed and anxious. On the flip side, it increases moods of happiness and joy. Just think of it as a natural anti depressant.
No pain sounds good to me
Jasmine is excellent at relieving menstrual cramps and also in helping with labor. A nice belly message will do just the trick.
Yeah, baby!
Did you know jasmine is a natural aphrodisiac? Well, you do now! The “king of oils” is great for increasing sexual drive, helping with impotence and just making a person want to do it.
Jasmine has become one of my favorite essential oils to use in body lotions, soap and massage oils. Now, if you’ll excuse, I must go light a jasmine candle or two: hubby should be home any time now.
I have to say: If there’s one upside to this economy, it’s that department stores, boutiques, online shopping sites, and designers alike are so desperate to clothe us (a.k.a. sell stuff) that prices on everything from sunglasses to wedding gowns are slashed. Which is great for girls like me, who are, well, still desperate to be clothed by them! The bottom line is that, if you know where to look, you’ll never buy a full-priced handbag, pair of It jeans, or must-have dress again.
Shop it to Me
Shop it to Me markets itself as your own personal shopper, and it’s a pretty accurate tagline. Sign up on the website; tell it what types of sales you’d like to hear about (i.e. women’s clothing, bags, and shoes and girls’ clothing); input your various sizes; select your favorite brands/designers from dozens of options, including Marc by Marc Jacobs, BCBG, Theory, DKNY, Nanette Lepore, See by Chloe, and many more; let the site know how often you’d like to receive Sale Mail (I choose twice a week) and, of course, the minimum percent off you’d like to hear about. Voila! Every Tuesday and Friday at 9 a.m. I have a lengthy list of sales from Nordstrom, Shopbop.com, Zappos, Macy’s, and more. Plus, for every 10 friends you recommend who sign on to the site, you get a $10 gift card.
Gilt Groupe
Gilt Groupe is a dream find for designer-hounds. The equivalent of exclusive New York sample sales, the site offers access to women’s, men’s, and children’s luxury designer merchandise reduced by up to 70%. Home decor items are available as well. The way it works: Everyday, you’ll receive an email letting you know of that day’s sale, which will last only 36 hours and usually feature less than a dozen items hand-picked by the designer. It’s not unusual for items to sell out very early, but you can always put yourself on the waiting list. Today, I had my eye on a vivid tangerine silk ruffle dress by Miguelina, reduced from $495 to $198. Unfortunately, my size was already sold out—lesson learned!
Eluxury
Check out the sales section of Eluxury.com for reduced-priced goods from such coveted designers as Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, L.A.M.B., and Marc by Marc Jacobs. If you’ve got a spare $1,300 stashed in a sock drawer somewhere (ha..ha), do me a favor and splurge on this mink-fur stamped suede Fendi bag reduced from $2,450. 
For the rest of us, how about this edgy snake bracelet from Roberto Cavalli, down to $139 from $350? 
Edressme
Full disclosure: I own more than 50 dresses. Knowing it’s obscene won’t stop me from buying more, and when the compulsion hits, I turn to edressme.com. It is the site exclusively devoted to dresses, and you’ll find a ton of bargains on their “under $99” page. How about this adorable black and white tank and ruffle combination by edressme.com for only $61.20? 
Retail Me Not
Retail Me Not offers online coupons for more than 20,000 stores. So before the adrenaline rush makes you hit “Pay,” make sure you’re not missing out on a coupon for free shipping, an additional 20% off, or buy-one-get-one-half-off. I’ve saved up to an additional 30% on purchases through this baby!
And Don’t Neglect to Shop Local
Many local boutiques ask for your e-mail address when you check out. If you love the boutique, give it to ‘em. You’ll be the first to know about sales and events. Just this week, for example, I received an e-mail from one of my favorite local boutiques advertising its spring sale with 20% off new merchandise… and champagne during shopping! Sometimes, boutiques along the same street will put together a joint sales event or host trunk shows by some of their designers. Half the time, these events also offer nibbles by local restaurants and complimentary wine or champagne. If you’re worried that your reserve will fail if you get a little tipsy, just BYO non-influencing beverage.
Happy sale-ing! Let me know what you find. 
Artificial sweeteners in the most unexpected places
Posted by Colleen McKie Categories: Advice, Cuisine, Health
About two years ago I decided to cut out all artificial sweeteners that weren’t plant based out of my diet. No more aspartame, sucralose or sorbitol for me. The decision was arrived at after I did a bit of reading and came to realize that none of these products were originally designed to be consumed. The discovery of their usability as sweeteners was accidental., and they contain all kinds of bads stuff making them generally not very good for our bodies. I’m not big on ingesting toxins (like the ones found in aspartame) or eating loads of laxatives(sorbitol) so I’ve cut them out of my diet. But once that decision was made, I came to realize just how prevalent artificial sweeteners are.
Bye bye gum
Almost all gum, except for bubble gum, has artificial sweeteners in it. So I haven’t had any of the breath freshening gums in almost two years. At first it was hard, but after a while I didn’t even miss it anymore. Now, I rarely ever think about the fact that I no longer chew gum. And if I need to freshen my breath, I have a mint. After checking to make sure it doesn’t have any artificial sweeteners, of course!
Water anyone?
I am one of those people who hates the taste of water. I know that I don’t get my daily amount and I was thrilled when, a few years ago, different companies started putting out flavoured water. I loved them and found that I was having no problem getting in my eight glasses of H2O a day. Then I started reading the labels. Yep, you guessed it: artificial sweeteners in almost all of them. Danone does have an all natural water, but it’s almost impossible to get where I live.
So now I squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice in my water. It tastes great, and I don’t have to worry about artificial sweeteners. I also drink a lot of herbal tea, which helps because hot beverages count toward your daily water intake, as long as they don’t contain any caffeine.
Sweet fish
I am deathly allergic to lobster and crab, but I love the taste of them. So when I used to get a hankering for seafood I would buy simulated crab meat and that would take care of the craving. Sure, it doesn’t taste exactly like lobster, but it was close enough for me. And heated, dipped in garlic butter? Pure Heaven.
But once I started paying closer attention to what I was eating, I was shocked to read the label and
discover that it had sorbitol in it. I was very disappointed and curious as to why seafood would need to have artificial sweetener added. Never have I had once said, “Gee I want something sweet. Fake crab meat it is!”. So, there goes that food. I haven’t had any in ages and, as with the gum, I no longer miss it.
Cough, cold and sorbitol?
I recently came down with a pretty bad cold and nasty cough. I was okay during the day, sucking on mints and drinking tea, but was having a hard time sleeping at night. So I went to the pharmacy to buy some cough syrup.
Did you know that almost ALL cough syrups have artificial sweeteners in them? Well, they do! I searched for half an hour and finally left empty handed, heading home to cough my head off through the night. The next morning I headed to my favourite grocery store that has a wonderfully large natural food section and found a natural cough syrup, Nin Jiom. I was pleasantly surprised with the taste, a nice mix of menthol and honey, and it worked wonders. Better than some of the other cough syrups I’ve tried over the years. And because it was all natural, there weren’t any other unwanted chemicals or medicines in it. And a 250 ml bottle cost ten dollars, so it was very reasonably priced, too.
Always be wary
If you have decided, like me, to cut artificial sweeteners out of your life, be wary: they can show up in the most unexpected places.
Mint is one of my favorite scents in the world. I quite often have a peppermint candle burning and most of my beauty products have some form of mint in them. There is nothing quite like starting the day off with a hot shower, apple spearmint shampoo and lavender peppermint body wash. It helps wake me up and gets my creative juices flowing.
I have also recently discovered the joy of peppermint tea. I find it’s a great mid morning perk me up without the negative effects of a caffeine headache.
While some of the enjoyment that I get from peppermint is based on the fact that I genuinely love the scent, there is more to it than that. Peppermint has long been a staple of aromatherapy, helping with a number of ailments and both mental and physical problems.
All snuffled up
Vicks is great, isn’t it? Nothing helps a stuffed up head like a whiff of menthol. A few years ago I discovered that by adding a drop or two of peppermint essential oil to an oil burner and sitting next to it I can get the same relief, but without all the stickiness of Vicks Vapor Rub. Putting a drop or two of the oil into a dehumidifier at night works wonders, too. Even brewing a cup of herbed peppermint tea can help unclog your sinuses and make breathing a whole heck of a lot easier.
Rumbly tummy
I don’t get nauseous a whole lot, but when I do I want one thing and one thing only: my peppermint tea. Peppermint, whether consumed in a beverage, inhaled or applied topically can work wonders on your digestive system. It can help keep nausea at bay and also help with gas and bloating. Sipping tea or rubbing some essence oil on your belly can instantly make you feel better. And having a peppermint candle burning can help keep the nausea away.
Heads, finger, lips and heels
Ever wonder why almost all foot creams contain peppermint? Well, there are two reasons. The first is that peppermint acts as a cooling agent of sorts and is great for sore muscles and spasms. So applying it to sore feet after a long day helps to work out the tension and achiness. The second reason is that, contrary to popular belief, peppermint is a moisturizing agent. It helps to stimulate the skin’s natural production of oil. Your peppermint lip balm makes more sense now, doesn’t it? And, thankfully, peppermint tastes great.
Above all, think
Regardless of why you are using peppermint, there is one other, very important benefit: energy. Peppermint is a stimulant; therefore it is energizing in nature and promotes mental clarity. And God knows we could all use some of that.
So the next time you are sick with a cold, the flu or are just felling blah in general, light a peppermint candle, grab a cup of mint tea and slap on some lip balm. Trust me, you’ll feel better in no time.
The Healthy Makeup Cure for Dry Skin—and Other Recessionista-Chic Beauty Ideas
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Fashion, How To
All right, ladies, I don’t know about you, but I have been dealing with the most schizophrenic skin lately! Always a bit of a rabble-rouser (Accutane twice, perhaps?), my skin lately has been winter-dry and flaky… in the areas where it hasn’t been producing unnecessary amounts of oil, that is. My pockets aren’t particularly deep these days, so I decided to mix my standby powder Bare Minerals foundation with my daily Neutrogena Oil-Free SPF 15 Lotion, a part of the Neutrogena Acne Therapy System. The result? A light but creamy tinted mineral moisturizer with coverage I can dial up or down (more lotion for sheerer coverage and vice versa). Brilliant! Perfect to try with your own powder and moisturizer. The only caveat: You’ll want to steer clear of wearing tinted moisturizers or liquid/cream foundations in general when it’s likely you’ll sweat. Runny makeup? Never hot.
A recent savvy purchase of mine was the Loreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes (in black). I’d been a big fan of the original Double Extend mascara and was intrigued, I must admit, by the commercials. An $8 investment, these falsies-by-wand are my new besties. If I could have worn this mascara on my wedding day, instead of actual false lashes, perhaps we all could have been spared a set of eyelashes floating inside a champagne cocktail by night’s end. Caveat: While they’re technically water-proof—as in, you’ll experience no running—I kinda can’t get over how creepy it feels to pull the tubes from my lashes at night. Basically, with soap and water, the tubes loosen, making your eyelashes look strangely limp (if still long). Rather than scrubbing with soap or eye makeup remover, simply pull gently at your lashes with thumb and forefinger; the tubes come right off, and damned if you don’t feel you’re washing your own eyelashes down the drain!
I just happened across the most genius bang-trimming trick—courtesy of Hollywood uber-stylist Kevin Mancuso—in this month’s Elle: “Gather your bangs from temple to temple, twist them in the exact center of your forehead, hold them down toward your nose, and cut off the tip. Always cut them dry; wet hair can shrink up and be too short.” Now, I’ve done this trick twice, once even with wet hair—sorry, Kevin!—and haven’t yet needed to go back and edit the trim. Free and foolproof? Yes, please.
How have you been cutting beauty corners lately?
Bad Spelling Pun Aside… The Results are Hair!
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Editorials, Entertainment, Fashion
The almost-week since chopping off my hair has been a study in feminine power. On that first day, walking out of the salon clutching my 10-inch severed ponytail, I felt a strange combination of liberation and uncertainty. I no longer had the heavy weight of thick hair over my back and shoulders, and my neck felt bare and vulnerable. Later, of course, I thrilled at how quickly I could wash my hair in my crappy, low-water pressure shower, and marveled at how, when I pulled a blouse over my head, there was no hair to heave out from under it. But the feeling of uncertainty remained.
“Do I look stocky?” I asked my cornered husband. I narrowed my eyes at myself in the mirror and stood with my hands on my hips. Then I turned my stare to him. “So?”
“Um…no?” he replied and then quickly ducked out of the bathroom. Smart man.
I realize now that I did not look stocky; after all, if anything I had lost ounces, not gained them! But I felt that I’d also lost that element that has made women feel feminine and sexy for millennia: long hair. As the week wore on and I grew more used to my new reflection—and played with alternating looks between sleek and choppy—I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed at the attachment I had had to my hair. I mean, I’m a smart girl. I have a great career. I work out, and my body feels stronger and abler every day. Most of the time, I feel pretty confident. So why suddenly feel as though parts of those great characteristics had disappeared with my—let’s face it, slightly damaged—ponytail? Silly, silly, silly!
And now? I love feeling the early spring breeze tickle the back of my neck. I love that the tops of my shoulders show even when my hair is down. And it’s soo much fun experimenting with different makeup looks to go along with the hair. My advice to any of you ladies seeking self-discovery? Head to your stylist. With a sharp and shiny pair of scissors, she’ll be able to help you out.
Aromatherapy, fragrance oils and other yummy scented thing
Posted by Colleen McKie Categories: Advice
There are several studies floating out there that make the connection between certain scents and well being. Cinnamon, vanilla and pumpkin pie are known to relax. Other scents, such as orange and grapefruit are thought to stimulate the mind. Each of us has certain scents that help relax us and others that might kick in the flight or fight in us or bring on feelings of sadness. Usually these scents are closely associated with an important memory we’ve stored in our minds. 
Aromatherapy, on the other hand, is more scientifically based. Certain essential oils can help with a wide variety of ailments. Lavender, peppermint neroli, rosemary, eucalyptus and a whole slew of other essence oils can help with stress, concentration depression, headaches, congestion and other ailments.
There are two basic ways that you can use an essential oil: inhale or apply directly. For example, if you have a head cold, boiling some water, adding a drop or two of eucalyptus and then inhaling the steam can clear you out. Rubbing some lavender on your temples can help relieve a headache. You can get the same level of relief as with over the counter meds, but without putting drugs into your system.
I am a huge fan of scented candles and I almost always have one or two burning. I also have oil burner and by adding just a drop or two of my favorite essence oil, not only do I make my house smell great, but I also get the benefit of the aromatherapy.
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