Innehållsförteckning för August 2021 från Allure

While doing a little research for this letter, I was surprised to see “personal care & beauty” often lumped in with stats about wellness-industry market share. Is beauty part of wellness? I don’t typically think of, say, plumping lip gloss as a wellness item. But I suppose it is difficult to overlook that the beauty and wellness worlds are commingling more than ever, with some beauty brands launching crossover products like natural deodorants or biotin supplements, and more wellness products (including digestive enzymes and mushroom coffee) showing up in stores like Sephora and Ulta. Product trends are fine, but they can’t define a movement. While health is the state of well-being, “wellness” (and self-care, by extension) is the process of making choices toward better health. Although the word dates back…

Sunny days and vibrant manicures are better together. We can’t say why for sure, but we can say how to achieve it. (The manicures, that is. Allure cannot impact the weather—yet.) Always Greener. Green is the new blue. It’s why Gucci Beauty just launched not one, not two, but three green Vernis À Ongles: Miriam Mint 719, a crisp pastel [1]; Melinda Green 712, a Granny Smith apple; and Dorothy Turquoise 713, a soft pistachio. And Jinsoon’s Palma [2] looks as fresh as cut grass. Sticker Shock. Kiwis, cacti, bees—each Cheat Sheets nail sticker [3] from Ciaté London is cuter than the last. Use them to stretch a manicure, advises nail artist Gina Edwards: “Apply stickers around the cuticle line, [add a] topcoat, and it’s brand new.” On the Go.…

When is a stew more than a stew? When it’s a conduit for creativity and self-acceptance. Sophia Roe, chef and host of Vice’s Counter Space (about the role food plays in culture and politics), cooks as a means of catharsis and advocates for equitable access to healthy food—always with a perfect flick of eyeliner. On timid cooks: “Chefs aren’t showing you every time their bread doesn’t rise. Cooking isn’t necessarily intuitive. It’s practice. You need to practice.” On food as a form of healing: “I don’t have the best childhood memories. There’s a chapter in my cookbook called ‘I Don’t Know My Grandma,’ because I don’t. I used to feel so ashamed of it, not having a family special [food]. I could give a rat’s ass [now]…. Cooking is my…

Jacqueline Novak: Our friendship began in the belly of the beast that is stand-up comedy. Stand-up is a weird, crass world. Kate Berlant: Stand-up is different from when we started, honey. Now it’s for hot people. When we started, it was for nerds and the hideous. Then one day, it was like Jacqueline and I, seeing one another across the bar. [Berlant acts out a brief moment of recognition.] “Hi!” Novak: Oh, my God, exactly! “Hello?” Berlant: “You also do this?” Novak: There was a bond, or a recognition of qualities. And then the brothers-in-arms bonding of comedy festivals. You and me in those hotel rooms, cackling in the beds at night… Berlant: Talking shit… Novak: Sharing a hotel room is pretty significant. And by sharing a hotel room, I…

This is your brain on drugs: If your neural networks were organized like the freeways across Los Angeles, the introduction of a psychedelic substance would halt and scramble traffic instantly. Highways would split and undulate and brush together and fly apart, like ribbons in a tornado. Foundations carved into California bedrock would rise heavenward. Everything else—trees and Toyotas and toll booth operators and Academy Award-nominated cin ematographers—would be tossed up in the air, mingling in suspension. All of this chaos puts the human mind into a dream state, where it is susceptible to any number of visions, from the mystical to the terrifying. It also creates a “neuroplastic” environment, in which neurons can communicate as they’ve never done before. If one was looking to make subtle changes to the fabric…

I was in a hotel in New York City and there was a double mirror in the bathroom where I could look at my back. I noticed that a mole on my back had changed colors. I was like, “Okay, that’s weird.” I flew back to St. Louis the next day and saw my dermatologist. They did the biopsy and it came back cancerous. I caught [the melanoma] in time. Surgery [left me] with 12 stitches and a huge scar, but if it hadn’t caught my eye it could have been much worse.…

A biopsy always used to involve a scalpel. But a new, noninvasive technology called DermTech is letting doctors evaluate moles without breaking the skin. You simply stick DermTech on a mole—much like you would a piece of Scotch tape—and scuff it up. “This releases some of the RNA that’s expressed on the top of moles to detect the genetic mutations that occur more commonly in melanoma than in benign lesions,” says Hale. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, when melanoma is detected early, the fiveyear survival rate is 99 percent—and more and more dermatologists are using this streamlined approach to make that possible.…

I’d had a red spot on the white of my eye for as long as I can remember and it was never an issue. Then all of a sudden…it was potentially cancerous. I was diagnosed with conjunctival melanoma at 21. The doctors said there was no option other than to lose my eye and remove the contents of the eye socket. After initially being misdiagnosed, I’ve had to learn that my best interests are something that I am allowed to put forward. Just because I’m not medically trained does not mean that my thoughts aren’t valid.…

Walter Kemp II splinters his training circuits into three short acts. Act I is focused on the movements themselves. “I break everything down,” he says. “‘Make sure your weight is in the back of your heel.’ ‘Make sure your core is tight.’” It is safe to say that Kemp’s core is tight. It is also safe to say that his compression shorts, peeking out from beneath emerald-green shorts, can barely contain his thigh muscles. Angling himself toward one of three cameras, he crawls into a geometrically perfect plank position. Elsewhere, thousands of other people—med students, special-education teachers, consulting professionals, and other striving souls who have logged in to Obé (pronounced “obey”) this weekday morning for a 28-minute strength class—do the same, though not nearly as precisely as Kemp. Near the…

“I’m going to tell you something that’s going to get me fucking slaughtered on the internet,” says Halsey, “but I’m going to go ahead and say it.” She’s in the kitchen of her home in Los Angeles County. And that’s when she tells me: “I didn’t take my prenatals.” That’s it. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. Our Zoom confessional booth. Halsey is pregnant. Really pregnant. So pregnant that by the time you read this it’s likely she will have already given birth. Pregnant Halsey is, on one hand, different from all the Halseys we’ve come to know up until now, but at the same time, not so much. Because the one thing she’s always done is change. For starters, Halsey hardly fits the profile of someone with…

After graduating from the Saturday Night Live stage in 2017, Zamata moved on to the next phase of her career: comedy superstardom. What is your favorite physical characteristic? “I mean, they’re all great! [Laughs] I think I’ve got some good thighs. The thighs and the hips, that’s where a lot of power is. I have a thigh tattoo I proudly show off when it’s warm outside. It’s Japanese water waves. I was born on an Air Force base in Okinawa, Japan, and I used to have a lot of dreams about water—like it was raining, or there was a flood, or there was a pond or something—so I had a lot of strong feelings around water. I wanted to get that represented on my body somehow.” If you were to die…

NICK JONAS SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND DEXCOM WARRIOR On finding peace, relinquishing control, and managing diabetes “Wellness has taken a different shape this past year, for obvious reasons. I’ve found a lot of peace, for the first time in my life, in having a daily routine—getting up, having a cup of coffee, maybe two, trying to spend time doing something outside of looking at my phone. I usually read a book or write. Wellness in its simplest form is, for me, just prioritizing that time away from being sucked into the Netflix or TikTok hole. [My wife, Priyanka, and I] have also gotten really into taking good, long walks, which is good for the body, but also the mind. I try to stay as creative as possible. I do a lot…

The amethyst-colored crystals above may look like jewelry, but they are ear seeds, a kind of acupressure inspired by traditional Chinese medicine. The treatment involves placing magnetic or adhesive gems (or stones or metal) on the ear, much the same way acupuncturists use needles to target points on your body. Anecdotally, ear seeds are said to relieve insomnia, pain, stress, digestive issues, and more. There hasn’t been large-scale research on their efficacy, but some small studies suggest benefits for lower-back and acute pain. Unlike fullbody acupuncture, “ear seeding can be done at home, so it’s a nice way to keep your body tuned up until you can get on the table,” says Mona Dan, an acupuncturist in Beverly Hills. After the seeds are placed, massage and press them periodically to…

It was around two years ago when Marta Pichlak-Miarka began seeing face massage pop up regularly on spa menus: “I remember thinking, What if you could have that experience at home?” Enlisting the help of a dermatologist friend and a former Calvin Klein designer, she made Carbonnique. With its forked ceramic balls, the tool gently pinches bone and muscle ridges, rather than merely rolling over them. The balls are magnetized (pop them off for easy cleaning) and made of an alloy used for bone grafts and tooth implants. (The more you know!) The pinching closely mimics pressure applied by a masseuse and it produces a feeling two shades shy of an orgasm, which may explain why it has a growing wait list. Run it along your palms; up and down…

I have combination skin and even though I moisturize in the morning, my cheeks and forehead are usually parched again by sunset. But with 111Skin Y Theorem Day Cream my complexion felt as soft and smooth in the evening as it did when I massaged it in after breakfast. The rich formula hydrates with hyaluronic acid (but isn’t so heavy that it clogs my oily T-zone or feels uncomfortable on muggy days). And it contains just about every vitamin in the alphabet (A, C, E, F, and H). The August Allure Beauty Box includes a full-size jar of 111Skin Y Theorem Day Cream (a $270 value!) along with six other products ($23 per month). Go to allure.com/beautyreporter to subscribe to the Allure Beauty Box by August 31 and get this…

“There’s no perfection when it comes to sustainability,” says environmental advocate Valeria Hinojosa, who has consulted on sustainable practices for more than 400 brands. But here’s good place to start: Shop smarter. Before you make a purchase, ask yourself questions like, What’s the packaging made of? Can I reuse it? Do I really need it? “Going through that brainstorming process triggers the consciousness that we need to have as consumers,” says Hinojosa. Audit your trash. Take note of the items you throw out frequently, says Tyler Chanel, who has lived virtually waste-free since 2018 and runs a blog called Thrifts and Tangles. Replace everything at the top of the list: Swap makeup wipes or paper towels for reusable cotton rounds or cloths, and choose pretty, scented bars over hand wash…

! Once upon a time, Allure ran advice columns by our favorite beauty pros. In celebration of our 30th anniversary, we’re bringing back the tradition, but this time the beauty expert is—us! (We’ve learned a lot over the years.) How long do you need to take biotin to know if it’s really doing anything for your hair and nails? I’m willing to commit to at least two or three months, but beyond that, if I’m not seeing any results, should I discontinue it? —REBECCA G. It’s a good thing you’re willing to give it three months. That’s how long it takes any hair-enhancing supplement or treatment to do its thing, given the cycle of hair growth, says dermatologist Annie Chiu. She recommends a daily 5,000 microgram dose of biotin to patients…

You can’t choose whether or not you are one of the roughly 9,500 people who will be diagnosed with skin cancer today, tomorrow, and every day after. But you can choose to do all you can to minimize your risk. And that goes far beyond wearing sunscreen every day. (One more time for the people in the back: Wear sunscreen every day.) We talk to doctors and skin-cancer survivors about protection and diligence and the power of your voice. Listen, please, because if you have skin—of any age or color—you are at risk. Slick Thinking Model Slick Woods is easy to talk to. But one thing she doesn’t want to talk about? The skin cancer she was diagnosed with after her dentist noticed suspicious spots inside her mouth during a…

Life is about choices, and “a skin check is a lifesaving choice because of how common skin cancer is,” says dermatologist Orit Markowitz. More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined. There is some good news, though: “We have this unique ability to see skin cancer on the skin and detect cancers early, while they are still completely curable,” says Hale. “Every adult over 18 should have a skin check once a year with their dermatologist, regardless of their family history.” If you have a primary relative (parent, full sibling, or child) with a history of melanoma, make it twice. Unlike most primary-care doctors, a dermatologist has the tools and training to do a thorough skin examination. “Similar to a cardiologist…

Skin cancer does not discriminate. Though melanoma is less common in Black and brown skin, it is often diagnosed at a later stage for those with more melanated skin and, as a result, has a worse prognosis. The five-year melanoma survival rate for Black patients between 2010 and 2016 was estimated at 67 percent, compared with 92 percent for white patients, according to a report earlier this year from the American Cancer Society. Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) is the most common form of melanoma among people with darker complexions, but it is rarely the subject of conversations surrounding skin cancer. It can be particularly tricky to catch because it’s often found in locations where you may not think to look—under nails and feet, between toes, and on the palms of…

! Before there were how-to videos, there were face charts. To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we’re inviting makeup artists to pay homage to the art form. EARTHLY DELIGHTS There’s natural makeup and then there’s natural makeup, as in eye shadows and blushes made entirely from chestnut, rhubarb, and flower extracts. We tapped Botanical Colors, a Seattlebased studio that specializes in sustainable textile dyes, to create the hues you see here. These powders and inks—made from pigments reclaimed from dye processes and food waste like avocado pits—aren’t cosmeticgrade (please don’t apply indigo directly on your eyelids), but they are proof of just how beautiful nature’s palette can be. “I started rocking what I consider a fully clean makeup kit around 12 years ago. I would put my foundations in empty bottles…

Stalter’s character work—often explored through videos posted to Twitter or TikTok, and most recently on HBO Max’s Hacks—never fails to go viral. What’s your biggest beauty regret? “I feel like I tried to make straight-across bangs happen for me for a long time. And every single time I would ask for them, I had this picture in my head of what they would look like. And it’s so hard to style bangs and it took forever for them to grow out. There hasn’t been a time I’ve gotten bangs and haven’t regretted it. But I love the look of bangs on other people. They’re so cute.” If you were to die and come back as a product that is currently available at Sephora, what would it be? “I would come back…

The incandescent and endlessly charming Ennis currently stars in (and writes for) Mythic Quest on Apple TV+. Who is your favorite beauty icon of fiction? “Truly from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There’s a moment when she transforms into a doll in a music box and she’s got these very circular blush stamps. And I remember thinking that was, like, the look.” Who are your beauty icons in real life? “I’ve learned a lot about beauty from the drag queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race. My number one of all time is Katya. She’s got it all for me.” What beauty rule do you never break? “I drink a ton of water. I love water. I have this soccermom Yeti cup and all these silicone straws. I drink way more if there’s a…

i was a sad kid with a sad smile. When I was growing up, I rarely broke into a grin or erupted into a giggle. I did have things to laugh about, but I was laser-focused on hiding what was inside my mouth. Uninhibited displays of joy took a back seat because my teeth were so crowded that by the time I was in fifth grade they had begun growing on top of one another, in every which way. Lateral incisors were hidden underneath fast-moving canines, which were simultaneously being pushed out due to emerging wisdom teeth. And that was just the top row. I was also dealing with teeth that grew in sideways, slanting so far to the right that they were crushing back into my gums. In a…

You no longer need a magnifying glass to read the ingredients list on a box or bottle. Brands like SkinCeuticals and Paula’s Choice pioneered putting ingredient concentrations on their front labels, and The Ordinary doubled down by using active ingredient potencies as actual product names (Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution). Now, Ingredients (a line of skin care, teas, and throat and nasal sprays) is taking transparency to the next level, listing the exact percentage of every ingredient in their Face Serum, their Oil Complex (above), and more on the front of the bottle. To be clear: This is entirely voluntary. “For most cosmetics, percentage claims are not required,” says Laurel Naversen Geraghty, a dermatologist in Medford, Oregon. The FDA only regulates over-the-counter skin-care…

1. Diptyque Ilio Hair Mist. Spritz your hair with this iris- and jasmine-infused scent to give your loved ones a sweet surprise now that you’re finally able to squeeze them. 2. Rare Beauty Discovery Eyeshadow Palette. So many eye shadow palettes are one-hit wonders, but this is more like a platinum-selling album: You’ll use every one of the easy-toblend warm tones (in matte and shimmery finishes) inside this sleek compact. 3. Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator. If we had a dollar for every time we’ve named this gel-cream when someone asked us to recommend a lightweight moisturizer… And now the classic has been enriched with aloe so it’s even more hydrating. (That one’s on the house.) 4. Giorgio Armani Beauty Lip Power. The teardrop-shaped tip of this longwear lipstick…

The average bottle of shampoo is 80 percent water—but more brands are cutting back on H20, or doing away with it altogether. Eliminating or minimizing water “reduces the weight of a product, which reduces CO2 emissions in transport,” says Anna Cummins, cofounder of 5 Gyres, a nonprofit focused on curbing plastic pollution. “It also reduces the need for plastic packaging, [since] a dry product can be packaged in paper or materials that don’t need to be water-repellent. And it concentrates the product, so a smaller amount goes a longer way.” Davines Momo Shampoo Bar looks like a bar soap and suds up like a bar soap, but is formulated to clean your hair. Our tester said its lather felt like traditional shampoo and was easy to work through her long…

The activist sheds light on issues of race, particularly as they affect women, for her nearly two million Instagram followers. And as the founder of The Loveland Foundation, Cargle walks the walk: The nonprofit offers free therapy to Black women and girls across the country. Cargle’s own beauty routine is another kind of self-care—“an active devotion to an older version of me,” she says. “I start my mornings with a candlelit shower. I’ll scrub my skin with [Mama Glow for Good Medicine Beauty Lab Sacred] Scrub [7] and cleanse my face with Neutrogena Hydro Boost [Hydrating Cleansing Gel] [6].” “After the shower, I’ll combine [Organic Bath Co. Moroccan Rose Organic] Body Butter [4] with a few sprays of L’Occitane Almond [Supple Skin] Oil [8] on my body.” “I use Mad…

Timing is Everything “I avoid peak sun exposure hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., given my particular increased risk of developing skin cancer,” says Sofia B., who was diagnosed with melanoma at 31. “I will go out in the sun for short periods of time, but never without applying my favorite sunscreen” (that would be CeraVe’s Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50). Wear Layers “I use Neutrogena Oil-Free SPF 35 Facial Moisturizer before makeup,” says Casey Balkcom, who was diagnosed with melanoma at 28. “I also changed my foundation to one with SPF—L’Oréal Paris True Match with SPF 17.” Next up: Balkcom applies Brush On Block, a translucent powder with SPF 30. Never rely only on makeup with SPF or only on sunscreen powders, though; they’re great extras, but…

I was diagnosed with stage III melanoma at age 20; it started as a mole on my toe. I had my toe removed, but it had spread to my groin, so surgery was required to remove the entire lymph node system there. In 2018, on a check-up scan, a mass appeared in my lungs and I advanced to a stage IV patient. Today, my health is my full-time job. This isn’t what I envisioned for my 20s, yet that’s what I’ve spent the alleged best years of my life doing—fighting cancer. I’ve had to figure out how to live life with a permanent fear attached to me. No one really talks about that fear—it’s like a wolf is on your back, with its teeth at your neck. It’s forever there…

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Other types—basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma—are rarely fatal, but can be disfiguring. The most effective treatment for both is Mohs surgery, which involves the removal of thin layers of skin until no cancerous tissue remains. The treatment itself can be done in a day, but caring for the wound can take months. Chances are high you’ll have a hole where the carcinoma once was. Sometimes the hole will “close nicely” on its own, says dermatologist Kira Minkis, and heal as a straight line. But many areas require a little more help to heal smoothly. One option is a flap (the area is reconstructed with skin from an adjacent area) and another is a skin graft (skin is taken from an unrelated…

I have never been more convinced of the cyclicity of fashion and fitness than during the pandemic. Almost four decades after Jane Fonda released Jane Fonda’s Workout on VHS, I was in my home, wearing leggings and jumping around in front of my television like my foremothers. I even started following Richard Simmons, who had emerged from blissful hermithood to bless YouTube with some archival videos. But we haven’t quite come full circle: The new vanguard of home fitness influencers operates under very different banners than the gurus of yore. Since 1969, when Jacki Sorensen and Judi Shepphard Missett began selling the idea that fitness could be fun (through dance aerobics and Jazzercise, respectively), fitness celebrities have sought to work out the mind as well as the tuchus. Since early…

my look was always kind of trashy. It was a country girl’s idea of glam—the backwoods (1) Barbie. And I’d kinda overdone it, I guess, but I was always comfortable. So I remember Chet Atkins, one of the world’s most famous guitar players and a friend of mine, who was born and raised in East Tennessee like I was, and was the head of RCA Records for many years, he pulled me off to the side in my early days. He said, “Dolly, I don’t think you’re ever going to do everything that you want to do by looking like that. You’re a right pretty girl, you don’t need all that.” And I thought, Well, I wish you hadn’t said that. I hate to not take the advice of someone…

Vogue called Benito Skinner—also known as @bennydrama7 on Instagram, where he has well over a million followers—“the only funny thing to happen to 2020.” What is your one favorite beauty product? “I think if I had to whittle it down, I’d say Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant. I’ve used that forever. I’ll give that to people on the street. I run into a friend, I pull three out of my backpack.” What is your latest beauty acquisition? “The wig [worn above]. He told me to take it! I was like, ‘This is my new daughter.’” How do you feel about aging? “I’m like, cute, but not for me. You know what I mean? I love it for other people. It looks so fun. [Laughs] No, I’m so fine [with…

If you’ve laughed at a television show recently (Netflix’s Big Mouth? Comedy Central’s The Other Two?), it’s likely Joel Kim Booster has either appeared in or written for it. Who is the ugliest person you know, living or dead? “I have to say Donald Trump. He looks like his own melting Madame Tussauds statue, period.” Who is the most beautiful? “Zendaya.” What do you value most in a skin-care product? “Effectiveness. Does it work?” What do you value most in a makeup product? “Noncomedogenic.” What do you consider the most overrated beauty product, trend, or style? “Hyaluronic acid. And the most overrated haircut is definitely the K-pop middle part that everyone has, that every Asian person has to get now. I refuse to conform. I will not get it, even though…

Who gets to wash? Throughout human history, access to clean water, the disposable income to spend on oils and brushes, and the facilities required for bathing have not been universally guaranteed. According to a 2019 report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, more than two billion people do not have access to basic sanitation. LavaMaeX (loosely derived from the Spanish lávame, or wash me) is a nonprofit founded on the notion that hygiene should be accessible to all, and provides free handwashing stations and mobile showers to those experiencing homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. LavaMaeX’s liquid body washes and bar soaps are furnished by The Right to Shower, a Unilever body-care label. Since 2020, the brand has routed 30 percent of its profits back…