Topic: real women

The ’30 Project’: What Turning 30 Really Looks Like Today

The '30 Project': What Turning 30 Really Looks Like Today

“The year to six months before you turn 30 you start getting more and more nervous about it, and I really do think it’s just manufactured pressure,” says Corina Marie Howell. A Los Angeles-based commercial photographer, Howell makes a living shooting campaigns for companies like Bare Escentuals and Sephora. But she was recently inspired to embark on something a little different: A series of portraits of and interviews exploring just what turning 30 means for women today. She calls it, aptly, the 30 Project. More »

The Many Ways Models Are Made To Look Perfect (Hint: It’s Not Just Photoshop Fails)

The Many Ways Models Are Made To Look Perfect (Hint: It's Not Just Photoshop Fails)

There’s been a lot of harping about the problem with Photoshop lately–most notably, that excessive retouching has made it nearly impossible for women to feel good about their own porous, flawed, dimpled, freckled selves. But according to one actual photo retoucher who spoke with Buzzfeed, Photoshopping is just as prevalent as you think, and it’s one of many ways that art directors and advertisers create the impossible standard of beauty that women struggle not to compete with. More »

“Real” Bodies Represented At The 2011 CMA Awards

"Real" Bodies Represented At The 2011 CMA Awards

Last night, country music stars shed their denims and boots in favor of glitzy gowns and tailored suits as they walked the red carpet at the 2011 CMA Awards, one of the biggest nights in country. Mostly going off tamely and without a hitch, the show was much the same as many music awards–except for one factor. Country music, it seems, offers the diversity in body type that I’ve been looking for. More »

Real Women Respond: How Do You Keep Your Face Clean?

Real Women Respond: How Do You Keep Your Face Clean?

I’m a little bit all over the place when it comes to soaps and facial cleansers. My all time favorite face soap is Burt’s Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser, which leaves my skin tingly and glowing and is one of the few cleansers I’ve ever been able to distinguish from all the rest. But I get distracted by pretty things—the ‘dirty hippie’ oatmeal soap my friend makes, goats milk and lavender soap from the farmer’s market, bar soaps from Dr. Bronner’s (whom I swear by to keep my house clean), shea butter soap from Dr. Woods, or even, occasionally, fancy pricey soaps which promise things like ‘increased luminosity’ and ‘faster cell turnover.’ I also really like Thayers witch hazel astringents and toners. To see how my skin-cleansing habits compared with those of my peers, I took to Facebook and Twitter (and so did the Blisstree social media team). Here’s what other women had to say. More »

Real Women Respond: What Vitamins and Supplements Do You Take?

Real Women Respond: What Vitamins and Supplements Do You Take?

This isn’t a post about what vitamins and/or supplements women should take—it’s about what vitamins and supplements we do take. I started wondering how my vitamin/supplement regimen stacked up to other women’s: Was there anything crucial I was missing out on? Did I take more vitamins and supplements than other women my age, or less? So I polled my friends, family members, colleagues and acquaintances. This is a highly unscientific survey, sure, but some trends definitely emerge—biotin is popular, as are multivitamins and children’s vitamins (not taking anything is popular, too). Read some of the responses below—and then tell us about your own vitamin and supplement regimen in the comments. More »

My Body Gallery: The Site That Shows You What “Real” Women Look Like

My Body Gallery: The Site That Shows You What "Real" Women Look Like

Discovered via The Hairpin, a new website where you can view photos of real women the same height, weight and body type as you. Fill in any or all of the categories—in addition to height and weight, you can enter shirt size, pant size or whether you’re ‘apple,’ ‘pear,’ ‘banana,’ or ‘hourglass’ shaped—and My Body Gallery will pull up a gaggle of user-submitted images from women within that same range. The idea is to provide a place for women “to see that the world is not a place of cookie cutters,” according to the site; to show not how women ‘should’ look, but ‘how we DO look.’ And unlike those ‘hot-or-not’ or guessing game sites, there’s no rating or guessing involved (thank goodness). More »

Better Birth Control: Tales From a Pill-to-IUD Convert

Better Birth Control: Tales From a Pill-to-IUD Convert

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has officially endorsed intrauterine devices (IUDs) as contraceptives for healthy women and teens (regardless of whether they’ve given birth before). In honor of that, we want to get a little more informed about this lesser-known form of birth control, so we’ll be posting about IUDs and contraception options all week here at Blisstree. Today, I talk to Sarah, a photographer/designer who’s been using a copper IUD for a year now after being on the pill for seven years.

1. Why did you decide to try the IUD as a contraception method?
I was on the pill for seven years and had tried quite a few different low-dose varieties. I hated the thought of putting extra hormones in my body, and also never “felt like myself” while taking it. When I went off the pill, my mood balanced almost immediately. It was a huge relief. I decided to try the copper IUD because it offered the same effectiveness as the pill but without hormones. I’ve had it for about a year now. More »

Better Birth Control: ‘I Used The Mirena IUD For 5 Years, And It Was Awesome’

Better Birth Control: 'I Used The Mirena IUD For 5 Years, And It Was Awesome'

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has officially endorsed intrauterine devices (IUDs) as contraceptives for healthy women and teens (regardless of if they’ve given birth before or not). In honor of that, we want to get a little more informed about the lesser-known form of birth control, so we’ll be posting about IUDs and contraception options all week here at Blisstree. Today, I talk with Valerie Whitney, a musician and blogger living in Brooklyn, New York, who has used both the hormonal (the Mirena) and copper (the ParaGard) IUDs. More »