Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

Aftermath of a counterfeit ketchup explosion at warehouse in N.J. (Photo: Dover Code Enforcement Department)A ketchup counterfeiting operation in New Jersey is making consumers think twice about what they're putting on their food.

Related: Ketchup's unsavory secret history

Officials discovered the fake ketchup factory after tenants complained about flies and rotten odors coming from another part of the 7,000-square-foot warehouse in Dover, N.J. They found thousands of plastic bottles labeled Heinz ketchup, many of which had exploded after being abandoned in the hot building.

Related: 5 common food counterfeits

Heinz representatives say that they think someone bought large containers of regular Heinz Ketchup and poured it into bottles labeled "Simply Heinz," a higher-priced product made with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Late Friday, they reached out to reassure consumers, saying that it was unlikely the counterfeit condiment ended up on store shelves.

"We have not discovered any information that leads us to believe that the illegally repackaged product is on the market.

Read More »from Is Your Ketchup Worth the Money? (It Might Not Be)

Rebecca Smithers and (part of) her wardrobe. (Photo: Linda Nylind/The Guardian)Experts say that one sure way to save money is to shop your closet; most people own more trendy clothes than they realize, and old favorites often come back in style. That's what Rebecca Smithers realized when she rediscovered an old favorite buried in the back of her closet.

PICTURES: Celebrities at Fashion Week

It was a handmade cable knit sweater that she hadn't worn in years. Her mother had made it about 16 years before, and wearing it felt like meeting up with "an old and very special friend."

That sweater, and the reappearance of other old favorites, inspired Smithers to see if she could spend an entire year without buying new clothes. A consumer affairs correspondent for the British newspaper The Guardian, she decided to document her fashion-free New Year's resolution.

RELATED: 5 Ways to Update Your Look for Under $20

"I will even resist the temptation to buy second-hand from charity shops—including my favorite on London's Marylebone High Street," she wrote in The Guardian.

Read More »from Could You Go a Whole Year Without Buying Any Clothes?

Ann Romney with her husband after the second presidential debate this week. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Images)Reaching out to women voters in the wake of the "Binders full of Women" controversy, the Romney campaign held a last-minute teleconference town hall Wednesday night, during which Ann Romney and her son, Craig, took questions from supporters and talked about their reactions to the second presidential debate.

Related: Ann Romney reaches out to women online

Addressing listeners in both English and Spanish, Craig Romney said that he thought his father did "a really good job" during Tuesday night's debate, but added that "President Obama was a little better prepared this time around."

"I loved the contrast when it came to balancing the budget," he said from Oregon. "The difference is my dad could talk about what he's done, where President Obama could simply attack my dad's plan and couldn't talk about his own record. That's what seems to be his campaign's strategy -- not to talk about his achievements, but to denigrate my father."

Speaking from New York, Ann Romney focused on the

Read More »from Ann Romney on the Second Presidential Debate: "I Was Just Thrilled"

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney debates with President Barack Obama at Hofstra University on Tuesday, October 16. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)Women's issues took center stage at the second presidential debate Tuesday night -- and not just in terms of reproductive rights -- when undecided voter Katherine Fenton stepped forward with a question about women and equal pay.

Where the 2012 Presidential Candidates Stand on Women's Issues

"In what new ways do you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace," she asked both candidates, "specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn?"

President Barack Obama answered first, recounting his childhood (raised by a single mom, grandmother hit the glass ceiling working at a local bank) and reminding viewers that the first bill he signed as president was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Related: Highlights from the 2nd Presidential Debate

"And that's an example of the kind of advocacy that we need because women are increasingly the breadwinners in the family," he told the crowd. "This is not just a women's issue. This is a Read More »from 'Binders Full of Women': Will Romney's Take on Equal Pay Affect the Women's Vote?

Is this T-shirt offensive? (Photo: Gap.com)Clothing giant Gap has pulled a controversial T-shirt off its warehouse shelves after outraged consumers lashed out via social media.

The simple, dark-blue T-shirt with "MANIFEST DESTINY" printed on it in stark white letters was part of the "Gap x GQ" collection, a joint effort between Gap and GQ Magazine to showcase America's best new designers.

Related: Keira's Kollection T-Shirt Company Aims to Empower Girls

Adding fuel to the fire, the shirt's designer, Mark McNairy, tweeted "MANIFEST DESTINY. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" last Friday in response to customer complaints. He quickly deleted his tweet, but not before a screengrab of it was widely circulated, and then he followed up—three days later—with an all-caps semi-apology.

Related: Hollister Models Post Racist Photos from South Korea Store Opening

"Unfortunately, the meaning of my 'Manifest Destiny' T shirt has been misconstrued and the sentiment behind it grossly misunderstood," McNairy posted on Twitter on Tuesday, blatantly

Read More »from Gap Pulls "Manifest Destiny" T-Shirt, Gets History Lesson from Outraged Consumers

Martha Stewart is supporting small businesses with her In 1976, Martha Stewart launched her multi-million dollar empire out of her basement, making cooking and crafting not just an acceptable pastime, but a lucrative business. Now, with her "American Made" program, she's aiming to help other entrepreneurs turn their small business into big success stories.

Related: Martha Stewart's Top Tips for Packing

"I'm very interested in things that are made in America, and I've always been very interested in craftsmanship and artisanship," she told Yahoo! Shine in an interview. "And we have probably helped more young entrepreneurs than anybody else, for a long time, by focusing on them. It's turned out to be something we really feel strongly about."

So strongly, that she decided to highlight the achievements of 10 small business owners, and encourage her readers to vote for one more who would receive $10,000 to kick-start his or her company. The winners are being honored at an open-to-the-public event in Grand Central Terminal in New York on

Read More »from With "American Made," Martha Stewart Pays it Forward

You don't have to limit your bargain hunting to stores! Some bills are negotiable, too. (Photo: Thinkstock)Many people enjoy hunting for bargains, but when it comes to negotiating deep discounts, it just feels awkward. Anything you buy has the potential to be a better bargain—and that goes for things you might not think you can haggle over.

Related: Why Do Women Avoid Negotiating?

"Virtually anything that you can buy is negotiable," Herb Cohen, author of "You Can Negotiate Anything," told Yahoo! Shine in an interview. That means that while ethical, moral, and religious principals are off the table, pretty much anything with a price tag is up for grabs.

Related: Lessons From Extreme Cheapskates

"Sometimes it's hard to negotiate something because the amount of energy required is greater than the benefit you can obtain," Cohen says. So, haggling over a hotdog may not be worthwhile, but when it comes to a new car or a big hospital bill? A little effort can lead to big savings.

"Be tenacious," Cohen advises. "When you negotiate, aim high, be tenacious and persistent."

Related: How to Save

Read More »from 5 Things You Didn't Know You Could Negotiate

Goldie Starling's sultry, DIY Spider Queen look for Halloween. (Photo: Goldie Starling/Facebook)A fierce pirate wench, with puckered scars running along the side of her face. An eerie doll, with pursed lips and hauntingly oversize eyes. A grim Jack the Ripper and his final victim, Mary Kelly, her throat slashed and oozing blood.... Goldie Starling's Halloween make-up creations are a creepy combination of glam and gore—and she shares her beauty secrets in her deeply detailed video tutorials.

Slideshow: The Worst Sexy Halloween Costumes

"When I started making tutorials there weren't a lot of people uploading artistic tutorials so I decided to try it out," Starling, who lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told Yahoo! Shine in an interview. "There was definitely a learning curve but after four years I feel like I've grown so much as an artist. And my subscribers have helped encourage me the most. When I learn a new technique I get excited to share it with them. That passion for learning has kept me going."

Starling, whose real name is Angie Davis, has no formal training as a

Read More »from Glam Meets Gore: Goldie Starling's Awesome Halloween Makeup Tutorials