Blog Posts by Jessica Ashley, Senior Editor

When I saw this video of what a year's worth of makeup really looks like, my first thought was, "Ohhh, ewww." My second thought? To be completely honest, it was, "Uh-ohhh."

In the past few months, I have really let my nighttime beauty routine slide. I've been skipping carefully dabbing on eye cream with my ring finger. I've taken a few extra passes on the moisturizer. The biggest sin against my skin, however, is that I've gotten lazy about washing my face before bed.

I know, I KNOW. It's not good. And now, thanks to the visual of that model with 365 applications of foundation piled upon her lovely face, I imagine my stifled skin's muffled cries for freedom and lots of sudsy massaging. Tonight, I may even wash my face twice. I promise.

Now it is your turn to confess: What beauty crime have you committed lately?





More questions on Shine:

• What's your biggest swimsuit gripe?
• How does exercise make you feel?
• How much have you spent to be a bridesmaid?

Once upon a decade or so ago, a friend of mine who had already been through lots of infertility issues and sadness and pain in trying to conceive, became pregnant. It was a magical moment and she cried when she told us that her dreams of having a baby girl were finally coming true. Except that the baby didn't end up being a girl. She found out early her pregnancy and I'll fast forward a bit to reassure you that she got OK with this slight change in plans, birthed a beautiful baby boy, became a wonderful mother, and eventually said that it had all turned out as it was meant to be. But for one very raw, honest moment in time, she was really upset.

"I dreamed of baking cookies and dressing up fancy," she told me over tears. "This will likely be my only child."

"Perhaps he will like these things, too," I offered in what was clearly not the proper sentiment for her in that situation.

I felt for my friend. I appreciated the real feelings she opened up in a way that many moms back then

When I first started running -- or rather, when I first started pushing hard as a runner -- I would crank up the music really loud in my ear buds to get me through those last excruciating minutes or down one more block. Then one day, my iPhone ran out of juice mid-workout and I was left to run in silence. When the time came to gut out the last little bits of energy, I was horrified. For the first time, without the auditory padding of Eminem or LaRoux, I could hear myself grunting as I sprinted toward the end of my run.

I felt strong, powerful, and proud of myself every time I pushed just a bit more in workouts like these. But for some reason, hearing myself make noise while I ran made me terribly self-conscious.

This is ridiculous, I know. Athletic women -- hell, women who are just moving their bodies -- should be lauded, even applauded. We should not be worried we don't look or sound pretty. In my case, I'm pretty sure that the guy who lives at the YMCA down the street from me and

A few months ago, I ran an 8K. As I wandered through the expo hall, trying desperately to weave my way through thousands of people and hundreds of booths hawking energy goo and supplements and homemade headbands to find the place where I could get my race bib and free t-shirt. I was irritated and just wanted to finish this business so I could concentrate on the real event.

Then I saw the booth for the amazing organization that empowers girls by helping to train them for 5K events, Girls on the Run. They were giving away bumper stickers, colored a startling pink with white writing that simply said, "Running makes me feel _______."

I took one and pinned it to the wall next to my desk. I haven't filled it in because every day that I run, I get something different from it. Some days, working out makes me feel powerful. Other days, goddess-like. Still others, it makes me feel hungry for more, sore, or overheated. I leave it blank because I am waiting to see what the next day will bring.

First, Congressman Anthony Weiner was caught inappropriately tweeting women. Then came the collective gasp with news that his wife Huma Abedin, absent from the press conference confessions by her husband, is pregnant. Some reports suggest that, in her first trimester, Abedin is trapped in an impossible situation. While Vanity Fair advised the 35-year old aide to Hillary Clinton to be her own person and there are quiet rumblings that Abedin's family and friends are "furious" about the scandal and the timing. While we wait to see whether Abedin will stand next to her husband -- at the podium or through her pregnancy -- some people question how a woman could possibly walk away from the man whose child she is carrying.

We spoke to three women who did make the choice to end a relationship while they were pregnant. Here are their stories -- sometimes raw, very relatable, and ultimately empowering.



Kelly was a freshman in high school when she found out she was pregnant. Now an educator,

As long as they are slathered in sunscreen and helmeted, have eaten a reasonable meal recently, and are in sight, we may think our kids are very safe.

The reality is that, even inside our own fences, children can be seriously injured (or worse) by summer activities and gear most of us have in the backyard. Here are five surprising risks every parent, grandparent, and caregiver needs to be aware of so that kids have a safer -- and sillier, splashier, fun-and-games -- summer.

What are your best tips for keeping the brood safe in your own backyard?

Read more on Shine:

• 5 ways to cure summer boredom for kids

• Why your family needs a weekly game night

• Old-school swimming pool games...with a twist

• Sunscreen slacking could lead to cancer for kids

  
  

Laura Dave is not the kind of lady you have a quick conversation with. She's a foodie has the perfect place for you to stay in Big Sur, has the sensibility and startling questions of a therapist and the sense of humor and truth-telling of your very first best friend. She's the woman who you share your most embarrassing break-up story and gush, "We should go to Cabo together on a girlfriend trip!" after knowing five whole minutes under the influence of only one glass of Malbec.

Or maybe it's just me, crushing on a smart lady with stories to tell. Perhaps I was just completely wooed by her novels, "chick lit" that are what books about women's relationships should be -- clever, funny, relatable, and not predictable. USA Today says Laura Dave's newest release, The First Husband, could seem formulaic but that "Dave somehow manages to take what could have been schlocky and cliched and renders it playful, unpredictable and emotionally resonant." For a novel about a woman who gets

I do a lot of eye-rolling at what Gwyneth Paltrow says on topics like detoxing and versatile lady-clothes (let's not even go into what she sings). But when she told friend Ross Mathews to "get it together" while pointing at his belly, I shuddered.

For once, it wasn't Gwyneth's actual words -- which were, let's face it, pretty harsh, particularly since they were said in front of other people and while taping "Chelsea Lately" -- that did it. It was a sudden flashback to junior year of college in the middle of Missouri. It was my 21st birthday and I was chock-full of terrible 21st birthday-ish drinks like the "Pineapple Bomb" and "Cement Mixer" and things you vow to never, ever drink again once they show you the way across the "welcome to legal hangovers" threshold. One of my very best friends chose the moment when I could barely button up my own pants in the bathroom to lecture me about some pretty-typical college weight I'd put on.

The truth was that I was pretty uncomfortable in my