Blog Posts by Marie Claire

These are simple strategies to help you score everything from shinier hair to a perkier butt:


Your Goal: Neat Cuticles
The Strategy: Curb Your Impulse to Cut
Want to get hand-model hands? Resist the urge to trim your cuticles. "Your body overcompensates for what you're cutting away," says Tabitha Caputo, the nail director at New York City's Paul Labreque Salon & Spa. To wean yourself, rub in a good cuticle oil twice a day (olive oil can also get the job done, but if you buy something specifically for your nails, you'll be more likely to use it) and push your cuticles back with a washcloth after every shower. Within a month, they won't grow back as quickly or as thick, says Caputo. If you really can't stand them, once a week let a cuticle remover, such as Orly Cutique - which only whisks away dead skin - sit on your nails for a minute or two. Then, push back the cuticle and apply oil.
Try: Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil



Your Goal: Gorgeous Skin
The Strategy: Fight Inflammation
By now, you

For a girl who is a self-professed fitness and sports devotee, an intro ballet lesson should be a breeze. But, the Beyond Barre class at New York Sports Clubs is exactly as its tagline reads, "Not your little girl's ballet class!" I have to say: Apogee's new ballet-inspired workout wiped me out.

Now, I'm no ballerina, and for that matter I'm no Hope Solo either, but I hit the gym five times a week and can definitely dance. So, when I heard that New York Sports Clubs were introducing a brand new selection of signature small-group classes that included ballet, I was eager to get to one - especially if I could learn how to develop long, lean ballerina muscles!

I arrived at the NYSC Crowne Plaza 20 minutes before my 8 a.m. Beyond Barre class was scheduled to start, and Colleen Ketcham - who is the co-founder and creator of Beyond Barre - was handing out ballet flats to class-goers. I have a history of sports-related ankle and knee injuries, so I asked her if she thought

Couples Who Watch Porn - Marie ClaireIf you already watch porn, you'll be happy to know that seeing skin flicks with your partner (as opposed to alone) is good for your bond. According to a study published in The Archives of Sexual Behavior, unmarried couples who watch porn together rate their relationship as more committed and sexually satisfying than those where one partner sneaks it when the other isn't home.

"Couples who watch sexy movies together - and 45 percent do - are making porn a shared sexual experience, which is healthier for your bond than a secretive one," says Galena K. Rhoades, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver.

"Also, you're choosing films that interest you both, so you learn something new about each other's sexual tastes, which adds novelty to your sex life."


Get more Sex and Relationship Advice at Marie Claire.com

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Every woman has asked the same inevitable question before attending some of life's most important events: "What should I wear?" Nina Garcia, Marie Claire's fashion director, decided it was time for ladies to quit cursing their closets and stop the fashion guesswork once and for all. She penned a book - Nina Garcia's Look Book: What to Wear for Every Occasion, on shelves now - that provides practical dressing tips for nearly 100 different moments. We took a sneak peek and pulled her style suggestions for some seemingly typical excursions. Click through to see what to wear...








To a Job Interview "Your wardrobe should complement your skill set, never detract - or distract - from your assets," Garcia writes. "The smallest detail can set you apart from your competition. It's essential that you appear professional, capable, and confident without going overboard."
Suit Up: Garcia says a "chic, modern take on the classic suit" is the way to go for first-round interviews and recommends an

Or are you playing it too safe? Take this exclusive quiz to find out how harm avoidant you are.

Answer "True" or "False" to the following statements:

1. I usually am confident that everything will go well, even in situations that worry most people.

2. I often feel tense and worried in unfamiliar situations, even when others feel there is little to worry about.

3. I often avoid meeting strangers because I lack confidence with people I do not know.

4. I have less energy and get tired more quickly than most people.

5. Usually I am more worried than most people that something might go wrong in the future.

6. I usually stay calm and secure in situations that most people would find physically dangerous.

7. When I have to meet a group of strangers, I am more shy than most people.

8. I usually feel much more confident and energetic than most people, even after minor illnesses or stress.

9. If I am embarrassed or humiliated, I get over it very quickly.

Samara O'Shea thought she'd had a really bad break up -- but actually she was suffering from a rare psychological condition.
By Samara O'Shea

I did everything right: I took his number out of my phone. I removed him as my friend on Facebook. I even started dating someone else, hoping it might help move me forward. But this was one breakup that time wasn't healing.

I had it bad for this guy from the beginning. My stomach dropped in anticipation every time I saw his name in my e-mail inbox. My day wasn't complete without receiving a text message from him. And I lay awake at night obsessively fantasizing about our future. He appeared to be equally interested in me - calling me all the time; buying me thoughtful gifts; and giving me spontaneous, genuine compliments. Yet after six months, he wouldn't solidify our relationship. "I just don't want a girlfriend," he shrugged.

We went our separate ways, but my grief grew more intense by the day. I was increasingly ruminating -

Trainers behind beautiful-bodied stars like Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez reveal how their clients got their shapes and how you can, too. By Genevieve Monsma

Jennifer Lopez - Marie Claire

1. Eat! One big mistake women make is severely cutting calories, which slows your metabolism and makes you feel deprived. The result? You binge and gain weight.

2. When you're doing any kind of athletic movement--jumping, lunging, lifting weights--never lock your elbows or knees. Keep them slightly "soft" (but not floppy) to prevent joint injury.

3. MUST-DO MOVE: Upper-body twist
TARGETS: Obliques (sides of stomach)
HOW TO DO IT: Sit on a mat or rug with your knees bent and your feet flexed. Lean back slightly (at a 45-degree angle). Now reach across your body with your right hand, as though you're grabbing something on your left, then reach to the right with your left hand. Do 10 reps (five on each side), rest for 30 seconds, then do two more.

4. Quit quick-stepping on the stairclimber! This works fewer muscles and burns

Of all of summer's traditions - watermelon-eating, picnics, Fourth of July fireworks - one of my favorites is watching free and excellent performances of Shakespeare in Central Park. (And we New Yorkers aren't the only ones privy to such high-brow no-cost entertainment. Theater companies across the country perform outdoor productions of the Bard's work, and many of them don't charge an admission fee either.)

The plays being performed in Manhattan this summer are All's Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure. They are two of Shakespeare's "problem plays" - ones with characters whose motivations can be hard to understand, with plots that don't resolve quite as satisfyingly as his others. More to the point of this blog, they're two plays in which good women love bad men - and accept and forgive them, even after they've proven themselves to be lousy womanizers.

In All's Well, the humble daughter of a physician falls in love with a wealthy man from an elite family - and she