Blog Posts by Marie Claire

Careerists looking for any inside edge need not look farther than the business section of the local Barnes & Noble. The best of the lot offer women practical how-to's on navigating the Byzantine office politics that often dictates whether you'll nab the next promotion or raise. We've scoured the shelves for the best career guides, required reading for the woman eyeing the executive suite.

1. Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, by Lois P. Frankel
THE BOTTOM LINE: If you're the gal who brings donuts to meetings or apologizes before pitching ideas, run to the nearest bookstore for your copy. This is the alpha-female bible, enumerating all the classic office sins women commit-asking permission, babysitting, slouching. Grab a highlighter and start taking notes.

2. The Power of Nice, by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
THE BOTTOM LINE: If you've been called the dreaded 'B' word, or your staff cowers when you walk by, consider this book a refresher course in the basics. It pays to

Read More »from Great books for the working girl

It's not just the fries. Many diet nightmares can be traced to the seemingly virtuous salad.

MYTH #1: IT'S JUST A SALAD!
There's nothing "just" about the 490 calories and 41 grams of fat in a Subway BMT salad with ranch dressing. That adds up to even more calories and fat than a Burger King Bacon Cheeseburger (360 calories, 18 grams of fat). At Ruby Tuesday, the Carolina Chicken Salad packs -- brace yourself -- 1,300 calories and 72 grams of fat (275 fewer without dressing). Consult a calorie counter to figure out how many calories you are consuming in your favorite salads.

MYTH #2: FAT-FREE DRESSING IS HEALTHIEST.
Not quite. You do save on calories when you take out the fat, but many such dressings are loaded with sugar -- more than two teaspoons per serving -- and offer zero nutrition. Plus, they block your ability to absorb the carotenoid antioxidants in salad greens and tomatoes -- important compounds that reduce the risk of heart disease. In one study, people eating full-fat

Read More »from 9 Myths About Your Salad

M. Thomas/Getty ImagesThe sultry-and newly single-star chats about dreaming of donuts and her struggle to stay slim.

It's a flashbulb frenzy for the lush-lipped beauty, now 31, who is publicly weathering a split from her husband, British rocker Royston Langdon, father of their 3-year-old son, Milo. But Tyler has kept her cool throughout - a trait that clearly serves her well as ambassador for Givenchy beauty, a role that takes her around the world.

MC: How did it feel growing up in the spotlight?
LT: For the most part, living in New York meant I was pretty anonymous; I took the subway to school. I was just talking about this with Gwyneth [Paltrow, also a native New Yorker]. She remembers sitting outside on the stoop of her Manhattan brownstone after she'd won the Oscar [10 years ago], and then when she was breaking up with Brad - just hanging out. I didn't feel the same media pressures that teen stars must feel today.

MC: How has the recent scrutiny affected your confidence?
LT: If I'm feeling insecure,

Read More »from What Makes Liv Tyler Rock?

Whether you want to tone up or slim down, we'll show you how with tips from these Beijing-bound athletes.

• LINDSAY DAVENPORT, TENNIS

At 16, Lindsay Davenport went pro. At 20, she took home the gold at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, before going on to win the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open. Now, 14 months after the birth of her son, Jagger, the former number one is eyeing the sweetest comeback of all: a repeat gold in Beijing.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:
Every week, Davenport, 32, does 10 to 15 hours of hitting and stroke drills at a neighborhood court in her hometown of Laguna Beach, CA, plus three hours of free weights, the occasional Pilates class ("depending on how stiff I am"), and two sessions of footwork and plyometrics (high-impact drills). The real challenge? Working around Jagger's schedule. "I try to always be home for his feedings," she says.

SECRET WEAPON:
Three-way lunges (stepping forward, laterally, then back) tone the quads and mimic the motion of Read More »from Olympic Athletes Share Their Workout Secrets

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.comOnce the queen of quirky indie movies, The Dark Knight star Maggie Gyllenhaal braces for the highs - and surprising lows - of blockbuster-size fame.

For her breakthrough role as a kinky office assistant in 2002's Secretary, Maggie Gyllenhaal earned $65,000 for a performance that required her to be spanked and deliver mail on all fours. The budget was so low for her star turn as a troubled ex-convict in Sherrybaby (2006) that she didn't have a trailer; the crew carried around a hospital cot so she could take catnaps between scenes. Now, the onetime indie queen finds herself squarely in Hollywood blockbuster territory, playing Batman's girlfriend in The Dark Knight - budget $180 million - where there are as many pitfalls as perks. Consider: Suddenly, she's a target for the fashion police.

"Oh, my God, all the time," says Gyllenhaal, her voice rising. After she wore a sweeping purple Peter Som gown to the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute gala last May, her photo appeared on a

Read More »from Maggie Gyllenhaal on Jake, Motherhood and Missing Heath Ledger

Skip the salon for your monthly wax and save some cash for a new bikini with an at-home wax kit. We asked VEET Esthetician Anna Stankiewicz for her insider tips on baring all:

1. DO start with legs if you've never given yourself a wax before-you'll have a good view of what your doing, and the skin is a little tougher, decreasing the odds that you fall off the edge of the bathtub in pain after pulling off the first wax strip.

2. DON'T attempt a Brazilian wax by yourself-you won't be able to see what you're doing as well as a professional, and an obstructed view and hot wax are not a good combination.

3. DO apply tooth numbing cream in the area you plan to wax about half an hour prior to your session. It will temporarily numb the skin, making the experience a little less painful.

4. DON'T moisturize right before the wax.

5. DO soak up moisture with baby powder, which will allow the wax to adhere to your hair better.

6. DON'T pull at the hair every which way. Make sure you're pulling the

Read More »from 8 Do's and Dont's of At-Home Waxing

You may not know your Lucian from your Sigmund, but you can still hold your own at the art museum with this conversation guide.

Portrait, Landscape or Still Life?
Are you looking at a person (portrait), place (landscape), or thing (still life)? Get off to a good start by using the correct term instead of calling the piece, "a picture."

Form and Line
Shading and texture give an object form, and generally make a piece look realistic. Talking about line is another way to discuss the shaping of the objects in the piece. Are facial features well defined and detailed (if you're discussing a portrait), or more subtle? Form and line also give an object movement or a sense of being static. Use your intuition. It's unlikely that a bowl of fruit will have much movement.

Negative Space
When you've said everything you can say about what's in the painting or sketch, talk about what's not there - the negative space in the piece.

Natural or Surreal?
Take a look at the

Read More »from How to Talk About Art

Traffic was brutal. You spilled coffee on your button-down. Now your boss is asking for that report you thought was due next week. It's not yet noon and your head already feels heavier than the Poland Spring refills stacked near the watercooler. Days like this call for some Rocky Balboa-size motivation. As soon as that clock strikes quittin' time, make a beeline for your sofa, order some takeout, and pop in one of these cinematic classics starring kick-ass career gals who broke the rules and succeeded. Use that for motivation.

1. His Girl Friday, 1940
For anyone contemplating giving up the career to get hitched and have kids, catch this flick starring Rosalind Russell as Hildy Johnson and dreamy Cary Grant as her fast-talking, conniving, and charming editor (and ex-husband). Hildy yearns to marry her fiancé Bruce (Ralph Bellamy), settle down in the 'burbs, and have some kids. But try as hard as she may, Hildy hates to miss a scoop.

2. Norma Rae, 1979
What do you do

Read More »from Movies for Women Who Like to Kick Ass at Work