Blog Posts by YouBeauty.com

ThinkstockYou know that walkin'-on-air feeling when you've aced a test or delivered a slam-dunk presentation? You want to high-five every Tom, Dick and Harry who crosses your path and then some.

But what happens when you got a C instead of an A, or missed the mark in your presentation? Do you say to yourself, "Hey, I still did a great job!" Or do you think, "Man, I really blew it."

According to a new study published in the the APA journal Emotion, people who attempt to bolster self-esteem by telling themselves they did a good job-even when they didn't-actually end up experiencing symptoms of depression and dejection.

"My studies showed that those who assessed their performance more positively than what it really was experienced higher depression, performed worse in school (e.g., lower GPA), engaged more in self-handicapping behavior and had lower achievement motivation, compared to those who assessed their performance accurately," said lead author Young-Hoon Kim, Ph.D., of the

Read More »from Do You Fess Up When You Mess Up? It Could Be Better for Mental Health

ThinkstockPlate spinning is defined as "a circus manipulation art where a person spins plates, bowls and other flat objects on poles, without them falling off."

In intimate relationships, a plate spinner is a guy (or woman) who never actually commits to being in a relationship with you, but once he senses you're ready to move on, he swoops back into your life full of charm and empty promises just keep you around-or at least, on the backburner.

In other words, he gives you a little push just so your emotions keep on spinning and your relationship doesn't come crashing to the ground (like a proverbial plate). Sound familiar?

The Plate Spinner's M.O.

Many of us have dated a plate spinner or know someone who has. They are the magicians of dating: They show up, blow your mind and then pull a disappearing act (nod if this sounds familiar).

"If you go out on a couple of dates and it seems like it went well and then you get a text from him 10 days later that says, 'Hey, what's up?'

Read More »from Plate Spinners: Are You Dating Some Who Strings You Along?

ThinkstockYou've heard this a million times before but it's worth repeating: Your skin is your largest organ, so what you put on it will without a doubt end up inside your body. That's why it's not only important to be conscious of what you're slathering on, but also what you're spraying on your skin every day.

GALLERY: 20 Natural Fragrances to Know

"Fragrance enters your body through your skin but also through your nose and lungs, so it has three points of entry-and the lungs give direct access to the blood stream," says Patricia Malemes, owner and founder of Agape & Zoe, a natural beauty and perfume line in Dallas, Texas.

The trouble is, it's not always super-obvious what's really inside that pretty glass bottle of perfume. Since fragrance formulas are considered a "secret recipe" and top-secret information, the FDA doesn't make companies list every single ingredient individually. A laundry list of possibly toxic chemicals can read as just "fragrance" on the box.

But never

Read More »from Is Your Fragrance Full of Hidden Chemicals?

ThinkstockSex is fun, but did you know it has a higher purpose? Here's why it makes us happier, healthier and closer to our partners.

Women can choose to have sex even when they're physiologically unable to produce offspring. So we know that sex must have some higher purpose and function than simply reproduction. We strongly desire the physical connection even after we can't bear children. Sex drive does not decrease with age!

What's the higher purpose? Firstly, sex can serve as a nirvana moment between couples--a time when you feel complete happiness and intimacy, expressing love to your mate.

Factoid

There's a biological reason that humans are hornier in the summer. We all have a third eye (pineal gland) in the middle of the brain that secretes melatonin, a chemical that helps us sleep and blocks our sex hormones. The long, bright summer days decrease melatonin, so sex drive goes up. The biological upside? You may conceive a child due the following spring, allowing him or her to growRead More »from Why Sex Is So Important to Us!

ThinkstockLooking for love in this crazy age of technology? It's best to stay true to yourself.

People on online dating sites put themselves in the most positive light, sometimes to a deceitful degree. A ton of personal primping happens with photographs, where you can pick the most flattering shots and retouch them.

It may not come as a surprise that online daters have used older photos of themselves to appear younger, or posted shots from a digital camera with low-resolution (for a more forgiving skin appearance), Toma and Hancock found in an Cornell University study.

A similar online dating study showed that 81 percent of women and men deviated from the cold-hard truth about facts like their age or how tall they are.

But when it comes to Facebook, it's a whole other story.

"Facebook is more connected to the world. It would be harder to get away with faking it on Facebook. I think you'd get caught if you were too far from reality," says Assistant Professor of Psychology, Dr.

Read More »from Your Online Image Affects Your Love Life

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Courtesy of MissRepresentation.orgWhat should a powerful, successful woman look like?

Every day, the media tells us. At the store, you'll see tabloids splashed with Christina Aguilera's thighs, then come home to news of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's pantsuits (yes, still). Regardless of whether you're a fan of what the woman is saying or doing, the critical commentary drowns out her voice.

We're left with a very narrow definition of beauty.

This is the focus of the new documentary "Miss Representation," airing Thursday, October 20th at 9 p.m. on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The film, the directorial debut of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, an actor, Stanford MBA, mother and wife of California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, suggests that girls and women will painstakingly aspire to meet these unrealistic standards, even subconsciously.

Confidence-cutting messages continue to sell, and we're buying it.

QUIZ: How's Your Self-Esteem?

The documentary depicts how American women are

Read More »from “Miss Representation:” How to Overcome The Media’s Distortion of Women

ThinkstockA new study out of the Sociology Department at Cornell University has shown that men need time to hang with their buddies and it isn't just for their physical and mental health-it's time well spent for their partners too.

While it's easy to fall into the trap of sharing friends by socializing as a couple, data analyzed from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project-a 2005 survey of 3,005 Americans ages 57 to 85, has shed light on the importance of men having their own close personal friends. And the benefits don't just last through their poker game!

According to the study, about a quarter of men experience "partner betweenness" and that these men are 92 percent more likely to report erectile dysfunction.

Within that 92 percent, baby boomers (ages 57-64) showed over double the likelihood of erectile dysfunction if they cited their wives or girlfriends as the primary link to the people they call their pals.

COLUMN: Sneaky Health Issues that Mess with Your Sex

Read More »from Bromance Keeps Men and Marriages Healthy