Blog Posts by Refinery29

By Gina Marinelli, Refinery29

With Zara's recent efforts to improve the quality of their products and make strides in being a more conscious company, the latest news about one of our favorite fast fashion retailers comes as an enormous shock. According to Telegraph UK, an investigation of a South American factory that may be producing Zara products has revealed "slave labor" working conditions.

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La Alameda, a worker's rights group, had caught wind of the Buenos Aires factory conditions that would turn anyone's stomach - namely 13-hour work days and "sweatshop" conditions for adults and children - and in response, the workplace was raided by Argentinian officials. Sadly, as reported by Telegraph, the findings included employees living within the factory space and working six-day weeks while denied their right to breaks.

Zara officials did respond saying that "the

By Tara Rasmus, Refinery29

The most important aspect of your beauty routine may surprise you. While you may be used to putting your energy into searching for the perfect foundation or your secret-weapon lipstick, you may want to be focusing on the two small things that add the most structure and definition to your face: your eyebrows.

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"Brows can play a huge role in widening the eyes, narrowing the face, and drawing attention away from certain features - and enhancing others," says "brow architect" Tiffany Reicosky of Browhaus in NYC. "The brow shape will depend on a person's face shape, working to enhance a particular facial feature." Whether your visage is round, square or heart-shaped, rest assured: There is a brow shape that will work perfectly for you."

Click through to see six stars who are rocking the absolute best brow shape for their faces, and get Reicosky's tips on how to get the look right for your

By Hayden Manders, Refinery29

.Even though your outfit was slammin' and you swore you were having a good hair day, whenever someone takes your picture, it just looks off. Now, you can blame science for your un-photogenic tendencies. Turns out that the way we see our mirrored selves differs from the way we see our photographed selves.

"We grow up getting used to all of our asymmetries as reflected in the mirror," writes Jordan Gaines of NBCNews.com. When the time comes to look at our own portraits, our brain can't comprehend why the differences and nuances we see in the mirror don't match with the "us" in a photo. The same can be said of the way we hear our voices when played back in a recording.

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Pascal Belin, a professor of psychology at the University of Glasgow, breaks down the way we hear. Quite simply, Belin explains, "We never actually hear our voice like other people hear it," because sound enters our ears in two ways:

By Rebecca Taras, Refinery29

Winter's wrath may be behind us, but we're not exactly in the clear yet. And, just because April showers bring May flowers doesn't necessarily mean things are coming up roses - especially when it comes to our wet feet.

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Instead of suffering through soggy stockings, scoop up one of these adorable rain boots. Between fun patterns and sleek styles, you'll be fashionably equipped all day long. You can't deny it: This buy feels right as rain.

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By Tara Rasmus, Refinery29

Tipping for good service, being on time for appointments, even avoiding yakking on the phone during a mani-pedi sesh are all standard practices that ensure that customers are happy and that beauty businesses run smoothly. But what about those issues that are a little bit more, er, gray-area? For instance, do you need to pre-groom before a bikini wax?

Wanting to get these and other questions answered (hey, for our own benefit as well as yours!), we reached out to some of our favorite beauty pros for their takes on the stickiest beauty situations. Read, learn, and rest assured: You definitely do not need to trim before getting a Brazilian. So...at least there's that.

Let's get right down to the nitty-gritty of it: Is it okay to head to the spa if you're surfing the crimson wave? "Massage during your menstrual period can actually be very beneficial, as it will relax you and can reduce pain and discomfort associated with cramps,"says Josie Feria, Director of

By Seija Rankin, Refinery29

If being fascinated with Suri Cruise is wrong, we don't want to be right. There's just something about Katie's mini me that's totally enthralling - maybe it's the fact that her wardrobe is better than ours, maybe it's her hobnobbing in hipster hangouts. Either way, it's easy to forget that this stylin' six-year-old is just that: A six-year-old.

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But then, just when the Holmes-Cruise's have us convinced she's actually a mature adult masquerading in a child's body, Suri goes and does the most six-year-old thing ever - she cuts her own bangs. The wee one was spotted cruiseing around town this weekend sporting a brand new 'do that totally screams "I did this myself!" And, we couldn't love her more for it. Now, as for Katie's reaction? That, we would love to see.

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By Vanessa Golembewski, Refinery29

.The downside of being a is charitable giver is undoubtedly all the lackluster swag you get in return. Personally, we can't count the number of oversized T-shirts we've collected by donating to philanthropies or running 5Ks with a cause. But swag from The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry? Well, that could be a different story.

Seems the Foundation has applied to trademark fashion items with Kate Middleton's coveted name on them. Though the charity's name would appear on each piece, this is the first instance where the Duchess' name would appear on branded clothing and could (could) be the buddings of a Kate fashion line.

RELATED: Oops! Did Kate Middleton Just Spill Big Deets On The Royal Baby?

A palace spokesman says that this decision is not indicative of a Kate Middleton clothing brand, but rather to a step to, "protect the foundation against other people using its name illegally." The statement

By Refinery29

.We all have it. That one thing that we feel extricably self-conscious about, that we begrudge the other people around us for "not quite understanding." Every woman (and man) I know struggles with something. Weight. Acne. Style. Ability to communicate. When we encounter new people, walk into a room, step onto a train, we think to ourselves, "Look at these people. They don't understand how much it sucks to have bad skin/thick thighs/crushing fear of contact." Yet, for some reason, I think I have it worse, because when you are woman, you can be womanly with those aforementioned traits. You cannot, however, feel feminine when your hair is falling out.

Taking a shower is the worst. No, actually, brushing your hair is, as you helplessly watch the area around the sink become more and more covered in "shedding." On top of that, speaking to your friends about weight, about skin care, about makeup, feels totally acceptable - but actually uttering the words, "I think I'm going