Blog Posts by Refinery29

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.

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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

By Nicole Catanese, Refinery29

We know, we know: It's spring! We should be all excited to go out and do...stuff! And yet, we're finding it hard to put that needed pep in our step to truly enjoy the start of the season. Maybe it's because the weather still feels lackluster (seriously, what's up with all the gray clouds?), or maybe we're still bummed out about Jason and Michelle (why? WHY?!), but the fact remains that we are feeling all kinds of meh.

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Since being a professional slug is not on our goal list this year, we went to the experts to try to find out how to amp up our energy levels without having to do a ton of work. Hey, just because we have more energy doesn't mean we want to waste it on unnecessary work. We've got better things to do, after all. Read on to find out five surprising ways you can boost your energy, stat!

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By Connie Wang, Refinery29

When you've scrimped and saved and finally come up with the necessary funds to make a Louis Vuitton bag your own, the last thing you want is to accidentally get catfished with a fake one. Especially if you're looking to get a deal or a special style via a third-party vendor, it's important to be able to tell the real deal from faux-real.

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Luckily, designer resale site The Real Real comes across tons of products with questionable pedigrees, and has produced a video that'll school you in the four signs of real LV bags to look out for and common myths that are as fake as the bags they purport to spot. The guide, below:

By Vanessa Golembewski, Refinery29

Ladies, it's time for some real talk. According to a new study published earlier this month in Psychoneuroendocrinology - which we clearly read daily - women using the birth control pill prefer men with less-masculine faces, compared to non-users. As in, your birth control is indirectly dictating the kinds of men you're interested in and subsequently date. Wild? We know.

In the study, researchers showed a group of women (aged 18-24) images of young, male faces. The women could manipulate the images to their liking, focusing on cheekbone prominence, jaw height, and face width. Scientists also told the participants to alter the male faces so they were most attractive for either a short- or long-term relationship. Women who had been on the pill for three months or more chose men who had less-masculine features, with narrower jawbones and more rounded faces.

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By Connie Wang, Refinery29

Beautiful jewelry is one of the easiest things you can wear to immediately elicit compliments - but with pieces ringing in at three digits and higher, it can be an expensive strategy. However, to look like you've got one-of-a-kind, super-special jewels, you don't have to plan on budgeting out lunches for the rest of the year.

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Statement jewelry is a huge trend this season, and many designers - both mass and indie - are making affordable versions - $100 or less - that look way more expensive. Click through to see the pieces that we've bookmarked from around the web (and within our own R29 Shops). Which is your favorite?

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By Annie Georgia Greenberg, Refinery29

Wake up, full-time snackers: Getting fit for summer starts now. Which means you'll need a long term slim down plan that actually works. So, we've turned to two of the city's top fitness and nutrition experts to give us a rundown on what to do (and not) to feel our best by beach time.

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Tracy Anderson gives us the secret to her celebrity client's rock-hard bods while top Equinox trainer Christian Swain tells us which "healthy foods" are secretly sugary. Consider this an all-access pass to the new you. You might not thank us while you're doing that cardio, but we're sure by July you'll feel differently. Click through for fitness and diet tips to know for spring!

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By Jen Hazen, Refinery29

Oh cardio, we love to hate you. You take forever; we run on a treadmill going nowhere. (Are we done yet?)

If this sounds familiar, consider Tabata training - a super high-intensity workout that not only improves aerobic capacity in about four minutes per session, but also has tons of other benefits. Developed by Dr. Izumi Tabata, lead coach of Japan's speed skating team, the Tabata method increases your anaerobic threshold with short bursts of hard, fast training via compound movements (which work several muscle groups at once). Call it the fast-and-furious workout.

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"This type of training doesn't rely on oxygen for fuel, unlike traditional cardio, which is aerobic," says Certified Personal Trainer Cindy Lai, owner of NYC-based Cindy Lai Fitness. "You will improve your VO2 max significantly," she adds. (That's the maximum volume of oxygen that can be used in one minute during peak exercise.) What's