No matter how many TikTok followers you have—10 or 10,000—it’s pretty fun to sit in front of a makeup mirror and walk through your routine out loud like you’re in a Vogue Beauty Secrets video. Just me? So whether you’re on your way to becoming a beauty influencer or just need a vanity mirror, let me suggest Riki Loves Riki’s Riki Skinny 10X Lighted Mirror. And it just happens to be a whopping $80 off during Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale.

If you’re familiar with Nordstrom’s big blowout, you know the beauty deals are a bit different than the regular sale. You normally get a jumbo size, two-for-one product or free gift instead of a typical percentage off. But not this LED mirror. It’s approximately 40 percent off but only until the sale is over. Then it goes back up to $210.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Nordstrom.

I have the Riki Skinny 10X Lighted Mirror but the silver version—not this gorgeous rose gold that’s also available. My favorite part of the mirror is that it’s incredibly lightweight so you can actually travel with it. Plus, it comes with a magnetic phone clip and 10X magnifying mirror. That way, I can see every little hair when I pluck my brows, as well as create hands-free TikTok videos. Yup, you can connect your phone’s Bluetooth with ease.

On the main mirror, there’s five-stage dimming and 3X magnification, an adjustable stand and a rechargeable battery so you can move it around your room. It also makes a great gift for someone heading off to college or just got a new job. Just don’t wait because we know Nordstrom sale goods sell out—fast.

There’s a tract of wooded land not far from my son’s old high school. I find it simply magical. Right on the edge of the suburbs, it offers deep forest, limestone cliffs, ferns, moss, lichen and forest creatures.

It’s large enough so you no longer hear the hum of leaf blowers, lawn mowers and all the background noise of suburban life. And it’s large enough to get lost.

Once, I had to phone my husband at work to ask him to look at the map online and guide me back to my car. I’ve been going there for years, in every season, which says a lot in upstate New York.

At one time, when I was meditating, a great horned owl flew over to watch. If forest spirits exist, they congregate here.

Big Loss

Two years ago, the owner shut it down. He had let the locals use it for as long as anyone could remember as it couldn’t be developed because of the limestone cliffs.

But times had changed. Rumor was that he had a gun-carrying relative patrolling the premises. There were new bright neon signs everywhere, warning that there would be consequences for trespassing.

I felt like I had lost a dear friend. Sure, there were other nature trails, but none was like this one. Not with the velvety mosses hanging off the limestone cliffs, and the variety of bird song. Nothing came close.

Part of Me

I had so much history here. Parts of my life were embedded in the landscape. I came when I was raw and needed comfort, as well as when I was happy and just wanted to trot through the woods, my Jack Russell charging in front.

It was always here for me, just like a dear friend. It was reliably spectacular and offered a reprieve from living in a world that felt more and more broken. It was the balm for my frayed spirit.

An Unexpected Gift

I can’t remember how I first heard that the land had been purchased by a local land trust and was open again. The depth of my happiness is hard to put in words.

Yes, I feel a certain delight in finding a beautiful accessory at TJ Maxx, particularly if it’s on the clearance rack. But this was cell deep.

I had a relationship with these woods. I knew where all the trails split, where the cliffs jutted out, ferns springing out of the cracks. The old stone walls. The silence. It was a home to me. I had sat under tree limbs waiting out a rain storm, picked my way over icy boulders. Felt protected from fierce winter wind.

This Morning

I returned to the woods this morning. I felt the anticipation of meeting a dear, old friend at the airport. There was dog strangle vine everywhere due to lack of use. And many more chipmunks than years ago.

The waterfalls were just a trickle. It was an emotional reunion with these woods that have meant so much to me over the years.

Author Florence Williams shows why our brains and spirits love nature. I’ve experienced the benefits she so artfully describes. She talks about some of the surprising science in my interview with her on my podcast, Zestful Aging.

It all makes sense. But there’s also something intangible. I can only describe it as love… and I feel blessed that the feeling stays with me after I have visited these woods.

Do you love spending time in nature? Do you have a favorite place in nature that fills your heart with joy and love? Please share all about it in the comments below!

Major congrats are in order for Miley Cyrus. The performer just became a part of the iconic Gucci gang. In fact, Cyrus’ Gucci photos are going viral today because she looks seriously stunning. She’s the face of Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia Eau de Parfum, a new fragrance by creative director Alessandro Michele. Artist Petra Collins shot the video and photos of Cyrus, which might be why they’re the best we’ve seen of the star. (Collins is seriously talented!)

“Miley Cyrus is an artist with a spirit that is both rock ‘n’ roll and eclectic at the same time. I admire her and I think she will perfectly embody the new Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia fragrance and story,” Michele said in a statement. The triple-threat herself is just as excited about the new gig.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Source: Instagram

“@gucci and I have felt like family for a long time in our collaborations which have always revolved around vibrant color, self-expression & unapologetic contradiction,” she wrote on Instagram. “Being tough in a soft environment or still in a chaotic moment. #FloraFantasy is being who you are.”

Flora Gorgeous Gardenia will be available starting July 30 on the brand’s website and from August 1 in selected Gucci stores, retailers and perfumeries worldwide. Cyrus joins A-list talent including Harry Styles, who is a longtime ambassador of the brand and the face of the Gucci Mémoire d’une Odeur campaign.

We’ll update you as soon as we have more details on Cyrus-fronted fragrance. We can’t wait to see the bottle.

A pair of recent published studies examined the benefits of weight loss surgery among different age groups. The results are surprising to some, in that the most measurable benefits, including a clear gain in life expectancy, occur in the oldest age cohorts. Let us break this down a little and see if we can understand why seniors might benefit more than younger individuals from metabolic surgery.

Benefits for All Age Groups

First, the studies confirm what has been widely demonstrated across the world, namely that metabolic surgery benefits all age groups. Benefits are striking: large reductions in heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and death rate.

In the last 20 years, metabolic surgery has become increasingly non-invasive, consisting today of a 45-minute procedure with four small Band-Aids, safer than widely performed procedures including appendectomy, hernia repair, hysterectomy, and knee surgery.

The effects of metabolic surgery are wide ranging, owing to the fact that obesity causes harm across each organ system. The surgery works both by reducing body weight to take stress off those organ systems, but also by incompletely understood changes in our hormonal biochemistry that directly improve conditions like diabetes.

But Why Would Seniors Benefit More?

A lot of the findings have to do with the way the studies are conducted and the statistics analyzed. The primary one, that seniors gained more in life expectancy than younger people, stems from the fact that annual mortality rates climb as we age. Therefore, a treatment or intervention like this surgery, which helps everyone, will stand out more among a group of people that has a higher baseline mortality risk.

That is the case here, so we see a more dramatic gain in life years when someone undergoes weight-loss surgery at an older age.It is not to say that the younger person will not enjoy that same benefit, but the studies will have to run for decades to demonstrate that same benefit.

As it happens, that’s exactly what has been done in the Swedish national obese subject study, running currently for over 25 years. The improvements in health and life expectancy indeed are enjoyed by all age groups.

But there is another reason that older individuals benefit to a greater degree which may not simply be statistical artifact. This stems from the fact that some of the biggest benefits from the surgery occur in the early years, meaning in the first, second, or third year right after the surgery.

After that, some of those benefits dissipate over time. For example, studies demonstrating a reduction in the risk of stroke show that the rate of strokes goes down precipitously – by more than half – in the first year or two and is then down 22% by year five. It’s still great, but those early couple of years really had a large reduction in the annual rate of stroke.

So, since older individuals are more at risk for stroke and other health conditions, these larger, more concentrated benefits in the early years after metabolic surgery bring a big impact for those older individuals.For a younger person, whose risk of stroke is already very low, the risk reduction may dissipate over the decades.

A Window of Opportunity

I often see that there appears to be a window of time when a senior has a real opportunity to reverse deteriorating health and regain a life of vigor with weight-loss surgery.

Weight-loss surgery is routinely performed in people in their 60s and 70s nowadays because many of these individuals could take pressure off their bones and joints, reduce the strain on the heart, and reduce other health risks across the board if they act early enough.

Large studies confirm that in appropriately selected individuals, the procedure is both successful and safe, and studies suggest seniors may be the group that benefits the most.

What is your risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes? Have you considered your options based on scientific studies? What do you know about metabolic surgery and its benefits for boomers?

Major congrats are in order for Miley Cyrus. The performer just became a part of the iconic Gucci gang. In fact, Cyrus’ Gucci photos are going viral today because she looks seriously stunning. She’s the face of Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia Eau de Parfum, a new fragrance by creative director Alessandro Michele. Artist Petra Collins shot the video and photos of Cyrus, which might be why they’re the best we’ve seen of the star. (Collins is seriously talented!)

“Miley Cyrus is an artist with a spirit that is both rock ‘n’ roll and eclectic at the same time. I admire her and I think she will perfectly embody the new Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia fragrance and story,” Michele said in a statement. The triple-threat herself is just as excited about the new gig.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Source: Instagram

“@gucci and I have felt like family for a long time in our collaborations which have always revolved around vibrant color, self-expression & unapologetic contradiction,” she wrote on Instagram. “Being tough in a soft environment or still in a chaotic moment. #FloraFantasy is being who you are.”

Flora Gorgeous Gardenia will be available starting July 30 on the brand’s website and from August 1 in selected Gucci stores, retailers and perfumeries worldwide. Cyrus joins A-list talent including Harry Styles, who is a longtime ambassador of the brand and the face of the Gucci Mémoire d’une Odeur campaign.

We’ll update you as soon as we have more details on Cyrus-fronted fragrance. We can’t wait to see the bottle.