One of the most important steps in finding a roommate is deciding that you’re ready to do so. This step, however, often gets trampled over in the decision-making process. So, I advise women who are contemplating the roommate option to take careful steps and consider the following five tips.

Are You Ready to Find a Roommate?

Stop and ask yourself if now is the right time, and if so, why? Are you panicked about money? Are you going through a rough patch – a divorce, boyfriend issue, problem with a group of friends? Issues like these can be a sign that it’s time for a change for sure, or they can be just the impetus you’ve needed to make a change for the better.

But evaluate your reason and make sure that it’s in the background, not driving you willy nilly to make rash decisions. Decide exactly why you’re ready for a roommate, and then commit to planning out your steps with thought and care. This is a big decision.

Is Your Roommate Ready for You – Or Maybe Too Ready?

On the flip side of examining your own motives and situation, do cast a critical eye on the story that your potential roomie tells you. You might very well be pressured, intentionally or unwittingly, by someone who tells you a story of desperation. Maybe it’s something to consider, or maybe it’s a sign that this person is going to bring trouble in her wake.

Don’t confuse compassion with being a sucker. This is your home you’re talking about. You must be sure that you’re not bringing strife, discord, crisis, or other unpleasantness inside your personal haven.

Self-Define What Living with Another Will Mean

Sit down and write out ground rules: use of kitchen, cleaning responsibilities, having friends and family over, TV use after a certain hour, smoking or not, use of shared space, expenses that will be shared or separate, sharing or segregating food.

Be very specific. And be prepared to review those rules with a potential roommate and to require that your new roommate sign a copy of those rules before moving in.

You can join a service like Silvernest, where you will answer a detailed set of questions that will help match you with potential roommates with a high degree of compatibility, much like dating sites do. That set of questions will give you a very good start to your list of rules and requirements.

Do a Background Check

No matter how uncomfortable, ask your potential roommate to fill out a form giving you permission to run a credit and background check. You just never know with people. Don’t feel sheepish. You have a right to protect your safety, your financial security and your quality of life at all times, especially within the confines of your own home.

If someone balks at giving you the right to check their background, don’t listen to their reasons why, don’t be intimidated and don’t fold. Consider them a FAIL and cross them off your list. Immediately. And when they do sign, do the checks. Don’t simply consider the person’s willingness a “good enough” sign that they’re on the up and up.

Consult a Lawyer

It may seem overly formal and even paranoid, but this really is one of those situations where you would be doing yourself a giant favor if instead of downloading a lease form from the internet and calling it good, you took that lease to a lawyer who practices in the real estate arena and asked him or her to review it for sufficiency.

The form might be all-purpose and lacking provisions that are very important in your state. Or it may simply be poorly drafted with loopholes you don’t realize. Have a professional look at the lease form. It’s a one-time expense that could save you far more in expenses or lost income down the road.

Are you trying to find a roommate? If so, what are your biggest concerns? Are you living in a shared housing arrangement? How has the experience been for you? Do you know a friend or loved one who lives alone and is lonely, yet is resistant to the idea of having a roommate? Have you tried to help her take the first steps to at least explore the possibility? Please share your thoughts.

Finding the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday shopping list can be intimidating. Even the most imaginative gift-giver needs a little inspo sometimes. This is why we’re extremely grateful for Amazon’s shockingly good gift guides section, where it basically does all the work for you—minus the actual buying part, unfortunately. These picks take the guesswork out of gift-giving. No matter if you’re shopping for your parents, your siblings, your BFF, your SO, your job’s white elephant gift exchange or stocking stuffers, there’s a section on Amazon’s site chock full of gift ideas for every giftee and budget.

Best of all, the retailer is featuring all of your favorite brands, internet-famous products, and plenty of other thoughtful presents that you probably wouldn’t have thought of by yourself. 

(Make sure you can truly take advantage of these sections by signing up for a free Amazon Prime trial.)

RELATED: So Many Salon-Quality Hair Tools Are On Sale At Amazon—Including The Dryer That Shoppers Say Beats Dyson’s ‘By Far’ 

While these curations span across a variety of different categories, from fashion to tech, we’ve sifted through the beauty section to find the most standout products to shop this season, and rounded up our favorite skincare, makeup and hair care deals that you can score below—for yourself or the beauty lover on your list.

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.

Olaplex.

Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3 Repairing Treatment

Repair damaged hair and strengthen your locks with the help of Olaplex’s fan-favorite treatment. Your hair will look healthier than ever after applying this product a few times a week. 

IT Cosmetics.

IT Cosmetics Confidence in an Eye Cream

This rich eye cream smooths wrinkles and has an apricot tint that brightens your skin. It’s amazing for minimizing the appearance of dark circles and leaves your eyes looking more awake than before. 

Urban Decay.

Urban Decay Eye Makeup Set

You’ll love creating new makeup looks with Naked’s Ultraviolet Eyeshadow Palette and Eyeshadow Primer Potion. The primer helps your eyeshadow stay put all day long, which is exactly what you want while wearing these stunning, high-pigment shades.

Bio-Oil.

Bio-Oil Dry Skin Gel

Stock up on this popular and nourishing skin gel before winter begins.

Revlon.

Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer And Volumizer Hot Air Brush 

Try out this fan-favorite hair styler for yourself.

Buy: Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer And Volumizer Hot Air Brush $41.99

StriVectin.

StriVectin Tighten & Lift Advanced Neck Cream

You don’t want to skip out on caring for your neck, since the neck also shows visible signs of aging. This cream enhances skin elasticity and gives a nice lift to the area. It also reduces the appearance of lines and sagging. 

Haus Laboratories.

Haus Laboratories By Lady Gaga: Haus of Collections

This Gaga-licious gift set comes with a Haus Labs bag, liquid eyeshadow, lip liner pencil and lip gloss. You can choose from 13 different sets.

Buy: Haus Laboratories By Lady Gaga: Haus of Collections $49

Juicy Couture.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Perfume

This Juicy Couture fragrance blends a unique combination of aromas to give you a fruity and floral perfume. That’s all thanks to its notes of mandarin, gardenia, and caramel.

Neutrogena.

Neutrogena Microdermabrasion Starter Kit

With this set, you get a microdermabrasion applicator and 12 rejuvenation single-use puffs.

Buy: Neutrogena Microdermabrasion Starter Kit $17.02

Murad.

Murad Resurgence Retinol Youth Renewal Serum

If you’re searching for a new retinol product to add to your skincare routine, try this one from Murad. The formula contains a fast-acting retinoid, a time-release retinol, and a retinol booster to reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles. 

RevitaLash.

RevitaLash Cosmetics RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner

Did you know that your eyelashes can show signs of visible aging, too? They certainly can, but this lash conditioner helps keep your eyelashes strong and healthy.

Finishing Touch.

Finishing Touch Vibrating Facial Roller & Massager

Elevate your regular facial roller with this vibrating one from Finishing Touch. You get a roller made of rose quartz, plus an under-eye press made with the same stone. Both face tools help stimulate circulation, encourage collagen production, and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Physicians Formula.

Physicians Formula Murumuru Baby Butter Tropical Getaway Collection

Glow with this hypoallergenic makeup set. It comes with a Murumuru Butter Mini-Bronzer, Mini-Blush in Natural Glow, Mini-highlighter in Pearl, Eyeshadow Duo in Barefoot In Brazil and Sun Down, Lip Cream SPF 15 and Paradise Eau de Toilette.

Buy: Physicians Formula Murumuru Baby Butter Tropical Getaway Collection $17.30

R+Co.

R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Conditioner

Get that shiny and luscious hair you’ve been lusting after with this pick from Amazon’s professional beauty section.

Buy: R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Conditioner $27

La Roche-Posay.

La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum

For the bounciest, most hydrated skin, try out this hyaluronic acid serum. It locks in moisture and helps plump your skin in just four hours. 

Elemis.

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

Cleanse your skin of pollutants, dirt and oil with this natural-ingredient packed balm. This premium beauty pick is also packed with anti-aging ingredients.

Buy: Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm $64

Nurse Jamie.

Nurse Jamie Massaging Beauty Roller

This fan-favorite roller is designed to uplift your skin with its 24 massaging stones.

Buy: Nurse Jamie Beauty Roller $69

Sunday Riley.

Sunday Riley Flash Fix Kit

Does your skin need a quick treatment? This set, which includes the popular Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment and Ceramic Slip Cleanser, is designed to unclog your pores and give you brighter skin.

Buy: Sunday Riley Flash Fix Kit $25

PMD.

PMD Clean – Smart Facial Cleansing Device

This facial cleansing device does a little bit of everything for your skin. The four different modes help deep clean, reduce the look of blackheads, lessen oil congestion, and firm your skin. 

Vichy.

Vichy Vitamin C Anti-Aging Serum

With only 11 powerful ingredients, this anti-aging serum relies on vitamin C to hydrate, brighten, and firm your skin. It also visibly minimizes the appearance of fine lines. 

Seasonal foods are nutritional miracles. When we eat locally, Nature provides just the right fruits and vegetables to match the season. In Spring we see our first greens in New England – lettuce, beans, spinach and kale.

These foods have astringent qualities and counteract the gloppy sniffly mucous that surfaces from spring allergies. Summer foods bring back more liquid – think summer squash, lettuce, berries, peaches, plums and melon to keep you hydrated.

If you live in a tropical climate, you may find water filled produce through most of the year. In frigid climates, you may see more dried fruits and root vegetables through the coldest months.

Nature Knows What We Need in Each Season

You may see a pattern here, in that Nature and local foods provide you with the nourishment you need to be in sync with your environment. When we eat in season, we get what we need to stay our healthiest.

New England, where I live, is known for its glorious foliage. Orange, red and yellow bursts forth starting in late September, reaching a crescendo by mid-October all over the countryside. Coinciding with the stunning colors cascading from the trees we have those same colors and more stacked on roadside farmsteads and backyard gardens, waiting to be taken home and savored or stored for the winter.

For most of us, dealing with a pandemic for nearly two years has heightened our attention to health. As a lifelong wellness specialist, I look at nutrition as a major pillar of health. The food you eat every day is the fuel used not only for energy, but for building healthy immune cells, muscles, bones and tissue.

What if you took Nature’s offerings and ate the food that coincides best with your body’s needs in each season? Would you be less vulnerable to colds, flu and viruses? Most likely!

Best Autumn Foods

Beyond Western medicine’s expertise in treating illness, we also have traditional practices in other parts of the world that approach health in a more holistic way. Traditional Chinese Medicine and India’s Ayurvedic Medicine are two such examples.

In both cases, the types of foods consumed in each season are related to building resistance to illness and improving well-being. If you live in a climate where you are entering cooler weather and less light, check out this list of foods that can best optimize your health:

Garlic and Onion

Often described as medicinal foods, garlic is a strong immune builder while onions contain strong antioxidants and can quiet inflammation.

Squash, Sweet Potato and Pumpkin

These yellow/orange vegetables contain up to 750% of your daily requirement of Vitamin A, and have high levels of magnesium (think sleep, mood and calcium absorption). They are also high in fiber.

Beets and Turnip

Known as root vegetables, both are filled with vitamins, antioxidants and minerals.

Carrots and Parsnips

Also root vegetables, they contain nutrients and antioxidants that may improve immunity, enhance digestive health, and aid weight loss.

From this list, think of garlic and onion as the flavor enhancers and medicinal foods with the rest being foundational to a solid Autumn plate. They can be prepared in multiple ways – roasting, sautéing, steaming or juicing.

We hear a lot about mineral deficiency today in the Standard American diet because of the lack of vegetable consumption. It happens that minerals are only obtained in vegetables so it is essential to find a variety of them that you like and to eat them often. The freshest vegetables will be the local vegetables, so try to stay local when you buy them.

Preventing Winter Illness

Covid and flu news can make us nervous. But we know being nervous does not prevent illness and it can inhibit immune function. Action in the area of self-care and prevention are tools that can be put in place to keep you well.

In my lifelong wellness practice, I offer a 7 day nutrition and self-care program that provides a foundation for entering the colder, more challenging time of year with a well-nourished body. You are welcome to learn more about it here.

In closing, here is another link to one of my favorite Autumn soups – Moroccan Pumpkin. It’s super flavorful and easy to make. If you like it, come back to my website and plug the word recipe into the search bubble and you’ll find many more.

Wishing you a healthy nourished Autumn.

What do you eat in autumn that is local, healthy and nourishing? Where do you buy it from? Do you have a favorite autumn recipe?

Debby Ryan has been on TV since she was literally 13 years old so she knows a thing or two about looking good on camera. Over the years, she’s picked up beauty tips and tricks from the pros and even some famous friends. In a new Vogue Beauty Secrets video, Ryan reveals her skincare routine, which includes some of my favorite products, too. “It’s about rituals and not miracles, gratitude and letting go of resentment, drinking a lot of water and staying hydrated, getting a lot of sleep and finding what works for you,” she says. Well, plus a few genius skincare tools.

The actor opens the video wearing a Starface Hydro-Stars Acne Patch ($14.99 at Target), which she says are fun to wear out IRL, too. When she takes off the patch, she cleanses with the Is Clinical Cleansing Complex ($44 at Dermstore), which is great for acne-prone skin. “My face just really freaked out actually later in my teens,” she says. “You know, when you’re a teenager, it’s spotty and then I was wearing makeup and under lights and I decided to educate myself as much as possible on what worked for me. And it’s so different for everyone.”

Next, she applies the L’Oréal Revitalift Derm Intensives 10% Pure Glycolic Acid Serum ($21.49 at Amazon). This dark spot-reducing serum is a great base for the next two tools she uses: a gua sha tool and the SolaWave Red Light Wand.

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.

SolaWave.

Ryan says Aubrey Plaza got her into the SolaWave while they were filming a movie together in Italy. Ryan likes using the wand to depuff but it’s actually doing much more than that. The 4-in-1 skincare tool delivers microcurrent, red light therapy, facial massage and therapeutic warmth. I like to use it for 10 minutes a day to help keep breakouts at bay, especially around my period. Red light therapy can help promote healing and decrease the visibility of acne scarring. I find that it especially reduces the inflammation around a breakout.

When she’s done with her tools, Ryan applies the Youth To The People Dream Eye Cream ($48 at Sephora). To lock in moisture under her eyes, she pops on the Dieux Skin Forever Eye Masks ($25 at Dieux Skin), which she loves because they’re reusable and “won’t end up in a landfill.” While they’re on, she depuffs the skin with a Sundree Cooling Facial Globe ($14 at Sundree). Then, she takes Tatcha The Water Cream Oil-Free Pore Minimizing Moisturizer ($68 at Amazon) and warms it up in her hands before applying to her face.

Ryan is getting to makeup now but she admits she doesn’t like to wear a lot of foundation, probably because she had to for work from a young age. She likes the “blurring” power of Josh Rosebrook Nutrient Day Cream with SPF 30 ($85 at Ulta), instead. Then, for that pushed-up, soap-brow look, she takes a travel toothbrush and uses it to apply Got 2B Glued Spiking Glue ($4.97 at Amazon) to her brows. So smart and so affordable!

Source: Instagram

“I’m not into full coverage. I like it looking like skin,” Ryan says about her everyday glam. “I like seeing some freckles and some redness and some imperfections. So I’ll use a foundation that sort of is like sheer.” Her favorite is Chanel Ultra Le Teint Velvet Foundation ($50 at Nordstrom), which she spot applies under her eyes and around any redness. To “bring dimension” to her skin, she lightly contours and then applies the Lush Feeling Younger skin tint as a dewy highlighter.

Ryan always has epic lashes so I was excited to see she uses the affordable L’Oréal Voluminous Original Mascara ($5.99 at Amazon). Interestingly, she uses the Deep Burgundy hue. To add moisture to her lips, she applies the Make Beauty Pink Matter Multi-Balm ($24 at Make Beauty), which is so pretty on the high points of the face, too. And that’s it for her everyday makeup. But, she notes, her husband is an “international rock star” and has a show so she needs to add a little drama to her makeup.

“Even with the smokey eye, I start at the edge of the colored part of my eye,” she explains. “I will smudge a little bit of brown or whatever eyeliner and then I’ll sort of blow it out.” This gives the look a more smudged, lived-in vibe. She especially likes using the Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liner ($28 ay Violet Grey) for this. To brighten under her eyes, she applies a little Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Face and Under-Eye Concealer ($38 at Nordstrom).

While she doesn’t need much highlighter for her husband’s shows since she’s dancing the entire time, Ryan loves the Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlight Stick because “it has some pink in it and catches the light in a really pretty way.”

Westman Atelier.

For her lips, Ryan just uses liner smudged onto her lips. She loves the Victoria Beckham Lip Definer ($26 at Violet Grey), a super creamy formula that actually stays put. Then, to add a little sparkle for a night out, she grabs Kiss Ever EZ Lash Adhesive ($2.98 at Amazon) and sticks Swarovski crystals under her eyes. “Depending on how close you’ve put it to the lash line, it can look like you sort of are crying, which very heavenly bodies, very sort of like visible tear,” she says.

To finish her nighttime look, she pulls her hair back and secures it with a chic Kristin Ess Full Size French Pin ($10 at Target). No doubt, this won’t last through hours of dancing but she likes to “start out with my hair polished.” Be right back, going to copy every part of Ryan’s cool-girl routine.

Margaret Josephs’ White Turtleneck Dress on Instastories

Real Housewives of New Jersey 2021 Instagram Fashion

Margaret Josephs’ white turtleneck dress is the perfect ‘fit for fall and the perfect ‘fit for a party. She was another guest at the party for the Not All Diamonds and Rosé book release. And all I can say is we non-Bravo-lebs were all left with a debilitating case of FOMO. But at least we don’t have to have FOMO when it comes to getting this look and the book. Because we of course have them both conveniently linked below.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to Shop Her Hervé Léger Dress

Click Here to Shop Additional Stock

Click Here for Info on Leah McSweeney’s Dress

Shop Not All Diamonds and Rosé by Dave Quinn

Photo Credit: @therealmargaretjosephs

Originally posted at: Margaret Josephs’ White Turtleneck Dress