Slowly but surely, skincare enthusiasts and The Ordinary fans alike are getting hip to the best Niod products. What is Niod exactly? Think of it as The Ordinary’s smart and bougie little sister. The packaging is just as sleek and the overall benefits are on the same level, but when it comes to unique formulations with ingredients that you actually can’t find anywhere, I’d personally vouch for Niod.

In the simplest terms, I’d describe Niod as highly-researched dermal science in a bottle that focuses on long-term solutions instead of targeting specific issues in an instant. (We need to accept the fact that most skincare products require a couple weeks-use for visible results anyway!) Understandably so, it isn’t a drugstore brand—knowing exactly what to invest in is important if you’re on a budget.

Ahead are the core regimen products that just so happen to be some of the most popular Niod options too. I personally can’t live without the Copper Amino Isolate Lipid 1%, but maybe you’ll want one of the serums instead. Ahead, the 411 on the best Niod products.

Niod.

Copper Amino Isolate Serum 2:1

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill peptide serum, people. First of all, it’s a bigger and better update to the original Copper Amino Isolate Serum because perfection takes time. But long story short: there’s a whole lot of peptide action happening–I’m talking three different peptide complexes all composed of multiple peptide types. It’s basically Inception, but for skincare. There’s also plant-derived glycogen to protect the peptide formulations and a non-animal form of hyaluronic acid polymer to help deliver actives into the skin.

After washing your face, this should be the first thing applied to your face before all other products, Niod or otherwise.

Niod.

Modulating Glucosides

This serum is another peptide all-star, except it’s especially beneficial to sensitive skin. The active ingredients at work in this concentrated emulsion are unsurprisingly not in short supply. They include a potent blend of oat analogues, ginger root, ceramides and more for reducing various types of irritation; aa yeast-derived molecule that reduces aging signs; a plant complex for reducing feelings of sensitivity; and mineral-rich Tasmanian Pepperberry for calming irritated skin upon contact.

Apply a few drops of this to your face every morning and night. If you’re using the Copper Amino Isolate Serum, apply that first.

Niod.

Multi-Molecular Hyaluronic Complex

Think of this as a basic hyaluronic acid serum on steroids (figuratively, not literally). There’s 15 different hyaluronic compounds and a peptide-charged technology that ensures all of it is absorbed into the skin. As noted on the brand website, “almost universally in the world of beauty, the term ‘hyaluronic acid’ is used loosely to refer to “sodium hyaluronate” which is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid. When brands refer to ‘hyaluronic acid’ in their information and marketing materials, in almost every case the reference is to forms of ‘sodium hyaluronate’ which appears in the ingredient listing of the products.” So while this one does have sodium hyaluronate, the formula also includes direct hyaluronic acid, which delivers benefits beyond hydration.

This can also be applied before all of your other skincare products and/or right after the Copper Amino Isolate Serum.

Niod.

Copper Amino Acid Isolate Lipid 1%

Of course, I saved the best for last: a dreamy blue gel intended for night use to enhance the overall health and look of your skin. There is so much to love about the formulation but my favorite parts are the plant-derived squalane, a lightweight but effective moisturizer, and Aphanizomenon Aquaflo, a recently discovered form of algae rich in acids, vitamins, and minerals.

This gel should be used on its own (or before Copper Amino Isolate Serum and Multi-Molecular Hyaluronic Complex) after cleansing. If you swear by retinol, simply alternate between that and CAIL every other night.

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Exercising at home sounds like the perfect way to get in shape. No driving to a sweaty workout facility filled with Spandex-clad people taking selfies in front of mirrors, gossiping about the new hot Zumba instructor.

Or maybe that’s just my gym. Regardless, home workouts can be ideal. Or not good.

I know because I’ve personally seen it go in both directions. I worked for over 15 years as an in-home personal trainer. People hired me to go to their home and whip them motivate them to get in shape.

Sally’s Story

During the first meeting I’d usually ask if the client ­– let’s call her Sally for the sake of this story – if she had any fitness equipment. It was not necessary to have equipment, but if something was available I’d use it with them.

“Oh, yes,” Sally would say, ushering me over to a blanket-covered piece of machinery. “But I admit, I haven’t used this thing in ages,” she’d add, pulling off the musty-smelling comforter.

Once the dust cleared and we both finished coughing, I could see it was once a functioning treadmill, circa 1970. Sometimes lifting the “veil” revealed an elliptical or other piece of equipment typically sold in garage sales for $100 “or best offer.”

“Does it work?” I’d ask.

“Sometimes, but I really don’t know. It’s been so long,” Sally would laugh.

Getting Motivated is the First Challenge

Here’s the thing. You’d think after spending $2,000 or more for a high-end treadmill or other piece of home gym equipment you’d be motivated to use it, right? Not necessarily. Whether it’s a piece of workout equipment, a gym membership, or some other pricey item you counted on to get you in shape, it takes more than opening your wallet to get you to use it.

Even spending the equivalent of a monthly mortgage payment to hire a trainer was no guarantee you’d stick with it, even if the person (me!) comes to your house.

The truth is, exercising at home is fraught with obstacles you won’t encounter if you leave the house to get in shape. For example, lying on your back doing crunches at the gym does not usually inspire you to look for cobwebs over your head that suddenly require your immediate attention.

You also won’t find baskets of dirty laundry beckoning for your attention from the corner of the room. (And if you do, you may want to quit that gym.) If you leave the house to get in shape, there are simply no distractions.

Although this obviously does not prevent you from creating your own distractions by checking your phone every five minutes and having 30-minute conversations with family and friends between each set of squats. There are ways, however, to increase your chances of sticking with a home workout, whether it’s dancing along to DVDs, training with weights or doing cardio. Or all of the above.

Buy Some Fun Equipment

Visual appeal can play a role in motivation. A colorful yoga mat and bright blue fitness ball makes exercise seem more like fun than work, at least until you start to feel the burn.

Grab a Friend

Ask nearby friends to meet on specific days, even if just one day a week, and alternate the homes you use for the workout. The homeowner gets to call the shots and lead the workout. Make it even more motivating by checking in with each other on non-meeting days. Falling off the wagon means the other person picks up the tab for a coffee or smoothie.

Keep the Treadmill Out of the Bedroom

Keeping the treadmill in the bedroom makes it less likely you’ll use it and risk waking your sleeping partner – or decide the allure of a warm bed somehow seems more appealing than sweating it up. Go figure. Consider buying a home machine that rolls away if you’re short on space.

Monitor Your Heart Rate

A heart rate monitor enables you to track the intensity of your workout, which can motivate you to work out harder and burn more calories.

Create a Pleasant Exercise Environment

I cannot emphasize this enough. I’ve worked out with clients in dingy, stuffy basements without ventilation where I was convinced I’d eventually meet my demise from inhaling long-forgotten asbestos fibers. Keep the exercise space clean, uncluttered and well-ventilated with an overhead or freestanding fan.

Design a Simple, Ready-to-Go Circuit

Instead of trying to figure out an approach with every workout, create a quick circuit that works the major muscle groups. Here is one program – complete with videos – that I created.

Do it First Thing

Avoid finding excuses to ditch your workout as the day progresses by exercising first thing in the morning. Wake up 20 minutes earlier and set your alarm clock before you have a reason to skip it.

Do you work out at home? What activities do you enjoy? Do you have a trick for sticking with your exercise plan? If you have some successful tips, please share them by leaving a comment below.

“Embrace your grief, for there your soul will grow.” – Carl Jung

“We all grieve in different ways. Mine
is probably different from most people,” my sister explained her need for
privacy to the Rabbi after our father died at 93 of complications from
pneumonia on January 4, 2020. From January to April the world has changed.

A World of Grief

As our family continues to grieve our
father, now with the pandemic, there is grief all around us. People are
experiencing many different forms of grief as they lose loved ones or cannot be
together with loved ones who are suffering.

Each day, I learn of different
challenges:

• A
  friend’s sister-in-law was just diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
• Another
  friend, who was helping a relative recover from a liver transplant in India, is
  stuck there and cannot return to her family in Washington DC.
• A
  friend who cannot visit her 100-year-old Russian aunt who speaks no English and
  is in a nursing home in the US.
• An
  undocumented friend and her husband with no source of income who cannot apply
  for emergency aid.

My own daughter just had a very
difficult labor and birth this week, 500 miles away, and I could not be there
to help because I am over 65 with a pre-existing condition.

The Losses Only Pile Up

There are other losses from
non-life-threatening situations that can also impact us deeply: postponed
graduations, missed family gatherings, and even the cancelation of a planned
trip abroad.

Daily experiences have disrupted our
lives in smaller ways like getting a haircut or going to church or synagogue.
There is no hierarchy of pain; no misery Olympics to determine who is suffering
more.

Therapist Lori Gottlieb says that some of these
losses get pushed inside, and we fear others will judge them as insignificant
and expect us to “buck up.”

Stages of Grief

Many of us know about Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief: denial, anger,
bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Research validates the presence of
these stages while some question the sequence of reactions.

Another approach, the “tasks of
grieving,”
offers more of a menu of responses that are similar to Kubler-Ross’s stages.
Along with emotions, there are physical conditions: tiredness, tightness and
constriction in the body, increased short-term memory loss (blanking on
people’s names) or even tunnel vision (losing peripheral vision and awareness
of things around you).

A different selection from the menu is
prepared for us daily by our inner selves.

What Can We Do?

Here are a few tips on handling your
feelings of grief and loss.

Allow Grief to Surface

When it arises in ourselves and others,
we can recognize our own, our family’s,
and friend’s stress responses. Cry, if you need to, write about it, share it with
someone you trust. Your feelings are real, and in the long run, you will heal
when you acknowledge and accept them as part of life.

Live in the Present

Being is more important than doing.

We are in a very difficult moment, and if we can just “be,” we will feel less anxious and take the needed steps to move ahead. While it may be hard to try to not worry about the future, staying in the present means to take care of ourselves.

We can let feelings emerge but avoid
imagining the worst possible scenarios. We can adjust our expectations for
productivity and prioritize being present by meditating and practicing trauma-informed
mindfulness practices.
If you have trouble meditating, try doing Zentangle, a simple and calming art
form.

No Judgment

Try not to judge others in how they
are handling their feelings or managing their sense of loss. Grief is very
personal. For each of us, our personal sense of loss at this moment may be
different, but sharing with others in non-judgmental ways will help.

Find Gratitude in Grief

Three months after my dad died, some
days grief comes in waves of emotion. At other times, grief feels frozen
inside, unreachable. Even after a day that had felt completely normal, grief
rears its ugly head. On other days, I feel acceptance and life is moving on.

While I continue to grieve, I am
grateful that we were able to be at my father’s side to ensure he knew he was
loved and sing to him as he struggled to breathe. Even that may not be possible
for people who are separated from a loved one at this moment. Yet, we can still
find gratitude in our hearts for their lives.

Also, I am grateful that our newborn
grandson, Anteo, is safely home with his parents after a few days in neonatal
ICU. As we open our hearts, we feel, we find healing, and by reaching out to
others, we find support or simply a compassionate ear.

As Brene Brown said, “You do not have to do it alone. We were never meant to…” and, “Vulnerability is the birthplace of courage. And courage is not doing something because you are fearless. Courage is doing something because you may be afraid, and you do it anyway.”

How do you handle the grief and loss
that is everywhere around you? What are you grieving? What losses are you
experiencing in this troubling time? What can you be grateful for despite the
circumstances? Please share with our community and let’s have a conversation.

While at home physical distancing and not seeing anyone outside Zoom, you’re probably giving your beauty routine a bit of a rest. Now’s the time to let your skin breathe and your hair texture relax. But if you have a virtual Bumble date or a work meeting, you might want to look put together. Did you know you can curl your hair with stockings? According to this TikTok tutorial, you can get beachy waves without heat, which is much safer on your strands.

Much like the sock tutorial that was going around TikTok, an old pair of tights can create a pretty bend in your hair.—and it’s easier than using all these short socks. Hairstylist Justine Marjan tried the tutorial this week and WOW did it work. To create the waves, she clipped the stockings to the top of her head and split her damp hair into two sections. She used each leg of the tights to create a french braid on both sides. (You can try a normal 3-strand braid if you’re not sure how to french braid.)

“Every time you add hair from the sides to the braid, make sure you don’t add any hair to the section that has the stocking,” notes Marjan. Go to sleep and wake up and undo the braids. “Loosely unravel so you don’t create any frizz,” says Marjan. She then raked her hands through her hair to break up the waves and give strands a little volume.

Other fans tried the stockings trick and it worked just as well for them. This is the perfect time to try something new because you might have some extra time to get it right. If you don’t have a pair of tights, you can try tying two socks together or using the belt of a bathrobe.

Genius.

Paige DeSorbo’s White Cutout Swimsuit on Summer House

Season 4 Episode 10 Summer House Fashion

If you recognized Paige DeSorbo’s white cutout swimsuit on last night’s episode of Summer House that may be because we previously reported on it being worn by RHOC’s Kelly Dodd and Gina Kirschenheiter, and MDLLA’s Tracy Tutor (in black). And although it’s a bit on the pricey side, in our opinion the cuteness factor makes it totally worth the splurge (even if Kyle is right that you’re going to get some really weird tan lines).

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Gigi C Swimsuit

Click Here to Shop it in Black

Photo #2: @KellyDDodd

Photo #3: @TracyTutor

Originally posted at: Paige DeSorbo’s White Cutout Swimsuit