5 Savory Ice-Cream Sandwiches Every Dessert Lover Can’t Miss

 Ice-Cream Sandwiches are a perfect summer dessert – they usually require no cooking time and cool you down when you most need it. But don’t think that these delicious sweets are all about putting ready-made ingredients together. With a bit of creativity and effort, you can also make these from scratch. If you are a true dessert lover, we’re sure you will appreciate these five savory ice cream sandwiches we picked out to make your summer days complete.

4. Two bite Samoas ice cream sandwiches

1. Chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches

These are pretty simple to make, and we’re sure your kids will love them too. It’s best to eat them with freshly made chewy cookies, but store bought is OK as well. To make these, take two home-made or store-bought chocolate-chip cookies and sandwich some vanilla ice cream between them. This recipe is so simple; even your kids can make these. You can also decorate them with additional chocolate chips for better-looking sandwiches.
There is more to eating ice cream than just satisfying your senses. According to Holly McCord, a registered dietitian, and author of The Ice Cream Diet, ice cream helps in weight loss. This is because dairy products in restricted diets can promote weight loss according to one meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
 

2. Classic ice am sandwiches

 

If you want to show off your culinary skills, then making ice cream sandwiches from scratch is bound to impress your guests. This melt-in-your-mouth dessert is what ice cream sandwiches are all bout – soft cocoa flavored dough with homemade vanilla ice cream. We’re sure this all-time classic is something everyone will appreciate.
For this recipe, you’ll, unfortunately, need to turn on the oven, but luckily, the cookies only take a maximum of 15 minutes to bake. Make the biscuits by mixing all purpose flour, cocoa powder, and granulated white sugar, a pinch of salt, some vanilla extract and egg yolks. For the vanilla ice cream, you’ll need heavy cream, whole milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and a bit of salt. The preparation of ice cream is a bit more complicated, but given the rich texture of homemade vanilla ice cream, it is sure worth the effort

 

3. S’more ice cream sandwiches

 

You don’t need to go camping to make these delicious treats. The combination of soft marshmallow with vanilla ice cream and crisp graham crackers give these treats a bit of nostalgia for the good old days. For these messy treats, all you need is mini marshmallows, some graham crackers, roughly chopped milk chocolate, and, of course, vanilla ice cream.

The preparation method includes slightly melting the marshmallows in an oven, mixing the wet ingredients in a bowl and spreading them over lined graham crackers. It is best to freeze them overnight and cut into individual serving sizes later on. Ice cream is a great indulgence unless your lactose intolerant according to Glozine Health News.

4. Two bite Samoas ice cream sandwiches

 

 

 

These are perfect in every possible way – they are fast and easy to make, don’t make a mess when eaten, and offer just enough indulgence not to make you feel guilty. The flavors in these sandwiches will make anyone’s taste buds want more. To make these crunchy and soft caramel wonders, all you need is Samoas cookies, some coconut ice cream, and a bit of salted caramel sauce.
To make them, you just need to scoop the coconut ice cream between two Samoas cookies and drizzle a bit of the caramel sauce over the sandwiches – as simple as that. You can also freeze these caramelly-sweet sandwiches for later serving.

5. Ice cream sandwich cake

 

 

This no-bake-cake is perfect for those hot summer days when you want and need something sweet but without all that extra heat from the oven. It’s also fairly easy to make – perfect as a family activity. For this sandwich cake, you’ll need one box of store-bought ice cream sandwiches, a tub of whipping cream, and some magic shell chocolate.
Start by stacking the sandwiches in four layers with the sandwiches stacked in opposite directions. Use the magic shell chocolate between each layer to help the sandwiches hold together. Spread the whipping cream over the cake and lastly, drizzle the remaining magic shell chocolate over the finished icing. You can also add Oreo crumbles as an additional cake topping. You should place the cake in the freezer 20 minutes before serving.
Summer time and ice cream sandwiches go hand in hand. But when you make these delicious desserts by yourself, you can say that your summer is complete. Try these 5 easy homemade ice cream sandwiches this summer, but watch your daily calorie intake. One serving of vanilla ice cream is 137 calories most of which comes from carbohydrates. On the plus side, ice cream will give you and your kids plenty of calcium for good bone health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Reasons Traveling Is Always Better Than Dating Someone

Dating can be hard and sometimes we feel under pressure to meet that special someone. Perhaps as a single person, you want to go off and create new experiences but feel you should be dating instead. We’re told dating is fun and exciting, which it can be, but what about finding something that gives you so many more unique experiences, allows you to grow and for you to get to know yourself in ways dating and being in a relationship just can’t give you?
If you find you’re single and feel dating isn’t for you right now, then traveling can be the perfect way to enrich your life and provides you with many advantages compared to getting involved with the dating scene. Traveling is a whole different way to build up your character and confidence which will shape you into the person that can be ready for a relationship somewhere down the line. With that in mind, here are 8 reasons why the experience of traveling will benefit you far more than dating.

1. You Are Free To Create Your Own Experiences

When traveling, you are free to create the itinerary and control how long you stay in each place. Your independent decisions are based on your desires and wants and yours alone. In a relationship, changes can sometimes be out of your control while you are in control of how you create your experience while traveling – whether it’s how long you stay in one place or where you’re going to go to next. You gain a sense of freedom that being in a relationship doesn’t always give you.

2. Traveling Improves Your Mental Health

Traveling opens your mind and carves out new positive experiences that directly benefit your state of mind and happiness levels. Traveling enriches you and adds unique perspectives and strengthens a positive mindset that will transcend for a lifetime. Relationships can be hard work and while there are also positive benefits to a good relationship, dating someone who you’re not truly a match with can bring mental exhaustion and a feeling of unhappiness.

 

3. You’re Free To Move From One Place To Another

Relationships can be restricting. There is always another person you have to keep in mind when making any decisions and their ideas and wants may not be the same as yours. Compromise is a must in any relationship but when you’re out there in the big wide world, you have no one to answer to. You’re free to roam how you want to roam without any restrictions from someone else – no consulting, no discussions, you’re in complete control of your journey and you can shape it exactly how you want it to be.

4. You Have The Space To Understand Yourself

Dating can sometimes take away your sense of self especially early on in a relationship. You can easily be subject to the influence of the other person and unknowingly lose yourself in the process. When you’re traveling, you have the space to fully learn about yourself in ways you can’t when closely tied with another person. The experiences you face will allow you to value yourself and even question your own values – it gives you a unique insight into how you react and adapt to different situations and people you meet.


5. You Learn Being Alone Doesn’t Mean Being Lonely
Relationships and dating can mean we’re very reliant on the other person being around. When they’re not, it can induce feelings of loneliness such is our adaptation to someone outside of ourselves. You also hear how people in bad relationships can feel lonely despite being in the same room as their significant other. With traveling you truly learn how to be alone and you realize it doesn’t mean you are lonely. Traveling can restore your faith in humanity when you realise just how many wonderful people you are surrounded by and are eager and willing to help you and establish friendships. Sometimes relationships can keep you in a bubble that stops you from really experiencing the positives of being alone and the freedom of knowing it doesn’t mean you’re lonely.

6. You Learn To Solve Problems By Yourself

Traveling can be a steep learning curve and sometimes you have to make decisions on the spot or solve any quandaries that may arise. It’s an amazing way to build your confidence and show yourself just what you’re made of. Being in a relationship can often mean depending on someone else to sort out problems or at least help you out which takes away that character-building aspect that will go on to benefit you through life.

7. You Learn Life Is Full Of Possibilities

Traveling exposes you to all sorts of surprises and possibilities – it really is an exciting and eye-opening experience so why choose this over being restricted by one person? Relationships can be good but they can inadvertently stop you from gaining all these amazing opportunities that you wouldn’t even be aware of if you didn’t pursue traveling. Going off and exploring the world teaches you many more things than staying at home and living your life with someone especially when you’re young.

8. You Can Just Enjoy The Moment Without Worries

Traveling is one big journey full of wondrous moments that you can just breathe in without a care in the world. There’s no pressure to think about the future or the past – you are truly living in the present moment – the only way to be completely happy. In relationships we tend to get caught up in everyday worries about finances or plans that are only magnified with another person in the mix. Being by yourself and drinking in the experiences each moment gives you, is much more easily absorbed and appreciated.

Amazing Benefits of Coloring for Adults

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard that coloring is making a huge comeback in the adult world. No longer are crayons and colored pencils solely the instrument of the elementary school artist — professionals and parents from all walks of life are realizing the benefits of sitting down with a good old fashioned coloring book. But coloring is more than just a hobby or way to spend a Sunday afternoon, it can actually benefit your life in a variety of ways.

 

1. You’ll work through your issues

Let’s be serious: Everyone has something major looming over their head at some point in their lives that they wish would just go away. While coloring won’t simply make your problems disappear, it will certainly put them on hold for the time being. Famed psychotherapist Carl Jung recommended coloring mandalas to his patients, as he believed they represent the “inner process by which individuals grow toward fulfilling their potential for wholeness.” Even though coloring has only recently made a comeback in the adult world, art has been used therapeutically for centuries.

2. You can be social while coloring

As the new fad becomes increasingly popular, more and more people are having parties centered around the art of coloring. As it’s not an incredibly exhausting activity, it can be done while conversing with friends and taking sips of your favorite adult beverage. Even though everyone at the get-together works on their own picture, everyone feels as if they are working together on a single, much larger project.

  

3. You’ll have reduced stress

Like I said, coloring isn’t exactly a strenuous activity. With a crayon or colored pencil in hand, it’s easy to let all your cares and worries drift away. Not only is coloring a great meditative activity that rests the mind while engaged with a picture, but it’s also been shown to reduce a person’s overall stress levels. It also reduces a person’s overreaction to stressful situations in the future.

4. You’ll focus more

Even though coloring isn’t an incredibly demanding activity, it still requires your focus and attention while engaged with a picture. Ironically, because you become so focused on the task at hand, you actually are able to drift away even more. All outside factors take a backseat to the task at hand, which is creating a beautiful piece of artwork. It’s also a great way to escape the business of daily life, things like ringing cell phones and blaring television sets.

5. You’ll express yourself

Coloring is an individual activity, but it’s also a great way to express yourself. Whether you realize it or not, when you color, you create something that was not there before using only the powers of your own mind. No other person would have used the exact same colors or the exact same technique as you had when you sat down to color in that previously blank piece of paper. Your creation is an extension of your mind and body, which, when you think about it like that, is incredibly profound.

6. You’ll enhance your abilities

Like I said, coloring requires focus and attention. But while focusing on the paper mentally, you also have to use your sense of sight in conjunction with your fine motor skills. Doing so allows both hemispheres of your brain to communicate, making connections that strengthen a variety of abilities within your mind. In fact, it’s been posited that coloring may delay, and perhaps even prevent, dementia in the elderly.

7. You’ll have homemade home decor

While everything else on this list is pretty profound and relates directly to your emotional, social, and mental health, it’s definitely worth noting that when you color, you create beautiful artwork that should be displayed proudly. I don’t just mean you should put it on the fridge as a tongue-in-cheek nod to your childhood, either. There’s no reason you shouldn’t display your artwork on your walls to add to the beauty of your home. You can even frame your best work if you want to make it look more professional. Like I said, your work is incredibly unique: flaunt it as best you can!

7 Foods That Make Your Period Worse

 

Do your cramps make a root canal seem like NBD? Do you bloat more than a pufferfish that just guzzled a gallon of water? Do you mood swings make Mike Tyson seem chill? The foods you eat during your period may be to blame.

Being a woman is pretty darn great—just ask famous Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner. "Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're the first to be rescued off sinking ships," she joked in one of her best-remembered monologs. Even so, you'd be hard pressed to find a woman who wouldn't trade in all those awesome perks the day her period rolls around. And that's because PMS side effects aren't just pesky; for many, they're downright debilitating—so much so that one British company recently announced their plans to create an official "period policy" where women staffers can take time off to nurse their cramps and relax without dipping into their sick or personal days. (PSA: If your cramps are crazy-extreme, though, you should consider speaking to your doctor. Excruciating cramps can be a sign of endometriosis.)

There is a silver lining, though. Experts have identified a number of things you should avoid because they can make symptoms like bloating and cramps worse. Aside from things like smoking and stress, consuming certain foods—many of which you likely crave during that time of the month—can make matters worse.

To help you better cope with the most painful and annoying aspect of your period, we checked in with the experts to find out which foods are most apt to leave women feeling miserable during Mother Nature's monthly visit. Read on to find out what they said—and discover some tasty swaps to quell your cravings, too! And after you learn

DAIRY

"You may have heard that calcium helps with cramps, but that's not the case when it comes from dairy," warns registered dietitian Isabel Smith. "Dairy naturally contains arachidonic acids, that stimulate prostaglandins (hormone-like substances) that can intensify menstrual cramps." So if Advil tends to be your BFF, ditch the yogurt and milk à la Khloe Kardashian and load up on other sources of the nutrient like edamame, greens, nuts, and chia seeds, suggests Smith.

Craving Crusher!

When you're craving milk in your smoothie or cereal...

Eat This! One cup fortified soymilk
Calcium content: 30% daily value

Not That!
One cup cow's milk
Calcium content: 30% daily value

And if your go-to PMS treat is something cold and sweet like ice cream, be sure to check out these 20 Dairy-Free Frozen Desserts! 

 

7 Foods That Make Your Period Worse

 

Do your cramps make a root canal seem like NBD? Do you bloat more than a pufferfish that just guzzled a gallon of water? Do you mood swings make Mike Tyson seem chill? The foods you eat during your period may be to blame.

Being a woman is pretty darn great—just ask famous Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner. "Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're the first to be rescued off sinking ships," she joked in one of her best-remembered monologs. Even so, you'd be hard pressed to find a woman who wouldn't trade in all those awesome perks the day her period rolls around. And that's because PMS side effects aren't just pesky; for many, they're downright debilitating—so much so that one British company recently announced their plans to create an official "period policy" where women staffers can take time off to nurse their cramps and relax without dipping into their sick or personal days. (PSA: If your cramps are crazy-extreme, though, you should consider speaking to your doctor. Excruciating cramps can be a sign of endometriosis.)

There is a silver lining, though. Experts have identified a number of things you should avoid because they can make symptoms like bloating and cramps worse. Aside from things like smoking and stress, consuming certain foods—many of which you likely crave during that time of the month—can make matters worse.

To help you better cope with the most painful and annoying aspect of your period, we checked in with the experts to find out which foods are most apt to leave women feeling miserable during Mother Nature's monthly visit. Read on to find out what they said—and discover some tasty swaps to quell your cravings, too! And after you learn

DAIRY

"You may have heard that calcium helps with cramps, but that's not the case when it comes from dairy," warns registered dietitian Isabel Smith. "Dairy naturally contains arachidonic acids, that stimulate prostaglandins (hormone-like substances) that can intensify menstrual cramps." So if Advil tends to be your BFF, ditch the yogurt and milk à la Khloe Kardashian and load up on other sources of the nutrient like edamame, greens, nuts, and chia seeds, suggests Smith.

Craving Crusher!

When you're craving milk in your smoothie or cereal...

Eat This! One cup fortified soymilk
Calcium content: 30% daily value

Not That!
One cup cow's milk
Calcium content: 30% daily value

And if your go-to PMS treat is something cold and sweet like ice cream, be sure to check out these 20 Dairy-Free Frozen Desserts! 

 

11 National Sisters' Day Memes That Capture What Having A Sister Is Really Like

Aug. 7 marks National Sisters' Day, so if you have a sister in your life, you had better get ready to celebrate her existence this weekend... or at the very least, acknowledge it. These National Sisters' Day memes perfectly capture what it's like to have a sister, including all the good things and all the not so good things.
Everybody knows that sisters can have a complex relationship with each other. That's just the way it is, so thank goodness for unconditional love! The good news is that no matter how rough your relationship may be when you're both younger, things tend to work themselves out as you get older, and subsequently, sister relationships tend to get stronger as time goes on.
If you have got a sister, these memes are probably going to be awfully familiar to you. From "borrowing clothes" without asking to having to be dressed in matching holiday outfits, embrace every part that comes with having a sister. While she may be a real pain in the butt from time to time, you can bet that most people who don't have a sister wish that they did. Believe it or not, you're the lucky one.
There's nothing better than a visit from the sister!
 

Beauty and the Brain: Is It Harder for Attractive Women to Be Taken Seriously?

A well-known halo effect surrounds physical beauty, more so than any other trait. Science tells us that when we view one characteristic positively, like a pretty face, we’re more likely to have a positive response to the rest of the person’s qualities. Simply put, it’s considered nice to be pretty.

That’s why Charlize Theron’s comments about beauty as a drawback caused such a stir. “Jobs with real gravitas go to people that are physically right for them, and that’s the end of the story,” the physically blessed actress told British GQ, prompting a media frenzy. The magazine quoted her saying: “How many roles are out there for the gorgeous, f***ing, gown-wearing eight-foot model? When meaty roles come through, I’ve been in the room, and pretty people get turned away first.”

Model and actress Emily Ratajkowski echoed Theron’s sentiments in WWD. She thinks twice before taking a role, and the parts she gets handed contain the substance she desires. “It’s not necessarily about taking the most obvious, blockbuster, sexy girl part. Those are the ones I get offers on — the dumb hot girl or the girl the girlfriend’s jealous of,” she said. “It’s hard because you get those offers and you’re, like, ‘Wow, I’m getting offered a giant movie.’ But I really believe you are what you do, and that’s not who I am.”

But how far can a woman separate her professional skill from her outer shell? How does beauty play off one’s intellect? Lately, it seems physical appearance has served to undermine female intelligence and accomplishment — an effect that goes well beyond Hollywood.

How beauty factors into a woman’s professional rise and fall

In the literary scene, where a female author’s looks seem to be largely masked behind the cover of her novel, Entertainment Weekly said, publishers are now regularly rolling the dice on young, debut talent like Emma Cline, Stephanie Danler, and Imbolo Mbue, all of whom have splashy summer releases. Although editors rely first and foremost on “gorgeous writing,” EW says “being photogenic” can sweeten the deal.

In business, beauty can be an easily pegged reason for female success — and failure. When Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes became the darling of Silicon Valley, and then lost it all in a swift fall from grace, her looks could not escape attention. “Billionaire beauty is now worth nothing,” read the New York Post headline in the aftermath of her startup’s downfall.

According to Art Markman, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, Holmes may be a poster child for beauty’s halo effect. “Her attractiveness may have given the initial pitch that halo,” he tells Yahoo Beauty, referring to the initial lack of scrutiny by investors. “As questions began to be raised about Theranos, her looks became an issue again, and this time she was treated more negatively.” 

This reality is hard for all women who are trying to earn their seat at the table with men. The beauty talk that surrounds a woman’s achievements — and stumbles — subconsciously teaches us that appearance and accomplishment (or lack thereof) go hand in hand. 

Every time we credit beauty as the reason for a woman’s trajectory, we quietly reinforce the “vapid beauty” stereotype still pervasive in pop culture — and there are already plenty of reasons the trope exists, says Markman, including intelligent women being perceived as more threatening to men and men being more interested in a woman’s looks than her brain, her talent, her education, or her track record.

Beauty biases, both positive and negative

From an evolutionary perspective, research has long identified the advantages of attractiveness: better-looking men and women tend to get better grades, get hired more readily, and earn more money — something known as “the beauty premium.” But today, with women delaying marriage and seeking their place in a competitive workplace, the effects of physical attractiveness are more scattered and varied.

Hash Browns With Every Meal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had one of the great breakfasts of my life a few years ago on San Juan Island, north of Seattle, in a waterside coffee shop that served commercial fishermen, hippie farmers, kayak tourists and boat builders in equal measure. The grated hash browns there were cooked in thin sheets and run under a broiler beneath a handful of grated cheese to create crisp pancakes that could be used as a platter on which to serve fried eggs, or as a hat to top them, depending on your mood. When I got home to New York, I started making them for dinner as well as breakfast, as a side dish for steaks or chicken or lamb. It was labor-intensive to make the dish and ultimately annoying because one of my children wanted it all the time. So together we worked out a hack.

Eventually that hack became a recipe, and eventually that recipe became something else again. Recipes change over time, if you make them enough. Recipes change in response to experience at the stove and, if you’re lucky, because of experiences you have out in the world, eating and thinking. So I no longer grated the potatoes but cubed them. I no longer fried them in clarified butter but roasted them in the oven, slicked in bacon fat. Were there onions in the dish I ate on San Juan, or bell peppers? I can’t remember. Both are there now, for sweetness and color alike.

My potato hash now recalls the potato skins you can get in cheery sports bars, scattered with chopped scallions that offer astringency against the sweet and salt. It suggests the potatoes served in big discs at steakhouses in New York — Pietro’s in Midtown, say, or late night at one of the Palms — hard-crisped at the edges.

And lately my hash has taken on some of the aspects of a dish I ate on a covered deck last month outside Two Sisters Bakery in Homer, Alaska, a pull-apart cheesy bread with some of the same crisp-soft-fat-flavorful aspects of the potatoes I had on San Juan, though in Alaska drizzled with a fiery sauce and topped with a delicate nasturtium flower. Carri Thurman, the chef and an owner of the bakery, covers soft dinner rolls with bacon and cheese, tomato and kale and caramelized onion, then douses them in sriracha mayonnaise. It was the softness of her dish that amazed. I wanted that for my potatoes at home.

And so I cranked the heat in the oven. It crisped the exterior of the potatoes while leaving their interiors pillowy soft. And I whisked together sour cream, lime and minced chipotles en adobo — canned chipotles, though in a pinch you could use ground dried chipotle powder — to create a sauce of smoky intensity, fiery against the potatoes, bacon, onion and peppers. The combination made for a perfect bar-snack appetizer, a bed for fried eggs, an accompaniment to seared steak. It looks nothing like what I ate on San Juan. And its flavor outstrips my memory of the original.

 

But it is still sort of the same dish, just as it is sort of the same as a dish made in Alaska out of dinner rolls instead of potatoes. This is all of a piece: deliciousness born of one inspiration and changed by another, and then another.

Omit the bacon if bacon’s not your game, and replace it with a couple of tablespoons of butter. Increase the amount of bacon if you like, particularly at breakfast. Omit the red peppers if you don’t like them. Add yellow ones, or green, or jalapeño. Make the chipotle sauce with mayonnaise instead of sour cream, or with yogurt. Serve the finished dish as a slab out of the oven, or as a beautiful mound. Indeed, make the recipe entirely your own. The point is simply to aim for a thick, caramelized crust of potatoes with interiors soft and sweet. That is your canvas. You can paint on it whatever you like.

Happy Friendship Day: Make these lovely friendship bands yourself and surprise your friends

In today's fast-paced times, why not relive our childhood a little? Take some time out to actually make friendship bands and bracelets this year.

When we were in school, Friendship Day was a huge deal. It meant telling your BFF how important they were, for thanking them for being there for you through thick and thin, for making them feel special for having put up with all your whining and/or coming to your rescue every time you were hauled up for something definitely should not have done.
Leading up to that first Sunday of the month of August (though, in school we’d just celebrate it on Friday!), so many of us would spend hours making these super-cool friendship bands or bracelets. Come to think of it, this would be the ONLY time you would find a boy proudly sporting a bracelet! (It helped that Friendship Day fell before Rakhi, which was usually when the boys would suddenly all vanish!) In fact, the more bands/bracelets you had was directly proportionate to your popularity in class and school. The best ones were not those that were bought from the store, but those that we made by ourselves at home.
We’d put in thought about which colours matched the friend’s personality, which design would go to whom and what kind of trinkets to put in each of them. All this made the whole affair just way more special and personal.
In today’s fast-paced times, why not relive our childhood a little? Take some time out to actually make friendship bands and bracelets this year. Not only will you find that it’s totally fun, but your friends will really appreciate it too.
Here’s a video that gives you tutorials on five very easy and beautiful friendship bracelets. All these five bracelet projects are DIY bracelet with string, in the last one the tutor pairs the string or thread with a chain.
 

5 Irresistible Scents to Wear on a First Date

Dating, or as I like to call it "scamming with a romantic slant," is governed by first impressions. What you wear, what you say, how much you embellished about your height or weight on a dating app all triggers an attraction which can make or break you in the dating game. And then of course, scent is one of the most discerning factors of attraction. You think you're getting a second date with someone if you're wearing eau de poo poo? You're not. I decided to test this theory by wearing five of the sexiest fragrances on dates to see if I could scam men into falling in love. Here's what happened.

Dior La Colle Noire

This new Dior scent is one of my favorites. It smells like the essence of an angel baby. It comes in a clean bottle and had a pink tint. It's basically everything you could want in a summer scent but it was surprisingly unpopular amongst men! It settles quickly which means it is potent when you first put it on but then doesn't linger around for long. When I got into my Uber for said date, the driver immediately complimented me on the scent because it does smell amazing but by the time it was time for my date a few hours later, I was scrambling to find a Sephora so I could reapply. I wore this scent on three different dates with three different guys and none of them said anything about how amazing I smelled that day. I know, cue the side eye emoji because clearly they have no taste. This perfume smells and looks amazing.

Hermès Muguet Porcelaine

I was immediately attracted to this fragrance because the bottle reminded me of tennis and lawns in the Hamptons. One little spritz of this springtime heavy scent and I was smelling money. I wore this one on a few dates but most memorably wore it with an Argentinian app creator who was very very into this scent. Maybe it is because he was fundraising and smelled money too? I will never know because I can never see him again. He had a very aggressive energy and it freaked me out. The other reactions to this scent were much tamer. "You smell nice," was a remark I received, which I think on the spectrum of accolades is fairly non-committal. While, I prefer to hear a "you smell so good" because I think that confirms said male is somehow deriving pleasure from fragrance, I will take nice. I now wear this fragrance to functions at country clubs, luncheons, and other things of a wealthy nature, no longer on dates.

I Love Juicy Couture

This fragrance comes in a bottle covered in leopard print so I found it perfectly appropriate to wear on a date with a DJ that I suspected had a Rastafarian fetish. Besides the super fun bottle, this scent has a very sweet but mature smell. It's quite innocent but also very confident. I actually felt great wearing it. When he got close enough to smell me, immediately he complimented me on my fragrance choice. I broke character and started laughing because my own cleverness was too much. I had matched up this scent perfectly to what this date would want. I don't know if it was the scent or what but he did want to have sexy times with me that night. I do not find any times to be sexy so I thanked him for the compliments and went home.

Victoria's Secret Crush

Victoria's Secret makes the sexiest scents of all time! Of all time! For real, though, it's like in their DNA. I actually love all Victoria's Secret fragrances and they are my go-to for an unexpected scent surprise. I knew that their new Crush fragrance would be a runaway hit so I wore it on a date with a 40 year old finance dude. It is very youthful and flirty, heavy on the tropical feel so to me, it screams summer. This guy loved it right away but I am not sure if that was because he was also in love with me. He did make a remark on the fragrance though, which demonstrates to me that he at least noticed it.

Tom Ford Orchid Soleil

Tom Ford's fragrance won my heart on the packaging alone. The Orchid Soleil is the latest edition to the Orchid family and represents their summer scent. It comes in a stunning rose gold bottle and I wore this scent on three different first dates because it was my favorite and one second date. One was an ex-banker turned documentary filmmaker. One was a financial advisor, whatever that means. And one was a Texas ex-pat who worked at a startup. The results were resoundingly positive. Every single guy responded to this perfume by complimenting me on how great I smelled. I knew this to be true, of course but it is always nice to hear. For the purposes of this experiment, it is also nice that one fragrance had such a unified positive opinion amongst the male test subjects. This is the one I am keeping around along with one of the guys that approved my obviously irresistible aroma.

 

12 People on Running As Therapy

Look around these early summer mornings and everyone is running.  They are running with run-buddies; running to Daft Punk or the Strokes or — admit it — Taylor Swift; running their favorite athleisure off.  Ask any of these runners why they do it and chances are they’ll unflinchingly say, “Because running is my therapy.” Here are 12 runners on how running helps them clear their mind and process their thoughts about anger, skinniness, love, food, and sexu

I lost my dad on September 11 in the towers. I was so miserable and angry inside. I had to find an outlet. I knew that “outlet” was either going to be harmful to me or something positive. So I said, “I’m going to run a marathon on his behalf.” Fifteen years later, I’ve never stopped running. I run to dump out the trash inside my head; to reignite my soul, to weed out the anger. I talk to myself sometimes. I go deep into a zone. I could run past my own mother and not recognize her. I’m completely in another state. Winter, rain, sleet, snow, sun — I run. Always outside. No music.  I’ve been to “real” therapy, too, and for me, nothing beats running. It is truly the best therapy. I connect to my father and talk through things as if he were there. I don’t have my dad to talk to in real life, but he’s there with me when I run.

I listen to the soundtrack of my life.

I run because on most days I need to run away. I need to run away from my messy apartment, from my kids whom I love very much but still … from the fact that I lost my ambition after becoming a mom, from the fact that I often hate my husband, that I always want red-velvet cupcakes; I run from my bills, from the summer house I’ll never own and from the good hair I’ll never have. I run away from it all. I listen to songs that would comprise the soundtrack of my life. I watch my own personal movie play in full, in my head. I repeat certain songs again and again and again … and then I’m home. And I’m okay. And I don’t have any urge to run away again. Until tomorrow …

I ran when my marriage began to fall apart.

I’ve run almost 7,000 miles in the past five years and have considered it my therapy. I began running when my marriage began to fall apart. Sadly, it hasn’t gotten better and I may be dealing with a divorce soon. It sucks. So I run. Lately all it does is wear me out so that I can sleep at night. But hey, we do what we need to get byality.