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What to Expect From the Six Female Candidates Taking the Stage at the Democratic Debates


Two nights. 20 candidates. Six hopefuls who happen to be women. After months of anticipation, the Democratic debates are finally here—and are expected to be like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Taking place on June 26 and 27, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST, each night will feature 10 candidates selected at random to avoid putting all the top-tier Democrats on the same night.

First up? Tonight, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has pulled ahead in the polls in recent weeks, squares off against New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Governor Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), and former Congressman John Delaney. Then comes some of the heavier hitters. On Thursday, former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson, John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado, Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) will all face off.

While the topics of the debate haven’t been announced, NBC has shared who will be asking the questions. There will be five moderators for the two nights, including Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, NBC Nightly News host Lester Holt, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and Noticias Telemundo host José Diaz-Balart.

The debates will be available to watch on NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo and free to stream on NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, the NBC News app, and all Telemundo digital platforms. But before you get your popcorn (and much-needed glass of wine) out to watch the debates, here’s everything you need to know about the female candidates’ strategies for the big night.

Senator Kamala Harris (D–Calif.)

When She’ll Appear: The California senator will take the stage during the second night of the debates.

What She’ll Talk About: Harris recently proposed a massive tax cut for middle-class families, known as Livable Incomes for Families Today. It’s the most robust piece of policy on her platform and would provide refundable tax credits to families, and allow them to receive their benefits on a monthly basis. Harris will definitely try to touch on it, as well as her support of “Medicare for All.”

How They’ll Attack Her: Harris hasn’t been able to shake her “tough on crime” past in her campaign so far. While serving as the first female attorney general of California, she supported some criminal justice stances that some consider conservative. For example, she enforced an anti-truancy program and fought to release fewer incarcerated people. She’s already had to defend her record since announcing her run, so if anybody criticizes Harris, this is most likely how they’ll go for the jugular.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.)

When She’ll Appear: Warren will take part in the first night of the debates. According to The Hill, many think Warren got the “short end of the stick” being assigned to the first night, as this prevents her from debating Biden and Sanders, her closest opponents in the polls who will both appear during night two.

What She’ll Talk About: “Warren Has a Plan for That” has become the tagline of her campaign, and that’s exactly what she’ll hit on—her policies. Some of her proposals include a new tax on Americans with a net worth of $50 million or more, and would also tax billionaires an additional 1 percent. The economy is Warren’s passion point, and she’s also likely to discuss her proposed Accountable Capitalism Act, which would redistribute trillions from American corporations’ to the middle class.



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Your Vagina After Birth: 10 Things to Expect


Having a baby is no joke—it usually involves hours of labor and then suddenly you’re responsible for a little human being. And then there’s the fact that, in many cases, this baby actually came out of your vagina. The reality: It doesn’t snap back into place immediately after delivery.

So what actually happens to a vagina after birth? Will it bleed? Will it hurt? When can you have sex? Here, 10 things to expect from your vagina after birth.

1. You’ll experience postpartum bleeding.

After delivering your baby, expect to experience postpartum bleeding for up to six weeks. During the first ten days, expect heavy bleeding and bright red blood. You can also expect to see small clots (no bigger than a quarter) during the first three days. This is all normal, as your body sheds the extra tissue and blood from your uterus (this discharge is called lochia). After the first ten days, the bleeding slows down. You will continue to bleed lightly or spot, however, for up to six weeks after you give birth vaginally or by Caesarean section.

2. You’ll have uterine contractions (a.k.a. cramps).

You’ll experience cramps as your uterus shrinks to its pre-baby size. This process is called involution. For many first-time mothers, the pain is negligible. After subsequent births, the pain can be more intense since the uterine muscles have been compromised. Either way, this is a positive sign that your body is doing what it should be doing, and can be addressed with a warm compress and/or ibuprofen. It will subside in about three days.

3. Your vagina will be sore.

It’s not a question of whether you’ll be sore, but of how much you’ll be sore. More than 53 percent of births cause tearing around the vaginal opening, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Depending on the severity of the tearing, your vagina and perineum could be sore for four to 12 weeks. Significant tears can necessitate stitches after birth or, in some cases, surgery to repair the damage. Even without tearing, you will be left with a bruised perineum.

4. Your period will seem off when it returns.

When your body begins ovulating again, your period could be different than how it was before getting pregnant. Thanks to all the hormonal changes going on, you could end up with a lighter or heaver period.

5. You’ll have a (slightly) wider vagina.

Things can also feel looser down there post-childbirth, but it tends to gradually go back to normal. If, however, you have a very large baby (or have had many babies), it might not go back to exactly the way it was before. The telltale indicator is tampons: If you insert a regular tampon and it ends up sliding out over time, that can be a sign that your vagina is ever so slightly wider than it was prebirth. Luckily, Kegel exercises can help tighten things up again quickly. Practicing Kegel exercises five minutes a day, three times a day, can work wonders. Doctors advise keeping up with this regimen during pregnancy as well, to condition the pelvic floor muscles ahead of the birth.

6. You might pee yourself a little.

Childbirth can weaken the pelvic floor, and the pelvic floor muscles help you control your bladder. Translation: It’s not uncommon to experience urinary incontinence post-birth, especially when engaging in activities like jumping, running, or even sneezing and laughing. Again, though, it’s Kegel exercises to the rescue.

7. You’ll have to wait about six weeks to have sex.

Doctors usually advise women wait to have sex. “After a woman has a baby, it takes about six weeks for a woman’s vagina to heal from a delivery,” says board-certified ob-gyn Pari Ghodsi, M.D.. During that time, sex is off-limits. It’s important give yourself—and your vagina—a break after giving birth. “It is important for a woman to realize that things take time,” says Dr. Ghodsi. “It won’t feel the same at first, but with time, things typically go back to normal.”

8. Your orgasms could feel weaker.

When you do go back to having sex, you may think your orgasms feel less powerful post-birth. You’re not imagining it. That same weakened pelvic floor that’s causing leakage is also responsible for weaker orgasms—which is also more incentive to keep practicing those Kegels. In time, your orgasm should go back to being its original earth-shattering self.

9. Your vagina will feel dry if you’re breastfeeding.

Nursing can cause estrogen deficiency, which in turn causes vaginal dryness, explains Christine Greves, M.D., a board-certified ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies.

It’s not a permanent problem by any means—the dryness will only last as long as you’re nursing—but in the meantime, introducing water-based lube into your sex life can make all the difference. You can also get a prescription topical estrogen cream that will help combat the dryness.

10. Your labia could be a different color.

Your vulva and vagina before and after birth can look totally different. Pregnancy causes a rise in estrogen and progesterone, which in turn causes an increased blood flow. That increased blood flow can cause the labia to darken and even cause a slight change in shape. The change in shape is also due to the surge in blood — the labia majora may retract, and their retraction can cause the labia minora to appear larger or even show for the first time. In any event, the coloring and shape usually return to their original appearance when your hormones and blood flow level out after birth.



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Kit Harington's Favorite 'Game of Thrones' Scene Is Definitely Not What You'd Expect


Kit Harington has revealed what his favorite Game of Thrones scene with wife Rose Leslie is—and we absolutely did not see this answer coming. The pair, who played on-screen couple Jon Snow and Ygritte, had plenty of memorable moments together, but the actor’s favorite scene together was somewhat surprising, to say the least.

“I liked her death. I know, it sounds bizarre. I thought she nailed that. And it’s the first time in Thrones that slow motion was used, and I think it’s a beautiful, cradling moment as this battle is raging in the background. It was one of those incredible shots,” he told People.

In the scene, which takes places during the show’s Season 4 penultimate episode, titled “The Watchers on the Wall,” Leslie’s character Ygritte and the wildlings attack Castle Black in an epic battle. But when she encounters Jon—a.k.a. the love of her life—she hesitates to shoot him and is shot in the back by a little boy named Olly, whose father she killed in an earlier episode.

Jon rushes to hold Ygritte during her last moments, in which she asks him if he remembers the cave they first made love. She says she wishes they could have stayed in that cave forever, and when Jon insists they’ll return one day, she iconically replies, “You know nothing, Jon Snow.”

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It was a sad episode for fans who had hoped Jon and Ygritte would be together despite their differences. However, the fact that they fell in love on set and later got married in real life was enough to get us through the TV heartbreak.

As for whether we’ll ever see the two together on screen again, Harington said it’s very unlikely. “The saddest thing is that we may never be cast again together because we’re too synonymous with Thrones,” he explained. “It’s gonna be hard to get away from that. I’d love to work with Rose, but we’re married, and we played these lovers, so are we ever going to get to do that?”

New episodes of the final season of Game of Thrones air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.



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Apparently Prince George Has a Nickname—and It's Not What You Would Expect


Prince George of Cambridge—you know, that adorable little 5-year-old royal who will likely one day be king—is a boy of many names, apparently. Of course, he literally has many names on his birth certificate: George Alexander Louis, to be exact. But he also reportedly revealed that he goes by another name that we never would have guessed.

The Daily Mail reports that a woman walking her dog casually happened upon the young prince and his sister Princess Charlotte while they were playing in a stream near their grandmother Carole Middleton’s home in Berkshire, England.

First, can you imagine going out for a leisurely stroll and seeing the heir to the throne and his little sister? Luckily, this unnamed woman kept her composure—and followed the directions of the royals’ protection officer to not snap any photos.

But she did strike up a convo with the little ones while George petted her dog. “Just to be friendly, I engaged in a bit of small talk, and I asked George what his name was, even though obviously I knew it,” she says. “To my astonishment, he said, ‘I’m called Archie,’ with a big smile on his face. I don’t know why he calls himself Archie, but kids often play with their names and I think it’s lovely.”

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

This revelation could mean a number of things. Maybe he’s been sneaking into the room while his parents, Kate Middleton and Prince William, are bingeing Riverdale on Netflix (a hypothetical, of course). Perhaps George already has an alter ego, like the royal version of Beyonc´é’s Sasha Fierce. Or maybe, at age 5, he already knows how to brilliantly troll people—and the press. (I feel like maybe his Uncle Harry would be proud of that one.)

Needless to say, it seems we can now add Archie to the list of George’s names and nicknames which also include, per the Daily Mail: PG (which is what he’s called at school—and is likely short for Prince George, of course), “PG Tips” (a spin on the school nickname by his parents, which is is also a common brand of tea in the UK), and the shortened version, “Tips”.

No word on which one the Queen prefers, but we love that the little royal has already dubbed himself with an adorable nickname.

Related Stories:

Here’s Why Prince George and Princess Charlotte Didn’t Attend Church With the Royal Family

There May Be a Very Logical Reason We’re All So Obsessed With the Royal Family Right Now

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Savannah Phillips Completely Stole the Show at Trooping the Color



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Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies: What You Can Expect to See in Every Single One


Watching a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie can put anyone in a festive mood. This year, there’s 36 new original movies airing on the network—which means 36 new chances to observe Hallmark’s holiday charm in action. But the more you watch, the more you realize that Hallmark’s Christmas movies follow a strong-as-hell formula. Each film is nearly identical, with small details to differentiate between plots: The lead is always a straight woman looking for love, she’s always over-worked, and her story always ends with rediscovering the true meaning of Christmas (and finding a boyfriend-slash-fiancée-slash-spouse). The network even casts several of the same women to bring these stories to life.

In a way, it’s comforting. No matter what’s going on in December, you’ll always know what you’re getting into with Hallmark Channel Christmas movies—and that’s what makes them so fun. So to enhance your viewing experience, we’ve compiled a guide to the most common tropes you’ll encounter this holiday season. Next time you can’t choose between Mingle All the Way and Marrying Father Christmas, you’ll know what’s up no matter which one you pick.

The title is almost always a pun.

Mingle All the Way. It’s Christmas, Eve. It’s Christmas, Carol!. Fir Crazy. A Carol Christmas. Need we go on?

The leading lady is career-oriented.

The Workaholic Woman is one of Hallmark’s most frequent tropes. She’s a big city career girl who comes home for the holidays to be reminded that when she steps back and slows down, true love awaits. This year there are plenty of career women waiting to be swept off their feet in Hallmark films, like the app developer in Return to Christmas Creek, or the Chicago-based business executive who heads to Memphis in Christmas at Graceland. There’s also a “keenly intelligent market researcher” working overtime to get a promotion in time for the holidays in Christmas Joy and an artist tired of the gallery world in Christmas at Grand Valley.

PHOTO: Hallmark

Joy, the titular over-worked woman of Hallmark’s Christmas Joy.

PHOTO: Hallmark

Country singer Kellie Pickler (left) plays a workaholic returning to her country roots in Christmas at Graceland.

A lot of the time, she’s also a baker.

In the Hallmark Christmas movie universe, there’s nothing quite as charming as a woman who knows her way around an oven. Falling for You, Christmas in Love, and Truly, Madly, Sweetly are just three of many Hallmark Christmas movies where the romantic lead owns a bakery. The bakery might be in financial distress, or it’s a local success story—it all depends on the specific flick. Expect to see lots of delicious gingerbread in them all.

Everyone is Christian…

Christmas is the one and only reason for the Hallmark Channel holiday season, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a mere mention of another holiday or religion. This is a one-stop shop for films with titles like Christmas in Love, A Soldier’s Christmas, A Godwink Christmas, and Return to Christmas Creek. However, Hallmark is embracing the wonders of diversity next year: The channel announced that it will be adding two Hanukkah-themed movies to 2019’s holiday repertoire.

…and usually white, straight, and cis-gendered.

Hallmark Christmas movies are overwhelmingly filled with white, straight actors. Of the 36 new Christmas films being released this year, only five of them feature actors of color in lead roles. They include: Christmas Everlasting, A Majestic Christmas, A Gingerbread Romance, and Focus on Love. Meanwhile, there isn’t a single queer character in a lead role this year. The closest Hallmark has come to featuring a queer person is when a gay couple decorated a tree in a 2016 commercial. Hopefully Santa will bring more diverse casting choices next year.

There’s inspiration from the royal wedding.

It’s not all that surprising that Hallmark would capitalize on the Meghan Markle frenzy with several royalty-inspired films in 2018. If you’re looking for even more royal wedding content, you can’t go wrong with Royal Matchmaker, Royal Hearts, Christmas at the Palace, or Royal New Year’s Eve.

PHOTO: Hallmark

No surprises here: Christmas at the Palace depicts a holiday romance at…a palace.

A family’s land is at stake.

The plots often center around family homes and businesses in jeopardy. In Christmas at Holly Lodge, a property owner must save her land from aggressive real-estate developers. In Northern Lights of Christmas, our ambitious leading lady gives up her longtime career goals when she inherits a reindeer farm that needs a lot of work. In All of My Heart, The Wedding, Hallmark star Lacey Chabert is plagued with financial issues that could cause her to give up her beloved country inn. Will each heroine save her family land? Probably yes, but you’ll have to watch to know for sure.

A knight in shining armor comes to the rescue.

The majority of male characters in Hallmark films hold jobs like a mechanic or handyman, with the occasional artisan in the mix. Careers aside, they’re all handsome and they all save a woman from personal or professional ruin. Whether it be sharing a ride when the leading lady’s in a fender-bender in Welcome to Christmas or setting up an entire store window Christmas display á la My Christmas Dream, these traditionally handsome men always arrive in the knick of time. The trope is taken to the extreme in Once Upon a Christmas Miracle, when a man offers a dying woman a piece of his own liver for a transplant, a gesture that in turn leads to a Christmas miracle.

PHOTO: Hallmark

Chad Michael Murray returns to the small screen as a swoon-worthy lead in Road to Christmas.

PHOTO: Hallmark

Even A Shoe Addict’s Christmas wouldn’t be complete without romantic intrigue.

Most scenes are set to twinkly music.

The scores for Hallmark Christmas movies sound nearly identical, providing a sense of warmth, comfort, and familiarity no matter which one you happen to watch. Hallmark rotates a vast group of composers through its films, yet they all harness that quintessential Hallmark sound: twinkly, festive, and a little cheesy. You can thank composer Lawrence Shragge for the sweet melodies of Christmas at Pemberley Manor, Love on the Slopes, Christmas in Homestead, The Christmas Note, Wedding Bells, The Christmas Secret, The Nine Lives of Christmas and many more.

The plot closely follows Pride and Prejudice.

Jane Austen’s classic novel is an endless source of inspiration for romantic holiday stories. (Not that we’re complaining about more P&P content.) Christmas at Pemberley Manor features a grinch-like billionaire (William Darcy) who comes up against an event planner (Elizabeth Bennett) who’s determined to use his sprawling mansion for a holiday festival. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe stars Hallmark fave Lacey Chabert as—you guessed it—a career-obsessed woman forced to return home for the holidays, only to go head-to-head with an old nemesis in Pride and Prejudice fashion. Fingers crossed that these films feature a dashing and devious Mr. Wickham as well.

PHOTO: Hallmark

Christmas at Pemberley Manor re-imagines Elizabeth Bennett (right) as a charismatic party planner. William Darcy remains the grumpy owner of a manor.

PHOTO: Hallmark

Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe brings its romantic rivals together to plan a charity event. This time, they’re named Luke (left) and Darcy.

Every character uses the same interior designer.

The decor! A Hallmark Channel leading lady always lives in a spacious, carefully decorated home regardless of profession or location. The houses are all set up like a window display in a furniture store, featuring big, wooden block words spelling out commands like “Dream,” “Eat,” and “Live, Laugh, Love!” What we really want to know is: Where can we get one of the artfully draped blankets on the back of every single couch?

A small town goes all-out for Christmas.

Most cities are known to put on a spectacle come the holiday season, but the fictional towns in Hallmark Channel Christmas movies take it to another level. Welcome to Christmas and A Majestic Christmas are among the films that feature streets bedecked with lights, wreaths, and ribbons in every shot. Decorations play heavily in some plots too: In A Majestic Christmas, the leading lady is tasked with turning the town’s historic playhouse into its annual holiday tableau, all while battling a new theater owner who isn’t in the mood for decorations.

PHOTO: Hallmark

Spoiler alert: It looks like the holiday decorations in A Majestic Christmas come together after all.

A woman lacks Christmas spirit.

Skimping on holiday cheer is a big no-no in Hallmark films; the Christmas spirit must be at an all-time high at all times. When that’s not the case, communities pull together to get the leading lady into the spirit. In the upcoming Memories of Christmas, for example, Noelle (played by Christina Milian) inherits her Christmas-obsessed mother’s house and has to be convinced to keep her mother’s traditions alive. Everyone is very invested in Noelle’s holiday mood and goes to extreme lengths get her in the spirit. There’s a similar set-up in Return to Christmas Creek, where a grumpy app-developer Amelia leaves her big city to return to her hometown—you guessed it—Christmas Creek. At home, she patches up relationships with her childhood best friend and estranged uncle in an effort to rediscover the meaning of Christmas.

Someone gets a new beginning.

The female protagonists in Hallmark Christmas films are often at a crossroads in their lives that lead them find a fresh start. Sometimes that’s the end of a marriage; other times, it’s an unexpected move or lay-off from work. In Hope at Christmas, a recently divorced woman and her daughter spend Christmas in a house she has recently inherited. As luck would have it, she meets a handsome local who wants to make her daughter’s Christmas wishes come true. Then, there’s some unexpected do-overs that only Hallmark could dream up: In Northern Lights of Christmas, a woman starts anew after inheriting an entire reindeer farm. Now that’s a new beginning.

Santa is real—and interferes in the lives of grown women.

Santa is just a jolly old fellow who wants to see everyone happy and deeply in the throes of love. He turns up unexpectedly in several movies to work some romantic magic, or is pulling the strings in the background. In Matchmaker Santa, a baker (another baker!) who is dating a fancy CEO is thrown into compromising situations with her boyfriend’s BFF, who is harboring a secret crush on her. Then, a white-bearded, elderly gentleman appears and encourages the two to hang out, forcing our sweet baker to recognize her feelings for both men. There’s also Marrying Father Christmas, which, judging on title alone means that someone is marrying Santa. (It’s actually about a woman who gets married on Christmas day. Close enough.) Even without an immediate connection Mr. Claus, there’s a proxy force in his place: Take A Shoe Addict’s Christmas, for example, in which a “guardian angel” who looks a lot like Mrs. Claus helps a woman correct her present by traveling to Christmases past.

It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.



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The Best Face Wash for Acne Isn't What You'd Expect


Salicylic acid, retinol, charcoal—people who have acne like myself can rattle off a laundry list of ingredients that are formulated to prevent and treat pimples. I’ve not only memorized them, I’ve tried them all. And after almost a decade of testing, I like to think my anti-blemish regimen is a finely tuned machine.

One of the cornerstones of this routine is not a sci-fi gadget or a cream made from the tears of endangered catfish, but rather a humble face wash. That would be the Silver Clarifying Wash from Beverly Hills’ celebrity facialist Sonya Dakar—it blows all other cleansers out of the water.

At this point I’m guessing your marketing B.S. barometer is through the roof. Bougie products with “precious metals” are just another way for brands to charge more money for something that would be pretty basic otherwise, no? You are absolutely right to be wary, especially when a face wash comes with a price tag over $50. I’ve fallen victim to the “magical anti-aging gold flakes” spiel before. But put that healthy skepticism on pause for a moment while I walk you through this one.

The Silver Clarifying Wash checks all of the acne-fighting ingredient boxes: It’s got a salicylic acid complex to clear pores and a probiotics blend to balance out good and bad bacteria on your skin. There’s also some rosemary and sage in there to calm redness. But what makes it truly special is the inclusion of its namesake ingredient. The silver ions found in this wash have some serious antiseptic powers.

Where an antibacterial product kills off acne-causing bacteria, an antiseptic will prohibit the growth of that bacteria in the first place. So cleansing with the Silver Clarifying Wash means I’m not only erasing away the day’s dirt, oils, and dead-skin buildup, but also setting my skin up for fewer breakouts in the future.

I find the mistake that a lot of people with acne make is trying to use a cleanser that’s too harsh for your skin. I get it: You want to physically feel like everything gross on your face is being blasted into oblivion, where it can’t hurt your skin. The problem with that is while the bad stuff goes, so does the good, leaving you with stripped-dry, irritated skin that’s now even more susceptible to pimples.

This cleanser relies on those silver ions, a gentle acid complex, and probiotics to dissolve all of the gunk and grime without disrupting your skin’s delicate oil balance. You feel clean, but there won’t be that dry, tight, itchy feeling. I also love how this wash fits into my usual breakout-busting routine as it doesn’t disrupt or react with any of the more potent treatments I use.

So while it may seem like a gimmick, take it from one cynic to another: This stuff works like a charm.

Sonya Dakar Silver Clarifying Wash, $59, amazon.com

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–7 Skin Care Ingredients You’re Not Using But Should
–This Gentle Serum Is Perfect for People Too Scared to Try Retinol



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