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Philips Sonicare Toothbrush Review: I'll Never Use White Strips Again


I tried the Philips Sonicare toothbrush and, to my surprise, it has become one of my most beloved possessions. Let me explain: I’ve never been someone who enjoys oral hygiene. I’d probably rank it at the bottom of my “favorite things to do” list if it wasn’t for the obvious health benefits. As a child, I dreaded going to the dentist, dental floss was Enemy No. 1, and I stubbornly refused to brush my teeth twice a day (because IMHO once was totally enough). Even in my adult years, I always did just enough to have a nice smile and no cavities, but I never truly invested in the health of my teeth—until now.

Here’s how it all went down. I was scheduled to test what felt like hundreds of beauty products and one of them was the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9500. At first glance, it looked super luxurious, but way too high maintenance for my taste. Still, I was curious and ended up taking it home and testing it out that night. As time crept on that evening, my anticipation kept building and I couldn’t wait until my normal wind-down routine started to try it. I tore open the box, found that it was (thankfully) fully-charged, ignored the directions, and put it to the test.

Can I just say, wow. The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart is like the Superman of all toothbrushes. Instead of rotating like a traditional electric brush, it uses pulses and brushstrokes to clean in between the teeth and along the gum line all at the same time. It makes a whopping 62,000 brush movements per minute which resulted in my teeth feeling squeaky clean after a two-minute brush. The best way to describe it is how I feel when leaving a professional dental cleaning. You know when you run your tongue along the front of your teeth and it feels as smooth as a baby’s bum? Yep, that’s how it felt. And since my dental office won’t be open in the foreseeable future, I’m even more thankful I can achieve professional-feeling results in the comfort of my own bathroom. (It doesn’t hurt that I don’t have to worry about tools resembling a Pirate’s hook coming towards my mouth, either.)

The Philips Sonicare has five cleaning modes—clean, whiten, gum health, deep clean, and tongue care—and each mode has three levels of intensity that you can adjust while you brush. It’s truly a personalized clean. My go-to setting is the standard clean unless my mouth is feeling especially yucky, then I’ll switch to the deep clean. In the beginning, I gave the whitening mode a try and found that it was a bit aggressive on my gums so I’ll only use that mode for my front four teeth if they need a touch-up.



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Bernie Sanders Endorses Joe Biden for President: ‘We Need You in the White House’


Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has endorsed former vice president Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president. The announcement was made, of course, via livestream in a conversation broadcast on April 13.

Like soon-to-be in-laws meeting up over FaceTime to graciously divvy up speaking rights at the rehearsal dinner, Sanders and Biden got together online and streamed a (remote) conversation in which the Vermont senator—himself once a frontrunner for the nomination—endorsed his longtime rival for the 2020 presidential election.

Just days after dropping out of the 2020 race, Bernie Sanders surprised many by endorsing Biden, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee. “We must come together to defeat the most dangerous president in modern history,” Sanders tweeted just before going live. “I’m joining Joe Biden’s livestream with a special announcement.”

The two men shared a spirited but exceptionally friendly conversation about unions, health care, and government response to the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, leaning hard into their shared views. Biden trumpeted Sanders’s history of “fighting for health care and home care workers” and called Sanders “maybe the most powerful voice for a fair and more just America.”

Naturally, reactions have been mixed:

Sanders called for “all Americans to come together,” acknowledging his and Biden’s shared desire to keep Americans from going hungry or losing basic rights. “I know you’re the kind of guy who’s gonna be inclusive,” Sanders said. “We can argue it out—it’s called democracy. You believe in democracy and so do I.”

“We don’t have a choice, we’re going to have to come together,” Sanders said, veering out of a sidebar about whether the two men should start playing virtual board games. (This really did happen; watch the playback.)

“I very much look forward to working with you,” Sanders told Biden.

“So do I,” Biden said, grinning.

Jenny Singer is a staff writer for Glamour. You can follow her on Twitter.





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8 Best White Noise Machines in 2020: Snooz, YogaSleep, & More


So you’ve secured the best sheets in all the land, your cozy pajamas are on deck, and your mattress is top-notch—but you still can’t manage to doze off peacefully. Bringing the best white noise machine into the mix might be the fix you’ve been searching for. Whether the wall clock in your living room seems to grow exponentially louder the second you lie down, or dead silence magnifies that internal voice spewing off your mental to-do list—a white noise machine has the potential to finally bring on some solid shut-eye. With so many options on the market, Glamour editors wanted to figure out which ones deserve a spot on your nightstand—so for Sleep Month, we put them to the test. From portable devices to free apps, these are the eight best white noise machines of 2020—along with expert answers to your burning questions around the popular technological sleep aids.

What is a white noise machine?

A white noise machine is a device designed to drown out unwanted sounds that might keep you up at night, or trigger distraction during a deep sleep session. Sometimes they mimic nature sounds like waterfalls or wind, but the most popular sounds are uninterrupted white, pink, and brown noise—which vary in frequency, and allow “unwanted noises that do occur to become less noticeable and thus less disturbing,” explains Sam Nicolino, President and CEO of Adaptive Sound Technologies. “As an analogy, a tiny ink spot on a blank sheet of paper grabs your attention, but the same ink spot on a speckled sheet is not even seen.” So while you can’t control whether a horn honks or your partner starts snoring to high heavens, a white noise machine can help drown out surprise sounds and keep you snoozing through the night.

How do white noise machines work?

Back in the day, your family may have used a good ol’ fashioned fan to get to sleep, but these days there’s a range of white noise machines to consider—from new-age devices with electrically-generated sounds, to command-able smart speakers, to decades-old classics with tiny fans inside. “There are two types of white-noise machines–electronic and electromechanical,” says Steve Cummings of YogaSleep. “The former produces sounds with electronics (most are circuit boards), and electromechanical options have real physical parts, driven by electricity, that make the sound. In our case, there’s a real fan inside which resonates out of a dome-shaped shell.”

The plethora of machines on the market deliver a range of repeating or non-repeating sounds, and are available in different sizes, volumes, and price points. “The general theory is that sound machines, essentially, fill in the troughs of silence and minimize the startling effect by reducing the arousal effect of abrupt sounds,” says Cummings.

Where to buy white noise machines

Amazon has a wide selection of top-rated white noise machines, with thousands of impassioned reviewers detailing their best features (and shortcomings), and Bed Bath and Beyond is a good option if you’re looking to shop in-person.

Is a white noise machine good for babies?

Being a new parent comes with countless challenges, but getting your baby to fall (and stay) asleep might be the biggest one of all. A 1990 study on white noise and sleep induction found white noise can get babies to fall asleep faster, and some devices are designed with little ones in mind, such as the Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine and Night Light. Check with your pediatrician on recommended volumes for your child, and be prepared to keep the machine around for the long haul. “If you want to introduce a white noise machine into your baby’s bedtime routine, prepare to keep it around for 3-5 years,” pHd board certified sleep specialist Michael Breus advises. “Kids do not adapt well to change, so if you use a noise machine and they get used to it, you will need to bring it on trips, etc. It’s no different than a teddy bear.”

So, you’re ready to experience white noise for yourself. We tested and narrowed down the eight best options to shop now, based on various needs. Read Glamour editors’ takes on why these machines worked for them, and get ready for game-changing snoozes ahead.

Sleep is a $70 billion industry—we throw our money at a dreamier night’s rest, promise ourselves we’ll prioritize it, and then gripe when we’re still, inevitably, so tired. Despite our collective obsession with sleep, we seem totally unable to get more of it. In fact, we’re clocking fewer hours than ever. So, this month, we’re taking a look at what’s getting in the way—and what to do about it.



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Melania Trump Shows Off Progress on a New White House Tennis Pavilion


It seems whenever Melania Trump walks outside, she manages to ignite conversation—and criticism. Her latest project won’t be changing that trend.

On March 5, the First Lady tweeted, “I am excited to share the progress of the Tennis Pavillion at @WhiteHouse. Thank you to the talented team for their hard work and dedication.” The tweet also included photos of Trump in a hard hat, going over plans at the construction site.

According to CNN, “The tennis pavilion will be located on the South Lawn of the White House, near the Children’s Garden, which was constructed in 1968 at the behest of first lady Lady Bird Johnson, and the Kitchen Garden, the 2,800 square foot garden planted by first lady Michelle Obama in 2009.”

The project was first announced last October when FLOTUS said, “It is my hope that this private space will function as a place to gather and spend leisure time for First Families.”

But the photo op—staged while America combats a global and growing health crisis as coronavirus takes hold—feels a little out of step with the fear and nerves that are spreading in tandem with the virus. Never mind the destruction in Tennessee due to the tornadoes that hit Nashville earlier this week. People on social media were quick to call this out.

“It is not the fact that tennis courts are being built at WH that is at issue (by all means, build them), it is the ignorance surrounding the optics of voluntarily promoting these private benefits during the ongoing public health & financial crisis,” one person tweeted. The First Lady also drew comparisons to Marie Antoinette.

This is certainly not the first time Melania Trump has been accused of striking a tone-deaf note. Who can forget her infamous “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?” jacket while visiting a shelter housing children separated from their families at the U.S. border. “It’s a jacket. There was no hidden message,” said Stephanie Grisham, the First Lady’s then spokesperson.



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Vanna White Has the Greatest Job in the World—And She Knows It


For White, Sajak and the rest of the Wheel team are her family; just one of the perks that makes White “love everything about [her] job.” And the perks are plentiful. Take the show’s taping schedule. An entire season is filmed in just 35 shoots per year, dolled out in increments of four days a month. (Which in earlier years allowed her the freedom to almost always take her now-adult children to school, and be there when they got home.) Call-time begins at 8 a.m., with six shows shooting back-to-back until production wraps around 6 p.m. White has the schedule down to a science. She manages outfit changes in under 3 minutes—thanks to her pre-paired dresses, accessories, and shoes—and gets in reps with 10-pound weights between takes.

Stephen Crise

In her role she’s worn over 7,000 gowns (never having repeated a look, and constantly varying their style), has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most frequent clapper in history (averaging 600 claps per episode), and has even earned herself a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She’s traveled far and wide to film Wheel’s special episodes, like a recent visit to the Downton Abbey castle. “We’ve been to Ireland, Switzerland, England, Scotland, and everywhere in the United States,” says White. “In Alaska they put me on a glacier and shot me from above in a helicopter. And here I am, standing as far as I can see, just white, white, white, on this glacier. It was awesome.”

White’s enthusiasm for her job is matched only by her audience’s zeal for her. In the ‘80s, the fanfare around America’s favorite letter-turner hit such a fever pitch that it was dubbed “Vannamania.” White remembers, “Standing in line at the grocery store [in the ‘80s] and seeing myself on the cover of Newsweek. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, gosh, I guess I’ve made it.’” White was the girl-next-door, done good. And in pop culture her name became ubiquitous with over-the-top success. Weird Al Yankovic went on to release, “Stuck In A Closet With Vanna White.” Later, Nelly rapped about “paying cash, first class, sittin’ next to Vanna White” in his early aughts hit, “Ride Wit Me.” And over the years White has been invited to play herself in episodes of popular TV shows from The King of Queens to Fresh Off the Boat.

Vanna White in black and white
Ron Slenzak

Of course, there have been critics—both of White, and women in her line of work. Feminists have challenged the mere existence of game show roles like “briefcase girl” (which helped catapult both Chrissy Teigen and Meghan Markle to fame on Deal or No Deal) or the ever-pervasive silent and smiling female co-host who exist purely to look good in a sequined dress next to their male counterparts. Though White has made a name for herself on the show in her own right and says she feels, “equal” to Sajak, her detractors are voluble, calling her names like “bimbo,” “dumb blonde,” and “real-life barbie doll” and often weaponizing the same sexist tropes they claim to want to overturn. One article even posed the question, “How much Vanna can we Stanna?”





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18 Best White Elephant Gifts for 2019


Each year, we’re tasked with finding the perfect presents for everyone on our gift list. And while you may be well-aware of your mother-in-law’s devotion to skin care or your dog’s obsession with organic peanut butter chews, finding the best white elephant gifts for coworkers may not be so simple. Because aside from making your deskmate smile, winning a White Elephant Exchange (or Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa) party is simple: Bring the most sought-after present no one realized they needed, until now.

Since your office probably has enough ballpoint pens and Moleskine notebooks to support a small village, you’ll want to think outside the box for a white elephant gift that’ll get laughs or ‘awws’ at the holiday office party. A little creativity goes a long way, and choosing a gift that everyone will try to snatch is easier than you may think.

Check out 18 of the best white elephant gifts—all under $25—and prepare to claim your award as the biggest white elephant in the room.

All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.



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