Source: Shutterstock

Playing around with a pink eye makeup look? Lots of fun. Thinking you may have developed pink eye the infection? Considerably less fun. While pink eye is something that you definitely hear about, sometimes it’s unclear just exactly what it is and what causes it. That’s why we’re tackling this topic for our latest health FYI.

Pink eye (also known as conjunctivitis) can occur for a number of reasons. Allergens and irritants (like smoke) can cause it, but there are also viral and bacterial strains of pink eye. Sometimes the cause isn’t totally obvious, but it is the viral and bacterial forms that are contagious and can spread really easily.

When the blood vessels in the eyelid lining (the conjuctiva) get irritated, that’s what causes the pink color and the agitation in your eye. Besides the pink color (I mean, it is called pink eye after all), what other symptoms can you expect? They may vary slightly depending on the cause, but overall, you may notice some swelling or itching of your eye, a drainage or discharge from your eye, tearing up more than usual and/or your eyelids getting kind of crusty.

So what can you do to minimize your risk of getting pink eye – or spreading it if you know you have it? The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention has a number of helpful guidelines.

The biggest takeaway is to be sure to wash your hands well and try to avoid touching or rubbing at your eyes. A cool compress can help soothe irritation you may be feeling so you aren’t rubbing at your eyes. Also, remember how we told you that you should replace your makeup on the regular? Well, another important rule of thumb is don’t share your eye or face makeup either, because that can spread pink eye.

If you used any makeup on your face while your eye was infected, it’s best to ditch it. Also, avoid wearing your contact lenses while you have pink eye. Anything you may have used that can be cleaned (like glasses or towels) should be cleaned before you use them again.

Pink eye may clear up on its own after several days, though the specific timing could vary depending on the cause of the conjunctivitis. While conjunctivitis may get better without medical treatment, your doctor may be able to prescribe antiviral medication or antibiotics to address your specific case that can help treat it.

Honestly, even though it can clear up with time, I’m a big believer in the “consulting your doctor to be safe” route, especially considering how easy it can spread. Also, there are instances when the conjunctivitis could be a chronic or more severe strain, or even possibly be a sign of another health condition that needs addressing.

Especially if your eye pain is severe, your vision is affected or you know your immune system is weakened because of another condition, you should definitely see your doctor. Knowing what pink eye is, what causes it and how it spreads can help keep you ready to prevent and address conjunctivitis if it ever pops up in your life.

How much did you know about pink eye before? What other health topics would you want us to cover? Tell me in the comments!

What Is A Thyroid?

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It may shock you but I used to hate my eyebrows. Now I love them, and you can even see one above!

In middle school, I felt like everyone had really thin eyebrows and mine were the total opposite. I considered my thick eyebrows some kind of giant flaw. But what were my options?

My freshman year of high school, I started wearing contacts almost full time, and without my glasses partially obscuring my thick eyebrows, I felt like they were totally on display. I got my “lucky eyebrow break” just before winter formal my freshman year. My mom decided to treat me to some spa fun and asked me if I wanted anything in particular. I finally admitted that I wanted my eyebrows waxed.

When the waxer asked what I wanted done to my brows, I didn’t know what to say. So, I just said “thinner” because that seemed to sum up what I wanted. The actual experience didn’t hurt that much for me, and I dashed off to hit the dance with my friends, finally feeling like I fit in with everyone else.

It wasn’t until a few days later when I got the pictures back from the dance that it really hit me that something looked off about my face. My eyebrows were so thin and arched in a way that didn’t look right. I had been so glad that my eyebrows were thin at the dance, but looking back, I saw what previously seemed impossible: my eyebrows were TOO thin.

I was so freaked out by how they looked for that dance, that I vowed that I wouldn’t ever touch them again and let them grow back out. I let all that self-consciousness about my thick eyebrows sweep over me. I thought it was my beauty burden I was forced to bear in life (I know, a little dramatic, but go with me here).

A couple months later, I had to read a biography as part of my summer reading before tenth grade. I of course wanted to read about a cool woman, so I picked up a biography of Audrey Hepburn. The book was fascinating, and I became obsessed with Audrey. Maybe it had to do with staring at her face on the cover of my book all summer, but I realized that not only did I love her thick eyebrows, but they actually kind of looked like mine.

The fact that I could say “I look like Audrey Hepburn” became a confidence boost. I realized that thick brows suited her face, and they actually worked great on mine too.

For some girls, thin eyebrows look amazing. I’m just not one of those girls, and while for a long time, I thought I was the only one, I wasn’t. Once I stopped fixating on picking out every single girl I knew with thinner ones, I realized lots of ladies rock thick eyebrows. Audrey was just one such woman. Today, I love when actresses like Lily Collins embrace thick eyebrows and look totally gorgeous.

I am still pretty obsessed with Audrey Hepburn today. I have an Audrey calendar on my wall, a book of “life lessons” inspired by her, and just last week I got a new biography about her. Now, it has become more than just about eyebrows. Thinking about Audrey reminds me to embrace things about myself and make them work so that I’m confident and still totally me.

Have you ever felt self-conscious about your eyebrows? Do you wax or pluck them? In your opinion, which celebrity has the best eyebrows? Tell us in the comments!

Survey: Everything About Your Eyes

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How well do you see color? Source: Shutterstock.com

Sometimes in the middle of the work or school day, your mind starts wandering. This becomes more of an issue when your job revolves around the Internet. That’s how I found myself spending about twenty minutes taking the Online Color Challenge from X-Rite.

The gist is pretty straightforward. There’s a row of colors and the two on the ends are set for each row. You move around the color squares in the middle into the proper order. This test is based on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test, where you do a similar color ordering, but with actual little “color caps” in a kit that you physically put in order.

Well, the idea may be pretty simple, but that certainly didn’t mean I thought it was easy. When you hear the directions it’s like, “Oh yeah, sort colors? Totes can do that!” Then I started and was freaking out about where to put the little squares. I’d second guess myself. I’d look away from the computer screen, and my eyesight had started to go a little nutty. I will say though by the time I went to hit submit, I felt pretty good about my answers.

I’m sure you’re dying to know how I did! Well, I got an 18, and at first, I had no idea what that meant. After I put in my gender and age info, it showed me a little scale that went from 0 to 99. Apparently the best score I could get was zero (a wizard of color acuity!) and the 99 meant the lowest color acuity.

So I guess looking at it on the scale, my color acuity is close-ish to being good? I tried to do some research, but I had kind of a hard time finding out the average score for my age, so right now, I guess I’m a little at a stand still.

According to the test site, there’s apparently quite a big difference between color vision issues when it comes to men vs. women. For women, 1 out of every 255 have some sort of issue with seeing color, but for men, it’s 1 in every 12. I already have pretty blurry vision (full-time glasses wearer over here!), so should I be concerned about how I can discern color now too? Right now, I think I’m doing all right, but it was still pretty interesting to test it out.

Still, I thought this was a pretty cool challenge and it ended up being harder than I thought it would be! I know this online one is based on this other test that has been the subject of studies and used by health professionals, but I’m guessing there could be some variation between doing the actual test versus online.

So that said, if you are really concerned about how your eyes see color or just your eyesight in general, talking with a doctor is probably your most official bet. However, if you’re just looking for a little bit of of a distraction, you may want to see how you fare at the color challenge yourself!

Did you take the color challenge? How did it go for you? Did you have better luck than me finding something online about average scores for your age? Have you ever had issues with how you see color? Tell me in the comments!

What Gives You Tired Eyes Anyway?

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Looking good without makeup? Not a problem! | Source: Shutterstock

Ever heard of an eyelash curler? It’s an inexpensive metal device (most are $5 or $6) that works kind of like a pair of scissors, except instead of clippers at the end, it has a curling bar. When you press your eyelashes in the curling bar of the eyelash curler, your eyelashes will immediately be drawn upward, toward your forehead. What does that do? Turns out, a lot. If you’ve ever wished you had bigger eyes or didn’t think your eyes were pretty before, I think you’ll be wowed by what you see when you use this eyelash curling trick.

You can rock this pretty look without makeup, or if you want, you can put mascara over the top to emphasize it even more. Either way, girl, you’re gorgeous and you know it!

Do you ever go without makeup? Have you used an eyelash curler? What’s your favorite beauty trick for when you want to feel extra pretty? Tell us in the comments!

Did You Hear This Gross Beauty Tip?

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I still totally love my glasses!

That said, when it’s sunny out, my glasses just don’t cut it. I don’t have prescription sunglasses (honestly, who does other than my dad?!) so if it’s bright out I have two choices: wear my regular glasses and squint through the glare of the sunlight, or wear my adorable hot pink, oversized sunnies and be . . . pretty much blind.

So, long story pretty short: I’ve been rocking my sunglasses and being blind for most of the summer, but finally decided that I’d had it. I was going to try to get contact lenses, even though I’ve resisted them for years. Just the thought of having to touch my eye was too awful. I mean, ick! Your eye is technically part of your brain! So it’s like, touching your BRAIN! Squishy! Yuck yuck yuck.

Not so scary afterall! Source

I’ll probably still wear my glasses a lot (like I said, I actually like them–they’ve got rhinestones!) but I am obsessed with my new contact lenses. I can’t believe I didn’t try them years ago.

Do you wear contact lenses? Are you squeamish about touching your eyes? Tell me in the comments!

Tell Us Everything About YOUR Pretty Eyes Here!

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What color are your eyes? | Source: ShutterStock

Famous quote time: “Eyes are the window to your soul.” Okay, so that might sound totally corny and weird, but you have to admit that it’s also kind of true. You can tell a lot about what kind of mood a person is in by staring into their eyes. Don’t try it unless you know them, though. It might get creepy.

Anyway, we want to know all about your eyes in this survey. Like, do you wear makeup on them? Do you like your eyes? Tell us all about the windows to your soul (we had to) right here. Just copy and paste the questions into the comments and you’re good to go!

1. What color are your eyes?

2. Do you like that color?

3. If not, which color do you wish they were?

4. Do you have big eyes or smaller eyes?

5. Do you ever get compliments on your eyes?

6. Do you have long eyelashes?

7. What about your eyebrows – thick or thin?

8. What color are your eyebrows?

9. Do you ever get your eyebrows waxed?

10. Do you tweeze your eyebrows regularly?

Do you rock glasses? | Source: ShutterStock

11. Do you ever wear fake eyelashes?

12. Is your vision good or bad?

13. Do you have to wear glasses or contacts?

14. Would you ever wear colored contacts?

15. Do you wear eye makeup every day?

16. What’s your favorite kind of eye makeup?

17. Have you ever gotten an eye infection?

18. Which celebrity do you think has the prettiest eyes?

19. Do you ever notice eyes on guys?

20. Do you prefer a certain color eyes for your crush or boyfriend?

Take more super fun surveys right here!

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Check out these insanely awesome eyeshadow designs, which feature everything from Disney movie scenes to polka dots:

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Which one is your favorite? Have you ever done makeup like this? Tell us in the comments!

Oh, and check out 20 pictures of amazing lipstick art!

Eyeshadow Designs

Source: Picasaweb

Do you wear glasses, contacts, or nothing at all? Tell us in the comments!

Now, check out these cute pics of our fave celebs in glasses!
glasses or contacts

Attractive look, eh?

I love me some at home beauty remedies. Oatmeal bath? Loved it! Toothpaste to treat blemishes? It works! Mayo in my hair? DON’T EVER TRY THIS UNLESS SOMEONE IS PAYING YOU!

My latest challenge? To find out if sliced raw potatoes reduce under eye swelling. Yes, swollen eyes, that dreaded ailment caused by lack of sleep, too much sleep, crying, a salty diet, allergies…yeah, you get the point. Basically, we’ve all had ‘em and we all hate ‘em.

I’m generally a skeptic when it comes to these ‘do it yourself’ treatments, but I’ll try anything once. Let’s face it: unless it really works, who wants a smelly potato on their face when cucumbers are so much more delicious and spa like?

Easy as pie!

The night before the experiment, I peeled a large baking potato, sliced about one third of it into circular pieces about half an inch thick and left it bagged in the fridge.

When I woke the next morning, my eyes were just as puffy as usual. I retrieved my potatoes from the fridge and found that they had taken on a weird bluish color. Gross! So I sliced a few fresh pieces and went to test these babies out.

Puffy eyes suck!

I laid down and placed one slice on my left eye and one slice on my right, imagining I was at the most extravagant spa around. Using both hands, I held the potatoes down so they touched my whole eye including the lid and those unfortunate under-eye bags. The slices were cold so it wasn’t exactly a comfy process.

After 10 minutes, I jumped up to look in the mirror. I didn’t look any different at all! But something felt different. I felt a hell of a lot more awake. Never before had it taken so little time without coffee to wake me up. Seriously, it’s like all the good parts of a morning shower without the dreaded blow dry. And while the swelling hadn’t disappeared, the redness from wearing my contacts all night was gone.

A much better use of a potato and eyes.

I washed my face (the potato left a nasty film) and looked into the mirror once again.

The verdict: The Internet tells me this is supposed to work. Of course, the Internet lies sometimes. So I’m still not sure potatoes actually reduce swollen eyes. But it does feel good and definitely wakes you up. My advice? Save it for the morning after a hard night of partying or a spa night with your girls.

Think you’d try putting potatoes on your eyes? What’s your fave at home beauty treatment? Tell us in the comments!

Now, read what happened when we tried sticker nail wraps!

swollen eyes