“I can’t stress enough how important it is to clean your makeup brushes,” says Jillian Dempsey, a celebrity and editorial makeup artist who’s worked with Emilia Clarke, Kristen Stewart, and Julia Roberts, among others. “They accumulate bacteria, oil, and dead skin cells, which will clog your pores and also cause breakouts. Not to mention, leaving your brushes in bad form means they’re unable to perform as well as they would if cleaned and fresh....

Vacuum Upholstered Furniture Often Our number one cleaning tip is to vacuum your upholstered furniture often. Dirt not only affects the appearance of your furniture, it can also wear away fabric fibers. Use a clean, dry upholstery attachment, or any stiff-bristle brush, to loosen dried dirt and debris. Use the crevice tool for hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. Use Baby Wipes to Clean Furniture Baby wipes are surprisingly effective for quick DIY upholstery cleaning (although you should always test first on an inconspicuous area to make sure they won’t damage the fabric)....

How to Clean Water Stains From Fabric If you discover what appears to be water stains on the hems of washable clothes, curtains, or bedding, treat the stains with a bit of laundry stain remover and wash as usual. Follow these steps from Natalie Barrett, a cleaning professional and quality supervisor at Nifty Cleaning Services in Australia, to remove water stains from upholstery. What You’ll Need Distilled white vinegarWhite lint-free clothsSmall glass or plastic bowlPaper towelsHeavy books or objectsHandheld hair dryer...

We’re here to coach you through all of your options for cooking bacon, including how to cook bacon in the oven, how to cook bacon in the microwave, how to cook bacon on the stove, and even tricks for cooking bacon on the grill. We’ll also dish on how to select and store your pork for the best results. Prepare to pig out—you’ll want to add strips to every meal after mastering all the best ways to cook bacon....

“I’ve always said that if you don’t like tofu, you’re making it wrong,” says Ashley Hankins, the vegan recipe developer, photographer, and content creator behind Eat Figs Not Pigs and soon-to-be-released book, Make It Vegan: From Quick & Easy to Deep Fried & Delicious. “I get it—I want to be completely clear with the fact that I am the last person in the world that ever thought I would adopt a fully vegan diet....

Reader question: I have clogged pores around my mouth and chin, and my skin feels really tight. Do you have any suggestions? — Jacki Pauley I have some good news and bad news. I’ll start with the bad: Based on your symptoms (clogged pores and tightness), it sounds like you have congested skin. The good news: It hasn’t turned into acne—yet—so long as you clear up those blockages. What causes congested skin, exactly?...

What is ingrown hair, anyway? As hair grows, it’s supposed to leave its follicle (the area that surrounds the root) and exit the skin, growing straight up and out. But in the case of an ingrown, the hair gets all turned around and grows back into the skin. “When a hair reenters or gets trapped under the skin, you end up with an ingrown,” says Dr. Devika Icecreamwala, a dermatologist in Berkeley, CA....

The allure of a murder mystery party? It’s all about the drama. Guests get to dress up and pretend to be someone else in an alternate world for a few hours. The easiest way to organize a murder mystery is to hire someone who does it for a living. So we asked two such professionals how to go about using their services. Here’s how to host an unforgettable night with loved ones....

I’m neat. Correction: fanatically tidy. My husband, on the other hand, is a human typhoon who leaves a trail of debris in his wake. If it were up to me, I’d live in a pristine, minimalist dwelling. Tom claims he thrives in mess and finds comfort in his piles of periodicals and papers. He drops his clothes on the floor wherever he happens to take them off. Meanwhile, I get physically uncomfortable if our small Brooklyn apartment is the least bit out of order....

1. Choose the Right Site for Your Rain Garden Take a good look at your yard: Do any low areas in it have a little standing water after a heavy rain? That could be a natural place to start a rain garden. You also want the site to be in full sun to part shade and at least 10 feet away from your house. Finally, locate your rain garden down a slope from a downspout, ditch—or other outlet for water—running off hard surfaces on your property....

Today, party planners love how easy it is to customize popcorn balls with food coloring, candies, and nuts to suit any holiday or party theme. Read on for tips to make the best popcorn balls you’ve ever tasted. How to Make Fresh or Microwave Popcorn Balls We’ll go through all the steps here to make old-fashioned fresh or microwave popcorn balls at home using this basic recipe. Once you’ve got the classic recipe down, you’ll be able to customize the sweet treats with add-ins, too....

How Many Cups in a Can of Pumpkin, Really? Fifteen ounces of canned pumpkin is just shy of 2 cups (16 ounces would be 2 cups). By comparison, a 3-pound pie pumpkin will likely give you enough puree for a recipe that calls for a can of pumpkin. After cooking and draining a pumpkin, this is about what to expect from a typical cooking pumpkin transformed into fresh pumpkin puree:...

Use better bread. In most sandwiches, bread is the component that takes up the most physical space, so start with good bread. Investing in a $5 loaf (or baking one yourself) and slicing it right before you make the sandwich gives you a huge flavor and freshness boost relative to pre-sliced bread or a low-quality loaf. Keeping that bread kept out of the fridge and sealed will prolong the life of its flavor and bite....

Bra size is notoriously fickle between different lingerie brands; a C-cup at one store can easily be a D-cup at another, and some bra sizes can grow and shrink (especially in band size) over the course of a day or between washings. The best option is to know your bra size by taking bust measurements using these simple measuring instructions, which will ensure a perfect fit in band and in cup—and can even help you find the right amount of support....

When you land in the “real world,” there’s no travel guide waiting for you with a sign, telling you exactly where to go. After packing up your comforter, textbooks, and Polaroids, you typically head back to your hometown with the imminent question, what now? Some of your friends may have found a job at this point, or begun moving to a new city with their big dreams in tow. You may not know it based on their Instagram stories, but they’re facing the same reality as you....

This rainforest native requires constant warmth and high humidity, so it can be tricky to grow this spice outdoors in many regions of the United States. Cardamom should be brought indoors to overwinter, and it can work as a houseplant, however, it rarely flowers when grown in a container, therefore it won’t produce flavorful seeds indoors for your culinary creations. You’ll also need to give this plant plenty of space—it can grow from 6 feet to 16 feet tall....

With blooms coming in beautiful shades of sky to navy blue, it’s easy to see why larkspur is a classic. Blue is a hard-to-find color in the flower world, and larkspur has it in spades, along with other colors. The plant is available in single and double varieties, some of which have so many petals, they have a pom-pom appearance. The foliage of larkspur is a great addition to the plant (and the garden!...

In general, the reliability of reblooming iris declines as you go farther north. Gardeners in Zones 3 and 4 may see little or no reblooming. In most types, the reblooming cycle is set off by cooler weather, so if your temperatures are tropical year-round, you may not see a second bloom. Also, some varieties won’t start reblooming for a couple of years. Where to Plant Reblooming Iris Plant reblooming iris in a sunny spot that gets shade later in the day....

If hose bibs are not properly winterized, the water trapped inside the pipes can freeze. When ice forms, the water molecules take on a six-sided crystalline structure, which makes ice less dense than water. However, due to this configuration, the volume of the water increases, forcing the ice to expand outward. This expansion exerts force on the interior of the pipe, valves, hose bib, and any accessories, like hoses or spray nozzles....

If you’re planning to refinish an existing floor, pull up a floor register to make sure you have enough wood for another sanding. Standard hardwood strip flooring can be sanded several times, but if your floor is only slightly more than 1/2 inch thick, consult a professional. The same goes for engineered flooring. It can be refinished, but its top layer is quite thin. Take inventory of the existing floor, and mark and repair popped nails and damaged areas....