Author: Iskra Banović

This is a story about how my fatkini completely changed my life. I grew up surrounded by water. I had a pool in my backyard, Lake Huron down the street, and weekly swimming lessons throughout my childhood. I was always a total fish–the first one in the water and the last one out. Coldwater could not deter me, nor could cloudy skies. If I was in the water, I would be happy. Everything changed when I hit the fifth grade and started to realize that girls who looked like me were not supposed to swim. Swimming was OK for girls…

I’m a size 12 with big hips, big boobs, and a cushy stomach–so, not a straight-size model. But that doesn’t stop me from wearing what I want to. Once upon a time, I did not like my body. Well, once upon most of the time, actually, because I spent the better part of a decade considering my body to be a heinous demon monster unfit for visual consumption. While I acknowledged that my body would allow me to do fun things like dance and write and run (okay, fine, I don’t actually thinking running is fun, but I couldn’t think of…

According to some people, these are the styles plus size women should not be wearing–but they’re totally wrong. Here’s why. Fascinatingly, there are many people out there who do not understand the concept of clothing. According to the Webster Dictionary, clothing is defined as “garments in general.” You put on clothes in order to clothe yourself, as is customary in polite society. And yet, there are always lists of items “fat girls can’t wear” (I would link, but I don’t want to give them the clicks, and anybody who really wants to can Google’ em). Strangely, these grumpy, disgruntled jerks expert…

Do you need a flat stomach before you can wear crop tops? Absolutely not. I was doing laps around Target the other day, as bored twenty-something women are wont to do when I overheard a conversation that made me stop walking. Two young women around my age were sifting through summery tops in the junior’s section, and one of them said to the other, “I don’t understand why crop tops had to come back. No one can wear them. The only people whose stomachs are flat enough to wear crop tops are too young to be wearing crop tops.” Her…

People do not typically associate bikinis with plus-size women, but that should change–two-piece bathing suits are great for us all. The other day, I did a shopping guide dedicated to bathing suits that come in plus sizes. While there are quite a few great ones out there, I also had that yearly reminder of an aspect of fashion that is a bit dull in the autumn and winter months: brands, designers, retailers, and regular folks still think some sizes simply aren’t “for” plus-size women—namely, bikinis. Women who are over a size 4 or so are typically not shown in bathing suits in…

Buying a swimsuit can be hell if you have bigger breasts–they’re stretchy, unsupportive swatches of fabric you’re supposed to sling across your breasts in hopes that they’ll stay remotely in place. Of course, we all know that that’s not going to work–if you have a larger bust, you need a swimsuit with cup sizes. If a suit says that it’s made for larger busted women and it comes in S, M, and L, it’s lying to you. Don’t be fooled. While the presence of suits that are sized according to cup size is necessary, you don’t want to fall into…

Lots of people are obsessed with Frozen, but some die-hard fans have decided to show their love with Frozen and Elsa’s tattoos. It is hard to believe that Frozen was only released a year ago. What powerful anthem did people play on repeat before “Let It Go?” It’s hard to think back to a time before there were Elsa dolls and t-shirts every 10 feet in the stores. In the short time since Frozen‘s release, it has spawned lookalikes, a drastic increase in voluminous braid tutorials, WTF Halloween costumes, and even a wedding dress. Lots of people have been getting Frozen tattoos to show their love for their favorite film. Check out…

Just when you thought Disney’s Frozen mania had run its course with the prediction that Queen Elsa would be the most popular Halloween costume this year, the universe finally unveils the Frozen-inspired wedding gown, complete with a matching mini flower girl dress! Let it go? Not a chance! (Related: Frozen Tattoos That Prove People Will Never Let The Movie Go) Remember the sketches that were released last month? Well, now we can see the gown in all its Frozen glory, as it stole the show on Wednesday at Bridal Fashion Week in NYC. And I wish I could muster up enough annoyance for even a slight eye-roll, but I have to…

Out of curiosity, if you have imagined yourself without eyelashes and brows, then you will agree with me that it is no less than a nightmare. Our faces will look like a cake without icing in their absence. And after coming into reality, if you see that you have lashes, but they don’t look like one because they are dry or aren’t grown well, that is also quite disheartening. To overcome these issues, innovation came in the face of lash serums but are they good? In the end, you will be able to draw out answers to all your questions…

You’ve got questions; we’ve got answers! Each week on Help A Reader Out, we’ll be taking your fashion and beauty troubles, turning them into informative guides. This week’s question comes from our wonderful reader Cee, who asked on our Help A Reader Out open thread whether to use “rollers or curling iron if you want mermaid waves.” Mermaid waves are one of the loveliest and most sought-after styles, particularly for those who want red carpet appeal without dropping designer dress dollars. Blake Lively, Beyonce, Kate Hudson, Kat Dennings, Taylor Swift, and plenty of other celebs have all incorporated different types of mermaid waves into some of their best looks, giving…

You’ve got questions; we’ve got answers! Each week on Help A Reader Out, we’ll be taking your fashion and beauty troubles to turn them into informative guides. Shaving is my preferred method of hair removal, but I keep getting ingrown hairs on my legs (and elsewhere, ahhhhem). What’s the best way to prevent ingrown hair before it starts? Ouch! An ingrown hair happens when a hair curls backward or sideways into the skin rather than out the way it’s supposed to. Not only are these quite unpleasant, they can also result in potentially harmful conditions such as folliculitis, wherein the hair follicle…

My pubic hair choices have gone back and forth over time quite a bit. (This may seem like a TMI statement, but we are a site that covers beauty, and part of beauty is hair, and you knew what you were getting yourself into when you clicked on this article, man.) When I was a teenager, I used to shave all my pubic hair off because that’s what I assumed adults did, and I really wanted to speed up that process, but it was itchy and uncomfortable. As I got older, my removal levels waned and waxed–pun semi-intended–from being full-on, IDGAF status…