Good Mood

For 30 years, Fred Bryant, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Chicago’s Loyola University, has studied how to make happiness last. Some of his findings:

Share it. “Talking about your happiness with other people will prolong your enjoyment,” says Bryant. “Think about how laughter is contagious — good moods are, too.”
Take a happy moment with you. If you commit a happy experience to memory, you can call on your good mood later by summoning that thought. “Pause while it’s happening, take in the scene, and think about how you’ll remember it,” says Bryant.
Look forward to good things. “People are afraid to enjoy the anticipation leading up to something fun,” says Bryant. “They don’t want to jinx the good time.” Let go of that superstition and you can get a head start on your good mood.

Hair Color

Faded roots are never fun. Avoid them with these easy steps.

Stay within two shades of your natural color. “When your hair grows out, the roots will blend with the colored hair,” says Louis Licari, a colorist for 25 years and the owner of salons in New York City and Los Angeles.
Condition hair before and after coloring. Healthy hair accepts the color better and holds it for longer.
Try not to overheat hair with a blow-dryer or a flat iron. Heat fades color (both natural and artificial) because it speeds hair’s aging process.
Wear a hat. Or else that sun-kissed look will turn brassy and fade by the end of summer.

Ice Cream

Treat it right or ice cream really will give you something to scream about.

Clean out the freezer. “The freezer air will circulate better and your ice cream will stay colder,” says Mike Spinelli, a product developer for Ben & Jerry’s. In an overfilled freezer, the temperature can oscillate 5 to 10 degrees. That can result in repeated softening and refreezing, changing the ice cream’s texture.
Don’t leave ice cream out to soften. Again, the temperature changes affect the texture. Instead, use a scoop that has been warmed under hot water.
Transfer the uneaten portion to an airtight plastic container, pack it, and fill it to the brim, if possible. The air space left by taking a scoop draws moisture from the ice cream, which dehydrates the surface, says food scientist Robert L. Wolke, a professor of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. Or just go ahead and eat the whole pint.

Jeans

Don’t wash jeans after every wear; wait until they’re truly dirty. And then use cold water on the gentle cycle and turn the jeans inside out. That way, any dye that leaches out will stay contained in the legs, where it can be reabsorbed into the denim fibers, says Lynn Downey, company historian for Levi’s. She suggests washing jeans in small loads but with a high water level, to reduce abrasion with other clothing. “And use a no-heat setting in the dryer, or just hang them where they won’t get direct sunlight,” she says. Better yet, have your best jeans dry-cleaned, which will be gentler on the fibers and dyes. For well-worn jeans in danger of ripping, apply lightweight iron-on patches to the insides of any stress points, such as around rivets, at the knees, and at the corners of pockets.

Knees

Bill Healy, M.D., a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, explains how you can stay out of his members’ waiting rooms.

Strengthen your quadriceps, the muscles in the fronts of your thighs. Use the leg-extension machine at the gym, or try this at home: Sit with your back against the wall with one leg out straight, the other bent. Lock the knee of your straight leg and lift it about six inches off the ground. Hold until the muscle is fatigued. Switch legs. Repeat three times on each leg. Strong quads will help your knee ligaments endure the stresses of running, skiing, and cycling, says Healy.
Watch your weight. “Carrying extra pounds stresses the joints and sets you up for problems like tendinitis, muscle strains, and ligament injuries,” says Healy.
Warm up before you exercise. Spend 5 or 10 minutes jogging or using an elliptical trainer, then stretch before any vigorous activity.
Listen to your knees. “If they’re sore, the first treatment is always rest, ice, and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories, such as Advil,” says Healy. If the pain doesn’t subside in a day or two, see an orthopedist. Early intervention is the key to resolving knee problems (and pain) and avoiding surgery.

Lawn

The good news: You could probably mow it less often, according to John Stier, a professor of horticulture at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison, and a sometime playing-field consultant for National Football League and Major League Baseball stadiums.

Don’t mow the grass too short. Aim for a height of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches. “When the grass is short, it can’t generate as much energy through photosynthesis, so it requires more water and fertilizer,” says Stier.
Never cut more than a third of the grass’s height in a single mowing. The top half of the grass’s blades do all the photosynthesizing.
Watch for signs of trouble during hot, dry spells. Press a finger into the soil under the grass; if it feels bone-dry, you need to water. If the blades of grass start to thin, that’s another sign they’re drying out.

Makeup

As a makeup artist for Sports Illustrated’s 2007 Swimsuit Issue, Susan Giordano kept models looking camera-ready for five days in steamy Memphis. Steal her tips:

Face: For an easy, flawless face, try mineral makeup. It looks natural, is long lasting, regulates oil, and doesn’t seep into pores.
Eyes: Layer powder eye shadow over cream eye shadow, or use an eye-shadow base. And choose a liquid or cream eyeliner instead of a pencil.
Lips: Apply lipstick, blot, and reapply. Next, lightly dust loose powder around the edges of the lip line to keep the lipstick in place longer. To prolong the life of lip gloss, outline the lips with a lip-colored liner, then apply the gloss for a natural look that stays put.