Forget the Selfie Stick. Meet the Selfie Drone.

Nowadays, selfies are everywhere — from Apple’s latest ad campaign to profile photos to the full “selfies” folder on your iPhone, close-up photos of our faces reign supreme. A recent study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgerydisclosed that even a few years ago, back in 2014, people were snapping 93 billion pictures of themselves on Android phones each day; it’s mindboggling to guess how many selfies we’ve taken over the last half-decade. While selfies can be glamorous, funny, memorable, and even used as your password, researchers have also proven that they can cause unhealthy dysmorphia.

Do you like your facial features when you look in the mirror but feel like they look a little funky or not as attractive to you on your phone screen? If so, you might be observing something the researchers coined the “Selfie Effect,” which primarily causes noticeable distortion to the nose. The effect can be so dramatic that it can make your nose look 30 percent bigger than it actually is. Dr. Anthony Youn, a leading holistic plastic surgeon, explains this modern phenomenon in more detail. “Selfie dysmorphia is a term that describes an unrealistic obsession that many people have with taking selfies, getting rid of their perceived flaws with filters, and then having plastic surgery to try to look like their filtered selfies,” he schools us. “Patients actually bring their filtered and edited selfies to plastic surgeons’ offices and ask them to change their appearance to look like their altered photos.” Boris Pashkover, an assistant professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Otolaryngology and co-author of the study, cites patients coming in with selfies and asking specifically to make their noses smaller. Find this to be sad and unfortunate? Dr. Youn agrees and expresses his concern. “This is unsettling for me (as a board-certified plastic surgeon) because most millennials don’t really ‘need’ anything done.”

“People, especially millennials, need to understand that selfies are not accurate representations of how they look,” he continues. “To be honest, selfies are more like a carnival funhouse version of yourself than an accurate representation — and it all has to do with the distance between your face and the camera.” According to Dr. Youn and the study, the closer you position your face to the camera, the more you might perceive your appearance as altered. “Portrait photos are typically taken from a distance, unlike selfies, which can be captured as little as 12 inches from your face. Portrait photographers have known this for years and take their photos accordingly,” he says. “Selfies aren’t a totally accurate depiction of what a person’s face looks like, and they shouldn’t influence the decision to undergo plastic surgery,” he reiterates.

Good news, though: If you’re not thrilled with how your face or nose look in close-up pictures, moving the camera farther away will definitely help — whether you set it up somewhere and use a timer, or get yourself a selfie stick. And there’s always the option of having someone take a photo for you; the extra distance will give you a better picture that accurately depicts how flawless you really are.

What do you think about the “selfie effect”? Sound off on Twitter @BritandCo.

Stassi Schroeder may look picture-perfect when appearing on her reality series Vanderpump Rules, but beneath that seemingly flawless complexion, she wants us to know that she’s every bit as human as the rest of us.

The Straight Up With Stassi podcast host took to Instagram stories over the weekend sans cosmetics to let fans in on a little secret: She actually suffers from psoriasis. “The psoriasis situation is not on fleek,” she said in the accompanying post video. “If anybody else suffers from this and gets it on their face, I’m with you.”

She reiterated her statements with her caption, saying, “If you suffer from Psoriaris, you ain’t alone. Sh*t sucks.”

It’s not the first time she’s opened up about the topic: Back in 2015, she shared a similar selfie while letting fans in on her big beauty secret: Ultra HD Make Up Forever Foundation ($43).

“So many of you ask what makeup I use because It “looks” like I have flawless skin,” she wrote at the time. “I don’t. And these patches are an f-ing b*tch to cover up and make me feel ugly all the time… Feel beautiful today, girls. We all have our issues.”

View this post on Instagram

Having one of those days where Psoriasis is taking over my life. So many of you ask what makeup I use because it "looks" like I have flawless skin. I don't. And these patches are an effing bitch to cover up and make me feel ugly all the time. So here ya go, a no make up selfie. Feel beautiful today, girls. We all have our issues. PS. I use HD make up forever foundation ;)

A post shared by Stassi Schroeder (@stassischroeder) on Nov 5, 2015 at 11:11am PST

As she told Bravo in a subsequent interview, it’s important for her to be open with her viewers about her looks. “Because I know if I go on another girl’s blog or if I’m looking at her Instagram — I stalk tons of female celebrities too — I don’t like feeling bad about myself,” she shared. “I don’t like when people pretend everything’s perfect, it’s not… And I don’t like when women feel insecure, and I don’t want them to ever look at me and feel that way so that’s why if I need to talk about my psoriasis or the fact that I’m wearing pairs of Spanx, fine.”

Her sentiments echo that of Lorde’s, who shared her own struggles with acne just last week. Kudos to both ladies for showing us all that even with our perceived “flaws,” we’re still beautiful in every way!

What do you think of Stassi’s makeup-free selfie? Share over @BritandCo.

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(Photo via @stassischroeder + Dia Dipasupil/Getty)

St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon, and I’m already so pumped for it, thanks to a slew of fun fast food treats. From Wendy’s new Thin Mints Frosty and Dairy Queen’s Mint Oreo Blizzard to the return of McDonald’s famed Shamrock Shake, I’m geared up for all things green.

If you’re also celebrating St. Paddy’s with a sweet treat, you’re gonna want to try out this Starbucks secret menu drink that has the perfect green tint. It’s filled with white chocolate and matcha – but not in the way you’d think. Plus, it's a tasty departure from your expected mint flavors around this time of year!

Scroll on to discover the Starbucks secret menu order that’s perfect for sipping on St. Patrick’s Day!

@_starbuckssss

Essentially an iced white chocolate mocha made with blonde espresso topped with matcha cold foam and brown butter sprinkles, one Starbucks barista revealeda tasty (and festive!) new way to enjoy the chain’s offerings in lieu of St Paddy’s: the Pot Of Gold!

Starbucks

The spirited drink starts with 4 pumps of white mocha sauce, which is then combined with 2 blonde espresso shots. Starbucks’ blonde espresso has a smoother effect than their traditional shots, so expect this sip to bring on the sweetness!

Starbucks

From there, you can order the drink with your choice of milk – and it’s a total bonus that Starbucks is no longer charging extra for alternative milks like oat, almond, coconut, and soy milk!

Starbucks

The next step is to order the drink with the chain’s vanilla cold foam, adding 2 scoops of matcha powder in the process.

Note: this secret menu item was shared before Starbucks reformulated their matcha powderto be unsweetened, but the cold foam should still have some sweetness, thanks to the vanilla.

Starbucks

Finally, the Pot Of Gold matcha drink is complete, boasting a satisfying layer of green on top of a golden latte. The barista who came up with the drink topped their bev with Starbucks’ brown butter sprinkles, which is in cafes for a limited time alongside their pistachio-flavored coffees.

If your local Starbucks is out of the brown butter sprinkles, a dusting of cinnamon or chocolate curls could also be so tasty!

Starbucks

With this secret menu hack, you’ll be sipping your way through a delightful sweetness and plenty of caffeine from both the matcha powder and espresso shots. If you prefer to have less jitters in your drink, you could easily order it ‘half-caff’ or with decaf espresso shots.

For quick reference, here’s how to order the Pot Of Gold drink. Ask for:

• A grande iced latte
• With 2 blonde espresso shots (or your preference for ‘half-caff’ or decaf)
• With your choice of milk
• Topped with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam with 2 scoops of matcha powder
• Add brown butter topping

And voila! This drink is such a fun way to ring in St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re craving an iced blended beverage, I also tracked down some pretty delicious-looking secret menu drinks for a Lucky Leprechaun Frappuccino and a Pot Of Gold Frappuccino.

Check ‘em out – and happy St. Paddy’s!

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