5 SPRING BEAUTY TRENDS

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but behold the new trends in beauty for Spring 2010. From lips to eyes and skin, we've got you covered. Gone are the days of dark, moody as we welcome the days of color explosion and glowing skin.

1. PAINT ME PASTEL. Understated hues that are eye-popping in shades- lavender, turquoise, pink, and sage green- in matte to shimmer are capturing the lids this season.

How to achieve this look: Start slow, one color at a time. Limit your shade below the crease of your lids. Fresh and clean is the name of the game. Have no fear, pastels work on all skin shades, from porcelain white to olive, these universal hues make the whites of your eyes brighter. Stick to a lil eyeliner to create the drama and a nude lipgloss to complete the look. (Our favorites: Chanel Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Bambou, Lancome Color Design Eye Shadow in Personal Style, Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow in Frost Blossom.)

2. ORANGE you RED-Y for SPRING. Vibrant red adds a jolt of color and panache to your lips. Jump into Spring full throttle and embrace this fabulous hue. Toss out the dark purples from the past, this is RED HOT!

How to achieve this look: Start with a lip liner that matches the color of your natural lip. Mix a red-orange lipstick with a lil lip balm and apply with a brush. Make sure to keep the rest of your face fairly neutral and then kick it up a notch in the evening with a lil liner on the upper lids. Remember this color transitions from day to night! (Our favorites: Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick in Fire, Tarina Tarantino Conditioning Lip Balm in Paramour, and Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick  in A Go-Go.)

3. TOUSLE ME TENDER. Slightly effortless and a whole lot of sexy, tousled, romantic curls are in. Get a modern, yet edgy look that looks like you just rolled out of bed.

How to achieve this look: Blow dry your hair with your hands and not your typical round brush. Once dry, add a texture spray (we love Shu Uemura Art of Hair, Liquid Fabric Mineral Texture Spray). Then section hair into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch pieces and curl with a 1.25" barrel. After your whole head is curled, gently run your fingers it to give movement.

4. NATURAL BEAUTY. Go for glow. Luminous skin is IN. Gone are the days of the matte skin, radiant complexions are all the rage!

How to achieve this look: Remember that you should illuminate or accentuate your cheekbones, brow bones, and the bridge of your nose. Select a color of foundation that has a luminizer in it to make your life easier. Apply with a foundation brush and blend into your own skin. Dust with a translucent powder to seal the look. (Our favorites: Nars Orgasm Illuminator liquid luminizer, Laura Mercier Radiant Creme Colour, and Dior Poudrier Dentelle Illuminating Lace Effect Powder in Rose Dentelle.)

5. LIKE PUTTY "ON" YOUR HANDS. Nail polish is one of the best accessories to top off an outfit, so with that said, say goodbye to the blacks and navy blues, but definitely try Putty, which is a brown/grey tone.

How to achieve this look: A lighter color can replace a french manicure lovers typical fare, where as, olive skin and darker tones can definitely make a statement with this subtle taupe color. (Our favorites: RGB in Toast, OPI in You Don't Know Jacques, and Deborah Lippmann in Waking Up in Vegas)

Variations in Priyanka's skin tone, hair and voice for WYR?

We know that Priyanka Chopra plays 12 roles in Ashutosh Gowariker’s What’s Your Raashee. And that each one has been styled differently. But the attention that Ashutosh Gowariker has paid to the hair styling for each of the 12 Priyankas takes our breath away.




So the diligent director took pain staking effort to achieve the right look for the right character. Ashutosh says,“You can tell a girl’s personality not only by her clothes and hair but also by the way the hair bounces, voices and skin tones.”

Non-film hair stylist Asha Hariharan was brought in to do Priyanka Chopra’s hair for the 12 characters. For that it was needed that an expert beyond the expertise offered by the Bollywood names be roped in.Neeta Lulla has done all of Priyanka’s clothes.

Ashutosh believed that Priyanka could pull off all 12 parts.He saw how nuanced her performances were right from the time she made her debut in The Hero.

Rajesh Patil was roped in to do Priyanka’s 12 skin tones. Priyanka being dusky in complexion had a particularly tough time playing the more gora avtars.Priyanka has assumed a different skin tone, complexion and playback voices, each suited to the individual character in terms of personality and body/spoken language.

As for her voices Ashutosh sifted through innumerable voices with composer Sohail Sen before selecting the 11 voices (the 12th girl doesn’t sing).

TREND OF THE DAY: HOT CROSS BUNS

When in doubt, tie it up! Start with simple curls and gently pull it back to the nape of your neck in a messy bun. Wrap a few strands of hair around the band. To do a sweet cross bun, take 2 strands from each side of the hair and tuck into place. Leave a few tundrels to frame the face and even you can pull off this simple updo, just like Cate!

Should you buy it? Gillette Venus Breeze

Your girly blogger is here to help you - by testing beauty products to give you more information for your future purchases. The first product is the Gillette Venus Breeze 2-in-1 razor. It is much like Schick's Intuition - a razor with the shaving gel/cream built in for easy use and quick showers. First of all, I was a hard-core Schick Intuition girl until recently. While shopping in the lovely Target, I found the Breeze on clearance. Now, I wish I didn't buy all those extra replacement razors for the Intuition in bulk from Amazon.com. Once I tried the Breeze, I decided it was much better than the Schick Intuition. So as soon as I run out of refill razors at my boyfriend's pad, I am going to have to replace that Intuition with a Breeze, too.

Pros: Smells good, leaves your legs feeling very silky, easier to maneuver around knees and ankles than Intuition, better bikini-area shave, less cumbersome

Cons: You could hate the smell, cartridges are expensive, have to hang to dry

GG Grade: A+

Let me know your grade by commenting below!

Ode to the tan

Along with the whole bridesmaid bit, comes the inevitable ghost-like whiteness of my skin. I love being a redhead for many reasons, but our fair, unable-to-tan skin is not one of them. But I profane of baking in the sun (or in a tanning bed) to get that beautiful glow. Thankfully, our great world has come up with some very nifty products that make me tan without overexposure to the sun (the red-headed lobster look is so not in style). So let me tell you a bit about the bronzers I enjoy. Right now, I am using Nivea, but I have just started using it, so I do not have that great of a review yet. It has worked well so far, but has been more prone to streaking. It might be because I have not been doing this for a while, or it could be because this one is a little more powerful than what I am used to.

This next one I have not tried (it's like $32 a pop, and I rather stick to the $6-$10 range of the others). This fancy pink bottle promises to give you a great air-brush tan from the comfort of your home, plus it is not supposed to make your clothes tan, too! That is my #1 complaint about sunless tanners - my bras, towels, underwear always become a shade of tan, but a turn through the washer usually gets rid of it.


My fellow blogger friend, Sarah, likes the Oil of Olay version, but I have not tried it. Check out her thoughts on this one by clicking on the picture of the lotion. You will be transferred to her amazing blog - View from the Front Porch.

I have also not tried this one by Aveeno, but I love many of their products and think that I would feel the same way about this one. The nifty two-tone, dual-lotion bottle makes me want to buy it. I am going to try this one next!

Finally, Dove Energy Glow is my fallback. It has always worked for me, but I like to try others to try to find the best. Happy Sunless Sunning!

p.s. Click on the pictures to find out where to purchase the tanners.