Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

Over on Lemondrop, Brooke Van Poppelen wondered if karma played a role in her hairdresser getting hit by a car (okay, tapped by a car) shortly after giving her a bad haircut. Brooke was almost pleased by this, and asked, "Am I the worst person ever?"

Erm, let us get back to you on that. What we can tell you all is that bad cuts are avoidable. Here's what stylist Edward Tricomi of the Warren-Tricomi salon in New York City told us about getting the right cut. Study up, and you won't leave the salon hoping a Chrysler sloppily pulls out of a parking lot when your stylist runs to get his or her third Starbucks.

The 10 Biggest Short Hair Mistakes

1. Act it out. "Avoid talking in terms of inches. Measurements might be scientific, but they're subjective when no one is pulling out a ruler. If you have hair to your collarbone and want it cut to shoulder length, pull your hair up to that exact point."

2. Show more than tell. "Stylists are visual people. Showing a photo or a magazine

Read More »from How to Avoid a Bad Haircut

Curves! Controlled curls! Liquor at the office! The show makes the 1960s seem awfully appealing in some ways, and not so much in others. There's the show's depiction of racism and sexism...and on the lighter side, fashion. For one, the period-perfect details mean all the women are decked out in awfully pointy bras. And now in England, sales of Joan-esque bras have increased by ten percent at department store John Lewis in the past week alone. Would you ever go for the conical look? Or is it best left across the pond?

Seriously, a bra that could save your life!

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• 10 Hairstyles That Make You Look 10 Years Younger
• The 15 Sexiest Makeup Looks of All Time
• Cheap Thrills: The Year's Best Affordable Beauty Products
• 5 Latest Celebrity Diets You Won't Believe

Read More »from Mad Men Style Bras Selling Out in England, Would You Wear a Pointy Bra?

Twenty percent of women in their twenties experience hair loss. This surprising stat came from a new study by The Impact of Thinning hair (commissioned by Peter Lamas Products)-which also found that 54 percent of women with thinning hair wash their hair less, wear hats more often, and use multiple products every day to make hair seem thicker and fuller.

Video: How to Get Thicker Hair

If your hair is thinning, it's best to see a doctor to rule out any medical causes. In the meantime, there are some tricks you can try that can help mask the loss. New York City hairstylist Garren suggests:

• Keep your hair shorter than shoulder-length and get a blunt cut.
• Don't be afraid to dye your hair-dye swells the cuticle and can make hair seem fuller.
• But if you do color it, don't go too dark. A deep brown can exaggerate the whiteness of the scalp and make it more noticeable.

Related: How to Get Back Your Natural Hair Color

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• 10 Hairstyles That Make You Look 10

Read More »from Reasons Why You May Be Losing Hair

Lately, we've seen quite a few TV commercials for unconventional (and sometimes questionable) beauty and weight-loss inventions: Bumpits. The Smooth Away hair removal system. Ab machines that claim to turn your jelly roll into a six pack by shocking you. Our new favorite has to be for the Hollywood Cookie Diet. In the commercial, Santa opens his robe to reveal ripped abs, courtesy of…cookies.

Foods you should be eating to help you shed pounds.

It may sound too good to be true, but as we reported in our November story, "Celebrity Slim," some celebs are shedding pounds by substituting high-fiber cookies for meals. The only catch? Despite their appearance, they taste more like Met Rx than Mrs. Fields. Oh, and once you've dropped a few from the diet it may be hard to eat normally again without packing on the pounds.

What do you think? Would you try to lose weight by eating cookies?

Related: The 5 Latest Celebrity Diets You Won't Believe.

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• 10

Read More »from Can Eating Cookies Help You Lose Weight?

We've compiled a list of our favorite remedies for keeping lips shiny and moisturized all season long.

"Mission Skincare Amanda Beard's Lip Balmer SPF 15 is my new favorite. It's from a company that works with different athletes-hence, the Amanda Beard connection. It's got lots of moisturizing oils and has a great texture-not too watery nor too waxy-that feels soothing. And the broad-spectrum protection is key because sun damage just dries out your lips more." -Amy Keller Laird, beauty director

"I love Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15. The stick is the perfect consistency-moisturizing, but not too oily-and the lemon scent is amazing." -Alyssa Kolsky Hertzig, beauty news editor

"I prefer squeeze-tube balms over hard, waxy ones, but many tube formulas are gloppy and sticky. Not Clark's Botanicals Ultra Rich Lip Balm-it's lighter and not at all syrupy. It's also got great moisturizers such as shea butter, jojoba, and sweet almond oil." -Victoria Kirby, beauty editor

Winter

Read More »from 6 Favorite Lips Balms for Winter

We asked Essie Weingarten, founder of Essie Cosmetics, how to get perfectly groomed nails in a flash-and without a smudge.

• Skip the soak and ask your manicurist to apply a lightweight lotion, which hydrates your hands and cuticles just as effectively-but shortens the treatment time by 5 minutes.
• Push back your cuticles instead of trimming them. "This is a smart move in terms of time and safety," says Weingarten.
• Request a single coat of polish to reduce drying time. "Two coats are ideal," says Weingarten, "but one will suffice, provided you secure it with a basecoat and topcoat." Just remember to choose a light, almost translucent shade, not a dark one. "You won't get the dramatic effect of a deep polish in just one coat." More Tips: How to Do a Dark Manicure
• If you don't have time to sit under the dryer, apply a few drops of dry oil after the topcoat to help prevent smudges and dents. "You'll be out the door in 15 minutes, as opposed to 50," says Weingarten.

Read More »from Tips for Speeding Up Your Manicure at the Salon

PHOTO: COURTESY OF BLOW NYCThe look is having a moment. Proof: At the spring 2010 shows, Versace showed rumpled curls, while the hair at Proenza Schouler had a beachy texture. More proof: In the October issue of Allure, hairstylist Luigi Murenu-a runway regular-created six different versions of waves and curls in the story "Making Waves." Allure editors are no exception when it comes to wave love. These are our current product faves:

Privé Curl Activating Créme plus L'Oréal Professionnel Textureline Infinium Hairspray 2: "I scrunch two squirts of this product into wet, clean hair, and then air-dry. The cream has a bit of tackiness to it, so it gives my waves texture and hold. Once my hair is mostly dry, I mist the L'Oréal Professionnel around the crown, lifting and tossing the roots with my fingers as I spray for nice, non-helmet-head volume." -Amy Keller Laird, beauty director

Top 11 Tricks for Gorgeous Hair Everyday.

Bumble and Bumble Calming Creme for Coarse Curls: "It gets rid of the ugly flyaways

Read More »from The 5 Best Products For Tousled Waves

In a classic case of good news/bad news, a group of doctors may have proven the old adage that every woman eventually turns into her mother. A study that was just presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons concluded that mothers and daughters age in remarkably similar ways.

The 13 Biggest Skin Myths Debunked

Researches used state-of-the-art three-dimensional modeling to analyze how 10 mother-daughter pairs, ranging in age from 15 to 90, had hollowing in the inner corners of their eyes and lower eyelids, two classic areas that show the signs of aging.

Turns out, if the mother had a pattern of sagging under her eyes, her daughter was bound to as well. (Of course, this doesn't mean you're going to look exactly like Mom: regular SPF use will help you ward off the sun's harmful rays and cut back on the risk of fine lines and sun spots.)

The 10 Beauty Mistakes That Add 10 Years

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Read More »from Will You Age Like Your Mother?