Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

Demi Moore's fabulous long hair, Susan Sarandon's cleavage, and Michelle Obama's biceps all suggest that in 2009, there are fewer rules about "dressing your age" than ever. But the issue does require a little savvy. Pilates-devotees may look great in a short skirt during any decade, but after 40, wearing, say, a cheerleader skirt, gets tricky.

10 beauty mistakes that add 10 years.

The Times Online assembled a How Not to Look Old-esque list of how to work it, and we extracted the following gems: They claim bright lipstick can look like you're trying too hard, and while we'd agree that trends like black and green might look harsh, a lady in red always looks winsome. A stiff bouffant is listed under ways to date yourself, but a classic updo paired with a sleeveless number is Audrey Hepburn chic all the way. And the rule of the game is no rules, but we couldn't resist this maxim from French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, who gets it right every time: "...snake is better on older women than

We might not share in the German fervor for David Hasselhoff, but there is a guilty pleasure Germans have that is shared in the U.S.: the tanning bed (or as they call it, the solarium.) But the German parliament aims to fix that. Last week, they passed a law that bans people under the age of 18 from visiting solariums (roughly 4 million people under 18 visit them at least once a month!). The parliament hopes this law will decrease the abundance of melanoma and other forms of skin cancer in the country-about 140,000 cases of skin cancer develop each year.

More reasons to skip the tanning bed, regardless of your age.

-- Erin Flaherty

image via http://commons.wikimedia.org

More from Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter:

• Get Youthful Skin: The simple things you can do to take years off your face.
• Editors' Favorites: Discover our latest beauty obsessions each weekday.
• Summer Innovations: The best new formulas that make skin glow, keep underarms dry, prevent poufy hair,

We've been known to go crazy for the supercool packaging of a candle or fragrance. Cleansers, though? They don't usually turn us on. But the new, limited-edition bottles for Shu Uemura's famous cleansing oils really make us want to wash our face. The five bottles feature fun artwork by Japanese manga artist and illustrator Moyoco Anno and they are just too, too cute. Finally, a skin-care product we don't have to hide in the medicine cabinet! For more on the Shu oils, check out our July issue, on newsstands now.

Shu Uemura products, and others, Madonna's makeup artist loves.

-- Alyssa Kolsky Hertzig, Beauty News Editor

More from Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter:

• Get Youthful Skin: The simple things you can do to take years off your face.
• Editors' Favorites: Discover our latest beauty obsessions each weekday.
• Summer Innovations: The best new formulas that make skin glow, keep underarms dry, prevent poufy hair, and more.
• Free Stuff: Enter to win this

It's the first week of summer! These products will keep your hair looking hot.

Ricky's Velcro Self Grip Rollers, $5.99, create tumbling waves and volume without heat damage, which makes your hair extra dry come summer.

Insider tips on how to style your hair for more body.

L'Oréal Paris Vive Pro Smooth-Intense Shampoo and Conditioner, $4.99 each, contain UV filters, so they fortify your hair against sun damage and keep your color from fading or turning brassy.

Phyto Plage Protective Beach Spray, $22. Chlorine and salt have a drying, dulling effect. This protects hair and restores moisture after you've been in the ocean.

Bumble and Bumble Leave in (Rinse out) Conditioner, $22, moisturizes really well, so when you come off the beach, all you have to do is rinse with water and style.

EmiJay Hair Ties, $10.99 for 8 ties. (pictured) They're like satiny elastic ribbons. Loop your hair through one, and pull out a few face-framing pieces to create a messy, sexy ponytail.

John

Everyone at Allure considers it a job requirement to find beauty versions of diamonds in the rough. Some that currently have staffers going nuts: Moroccanoil Treatment hair products. Finer-haired staffers like a touch of the original oil to smooth down flyaways for a sleek ponytail, while those of us with thicker, coarser hair think the masks are the hair gods' gift to unruly frizz. And whenever people stop by the office, we noticed recently, that's the stuff they ask if we have extras of. Consider yourself tipped off!

Related: 10 hairstyles that make you look 10 years younger.

-- Kayleigh Donahue, Editorial Assistant

More from Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter:

• 5 weight-loss tips you've never heard before
• Eating more of these foods will help you shed pounds
• Junk food for dieter's coming to a supermarket near you
  
• Try the Cheater's Diet and Win a Spa Trip, 20 Years' of Makeup, and More!

OMG: Cher and Christina Aguilera to star (and sing!) in a modern musical called Burlesque? When it comes to the beauty and fashion possibilities for this movie, the mind freakin' reels. Aguilera sporting fantasy burlesque chic is nothing new-she was rocking that look way back during those Moulin Rouge soundtrack days-but we trust the makeup and wardrobe team will come up with something fresh and outrageous.

Looking for a fresh look yourself? Four tips for how to snap out of a makeup rut.

And a Cher on top of that sundae? Between the two of them, there is so much hair to deal-we imagine the stylist tapped for the job will stock case after case of Aquanet. Production doesn't begin until later this year, but we'll be eagerly awaiting sneak peeks of the sure-to-be-insanely-awesome hair and makeup.

See Scarlett Johansson burlesque-themed photo shoot for Allure.

-- Erin Flaherty

image via www.commons.wikimedia.org

More from Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter:

• 5 weight-loss tips you've

Slaves to the elliptical and former prima ballerina wannabes take notice: the barre method workout (you know, the latest 'it' exercise trend in L.A.) has just gone portable. Pure Barre, a studio based in California, is launching two new dvd workouts that they say can "transform your body" in a little over a month with a combination of ballet technique, yoga moves, and a little pilates.

Check out the big breakthrough products that will transform your beauty regimen.

I just started the routine, so no word yet on the validity of that claim. But I did score a 15% discount for allure.com fans that works until Wednesday. (Plug in the code ALLURE when you place your order.) It's 45 minutes of butt-kicking muscle toning minus, well, having to kick anyone's butt, and the routines are actually pretty fun and easy-even if, like me, you were never the most graceful girl in a tutu.

Behind the scenes of Dancing With the Stars.

-- Kayleigh Donahue, Editorial Assistant

image via David Cook

More

A ponytail for summer is far from revolutionary-neither, for that matter, is a bun. But we're always inspired when we see an updated version that somehow makes these classic hair-off-the-neck styles look fresh and sexy. Case in point: the pony/bun combo shown on Bumble and Bumble's press release for their limited-edition Bandball (literally, a ball of 100 overlapping hair elastics.) The look is grungy-cool, like something Kate Moss/Sienna Miller/Taylor Momsen would wear.

Four creative looks for your up-do from the Hair Guy, Chris McMillan.

So, of course, we want it, too. Bumble and Bumble hairstylist Jimmy Paul gave me the exclusive how-to:

• 
  
• Start with dry (preferably day-old) hair, and apply Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray evenly from roots to ends to give hair fullness and a rope-y texture. "This style works particularly well with hair that has a bit of grit to it," he says.
• 
  
• Massage your roots with your fingertips to build some volume and a little roughness.