Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

Time to bust out your old Chanel Vamp (and Black Satin, come to think of it). Women's Wear Daily has reported on the sinister trend of black capes and leather and lace, poised to be huge this fall. Whether it's everyone's recent obsession with all things vampire, an increase in books on Japan's Gothic Lolita phenom, or the coming of films like Emily the Strange and Tim Burton's Alice and Wonderland, designers have certainly been under a macabre influence.

Gothic drama at Zac Posen.

The collections of Givenchy, Rodarte, and Gareth Pugh spoke of a muse more Marilyn Manson than Monroe, and new lines like Lauren Alexander and Gabby Applegate's playful Witches are in the spotlight. Of course, the look extends to the beauty world, where dark, dark lips and kohl-rimmed smoky eyes ruled the fall runways. Angst is no prerequisite either. It's easy to incorporate Goth statement pieces and look chic, provided you don't go overboard. But then again, according to a couple of teenagers I met while

If you haven't bought into the whole plastic-bristle phenomenon in mascara, we've got five reasons for you to get on it. Like, today. Because unlike those old-school hairbrush-like wands of days yore, slippery plastic keep mascara from clumping. Ever. They're amazing.

For glossy daytime lashes: Maybelline New York Define-a-Lash.
You can push and bend this Gumby flexible wand right into your lash line, and the effect is shiny but not over-the-top.

Long and super-defined: Lancôme High Définicils High Definition Mascara.
Remember how women used to pick through their lashes with needles to separate them? Well, this mascara has that effect... minus the potential for eye gouging.

High volume: Max Factor Volume Couture.
Makeup czar Pat McGrath turned us onto this one backstage at the shows (lemme tell you: woman is o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d). Anyway, true to its name, it gives your lashes lots and lots of volume, but the plastic bristles (have I stressed this point enough?) ensure

That Gwyneth has sucked us in again with Goop-this time because she enlisted the help of some of our favorite characters on the beauty scene. "Today I bring you some tips and wisdom from the people who trick you all into thinking I am a semi-presentable woman," writes our intrepid heroine of her main peeps, makeup artist Pati Dubroff and hairstylist Harry Josh.

Advice from Harry Josh on how to grow out your old bangs.

If you're want to know how Gwyn does her makeup in five minutes flat and still walks out looking good enough for the cameras, check out Pati's foolproof plan. (Believe me when I say it's easy, because it's my exact same makeup routine.) Harry, on the other hand, offers some quickie hair options we love: a smashing idea for an easy, really chic updo, and an ode to dry shampoo for you ladies who like to let it all hang out. Oh just go read it already.

Four good reasons to stop washing your hair, and yes, dry shampoo is one of them.

-- Erin Flaherty

image via

We tend to get pretty excited whenever Target announces their latest designer collaboration, but this time, we can barely sit still over the news. WWD is reporting that the next designer will be Anna Sui, and that-be still our hearts-the clothes will be based on the four main female characters of one of our favorite guilty pleasures, Gossip Girl!

Check out Blake Lively's Allure photo shoot.

We're envisioning lots of the show's fabulous party dresses, too-cool-for-school (literally) jackets, and maby even a few Blair-esque headbands-all with a funky, Sui-ified twist. We're marking September 13th on our calendars-that's when the collection hits stores. Until then, XOXO.

Get Anna Sui's Spring runway makeup look here.

-- Alyssa Kolsky Hertzig, Beauty News Editor

image via www.punkpenny.com

More from Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter:

• Iman's Top 5 Beauty Secrets
  
• Your Favorite Celebrities Without Makeup
  
• Beauty As Muse at the Met Gala

While cosmetic companies produce more scarlets and crimsons than you can shake a (lip) stick at, we hope these classic reds will endure forever.

Chanel Rouge Hydrabase Creme Lipstick in Coco Red, $36. If red lips are all about capturing the glamour of long-past eras, there is no chicer feeling than uncapping a black lacquered, gold stamped tube of Chanel and playing Mademoiselle in her boudoir. Plus, the rich, moisturizing formula lasts and lasts.

Check out this video for tips on pulling off the sexy red lipstick look!

Revlon Cherries in the Snow, $8. Certain makeup artists we know sigh with nostalgia when they bust out this bright, pinky-red and use it on their famous clients.

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in RD 165, $23. There's a reason this pretty color won a coveted spot on Allure's Best of Beauty list last year: It's a universal red that truly looks amazing with every skin tone. Yes, yours.

What's your go-to red?

Okay, it might sound kind of disgusting, but it's pretty cool that L'Oréal is taking drastic measures to help reduce the company's carbon footprint. They didn't get back to us to confirm it, but we read that in order to meet their goal of decreasing emissions by 50 percent in 2015, they're installing a biomass electricity-generating system at their Libramont, Belgium factory.

Origins also reduces their carbon footprint and makes it easy to recycle.

The system will capture methane from waste biomass, which is a fancy way of saying that it will run on cow waste from a nearby farm. Hey, the fact that the poop will generate about 85 percent of the factory's power is certainly no joke. Just try not to think about it next time you're applying your Colour Juice lipgloss, m'kay?

Another reason why L'Oréal is one of our favorites.

-- Erin Flaherty

More from Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter:

• How to pull off Spring's bright makeup trend
  
• The newest "it" product in

By now you've gotten the point that skin cancer awareness is a huge deal at Allure. So to honor the month of May (and the rest of summer, for that matter), we reveal our favorite fake tans.

Lancôme Flash Bronzer Instant Colour Self-Tanning Leg Gel With Pure Vitamin E. "This was one of the first self-tanners I ever used, and though I constantly try new ones for work, I always come back to it. The formula is tinted so you can really see where you're applying it, and the color is a pretty, but subtle, golden brown. I have really fair skin so I like that this one isn't crazy-dark or fake-looking. And don't be fooled by the name: I use it everywhere-even on my face." -- Alyssa Hertzig, beauty news editor

Dior Bronze Self-Tanner Natural Glow Body. "A lot of self-tanners, even the ones labeled medium/dark, don't give you a lot of color, but this one does. And it doesn't streak-for real. I once decided to slap it on after a few glasses of wine, and I applied it so quickly and

Okay okay, we know we've been cuckoo for Kim Kardashian lately, and although I've personally never been much of a fan (indeed, I have never even seen Keeping up with the Kardashians), I've gotta add one more to the pile. Let me just say that I was truly impressed by the bold move she pulled in refusing to have her bikini-clad body airbrushed for her Life & Style cover. (In case you missed it, she told the gals at The View it was her own personal response to the whole Complex magazine airbrushing/internet-leak scandal that went down last month.)

I'm not sure if this was all Kim or her publicist's idea, but way to spin some damage control! And the moment has me wondering: Should this be the norm instead of the exception? I love a gorgeous, fantasy photo spread now and then, but wouldn't it be refreshing if our icons looked less Joan Crawford-behind-the-Vaseline-lens and more real? You tell us.

Related: Cindy Crawford says "so what!" to cellulite.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LIFE & STYLE