Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

Roger CabelloRenee Trilivas, Allure magazine

I love swanky beauty products-La Mer face cream formulated with hand-harvested fermented kelp ($150), Oribe texturizing hair spray ($39), and Tom Ford lipsticks housed in sleek gold tubes ($48). But after staying with my older brother for a few days during the recent hurricane, I rediscovered an old friend in the sparse grooming supplies at his bachelor pad: the Dove Beauty Bar ($1.25).

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

I'm generally not a fan of bar soap-it's slippery, clunky, and loses its shape after a single use. How could it possibly compete with a luxurious body wash? But Dove's classic soap left my skin feeling soft and hydrated, and the scent is refreshingly mild and clean. Not convinced? Try easing yourself back to bars with these slightly more luxe options.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

Sabon Soap on a Rope. Aside from looking chic in your shower, these handmade soaps have vanilla essential oil, palm oil, and

Courtesy of Urban DecayRenee Trilivas, Allure magazine

Black and dark brown might make for a dreary fall outfit, but it's the best possible combination for bigger, brighter eyes. This week, I watched two makeup artists strategically use black and brown liners together for glamorous, old-Hollywood results. Here's why you should store them both in your makeup bag:

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

They add drama, but not too much:
Makeup artist Brigitte Reiss-Andersen layered brown and black liner at a recent Allure cover shoot. "Black on black is too harsh, but black on brown is softer," she says. She used this technique on both the lash line and the crease for a dramatic, but not off-putting, eye.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

They make your eyes look bigger:
At the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday, makeup artist Tom Pecheux used black liner and mascara on the top lashes and brown liner and mascara on the bottom lashes (all four products are available

Renee Trilivas, Allure magazine

Red hair is often thought of as the most high-maintenance color because, well, it is. But last night, I replaced my low-maintenance highlighted brunette with a deep reddish hue. Don't worry-I have consigned myself to weekly trips to the salon. I opted for the lazy girl's red. My colorist, Ronnie Dieterich of the Ted Gibson salon in New York City, added highlights a few inches from the scalp and a red gloss. He explained that this technique (as opposed to all-over red starting at the root) allows me to go months without visiting the salon instead of having to go in for touch ups every six weeks. With this color, I can let the highlights grow out into an ombré effect and just pop into the salon for a gloss every few months to hold onto the red tint. Since red hair tends to fade the fastest, here are my top tips to keep my new hue vibrant all winter long:

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

Shampoo wisely. Each time you shampoo,

Kate Sullivan, Allure magazine

One of my favorite 30 Rock lines is when, in frustration, Liz Lemon calls Jack and Tracy "the cause of my jawline acne." Ah, if only workplace stress could explain everyone's breakouts. We asked Ranella Hirsch, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine, what the alternate causes might be and she gave us a surprising answer.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

"Jawline acne could be in correlation with your period-regular hormonal acne-but not always," she says. "There's another common reason: facial hair. Lots of women have hair there. And lots of women tweeze and that causes jawline acne all the time." There is a particular style of tweezing that is especially wrong for the area, says the dermatologist: "People really go to town. Often, the hair is not just sticking out, so it's a picking and tweezing combination-they go digging for a hair."

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

Renee Trilivas, Allure magazine

Oh, hell no. That's what I thought when I recently stumbled on a how-to video for men about how, and why, to wear nail polish. We've all seen guys who lacquer up on occasion, for reasons that probably have more to do with youthful rebellion than wanting to look their best. But according to this promotional clip for a nail polish line called Alpha Nail, coloring your nails is also a good way to pick up women.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

I do give the brand props for putting the polish in click-pen dispensers-I'm thinking big man hands aren't the most dexterous with little brushes and goopy lacquers. But I can't forgive them for altering the polish names to sound more masculine. Even if you call it nail armor and describe the colors as Concrete, Smoke, or Gasoline, it's still nail polish.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

It's all way over-the-top for my taste. Women are attracted to guys who take care of

Courtesy of GettyElizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

I may not have Beyoncé's amazing voice (or legs) but we do have something in common: New bangs. The singer debuted her brand new fringe on Saturday night, and the bangs were perfectly styled. If you're also new to the world of fringe, or thinking about getting bangs yourself, here are my top tricks for styling them:

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

Stock up on dry shampoo. I have fine, straight hair. That means I can get away with not blow-drying my bangs every day. But when left to their own devices, my bangs get stringy and flat by lunchtime. I preemptively mist dry shampoo at the roots in the morning and then massage it through to prevent them from getting piece-y later in the day. I like Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, which doesn't turn my dark hair white.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

But if you do have to blow-dry your bangs, prep them with a small dab of styling lotion or, if your hair is

Renee Trilivas, Allure magazine

We know that going out without slathering on SPF causes sunburns, wrinkles, and skin cancer-but did you know your hair color might also be a risk factor?

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

According to a new study, scientists say that the pigment responsible for dyeing hair red also plays a role in the accelerated development of melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. The researchers found that mice with red coloring developed malignant moles even before they were exposed to UV rays. Researchers believe it's the genetic background of redheads that makes them more susceptible to melanoma formation. When they removed the pigment, the mice lost the elevated risk of melanoma, which may mean the pigment itself is carcinogenic. What's more, fair-skinned and redheaded people produce pheomelanin, a red-yellow form of melanin that doesn't protect their skin as well as the melanin produced by those with darker skin and hair colors, making UV

Joan Kron, Allure magazine

Injecting smile lines and filling cheeks and lips with fat and hyaluronic acid has become so commonplace that some of us consider our twice-yearly visits to the cosmetic doctor as safe as getting a dye job or bikini wax. But a recent review of patient records from South Korea's National University's Bundang Hospital found that improper injection of cosmetic fillers-especially fat, but, in a few instances, hyaluronic acid-caused blindness, or partial blindness in one eye, in 12 patients since 2008. True, that's an infinitesimally small percentage of the hundreds of thousands of filler treatments given each year-but still cause for concern.

To understand how this can happen and how it can be avoided, Allure spoke to Sydney R. Coleman, a Manhattan pioneer of fat grafting and clinical assistant professor of plastic surgery at New York University Langone Medical Center. Patients like the idea of lunch-hour treatments but when it comes to injections of fillers,