Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

Courtesy of MACElizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

I haven't given much thought to purple lipstick. (In fact, the last time I thought about it was probably the last time I watched The Craft.) But the once-goth shade is starting to pop up all over the place: at fashion week, on Amanda Seyfried, and in Allure's office. We're not talking berry or even plum. This shade is full-on purple.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

It's a bold look, for sure. But it's also really, surprisingly flattering. That's because the new purple lip colors aren't dark or brooding. The best ones come in rich jewel tones (like the bold, glossy amethyst color that Seyfried wore to Miu Miu's spring show) or pretty purple-y stains (like the berry lips at Marni). Yep, this is actually one instance where the runway version of a trend is subdued and totally wearable. Use your fingers to pat on a deep purple, such as Dior Addict Extreme Lipstick in Black Tie, or a vibrant one, like M.A.C Yung Repunxel (a gorgeous shade

Elizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

There's been a lot of emphasize on body language this week. (A certain smirking, shrugging duo may be to blame for that.) We know that body language can impact how confident and powerful someone appears, but the way you sit or stand doesn't just influence how others perceive you-it actually changes the way you feel about yourself.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

Assuming a dominant or submissive pose for as little as two minutes "leads to hormonal changes that configure your brain to basically be either assertive, confident and comfortable, or really stress reactive and feeling sort of shut down," says Amy Cuddy, a researcher at Harvard Business School. In a recent study, she asked subjects to strike a dominant or submissive pose for two minutes. Those who had assumed a dominant position experienced a 20 percent increase in testosterone levels and 24 percent decrease in levels of the stress hormone cortisol. As for those in

Kate Sullivan, Allure magazine

The next edition of American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will include a description of pathological grooming habits-nail-biting, hair-pulling, and scab-picking-under the broader category of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). "Grooming" is a bit of a misnomer, but hopefully, this broadening of OCD will lead to more people being diagnosed and seeking help for these behaviors, which are more common in women than men.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

Between 80 and 90 percent of trichotillomania (hair-pulling) sufferers are women, and they typically tug when they feel stressed. When I interviewed Olivia Munn for Allure's Face page back in December 2010, she confessed that she pulled out her eyelashes when she had anxiety, especially when she was on G4's Attack of the Show, but also more recently. "Last year, I went for a tryout for a movie and I pulled out every single lash," said Munn. "And

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Courtesy of FOXRenee Trilivas, Allure magazine

Britney Spears recently debuted a rainbow of dip-dyed tips. While we're used to seeing teal and pink streaks on the red carpet and the runways, the X Factor judge's technicolor hair reminds us a little too much of the Crayolas we cherished in kindergarten. Here, some tips for pulling off extreme highlights without going (or looking) color-crazy.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

Stick to one shade. Instead of opting to taste the rainbow, try adding only one color. A few streaks of teal, lavender, or baby pink framing the face or peeking out from the underside of the head look cool-not kooky.

Try temporary. If you're not sure you want to commit to a dye job, test out the look for a couple of hours with clip-in extensions, hair mascara, or spray-in color.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

Don't dismiss black and white. Take a page out of Daphne Guinness's book and add dramatic black streaks through platinum blonde hair, or break up brown

Renee Trilivas, Allure magazine

I'm what some people might call a stylist slut. I bounce around from hairstylist to hairstylist, usually never going back for a second blowout or cut. Being in the beauty industry, I practically test out different hair salons on a weekly basis. But when I recently read about a British woman who has stuck with the same stylist for almost 40 years, it made me question my unfaithful ways.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

Susan Parker-Jones of Shrewsbury is in a serious committed relationship-with Jo Sparks, her stylist since 1975. It was love at first snip when Parker-Jones first had her blonde hair cut by Sparks, and since then, the stylist has given her most loyal customer some 200 different cuts. "'The first time Jo cut my hair, from that moment I knew that she knew what she was doing," Parker-Jones told The Daily Mail. When Sparks moved to Kettering, a town 400 miles away, instead of ditching her, Parker-Jones simply followed

Courtesy of Bobbi BrownElizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

I recently got to go to the party for Bobbi Brown's Pretty Powerful. The makeup artist extraordinaire's seventh book (out next month) is filled with inspirational stories and some pretty jaw-dropping makeovers. "The book asks women to talk about how they feel about themselves, and share that with each other," said Brown (that's her, above, with Alexa Ray Joel, who performed at the party). "It's based on the idea that women are pretty without makeup, and powerful when they have makeup." We stole Brown away from the festivities for a few minutes to chat.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

How did you choose Katie Holmes as your new brand ambassador?
We met through mutual friends and had tea together, and it just happened organically. I didn't go out and look for a celebrity, or for Katie. But I met her and thought, Oh my god, wouldn't it be great if...? I like that her beauty is very simple. She can run to the park with her daughter

Alexandra Owens, Allure magazine

The field of science is catching on to what the fashion world has known for quite some time now: The ideal brow has gone from thin and arched (circa 1990) to straight and full (circa practically every runway show at recent Fashion Weeks).

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But hey, it's nice to have some empirical evidence, courtesy of a new study published in Clinical Plastic Surgery. "I blame Pamela Anderson for the thin brow everyone had in the '90s," says Kristie Streicher, a brow groomer at Streicher Beauty Bar at Warren Tricomi in Los Angeles and New York City. Yes, they were striking in their own right. But full brows without an arch make a stronger, and arguably cooler, kind of androgynous statement. "You need a naturally full, long brow to pull off the look," says Streicher, adding that straight-across brows are especially flattering to almond-shaped eyes. (They won't work as well on round or deep-set eyes.)

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