Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

Kate Sullivan, Allure magazine

American beach volleyball champions Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor have won their third set of Olympic gold medals. (Incidentally, the U.S. is now ahead of China in the medal count-thanks for the help ladies!) Their victory is exciting for our office not only because they're American, or because this marks their last Summer Games together and we're sentimental like that, but because Allure got to know the exceptional-and frankly, hilarious-partners when we featured them in the July story, "Golden Girls."

Walsh and May-Treanor, who have been teammates since 2000 and workout together six days a week, cracked jokes about discreetly de-wedgie-ing during the Games and defended their sport against haters who think it's about eye-candy, not athletics. "People are coming to see the volleyball, not the bikinis," said May-Treanor. And of course, because of that uniform, contributing editor Danielle Pergament did ask the pair about keeping up their

Sophia Panych, Allure magazine

Whoever made up that saying that blondes have more fun obviously didn't have blonde hair. Well, at least not dyed blonde hair. I've gone through a lot of hair changes in the past six months, but bleaching my hair has been the most extreme. Everything from how I style my hair to the makeup colors that look good on me has changed. So if you're a natural brunette thinking of going blonde, here are some things to keep in mind before you slap on the bleach-both from the experts and from the beauty editor up to her ears in color-preserving shampoo.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

You can't wash your hair as often. "Water is actually drying and can add impurities to the hair," says colorist Aura Friedman at the Serge Normant for John Frieda salon in New York (she's also the color ambassador for Wella Professionals). Plus, the more you wash, the faster your color fades. If you enjoy working out, make friends with dry shampoo-stat.

Elizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

I don't know about you, but I love a good royal sighting. And in the past few days, it feels like there have been more than ever. (Thank you, Olympics!) After spotting Princess Mary of Denmark at an Olympic reception, Princess Letizia of Spain on vacation in Mallorca, and, of course, Kate Middleton at the games over the past few days (see the latter two above), I'm starting to understand why. Bluebloods have out-of-this world shiny hair! And getting glossy doesn't have to be a royal pain in the arse-here are a few tricks that are both easy and inexpensive:

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

Take a shot of vinegar: Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to any conditioner. The acidity helps seal the hair's cuticle and adds shine, says hairstylist Nathaniel Hawkins, who likes Garnier Fructis Color Shield Fortifying Cream Conditioner.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

Try a gloss: Once every week or two, after

Sophia Panych, Allure magazine

Yesterday, a makeup artist excitedly went at the inner rims of my eyes with a felt-tip liquid liner. I know, I KNOW-it felt so wrong, but it looked so right! Afterward, my eyes felt a bit uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when a lash or piece of dust flies in there. (To be fair, I'm not sure if the liner was actually irritating or if I was just imagining it.) I decided to do some investigating to find out whether using liquid liner on the inner rims is actually dangerous or if I just have an irrational fear of pinkeye and blindness. Here's what the experts say:

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

Cosmetic Chemists Say: "All chemicals or ingredients used in cosmetic products for the eyes must be tested, proven, and documented to be safe for the eye area," says cosmetic chemist Joseph Cincotta. "No reputable company would ever use chemicals not proven safe. Avoid unknown brands or dollar store cosmetics, and you can't go wrong." That said, the

Sophia Panych, Allure magazine

If you've flipped through our August issue, you can't miss the 25 Ways to Wear Color story on page 106. It's just so...bright. Personally, I'm obsessed with this story (and not just because I wrote it). The makeup looks are daring yet beautiful, which is hard to do when working with nearly neon hues.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

One thing you'll notice is that there is a lot of green going on-green shadow, green nail polish, and even turquoise-green mascara. Green, in all its verdant varieties, has been a huge trend both in fashion and beauty this season, and judging by the fall runways, most notably at Jason Wu, the quirky color isn't going anywhere soon. I'm not going to lie, the idea of green makeup freaked me out at first; unless you were talking about forest green eye liner, anything lighter or brighter just seemed scary. So that's actually why we decided to break down exactly how to make green work in our newest how-to video: Beauty

Anne-Marie Guarnieri, Allure magazine

How many lies do you think you tell in a week? Go on, guess. And don't say "None," because that right there is a lie, sister. Turns out the average American tells 11 lies a week, according to new research from University of Notre Dame professor Anita Kelly. Another discovery: Reducing the number of lies you tell can significantly improve both your mental and physical health.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

According to a report from Science Daily, during a 10-week experiment, Kelly directed half of the 110 participants to stop lying, completely. No, "I really like your haircut!" No, "Those pants don't make your butt look big!" No lies, big or small.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

Over the course of the experiment, the 55 sooth-sayers all reported feeling less tense and sad, and they also had fewer physical complaints, like headaches and sore throats, than the 55 lying-liars. And by the end of the 10

Kate Sullivan, Allure magazine

Early August is when it begins: The deluge of back-to-school ads telling parents and kids that everything from notebooks to jeans must be fresh in order to face the brave new world of September. But a new story in USA Today highlighting some of the stranger back-to-school offers (e.g. discounted skateboards) listed one promotion that is actually troubling. James Oliver, CEO of Beach Bum Tanning, suggested that tanning is a back-to-school essential: "Going into your first class, you want to look the best you can," he said.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

With recent laws making it impossible for teens in some states to go tanning without parental permission, it's in poor taste and well, poor intelligence, to market directly to the back-to-school crowd. Sure, Oliver could have exclusively meant college students. Or perhaps was suggesting spray-tans and not tanning bed time. (Though new research suggests that the chemicals in spray-tans aren't

Sophia Panych, Allure magazine

I got bangs. Then I got even more bangs. Then I talked about my bangs all the time, and blogged about them ad nauseam. Then three months went by and my love affair with bangs quickly ended. Between the extreme heat and humidity in New York, I was desperate to get all that fringe off my forehead. Needless to say, I had to get creative. What I didn't realize was just how creative I could be. Fellow Allure staffers have been constantly asking me what I did with my bangs. I wish I could say I wiggled my nose and-poof!-they were gone, but it really has come down to these crafty styling tricks.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

Gel is your best friend. Nexxus Exxtra Gel to be exact. With a palmful of this you can wear a slicked-back ponytail as if you had layers down to your ears. I start by brushing my hair and gathering it all right at the back of my head. Then I squeeze out a large dollop of gel and use it to smooth the bangs straight back over