Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

By Alexandra Owens, Allure magazine

February: a month where I'll be paying extra attention to my clothes, hair, and makeup. And no, it has nothing to do with Valentine's Day. It's all about the Fall 2012 fashion shows, and not just because I secretly hope Bill Cunningham of The New York Times will snap my photo. I've found that I put more effort into outfits for events that are populated by other women than for assignations with the opposite sex.

At first, this hierarchy of beauty may seem counter-intuitive. After all, we definitely invest plenty of attention in what to wear for occasions like first dates, second dates, and meeting the parents. But if we're honest with ourselves, guys don't care much about perfect earrings or shades of eyeshadow- and yes, that includes on Valentine's Day.

Related: The 11 Hottest Haircuts Right Now

Speaking as someone who has worked in offices filled with (exceptionally stylish) ladies her entire life, I can vouch for the fact that the most

Read More »from Does Being Around Women Make You More Aware of How You Dress?

By Elizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

The year is starting off with a bang ... er, lots of bangs. More and more celebs are taking a page from Zooey Deschanel's book, and stepping out in long, statement-making fringe. There's Jessica Biel's ultra-trendy thick bangs; Taylor Swift's wispy style; and Olivia Wilde's side-swept ones. If you want to get in on the trend, there's more to consider than just the inevitability of growing them out. Each style of bangs works best with a certain face shape-so before you head to the salon with a picture of your favorite actress, find your most flattering fringe using these guidelines:

Related: The 11 Hottest Haircuts Right Now

Straight-across bangs, like Jessica Biel's and Taylor Swift's, are best for shortening a long face or a large forehead, says hairstylist Mark Townsend of the Sally Hershberger Salon in New York City. The most flattering ones hit between your eyebrows and lashes, and are cut with scissors (not a razor). Go for Biel's heavy

Read More »from How to Get the Most Flattering Bangs

Courtesy: Harley PasternakBy Elizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

If there was ever a big event to slim down for, it's Oscar night...so we got celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak (who has made the likes of Halle Berry, Megan Fox, and Natalie Portman sweat) to reveal how he gets celebrities ready. Even if there's no red carpet in your (immediate) future, his tips can work for you, too:

Give yourself at least a week to get ready. "There's no exercise you can do the day or a few days before an event that will change your look," says Pasternack. The same goes for crash dieting: "No pills, no powders, no supplements, no laxatives," he says. "Don't cut out carbs or water, or deplete yourself of nutrients. I've heard of people fainting in the shower the morning of the Oscars."

Get on a regular exercise schedule. That means five workouts a week, of at least 25 minutes each.

Related: The Best Celebrity Trainer Tricks for Gym Motivation

Begin and end each workout session with cardio. Whether it's walking,

Read More »from Oscars Slim-Down Secrets from Celebrity Trainer Harley Pasternak

Photo: CN Digital StudioBy Anne-Marie Guarnieri, Allure magazine

You've seen the ads: Tough times? Need a little extra cash? No credit? No problem! Just walk in and we'll give you the money you need until you get your next paycheck! Pay-day loan advance services were ostensibly created to provide temporary loans to help people deal with serious problems, but the UK's Daily Mail reports that these companies are also marketing their services to pay for plastic surgery.

As one of the UK loan sites promises, "Good looks always make a person feel certain and unique.... Our cheap fast loans can be useful for your fiscal crisis and can help you to obtain a beautiful look." Borrowing money to pay for breast enhancement or liposuction is hardly the same as borrowing it to pay for your utilities or car repairs. But these sites make no distinction between them.

Related: The 12 Best Eye Creams

In the current economic climate, it's not hard to imagine why someone would consider using one of these services for an

Read More »from Are Women Paying for Plastic Surgery with Risky Loans?

By Elizabeth Siegel, Allure magazine

Ever wonder why each mascara you try smudges-but still won't wash off at the end of the day? You posted your eyelash questions to our Facebook page, and we got the makeup artists behind mascara ads to answer. Here are answers to just some of the questions you asked.

See More: The 11 Hottest Haircuts Right Now

"I find that mascara always end up under my eyes ... I really don't like the panda look! Can you recommend on that will stay in place-on my lashes where it belongs?" -Tamar Noah Mahaffy

"Stick with long-wear and waterproof mascaras," says makeup artist Jake Bailey. "Lately, I've been using CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion Water Resistant Mascara on long days of shooting, and I love it. It doesn't transfer, it doesn't flake, and it doesn't clump. I mean, it even stayed put on a shoot in the Mexican jungle! A lot of women avoid waterproof mascara because they say they can't get them off, but that's just because they're using

Read More »from Your Top Eyelash Questions, Answered!

By Danielle Pergament, Allure magazine

When hair color is good, it's rich and gorgeous-the stuff of bus-stop-advertising legend. When hair color is bad, it's a train wreck. Here's how to make sure you fall into the former category.

1. DO YOUR PREP WORK.

Split ends look even split-end-ier with highlights, so get a trim before you color. It's also best to wash your hair the night before coloring-hair that's too clean or too dirty can mess with how the color turns out. And if you're going to a salon, wear your hair as you normally do so the colorist can get an accurate sense of your style.

2. KNOW YOURSELF.

Dorky as it may sound, you have to be yourself when it comes to hair color. If you're fair, don't look at Salma Hayek for inspiration. And if you're olive-tone, you will never pull off Scarlett Johansson blonde, no matter how much bleach you pour on. Pale and pinkish skin look best with blonde or light brown hair, while those who have medium or dark skin with yellow Read More »from The 10 Commandments of Gorgeous Hair Color

By Heather Muir, Allure magazine


My worst nightmare: Getting snapped by the paparazzi while sitting on a beanbag wearing Uggs without a stitch of makeup. Then seeing the picture splashed all over blogs and tabloids. Thank god I'm not a celebrity! But a new bare face trend is popping up in Hollywood and it doesn't involve dodging cameras on a Starbucks run-celebrities are purposely showing off makeup-free faces.


Related: The 12 Best Eye Creams

Case in point: Snooki recently tweeted a picture of herself without makeup only to get rave reviews from fans. (Reason being: 1. She looks amazingly pretty underneath the loads of bronzer and strips of fake lashes, and 2. Women appreciate the honesty and the balls it to Snooki to put her real face out there.) And just yesterday, Julianne Hough was photographed leaving a concert in West Hollywood nearly makeup-free. (Reminder: She wasn't caught pumping her gas in sweats-Hough was dressed to go out and purposely kept her makeup next to none.)

Read More »from When is it OK for Celebrities to Go Makeup-Free?

CN Digital StudioBy Anne-Marie Guarnieri, Allure magazine

This morning, I made a shocking discovery: Two of my frequently used beauty products have been discontinued. It's a tale as old as time, so I don't know why I was so surprised, except that the two items in question (Kiehl's Concealing Stick for Blemishes and Dior Eyeliner Pencil in Elegant Taupe) were neither trendy nor especially unusual; if anything, they were both exceedingly practical. The concealer was the perfect creamy consistency to cover any blemish in any condition, and the eyeliner was a subtle metallic that quietly punctuated all of my favorite brown eyeshadows. Sigh.

Related: The 12 Best Eye Creams

As far as I can tell, these two products are gone, daddy, gone. But like any serious makeup lover, once I discovered I loved them as much as I did, I bought duplicates. However, it's one thing to buy as many as you can get your hands on, quite another to open up a box many moons from now and find the product inside has gone bad. So I

Read More »from How Long Before Your Beauty Products Go Bad