Blog Posts by Allure Magazine

Theresa O'Rourke, Allure magazine

You could cross your fingers for gorgeous nails that won't crack under pressure...or just snap up these superior polishes, topcoats, and cuticle soothers.

See more from Allure:

The 12 Best Eye Creams
10 Hairstyles That Make You Look 10 Years Younger
Best of Beauty 2012
The 10 Most Gorgeous Hair-Color Ideas for Brunettes

Read More »from Best of Beauty: Nails

Sophia Panych, Allure magazine

There's nothing more classic than a cat eye. After all, the look dates back to ancient Egypt. But this season, the timeless, sexy shape got an update, with makeup artists getting playful with their pencils, brushes, and felt tips. Here, our favorites from the fall runways.

See more from Allure:
The 12 Best Eye Creams
The 10 Most Gorgeous Hair-Color Ideas for Brunettes
Best of Beauty 2012
10 Hairstyles That Make You Look 10 Years Younger

Read More »from How-to: Cat Liner 2.0

Catherine Q. O'Neill, Allure magazine

Last night, there was some gorgeous hair and makeup parading down the red carpet. Here are the looks that were truly top-notch.

See more from Allure:
The Top 14 New Summer Hair Ideas
The 12 Best Eye Creams
2012 Readers' Choice Awards
10 Hairstyles That Make You Look 10 Years Younger

Read More »from The Emmys: The 6 Best Beauty Looks and How to Get Them

WWD/Steve EichnerSophia Panych, Allure magazine

An interview with Courtney Akai, the owner of Courtney Akai Lash Boutique in New York City.

Extensions enhance the thickness and length of your lashes and create the illusion that you're wearing eyeliner. You just can't get the same effect with mascara-and let's face it, you need to be a semipro to apply fake lashes. Here's what you need to know.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

Check the menu. There are several different kinds: mink, which are the most natural looking and also the most expensive; synthetic, which are less expensive; and silk, the newest material, which is soft and lightweight. Tell your technician the look you're after: Length, thickness, and curl are all adjustable.

See more: Top 21 Drugstore Beauty Bargains

Get ready. A lot of people think the extensions are attached between the lashes, but they are actually glued to your own lashes-top only-one by one and placed as close to the root as possible. The appointment can take up

Read More »from How to Get Lash Extension

Danielle Pergament, Allure magazine

An interview with Greg Seider, the owner of Summit Bar in New York City. He reveals what he's learned about drinking-and dating-in his 15 years as a bartender.

You can tell a lot about a person by his drink. The bankers order vodka sodas, vodka tonics, or a scotch on the rocks. Or they go the opposite way, when they're trying to impress a date, and order a Prohibition-era cocktail, like the Last Word, which you knew they read about on some blog.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

If a woman orders an extra-dirty martini, she's on the prowl and wants to get drunk. A lot of women ask for it with extra olives, as if that will slow down the alcohol absorption. I don;t think it does. I've never understood people who order martinis in busy bars; unless it's made the right way and served properly chilled, it won't taste good. It's like an adult version of a Long Island iced tea-designed to get you drunk quickly.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering

Read More »from Confessions of a Bartender

Theresa O'Rourke, Allure magazine

Some green products are about as elegant as the word "eco-friendly." And then there are these standouts.

See more from Allure:
The Top 14 New Summer Hair Ideas
The 12 Best Eye Creams
2012 Best of Beauty Awards
10 Hairstyles That Make You Look 10 Years Younger

Read More »from Best of Beauty 2012: Natural Wonders

Hannah Morrill and Judith Newman, Allure magazine

When we think about our skin (and God knows we do), we think hopefully of descriptors like "radiant," "glowing," and "luminous." We generally don't think of a beefy bouncer at a nightclub. But in fact, that's what it is. Skin acts as a defense against the skanks and losers-er, bacteria and viruses; it keeps the undesirables out and the good guys in. Foreign chemicals, irritants? You're not on the list. Water? C'mon in. Or at least that's what skin is supposed to do. When this system breaks down, it's not only our looks that suffer; it's actually our health, too. That's why there is suddenly an explosion of interest in what dermatologists call "skin-barrier function"-the capability of the skin to perform its gatekeeping services effectively. There's increasing evidence, too, that a healthy barrier is essential for aging well.

See more: The 6 Most Flattering Haircuts for Round Faces

It's not just people with skin

Read More »from Save Our Skin

Kate Sullivan, Allure magazine

Bras are busy undergarments: Lifting, separating-even seducing. Below, a peek at their well-rounded history.

100: Number of tassels on the breast covering that Hera, the Greek goddess, wore to distract Zeus from the Trojan War in Homer's The Iliad.

1858: Year a Brooklyn woman invented an insert, made of coiled wire and padding, for a corset that made the breasts look bigger. She filled the pads with bark, grass, or curled hair, which she believed would be sweat-resistant.

See more: The 10 Commandments of Mascara

1950s: Decade training bras for adolescents were first made.

1907: Year the word "brassiere" first appeared in Vogue, in reference to a breast-shaping garment worn in addition to a corset.

4: Years later that Macy's opened a brassiere department.

22: Actress Clara Bow's age when she went braless in the 1927 film It. "She's top-heavy with 'It,'" a character remarked in a scene where Bow's nipples are visible through her shirt.

Read More »from Beauty by Numbers: Bras