Oscars Beauty Secrets: 5 Hot Red Carpet Looks

By Sophia Panych, Allure magazine

With all the gorgeous women nominated for Oscars this year, we couldn't resist making a few predictions about their beauty looks. I've followed each of these nominated actresses during this year's award season so far and figured out what we might expect (or hope to see) on Hollywood's biggest night of the year:

Natalie Portman. Black Swan may win Portman her first Oscar, but it's also given her the inspiration for her red carpet style. Running with the ballerina theme, she's kept her hair pulled back in either a low chignon (at the SAGs), or a classic French twist (at the Golden Globes)-always sleek, and always with a side part. For Sunday, I'm guessing she won't stray from her newfound fascination with all things dance (especially with her ballerino boyfriend on her arm), and keep her hair and makeup classic and simple, especially since she's the top choice to win. The hairstyle from Oscar de la Renta's Spring 2011 show would be a perfect choice-it's one part ballerina, one part Grace Kelly, and with Portman's typical soft eye makeup and rosy cheeks and lips, it would be the perfect pairing.

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Michele Williams. The Blue Valentine actress has limited options when it comes to styling her cute, cropped pixie cut, so we don't predict much will change with her hair. At the Golden Globes, however, people weren't really feeling her Twiggy-esque, 70s style, so we think she may go a more classic route this weekend-her hair less piece-y, her makeup less peachy. We're pretty positive she's going to go with light taupe, smoky eyes with soft pink-nude lipstick (it's been her staple lately), but we'd love to see her take a risk with bold lips like she did at the Oscars back in 2006. The pairing of her red lipstick and mustard-yellow dress was true beauty perfection.

Amy Adams. Look back at Adams' past red carpet looks: the actress has definitely been taking risks. From head-to-toe, she is always trying something new and different, which I love. This is the third nomination for Adams, so I think she's going to keep up her experimentation and go with something out of the box. The loose hair rolls we saw at Donna Karan last season would look great with a few face-framing pieces hanging in front, and while her makeup normally stays the same (a little liner and rose lipstick), I would love to see her wear a dark, iridescent shadow (like the green-and-gold-flecked black shadow from Chanel Regard Perle palette) and play up her eyes.

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Nicole Kidman. Lately, Kidman has been keeping both her hair and makeup very youthful and relaxed on the red carpet-nothing rigid or overdone. Her famous red ringlets would look beautiful in a loose, roughed-up ponytail like the ones seen at Carlos Miele's Spring 2011 runway show; not only does the style feel young and fresh, but it's also totally on trend with all the pony's we've been seeing this past year. Like many of the other stars, Kidman's makeup sticks to a formula which we don't think she'll stray from on such an important evening, but a hint of shimmer on her eyes wouldlook beautiful (and brighten up her eyes), no matter what she ends up wearing.

Jennifer Lawrence. At just 20 years old, Lawrence was relatively unknown until her breakout role this year in Winter's Bone. At the SAGs, she wowed everyone with her hot pink Oscar de la Renta dress and dark smoky eyes, and while her ruffled Louis Vuitton dress at the Globes was a stunner, her makeup and hair stayed exactly the same: black and gray eye shadow with heavy black liner and pale pink lips, her hair left slightly wavy, and pulled back in a chignon of some sorts. For the Oscars, I'd love to see her take down the dark eyes for something fresher and less severe. Bronze and gold smoky eyes paired with coral lips would be gorgeous with her skintone. She also has the most gorgeous blonde, wavy hair, so it would be nice to incorporate that into her hair style to give it a little more texture, a là Taylor Swift. This one Swift sported at the Grammy's back in 2009 would be perfect.

Good luck to all of them!

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