New York Fashion Week: Beauty Re-Cap

Most people look forward to New York Fashion Week for fashion (obviously). From models' off-duty street style, to the celebs sitting in the front row, to the actual clothes on the runway, Fashion Week seems like an endless source of inspiration for the fashion-obsessed.

However, others of us look forward to Fashion Week for the beauty inspiration. Every show has a distinct hair and makeup look, yet there are always common beauty trends to be found for the upcoming season. While some designers go for bold, shocking hair and makeup looks, others incorporate beauty looks that us mere mortals can actually pull off.

From the dead-ish look at Altuzarra, to smokey eyes at DVF, there was a look from this week for everyone. I could go through each designer's beauty look separately to point out what is so great about it, but I can't ignore the fact that there was an overwhelming presence of a single beauty trend for Fall '15: effortlessness. 

That's right folks, the "no makeup makeup" and "I woke up like this" trend is stronger than ever and here to stay. This is great news for us normal people! No need to buy the latest color-saturated products - it's all about looking your best naturally.

The makeup was minimal, with a sheer wash of color on the eyes or lips (or neither), the focus was on the skin and natural beauty. The hair was low maintenance, embracing natural texture and simple styling.

Below are my favorite I Woke Up Like This looks from NYFW:

Prabal Gurung 

Derek Lam

Donna Karan

Jason Wu

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Philip Lim

Tibi

Michael Kors

Tommy Hilfiger

My personal favorite all-around beauty look this week is tied between Prabal Gurung and Michael Kors! Which New York Fashion Week look is your favorite?

P.S. Check out  more Fashion Week beauty looks here and here (source of all photos).

giving into highlights

Most people don't chose to lighten their hair with highlights for winter, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I've been growing my hair out for a few months now, so not only does my hair already look "blah" because of the awkward growing-out-a-bob-phase but the color looked super flat. Up until a few days ago, my hair color completely lacked depth and dimension so I decided to get a trim to liven up my locks and add a few highlights as well. I have given myself highlights out of the box once a year for the past few years in anticipation of summer, but have never gotten them done professionally. I decided it was time to splurge and have my stylist add in a few highlights to add dimension to my hair while I grow it out.

Since the goal wasn't to lighten up my hair (which I will do in the spring), I didn't want many highlighted pieces or super blonde ones. I had heard of balayage (French for "hair painting") highlights before and wanted to give it a try since they look so natural. The balayage technique, basically randomly placing highlights without foils, really appealed to me since I'm growing my hair out and don't want to go to the salon often for touch-ups.

Randomly selected pieces for a natural look 

Jen has been cutting my hair for years so I knew I trusted her to do my color as well. I showed her pictures and explained to her the look I was going for, which was to not change my natural color just enhance it. She painted lightener on my strands randomly all over, being careful to not go all the way to the roots which would defeat the purpose of "natural" looking. It was important to me to not go too light, but to keep the same color with a little more dimension. 

Jen and me! Please ignore the rat's nest that is my hair after a two-day bun...

After enjoying a glass of wine (is there any other way to get your hair done?!) she washed and trimmed my hair per usual. The end result of the highlights and a much-needed trim was just what I wanted! I think the balayage highlights will keep my in-between-length hair looking fresh and interesting for a while.

Right after my appointment. You can really see the dimension the highlights added! If only my hair would look this shiny and smooth all the time...

Different lighting at work the next day.

Still in the "awkward" growing out phase, but I actually like how my hair looks now!

What are your thoughts on highlighting? 

is everyone bobbing without me?

It's no secret that everyone in Hollywood is chopping their locks into chic bobs lately, but Emma Stone's recent bob-formation automatically amped up the short-hair game.

image from refinery29.com

I've had a bob haircut for six years and decided I would grow it out after college, but Emma is making me question my existence without short hair.

Victoria Beckham, the original bobster of the early 2000s, sparked a trend in short, stacked bobs that was quickly adopted by soccer moms (See: Kate Gosselin).

A few years later, Gwenyth and Jen kinda made the lob (long-bob) cool, but it didn't pick up too much speed.

 Karlie Kloss hit the bob scene hard in 2012 and really set a fire to the trend, causing celebrities and mere normals alike to chop off their hair...

And so it begins: the bob/lob is the "it" cut. For now.

Are you going to hop on the bob train?

 *all images from Google Images

how to haircut

A haircut can change your life. 

Yes, I can be dramatic and no, this is not one of those times.

There's a reason why makeovers always involve changing a hair color, length and/or style - changing a person's hair has the most potential to make a dramatic difference during a makeover. A haircut done right can completely transform your face and overall "look" by giving you confidence, influencing your wardrobe and even the way you interact with people.

Whether you have haircut phobia and have your mom cut it once a year or get a fresh cut every six weeks, you should always be happy with how it looks. Unhappiness, frustration and even tears should not be a part of a haircut - even at GreatClips - because you're buying into an experience as well as getting those ends snipped off.

Short hair is super high maintenance, especially if it isn't a blunt (straight-across, un-layered) style because it looks awkward and heavy if it grows out too much. I usually get my hair cut every 2-3 months because angled bobs look horrible too grown out. I have been getting my haircut by the same woman for six years (hey, Jen!) and refuse to let anyone else come near my hair with a pair of scissors.  I will follow her wherever she goes and drive as far as I need to because once you find a hairdresser you like try to never, ever leave them!

Haircut day is always a day I look forward to

Get the haircut you want with these three tips:

1. Bring a picture. Telling the hairdresser you want "one inch off" or "layers" is vague; one inch may look different to you than it does to someone else. I always bring a picture of what I want, whether it's a celebrity or a picture of me when I liked how my hair looked, because an image is a lot better than a generic description. 

2. Ask questions. I can't stand when someone gets an amazing haircut then it looks like crap a week later because they have no idea how to do their hair. Not that I do much to my hair, but ask your hairdresser how you can re-create the style yourself so you can ensure it looks good until the next time you get it cut!

3. Make it an experience. Haircuts can be pricey, so make sure you enjoy it. Even if you don't pay much for a haircut you will still feel better about how it looks if you put a little effort to your outfit and makeup before going. A new haircut looks a lot better when you're feeling good and not looking like you just left the gym with unusually bouncy, pretty hair.

Bad haircut? We've all been there. Throw on a cute hat or pull it up then don't worry about it; chances are you will be feeling a lot better about it after a few days! 

"hire me" beauty

I had my first Big Girl interview yesterday! (Big Girl = job)

I was really nervous for it. I wasn't nervous about what to say or what to wear, but what the right move for my hair and makeup was. I think I nailed it -- the interview AND the beauty. 

It's difficult to decide how to do your hair and makeup for an interview because you don't want to look too conservative and boring, but you also don't want to look like you spent more time preparing your beauty regime than your interview material.

Strike a balance by erring on the conservative side, but still aim for pretty! Looking good will also give you a confidence boost that will show when you're speaking. Here's what I did:

• Aim for simple: this is not the time to experiment with hairstyles or makeup! I wore my short hair plain-- down and straight. Wearing your hair in a clip half-up, or in a low non-messy bun works too (especially for my curly-haired friends).

• Keep it neutral: only use makeup products that enhance your natural beauty-- we're going for the "no-makeup-makeup" look here. This means no color. No blue eyeliner, no red lipstick, no shimmer. I wore BB cream, concealer, a hint of blush, thin brown eyeliner, mascara and lip balm.

• Less is more: if you're deciding whether to add more eyeliner, blush, or whatever the answer is: don't. Even if you feel like your face is more bare than usual, you want the interviewer to be listening to you and not be distracted by your looks. Put enough makeup on so you look pretty and feel confident, but don't overdo it.

Have you ever given thought to interview-appropriate hair/makeup before?