March 20, 2013
TOOLS:
- A straight edge (I used the pick side of a comb)
- A brow liner pencil
- A brow powder
- Stiff-angled brow brush
- Brow Gel
STEPS:
- Place the straight edge along the underside of the brow, from the end to the arch, and trace a line with the brow liner.
- Place the straight edge along the top of the brow, from the end to the arch again, and trace a line with the brow liner.
- Place the straight edge along the top of the brow, from the arch to the beginning of the brow (by your nose), and trace a line with the liner.
- Place the straight edge along the bottom of the brow, from the bottom of the arch to the beginning of the brow, and trace a line connecting it to the one from step 1. Steps 1-4 basically drew an outline of the perimeter your brow.
- Dip your brow brush into the shadow powder and start drawing individual hairs, mimicking your own, by flicking the brush upwards in little strokes. This technique is more tedious than merely shading it in but looks much more realistic.
- Continue drawing hairs all the way to the arch.
- Fill in the arch with more curved motions, determined by the direction of the hair growth.
- Switch to downward strokes from the arch to the end.
- With the brow gel, brush hairs upwards if you’re like me and like a more natural look. If not, brush them from the nose towards the arch to lock them in place.
Source: The Beauty Dept.
March 19, 2013
March 14, 2013
All that’s standing between your old eyes and Perfect Polish is a cuticle stick, a Q-Tip, and greasy lotion.
Put some lotion onto a Q-Tip
Wipe it around your nail, being careful to not get it ON your nail. The polish won’t stick to wherever the lotion is.
Use the cuticle stick to wipe away the extra.
That’s all it takes! Plus, after your polish is dry rub in the lotion and it helps those dry cuticles!
March 13, 2013
March 12, 2013
photos/post/design: Kristin Ess
Obsessed with this side-heavy look- and as you can see below it’s all over the red carpet. It’s kind of got this sort of 90′s feel to it which I’ve really been digging. The weight of the hair feels very a-symmetric and it takes a whole 15 min to create this look. Here’s how it’s done:
- Find your super-deep part. Try lining it up with the very outside of your brow first. If that feels like it’s just too much, go a little closer in and line up with the arch of your brow.This could potentially feel a little uncomfortable at first if you’re not used parting so far over. If you really hate having that deep side part or if your hair just won’t cooperate for some reason, try doing what I did on Lucy Hale below– see how I went on a diagonal? It starts a little closer to the center and then diagonally goes into a heavier part. This way you get all the weight of the hair on one side but it doesn’t feel overly swooped. Don’t be afraid to take a blowdryer to it to get it to behave!
- Use the finer side of a comb + some strong holding hairspray to make the side tight as you see in photo 2. Don’t over spray, you just want the hair close the head and the fly-aways to stay down. If you really wanted to go for a sleek side, you could gel it and give it that “shaved side” appearance which feels equally edgy + girly!
- Now split the hair diagonally from the back of the part to the opposite corner of your neck. Start the braid behind your ear and go down and around as you see in photo 3. Use a tiny clear elastic to secure the braid on the opposite side of your neck. This elastic will be hidden underneath the other side with all the hair.
- That’s it! Now you’re free to create whatever texture you want on the heavier side– smooth waves, messy waves, curl, straight, anything you like. Personally I like the messy waves with a little volume (like you see in the very top photo) but you really can do this using any natural texture.
Source: The Beauty Department
February 12, 2013
photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess
- Leave two sections out in front (basically everything from your ears forward) and clip them forward. Imagine the back of your head split into 3 sections. If you want a little volume, tease the crown and then make your first bun in back. Pin using small bobbypins and make sure the bun feels secure. If your hair is really thick and you need to use clear elastics as well, go for it.
- Next make bun number two right below that and pin.
- Now make the third (final) bun on the bottom and pin. These buns don’t need to be perfect– in fact, I think they’re better when they’re all a little different and have some texture.
- Using the hair in front that you left out, make 2 braids on each side and tie them off with the tiny clear elastics. You want to make one from the bottom half of your section and one from the top half of your section. Gently pull them apart to add some texture so they don’t look too “done”.
- You should have two braids on each side as you see in photo 5.
- Take the bottom braid from one side and wrap it around the bottom bun. You want to slide the braid in between the lowest bun and the middle bun and then wrap it around the base of the bun and pin it in place.
- I’ve illustrated a pattern in photo 7 so you can see how the braids are wrapped around.
- Once you’ve pinned your braids into place, check your balance in back by using a hand mirror. Make sure it looks good from all sides. Pin any unwanted stray hairs or fly aways and voila!
Hope everyone gives this a shot no matter what hair type you have. It’s a super-quick updo and it could be a great look for an upcoming VALENTINE’S date! xo
Source: http://thebeautydepartment.com/2013/01/valentines-date-hair-idea/
February 4, 2013
photos/post/design: Kristin Ess
It’s almost Valentine’s day!! Whether you’re celebrating or not, a heart mani always looks simple + sweet. After trying to get a perfect heart a million different ways, I finally figured out the best way to do it. Washi tape! You can order it online, find it at a stationery store, or I’ve even seen it at Target in the stationery section. Washi tape is much less sticky than regular tape so you don’t have to worry about it adhering and pulling off your base color so much. Okay, here’s how we got the perfect heart!
- You’ll need a red, a metallic gold + a gold glitter. I used this for my red, this for my metallic gold + this for my gold glitter.
- You’ll also need washi tape and small scissors. I used the kind for trimming brows.
- Paint your nails with the red and let them dry for a few hours. I like to let the base dry overnight just to be safe.
- Cut a 2-3″ piece of washi tape, fold it in half but leave the ends apart like you see in photo 4.
- Place the open ends of the washi tape on your pointer finger on the opposite hand you cut with. Cut out a half heart that is a little less than half the width of the nail you’re putting the heart on.
- Gently peel your washi tape open to see the full heart.
- Place it on the nail and press the edges with a soft, dry, clean paintbrush.
- Paint the metallic coat first. This will give you the perfect heart shape, which you can’t get when using glitter polish alone.
- Now add the glitter polish on top of that.
- Peel your tape off slowly while the metallic and glitter polishes are still wet. You don’t want them to dry to the washi tape.
You can use a detailing brush to add more glitter to the heart if you want to. Add a top coat once the glitter heart has dried. xo
December 5, 2012
Photos + post design by Kristin Ess
While you’re all probably busy decking the halls right now, perhaps you’ll be able to take a break to get fancy, festive + fun with this manicure tutorial from Lady Conrad! She wanted to string some lights across her nails and so she did… Literally! Here’s how she created these lil’ cuties:
TOOLS: base & top coat, green polish & red polish (you can use any colors you want), white or off-white polish, cuticle nippers or small scissors, black cotton string, a small brush or pointed q-tip.
STEPS:
- On clean nails, do a solid coat (or two thin coats) of white or off white polish.
- After the white polish dries, do one clear coat. The string will adhere to this so make sure it’s not too fast drying or too thin of a coat.
- Drape black string over the nail and let it loop as you see Lauren doing in the photo. Cut the string about 1/2 inch longer on each side of the nail. Don’t trim it down yet.
- Add a thin clear coat on top of the string to secure.
- Once that dries, trim the string down using cuticle nippers or small pointy scissors.
- Next is the fun part– adding your lights. Pick any colors you want!
- Last, do one coat of a quick drying clear polish.
Source: The Beauty Department
November 29, 2012
Wake Up to Waves
Try Gibson’s technique for shoulder-length hair and skip the curling iron in the morning.
1. Apply a light mousse from roots to ends to help hair hold its shape as it dries.
2. From hairline to nape, divide your hair down the middle with a comb, separating it into two equal sections.
3. Braid each side from the middle down. Starting any higher will create crimps near your roots.
4. Secure the end of each braid with a metal-free elastic.
5. Pull out the elastics or pins in the morning and unwind your hair. For a beachy effect, mist a salt spray all over your hair and scrunch with your hands.
Source: Oprah.com
November 28, 2012
Wake Up to Less Frizz
Giving your hair a break from heat can actually be beneficial-especially for those with natural waves. “The less you do to curls the better,” says Gibson.
1. Apply a light leave-in conditioner and use a wide-tooth comb to distribute it to your ends. A brush or a fine-tooth comb can destroy your curl pattern and create kinks.
2. Part your hair down the middle. Divide each side into three smaller sections.
3. Starting at the bottom of one of the smaller sections, create a pin curl by wrapping the ends up and over two fingers as you would a foam roller and continue winding up toward your roots. (This prevents curls from tangling or catching on your pillow at night.)
4. Slip your fingers out and secure the pin curl to your scalp using a clip. (Try these no-crease versions from Ricky’s, $6.) Then repeat steps three and four on the other five sections.
5. Remove the clips in the a.m. and lightly spritz your hair with water to soften curls and eliminate static.
Source: Oprah.com
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