Paris S/S ’11: Keira Knightley’s new haircut and other front row beauty triumphs

So Paris fashion week is officially dunzo. Which means we can get back to alternately praising and nit-picking celebrities for their beauty choices. Yay!

(And SRSLY? I do not feel guilty about this. In a bout of insomnia last night, I logged on to my twin obsessions, GoodPlasticSurgery.com and AwfulPlasticSurgery.com—which I visit, oh, once every six months or so. And every time I go on there I am stunned—stunned!—by how much tinkering, i.e. rhinoplasty, chin/cheek implants, brow lifts, etc., is done to already attractive people in order to look more “perfect.” And then they have the gall to deny it and try to pass themselves off as having this otherworldly beauty! PLEASE.)

Anyway! Rant over. Whether or not these people have had any work done (with Europeans, you never know), there were some beauty triumphs worth noting OFF the runways. Specifically at the Chanel show we discussed yesterday.

The biggest news was Keira Knightley‘s new haircut—which gets not one but two photos in this post:

So many celebs are getting the “Lob” (long bob), but this is definitely a “Pob”—i.e. the Posh bob, as in Victoria Beckham, as in an angled cut that is longer at the front than the back. Whew! Got all that?

I really like this on Keira. I wasn’t a fan when she had the super-short boy haircut, but at the same time, when she had long hair, her delicate features would get overwhelmed. (Let’s not even talk about when she was a blonde.) No, this colour and cut are quite lovely. Could it be that Miss Keira has found her Haircut For Life? I do think maybe she has.

Other hair excellence was to be found on Miss Rachel Bilson:

Now THIS is great Ombré hair. Sorry Alexa Chung. The highlights look hand-painted though, so even though I told you how to DIY the Ombré effect a few weeks ago, to truly get this look I must recommend that you go to a professional.

In Toronto, someone I’ve known a long time but have just discovered does balyage is Jeff at Angst (where, as you know, I already go for haircuts). I’ve been hard-pressed to find anyone in this city—nay, country—who does balyage, so finding out that Jeff now does it is pretty thrilling, and I suspect he could help you achieve something pretty close to this look.

I’m in love with Rachel’s lip colour here as well.

Speaking of lips, this isn’t a great shot of Mrs. Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis, but since she was the face of Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick, isn’t it great that she practices what she preaches?

So elegant, especially with the loose, centre-parted (but not hippie-ish) hair in a colour that may not be from nature but sure looks like it. (It’s so French not to have any detectable highlights, and I so admire them for that!)

Now if only she could give up the ciggies, as I suspect they’re causing a bit of premature aging. She’s only 37, but looks older, I think.

Next up is Leigh Lezark:

If I could trade in my hair for these shiny, swing, jet-black locks, I would do it in a heartbeat. (Alas, I don’t have quite the right skin tone to pull it off, and my eyebrows are too light.) But I have a beauty crush on anyone who does the whole light eyes/dark hair thing, and Leigh does it so very well. Especially with the glint of silver around the eyes and rosy cheeks. Adorbs!

We don’t even need to talk about the perfection that is Claudia Schiffer:

Girlfriend’s got the best hair in the business. And she is 40! Le sigh.

Now may I draw your attention to the manicure of the moment? Well, aside from yesterday’s metallic green? I spotted more than a few famous faces… er, hands… sporting short, rounded red nails. Like Lou Doillon:

Maybe you remember me declaring back in June that the rounded shape was coming back. (Maybe you also remember a more recent post telling you that long and pointy nails are also kind of a trend. But a trend we will ignore, RIGHT?) Anyway, as fun as it can be to wear weird nail colours, I don’t think anything could be more elegant for fall and winter than this classic yet modern manicure.

Now tell me…

Which of these front row beauties is your fave?
Do you like Keira’s new hair?
Don’t you think Rachel’s hair colour is SO MUCH BETTER than Alexa’s? Alexa I am over you.