Billboard Music Awards ’11: The top 10 beauty dos—and don’ts!—that we can learn from celebrity musicians… including Ke$ha

Like I mentioned in Friday’s vid, it’s a long weekend here in Canada—so while all of us Canuckis were cottaging, sunning and patio-ing, a little event called the Billboard Music Awards happened. And I am happy to report that our wee Bieber picked up five awards, including Top New Artist. (Is now a good time to ALSO report that he’s launching a women’s fragrance? And hot damn, that rosette on the top really resembles Lola.)

Anyway! I wasn’t really paying attention to the 17-year-old Biebs. I’m way more interested in his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, and all of the other fabulously beautified female celebs in attendance, including Taylor Swift, Fergie and yes… believe it or not, I even have praise for Ke$ha.

Not that the night was a total beauty success, of course (it never is). So for educational purposes—both instructive and preventative—here are 10 beauty dos and don’ts from the night.

DO: Try blue eyeliner at the inner corners of your eyes like Ke$ha

So Ke$ha can come off a bit scary. That’s because you’re getting hit over the head with not only the eye makeup but the nose ring, Aslan hair, mucho cleavage and perma-scowl. But just try to ignore all of the extras for a moment and focus on that kinda-sorta-pretty turquoise blue liner at the inner corners. Imagine if you dialled everything else back—WAY back—and wore it with less grey shadow underneath the eyes (because that’s creating dark circles). It would look pretty fab, non?

DO: Run, not walk, to your hairdresser with a photo of Fergie’s hair colour (and style, for that matter).

I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I think I’m joining Team Fergie. I was always one of those mean people who couldn’t understand how she snagged a hottie like Josh Duhamel… but now I’m starting to see it. Keep in mind these pics aren’t retouched either. What gets me most is her totally covetable honey-blonde hair colour, which I am sure is dyed but doesn’t look like it. The face-framing waves are perf too… and it looks like she’s maybe doing a toned-down version of the eyeshadow I gave props to here.

DO: Coax your curls into Old Hollywood waves like Taylor Swift

We all know, by now, that Old Hollywood hair and makeup is making a big comeback (for the 43rd time) on the red carpet. Tayls, arguably, was at the front of the trend—since she’s been doing liquid liner, long lashes, cherry lips and wavy hair since the beginning of time. However. Whereas she wore her hair up at the Met Ball, I much prefer this straighter style, which is a new thing for her (hooray!) and QUITE gorgeous.

DON’T: Leave the house with hair that looks like you “scrunched” it dry, a la Beyoncé

Does anyone remember hair scrunching? It was a ’90s thing involving a diffuser attachment on your hairdryer, copious amounts of hair gel, and enough scrunching motions to give you a hand cramp. And Beyoncé looks like a practitioner. Don’t get me wrong—she’s always stupidly gorgeous—but there’s a slight crispiness to her waves that I’m not down with. Especially because (and I repeat myself) the New Trend is “solid-looking” hair, not piecey individual strands.

DON’T: Try to rock “out-there” shades of hair and lipstick if they totally clash with your skin tone (see: Nicki Minaj)

I totally appreciate that people like Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga and Katy Perry need to go a little wilder with their beauty trends than the rest of us. Fine. But I draw that line at things that are just downright unflattering, such as this horrific colour clash of candy-floss hair with chalky pink lipstick. Gurrrrrl, it just doesn’t work with your skin tone. I won’t even mention how the wig itself looks like you stole it from the lead singer of Twisted Sister.

PS: Is that lip liner? Please no.

DON’T: Forget that no matter how awesome your makeup and outfit are, styling your locks like a TV anchorwoman instantly kills your street cred (sorry, RiRi)

Possibly I’m taking the Boy Hot thing too far here, but I detest this hairstyle—not just on Rihanna, but anybody. I mean, talk about a buzzkill. Despite her gorgeous delicate features, pretty pastel makeup and okay, crimson hair, none of it matters because the oddly conservative style has her looking like she’s about to read us the news at 6:00pm. It’s not the length so much as the bouffant shape and all of those layers. RiRi… where’s the edge?

DON’T: Channel The Girls Next Door in any way, shape or form… even if your name is Britney Spears and you ARE still recovering from shaving all your hair off that one time

Why, Lord, does this hair persist? Unless your name is Gwen Stefani, hair that’s dyed solid platinum blonde tends to look cheap and cartoon-ish… especially when you also style it in fat sausage curls like Holly Madison. Nein nein nein. It doesn’t look modern, it doesn’t look healthy, and hells no it doesn’t flatter you. I was cutting Brit some slack since “the episode,” but how long has it been now? Five years? It’s time to deal with this situation. I know I’ve got blonderexia too, but trust me: going darker (and straighter) will improve things immensely.

DO: Save the boundary-pushing beauty looks to the young’uns—smart move, Kylie Minogue!

Kylie Minogue is 42 years old. And despite maybe a bit too much reliance on the Bo (see those bunny lines? and the one eyebrow that’s Spocking?), I applaud her excellent choices in hair and makeup. THIS is what I mean, by the way, when I speak of toning down platinum-blonde hair. Howzaboutit, Brit? I’m also digging her flicky lashes and eyeshadow, which serve to draw the eye upward for a little mini-lift. Clever!

DO: Copy Nicole Kidman’s adorably messy fishtail braid

I lurrrve a braid (fishtail or otherwise). Especially for evening, as Nic is rocking here—doesn’t she look great? It’s a much more casual and yes, youthful hairstyle compared to, say, the very blah updo she was wearing at the SAG Awards. If your hair is long enough, I highly recommend this one. Things to note: the messy texture; how the part is on the opposite side to the braid; the long fringey bit pulled out and flirting over one eye; the clear elastic fastening it at the bottom. Good job, Nicole!

DO: Look to Selena Gomez if you’re ever in doubt about how to rock a red carpet

I bow down to Selena Gomez, because at just 18 years old, she already knows EXACTLY what to do for a red carpet. Always. Maybe that means she’s just as much of a child prodigy as Justin Bieber? Either that or someone is giving her excellent advice. Here, I’m swooning over it all: softly flushing cheeks, pink lips, dead-straight centre-parted hair… and maybe the best part, the eyeshadow. It’s a deep purple and concentrated at the outer corners, swooping up from the lower lashline like we talked about here. No wonder Biebs is smitten.

Check this out:

Which stars do YOU think looked the best and worst?
Any other beauty dos and don’ts you picked up that I missed?
Do you think Justin should’ve thanked Selena in his speech? I was kinda waiting for that…