5 beauty trends to steal from the Oscars after-parties: supermodel hair, bronzey eyes, the high bun and more!

Can I be honest? I liked the beauty looks going on at the Oscars parties waaay better than what was happening at the Oscars themselves. (Okay, maybe aside from Jessica C., Rose and Rooney.) With Emma letting me down, and my sudden disillusionment with Michelle Williams, and the let’s-not-even-talk-about-it Sandra Bullock tragedy, I guess it’s only natural that I sought comfort in the reassuringly excellent hair and makeup of celebs like Olivia Wilde, Elizabeth Olsen and Kate Beckinsale.

All three made appearances at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, and between that event and the Elton John AIDS Foundation one, I was one happy beauty ed. In fact, I zeroed in on five key beauty trends that you should probably know about. (*Fancy ballgown not required.)

1. Supermodel hair

Kate Hudson

Bar Refaeli

 Alessandra Ambrosio

There’s something I just love about wearing your hair long, loose and undone with a fancy schmancy dress. It’s that whole Victoria’s Secret supermodel contrast thing—you go sexy below the neck, but all fresh-faced and natural with the face and hair. As you can see, being supermodels, Bar and Alessandra have this look down-pat. But it looks great on non-model Kate too. The key is the imperfection—you don’t want your hair to look too obviously curled or “done.”

2. The high bun

Olivia Wilde

Amy Adams

Jessica Lowndes

So I just wrote a beauty story on this for a magazine, which means it MUST be a bona fide trend. Ha! No really, it is. We saw the high bun at the Oscars on Jennifer Lopez, Tina Fey, Rooney Mara and Shailene Woodley. I kinda like Olivia’s version here the best though. It’s pulled off the face for that instant facelift effect, but just loose enough to look like she didn’t try too hard. As you know, I always love Amy Adams, and her high bun is a bit more Brigitte Bardot with the face-framing tendrils. And finally, Jessica—I would’ve liked to see her hair pulled back a little tighter.

3. Bronzey eyes

Olivia Munn

Diane Kruger

Heidi Klum

I’ve been talking about the bronzey thing for a while now, particularly the way Olivia is wearing it—underneath the eyes. I love this look so much I want to marry it. But there are variations. Diane did the bronze just on the upper lid, while Heidi wore it all the way around the eye. I love how the shimmer makes the eyes really sparkle. (Now, if we could only have a talk with Diane about those roots… I’m shocked!)

4. Subtle Ombré

Kate Beckinsale

Rashida Jones

Elizabeth Olsen

So even though I moved on from Ombré over a year ago, I still get comments on this old post. Judging from that, as well as these celebs’ ‘dos, the trend is not going away anytime soon. What I think it’s evolved into is a MUCH more subtle colour graduation, as you can see here. Kate Beckinsale has probably the most gorgeous brunette I’ve ever seen. Notice how the crown is dark, but the lighter bits frame the sides of her face and sort of help to widen it. (Great optical illusion!) Rashida has a soft, tone-on-tone look, while Elizabeth’s blonde looks extremely natural with the darker area at the roots. I approve of all of this.

5. Red lips

Miley Cyrus

Karolina Kurkova

Aside from Angelina, Rooney and Milla, red lips weren’t that prevalent on the Oscars red carpet this year. But isn’t there something wonderful about them on Miley and Karolina? Miley surprised me with this Old Hollywood thing… even though I’m kinda over that, I think she looks amazing here. (I heart the hair.) And on Karolina, the contrast of the starkly parted hair and fresh skin with the huge red lips is great. Even though I sort of hate her because she probably just rolled out of bed, slapped it on and still killed it.

Let’s discuss:

Do you like these beauty looks better than the actual Oscars ones?
Which of these trends is your favourite?
Do you like the high-low mix of casual hair and makeup with an attention-getting dress? (Or do you prefer a more polished look from head-to-toe?)