Say what you will about the Olsen twins—they may have a penchant for ridiculous shoes and jewellery, wear clothes that are easily five sizes too big and sometimes look a tad creepy when they pose together on the red carpet—but you have to admit they kind of nail it in the beauty department.
How old are they, 25? (Actually yes—and do you know what’s crazy? I randomly decided to do this post and it’s actually their birthday today. Happy birthday, Olsens!) Anyway, 25 is quite a young age to have already nailed your signature beauty look, which for them has long been wavy, textured hair, glowy but non-tanned skin, peachy blush and smoky, smoky eyes.
And that brings me to today’s reader question, which is all about how to steal said look. Haley writes: I’m a huge Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen fan and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on their hair and makeup. Maybe you could tell me how they pull off that great smoky eye and get their hair to look so effortlessly perfect all the time. Love reading your blog! Thank you!
Let’s check out some pics and break this down, shall we? Because while I can’t endorse spending thousands of dollars on “homeless chic” fashions, I CAN support Olsen-style hair and makeup. Keep reading »
So here’s the thing. I’m a big fan—big, BIG fan!—of the tone-on-tone look for hair. Yep, I’m happiest when the base colour and the highlight colour(s) get to play happy families because they are from the same family, with only the slightest variation between them. It’s simply more on trend, and also more natural-looking. And you will notice that it tends to fool people, especially men, into thinking that you were born with your artificial hue of choice. See here, and here and here if you have not yet embraced this.
HOWEVER. You maybe should forget everything I just said when it comes to the subject of makeup.
That’s right! The NEW thing is, apparently, to mix your warms with your cools. Not literally—that would just create some vile brownish greenish grey—but as in wearing makeup in both tones at once, on different areas of your face, at the same time. YSL’s official makeup artist told me so this morning, so it must be true.
Let me explain. Keep reading »
Remember when the whole world discovered lip gloss? My memory’s a bit fuzzy on the exact chain of events, but it was sometime during the late ’90s or early ’00s—you know, back when we thought it was a good idea to wear velour tracksuits, trucker hats and thongs that peeked out from the back of our low-rise jeans. (Klassy.)
Anyway, during this era there were two must-have products: M.A.C Lip Glass and Lancôme Juicy Tubes. Surely you’ve tried them? These were what we might call first-generation lip glosses. Adequate, yes, but if I can be blunt? Not exactly an enjoyable user experience. (Constantly having to remove your hair from your lips whenever you stepped outside was mildly annoying. As was having your significant other recoil from kissing you.)
And this is why today’s post is dedicated to an idea whose time has come: the “gloss-balm.” A.k.a. my new favourite beauty category. Keep reading »
