Allure November 2013

Editors’ Favorites

Davines This is an Oil Non Oil

Dolce & Gabbana The One

Ojon Rare Blend Tamer

Sheer Madness

Maybelline New York Baby Lips in Minty Sheer

Lipstick Queen in Hello Sailor

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Invite Only

Dolce & Gabbana The Lipstick in Amethyst

Highlights at Home

1. Buy a hair color kit that’s one shade lighter than your base shade. Make sure the formula is conditioning and drip free [it’ll say so on the box].

2. Buy a baby toothbrush to apply the highlights. The brush in the kit is often big and awkward, which can lead to big and awkward highlights.

3. Lay out the contents of the kit, the brush, a timer, a towel, cotton balls, and clips to section off your hair. Read all the directions before you even open the bottle.

4. Don’t skip the color  test- it could save you from disaster. Take a tiny section from the back [where no one will notice] and color it. Hold it up to where you want to place the highlight to see how it’ll work.

5. Blow dry and style your hair the way you usually wear it. That way you won’t waste time highlighting sections that don’t show. Apply Vaseline on the skin below your hairline.

6. Start with about 12 sections. If you have coarse hair, aim for sections a quarter-inch wide. If you have thin hair, keep the highlights even smaller.

7. Use the toothbrush to saturate hair on both sides with dye. To prevent bleeding, place a few cotton balls under each section of highlighted hair as you go.

8. Now Stop. Pay attention to the recommended cooking time - its there for a reason.

Maintenance Highlights

1. The sulfates in shampoo wash away dirt and oil in your hair.  They also wash away the actual color and fade highlights.

2.Cut back on daily shampooing unless you want brassy hair. On the days that you don’t shampoo, sprinkle a little bit of dry shampoo on the roots and massage in.

3.  Buy a heat protectant spray and use it.

4. When your hair is damaged, the cuticle of the hair shaft is open. Once a week, use a deep conditioning mask to prevent color from seeping out.

How to Groom Your Brows

1. Choose the right product. Use products with mousses and waxes to layer from sheer to opaque so they fill in holes, and the wet to dry formulas add thickness. Plus, they’re long wearing.

2.  Know how dark to go. If your brows are nearly invisible, pick a  product close to your hair’s natural base tone. If you have dark brows and need to fill or thicken them, go with something one to two shades lighter than your hair color [or darker for stronger brows], and if you have black hair, match them as closely as possible.

3. Perfect the shape. Don’t go thicker than the natural width of your brows right above the side of your nose. The larger your eyes and lips are, the thicker your brows can be, and if you have a prominent brow bone, you can square them off a little bit more.

4. Start  in the middle. Since your first strokes lay down the most color, start at your arches, which are naturally the darkest part of your brows, and move toward the tail, finishing with the lightest application at the inner corner.

The Best Exfoliator for your Skin

Normal Skin - a glycolic acid peel is one of the most effective exfoliators because it penetrates deeply.  It can also be slightly irritating,  so moisturize after to prevent inflammation. Look for moisturizers for sensitive skin with ceramides or green tea.

Oily or Combination Skin - a scrub with microbeads or sugar once a week and a salicylic acid infused cleanser every day sounds like sloughing overload but the scrub sweeps away dead cells so the salicylic acid can penetrate  and clean clogged pores.

Dry, sensitive, or very fair skin -  try a lactic acid peel once a week. Lactic acid is a relatively large molecule that can’t penetrate the skin as deeply as the other alpha hydroxy acids, which means it’s not as abrasive. Unfortunately,  anything else  may make your skin drier, redder, and more sensitive.

While you were sleeping

To create waves - sleeping with damp hair in a loose braid produces nice enough ripples. But twist that braid into a bun, and your next day waves will look fuller and sexier. Prep wet hair with leave in conditioner before braiding to help prevent frizz, and use an old scrunchie to secure the bun - it won’t leave creases.

To boost volume - wash your hair before bed, spray volumizer at the roots and a leave-in conditioner over the length and ends, and sleep in a loose topknot [with that same god old scrunchie]. Your roots will be pulled upward all night, adding volume, and the bun creates soft waves.

To extend your blowout -  sleep on satin or  Egyptian cotton pillowcases, which create less friction than regular ones. That means your hair will look more polishes in the morning, and you’ll have less damage and breakage in the long run.

Quickest Curls Ever - the speediest way to add curl. Mist dry hair with lightweight hair spray, wrap it around four or five medium Velcro rollers, and blast with hot air to set the curl.