Meghan Markle's Best Beauty Looks

Meghan Markle's wedding hair and makeup may have been one of her most celebratory beauty moments, but she's been giving us plenty of inspiration throughout her career. She perfected her signature side part and glowing base as Rachel Zane on Suits, but that wasn't the beginning of her beauty experimentation.

On the red carpet, Meghan has tried it all: sunlit bronzer, golden cat-eyes, and glossy lips. And while, as a royal, there are certain beauty "rules" that Meghan has to follow (including no bright nail polish, no heavy eyeshadow, and no shiny lipgloss), she continues delivering some of our favorite looks.

Scroll through to see Meghan's beauty style evolve over time, and keep an eye out for her favorite product recommendations along the way. We'll be trying these immediately.

SEPTEMBER 2006

More than a decade before she was royalty, Meghan Markle landed one of her first gigs as a briefcase opener on Deal or No Deal. Her early '00's look featured a signature side part (complete with side bangs), big barrel curls, and a high-shine lipgloss.

AUGUST 2010

In 2010, Meghan played up her California Girl roots with dark blonde highlights and a luminous glow. She added a little sparkle on her eyes, cheeks, and lips for the prettiest finishing touch.

OCTOBER 2011

In 2011, she paired her chestnut waves with a center part, subtle smoky eye, and voluminous lashes. Matching, coral-toned blush and gloss completed the look.

JUNE 2012

For someone who tends to stick with a neutral palette, this purple shadow was a total departure from Meghan's usual look. She framed her eyes with XL lashes (probably care of her favorite mascara, Diorshow Iconic), and pulled her hair into a sleek ponytail to put the focus on her smoky lids.

NOVEMBER 2012

At the 2012 GQ Men of the Year party, she rocked a bronzed contour and a golden smoky eye, plus deep brunette waves.

JANUARY 2013

Meghan showed up to a 2013 event in Los Angeles with a sleek style and peachy gloss. She emphasized her cheek bones with a bronzer-blush combo, and added some serious shimmer to her base.

JANUARY 2013

Meghan complemented the vintage vibes of her outfit with some '60s-inspired beauty. Her hair was parted on the side and styled into a barrel curls, and she kept the rest of her look golden and glowy.

OCTOBER 2013

Long before she was making headlines with her signature messy bun, Meghan wore the evening version to the 2013 New York Film Festival. She paired her elegant updo with a glossy lip and a smudged-out cat eye.

NOVEMBER 2013

Yet another take on the classic bun! Meghan rocked a sideswept version of the 'do at an event in London in 2013. To keep her skin looking matte under the bright camera lights on the red carpet during her acting days, she often relied on Makeup Forever's HD Powder

JUNE 2015

Whenever Meghan wanted to switch things up with a smoky eye, there was one product she knew she could rely on. "If I'm going to amp it up for night, then I use M.A.C. Teddy eyeliner, which is a really beautiful brown that has some gold in it," she told Allure. "A makeup artist I work with often, Kayleen McAdams, turned me on to it. It's what she uses on Sofia Vergara."

NOVEMBER 2015

Tousled hair! Dewy skin! A mauve smoky eye! Meghan's look at the 2015 Vogue Fashion Fund Awards was a fresh take on her usual go-to red carpet style.

MARCH 2016

Instead of her usual sheer gloss, the Duchess-to-be opted for a matte red lip for a Suits event in early 2016. Aside from the vibrant lipstick, the rest of her makeup was minimal and glowy.

NOVEMBER 2017

For Meghan and Harry's engagement photos, the bride-to-be went more minimal than ever with her makeup — and had one very important requirement for the look. "Every time I'd do her makeup, she'd say, 'Can we just make sure my freckles are peeking through? I don't want a ton of foundation," her makeup artist, Lydia Sellers told PopSugar, adding that she is "so confident with herself and her look, and she sticks with that."

MARCH 2018

In March, 2018, Meghan made headlines when she appeared at an official visit with Prince Harry rocking a messy bun, which reportedly broke royal protocol. However, in her subsequent steps into the royal spotlight, she made it very clear that her favorite hairstyle was here to stay.

APRIL 2018

As she got ready to become an official royal, Meghan opted for a more neutral palette than she had at past red carpet events. "My routine is very simple — I call it the five-minute face," she told Allure in 2014. "I's just YSL Touche Éclat, curled lashes, mascara, Chap Stick, and a little bit of blush. That is my favorite kind of look."

MAY 2018

For her wedding day, Meghan stuck with the same fresh-faced makeup that has become her signature. "We focused on the eyes because they're so expressive and her favorite feature, so we wanted to give them the attention they deserve to compliment everything else," her longtime friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin told Brides. Creating the look required a surprisingly minimal amount of products: "Waterproof mascara, lash accents on her outer corners, and filled-in brows," he said, and used lip balm instead of a stick or gloss to create a "healthy moisturized lip." And of course, hairstylist Serge Normant framed her face with — what else? — a center-parted bun.

MAY 2018

For her first official appearance as the Duchess of Sussex (and as Prince Harry's wife!) Meghan topped her low side-bun with a traditional British fascinator and dewy skin. Some of her favorite products include Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder for exfoliation, Jan Mari glycolic serum for a glowy post-cleanse boost, and Revitalash to keep her lashes as long.

JUNE 2018

Same hat, different look! Meghan swapped her signature low bun for a set of loose waves, and matched her understated blush and lipgloss to the exact pale pink of her dress.

JUNE 2018

For an official visit with Queen Elizabeth, Meghan opted for a classic blowout. However, she received criticism on Twitter for the look "not being windproof" after it blew into her face during an event. Personally, we think she looks amazing.

source:teenvogue

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The Richest Female YouTuber on the Planet

Indian-Canadian comedy vlogger Lilly Singh ended 2016 as the richest female YouTuber on the planet, having raked in an as much as $7.5 million from her channel (which has 12.6 million subscribers and counting) as well as her various other ventures. This made her the third highest paid YouTuber overall that year — prankster Roman Atwood came second while PewDiePie remained in the top spot — and she built on that success in 2017, with Forbes recently naming her the top influencer in the entertainment sector.
Singh has come a long way from her first upload (a spoken word piece on religion and humanity watched by just 70 people) but she remembers the trials and tribulations of those early days very clearly. From her humble beginnings to her imminent mainstream breakthrough, this is the untold truth of Lilly Singh.

She has a degree in psychology

After graduating from York University with a bachelor's degree in psychology, Singh couldn't decide what to do with her life. She spent an entire year doing nothing as she tried to figure out what her next step should be, but walking an ordinary career path simply wasn't appealing to her. Her parents (both of Punjabi descent) insisted that she go back to school and study for a masters in counselling psychology, but she had an epiphany while filling out her application form.

"I remember writing the application for my masters and then going 'Oh my god! I don't even want to do these applications, how am I going to do this for four years?'" she told The Hindu. "It was during that time, between sending applications, that I decided on doing YouTube videos seriously and I already had a few videos out at that time. At that moment, I walked up to my parents and was like 'Hey, I've decided that I am not going to do my masters, and instead I am going to make YouTube videos."

Her parents didn't get it

Singh's decision to go full time on YouTube came as a shock to her parents, though after Superwoman (her online persona) became popular on the platform, they slowly started to come around to the idea. "When I first started it was not that they were unsupportive, they just didn't get it and that's fair," she told Flare. "Even my friends don't get YouTube right now. It took my relatives calling them saying, 'Is your daughter Superwoman?'"

Her Punjabi heritage was a big part of her channel early on, and Singh regularly portrayed fictionalized versions of her mother and father in her videos, which they came to not only understand, but really enjoy. "Recently, I feel so grateful because they've become supportive in a new way," the YouTuber said. "They actually watch my videos and understand the art I'm doing. My mom really believes my message. My dad has watched all my videos and he knows how many subscribers I have at any given moment, he's obsessed. They understand what I'm trying to do and that's really special to me."

She didn't set out to become famous

Back when Singh started her channel in October 2010, fame and fortune were not words that people associated with YouTube. The platform had been around for a couple of years at that stage and there were a few content creators that were well-known among viewers, but the notion of the internet celebrity was still alien to most people, Singh included. The real reason she decided to become a YouTuber was actually to counter some mental health problems she'd been suffering.

"When I started on YouTube, nobody knew that you could make a living off of YouTube," she told Elle Canada. "I started because I was sad, and I wanted to be happy. And a lot of my peers who started around the same time, it was for the same reason. We were all messed up in some way. We had anxiety, we were loners, and we turned to YouTube. But now when people start YouTube it's: 'I want to be a YouTuber, I want a career, I want to make money, I want to be famous.' And it's much more of a business now."


She didn't want her race to define her

While Singh used her South Asian roots as a source of humor in her content regularly to begin with, she never wanted her race to define her comedy, which was exactly what happened. "There were already so many females on YouTube but I am pretty sure I am the first Indian big YouTuber that's also female," Singh said. "When I first started, all the media I ever got was 'Hey! There's this Indian girl, and even though she is Indian she gets views and stuff.'"

Before long she realized that if she was ever going to shake that tag she would have to make her content more universal. "Earlier on my videos used to be so geared towards Indian people because that's what I thought I had to do," she told AOL. "So I would call my videos things like 'My Indian Parents Do This' or 'Indian Girls This' and very quickly I realized that I didn't have to do that. All girls are pretty much the same and all parents are pretty much the same, so I stopped doing that and I stopped cornering myself into a niche that I thought I had to be in."

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Makeup Hacks Every Lazy Girl Needs to Know

Why should makeup be time consuming? If you don’t have time to go through a 37 step cosmetic routine, but still want to look reasonably attractive, these tips are for you. Skip the YouTube makeup routines and get a natural, radiant look with these 12 makeup hacks:

1) Hide under eye bags: Not enough sleep? No one needs to know. Highlight the crease of the bag under your eye with a shade lighter than your skin tone, then apply a darker tone between that and the eye to visually reduce the puffiness.

2) Exfoliate the lips: If you don’t have much time, just focus on the lips. Apply a gloss for a shiny finish or a stain for all-day color. If you exfoliate your lips with a baby toothbrush, it helps the lipstick last longer. Choose a shade that complements your skin tone.

3) Tightline eyes: Apply your eyeliner straight in between your lashes and on the inner, upper rim. The look is more natural than lining above the lashes, but still give you a bit of definition.

4) Curl lashes: If you’re not using mascara, curling your lashes can give you the same effect. Anneke la Grange, lead artist from an online makeup course, says to heat your lash curler with the hair dryer for 3-5 seconds before curling to set the lashes into place.

5) Hide blemishes: If you need to hide a blemish, instead of rubbing concealer all over it, take a thin brush and apply concealer directly (and lightly) to the blemish instead. The brush evenly distributes the concealer over the blemish.

6) Conceal mistakes: If you are applying lipstick or eyeliner on the go (it happens) and you slip up, just take a bit of concealer and blend over the mistake.

7) Moisturize without suffocating: Finding a tinted moisturizer will provide the color you need, moisturize your skin and let your skin breath better than heavy foundations.

8) Low maintenance lips: If you’re not a fan of lipstick, try using a tinted lip balm. It offers muted, subtle color while keeping your lips soft.

9) Easy winged eyeliner: Winged eyeliner looks great when it’s done right, but to all the women trying it freehand with an eye pencil: Use a spoon as a template by pressing the concave side against your eyelid and moving it around to create the angle of the wing.

10) Quick smoky eyes: The smoky eye isn’t for beginners—it takes lots of color application and precise blending if you want to achieve a professional look. To speed things up, draw a slanted hashtag on the outer corner of your eyelid with a deeper shade of eyeshadow and blend it in with the rest of your eye makeup.

11) Dry shampoo tip: Instead of applying dry shampoo in the morning, apply it before bed. That way, it really gets worked around and creates tons of volume and absorbs extra oil.

12) French manicure time saver: Unless you have surgeon’s hands, doing your own French manicure makes it look like it was done by a 3 year-old. For a perfect line every time, wrap a rubber band on your finger where you’d like the tip, and then paint only the part above with white polish. Once it has dried, remove the rubber band and clean up with a cotton swab and some nail polish remover.

Whether you woke up late or just don’t like to spend a lot of time applying makeup, these tips will help you get a clean, polished look with minimal effort. 

From:huffingtonpost

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What Hollywood's A-List Actresses Eat in a Day

You may not know it, what with all the glitz and the glam and la-di-da of it all, but celebrities do actually eat too. Weird, right? To think that such unknowable, almost ethereal people actually take the time to sit down for a good meal just seems… odd. You kinda just assume they devour starlight or the concept of time or something, don't you?


Well, it's true: A-listers eat food. Some of them have eating habits which sit comfortably on the "normal" end of the spectrum, while others prefer — well, let's just say starlight might have made more sense. These women are some of the most famous on the planet, having appeared in the most successful movies and series of all time, and some of them live on diets that are nothing short of fascinating. Others not so much, but that's our point — there really is something quite remarkable about just how unremarkable they are.

Julia Roberts loves a good cookie

We'll be surprised if many of these actresses have managed to fly under your radar at all, but let's give you a recap just in case. Julia Roberts is one of Hollywood's biggest stars. She's an Academy Award winner (for 2000's Erin Brockovich) and has starred in movies as wide-ranging as Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, Ocean's Eleven and Eat Pray Love. During the '90s and early '00s, she was pretty much the most famous woman on the planet.

Roberts told People Magazine in 2017 that she tends to begin her day with a full breakfast (which usually consists of sourdough toast, avocado, eggs, fruit and coffee) before a light lunch and a dinner which is usually healthy and high in protein — the example she gave was salmon, avocado and brown rice, with a glass of wine on the side. She also holds a fondness for pasta, jokingly asking why everybody gives it such a bad rap, and added that she "loves a good cookie." Don't we all?

Emma Stone doesn't stress

Emma Stone is a part of the younger cadre of Hollywood A-listers, having found fame in a number of successful movies released in the last decade or so. Among these are Zombieland, The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, and of course, La La Land (which she won an Oscar for). All this, too, before even hitting the age of 30. It's little wonder why Stone is generally regarded as one of her generation's best performers.

Stone's approach to food is best described as "liberal." She's spoken openly about her distaste for exercise, and believes it's wrong to deprive yourself of good food. She told S Magazine that "I do have that thing of, 'Oh my God, I'm disgusting! I ate a huge Wagamama lunch, the whole yaki soba, and I feel so fat.' But I'm still gonna eat that stuff, and you know what? You can get nice, loose clothes that cover it all up."

Angelina Jolie eats practically nothing

It's probably not a stretch to suggest that Angelina Jolie might be the most famous actress on the planet. Nowadays, she works as a humanitarian — working to protect refugees, uphold education, defend women's rights and conserve the environment all around the world — but is also renowned for her turns in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Changeling (which, yes, you guessed it: Oscar) and Unbroken.

And her diet is about as extraordinary as her career. Jolie is rumored to consume around 600 calories per day preferring foods which are high in proteins. That means lean steaks, cereals and protein shakes are on the menu. She has also been known to snack on "ancient grains", which consist of quinoa, millet, chia seeds, spelt and buckwheat. A persistent rumor has also followed Jolie which suggests she begins the day with a spoonful of coconut oil and a handful of cereal — and not much else. Pass the pizza, please.

Emma Watson's health kick falters at the Mexican border

Emma Watson's career exploded (in a good way) from the outset with her recurring lead role in the Harry Potter series. She's also appeared in a smorgasbord of other productions including The Perks of Being a Wallflower, This is the End and, more recently, Beauty and the Beast. She also works as a UN Women Goodwill ambassador and campaigns for gender equality around the world.

According to Business Insider, Watson's diet is dictated by a number of main tenets. The first is a general tendency toward healthiness, avoiding processed foods and trying to include whole grains, proteins and unsaturated fats. She has a predilection for Mexican food, loves gin and tonics and holds a weakness for Nutella. What she does eat she usually cooks herself — having told Marie Claire in 2013 that she dreams of attending culinary school — and is no stranger to the occasional treat. It goes without saying, of course, that this all comes hand-in-hand with a strict exercise regime and an understanding of moderation and yada yada yada.

Jennifer Lawrence keeps it real

Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most prolific young actresses working today. She appeared in Hollywood at the beginning of this decade, securing her role in the zeitgeist with her roles in X-Men: First Class and the Hunger Games saga. Since then, she's also won an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook — making her the second-youngest actress in history to win one — and has undertaken a significant amount of charity work and activism.

Lawrence's love for junk food is well-documented, and the internet's adoration towards her for her apparent relatability is nothing short of a PR manager's dream. In recent years, she has won digital hearts for speaking up about her taste for McDonald's fries, Cool Ranch Doritos and pizza. Seriously, she really loves pizza — and really loves letting people know she really loves pizza, too. It's practically her whole brand, actually. An interesting angle to take on your public image, but hey, it works. All the power to her.

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This is what happens when you stop washing your hair

Can we be real for a minute? We've all gone longer than we'd care to admit without washing our hair. Washing, drying, and styling our manes is a whole thing and, sometimes, you just can't be bothered to do it. But, what if you skipped washing your hair for longer than a few days? What if you went weeks, months, or even years — yes, years — without shampooing your locks?


In the early 1900s, this would've been the case for all women. Nicole Rogers, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Tulane University in Louisiana, explained to Health that modern shampoo is relatively new. Prior to the '30s, people would use bar soap to clean their hair. Once shampoo arrived on the scene, it wasn't used with the frequency it is today. "Women would go to the salon and get their hair set, using products that were meant to hold their style for several days, because the act of drying and styling took so long," said New York City-based celebrity hair stylist Sarah Potempa.

While many people in the United States now wash their hair on a near-daily basis, there are others who've joined the "No Poo" movement and given up shampoo entirely. Is that a good idea? Well, here's what could happen when you give up on washing your hair.


Dry hair will be a thing of the past

If you're someone who washes your hair on the reg, you may have noticed some seriously parched strands. One of the benefits of forgoing daily shampoo sessions is the return of nourished hair. While you may think conditioner is the best thing you can use to prevent dry hair, our scalps are actually pretty proficient at doing that all on their own.

"Sebum is produced by each individual [hair] follicle via the sebaceous gland," Guy Parson, a hairstylist and certified trichologist, told Harper's Bazaar. Sebum, or oil, is, of course, responsible for making our hair feel greasy in between washes, but it's also what our scalps produce to naturally hydrate our hair. "This sebum is just as important to get silky strands as any conditioner you can purchase,"  Elle Kinney, a hairstylist at Livian Salon in New York City, told Prevention. If left to its own devices, your hair's oil will effectively hydrate your strands.


Hello, shiny hair

When shampooing your hair, you may be cleansing it, but you're also stripping your scalp of what it needs to make your hair shiny. "Hair will certainly be more lustrous when given time to renew in its own oils," Kinney told Prevention. And, really, who doesn't love shiny hair? Unfortunately, your scalp is not exactly great at evenly distributing oil. This is why the tips of your hair can look dry while your roots will look mighty greasy when you skip a wash.

If you want to maximize shine, Kinney suggested using a flat boar bristle brush to pull the oil from your roots all the way down to the ends of your hair. Lorean Cairns, co-founder of Fox & Jane hair salon in New York City agrees. She explained to Bustle, saying, "Using a boar bristle brush is great, because the natural fibers help distribute the natural oils throughout your hair."

Say bye-bye to a greasy scalp and hello to a shiny head of hair.


You might just experience a breakthrough

If you decide to give the "No Poo" movement a go, you may just experience a total hair breakthrough. Once you're several weeks in, your hair may start readjusting to infrequent washings and, instead of being a greasy mess, will start to look incredibly healthy.

"Certainly there is some truth to that," Angela Lamb, a board-certified dermatologist with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, confirmed to USA Today. However, a lot of the results you will, or will not, experience comes down to what type of hair you're working with. Lamb explained that women with fine hair or those with naturally less oily locks usually have more success when going shampoo-free. Curlier hair, too, can often survive — and thrive — without frequent shampooing.

If you're not sure if your hair could handle weeks without washing, Lamb suggests trying three to four days to start. If your hair feels greasy, you've got the all clear to proceed. If you develop redness or itchy scales on your scalp, though, it's time to suds up. "That's your body trying to tell you that it needs more frequent washing," she added.


You could get some serious product buildup

Just because you've chosen not to use shampoo doesn't mean you have to give up all of your styling products, right? Well, you may want to consider, at the very least, cutting back. Annie Chiu, a dermatologist in Redondo Beach, California, told Prevention what happens when you add product without later taking it away. Styling creams and other products tend to stay on your scalp if you don't use shampoo to get rid of them. When that happens, the residue can become visible and your hair could even start looking a bit lackluster. This all happens pretty quickly, too. In just a few days of not washing your hair, you may experience some scalp inflammation. "This feels and looks like pimples on the scalp, and can be tender and uncomfortable," Chiu said.

So, what should you do? If your scalp experiences these issues, there may not be much else you can do but give in and use shampoo. Lorean Cairns, as referenced above, told Prevention, "Clarifying shampoos are the best way to get rid of buildup of any kind." In order to avoid drying out your hair, clarifying once a month should be enough.


What's that smell?

This is arguably the grossest part of the shampooless trend, but it would be remiss to exclude it: Your hair may start to smell pretty funky when you stop washing it.

Dr. Lamb told USA Today that while not everyone who skips washing their hair will develop a foul odor, those who do may have to endure smelling like sour milk — seriously. According to Lamb, hair traps moisture, which in turn collects bacteria. In just about a week, you may get a tinge of a mildew scent or, worse, a sour smell emanating from the top of your head.

A lot of the science behind the stench has to do with your lifestyle. "If you run five miles a day, you can't go three months without washing your hair," Lamb put it bluntly. And if you have thick hair? Watch out: you're at risk for some real deal malodorous hair.

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Understanding the Basics of Eyelash Serum

Many women dream of having long eyelashes. Long eyelashes are considered to be seductive and sexy for many women. However, there are some women that lost their eyelashes due to circumstances they cannot avoid, and others were just born with short eyelashes. There are different ways that women can use to get thicker and longer lashes. One of the most modern and better ways is through the use of eyelash serum. They stimulate the growth of the eyebrow and condition them quite effectively.

So what is eyelash serum? This is a serum made to get more youthful and loner, fuller and healthier eyelash. This serum is lightweight and easy to use. It is made with a Hexatein Complex, and this will boost the original eyelashes quite strongly. It contains a lot of vitamins and botanical extract that make the lashes grow healthier and stronger. It makes them look shinier and also increases their durability. They contain calming and soothing properties. The serums are free of fragrances and parabens and thus have no harm on the eyes. An eyelash serum helps to make sparse, uneven and weak lashes to grow more beautiful and healthier. The products are well tested by the dermatologists and ophthalmologists, and they have proved them to be safe for use both by women and men.

One may wonder if the lashes work. The truth is that they had worked before for people who had less lashed due to plucking and other conditions. New lashes are seen to grow after the eyelash serum application for three to four weeks. You will see the serums becoming smooth soft and thick. They also work quite well for sensitive skin. The lashes also become darker, and you do not have to use creams and oils any longer. It will also give some special nourishments and care to the eyelashes.

There are so many benefits that come with eyelash serum. It has been noted to work quite well for many people. The lashes also become darker and fuller making one to look sexier. Many of the ingredients used to make the serum have calming and soothing properties. They act as conditioners, strengthening agents and as moisturizers. The serum is easy to apply, and thus one can easily incorporate it into the any one's beauty routine.  Their price is affordable and reasonable and may people can afford it. It will only take you one month to note the change in the eyelashes and the serum has no side effects.

There are no a lot of disadvantages of Serum for your eyelashes. Some people have complained of some mild irritation making the eyelids itch but people are different, and they react differently. Some people with sensitive skin may have such experiences but not all of them. Some people say that they cause discoloration on the last line, but again this is a very low percentage. The pros of using the eyelash serums are much more compared to the cons. You can get the serum today and add beauty to your eyelash.

from:sheknows

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How to Spend July, 1612

Wenceslaus Hollar, Summer (1644)

"In July. Now arrives the Sommers Solstice, which with the fiery Dogge turnes the moisture of our bodies into parched exhalations, which we commonly call cholerick symptomes. And therefore shunne roast or broyled meates. Shunne salt meates, Bacon, and strong Beefe. Spare not to drinke Ptizans, Endive, or Succory waters, which coole the liver. Now you may boldly sleepe in the after noone, so that it be not presently after dinner, and not above an houre. Beware of bloud-letting, Physick, and venerous acts. When you are emptie, bath your selfe in colde water, for that recreates the animall powers."  

William Vaughan, Approved Directions for Health

It's July, and you know what that means: no grilled burgers, no sex, just cold baths and endive water.

On second thought, just boldly sleepe until August.

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Haircuts you'll be asking for in 2018

If 2017 was anything for the hair world, it was the year of multi-colored unicorn hair and loose, delightfully lazy lobs, courtesy of the awesome advancements in color technology, as well as the prominent desire to have a fun, not-quite-short, not-quite-long style. Braids were also everywhere, as were pixie cuts adopted by usually long-haired celeb lovelies like Cara Delevingne, Kristen Stewart, and Katie Holmes. To put it simply, 2017 was the year of bold change.


But those looks are all in the rearview. What's on deck for hair in 2018? What picture will you be ripping out of a fashion mag or saving to your phone while browsing Pinterest or Instagram so that you can show it to your stylist at the salon and say "Give me that!" next time you sit in their chair? What hues, textures, and lengths will reign supreme over the next 365 days? Here are the haircuts you'll be asking for in 2018.


Shoulder lengths

Short hair, don't care! Michael Canalé, a sought-after Hollywood colorist who has worked with the always well-coiffed Jennifer Aniston forever and who is the creator of the Canalé hair care line, tells me that damaged hair is ready for a rest. If your hair is looking a bit worse for the wear, this is the look for you. In order to achieve a clean, sleek look, women will be going shorter in order to get rid of those fried 'n' frazzled follicles.

"Due to the more aggressive color techniques over the past four years, such as ombre and balayage, hair is brittle and damaged with over-bleached ends," he said. "You'll start to see a lot of chin and shoulder-length styles."

However, if you are not quite ready to snip, snip, and snip some more, the colorist suggests trying extensions to nurse your hair back to a healthier state, along with taking vitamins.

Undercurrents and more natural looks

According to Canalé, a more natural look will eclipse the aforementioned wild, crazy, and ultimately daring styles and hues that defined 2017. "The trends for 2018 will focus on enhancing natural beauty," he predicted. "As we move away from aggressive hair colors, you will see more natural blending, using paper-thin highlights to create a gradual blonde, instead of sun-drenched blonde."

Wild colors may fall by the wayside in favor of the natural looks that were described by Canalé, but also for something known as "undercurrents." Steve Lococo, master stylist and co-owner of B2V Salon in West Hollywood, told me, "Surprisingly, clients want to tone it down with multi-dimensional colors woven through out their hair." It's surprisingly easy to get this depth of color, so hair "moves" beautifully and bouncily!

Lococo continued, "Remember that honey blonde with highlights that you liked? Infuse that blonde with some copper, blush pink, or soft mint. We call these tones 'undercurrents.' They help move the overall haircut and hair color." A cut and color being in synch is important for a pulled together coif in 2018.


The shaggy bob

Brandon Martinez, who has styled celebs like Rosario Dawson, Elle Macpherson, and Diane Kruger, and who penned Sex, Hair and Billionaires: Adventures of a Celebrity Hairstylist, predicts the short pixie of 2017, which is a classic cut that is always "in," will be transformed into "a longer, shaggier bob for the spring."

Martinez told me, "Haircuts will have grown out from the short, severe shapes into a sophisticated bob that can be worn straight and sleek, or shaggy and messy." He also nods to the "the versatility that a longer bobs can have," affirming that this cut "can still be pulled back and styled in many different ways."

Heron also thinks that a pixie with a fuller top and bangs will be another major cut of 2018, especially during the usually awkward "growing it out" phase. You can make the most of that growth period with this suggestion.

"If you currently have a pixie cut, growing out the top — just a little— will give you a new 2018 hair cut," Heron explained. "This little bit of length will allow you flexibility with your hairstyle, adding volume." You can also add some texture with a styling tool or some volume with product.

Visible ombre roots

While visible, contrasted, or graying roots are often the main reason that you book an appointment with your colorist, don't be so hasty to cover up those babies up in 2018. That's right, roots are in! Be honest, this is the trend we've been waiting for our entire adult lives.

Martinez foresees the once-popular white and gray trend, which was rocked by everyone from Rihanna to Kylie Jenner, giving way to "a more natural ombre look, as roots are making a comeback."

So go ahead and let those roots show, especially if they are part of an overall ombre look where hair color gets progressively lighter as you go down the shaft. As an added bonus, you won't have to book hair appointments as frequently, which means more money staying in your wallet and more time to do things other than sit in your colorist's chair for hours on end. Win-win!


French girl chic

Sorry to all of the beach-wave loving ladies out there, but there's a new style in town! Fred Connors, owner of FRED.nyc, located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, told me that flowing, California Girl waves are going to be less requested by clients next year. "The biggest trend in the salon and on the street is 'French Girl Chic,'" Connors said. "Clients are moving away from beachy blonde lobs and opting for darker-hued, edgier cuts."

A specific cut he speaks of is a bob with bangs. Connors continued, "The ubiquitous hairstyle of the last few seasons (and the most popular style on Pinterest) is being traded in for a sleek bob paired with blunt bangs. French girls have been rocking these looks for decades, and every now and then, they become popular again in the U.S."

A bob with bangs is tres sophisto and allows you to enjoy a dose of instant glam.

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The most important things you can do to take care of your skin in your 40s

When you enter your late 30s and early 40s, skincare starts to take on a bit more importance, even if it was something you always valued. While some women start to be concerned or uncomfortable with the idea of visibly aging, for others, developing and sticking to a healthy skincare routine in your 40s is more about aging as gracefully as you possibly can and keeping your body's largest organ as healthy as possible, rather than trying to stubbornly prevent aging entirely.

There are many things you can do beginning in your 40s (or even earlier in some cases) to keep your skin healthy for the rest of your life. If you're looking for more ideas about how to take care of your skin during your 40s, here's what you need to know.


Boost collagen and elastin production

While the skin on your face likely looks full and plump rather than thin and sunken, as it can while you're aging, in your 40s your body's production of elastin and collagen starts to slow. "Therefore, we need to boost collagen and elastin production with peptides as well as antioxidants that can increase collagen production, which gives our skin that supple tone," Dr. Marnie Nussbaum, a dermatologist, told me.

"Our skin cell turnover dramatically reduces as well, resulting in dullness, dryness as well as fine lines and wrinkles. Retinols are critical to help speed up the process once again and brighten the complexion," Nussbaum continued. "Due to the extra layers of dead skin cells, we are also less hydrated and losing moisture. Therefore, it may be time, depending on your skin type, to switch over from oil-free products to creamier, thicker humectants and occlusives with ceramides and hyaluronic acids to rehydrate and plump the skin."

Consciously adding thicker hydrating creams and retinols can help keep your skin looking healthy, dewy, and refreshed, which is what women of all ages want, after all.


Exfoliate

To help keep your skin glowing in your 40s, you likely need to exfoliate more regularly than you did in your 20s and 30s because skin cell turnover happens slower than in earlier decades.

"Regular peels and exfoliation products help, Retin-A, peptides, and vitamin C are great in the anti-aging arsenal at this time," said Celebrity Esthetician Angela Caglia. "It's also a time when fillers can take back years." Using scrubs and other exfoliators can help in between professional peels.

Drink lots of water

Drinking plenty of water each and every day is exceptionally important for your overall health. It's good for your organs, your energy levels, and — you guessed it — your skin. According to Jean Rossolillo, a medical aesthetician and laser technician with Full Circle Health, drinking plenty of water is important because "hydrating internally can help our skin hold on to moisture." That's important as you get older and your skin doesn't automatically retain as much moisture as it did in previous decades.

Take care of your neck

When you're thinking about how to go about developing your skincare routine in your 40s, don't focus solely on your face at the expense of your neck. "Don't overlook your neck — do put sunscreen on it every day as well as moisturize it," said Maricela Lewis Watson, a cosmetic specialist at The Shoreditch Spa. 

Apply your nighttime serum, moisturizer, and any other products that you'd apply to your face to your neck as well. If you only take care of the skin on your face, your neck will give away not only your age, but also how much time you spent in the sun in your younger years and any other skincare mistakes you may have made. Don't neglect your neck.

Consider laser treatments

You may not be interested in getting laser treatments to prevent visible signs of aging or to otherwise take care of your skin as you get older, but Diane Gillin, an advanced registered nurse practitioner at Couture Med Spa recommended that you consider them. 

"In your 40s I recommend a one-two punch of IPL and Fractional Skin Resurfacing treatments," said Gillin. "IPL stands for intense pulsed light therapy and gets rid of anything pigmented on the skin such as sun damage, rosacea, broken capillaries, and melasma. Fractional laser treatments minimize fine lines and wrinkles, enlarged pores, acne scars, and stimulate collagen causing skin tightening. The combination of these laser treatments will take years off your skin and help prevent further aging." 

If those are the kinds of results you're looking for, you may want to do a little research to see if laser treatments are right for you.

Wear sunscreen

As a board-certified physician assistant, Neekan Rivera works with patients on developing a skincare routine. She said her first goal is to make sure that they consistently apply sunscreen every day before moving on to other goals. 

"The better we are with sunblock, the more our skin will just improve over time," Rivera said. "Even though we can't reverse the sun spots that are showing from ten or 20 years ago, at least we can protect it from getting worse over the next five, ten years." Sunscreen is important for prevention, but it's also important when it comes to minimizing sun spots and changing pigmentation and sensitivity associated with the use of retinols.

"Sunblock, to me, is number one because if you're not disciplined with sunblock, you also can't do a lot of other skin procedures that really benefit the skin like chemical peels or skin resurfacing that really help rejuvenate the skin in our 40s," said Rivera. "So I always make sure women understand that sunblock is key because otherwise everything else we want to do to continue maintaining our skin and keep it looking youthful and healthy will make you sensitive."

Antioxidants and moisturizers are essential

When considering what kinds of skincare products might be important to incorporate into your routine in your 40s, Nussbaum said that you need to make sure that there are products that are moisturizing and contain antioxidants, which fight free radicals, making your skin healthier and happier. 

"Antioxidants and moisturizers are also a must for all ages as they prevent oxidative stress to skin cells protecting that healthy glow and producing collagen and elastin," Nussbaum said. Because collagen and elastin production have started to really decrease in your 40s, you — and your skin — can take all the help you can get.

Consider micro-needling

In your 40s, you might need to incorporate some skin rejuvenating procedures into your overall skincare routine. Rivera said she often recommends micro needling. 

"I recommend it for almost everyone because it's so safe, anyone can do it," said Rivera. "And what micro-needling does, is it causes these little micro-injuries to our skin which then stimulates our skin repair system and therefore gives us this huge boost of collagen, which, over time… we don't produce collagen as quickly as we did in our 20s and 30s, so that's usually what women are complaining of, they're complaining of collagen-related changes. They're like, 'you know, my skin is looser, I'm getting some loose skin, I'm getting fine lines and wrinkles.' So by doing the micro needling or doing a series or just kind of doing it for maintenance, it just kind of keeps that building over time." 

The takeaway is to make sure that you're not simply addressing issues as they arise, but you're also working on preventative measures. Micro-needling does both.

Sleep well

Sleep is always important for your overall health and wellbeing — mental, physical, and emotional — but it's even more important in regards to skincare in your 40s. "Even a late night or too much alcohol can show up more on our face in our 40s, so it's more important to get a full night's rest, eat well, and exercise to stimulate blood flow and keep our skin glowing," said Caglia. Make sure you get your full seven to nine hours of sleep. Your skin will thank you. You'll wake up feeling more refreshed, but also looking visibly more rejuvenated.

Use a nighttime face serum

If you aren't already using a nighttime face serum, you should start to incorporate one into your skincare routine when you enter your 40s. "Face serums contain effective anti-aging ingredients not typically found in cleansers, moisturizers, or facial oils," said Dr. Alex Roher, from San Diego Botox. 

At night, choose a serum that incorporates a retinol. According to Roher, facial serums have higher concentrations of healthy skin ingredients than most moisturizers, which make them a good choice for your over 40 skincare routine.

Address your eyes

Your eyes can noticeably change and visibly age in your 40s, but there are things you can do to address these changes. "Injectables are still big for this age group, but women in their 40s may also feel self-conscious about drooping and puffy upper and lower eyelids," said Dr. Fred Fedok, the president of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Fedok recommended blepharoplasty, which is "an advanced scarless technique using an incision inside the lower eyelid." It can be done on the upper eyelid as well if you have any worries about that.

If a procedure isn't for you, you may want to incorporate an eye cream — or enlist the help of a professional to find one that works better for you and addresses the ways your eyes have changed since you started using one in your 20s or 30s.

Stay consistent with your skincare habits

One of the most important things you can do to take care of your skin in your 40s is to consistently employ every piece of your skincare routine. "Good skin care habits should begin in our early 20s to ensure that we will be looking better in our 40s," Caglia said. "This means regular facials, removing makeup at night, sun protection, and a healthy lifestyle." 

It can be tempting to skip bits and pieces of your skincare routine because you're busy, tired, or just plain old lazy, but you'll likely end up regretting it if you do. Stay the course, you'll be grateful.

Invest in good products

While you can likely just buy whatever product you think might be best at your local drug store or beauty supply store when you're younger, as you get older, you'll probably need something with a little more oomph. 

"I think in our 40s, that's when I see patients coming in who are starting to wonder, 'what's going on with my skin? I'm getting fine lines and wrinkles everywhere, I always look tired, my skin looks dull, I'm getting sun spots.'" said Rivera. "And at that stage we really need stronger skincare, you know, things that have been medically proven, stronger ingredients." 

Rivera recommended daily sunscreen, retinol products, and products with hydrating and skin brightening ingredients. They'll both treat and prevent any skin qualities that you view as flaws. No matter what you're concerned about, there's something you can do to help.

Skincare in your 40s is about both treatment and prevention

While the majority of skincare in your 20s and 30s serves to prevent any issues that may arise as you grow older, minus the treatment of things like acne, psoriasis, and other skincare conditions, in your 40s, it becomes both about prevention and about treating any sun or age spots, collagen depletion, ruddiness, and fine lines and wrinkles you may be beginning to notice.

Religiously wearing sunscreen, getting a good night's sleep, boosting your collagen and elastin production, and investing in quality products are just some of the ways that women in their 40s can keep their skin looking glowing, dewy, healthy, and refreshed.

Sure, you might have to get a little bit more aggressive when it comes to regular skincare, but your skin will look healthy and rejuvenated throughout your 40s and beyond as a result.

Source:Thelist

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