Billboard Beauties

A very grown-up Miley Cyrus

Last weekend’s 2012 Billboard Music Awards brought out the music industry’s biggest stars in surprisingly elegant outfits; there wasn’t anything rock-and-roll about this red carpet -- designer gowns were the look of the night, although Miley Cyrus’s white Gaultier tuxedo-style mini  was variously described as “pants-less,” “missing the bottom half,” and “highly risqué.”

We see London, we see France...

Yet the same fashion/beauty columnists were unanimous in their praise for Miley’s fabulous hair and makeup. Loaded with tousled volume reminiscent of the early Seventies, yet looking thoroughly modern, Miley was sporting a shoulder-grazing crop and new color that transitions from deep caramel to paler honey. The lightly teased crown is what gives this look its retro flair while the soft texture keeps it from looking dated. The look is very soft and sexy, and her makeup is as well, especially her soft pink lip color. Someone’s new stylist really knows what he or she is doing – every detail works, from the jewelry to her striped Louboutins! Miley’s come a very long way, and this is the best she’s ever looked.   

Alicia Keys braided crown

Braids continue to be a major hair trend, and Alicia Keys’s single-braid crown is a perfect example of how even someone with hair too short to braid can make the most of this trend. By pulling back the hair and attaching a hairpiece, you can create a design on the head and many different braid effects, from Alicia’s very structured look, which complements her demure-yet-sexy Azzedine Alaia Couture gown, to the more unstructured, “controlled mess” braids like fishtails, and other beautifully uncontrolled looks we’ve been seeing on the runways for the past few seasons.

Brandy's "pyramid" cut

R&B singer Brandy, who some beauty editors characterized as channeling a “Tina Turner vibe,” looked smashing with her voluminous natural curls and Herve Leger for Max Azria bandage dress. I’ll tell you a stylist’s secret – the most beautiful hair looks are those that are, no matter what the style, cut in a triangular or pyramid shape. It softens the features and makes the eyes the focal point of the face. Even if the triangular shape is very soft or it’s just the illusion of the pyramid within the cut that only a trained stylist would notice, it works every time. Brandy makes the most of the shape of her hair by further playing up her eyes with an intensely blue smoky look, and balanced that with the perfect nude glossy lip. You know the rule…

Carly Rae Jepsen

Carly Rae Jepsen certainly does. She pairs her intensely red matte lipstick with soft eye makeup. With her heavy fringe of blunt bangs bringing plenty of attention to her eyes and helping to soften her long features, the whole look is a good one for the young lady with one of the most popular songs in the country right now (“Call Me Maybe”).

Carrie Underwood

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something is missing from Carrie Underwood’s look. I kept returning to her pictures, and all I could see was eyes and teeth and dark roots. The rest of her face is very washed out. I think that had she used a touch of blush in a slightly pink tone to break up the monotony, that little pop of color on her cheekbones would have done the trick. 

The fluffy gown

Carrie speaks openly about how she does her own makeup, and I often remind my clients that after they are done applying their makeup in those magnifying mirrors, they need to stand back five feet from the regular mirror and take a look at themselves, and then move to 10 feet back. 

The performance gown

It’s the only way to get an idea of how OTHER people will see you. Frequently, that perspective of distance will cause you to make some adjustments. I think Carrie would have benefitted from that advice. And the Oscar de la Renta dress was just too fluffy and overwhelming; her performance gown and makeup were much, much better.  

Natasha's seafoam gown

The opposite happened with Natasha Bedingfield. There are pictures of her in two different gowns: a beautiful sheer seafoam/turquoise shade covered with crystals and sequins, and a partially sheer sexy black with a thigh-high slit. 

Natasha's black gown

Yet she did not alter her makeup or hair, and while it looked fine with the black number, it looked too hard yet too casual with the seafoam gown. I would have given her a more finished look to go with the more embellished and formal gown, defined the curls more, and changed the color of her lipstick from the warm orangey-coral to something cooler and more delicate. It’s not that her hair and makeup were bad – they just weren’t right for both outfits. 

Chrissy Tiegen

John Legend’s fiancée, model Chrissy Tiegen, looked lovely in her long peek-a-boo bangs and high ponytail over a short strapless couture cocktail dress with a very on-trend peplum. Not everyone can pull off this look; but her makeup is pretty and she has a killer smile, and you can get away with a lot with that very winning combination.

Jordin Sparks' sexy figure

Jordin Sparks, who performed “I Will Always Love You” during the tribute to Whitney Houston, has certainly grown up since she won her season of “American Idol.” She’s lost quite a bit of weight, and her form-fitting, lace Diane von Furstenberg mini-dress really shows it off. I would have given her side-pony a side part to give her a bit more softness, and then played up her eyes more rather than her lips. 

Jordin up close

But, often this is a matter of personal preference and not something a makeup artist foisted upon a celebrity. Jordin may think her lips are her best feature, and now that she’s old enough and famous enough to assert her own will, advice that runs counter to what she feels will be ignored. Or, she took the advice of a makeup artist who made the decision for her, and I simply disagree.  

Julianne Hough

Julianne Hough looks tiny and pretty and elegant in her silver Kaufman Franco sequined dress and golden Nicholas Kirkwood shoes. Her deeply side-parted hair, with its retro wave swept over one shoulder, is a classic Old Hollywood look we see repeated on the red carpet over and over – because it is a soft, flattering look that anyone can wear. 

Julianne’s makeup is also soft, elegant and pretty, with no hard edges, making it a total package. I like this much better than her look at the Met Costume Gala just a few weeks ago.

Katy Perry, elegant goth

The color-crazy Katy Perry manages to pull off every outrageous look she tries through the sheer force of her personality. I’ve noticed that this latest haircolor, which her colorist described as “Purple Velvet,” has inspired Katy to dial back the crazy makeup colors (she was often matching her blue hair to her eyeshadow, then throwing on a hot pink lipstick), opting to follow the runway trend of the “vampy” lip color revival but leaving the eye makeup very soft. Katy proves you can look elegant without looking freakish when you go with these strong colors by sculpting the makeup, and choosing subtle or delicate clothes and jewelry (another thing Katy never did before). Even so, the look is an attention-getter, especially on such a pretty girl. At least she doesn’t have tattoos and piercings as well; that would just be too much.

Kerli, the anti-Katy Perry

The opposite of Katy Perry would be Estonian performer Kerli. I’ve seen messy outfits that look sexy, but this is more along the lines of someone standing on the corner in that certain part of town yelling out at passing cars, “Looking for a good time, honey?” 

Kerli, the full monty

Starting at the top with the crazy hair (the pastel trend never looked so…dirty), it just gets crazier as your eye moves downward to the garters, the tights, and those terrible, terrible shoes. If Katy Perry is looking for attention, what exactly is Kerli looking for?  What would you say if you saw her on the street looking like this? I thought so.

Lisa Marie Presley

I am amazed every time I see Lisa Marie Presley. She is a very private person, so we don’t see her very often. I am always taken aback by how much she looks like her father – her face is just as arresting as his once was, and the resemblance grows more pronounced as she grows older. Lisa Marie looks even better in her Forties than she did in her Twenties, in my opinion; I think she needed to grow into her looks and find her own identity. 

Lisa Marie and husband

She’s not conventionally pretty (which is so much more interesting anyway) – and she never seems to really smile. But there is no denying she is charismatic and has that star quality some people are simply born with. You can’t help but stare at her. Her hair color is flattering (no more dying it dark to play up the Elvis look), the cut perfect for her face, her makeup subtle and expertly designed to bring out the green in her hazel eyes. It all fits well together, and her outfit is decidedly low-key – her husband was much more flamboyantly dressed than she. This is real rock royalty.

Taylor Swift

I love how Taylor Swift changed it up with this fabulous Elie Saab illusion lace gown in crimson – at first you think you’re seeing much more of this country crossover star than you ever thought possible, then you realize you aren’t and, in fact, the gown is fairly covered up. But it breaks the mold for Taylor, and that’s always a great thing to see. 

I’m showing you this particular close-up to illustrate a point about how important photo composition, shot selection, and the proper use of Photoshop can be. This image was released to the world by Getty, the largest global photo bank. 

The unfortunate shot

And I want you to take a look at the lovely Taylor’s left underarm. With the number of images these photographers snap off at a tenth of a second each, I find it astounding that Getty chose to release this image with that unfortunately placed lock of Taylor’s hair. I have seen plenty of other images from that night, taken from the same angle, but after Taylor had obviously moved a bit and adjusted her hair, so there is no excuse for releasing an image into their photobank that looks as if she has underarm hair that is long enough to braid. If nothing else, this is why photographers legitimately retouch images in Photoshop. And anyone could have run up, adjusted her hair, or one of the photographers could have shouted at Taylor to shake her hair out (since when have photographers been reticent about shouting at celebrities to get their attention??). Anyway, even with the underarm lock, Taylor looks stunning with her slightly shorter and choppier bangs in a more silvery ash tone than she’s been wearing. Rather than her signature red lips and soft eyes, she’s gone for a metallic copper smoky eye and nude lip with pink undertones that wouldn’t fight with her dress. I think Taylor passed a milestone with this outfit, and we’ll be seeing a more sophisticated look on her from now on.

Zooey Deschanel

Finally, we have another retro/modern hairstyle, this time on a singer/actress famous for her retro/modern sensibility, Zooey Deschanel. In her Sixties-style silver sequined Moschino dress (very Edie Sedgwick), opaque black Beatnik tights, and black Miu Miu pumps, her signature shiny, heavy bangs  and back-combed crown reveal a surprisingly undone up-do – one that looks like it could easily be reproduced at home. It’s another “controlled mess” that’s sexy and looks good on most any woman. And I love her orange lipstick. It’s a color that scares a lot of women, but on Zooey it works beautifully because of its slightly sheer satin texture, the fact that the rest of her makeup is very soft, and the orange on her lip acts like the orange of the sunrise to make the sky blue of her eyes seem even more intense.  

Until next week, ciao…
Dino Laudati

Mirror, Mirror…What A Celeb THINKS Is Her Fairest Look of All May Not BE Her Fairest Look

Model-turned-actress Jaime King

Sometimes a woman falls in love with a cut or color – or a combination of both – that she absolutely HAS TO HAVE. Celebrities are no different. Hopefully, there’s someone to talk you or your best friend (or you will talk your best friend) out of something doesn’t complement your best features, or worse, brings out features that a good style will help to camouflage. 

You’d think that celebrities would have handlers to do that for them, or that the very high-priced stylists and colorists who ply their trade on celebrities would perform that service, but sometimes the opposite is true: they are paid to do exactly as their celebrity clientele demands, regardless their professional opinion. I think you’ll be able to pick out the examples of the latter scenario below…  

Candy Stripers and Dip Dyers

Chloe Moretz

January Jones

Ashley Tisdale

Bright pops of color aren’t just a runway fad or a nightclub fetish; more and more celebrities are showing up with streaks of color in candy pink (Chloe Moretz), rose gold (January Jones), or merlot (Ashley Tisdale), dip-dyed or ombred ends in blue (Jaime King) or deep crimson (Lake Bell), or going for flat-out all-over My Pretty Pony shades of green (Willow Smith) and Smurf blue (the Grand Dame of the Haircolor Lightning Round for $200, Katy Perry).

Lake Bell

Willow Smith

Notice how each of them did (or didn’t) adjust her makeup to deal with the addition of the new color. Neither Lake Bell nor Willow Smith wear makeup (but only Willow Smith has the excuse of being 11, and today’s US Weekly reports she’s now dyed it bright Big Bird yellow, although we haven’t seen pictures yet.) 

Jaime King's before-and-after

Some, like Chloe Moretz, January Jones, and Jaime King, let the color do most of the talking and simply picked complementary shades that didn’t fight with the new additions. In particular, Jaime King’s new blue dip dye needed nothing else to bring out her intensely blue eyes. 

Katy Perry

At the other end of the spectrum you have Katy Perry, who never met a matching eye makeup she didn’t slather on. As if blue hair and blue eyes aren’t enough, she continues to wear matching blue shadow, heavy black eyeliner and false lashes. We still think her makeup circa the pale pink/blonde bob was the best and most flattering. She should be categorized with the "Cuts 'n Bangs" group -- her new blunt fringe is technically the news here -- but one almost overlooks her new "look." That's the power of blue... 

Closer-to-Normal Colors

Here we have celebrities who dyed their hair colors that fall within reasonably accepted “natural” ranges from blonde to red to brown, with nothing blue, green, purple, or pink involved. One the whole, we’re preferring their “before" pictures with the only two “after" pictures both changing their hair to red.

Emma Roberts

What can I say – I am a total sucker for red hair. And Marianne didn’t even have to tell me to say that.

Jennifer Lawrence

Emma Roberts’ transition from sunny blonde to brunette washes her out; Jennifer Lawrence’s continued transformation back to blonde from the rich brunette shade she wore in Hunger Games, plus the addition of layers and a curled bang are disappointing; we thought she was much more interesting as a brunette.

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato seems to prefer trying out her new haircolors via Twitter pictures, and perhaps this transition back to blonde is prettier in person, but we really liked her with the red hair. It worked much better with her dark eyes and slightly olive complexion. 

Kaylee Defer

Actresses Kaylee Defer and the infamous Lindsey Lohan also went red, and it was a welcome choice, particularly for Ms. Lohan. 

Lindsey Lohan

Kaylee’s coloring is well-suited to this shade of red, and of course, red is actually Ms. Lohan’s God-given color, though that’s easy to forget with all of the mistakes she’s made veering from blonde to black and every shade between. Plus, her addiction to spray tanner and facial…”modifications” we shall call them, have had her looking like she was a hard 40, not a healthy 25. At least the move back to the much more vital auburn of her youth is a huge step in the right direction. Let’s just hope she didn't celebrate the termination of her parole yesterday with cocktails.

Ciara's questionable color choice

I kept singer Ciara’s color transformation for last, partly because my initial reaction to her picture was to blurt out “What the h*** happened to her?!?” Her “after” picture is usually someone’s “before” picture. It’s what a woman usually comes in to have FIXED, not what she walks OUT with. And Ciara takes all the credit for the idea, telling InStyle magazine that she wanted this lighter shade in her ombre ‘do. “I just wanted to have fun,” she said of the change. “I’m a tomboy at heart and I just felt like attitude, like not caring a little bit, to be honest.” And you really WOULD have to "not care," because it simply is unattractive. At least in her “before” picture, the root areas are dark but the ombre blends; in the “after” look she and her colorist just went entirely too far with the ombre. This is not a fashion statement anyone should want to utter.

Cuts ‘n Bangs

Katie Holmes

The trend toward cutting bangs has not slowed down in the least. Katie Holmes’ blunt fringe, which she debuted at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, doesn’t do her justice. Look at how gorgeous her hair is in the “before” shot. She should have left well-enough alone, but perhaps it wasn’t entirely her choice, if media reports are to be believed.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman is sporting a light side-swept fringe, which she debuted during New York Fashion Week. Her color seems a bit deeper and richer, too, and there’s a bit of layering around her face. She looks beautiful both ways, but it is nice to see her in the “after” picture, when she’s not at an awards show, with softer makeup and more casual hair, looking just as ethereal.

Shay Mitchell

Shay Mitchell, of the TV series Pretty Little Liars, seems to have had a whole makeover. Starting with the hair, she has a nice peek-a-boo bang that works well to disguise her high forehead. She has the perfect face shape for soft bangs like these, and both her haircolor and makeup are a lot softer as well, as if someone buffed off all the hard edges, adding a subtle ombre to bring a little golden warmth to the hair instead of the hard red highlights to go with the crimson pout. Gone is the fake-bake and the pouty look. Whoever helped with this transformation really asked all the right questions, and brought out her best features while minimizing those which could take a back seat.

Chanel Iman

Victoria’s Secret “Angel,” Chanel Iman, debuted brow-skimming bangs and a much lighter color (and perhaps a few extensions) for a very sexy little shag.  We like it, the color is nice, and she looks very pretty. This one’s a keeper!

Milla Jovovich

Model –turned-singer-turned-action star Milla Jovovich debuted an asymmetrical crop with a shaved side this week. Highly lauded for her soft and sexy finger-waved Oscar’s bob, she added a dose of edge to her look with the “super-easy, super-low maintenance” undercut, as she described it.

Victoria Beckham

Cut-and-color chameleon Victoria Beckham chopped off a reported 10 inches for this wavy, caramel-highlighted bob. We always think she looks best at about this length and with some curl and texture to soften her very angular and sometimes harsh face. Now, if she’d just smile more. She certainly has PLENTY of reasons to, as my female clients love to point out!

Viola Davis

Ah, the incomparable Viola Davis, who heeded her husband’s very good advice and stopped wearing wigs. She’s darkened the coppery shade she wore when she won “Best Supporting Actress” at the Academy Awards, and the whole package just works. I think her smile glows 1000 watts brighter when she doesn’t wear those wigs.

The moral of this post is that anytime you make a change, spend some time gazing into that "mirror, mirror on the wall." Look at the whole picture – your new hair and/or haircolor AND your makeup. Does your new look bring out your best features? Does it go with the makeup you used to wear, or do you need to change color families from cool to warm, or vice versa? Do you need to play up your eyes? Play them down? Does your new look complement your best features, or bring out those features you always were able to camouflage? Then take it from there…

Until next week, ciao…  

We’ve Come So Far We Don’t Know What Too Far Is Anymore

Elie Saab

I am struck, in looking at these pictures of the models from the 2012 Fall Fashion Week runways in Paris, that we’ve come to the point where anything – and I really mean ANYTHING – goes. I can remember that it wasn’t so long ago that precision was the reason you went to a professional hairdresser. Precision cuts, precision color; when you walked out of the salon, everyone knew you’d had your hair done by someone with training and knowhow and professional standards.

But much like today’s lifestyles, when it comes to hairstyles, nothing is out of bounds. Nothing is perfect anymore, and literally anything goes. It’s the era of no precision. Look at the bangs on the model for Elie Saab. They look as if they were hacked at with those blunt-tipped scissors issued to first-graders.

Sonia Rykiel

And what about the hair we can see hanging limp and almost greasy from below a wide black headband at Sonia Rykiel? Her hair looks absolutely fried, and in the past, we would have cut off hair that looked so damaged and unhealthy. Now, we say anything goes, but what should go here is a good eight to ten inches off the bottom!

Gaultier in Blue

And then there’s all that temporary color – or they’d better HOPE it’s temporary. 

Gaultier in red

Haider Ackerman

I’m not so worried about the dark-haired models at Gaultier (those are colored powders worked into hair that has been coated with styling cream) or Haider Ackerman (that’s a heavy gel infused with a lot of color and glitter). 

Junya Watanabe

I’m not even worried about all that pink paste on her hair at Junya Watanabe, because I think it’s been worked into a wig. 

Yojhi Yamamoto

No, the young lady who is going to regret her time on the catwalk is the blonde at Yohji Yamamoto. Her platinum hair is color-treated and therefore at least a somewhat porous material, even if she’s a natural blonde. That inky blue is not just going to wash out.

Alexis Mabille

The braided and twisted up-do at Alexis Mabille is interesting, and relatively speaking, looks highly complex by comparison. 

Giambattista Valli

The half-up-do at Giambattista Valli is shiny and healthy... 

Chanel

The slicked-back ponytail at Chanel a classic (if a bit boring, which must be why they felt compelled to glue stones to her eyebrows)... 

Givenchy

And the loose chignon at the nape at Givenchy also a classic shape.

Chloe

The loose natural texture at Chloe and Isabel Marant could have used a bit of finishing.

Isabel Marant

Just look at the difference between those two models and the two from Nina Ricci’s runway. Just the tiniest bit of styling and a deep side part, and their hair looks incredibly shiny and vital.

Nina Ricci

Nina Ricci

To some extent, we can blame this revolution in mediocrity on our worship of celebrities. They are some of the worst offenders when it comes to unflattering, damaged, imperfect hair. We’ve just blindly followed behind them as they set trends that are so ridiculous that most people have no idea what too far is anymore; now, too far is the new normal.

 Until next week, ciao…