Thinking About Getting Highlights?

There's a reason all the girls in L.A. go for highlights — single-process color is striking, but those ribbons of lightness do so much for your complexion. Highlights can accentuate eye color, bring out cheek bones, and even slim faces. They show off the lines of your hair cut, create depth, and the illusion of fullness. They are a great introduction to hair color — and, despite what you've heard, they work for all hues.

The two most common techniques used for highlighting are balayage (freehand painting), and foil. Different artists will use one or the other depending on the desired look and their personal preference. But a skilled colorist can achieve any look using either technique.

Ahead, you'll learn about some of the most important factors to achieving a perfect highlight: size, placement, amount, and lightness level. With the right colorist and technique, you'll get the streaks you want in no time.

Hire your wedding dress today and return it tomorrow - fashion archive

It has long been an accepted expedient for bridegrooms to hire their wedding regalia; more often than not the Best Man's duties include the return, next day, of two morning suits and two toppers. And now, it seems, a similar duty sometimes devolves on the chief bridesmaid on behalf of the bride.

Soon after the war, a London dress firm announced themselves as "Bridal Specialists." The idea was to act as fairy godmother to girls coming out of the forces who had so many clothes to buy as well as their wedding garments. But the young are incorrigibly conventional: "something borrowed" they must have for luck; but something hired, what next!

It was not until evening-dresses had been added to the repertoire and were being hired by well-dressed, moneyed women short of clothes coupons, that girls began to feel that to hire a wedding dress was not to do a shamingly undone thing.

Clothes coupons are old history now, but clothes are much more expensive than they were. This, combined with the capricious desire in nearly every feminine heart for a white wedding, has led to this one firm hiring out during what is probably known as the peak nuptial season, several hundred wedding dresses a week.

The dresses cost from 4½gn. to 20gn. to hire, including all accessories: headdress, veil, flowers, gloves, shoes. Bridesmaids' dresses are from 2½gn. to 6gn.; children's 2gn. There is no deposit. The dresses are cleaned after each wearing, and none is worn more than five times before being discarded. There is a postal service for provincial hirers; if the bride cannot come to London to make her choice and be personally fitted, she writes for a catalogue or sends her own sketch of the dress of her dreams. From this sketch, a dress is chosen for her by the "show-room visualisers." One imagines these visualisers as wearing confetti-tinted spectacles, and having a permanent pew at the back of St Margaret's, Westminster.

The choice of dresses is very large and a new collection is designed each season. There is, however, a perennial demand for something "traditional." Most people's idea of a wedding dress is a kind of hybrid period dress, in which the medieval and the ecclesiastical are hopelessly confused, the whole being topped off with a neo-Italianate head-dress – and, as like as not, a Victorian posy. Also, of course, they see a high modest neckline and long sleeves; for in these decolletés days, when a little exposure goes no way at all, a mildly low-cut or short-sleeved wedding dress is quite out of the question. Tradition is against it. Yet, how long is tradition?

The white wedding-dress itself was an innovation of the early nineteenth century not, as is generally believed, a symbol of virginity. It came in simply as a fashion trend following the manufacture of lace, which had brought about a vogue for wearing white in court circles. But right up to late Victorian times wedding dresses were often coloured, frequently grey or lavender; and up to Victoria's accession they were often low-necked, and short-sleeved. In fact, they followed the fashion of the day, instead of casting back, as they do in our times, to earlier periods. It was really not until daytime skirts became short and skimpy, in the 1920s that the wedding dress became a separate fashion feature, virtually fancy dress.

The hire of an evening dress, inclusive of gloves, evening bag, and shoes, is from 2½gn. to 10gn. They are cleaned after each hiring, discarded after five. Furs are from 1gn. to 7gn. This evening dress service is most useful for those who only hit the high spots once or twice a year but want to hit to kill; and also for those who hit them so often in the same places and with the same circle of friends that their wardrobes are unable to give a continuous variety performance. In addition, there is a brisk tourist trade with visitors to this country travelling light by air and not wishing to pack evening clothes. And again, British women going on cruises can make special arrangements for longer periods of hire, thus being able to take three or four dresses with them for the cost of buying one.

So there we are. Never again need we turn down the last minute invitation which finds us with not a stitch we would care to be seen dead in; and never again need we refuse that attractive proposal to get married next week and sail in luxury for a honeymoon in the Bermudas.

These Makeup Addicts Are Disrupting the Beauty Space One Neon Cat-Eye at a Time

A cat-eye taken to calligraphic new levels with freakish precision; a mouth saturated in neon lipstick then deftly blurred outside the lines; a face sculpted with bright pink blush, then draped to theatrical effect. Prior to social media, this kind of directional makeup was something one only encountered on the stage or silver screen. But today, a dose of high-impact beauty inspiration is just an Instagram scroll away. Over the past decade, the visual platform has democratized the symbiotic relationship between makeup and self-expression. And while the heavily contoured, cut-creased Kim Kardashian West aesthetic YouTube helped birth is still very much alive, there are those subverting this look beyond the ordinary imagination. Two standout examples are California-born-and-bred model Teisha Williams and London-based stylist Olivia Kaiafa. While their self-taught makeup aesthetics are decidedly different, the 24-year-olds both possess a flair for colorful pigments, and an off-kilter approach to applying them, that’s strikingly similar.

No two Rainbow Brite eye looks are the same for doe-eyed Williams, who injects her accessories-heavy e-shop, BabyDollFinds, with the same kitschy attitude. Growing up in the Bay Area, she spent her childhood raiding her grandma’s makeup collection. “I just loved the fun of dolling myself up,” she explains. Keen on the eye area most of all, she spent her teenage years in front of the mirror perfecting her felt-tip pen prowess. “Winged eyeliner used to stress me the hell out,” she says, laughing. “It would take me over an hour to get one solid line across my lid. But now I can do it in my sleep. It’s like muscle memory.” In fact, to create one of her signature graphic-gazed looks, like color-blocked cerulean lids or laser-cut negative space liner, it only takes her 30 minutes (“20 minutes without falsies!” she adds, blaming her fake lashes for the delay). Her weapon of choice? Nyx’s Vinyl Liquid Liner. “I like how [smooth] it applies and it’s easy to clean up,” she explains. And for Williams, styling her natural hair is another important part of the equation. “Like the rest of my look, my hair is forever evolving,” she says of her voluminous onyx lengths, which can be a cloud of spirals, woven into thick twists, or piled on top of her head in a loose bun, on any given day. “I thrive on documenting each transformation.”

With her fierce mug and atomic orange, hair is equally important to natural-born iconoclast Kaiafa. In fact, her metamorphic mane was the catalyst for her newly minted love affair with makeup. When she moved to London from her native Greece at 19, she began dyeing her hair a different color every two months. “I had to take a break from damaging my hair and that’s when I started getting more into makeup,” she explains of stages spent in lavender and chartreuse. “I was watching makeup tutorials on YouTube, as well as videos that popped up on my Instagram feed, then started experimenting. I became addicted.” While Kaiafa still gets playful with her hair, putting it into ’90s nostalgia-inducing Bantu knots and pigtails adorned with round bobble ornaments, it’s her chameleonic makeup that catapults her look to the next level. Whether she’s saturating her eyes, lips, and cheeks in the same bubblegum pink pigment to monochromatic effect (Lime Crime’s eyeshadows are her favorite) or accenting extreme cat-eyes with vivid face gems, her look is always unapologetically conceptual. And given that she assists FKA twigs’s stylist Matthew Joseph, her fashion background plays a key part in her process. “Sometimes I just sit in front of my mirror staring at my face and just think of what makeup will match my outfit,” she says.

My favorite makeup products for a night out

I always enjoy dressing up and putting makeup on to go out with friends on the weekends, but I hate coming home and realizing my makeup doesn’t look fresh anymore. Bars and parties can get hot, and you might get a little sweaty. But, with a few products I swear by, you can come home with your makeup still looking the way it did when you left the house.

I like to do fun things with my makeup when I’m headed out with friends, like using false lashes and putting on extra highlighter. For my night-out makeup routine, there are a few products I consistently use that keep my makeup looking fresh all night.

I depend on a good primer for both eyes and face. My favorite eye primer is Urban Decay’s Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion because it keeps my eyeshadow on all day and looking like I just put it on. Without this, eyeshadow will crease and start to look gross. This primer retails for $22 at Ulta and is well worth the price.

My favorite face primer is Maybelline’s FaceStudio Master Prime Blur + Redness Control Primer, which retails for $9.99 at Ulta. This keeps my foundation in place all night. I like other primers in this collection by Maybelline, but I choose to use the redness control based on my skin color.

False lashes are a fun way to step up your makeup for a night out. I don’t wear them regularly, as they can be a bit tricky to apply, but I love using them when I’m going to an event. I always use Ardell’s Cluster Wispies #602 because they look natural but still help you get that glamorous look. They retail for $3.99 at Ulta.

If false lashes aren’t for you, a great mascara can give your lashes extra volume. I like mascara for all occasions, and I wear it every day. If you don’t like wearing makeup, adding just mascara is a simple way to make your eyes pop. I recommend Stila’s Huge Extreme Lash Mascara because it adds length and tons of volume. This mascara can be found at Ulta for $23.

I like to set my foundation with either loose or pressed powder to keep my face from getting too shiny. When going out, it is a good idea to have a compact pressed powder with you to be able to touch up, especially if you get oily. Maybelline’s Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder is a great pressed powder that comes with a sponge to apply on the go. It comes in 12 different shades and costs $7.99 at Ulta.

Be wary of using too much powder when you go out, though, because it can make your face look powdery and too pale in pictures with flash. Use just enough to set your foundation and to avoid cakey, unnatural looking skin.

Six Makeup Bag Essentials Every Girl Should Have

With prom, graduation, internship interviews, and family weddings, there seems to always be an event you have to get ready for. Be prepared for anything with these must-have tools and products.

1. The perfect foundation shade. Even if you don't wear makeup every day, it's good to have foundation on hand for those times you want to look ~flawless~. Brands such as CoverGirl, L'Oréal, and Clinique have a wide-range of shades for both fair and dark skinned girls, as well as everyone in between. If foundation feels too heavy for you, a tinted moisturizer, and BB and CC creams are lighter options that are great for every day. Get tips for finding the perfect foundation for you here.

2. A multicolor bronzer. Choose a mosaic bronzer with multiple colors, and you'll be able to wear it year round. Dust on the lighter, more highlighting shades during the winter months when you're paler to give your cheeks a gorge, natural-looking glow, and swipe on the darker bronze shades for an easy summer tan without the sun damage.

3. Tweezers that really, really work. Ditch those blunt tweezers that make it impossible to pull out tiny hairs. Invest in a sharp pair of quality tweezers, and you'll have them forever. Tweezers are a life-saver when you need to clean up stray eyebrow hairs at the last minute, or when you find a hair on your body that really shouldn't be there. Tweezerman makes super-cute mini ones in bright, fun colors that you can get sharpened for free, so they'll last forever, making them worth the splurge.

4. Waterproof mascara. If you only have one mascara in your makeup bag, make it waterproof. That way, you'll be prepared for everything, from a pool party to a movie cry fest with your besties. Just be careful when you're removing it. Waterproof mascara can be tough to get off; use an oil-based makeup remover so you don't pull at your lashes. Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara and Maybelline Greatlash Waterpoof Mascara are makeup artist faves.

5. A set of makeup brushes. Don't just rely on the little brushes you get with your blush or eyeshadow. Having the right tools is key, whether you're trying to nail the perfect winged eyeliner, contour your cheeks, or just get a natural glow. For the most bang for your buck, start with this list of must-have brushes, which will allow you to experiment with makeup without spending a ton of money on a tool you'll only use once.

6. Nude eyeshadow palette. Having an eyeshadow kit with beiges, tans and browns in it will have you basically set for life. You can go from a natural, everyday look to a glam smokey eye. If you're really into eye makeup, invest in the Urban Decay Naked palette, but you can also find a great dupe at the drugstore.

How to achieve the effortless 'no makeup makeup' look

A good old, full glam makeup with full coverage base and dramatic eye look is favorable to most makeup lovers. However, although it is acceptable to do whatever your heart desires when it comes to makeup, not all of us have an excuse to go out with such a look every day. In everyday life, we still want some makeup, but one that is a little toned down, less eye-catching and more natural, which is famously known these days as the "no makeup makeup" look.The "no makeup makeup" look initially means to not look like you are wearing any makeup, while actually wearing quite a bit. The main purpose of any makeup is, as a matter of fact, to recreate your natural beauty in a more "perfected" way.

For example, when you go out, the sun naturally shines on the high points of your face. Thus, with makeup, you recreate that process by applying highlighter on your cheeks, brow bones, cupid's bow, and other parts you wish to highlight on your face. Similarly, your cheeks have a natural color to them, which, should also be recreated after applying foundation to bring back that natural beauty. However, today, makeup is an art and goes way beyond its initial purpose and creates some masterpieces with loads of glamour. The "no makeup makeup" look is the look that is closest to the initial purpose of makeup, perfecting your natural beauty.

The main component of the "no makeup makeup" look is to avoid any heavy face makeup. Although personal preferences take place when it comes to covering your skin, to be as close to natural as possible, skipping the foundation step and replacing it with a CC or BB cream, which offer light coverage, is quite helpful. If you have any acne, dark spots, discoloration or any scars that you desire to cover, using a lightweight concealer instead of foundation would not only preserve your naturalness, but it will also let your skin breath more.

Another key point to looking natural while wearing makeup is to use cream products instead of powders. Although powders are very helpful in both setting and smoothing the skin, they can easily make your face look cakey.

When it comes to the eyes, less is more for natural makeup. The crucial element here is a mascara that gives you volume and length but not a lot of drama. Avoiding eyeshadow and tight-lining your eyes with a pencil close to your eye color not only avoids any over-the-top appearance, but also further emphasizes your natural beauty, as your eye color would appear brighter with the tight-line trick. For instance, if you have green eyes, lining your eyes with a green eyeliner would make your eyes look greener than they are.

Last but certainly not least, the lips should be accentuated with a soft touch. As it is probably one of the most attention-grabbing part of your makeup process, it is quite easy to do too much on the lips and instantly turn your look from daytime to nighttime glam. To avoid this situation, it is better to be safe than sorry, meaning that one should lean toward colors that are closer to your natural lip color, which is usually a nude color. However, choosing the perfect nude may be one of the trickiest processes for a makeup lover and novice. Thus, trying a wide range of nude colors, including ones with peachy undertones and pinky undertones, would be very beneficial for an everyday "no makeup makeup" look. Besides, rather than going with a matte look, choosing a semi-matte, satin or even a shiny lipstick helps achieve a more natural look just like with face makeup.

The Oversized Jean Jacket Should Be Your Only Jean Jacket

Many would call the denim jacket a wardrobe staple, and with good reason: It goes with everything, from corduroy to florals and all of the textures and patterns in between, and adapts to a wide range of personal styles (hence why it's been a mainstay for decade). You probably even have a few in your closet as we speak. But let's get one thing straight: There's kind-of nothing worse than one that's too tight to wear.

If you've ever ever struggled to get into a jean jacket that's a little too small, you know how difficult it can be to lift your arms or put your hands in the pockets. It's uncomfortable, and a situation that can be easily avoid by making one simple switch: opting for an oversized cut, rather than your standard one.

Now, we're not saying you have to go full-on Saved by the Bell and bring back the acid wash too, but there are plenty of modern takes on the extra-large silhouette that are just as versatile (and stylish). Click on, and feel free to check this closet must-have off your 'need-to-buy' list once and for all.