Hair
Red Carpet Hair Tips from a Celebrity Hairstylist
Paul Gooch is a celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist whose clients include Reese Witherspoon, Emily Blunt and Liv Tyler. Last month, he was the recipient of a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award for his fantastic work on Tim Burton’s, Alice and Wonderland! On the heels of award season, Paul is here to give us some hair tips so that you too can look red carpet ready, everyday!
1. Elegant High Chignon
“To achieve an elegant high chignon, brush towel dried hair with your head tipped upside down, then secure it into a high ponytail with an elastic band. Smooth over any stray hairs with Umberto Gianni’s Sleek and Chic Seriously Straight Gloss Serum to catch any stray, flyaway hairs. Next, twist the remaining ponytail around the covered elastic to create the stylish chignon. Pin into place.”
2. Classic Waves
“Create classic waves using a medium sized curling tong taking hair section by section (Umberto Gianni’s Smoothy Curling Tong is a favorite of Paul’s). Push the tonged hair into soft waves and smooth any stray hairs with Curl Friends Silky Curls Smoothing Balm. Loosely gather the ends of your hair into a nape chignon and secure with pins or a hair decoration. Once you have the desired effect, spray with hairspray to keep it in shape.”
3. Beautifully Blonde
“Enhance and maintain your pure blonde hair by using Umberto Gianni’s Beautifully Blonde Enhancing Shampoo. This color enhancing formula gently cleanses away the dullness of the day to reveal blonde tones and highlight so you will dazzle as if you were on the red carpet.”
All product recommendations are personal preference of the artist, they do not reflect the views of Last Looks, nor has Last Looks received compensation of any kind to mention these products.
Trend Alert: Side Braids
The Side Braid:
The Hottest Hairstyle This Spring/Summer
Alexander Wang S/S 2010
Ok, I admit it, I’m a little behind on reporting this trend but since I’m really loving braids at the moment, I figured there’s nothing wrong with being a little bit fashionably late. 
The side braid frenzy all started on Alexander Wang’s Spring/Summer 2010 runway. Hairstyling master, Guido Palau gave each model a long, messy braid which rested on their left shoulder. To create this style, Guido was inspired by the seventies and early eighties; he added extensions in the model’s hair because he says “girls of that period didn’t really cut their hair.”
Top: Rachel McAdams, Leona Lewis. Bottom: Selena Gomez
Soon after the Spring/Summer Fashion Weeks came to an end, celebs all over began adopting this trend and making it their own! Rachel McAdams kept the style messy, while Leona Lewis switched it up by making her side braid into a fishtail style plait. Selena Gomez kept the style young by abandoning the matte texture seen on the runway and making her style shiny and fresh.
Polish supermodel, Kasia Struss was seen sporting a Rapunzel-like, platinum side braid in a recent issue of Vogue Korea. No coincidence here, Guido Palau was responsible for this look as well.
Elle Netherland’s recent June 2010 issue features Nimue Smit on the cover wearing a crimped side braid!
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To Get the Messy Side Braid Look:
1. The original style seen on the runway is very matte, so start off by spraying or sprinkling a mattifier into your hair. I love Osis’ Dust it Mattifying Powder. It gives your hair the matte texture we want, while also giving you tons of body! Great for the messy/big look.
2. If your hair lacks volume, tease it up near the hairline and on the sides. The look is supposed to be messy so don’t worry about making it perfect.
3. Part your hair to side and bring it all around to the opposite side that you just parted it.
4. Now it’s time to braid! (I’m assuming you know how to do a simple braid but if not check out this simple picture tutorial here).
5. Secure the end with a small hair tie or ribbon and you’re good to go!
5 Quick Steps to Voluminous Hair
A Quick and Easy Way to Add Volume to Your Hair!
Voluminous hair is one of those things that girls die for! Kim Kardashian, Jessica Simpson and all of the Victoria’s Secret angels have it, so why is it so difficult to achieve?? Take a look at these simple steps and find out how easy it is to add some extra volume to your lifeless hair!
You’ll Need:
Blow Dryer
Heat Protectant
Round Brush
Hair Spray
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Hair How-To
1. After your shower, wait until your hair is about 80% dry to reduce the risk of adding extra damage to it by using a blow dryer.
2. Spray your locks thoroughly with heat protectant and then flip your head over and blow dry the roots only for several minutes. If you blow dry all of your hair when your head is upside down, it becomes poofy and wide, not voluminous.
3. Next, flip your head back up and brush it lightly to smooth out any tangles.
4. Start taking several 1 inch sections of your hair at the crown of your head and pull them up and over in the opposite direction that you want it to fall.
5. Blow dry these sections, preferably with a round brush, spray with hair spray at the root and then let them fall in the direction you want.
**Tip:Take it one step further by washing and conditioning your hair in the shower with a volume enhancing shampoo and conditioner!
Beauty Icon- Brigitte Bardot
How to Get Brigitte Bardot’s Iconic Look
Brigitte Bardot celebrated her 75th birthday two days ago! It’s hard to believe that this beauty icon is already 75, yet we still use her famous makeup and hair as a popular references for today’s styles!
Brigitte’s look is the embodiment of “sex kitten,” with her teased, voluminous hair and smokey bedroom eyes. Re-creating this look is actually quite easy and when you wear it out, I guarantee you’ll make some heads turn!
Key Items You Will Need
1. Black Eyeliner (preferably liquid or gel)
2. Grey or Black Eyeshadow
3. A Volumizing Mascara
4. Apricot or Nude Lipstick and Lipliner
5. Teasing Brush or Comb
6. Bobby Pins
7. Curling Iron
8. Hairspray
How To: Makeup
1. Start by taking your grey or black eyeshadow and sweeping it across your eyelid and up to your crease. Brigitte Bardot was all about the smokey eye, so the darker the better. However, keeping it lighter can also be a more casual option.
2. Next, BLEND! Blend like you’ve never blended before! Dark eyeshadow can look very harsh and amateur if you don’t blend it well enough. My recommendation would be to take a fluffy eyeshadow brush and use a “windshield wiper motion” across the shadow as many times as it takes to see the edges start to soften up.
3. Now it’s time for liner! This can be one of the toughest parts of the look if you are not comfortable putting on liner, but with practice comes perfection! Line your upper lash-line with your liner and bring it out a little past your eye to give it that cat-eye, winged look. Clean up any rough edges, and sharpen your point with a pointy Q-Tip (talked about here). Don’t forget to line your bottom lash line as well. Smudge with with a Q-tip to keep it sexy.
4. Apply 3-4 coats of volumizing mascara to top off the eyes. I, of course, am a huge fan of L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black (click for review).
5. Line your lips with a nude lipliner, preferably one that is the same color, or slightly darker than your lipstick. I like MAC’s “stripdown” liner for nude lips.
6. Next, apply your lipstick. You can choose to blend your lipliner into your lipstick to keep it modern, or keep the slightly darker liner (as pictured above) to stay true to the original look.
7. You can finish of by applying your foundation, or, if you applied it first, make sure to clean up any fall-out from the black eyeshadow!
How To: Hair
Brigitte’s hair is super messy and big, so it’s very easy to pull off since it doesn’t have to be precise!
1. If you have straight hair, I would start off by adding a few loose waves to it with a curling iron. My favorite technique for waves is to simply wrap separate strands of hair around your closed curling iron. Leave for several seconds depending on how well your hair curls and the spray with hairspray.
2. Next, section your hair at the crown of your head and use your teasing brush or comb to back-comb the hair. Don’t skimp on this part because the volume is the most important part of the look!
3. Spray your teased rat’s nest with hairspray and let it sit for a few minutes. I know it looks crazy right now, but trust me
4. Now, lightly start to comb the back-combed hair into place. Be careful not to take out all the teasing! You are just trying to smooth over the top of the hair.
5. You can either leave your hair like this, or take your bobby pins and start pinning sections of your hair back, into a half-up, half-down, voluminous look!
Drew Barrymore’s Bardot Inspired Look!
Unexpected Beauty Item: Olive Oil
Taking Extra Virgin Olive Oil Out of the Kitchen
I am all about discovering unexpected beauty items in my kitchen, and with winter (slowly) approaching, it’s time to start thinking about how to protect our skin from the drying cold. Olive oil is not only great for cooking, but try slathering it on your body to receive tons of added bonuses!
1. Remove Makeup
Say you are staying the night at your man’s house, and have nothing to remove your eye makeup before bed. No worries, all you gotta do is book it to the kitchen and grab some Extra Virgin Olive Oil, pour it on a cotton ball and gently rub off your makeup. Go lightly at first because if you use too much, it could get in your eye and sting. I use this tip in a pinch and find that it works even better than most removers, especially when dealing with stubborn mascaras.
2. Moisturize Dry Spots
Olive Oil is an awesome moisturizer. Period. It’s all natural, contains no chemicals, has no unpleasant scent and is packed with antioxidants. If you suffer from dry, cracked heels, try rubbing some EVOO onto your feet before bed, cover with some socks, and wake up to smoother, softer heels. Sometimes I rub it on my face and chest before I go to sleep. It soaks in really fast, and leaves my skin feeling super moisturized in the morning. Try using Olive Oil to combat any dry spot, and notice how quick and efficiently it gets the job done!
3. Add it to your Bath
Add a few tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to your bath, next time you have a night to yourself. It will give you a little extra softening power, and you will feel smooth and moisturized when you get out. Add some essential oils on top of it and you’ve got a night to remember haha 
4. Condition Your Hair
EVOO is amazing forgiving dry, damaged hair a little moisture and repair. Heat a cup of Olive Oil in the microwave and pour onto your head before your next shower. Massage the oil into your locks from root to tip, and cover with a plastic shower cap. Let the oil penetrate your hair for about half an hour, then rinse out. You might need to shampoo several times to get all the residue out, but it’s worth it because your hair will be so shiny and healthy when you’re done.
5. Soothe Chapped Lips
Because of the softening and moisturizing properties mentioned about, it is common sense that using Olive Oil on dry lips will do wonders for the chap. Rub in a small amount several times a day, and there’s no way your pucker will be dehydrated for long.
