Beauty Rap

Natural beauty

2005-03-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed that today's celebrities are often seen out in public with little or no makeup, and they look look fresh as daisies. Kirsten Dunst, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, even Ashlee Simpson come to mind.

These laides are practicing my favorite beauty style: nonchalance. Making looking beautiful seem effortless. Minimal makeup. Casual hairstyles. Confidence. And nothing says confident more than going out the door with just a pair of sunglasses and a dab of tinted lip gloss. In the U.S. we call it "low-maintenance."

The secret is in optimizing your natural assets. Your skin, hair, and general health must be in as good a condition as you can achieve. This might seem like extra work when you first consider it, but the reality is that you'll save yourself oodles of time because you'll no longer need (or often want) an elaborate daily makeup and hairstyle routine. You will feel fabulous most days with just a few basics like blush or bronzer, lip gloss and maybe mascara. And, it also means taking better care of yourself which is never a waste of time.

Many U.S. women are turning on to what french women have always known: beautiful skin and a great haircut will take you far. Sales of skincare products are growing faster than cosmetics sales.

None of this is to suggest that wearing a full face of artfully applied makeup is bad. Not at all! Makeup should be fun and an expression of your mood or personality. And having the option of whether or not to wear it each day is exactly what makes it fun.

Tune in tomorrow, and I'll introduce you to your first natural beauty secret weapon. One hint: it's makeup!

Angelina Jolie's exotic allure

2005-03-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

We've talked together already about the concept of nonchalance and how Angelina Jolie is the embodiment of it. Now, let's get into some of the details.

Nonchalance doesn't have mean you're walking around with yesterday's makeup (it could mean that, but it doesn't have to) or even no makeup. It means that your makeup (1) is a complement to your natural assets -- not the main attraction, itself, (2) looks as though you applied it with confidence and ease, and (3) doesn't say "don't touch!" #3 might be most important.

Here's how to copy Angelina Jolie's current, exotic, focus-on-the-eyes makeup look (seen here).

What's up with Britney's hair?

2005-03-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

Everybody asks me what I think is going on with Britney Spears, her hair and her overall style issues. I can only answer that I think she's doing what lots of us did at her age: experiment. I can't imagine what it must be like to grow up under the world's biggest microscope.

I know that if my boyfriend at that time had asked me to marry him, I would have done it (OMG what a bad idea that would have been). Thankfully, he didn't. But he might have if I'd have been a multi-millionaire.

Meanwhile, she does seem to have fired her stylist(s). There was a time, after all, when she was looking pretty chic for a teen pop idol (see image), and we can only assume it was thanks to a good stylist or two.

In a way, this kind of thing says to me that she might be a very creative person. She may in fact come out of this phase a much cooler woman than when she entered it.

As far as the latest hair goes: I happen to like the chocolate brown color on her. She can pull it off with her tawny skin and those cocoa brown eyes. In fact, it gives her some edge and mystery that she didn'ty have before. She should ditch the extensions, though--or at least have them thinned out, or something. If extensions aren't done just right, they can look like you glued a horse's tail to your head.

More Britney Spears photos

Prediction: messy hair

2005-03-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

All photos are clickable.

I predict that big, curly, wavy, messy hair is about to make a comeback. You know: just-got-laid hair ;) I mean, just how long have we been looking at stick-straight strands? For how many years have we all been slaves to the flattening iron?

These dangerous times call for joyous hair. Happy hair. Carefree hair. Damn it all anyway hair. Think: nonchalance. A certain amount of lawlessness in your hair says, "I'm confident and secure."

What I'm talking about is a touch of devil-may-care attitude. It's what makes french women alluring and mysterious. It's why men love Angelina Jolie and Eva Mendes. Try it. It's incredibly liberating.

The idea is to work with what your hair is naturally inclined to do, instead of working against it. Experiment. Imagine mornings without the straightening iron routine. Imagine getting out of bed, pulling on your jeans and sexy top, swiping on some lip gloss, and going out. That's nonchalance.

Is JLo overexposed?

2005-03-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

She's absolutely EVERYWHERE these days. But I still love how perfect Jennifer Lopez's makeup ALWAYS is.

Remember when she wore that amazing white Michael Kors dress a few months ago -- it kinda looked like "I Dream of Jeannie?" Well her makeup was just as fabulous.

Here's how to do it yourself:

http://www.beautyriot.com/article.php?c_id=4&id=2755