Beauty Tutorials

You’ll never see Sex and the City’s Charlotte York-Goldenblatt in a down-to-there halter like Samantha, or a tutu and t-shirt combo like Carrie. Whether this “Park Avenue Pollyanna” is at a wedding, jogging in Central Park, or summering in the Hamptons; she always looks sweet and feminine.

Charlotte’s dreams of being the perfect wife and ideal philanthropist are expressed through her preppy, proper style. Born a blue-blooded Connecticut princess, Charlotte takes her duties as an upper-class woman very seriously. It’s really an art to look like Charlotte – always expensive, but never showy.

Want to perfect the look before the May 30th premier of the SATC movie? Here’s how!

Makeup
A woman like Charlotte probably has a train case full of expensive cosmetics, yet looks fresh-faced all day long. Don’t you wish you could claim the same?

The most important element of achieving a sweet, Charlotte-like make-up look lies under your make-up. An impeccable skin-care routine ensures that your complexion will stay smooth and even, so you can get the put together make-up that blends right into your (seemingly) perfect skin.

Cosmetic essentials include naturally soft skin and rosy pink cheeks. Make your eyes stand out with soft liner and curled lashes, so that you look bright-eyed and awake, but never over-done. Finish off your look with glossy pink lips and rounded, natural nails polished in neutral and light pink tones.

Hair
Charlotte isn’t a woman to buy into trendy styles like short bobs, braids or bold highlights. In fact, her hairstyle will probably remain constant from now until the time she goes elegantly gray.

Achieving a polished coif like Charlotte’s doesn’t require much creativity, but it does call for regular maintenance. Charlotte maintains the health of her hair through regular trims that include face-framing layers for body and bounce.

To keep your long hair smooth like Charlotte’s, use a styling mousse and a round brush while blow-drying to curl your ends under. Looking to add a bit of preppy pizzazz to your hair? Stick with low ponytails, graceful twists, or wide printed headbands.

Clothes
Charlotte prides herself on exuding a feminine sex appeal. Her clothing is form-fitting, but not risqué. She shows off her rockin’ curves in understated ways. By wearing dresses and blouses that accentuate her décolletage and flouncy skirts that showcase her tiny waist, Charlotte is always in style but never a slave to the trends.

Want to look as effortlessly polished as she does? Look for classic cocktail and shift dresses in vintage floral prints and Lily Pulitzer brights. These preppy-chic pieces never go out of style.

If you’re going out on the town looking to attract some attention, your propriety doesn’t have to fall by the wayside! Choose a slinky black dress that accents one of your best features – not all of your features. Paired with some peep-toe pumps, you’ll look cute and classy.

Accessories
Charlotte knows that accessories make the outfit, but that too many accessories can overwhelm her natural beauty. So keep it simple! For everyday looks, a neutral bag and coordinating shoes are a must.

Pearls are a staple of Charlotte’s jewelry collection, but she isn’t afraid to put on some sparkly diamonds when she’s dressing to impress. Of course, even though Charlotte’s a successful gallery manager, it’s clear that her most prized accessory is her bling-ing engagement ring.

Miranda Hobbes became one of our favorite HBO Original ladies of all time from the moment she uttered her first brash, realistic statement. What we love about Miranda is how hard-nosed she is. She’s a pioneer. A no-nonsense, driven businesswoman.

But no matter how hard she tries to hide her emotions, we know she’s got that soft, feminine side that we love to see come out from time to time. And her look complements her attitude perfectly. Do you want to achieve Miranda’s look just in time for Sex & The City to hit the big screen? Well, read on:

Makeup
To achieve her professional day look, use pink, neutral and shimmer eye shadows with a brown liner for a soft look. Keep your complexion looking fresh and natural like Miranda by using a lightly tinted moisturizer as your base. Add a splash of color by using a neutral pink or peach toned blush to highlight your cheekbones. Bring the whole look together with a clear or light pink lip-gloss.

In the evening, Miranda will tend to go a bit edgier, but not over the top. Take the intensity of your eye color up by applying a smoky eye technique. You can also turn up the dial of your evening look by applying a brown-based lipstick.

Hair
Miranda achieves her beautiful, timeless look by maintaining a timeless hairstyle – the bob! If you’re going for Miranda’s hairstyle, your hair should be shoulder length or shorter. Layers add drama, interest and body, as well as acting as a frame for your face. To style your bob, use a blow dryer and a large round brush to dry your hair so it is straight and manageable. Run over it with a flat iron to make sure you get your hair completely smooth and sleek. Finish by applying a small amount of shine serum to smooth down flyaways and give your hair a beautiful sheen!

Clothing
Miranda takes “dressing for success” to the next level. For her daytime work as a hard-nosed attorney, she sticks to classic, elegant suits. To achieve her look, hunt for the basics – a nice pin-striped pencil skirt and a silk blouse. Miranda’s fashion screams elegance and sophistication during the day.

After hours, though, Miranda’s personal fashion sense is unleashed. What we love about her is her ability to still look so put-together while having real fun with fashion. Her feminine side really comes out through her flirty outfits. She likes rich, earth-toned clothing with bold prints. And if all else fails, basic black is always a winner… with the right accents.

Accessories
Miranda’s true style comes out through her accessories – she’s not afraid to push the envelope. When you’re working toward achieving Miranda’s look, add interest through your accessories. Keep an eye out for brighter earth tones (pinks or purples aren’t her thing!) and geometric shapes on handbags. Go bold with funky jade or turquoise earrings or necklaces.

Miranda also likes to draw attention to her more muted outfits with chunky bracelets or interesting belts. And let’s address the most important thing last: The shoes. For your daytime look, make sure to wear classic shoes like pointed-toe black pumps. But put on the sexy, strappy, boldly colored shoes for an unforgettable evening look!

Looking for a quick and easy way to create a formal up do? We can show you how in a few simple steps! You can also watch a video tutorial of this style.

Here we have Becca; she has gorgeous hair and needs some up do ideas to make her wedding photos special.

If you have someone with a lot of hair like Becca you need to start by placing the back sections of hair in pony-tails. If you want more volume on top you would back comb the hair prior to putting it up.

Next put a touch of pomade in the remaining hair. Take a section of hair underneath the bottom pony-tail and place it across the head, securing it with a bobby pin.

Do the same on the other side.

Start taking sections of hair and make loop shapes, securing these with bobby pins as well. It works best to tame fly-aways with a touch of hair spray along the way.

Continue the loop design around the head, checking symmetry along the way.

After you have completed the back section, take some sections from the front, pull back loosely to create volume on top and secure.

Do you have the advantage of having long, swooping bangs that can be shaped like Becca has? You can use these to create a wonderful, elegant curve to this up do by securing all the bangs to one side.

Now, don’t forget to use plenty of hair spray. This style has to hold through hours of weather, mingling, dancing and photos!

Isn’t she gorgeous? Who wouldn’t want to look like this on their wedding day?

This past weekend, I was talking with some of my girlfriends, and we started talking about ponytails. There seem to be so many celebrities these days strolling down the red carpet sporting them. You even see all those perfect-looking girls on the street with ponies. Not as a quick “OMG! I didn’t have enough time this morning” fix, but as an actual style.

My friends Wendy & Kelly lamented that no matter how hard they try, they just look like they woke up late and needed to do something – ANYTHING with their hair. And fast. They claim they can’t make their ponytails look like a style. So I did some research for some quick tips on how to make that everyday ponytail into a style. And hopefully the following tips can help everyone – including Wendy & Kelly.

Here are some basic tips and pics to illustrate how you can create a great style out of your ponytail:

1. Play up the part! Start by parting the hair on one side. You can either go with a straight  part or criss-cross for more drama. I like taking the part back about 1.5 to 3 inches. Then pull it back gently into the ponytail. You don’t want to pull it too tight because you don’t want to lose the sweeping movement. If you have straight hair, make sure you ARE getting rid of any bumps, though. If you have curly or wavy hair, try keeping it pretty loose so you can take advantage of the natural movement of your waves, which will also easily cover imperfections.
2. Frame the face. If you have shorter layers up front, don’t be afraid to let them hang loose – don’t force them back into the pony. You can always tuck or pin the hair behind your ears. If you have bangs, even better – let them do the work of framing your face. Just be aware of the layers and lengths of your hair, and use them to your advantage.
3. Make it sleek and shiny. If you have long hair, you can go uber chic by pulling it back high on your crown. This is a high-drama look that keeps hair out of your face, but still lets it cascade down your back. If you have really straight hair, pulling it back smooth and tight can create a very elegant look. If you’d like to go a little funkier, add a twist for some interest and volume.
4. Pump up the volume. Don’t be afraid to play with twisting or teasing your hair. Creating more volume around your crown will show that you meant to make your ponytail look like that. Thus…it’s a style. Gwen Stefani has her signature look, and a number of other celebs have been captured sporting similar types of hairplay.
5. Accessorize…in moderation. Your ponytail will look more deliberate if you decorate it. You can pin a flower in the side of a tousled pony look for a casual, colorful touch. You can also use a thick headband or ribbon to make your look more stylish. I like using a ribbon closer to the hairline after I’ve teased, smoothed out, then secured the ponytail itself. This accentuates the volume and really makes the look more polished. You can also use decorative hair ties or clips. But don’t go overboard. If you have to stop and ask yourself (or someone else) if it’s too much – it probably is. Remember, ponytails are so beloved because of their simplicity. Don’t ruin a good thing. 
6. Choose sides. The low side ponytail is my personal fave, when it comes to pony styles. You can do this easily by parting the hair and using the parted section of hair to frame the face. Pull the rest of the hair back smooth, but loosely, and secure it at the base of your skull on one side. The ponytail should easily rest over your shoulder (on the front side). This can work as both an elegant and a casual look.
7. Don’t ignore your styling products! Your styling products are there to help you style your hair. If you want to do a ponytail as a style, use what you already have as a resource. If you have wavy or curly hair, enhance the movement of your hair with styling products. If you’re working with very straight hair, use a shine enhancer to help decrease flyaways and to really turn up the dial on your hair’s sheen. If you have short hair that just barely makes it back into the ponytail, have fun by using a touch of styling wax to spike it out! And everyone can benefit from a little bit of hairspray to help keep it all in place once you have it perfect.

Just remember – a ponytail is like any other good style. It takes some practice to make it perfect. So, take some time out on a weekend or evening to play around with some of these tips and find out what looks best on you. I think it’s safe to say that the ponytail isn’t a style that will go away anytime soon. So it definitely won’t be any time wasted!

Do you want fuller, thicker hair? Learn to double your hair volume and create fantastic curls using clip-in hair extensions. You can find them at many salons and beauty supply stores, and they are very easy to put in. We explain below or you can watch the video.

Kari is challenged with fine, thin hair. Let’s see what we can do to change her look.

Before we put in the extensions, let’s begin by sectioning off the hair and spraying it lightly with hairspray.  After that, start curling her hair – section by section. Use a Chi iron for this procedure. Continue the process until the entire head is curled.

Next, loosen the curls slightly by finger combing the hair. This will make the curls a better match for the extensions.

Now we’re ready for the extensions. Place 2 sections of extensions in the back of the head. To do this, part the hair horizontally and clip in the extension.

Do the same on each side. It’s that easy!

Wow! Look at all that gorgeous hair! It blends perfectly with her natural hair.

This process is a great alternative for people who don’t have the time or the money for extensions that are sewn into the hair.