Photo: mnn.com
Researchers at the Universite de Bretagne-Sud in France have made a fascinating discovery for restaurant servers: wearing red lipstick earns you significantly more tips when you’re serving gentlemen. Hello, crimson!
Blair Badge is one multi-talented lady: she’s a social media manager, a beauty editor for fashion site Chictopia, a model, a newlywed and an all-around awesome gal with a penchant for witty banter. Her dreamy blog, love, blair, is a heady mix of all her talents in one and we can’t get enough of her style and beauty advice. This week, she’s sharing her DIY beauty tips, like how to create a pretty custom lip color and how to get perfect beachy waves.
(Photo: Aura Cosmetics’ “Just Out” + “Hollywood”)
Lipsticks are like socks. You never know when they might sprout legs and run off! I’m notorious for misplacing (a.k.a. losing) my lipsticks. Then I’m faced with the conundrum of replacing said color or making due with what I already have.
I’m here to advocate thriftiness. Before you rush out the door to replace that missing color, let’s try something new: Channel your inner child and get creative by mixing your current lip shades for a custom color!
Our office has been buzzing about the “Gossip Girl” season finale, which airs tonight. To get ready for this season’s last episode, we’ve been practicing our favorite hair looks from the show and watching this video tutorial featuring the “Gossip Girl” lead hairstylist, Jennifer Johnson. Here, she demonstrates how to get a modern Brigitte Bardot style, also known as “Serena van der Woodsen waves.” Watch the clip and let us know if you try the look yourself!
And don’t forget to watch”Gossip Girl” with us tonight at 8/7c on the CW—we’ll be live tweeting throughout the show! Also, be sure to enter our trivia contest for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree!
—Lorelei
We chatted with the show’s lead makeup artist, too. Check out her pro mascara tip.
Photos: justjared.com
Kate Middleton has a gorgeous head of long, brunette hair that she almost always wears flowing down over her shoulders. It’s a rare occasion when the Duchess of Cambridge decides to pull her hair back for an elegant updo—which is why her recent hairstyle at the BOA Olympic Concert (above) caught our eye. The braided loose bun was such a departure for everyone’s favorite real life princess, it inspired us to search for our other favorite up-looks from the British style icon. Click through to see Kate Middleton’s best updos!
Around the Birchbox office, I am known as the sunblock pusher. “Don’t forget your SPF” and “be sure to reapply throughout the day” are things you will commonly hear me saying. As a fair-skinned gal, I learned in my early twenties the dangers of being casual with your sun protection. Ever since, I’ve tried to spread the good SPF word. That’s why I was particularly excited to meet Holly Thaggard, the founder of sunscreen empire Supergoop!, recently in New York.
—Lorelei
Find our favorite products from Benefit in the Birchbox Shop.
Wearing: MAC Lipstick in Girl About Town
Ever since the Kardashians came into my life, I’ve been an advocate for the nude lip and smoky eyes look (sad, but true). It became my go-to going out look for a long time. I mean, what’s not to like about it? It dresses up any outfit and makes for fabulous pictures (that and Instagram).
But lately I’ve noticed a red carpet trend that has quickly taken over my makeup regimen. From Camilla Belle rocking a deep plum pout at the Met Gala to Rachel McAdams wearing crimson lips at virtually all of her premieres , bold lip colors are a Hollywood staple. I virtually never touch my nude lipsticks or glosses these days. There’s just something about a bright lip that makes your face pop.
Left: Our version of the looped pony on Charlie. Right: Carolina Herrera spring 2012.
The ponytail gets a lot of flack from hair sophisticates—it’s been accused of being boring, too tomboyish, and a sign of not trying hard enough. But designers are breathing new life into this classic style, like Carolina Herrera who showed some pretty looped ponys during her spring 2012 show. We were so inspired, we decided to break down this style step by step (fair warning: it works best on long-haired ladies with no choppy layers). Click through for the tutorial!
Last month, we ask our Birchbloggers to send us their blog posts about why they care about organic beauty for the chance to win an interview with the CEO of Juice Beauty, Karen Behnke. There were lots of great submissions but we were especially impressed by The Bee’s Knees Blog. Today we’re excited to publish their interview. Enjoy!
The Bee’s Knees: How did you decide to use and develop organic beauty products?
Karen Behnke: Health, wellness, and fitness have always been my passion and turned into my career once I built one of the first corporate wellness companies in the country. But once I became pregnant with my first child (at the age of 40), I really started reading ingredient labels for the first time. I was shocked that many terrible ingredients that had been banned from our food were still in our beauty products. Given that the skin is the largest organ of your body and it absorbs almost 65 percent of what you put on it, realizing the benefits of organic beauty ingredients was a natural progression.
Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails- and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every week for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
I love a good manicure and am always looking for the best way to take care of my nails. And in order to have healthy nails, you can’t forget to moisturize your hands. Dry hands often lead to cracked skin and cuticles, which are more susceptible to infection and bacteria. Your cuticles help protect nails as they grow, so healthy cuticles means healthy nails.
