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Would You Wear Bright Blue Mascara?

Over the weekend at eco-friendly designer Stella McCartney’s fall 2012 fashion show, models on the runway were sporting a very eye-catching look: cobalt blue lashes.

Have You Seen? Vanessa Hudgens Dyed Her Hair Blonde!

Left: Hudgens at Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Oscar Viewing party last week. Right: Her new look for the film Spring Breakers.

Teen queen starlet Vanessa Hudgens is sporting a new ‘do for her upcoming film, Spring Breakers. The one time High School Musical actress, who will be appearing alongside fellow Disney alum Selena Gomez, got extensions and dyed her normally brunette strands a harsh flaxen hue.

Inside the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics New Flagship

Last week, the Birchbox editors took a behind-the-scenes visit to the new Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics store on New York’s trendy Lower East Side. The 100% vegan, cruelty-free brand, known for its hyper-pigmented lip colors, just opened their first outpost in September, and has since been offering their makeup artist know-how and line of gorgeous hues to residents of the über-trendy neighborhood. Click through for a sneak-preview of OCC’s new spring line!

Hunger Games Polishes: Today’s Obsession

You may have noticed this before, but we’re Hunger Games obsessed here in the Birchbox office and we’ve been sitting on pins and needles waiting for the movie’s release on March 23rd. (Lest you doubt our commitment, we’ve already bought our boatload of tickets for a team viewing on premiere night!)

In the meantime, we’re satisfying our Hunger Games addiction with the new Capitol Colors collection from China Glaze. We snagged a few of the shades from the line that’s set to debut this month, and we cannot speak highly enough (or obsessively enough) about these lacquers. I’m personally in love with Riveting, a micro-glitter orange that’s given my nails a fiery glow.

Hello, Lovely: Emily Dyed Her Hair!

Earlier this week, operations manager Emily decided to spruce up her hair by going extra dark and bold. “I was starting to get bored with my overall look,” Emily said. “Usually when it’s feeling a little drab I go to drastic measures and chop it all off, but this time I decided that a change in the color would tide me over for a bit.”

She looks absolutely gorgeous! We love the lustrous dark brown and the loose curls she’s been rocking around the office for the last few days. “The only other time I’ve colored my hair was when I was 16 and dyed it black out of a box,” she said. “My hair was so damaged that as it started to wash out, the ends of my hair stayed jet black and everything else went back to brown. I looked like I had leopard spots!”

Well, Em, there’s no sign of any leopard spots this time around. You look fantastic.

What do you think of Emily’s bold new look?

—Candice

Whenever we change our color, we make sure to use products formulated just for dyed locks. We love this shampoo and conditioner from Oribe.

Bobbi Brown Thinks You Should Wear Neon Even in the Winter

Photo: Glamour

Bobbi Brown’s splashy new spring colors, a selection of bright neons and subtle nudes, has finally hit shelves. There’s plenty of bright eye and cheek colors in the collection, but our favorite hues are the punchy lipsticks and lip glosses. From electric orange to sassy purple to glam pink, these are great pick-me-up shades for the depressingly gray winter months. We can’t wait to get our hands them. Click through to see the collection!

Easy Ways to Keep Your Look Fresh

I started wearing makeup back in ninth grade. This was during my Hot Topic goth phase, so I loaded pale foundation, black eyeliner, and blood red lipstick onto my face with the enthusiasm of a kindergartener with a brand new set of Crayolas. Nowadays, I’ve toned down the Dracula mask, but my basic makeup has stayed the same: winged liner and cherry lips. I guess you could say I’m stuck in a beauty rut. With this in mind, I’ve realized that everyone (including myself) can benefit from re-examining their routine. Whether you’re content with your signature look or you’re ready to shake things up, small changes can make a big difference.

Above The Fold: Color In Just The Crease

Despite how much I obsess over saturated shadows, I rarely experiment with my own eye makeup — I just haven’t gotten around to learning how to layer and blend shadows myself. Earlier this week, though, I had to get my skills up to speed because I filmed a Birchbox video tutorial on essential eye makeup brushes (get excited!). I did a lot of research, spent some time practicing, and — drumroll — did all my own eye makeup for the shoot. It came out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Plus I picked up some tricks along the way.

My new favorite move is to take a crease brush and use a color that is a couple shades darker than the one on my lid and apply it softly to the deepest hollow of my eyes. It adds drama to your look and makes your eyes appear a lot bigger.

But in my blog research, I’ve also noticed a cool trend where you forgo color on your lid completely and apply a really deep saturated hue to just your crease. It looks incredible, but it’s definitely daring and I wouldn’t recommend it for novices (or the daytime). That said, I am considering wearing it for my next evening out with the girls. I’m totally inspired by the picture above — thinking I’ll try it with shades of lavender and deep purple.

Would you wear a dark color in just your crease?

—Meredith

To help you get any look you like, we carry every color of the eyeshadow rainbow!

Just call me Sparkles

I owe Katia an apology. When we received Deborah Lippman’s sparkletastic nail lacquers in the office I took one look at the glitter party and shook my head. Uh uh. Too many bad memories of ill-conceived 7th grade manicures. But this morning, “Bad Romance” (a Lady Gag inspired aubergine with thick flakes of fuchsia) caught the corner of my eye. I idly opened the bottle and applied a coat to my thumb. And another coat. I was hooked. The color looks like a deep dark purple from afar; it’s only when you look closely that you see the tiny pink sparkles. It’s a nice update on the ubiquitous dark fall nail and, well, I’m in love. As for Katia, she happily put on two coats of the silvery “Today Was a Fairytale” and couldn’t stop waving her shimmery nails at us. Touché.

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Party Trick: Stila Custom Color

I love hanging out with makeup professionals because they always clue you into the coolest products and techniques. The other day I met Sarah Lucero, Stila’s awesome in-house makeup artist, to talk about the line’s upcoming launches. They’ve got plenty to brag about (more on that later), but what really blew my mind was their new Custom Color blush. It’s the color of a chalky Pepto Bismol, which only sounds appealing if you’ve got a wicked stomachache. But wait - the blush actually senses the skin’s pH and adjusts it color to match your skintone. Implausible-sounding, till you try it. On me it was a peachy flush, on Hayley more of a cool pink, and on a porcelain-skinned friend at last night’s outdoor movie, a pale rose. Now how’s that for an awesome party trick?