High Bun Like J Lo's: Smart Cool Style All Summer Long

Just twist and twirl. It's that easy.

Jennifer Lopez has been in and out of the ocean and lots of swimming pools all summer long. Here she is in Miami yesterday, coming from the hotel pool with cutie-pie daughter Emme.

Note the mother-daughter dos! How cute are J Lo's high bun and the matching miniature high bun for Emme!

The high bun keeps your strands in place in hot, humid weather and through underwater adventures. And the look is elegant and cool.

The high bun doesn't have to be perfectly coiffed. Simply pull your hair up into a high ponytail. Easy so far. Then, twist your hair until it coils around itself. Twirl it around and secure it with two to three bobby pins. Or wrap an elastic band around the high bun to keep it in place.

There--now you look as smart and cool as J Lo.

NJ Housewive's Star Jacqueline Laurita Gets Naked With Urban Decay

She admits she's a'cosmetics junkie.' And New Jersey Housewive's star Jacqueline Laurita is not the only one. We love when celebrities dump out the goodies from their makeup bags and dish.

Jacqueline admits to Us Weekly, "I always have something on my face." One of these beauty products is Urban Decay's Naked2 Eyeshadow Palette.

...."My favorite thing right now," she says. "They're ll neutral shades , so I can use it during the day or night."

We found the striking set of eyeshadows at Sephora ($50).

We can see why the reality TV star enjoys the Naked2 palette. It displays 12 pigment-rich taupe and gray-beige neutrals, and five exclusive, new shades!. These are eyeshadow hues we often see Jacqueline wearing.

And if you don't want to take her word for it, just look at the 1,996 customer reviews that have given the Naked2 Eyeshadow Palette a perfect 5* rating. Click here.

Good Housekeeping: Best Anti-Aging Makeup For 2012

They do it every year.

Here are the BEST of the BEST in Anti-Aging Makeup by Good Housekeeping Magazine:

"We tested 97 products on 661 volunteers and tallied responses on 2,004 questionnaires to find 22 winners that really can make you look younger!"

Rosemary Ellis, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping said in a press release: "From laptops to lipsticks, our readers look to us for recommendations on products that perform as promised and are worth the money.

"Our Anti-Aging Awards are unique because the winners are chosen not only because they smell nice or come in pretty shades: they are backed by scientific testing and have literally been proven to work."

Here are just a few of the makeup winners:

Gold Winner- Undereye Concealer
Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer ($10, drugstores; six shades).
Testers said: "Good coverage — not greasy or heavy."

Gold Winner- Liquid Foundation (Light-Medium Coverage)
Chanel Lift Lumière Firming and Smoothing Fluid Makeup SPF 15 ($65, chanel.com; eight shades).
Testers liked the natural coverage and smooth texture that resulted.

Gold Winner- Primer
Korres Quercetin & Oak Antiageing Age Reversing Face Primer ($33, Sephora), a silicone-free smoother.
Testers said the primer evened out their complexions and allowed makeup to stay fresh longer.

Gold Winner- Lipstick
Dior Rouge Serum SPF 20 ($34, department stores; 10 shades)
Testers adored the color, silkiness, and long-lasting moisture.

Gold Winner- Eye Shadow
MAC Paint Pot ($18, MAC stores; nine shades).
Testers raved about the crease-free shadow and easy application.

Gold Winner- Mascara
MAC False Lashes ($20, MAC stores; two shades).
Testers liked the mascara for its lash-thickening formula and non-clumping promise.

To see the entire list of the BEST in makeup + beauty products, including the runner -ups, visit Good Housekeeping.

Jennifer Aniston Loves Boyfriend Jeans: Super Comfy!

How many pairs of boyfriend jeans do you own?

We wonder how many pairs the newly engaged Jennifer Aniston has. Just look at the photos we found. Ever since the star was spotted on the arm of beau Justin Theroux, Jen's been hanging in these super comfy jeans for months.

The only pair we have trouble looking at, are the big, old drop-waist jeans. Yuck! Then again, it's just our humble opinion.

Let's face it----Boyfriend jeans are so unbelievably comfortable. And once again, the trend remains HOT for Fall 2012. We like GAP's 1969 Sexy Boyfriend Jeans ($69.99, at GAP stores). Featuring stretch denim, low rise, 5-pocket styling.

Are boyfriend jeans, in fact, sexy?

Yes. But we can't help but feel dirty and hobo-like somtimes...LOL. It really depends on the fit. Super baggy/destroyed isn't pretty. Jen wears hers rolled at the cuff and looks quite adorable in them.

We own one pair that's a bit too big on us. We might splurge on another, better-fitting pair soon.

How about you? Are you into the boyfriend jeans trend? Will you rock a pair back to school and beyond?

Oh, My! It's Ombre Hair Time For Brunettes!

KimKardashian is the latest celebrity to play around with the light to dark ombre hair effect. She tweeted some much lighter locks to the Twitter masses over the weekend.

Okay, most of us thought the reality star was going to go blonde again, but she teased her fans, and as we can all see from the results, Kim K's ombre hair color involves a bit of chocolate delight. Her stylist, George Papanikolas, of Andy Lecompte Salon revealed his hair tips:

"I changed her from her traditional dark brown, to a more fashionable glossy chocolate brown,". George used a combo of Joico’s Base Breaker and Balayage highlights to create the glam gradient effect—-featuring "deep, dark chocolate to milk chocolate ends."

Yummy!

The ombre hair color style is perfect for brunette-haired gals who would like to lighten up without looking too washed out.


Celebrity colorist Kyle White, who has tended to the tresses of Mariah Carey, also has some smart ombre advice:

When trying out this look, choose your shades carefully. "You want to avoid a defined line between the shades—--to me, that’s actually two-toned, not ombre," he says. "The effect is supposed to be a gradation of color without a heavy line."

Other brunette celebrities looking lovely a la ombre include, Jessica Biel, Lea Michelle and Kate Beckinsale.

Now, including Kim K, would you guess that ALL 4 beauties are wearing hair extensions in these ombre color effects photos?!

Just sayin'......


Do you adore this look? Or are you hoping it passes away when autumn kicks in?

Had A Super Summer? Now Time To Fix Frazzled Damaged Hair

It's been one hot, humid summer. And your hair probably took the heat, so to speak. Maybe you permed, straightened, colored, bathed in peroxide, higlighted, or just sat in the searing sun far too long. Whatever the case, your hair needs tons of TLC during summer.

That usually means extra trips to the salon for a quick trim to get rid of dull, split ends. Or being a fanatic about lots of hair conditioning. Maybe blow-drying, flat-ironing LESS, and so on.

We stumbled on to a brand new Hair treatment product by the oh-so-popular Herbal Essences brand:

Herbal Essences Honey I'm Strong Rinse Off Treatment (6.99, details here).

It sounds promising, because it claims to do this---"A rinse-off treatment that helps to protect each strand’s outer layer to make your hair 10x stronger* in just one wash." Plus, it's loaded with nourishing honey and apricot extracts.

We're not saying that this hair treatment will take the place of a salon trim, but it's a good way of improving the condition of your precious crowning glory, and get it back into shiny shape for Fall and beyond.

Great For Fall 2012: Navy Nails As Kristen Stewart Wears

For some reason, we LOVE the look of navy for makeup.

A little is lovely as colored mascara for a special night out. Navy lets eyes pop!

And now---We are happy to see that navy, sapphire, dark blue, etc., is the HOT mani for Fall 2012.

Kristen Stewart was wearing some on the red carpet back in June, and it looked quite chic. In fact, we have since learned that Kristen's mani featured Essie Nail Polish in Midnight Cami ($8). We found some at Walmart for $7.75.

For an even sharper look at Midnight Cami, take a look at the gorgeous nails of TheManicuredManatee. Are you diggin' the navy nails?

We adore dark nails, and the 'lightness' the navy gives off. It's not as heavy as the blacker-toned polishes.

Just keep your nails short and square with rounded edges, and your good and glam to go this autumn!