5 Ways To Work Classic Blue

Every year, Pantone's Colour Of The Year is chosen, and every year, it shapes entire industries and trends. From fashion to interiors, packaging to food, Pantone's decision can affect nearly anything. It also undeniably has a ripple effect on the beauty industry, where trends and products are shaped around the new 'it' colour. This year's shade, Classic Blue, may seem a little bold to incorporate into your beauty routine, but it can actually be really wearable if you know how to do it. Here's 5 ways to rock Pantone's Classic Blue in your beauty routine.

Pantone chose this year's colour with the current global state in mind. Just like last year, when Living Coral was selected to highlight the importance of our oceans, 2020's chosen hue has a message behind it. With everything from climate change to Brexit, things have been far from stable this year, and 2020 looks set to be just as tumultuous. So Pantone wanted to select a colour that represented calm and reliability. Enter: Classic Blue.

“We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on,” explained Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.

So how exactly can we incorporate this beautiful shade into our beauty routines? It's not exactly the most subtle of hues, right? Well, here are five ways you can wear Classic Blue you're guaranteed to love, from in your hair to on your nails:

Nail Polish
Possibly the easiest way to wear classic blue without going too out there, a chic mani is a subtle yet effective nod to this year's chosen colour. It's a year-round shade too, meaning you can just as easily get away with it in January as during your summer mani.

Eyeshadow
Blue eyeshadow may sound scary and throw you back to the '90s, but it can look incredible and have an amazing impact, particularly during special occasions. Just be sure to blend it out, and add in a pop of shimmer if the feeling takes you...

Lipstick
Perhaps the boldest way to carry off the trend, a blue lipstick certainly isn't for shrinking violets. But it's the best way to show dedication to the trend, and can really work at special occasions when paired with neutral eyes. It's also a sure fire hit during festival season.

Eyeliner
Another great way to go blue without going all out, a kohl eyeliner looks ace when smudged into the lash line. Pair it with blue mascara for even more of a wow-factor.

Hair dye
Feeling extra brave? Show your commitment to all things classic blue by taking things up a notch with a blue hair dye. Just be sure to do a patch test first to check out the colour prior to taking the plunge!

9 Cute Fall Sweaters That Will Keep You Cozy All Season Long

As the air gets crisper, it's time to begin thinking about knitwear. Whether you're into fitted cardigans or oversized crews, finding the perfect fall sweater will be easy thanks to our list. We've gone a little out of our comfort zones with some of these selects (think balloon sleeves, cashmere, graphic prints, and bright colors), but there are also classic-looking sweaters that can be paired with anything from jeans to skirts. Each of these knits will not only have you looking your best, but will also keep you warm and comfortable regardless of the autumn weather outside. FYI: We recommend picking up two or three so you'll be set for the entire season before it even arrives.

Hooded Cable Knit Button Up
Add a hood to a cozy sweater and it's an instant game changer. Amazon reviewers love that beneath the buttons is a zipper to help trap in the heat.

Batwing Slouch Sweater
Looser sleeves that slouch about make for a unique silhouette. The fabric only cinches at the wrists, giving your overall look a relaxed vibe.

Cropped Cable Knit Sweater
Everyone needs a classic essential cable knit sweater in their wardrobe. This version from & Other Stories is modern and cozy.

Oversized Alpaca Crew
This cashmere sweater is under $100 and has over 800 superb reviews. It is produced with ethical qualities, made from alpaca cashmere, and available in six soft and vibrant colors.

Boho Colorblock Cardigan
Drape this oversized cardigan over a skirt or your favorite jeans to elevate your look.

Mixed Rib Cardigan
This lovely cherry red knit is made of a recycled blend. It is so easy to throw over a turtleneck to add extra warmth.

Striped Sweater
A classic striped knit is essential in anyone's wardrobe. When Alex Mill launched, the brand focused on producing the perfect tee, they have now expanded and exceeded those expectations with a range of styles like this sweater! The button details on the sleeves are cute, too.

Stitch Turtleneck Sweater
The collar on this turtleneck keeps your neck warm without being uncomfortably snug. Plus, it comes in a bunch of great colors for fall.

Open Front Printed Cardigan
Don't be afraid to play with a little print, especially when it doesn't cost you much. You can shop this cardigan in other colors as well.

Rachel Roddy's recipe for fava bean puree with wilted greens

At this time of year in Rome, broad beans act like cheerleaders chanting “S-P-R-I-N-G” from plates and piles in shops. They also come with a warning. This warning usually takes the form of a note stuck to the door of a shop or trattoria saying something along the lines of “Qui si vendono fave fresche” (“Here we sell fresh broad beans”). As warnings go, it’s mild stuff. In fact, for years not only did I have no idea that these notes were warnings, I also thought they were a promotion – a handwritten invitation to come inside and be rewarded with beans waiting to be freed from their velour-lined jackets and eaten with pecorino, braised with artichokes or caught up in a tangle of pasta and cheese.

The notes are far from mild for some. Favism is an ancient hereditary disorder that affects people of Mediterranean descent. It’s rare but dangerous, and involves an allergic-like reaction to broad beans. “One of our customers can’t even walk past our door when fava are in season,” a local trattoria owner told me, flicking beans out of their pods directly into a pan like some sort of vegetable Tiddlywinks. I spent the next few days worrying about this customer, noting all the streets they couldn’t walk down (most of them). While the dangerous compound is largely deactivated by cooking, with all the cheerleaders around at this time of year, it would be best to avoid certain streets.

For those of us who aren’t avoiding broad beans, as the month progresses, both the pods and their beans get bigger, the sugar turning to starch and transforming tender, early-spring beans floury and almost white. As in beans, so in life. They also start to dry, which is no bad thing. As this happens, cooking methods must change. No more swift, steamy braises; the opaque coats need pulling off, and the bigger beans should be cooked more slowly, braised in tomato sauce or made into a puree. This is known in Rome as purèe di fave, in Puglia as simply fave (e cicoria), and in Sicily as maccu.

Just like the pork last week, maccu or puree di fave is a recipe that sums up the neat brilliance of Italian cooking: three economical ingredients transformed into a clever dish. There are as many recipes for maccu as cooks. I prefer maccu soft – closer to a thick soup than a hummus. That said, the cooked puree set cold makes an excellent spread for bread or a dip for crisp vegetables.

Although this is delicious made with end-of-season fresh beans, I think maccu is even better made with fully dried broad beans, fave secche, which seem like cannellini crossed with chestnuts, chickpeas and something ever so slightly bitter, but tempered by the potato.

For the greens on top, dark, saw-edged cicoria or chicory is traditional. If you can’t get hold of cicoria, spinach, escarole or even radicchio would work well. Either way, pile the leaves on top of the soft puree, the cheerleaders getting older with the right amount of bitterness.

Maccu di fave e cicoria (broad bean puree with greens)

Prep 15 min
Soak 2 hr
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4

250g dried broad beans or 400g fresh but starchy broad beans, outer coats removed
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into rounds
Salt
800g greens (chicory, escarole, spinach or radicchio)
1 pinch red chilli flakes
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed

If you’re using dried beans and have the time, soak them in cold water for a few hours (if you don’t have time, don’t worry, they will just take longer to cook).

Put the beans in a large pan, cover with a layer of potato, then pour over a litre of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes to an hour, stirring every now and then. By the end of cooking you should have a soft cream. For something even smoother, blend with an immersion blender. Season with salt.

If you are using cicoria, trim, then plunge into boiling water for four minutes, and drain. In a large frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive and the garlic. Add the cicoria and a pinch of red chilli flakes, and stir until the greens glisten.

If you’re using escarole, spinach or radicchio, break into leaves. In a large frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive with the garlic. Add the leaves and a pinch of red chilli flakes, and stir until the leaves collapse and glisten. Serve the puree in bowls, topped with the greens and a drizzle of olive oil.

Why some members of Congress are wearing yellow roses today

Gold is one of three colors of the American suffrage movement — along with white and purple, which helped give it instant visual recognition.

Today, some members of the U.S. Congress are wearing yellow roses to mark 100 years since the House of Representatives voted to pass women's suffrage. The right for women to vote became law in 1920.

The gold color represents light and life. It is "the torch that guides our purpose, pure and unswerving," reads "The Suffragist" regarding the gold color. The book was published in 1913.

The color purple was chosen for loyalty and steadfastness. The white was selected as an emblem of purity.

National organizations and state and local groups will be hosting Women's Suffrage Centennial events in 2020 to mark 100 years since the women's right to vote became law. Go here to read more about the 2020 Women's Vote Centennial Initiative.

A few last blooming flowers to admire deep in the heart of Texas

You know the saying "when in Rome, do as the Romans do”? No one said anything about Texas, but since I'm here, I will admire the flowers still blooming and hope when I get back to Iowa there might be a few pansies or mums to carry us into November.

Pansies here planted in the fall may bloom deep into December and January or even later, but come hot weather they take a break, just as they do in Iowa. Yet, they are a rugged plant often taking the first frost without a whimper.

They are annual, but obviously with a strong desire to be perennial, as often they pop up again as one of the first flowers of spring. If you have a patch, looking pretty pitiful right now,throw a few leaves on them and just see if they make it through the winter.

Knockout roses, here in my daughter Becky's Texas backyard, are living up to their name, still producing new buds and blooms and growing taller. I suspect they will be around to hang Christmas lights upon.

Even a first-year planting may grow to the full 3-feet-wide to 3-4 feet high in Iowa ‘s zones 4 and 5. They need little care once they have come back from the Japanese beetle midsummer attack, though a little winter protection of leaves or mulch won't hurt.

If the winter has been wicked, you may need to trim them as low as three inches to get rid of the the die back, but ordinarily a spring pruning to about 15 inches and some rose food will be all they need.

New colors have been added since Knockouts burst onto the rose market and chances are good more research is being done to add to the line.

Another plant still blooming here is Lantana. Not so popular for its spreading, invasive habits, it has a beautiful pink flower with a yellow and white top. Monarch butterflies love it and along with the milkweed it helps renew the population.

Lantana is in the verbena family, and is a great container plant for its dripping, trailing ability. It comes in blue, pink, red, white, and my favorite, a deep purple.

Though we are at the end of our gardening season in the Midwest, this last chance to see some bright, blooming plants has been a bonus before I have to feed my habit with only the spring catalogs.

Health and BeautyTop trends for wedding flowers

It's not just about the dress anymore, deciding which flowers you're going to have and how you're going to display them count too. Read on for ultimate wedding #flowerspiration and pick up the November issue of Hello! Fashion Monthly to read even more.

Trailing ribbons on bridesmaids

Adding some gorgeous trailing ribbon to your bridesmaids' bouquets is a wonderful way to not only add an extra dash of colour, but also to create movement.

Long, layered, colour-coordinated ribbons look great in photographs as the bridesmaids move or the wind catches the trails. You could choose a selection of different types of ribbon - satin, gross-grain, sequinned, organza - of different widths and in varying shades to add detail and real drama to a bouquet.

Wearable flowers: hair crowns and circlets and hair bands

A floral bridal crown, hair circlet or hair band is a fantastic way to add a little more romance to a wedding dress. Using a selection of flowers to match the bride's bouquet, or a simple selection of jasmine tendrils and rose buds, hair flowers ensure that a bride looks her best from head-to-toe.

Think seasonal with your choice of flowers, and don't be afraid to bring in something unusual - like golden ears of corn or barley for a late summer or early autumn wedding, or a small gold leafed succulent for texture and interest.

Simple hair circlets are hugely popular for younger bridesmaids and flower girls too. Selections of flowers to match the bride, tiny rose buds in pastel colours, or delicate circlets of gypsophilia turn any little girl in to a princess. Hair flowers can be a great alternative for younger flower girls, who might get a little restless carrying around a bouquet for several hours.

Cascading Flowers

For truly opulent and scrummy bouquets or arrangements, cascading and tumbling flowers are a huge trend this season. Bridal bouquets of garden roses, trailing jasmine and honeysuckle look fabulous with any dress - and bring with them amazing scents.

Table displays, centrepieces and statement urns can be transformed by including trailing flowers and foliage. Scented roses and jasmine, delicate pastel snowberries, fiery Crocosmia, and silvery Populus Eucalyptus can make an arrangement utterly sumptuous and decadent.

Using a combination of garden roses, spray roses and traditional bridal roses can create gorgeous arrangements that spill from bouquets, vases or urns. Combined with trailing foliage this is a popular way to take wedding flowers to a whole new level. Walls of cascading flowers are very on trend at the moment, and on a smaller scale, how about flowers hanging from the back of the bride and groom's chairs?

Floral chandeliers or flower balls

Hanging flowers add a wow factor to any space. They can be expensive, but definitely worth it for the impact that they bring. Use bigger flowers such as hydrangeas, to add volume.

For high ceilinged venues like barns or halls a large flower ball or two suspended above proceedings can be a real talking point for all your guests, and help create a really unified look to the space - matching with, and complementing table centres, centrepieces and bouquets.

Don't be afraid to introduce unusual blooms or foliage - trailing flowers like clematis, jasmine and honeysuckle give a lovely romantic look, or delphiniums, gladioli, or amarnthus create an interesting and dramatic arrangement.

Ask the experts those all-important questions

Lasting, natural-looking beauty is more achievable than you might think…

Juggling a demanding career, busy family and hectic social life can leave its mark –  yet some A-listers manage to look better in their forties than they did in their twenties.

Well, many of those in the know are seemingly defying the laws of nature with a little help from Juvéderm's range of facial fillers, plus the expertise and advice of leading professional aesthetic practitioners.

That's why we surveyed our readers to the five most common questions you want answered…

How do fillers work? 
Facial fillers are made from hyaluronic acid gel which, when injected beneath the skin, helps to replace lost volume and fill lines. They can also be used to shape and contour your face, and the patented technology of Juvéderm fillers means that they blend with the tissues beneath your skin to achieve natural-looking results.

What makes an A-list practitioner?
It's important to find a qualified medical aesthetic practitioner to perform the treatment. These professionals don't just use technical skill and medical expertise to give you the most beautiful possible version of your face – your practitioner needs to be an artist, too.

'The artistry is a very important part of the job,' says expert surgeon and global beauty lecturer Dr Jonquille Chantrey. 'It's vital to fully understand a patient's wishes and to be sympathetic to their individual character. From a technical perspective, that is where an artist's skill is needed, to restore and enhance their natural beauty.'

Will my face look 'frozen' afterwards?
No. Juvéderm facial fillers are designed to keep you looking like yourself – whether you're smiling, laughing or frowning. Your practitioner will likely look at your face while it's still and moving to provide a bespoke treatment plan.

How soon can I return to my routine?
Some swelling or redness may be experienced directly after the treatment, but most patients return to their normal day-to-day activities within hours, depending on the product used and treatment received. Your practitioner will be able to advise on any specific concerns you may have.

How do I find out what my options are?
If you've been wondering about facial fillers, the only way to know if they are right for you is to have a conversation with an expert.

The Top Beauty Trends from NYFW's Fall 2018 Shows

Fashion week isn't just about the clothes. The runways are also a preview of all of the hair and makeup trends you're going to see everywhere next season.

If New York Fashion Week's Fall 2018 shows are any indication, next season's makeup is all about the eyes. The gold glitter at Ulla Johnson and smudgy smoky eyes at Tom Ford are both ways you're going to replace your black liquid eyeliner come fall. As for hair, expect wave spray to still be one of your most-used hair products. Beachy, undone waves were all over the runways including Creatures of Comfort.

Here, we've rounded up the biggest Fall 2018 beauty trends from the NYFW runways.

1. Ulla Johnson
THE LOOK: Black liquid eyeliner was replaced with gold glitter, and paired with romantic braided updos. Lead stylist Esther Langham for amika sprayed the brand's Un.Done Volume and Matte Texture Spray ($24; saksfifthavenue.com) throughout the models' hair for added body and texture before braiding it and pinning it up.

2. Tom Ford
THE LOOK: Further proof that the ‘80s are back: the wide leather and lurex headbands the models wore at Tom Ford. Orlando Pita styled their hair in messy textured updos that were held together by bobby pins and the retro hair accessory. As for the makeup, black eyeshadow was haloed and smudged around models like Kaia Gerber’s eyes.

3. Adam Selman
THE LOOK: The '80s and early '00s met at Adam Selman. Hair was styled in "wet look" side-swept bangs, and graphic cat eyes were accessorized with swipes of neon blue eyeshadow.

4. Creatures of Comfort
THE LOOK: Wash-and-go hair, aka your go-to look on weekday mornings. TRESemmé global stylist Justine Marjan let the models' hair air dry or used a diffuser if needed. She locked in their natural textures with TRESemmé's Compressed Micro-Mist Hair Spray Hold Level 4: Extend.

5. Jeremy Scott
THE LOOK: According to Jeremy Scott, everyone in the year 3000 will have a neon bob with blunt bangs and negative space cat eyes. Ghd fashion week ambassador Eugene Souleiman straightened the models' wigs with ghd's Gold Professional Platinum Styler.

The 7 Most Popular Nail Colors This Year

We’re never ones to let the cold weather get us down, especially when the whole wide world of beauty is designed to keep you feeling fabulous year-round. In our opinion, one of the easiest ways to keep your look on point is to give your nails a little extra love, especially with how drying the cold air can be. So we decided to consult one of the top nail artists in the business for some 2018 shade inspiration—Miss Pop herself! She filled us on in the seven colors everyone will be rocking this season, in a range of prices and finishes, plus a few application tips to take your manicure to the next level.

“This winter, I’ve been in seasonal shade denial,” she told us. “As the temperature has dipped and NYC has turned into a tundra, I’ve gravitated towards spring classics. I’ve been mostly painting pastels like pink, lavender, and powder blue with added iridescent sparkle, glitter, and shimmer. If the cold makes me want to stay inside, these glitzy tips make me want to hit the town...and whatever light I can find.”

10 Tricks Every Girl Should Know

All of us have occasionally fallen victim to the scourge known as the unflattering photo—and in our current social media-obsessed world, not knowing how to pose for pictures simply isn't an option. Even if we're completely satisfied with the way we look in the mirror, a truly bad picture can harness a power so strong that we often find ourselves miserable for days. Figuring out all of our best poses and angles can be a lifesaver.

That said—in the interest of never taking a shitty photo again—here's a quick tutorial on how to pose for pictures, with 10 tricks every girl should know.

1. Use your tongue 

This is one of best tricks out there—and the weirdest. It might feel strange, but by pressing your tongue on the roof of your mouth while smiling is an effective way to help avoid the dreaded double chin, as it elongates your neck and your jawline. We've tried it, and it works! It also works for Heidi Klum and Renee Zellweger, who are fans of this trick.

2. Angle your face

Unless you're being snapped by a professional portrait photographer, it's key to avoid direct head-on shots. Why? Because there'll be an absence of shadows, which could make your face look wider, larger, or slightly discolored. Instead, stand slightly sideways and tilt your chin a little bit upward or a tad downward. From there, be sure to look at something just above your natural line of sight.

3. Twist your body and position your arms

Ah, the old red carpet trick: Position your body 45 degrees and put the arm closest to the camera on your hip. Then plant one foot slightly in front of the other, point your toe to the camera and place your weight on your back leg.

Ever wonder why every celebrity poses with her camera-facing arm on her hip? It's because that particular move ensures that her upper arm isn't smooshed against her body making it look flattened (read: larger). If you find the hand-on-hip pose to be a bit forced, try holding your arms out from your sides ever so slightly.

4. Cross your ankles

If you're being shot head-on (maybe for a street style snap?) cross your legs, starting at the calf. This stance will make your hips look narrower and your legs look longer, plus it looks a bit more casual. It's worth noting that the pose also works when you're sitting. Although it's always preferable to stand in pictures, if you happen to be on a chair or a couch when someone comes at you with a camera, sit up straight and cross your legs at the ankles. It'll be more flattering than not doing anything with those stems.

5. Don't follow the group

The key to a stellar group shot? Not all doing the same pose. Not only is that hokey (hello, standing in height order on prom night) but everyone is shaped differently, so the viewer's eye will naturally gravitate to who looks best in the pose, not the picture. Instead, be sure to stand comfortably without mimicking the people directly next to you.

6. Learn to smile for the camera

Smiling is a tricky thing when it comes to photos. Too big, and you look silly, but none at all can make you look broody or angry. The solution? The 'natural' smile you so often do when the camera's not on you.

Smiling too wide on purpose will cause your face to tense up, your eyes to squint, and your cheeks to puff out, which aren't the benchmarks of an attractive photo. Instead, take a beat to relax your face and open your mouth  slightly, so that your lower lip matches the curve of your upper teeth. This is universally flattering, and allows you to decide how much teeth you want to show. Not a fan of smiling with teeth? Learn to smize (smile with your eyes, for the non-Tyra followers).

One thing to note: When you smile naturally, the area around your eyes tends to crease a bit, which reads as much more sincere than stiffly smiling just with your mouth.

Gwynnie Bee Partners with Nicole Miller Artelier on a Holiday Perfect Collection

Just in time for the holiday season, Gwynnie Bee and Nicole Miller Artelier have teamed up to bring us a beautifully executed 5-piece capsule collection for curvy women.

Gwynnie Bee, a popular clothes rental site for curvy women, has curated some incredible past collections with designers such as Jay Godfrey and Tracy Reese, so we can expect nothing short of stellar on the latest collaboration with Miller. And the timing couldn't be better, as calenders are beginning to fill with numerous holiday functions like the office holiday party. These dresses are the perfect items to dazzle in yet still have classic shapes for work.

1. V-Neck Hadley Dress

You can never go wrong with a LBD. This streamlined version looks amazing on all shapes and can transform with statement jewelry and strappy sandals.

2. V-Neck Asymmetrical Dress

A bit of sparkle is holiday perfect! This is a subtle version of a glitter dress, if you're not big on beading.

How to achieve the perfect nude lipstick look

A variety of shades, from chestnut to peachy, can work as nudes. Here's how to pick the tones that work with your complexion, plus practical tips to help you blend and define

Finding the right shade of nude lipstick can be tricky, especially if you have a deeper complexion. It might be a case of ignoring the pinks in favour of the browns. So spend a little bit of time understanding the different tones and how they work with your complexion and you should soon be able to master the nude lips look.

Here are a few different nudes that I find work well for my skin tone (colours shown in the order they are listed below):

E.l.f. Cosmetics Blushing Brown (via Superdrug, £4.50) – a warm brown tone with a satin finish, perfect for a really natural look.

Kat Von D Lolita ll (via Debenhams, £17) – a deeper, warm-toned pink with a super matte finish.

Huda Beauty Trendsetter (via Selfridges, £18) – a peachy tone with a matte finish that works amazingly with a deep brown lip liner.

Buxom Cosmetics Instigator (via Debenhams, £15) – mauve tone liquid lipstick with a creamy matte finish.

Nip+Fab Marshmallow (via Superdrug, £7.95) – a pure liquid lipstick with a pale pink tone, great for an ombré look when mixed with a brown lip liner.

MAC Cosmetics Chestnut lip liner (via MAC Cosmetics) – pure brown lip liner with a cool tone that is perfect as a match for every nude lipstick.

Once you find out which tones work for you, play about with the products and experiment to see how you can get the most out of each colour. Here is how I do it:

Step one
Priming your lips before applying anything else is essential if you want a longer-lasting colour. My favourite is Inglot Cosmetics lip primer (via Inglot, £9), as it moisturises my lips so they still feel soft and creamy even with a matte lipstick.

Step two
A step often skipped is applying lip liner. However, a deep-brown lip liner works wonders when paired with any nude shade of lipstick for deeper skin tones, as it creates natural shadows that allow the lip colour to blend into your skin without any harsh differences. Even for fair or light complexions, a lip liner that is a shade darker will allow the lip colour to blend more effortlessly. I love the MAC cosmetics lip liner in the Chestnut shade (via Mac Cosmetics, £13), as it is a cool-toned deep brown, giving perfect definition.

Step three
Complete your look by applying your favourite shade of nude lipstick in the centre of your lips and blending it out into your lip liner. This will give the illusion of a natural shadow and highlight on your lips that blends to your skin complexion a lot better. My favourite shade of nude for everyday is the Buxom Cosmetics wildly whipped liquid lipstick in the colour Instigator (via Debenhams, £15). This is a mauve-toned pink that looks near-nude on deeper skin complexions while also adding a subtle hint of colour.

It's always good to try different colours and don't feel as if you should stick to one shade; everyone will have various shades – from chestnut to peachy – that can work as nudes. Just explore and see which tones suit your complexion best.

The best summery nails

For someone whose nails are almost never unpainted, I'm decidedly unadventurous. With the best of intentions, I'll lustily examine all the beautiful, bright, multi-finish colours on the manicurist's sample fob, or in my bedroom drawer, and invariably plump for some variation on red.

But summer is a time to take stock and embrace lightness and, being ever suggestible and fearful of missing out, I've been seduced by the multichrome nail polishes (that shift between shades under light) on Pinterest. Opaque multichromes are fiddly and heavy-looking, but the sheerer versions suit my current mood down to the ground, since they're the closest I can comfortably get to following the new no-polish craze extolled by the fashion crowd. (It's about showing how healthy one's nails and cuticles are, without the suspicious camouflage, apparently. The wellness bores can prise the lacquer bottle from my cold, dead, imperfect hands.)

With a sheer multichrome, you get a peep of what lies naturally beneath without sacrificing all colour and prettiness – and unlike traditional pastels (which I avoid at all costs), they don't look at all bridal. Zoya's Monet (£9.95) is an almost clear, cruelty-free polish with mirrored pink and blue particles that remain largely invisible until they catch the light, when nails become a clear lilac. I love it alone, but the glitter is sparse, so you may prefer it as a topcoat, or worn over gel polish such as CND Shellac to relieve boredom and conceal wear and tear between monthly changeovers (always ensure you use non-acetone remover, so gels beneath stay intact).

When glitter feels too childlike and unsophisticated, I opt for OPI's Significant Other (£7.95), which gives a smooth, shimmery, silver-lavender finish that's like catnip for beauty fans – I receive compliments at every wearing (which, with hands like mine, is remarkable). As a bonus, the semi-transparency of iridescent polish makes the inevitable chips harder for the naked eye to spot, so you can more safely use cheap lacquer.

My best buy, however, are Primark's Prism Holographic Nail Polishes, which, despite their name, are not holographic, but multichrome, though at £1.50 a bottle (in store only), I shouldn't nitpick. One, 2 Cute For You (beautiful polish, nauseating name), is a pearly-white with a surprisingly skin-flattering purple reflection that looks fabulous alone for a subtle, summery gleam.

For healthy and beautiful nails, get rid of these 6 bad nail habits right now!

Perhaps, you have been determined to peeling off your nail polish or stop biting your nails. However, in-spite of tall that determination, you invariable end up doing it. Apart from nail biting and peeling off polish, there are several other bad things you maybe doing to your nails unintentionally. If your aim is to have healthy and beautiful nails, yo must immediately put a stop to these 5 bad habits.  Once you stop these, your nail will always and forever be in a good, healthy shape. So here is what you need to stop right now!

1. You should never cut your cuticles

Even if you there is a small piece of hang nail on the side, you should never cut it off. Stead you could use a cuticle remover. Apply the remover and just press it back to the skin. You should push the cuticle with a cuticle pusher. After this you can slowly remove the hang nail.

2. Never peel of nail polish with your fingers

This is possible one of the worst things you could do to your nails. Never peel off your nail polish with your fingers, however tempted you are. Always use a nail polish remover. Take a small portion of remover on a cotton and press the cotton on your nails for few seconds before you wipe it off.

3.  Never forget to apply the base coat first

If you want to have a smooth and long lasting nail polish, always apply the base coat. This will help your nail polish to stay longer and also it prevents your nail from staining that some nail polish give.

4. File your nails in one direction

Filing your nails back and forth is what most people do. However, what you do not know is that it will ruin your nails and will lead to breakage.

5. And never bite your nails

This is one addictive habit that most people find difficulty in getting rid of. However, you should stop doing this.  It will weaken your nails, give infections causes all the bacteria to go into your mouth and several more. If you have grown nails, just cu tit with a nail cutter.

6. Avoid going off to sleep after putting nail polish

Even if your nail polish seems semi dry, you should never go off to sleep after applying nail polish. Because after you wake up, chances are you will find the prints of your bed sheet and your nails will look horrible.

Three women making their mark on the beauty market

Marcia Kilgore: 'Instead of luxury labels, what people want to portray is their own brand'

Marcia Kilgore was watching telly when she had the idea. "I thought, what about Netflix but for beauty – so everyone could get a bigger piece of the beauty pie?" The woman behind Bliss Spas, FitFlops and Soap & Glory, Kilgore has long been renowned for "disrupting" the industry, but this project threatened to go even further, toppling it on its side, skidding into a hedge.

I'd heard a rumour that Kilgore's new venture was such a threat to established beauty brands that she'd received death threats. She chuckles. "There's room for us and for them. After all, Netflix exists, but people still go to the cinema, right?"

This is how Beauty Pie works: you pay £10 a month for membership, and then you can purchase its carefully curated collection of make-up and skincare at factory prices. So, that's £20 lipsticks for £2.24, excellent foundation (in Armani-esque bottles) for £4.75, and the new "Super-Eye Energy Peptide Infusion Cream" for £5.65. The pricing is totally transparent, and the products are comparable to those in the fanciest beauty halls.

As Beauty Pie nears its first anniversary, now with tens of thousands of members, Kilgore says the key to its success lies in the "personal brand". Rather than define themselves through designer labels, she says: "What people really want to portray is their own brand."

Only a fraction of the cost of a luxury product is the product itself. The rest is what Kilgore calls LMAO, or "Landfill Marketing and Overheads." Kilgore spends days at cosmetics factories: one will produce a perfect lipstick, at another she knows a product mixer who specialises in foundation. "You become quite elitist in terms of the quality. If something doesn't have good colour payoff or the pencil is a bit too dry, I reject them."

Of the luxury brands, she says, her voice dropping a little, 95% buy the same products she does, tweaking the colours slightly, whacking it in their own packaging and adding a few zeroes to the price – often 30 times the price it costs to make. "We had this skin brush from Korea, a rechargeable one in soft-touch rubber, for £18," Kilgore says. "In shops it would be more than £80. I've seen things like it in the airport for £300." Is there a company she finds particularly disingenuous? She puts her hand over the tape recorder and mouths the name of a brand whose moisturisers sell for £200, and whose formulations can be found for a 10th of that through Beauty Pie.

Ozohu Adoh: 'The luxury market was not meeting the needs of women of colour'

This year Ozohu Adoh, a Nigerian-born ex-accountant, launched Epara, the first luxury beauty brand specifically targeting women of colour. The line has already been bought by Harrods, which knows its audience: in 2015, says Adoh, every £1 in £3 spent in the store was by a Nigerian.

It began by accident. "I had excessive dry skin on my face. I tried all the luxury skincare brands and they just didn't work." She researched ingredients, making her own concoctions using mainly oils. "It took several iterations before I got something that worked," says Adoh. When her skin cleared up "friends started to ask me for this thing in a nondescript jar." That was three years ago. She has since developed a line including cleansers, a mask, serums and eye cream. Many of her ingredients, such as marula and moringa oils, and mango butter, are found on African soil. "I want to take them mainstream," she says.

Some have asked why women of colour need their own skincare line. "The market was not addressing our needs," says Adoh. "Due to higher levels of melanin, typical problems present differently in darker skin tones. Uneven skin tone caused by hormonal issues or acne scarring can take much longer to heal."

Tricia Cusden: 'Society hasn't yet come to terms with the fact that we're living longer'

"The beauty industry assumes we are all engaged in an anti-ageing battle," says an emphatic Tricia Cusden, the 70-year-old founder of mature make-up brand Look Fabulous Forever. "I am determined to change this."

Cusden, a former management consultant from south London, has a "pro-ageing" attitude to beauty. She launched Look Fabulous Forever in 2013, "after wasting £50 on products meant for skin a lot younger than mine" and becoming "increasingly exercised" by the "insulting" rhetoric around older women and their beauty routine. Cusden's mission was two-fold: create products and imagery that were "honest, featuring women over the age of 55"; and to use "positive language, to represent ageing as something to embrace, not to fight against"...

The battle to end the world's obsession with lighter skin

"It starts when children are young: the moment a child is born, relatives start comparing siblings' skin colour. It starts in your own family – but people don't want to talk about it openly."

Kavitha Emmanuel is the founder of Women of Worth, an Indian NGO that is standing up to bias toward lighter skin. The Dark Is Beautiful campaign, launched in 2009, is not "anti-white", she says, but about inclusivity – beauty beyond colour. It carries celebrity endorsement, most notably from the Bollywood actor Nandita Das, and provides a forum for people to share their personal stories of skin colour bias.

The campaign runs media literacy workshops and advocacy programmes in schools to counteract colour bias. Emmanuel says this even occurs in school textbooks, where a picture of a fair-skinned girl might be labelled "beautiful" and a darker one "ugly".

"Some children are really shocked that this affects them so intensely," Emmanuel says. "Some are in tears [during the workshops]."

A perfect life from perfect skin – but only for those of the right shade – is the message and mindset that's being passed down. This has spawned a multibillion-dollar industry in cosmetic creams and invasive procedures such as skin bleaching, chemical peels, laser treatments, steroid cocktails, "whitening" pills and intravenous injections – all with varying effectiveness and health risks. It's more than a bias, it's a dangerous cultural obsession.

Multinational cosmetics brands have found a lucrative market: global spending on skin lightening is projected to triple to $31.2bn (£24bn) by 2024, according to a report released in June 2017 by the research firm Global Industry Analysts. The driving force, it says, is "the still rampant darker skin stigma, and rigid cultural perception that correlates lighter skin tone with beauty and personal success".

"This is not bias. This is racism," says Sunil Bhatia, a professor of human development at Connecticut College. Bhatia recently wrote in US News & World Report about deep-rooted internalised racism and social hierarchies based on skin colour.

In India, these were codified in the caste system, the ancient Hindu classification in which birth determined occupation and social stratum. At the top, Brahmins were priests and intellectuals; at the bottom, outcastes were confined to the least-desired jobs such as latrine cleaners. Bhatia says caste may have been about more than just occupation: the darker you looked, the lower your place in the social hierarchy.

Fair skin bias was perpetuated and strongly reinforced by colonialism, not just in India but in dozens of countries ruled by a European power. It's the idea that the ruler is fair-skinned, says Emmanuel: "All around the world, it was a fact that the rich could stay indoors versus the poor who worked outside and were dark-skinned."

Now globalisation is spreading the bias. "There is an interesting whiteness travelling from the US to shopping malls in other countries, featuring white models," Bhatia says. "You can trace a line from colonialism, post-colonialism and globalisation."

Western beauty ideals, including fair skin, dominate worldwide. And with these ideals come products to service them. In Nigeria, 77% of the country's women use skin-lightening agents; in Togo, 59%. But the largest and fastest-growing markets are in the Asia-Pacific region. In India, a typical supermarket will have a wall of personal care products featuring "whitening" moisturiser or "lightening" body creams from wellknown brands.

How to do the perfect winged eyeliner

We all have good eyeliner days and bad eyeliner days; times where made-up eyes do not even look like friends, let alone sisters. But for me, it's worth experimenting to find a swoosh that suits your eye shape, – and one that you can replicate symmetrically – because there's nothing like winged liner to complete a look. Practice makes perfect. Here's how I do mine – using the best liner I've found, the Marc Jacobs Magic Marc'er liquid eyeliner pen in Blacquer. I find pen eyeliners a little easier to contol than brushes, so if you are new to winged eyeliner, this magic Marc'er might just become your new best friend.

Step 1

I begin with simple eyeshadow as a base to complement the eyeliner. I love improvising with makeup, so I often use a blusher palette as eyeshadow. Sleek Blush By 3 palette in Flame works wonders for this; it has just as much pigment as a standard eyeshadow palette. After that, I sketch out the liner by drawing a short line from the outer corner of the eye, as though following the curve of the lower lash line.

Step 2

Draw a line all the way across the upper eyelid, from the tear duct to the outer edge of the lower line. It helps if you pull the eye from the corner a little, to flatten the skin, so the liner goes on smoothly.

Step 3

Fill in the gaps between the outer point of the liner and the lash line, ensuring that you don't leave any empty spaces.

Step 4

Add the final finishing touches to your look. I love a good highlight on my tear duct and brow bone, so I've used the Sleek highlight palette in Cleopatra's Kiss. Feel free to customise your eyeliner any way you like; don't be afraid to take the line thicker, or to make it thinner, to suit your eye shape. I've finished the look with a pair of my current favourite lashes by Huda Beauty in the Noelle style ; I love their Samantha style, too, which gives a pretty, wispy effect.

How to make your skin glow

There are many sad things about coming back from holidays. For one, it's the beginning of the end for that glowy skin you only get after about a week away from your desk and in the fresh air. But with a little prep and a bit of shimmer, you can fake that dewy look all year. Here is how I do it.

Step one

Prepping your skin is the most essential part of this process. I use exfoliators and pore-cleansing masks as part of my regular routine, which helps other products sink into my skin easily. My favourite is NSPA's glow mud mask. I also use a combination smoothing lightweight emulsion moisturiser, which adds loads of dewiness but has a lightweight texture that feels comfortable on the skin.

Step two

Apply a liquid illuminator all over your face as a base. I like the Buxom Cosmetics liquid highlighter in Divine Goddess for a really subtle "wet skin" glow.

Step three

I use a Real Techniques sponge to blend my foundation properly without leaving too much excess on my face. My favourite for a natural dewy look is the Bare Minerals bare skin foundation in the colour Walnut.

Step four

I use concealer under my eyes, down my nose, and on the centre of my chin, which brightens the places the sunlight naturally hits my face. Decide where to put your concealer depending on your face shape. I use Too Faced born this way concealer in Medium tan, which stays dewy even when it has been set with powder. I use pressed transluscent powder, rather than loose, such as Inglot Cosmetics HD pressed powder in shade 404.

Step five

For extra glow I add a light contour to my cheeks using the Buxom Cosmetics hot escapes bronzer in the shade Maldives. To bring back warmth to my skin, I add a touch of blusher, then complete by dusting a shimmery golden highlight on the highest point of my cheekbone, and the tip of my nose. Focus this shimmery highlight on the areas you want to enhance and bring forward. I love to use the Nip+Fab travel palette in Medium/Dark 2 which has the contour, blush and highlight in one.

Step six

Finally, add a little bit of a shimmery lip gloss to compliment your dewy skin. I am using the Buxom cosmetics lip polish in Sugar on top of my Nip+Fab lip liner in Espresso.

How many microbeads is a clean face worth?

Put down that facial scrub and exfoliating body wash.

You may not realize it, but if you use these types of products, you may be releasing as many as 94,500 tiny plastic beads into the environment with every wash.

Experts at the U.K.'s Plymouth University recently decided to figure out just how many microbeads get washed down the drains everyday — and the numbers they found were staggering.

Richard Thompson, a professor of marine biology at Plymouth, found that a single wash may contain as many as 94,500 microbeads. An entire tube could hold upwards of 2.8 million of them, and once used, they are all destined to make their way into the world's rivers and oceans.

Personal care products that use tiny exfoliators usually contain microbeads, the industry term for the miniscule plastic balls that provide a scrubbing action in everything from toothpastes to body washes. The beads are designed to wash down the drain and take dirt and oils with them. But the problem is that once in the drain, they make their way into waterways and may poison marine animals that mistake them for food.

The beads ranged in size from 0.01mm up to 1mm. "Their size means they can pass through sewage treatment screens and be discharged into rivers and oceans," Thompson told The Sunday Times.

They may also be combined into a sewage sludge, which is sometimes spread onto farmland.

You won't believe these insane Easter bonnets that people actually wear

When you think of an Easter bonnet, what comes to mind? Perhaps a woven white or tan hat with a soft dome shape on top, a not-too-stiff brim and maybe ribbons or small flowers in pastel colors for decoration.

It's probably safe to say you don't imagine a heavy, four-foot-tall headdress packed with brightly colored wrapped Easter presents, Peeps or plastic butterflies.

But if you've ever been to Fifth Avenue in New York City on Easter, that's exactly what you'd see. In an annual tradition that dates back to the 1870s, "celebrants don festive finery and show off their very best bonnets" for the Easter Bonnet Parade on NYC's most fashionable thoroughfare.

The headgear that makes an appearance on this day can be elegant, wild, Easter-related or not at all connected to the holiday. Yet the level of outlandishness rivals even that of other "huge hat holidays," such as the Royal Ascot or Kentucky Derby.

Check out some of the eye-popping creations from previous Easter bonnet parades that make this stuffed-rabbit-in-a-basket-with-ducks monstrosity (above) seem tame in comparison.

Believe it or not, we're starting off on the more subdued end of the spectrum. This woman looks lovely in a soft yellow paper-and-butterfly-topped hat with a dramatic dip in the back.

Lest you assume Easter hats are just for women and girls, think again. Gentlemen of all ages and their furry companions get in on the fun with costumes to match what's on their heads.

Seriously her hat is as big as she is. How is she not falling over?

Peeps are to Easter what candy canes are to Christmas. The difference is that Peeps are disgusting, so why not glue them to a hat? They're practically inedible anyway.

No Easter-themed decoration is off-limits. So if you want to raid your local Target for baskets, eggs and tacky cardboard bunny decorations and assemble them on top of your head, go for it.

This bearded, tattooed man proudly sports plastic neon flying pigs in a San Francisco park for an Easter hat competition.

This parade reveler seems to have obstructed viewing thanks to the pile of presents on her noggin. Meanwhile the child next to her stays warm in a fuzzy (and reasonably sized) blue floral Easter hat.

The bright sunshine seems to be growing the giant flowers on the top of this hat while we watch.

Upside-down Easter baskets are a common choice for the base of these bonnets. However, this one looks more suited to be a table centerpiece than a headpiece.

A forsythia-and-cornucopia-inspired yellow Easter bonnet channeled the spring sunshine even when the temperature wasn't bringing the warmth.

You've heard the term carrot top, right? This foursome who donned giant carrots give the phrase a whole new meaning. Maybe some of the giant bunnies in the other hats can have a snack.

Not sure what's in the hat, but it's colorful and just adorable framing her smiling face. Happy Easter!