Hi everyone! Happy holidays! I'm trying something new for y'all and having some of my amazing and talented friends post on the things that I believe they are experts on. First up is Sparrow Fox of Sparrow Beauty Artistry. If you'll remember, Sparrow was my key Make-up/Hair Artist for Queerture. For this post, Sparrow will bring her knowledge of beauty and give you some fun tips and tricks for surviving the holiday party season. I would love to know what you think, leave us some comments and let us know! xo -laura luna
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Chances are pretty good that you've got at least one holiday party to go to this year, and unless you start doing this:
You're bound to end up like this:
I want more for you dear lesbians, queer girls, transgirls, drag queens, friends and allies. Much much more.
Have no fear, as long as you savor every word that I write in this post, you can have a naturally amped up holiday look that will turn his OR her OR hir OR hys or....you get the idea - you're going to look smashing!
Let's start with your tresses. Because we all know that you're past this:
Those glorious tresses that you abuse all year long and then neglect when December rolls around because the holidays are expensive...here's how you can can get sleek, glamourous looks that will carry you through the many late nights of Chanukah all the way through to Auld Lang Syne.
DO keep your appointment with your stylist this month and by all means get a COLOR GLOSS (like
Redken Shades)! It's like your hair to the power of a thousand and it's usually pretty affordable. Lets face it - winter hair can be
super dull. These demipermanent colors won't leave re-growth lines, and will just fade away over a period 4-6 weeks. They make your hair shiny, scrumptious and just DIVINE looking - gets rid of that tired dry look that you're always trying to avoid by slathering on the shine serum - yes, I'm looking at you, YOU with every single brand of shine serum available. You can get a color gloss in your natural shade and it will intensify and glossify your hair, giving it more lustre and giving it the appearance and FEEL of health! This is a fantastic foundation for what's next! Hot colors this season are spicy browns, coppery reds, chocolatey blue browns and warm honey blondes.
Are you Mad Men'd out yet?
It's true, those vintage inspired looks are still going strong. But here's my suggestion - take the idea and structure behind them and modernize them a bit!
These are no longer your grandma's up-dos! Create a classic chignon and mess it up a bit. Veronica Lake waves are always nice, but add one single tiny rhinestone pin in there and you've updated the look a bit. And here's the thing: keep it asymmetrical, girls. You only wear barrettes or hair pins on both sides when you're 12. After that it's....embarrassing (kind of like pig-tails).
If the 40's - 60's looks aren't your thing, get ready for this! Because what I'm also seeing a lot of is big blown out hair - think late 70's to early 90's. Get your glam 70's disco curls and tease some life into them. Your New Years Eve looks this year should be big, soft, curled, blown out - don't be afraid of the volume, embrace it.
If volume isn't your thing, smooth your locks down and flat iron the length, pair it with an
Alphonse Mucha inspired headband for a vintage touch that can take you back to the hippie/glam 70's (think Stevie Nicks as the white witch).
And we can't get through
anything these days without
somebody talking about BANGS. To be specific, Zooey Deschanel bangs.
Lezbehonest girls,
nobody has more control over her bangs than Zooey D - right?
GET THEM. They look good on pretty much everyone - it just depends on how they're cut. Break up your All One Length hair that you've had for the past 5 years and get some bangs now - while they're still hot!
If you have a tendency toward frizziness - let's deal with that.
Davine's makes an anti-humidity frizz fighter called Defining Relaxing Fluid (you can find it online from $15-25). That'll do the trick for you. You can wear your curls, your pony tails, your big blow outs and resist all that damp winter air that just wrecks even the best party 'do.
If you're a short-haired girl there are two ways you probably go - girly or not so girly, right? Well, girly-girls, get a rhinestone clip, change your hair color, wear a headband - but same rules apply - simple! If you are less girly, downright tomboyish, butch, however you roll - just get your hair cut - don't skip your December appointment with your stylist - don't be shaggy. Unless you're going for shaggy, of course, then .... well!
What's up Shane McCutcheon.....
Just remember that when you're doing your hair - keep it simple and keep it clean, and keep it
YOU. Be comfortable. Because if you usually have long dark brown hair and you suddenly decide to dip dye the ends in a flourescent color and cut bangs....you might find yourself feeling very uncomfortable and not yourself - which is the WORST for parties. The holidays are hard enough, be good to yourself.
um, MAKEUP!
The best part of the holidays is the amount of glitter you can get away with. I'm lucky - as a stylist, I'm in salon full time and so theoretically, I can wear glitter eyeshadow every single day that I work and no one even bats a lash, and clients kind of expect me to do wacky shit like that. But I know you office girls and corporate power women aren't as likely to get away with that kind of daring-do. Thank
goodness holiday parties have come to rescue you from the land of BEIGE EYESHADOW! Now you can add dashes of glimmer, glitter and sparkle to your makeup wardrobe. Create classy, classic looks and add some complimentary bling to really up the ante! This will for sure get you noticed as you make the rounds this holiday season!
Let's start with what's showing up on runways and in our beloved fashion magazines: COLOR. I don't care what "color" your beautiful skin is - you are wearing
COLOR this season. Let's start with your mouth -
because it's my favorite.
Get ready to bust out your red lips, ladies. Bright red kissable lips are where it's at, and there is a shade of red for every single human that
would wear red. From opaque to sheer get that red on your kisser - stat.
Here is a short list of my most favorite reds:
Mark Kissink Lip Tintmarker in RED SIREN. This is cool because it is a highly pigmented, smudge proof product that you can layer under your lipstick or gloss for more staying power!
Lancôme Le Rouge Absolue in Jezebel $29 (looks great on everyone, super creamy)
MAC Ruby Woo $15 (for the vintage lovers - this is a super hot vintage MATTE red)
DuWop Venom in Twilight Stain $16 - ok. This is a Twilight Vampire themed item, but still. It's so AWESOME. and it makes your lips plump up and looks super cool in the tube. It's sexy. So.
Alternatives to true reds are the glittery berry toned glosses, Laura Mercier makes some great shades in small pocket size glosses that will fit into your holiday clutches! Check
Sephora.com for these this year. You want something truly bad ass? Check out this little kit from Bobbi Brown! It's called
Party to Go. I mean,
really. You get gloss, 2 creamy lip colors, three shadows and the case is smaller than a business card (fits in your clutch! Takes up less space than those Capri cigarettes you keep pretending you don't have!)!!! It's too cute! Especially for $25 at
Bobbi Brown Online.
The best part about the red lip? It's a one stop effort to change you from office daily to party ready; and everyone knows that red lips mean
business.
EYES!
Your eyes are the window to your soul, and your soul is clearly that of a glitter laden drag queen. Right? Oh, just me? Ok well, just in case here are some fun tips for your eyes! Get some kind of bright color that is just irresistable to you. Follow these steps:
1. Line your upper lid with an eyeliner color similar to your shadow. Make the line thicker at the edges and smudge those edges with a small brush on the inner corner.
2. Apply your bright shadow from your lash line up to the ocular bone crease
3. Reapply your liner along the lash line for definition
4. Finish with a heavy application of mascara.
(PS: Stop it with the black smoky eye. It's boring. When did we get so afraid of color?)The great thing about this tip is that you can do this with a heavy shimmer or super fine glitter eyeshadow - and if you are a woman of color, GET THIS LOOK NOW. You lucky girls with your beautiful skin tones can wear an abundance of color and also metallics! Just don't forget your heavy mascara application, and you can also line the water line of your eye with a waterproof liner such as
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack - which happens to be my favorite. You put it on and it stays on. Italian Vogue recently showcased bright colors that women of color are rocking and girls! Don't forget your cheekbones! Highlight those babies with a shimmer powder of some kind!
Actually. While we're talking about areas to highlight: Don't forget to highlight
all your highlights.
Lesbians, you're going to want to pay attention here: Urban Decay makes a delightful little treat that you or your woman can apply all over your/her/hir/his/hys/etc body. Urban Decay Marshmallow Sparkling
LICKABLE body powder is worth the $20 and worth the trip to Sephora or
Sephora.com. Trust me. It's pretty. It smells delicious and you can lick it
right off her body. Tell me you can think of a better holiday treat? I can't.
Let's discuss the
Face Stockholm Galaxy Glitters. At only $18 each you can get a couple of colors to get you through the new year. These can be used over eyeliners to create a glitter liner, you can use them on your entire lid, you can affix just a dot near your eye (like a gem) using some lash glue OR you can (wait for it) apply them over your lipstick. Glitters are God as far as I'm concerned when it comes to makeup. You can do so much (and so little) with them that really creates a fun impact!
Finish off those eyes with some false lashes if you must
but tone it down a bit - cut your false lash down a bit so you don't get that stripper strip lash look and then apply Lancôme
Hypnôse Doll Lashes Mascara. This mascara creates a flirtatious look - gives you a super shiny lengthy look that is also super thick & sexy. And who doesn't love some bedroom eyes?
That concludes our walk through the winter wonderland of beauty. You're going to have so much fun this year at all of your parties! Don't forget to have a glass of champagne, throw some glitter on your face, wear some heels and especially don't forget to kiss someone at midnight on New Years Eve. You don't want those red lips going to waste in 2012, do you?
Sparrow Fox is a makeup artist and hairstylist based in Southern California. She's obsessed with glitter, her chihuahua ChaCha, and shopping for cosmetics online. You can find her on Facebook here.
