FASHION + BEAUTY
The beauty beat
2017
THE PACE AT WHICH THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY EVOLVES JUST SEEMS TO QUICKEN YEAR UPON YEAR ; no sooner are we getting used to supersonic hair straighteners ironing out our pin-straight tresses than we ’ re told it ’ s all about beach-ready bed hair ( or something equally Californian and glossy sounding ). You ’ ll need to be both quick off the mark and adaptable to keep up with what ’ s hot and what ’ s not in the world of cosmetics , so we ’ ve rounded up some of the most prominent players this year . BY POLLY HUMPHRIS
Microblading
Microblading
The biggest buzz in eyebrows since Cara Delevingne made bushy ones cool , microblading is a form of skin tattooing that places pigment under your skin with a precise , handheld tool drawn in hair-like strokes to mimic the natural hairs of your brows . Brilliant for anyone who got a bit carried away in their youth , plucking with wild abandon until their brows were spindly and overarched , microblading will give you the full , shapely brows you ’ ve always wanted and lasts up to three years too .
Really ( really ) long hair
Luscious long locks à la the likes of Kim Kardashian ( love her or not , her and her ludicrously lengthy mane are * everywhere *) and the fabulous Julianne Moore , who ’ s still rocking her trademark red waves at 54 , are back with a bang this year . And actually so are long bangs – eye-length fringes are the way forward , being versatile enough to pin to the side or create more height with a quiff . Whether you want a one-length blunt cut , or a bouncy feathery tumble of curls is entirely up to you , but the longer the better is this year ’ s mantra .
Bling nails
Bling as in any form of stick-on jewellery , from little diamantes to pretty hefty gems , is what you need to be adorning your nails with this year . Doesn ’ t matter if the nail is long , short , real or acrylic , what matters is that they ’ re bejewelled – and you don ’ t have to fork out a fortune on precious stones either as you can source colourful , sparkly gems from most craft shops . To achieve the look , polish your nails as normal then stick your stone in place with either nail glue for bigger bling , or topcoat for smaller . Dry , then set with more topcoat .
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