We Love Emma Watson's New And Striking Look With Her Gold Leaf And Smokey Eye Makeup

How she has grown up! We have watched Emma grow up from a cute, fluffy-haired little schoolgirl in the first Harry Potter film (where she was admittedly a bit of a know-it-all!) into a pretty and attractive starlet who is as comfortable on the red carpet as she would be in her own home. At the New York premiere of the Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hallows Part II, Emma monopolised the red carpet in her Bottega Veneta golden dress. Although the dress is amazing, we were mostly interested in her amazing smokey, gold leaf eye makeup. We might not be able to afford the dress for this season's parties, but the eye makeup is definitely something that is attainable, and we have found out just how to create this amazing look, which would look fantastic at Christmas and New Year parties, or just anytime you get an excuse to put on some dramatic and sparkling eyes.

How To Create Emma's Gold Leaf Smokey Eye Makeup

• To start, prepare your skin using a light, natural foundation and apply over your face to give a flawless and light coverage. If you have any imperfections, use a concealer to lightly cover any shadows etc.
• Using a black eyeshadow, and a good eyeshadow blender or brush, work the shadow all over your eyelid up to the creaseline and then create a wing effect on the outer corner of your eye. You might want to dust below your eyes with loose translucent face powder before applying the black eyeshadow, as this will help you to brush away gently any eyeshadow which falls below your eyes without creating any smudges.
• Then using a black kohl eyeliner pencil, apply all along the lower lash line, smudging the eyeliner to soften the look underneath the lashes. Then apply the eyeliner to the inner edge of your lower lashes to create definition.
• Using a good black mascara, coat both your upper and lower lashes twice to add to the dramatic effect.
• Then with a gold glitter eyeshadow, which can be found in makeup collections such as Rimmel or Barry M, apply the gold eyeshadow to the inner corners of your eyelid and blend it into the inner corner of the lower lid.
• You will need some eye jewels to complete this look, and these are available at Boots, Superdrug or online, apply these to the outer corners of your eyes, following the instructions, using three or four.

• To finish off the look apply a natural peachy, pink powder blusher to the apples of your cheeks, and then blend up along your cheekbones. For your lips, apply a natural dusky pink lipstick, don't use a lipliner, but keep the colour looking natural. Relatively neutral lips are the way to go with such dramatic eyes.

The only thing to do now is to wait for your friends to be amazed when they see your new, dramatic look for the party season!

Here's How To Create The Classic 60s Brigitte Bardot Makeup Look - Its Big For This Season

This season the catwalks have been awash with sex-kitten Bardot look-alike faces. All the big fashion names have been recreating the iconic 60s look, but giving it a subtle modern twist. If you weren't around for the first time the craze for Bardot bed-head, eyeliner and nude makeup took hold of the fashion world then you have to indulge in the look this Autumn. If you need some tips on how to get the Brigitte look, read on. The look can be worn daytime or evening, and it has benefits too, such as widening and opening up your eyes with the elongated eyeliner lines and false lashes. The look creates a mixture of innocence and just a little bit of naughtiness too.

Here's How To Create Brigitte's Makeup

• Using either a light concealer or a neutral foundation apply to your complexion to cover any imperfections until you have a neutral blank canvas to work on.
• Finish off your complexion with a subtle sweep of neutral face powder, and then add a bloom of subtle peach colour over the apples of your cheeks and lightly across your cheekbones.
• Using black or grey eyeshadow sweep it across your eyelid and up to the crease. Brigitte was very much into the smokey eye look. For daytime, you can keep the eyeshadow more subtle. Whichever shade you choose, make sure you blend like crazy to ensure there are no harsh lines.
• Next, ideally using a gel or liquid black eyeliner, line your upper lash line. Bring the line out past the outer corner of your eye to create a cat-eye, winged look. Then line along your lower lash line and join the lines at the outer corner of your eye.
• Apply at least two coats of black volumising mascara to both your upper and lower lashes. If you wish, prior to applying the mascara you can add some individual false lashes to the outer edge of your upper eyelid.
• Line your lips with a nude lipliner and apply your lipstick - keep the colour to a fairly neutral peachy, pink shade.

How To Create Brigitte's Bed-Head Hair

• The trick here is to create volume. If you have wavy hair you are already off to a good start. If your hair is straight create some curls by wrapping sections of your hair around a large curling iron, or use hair straighteners to create lift and waves from the roots of your hair.
• Next section your hair from the crown of your head and back-comb your hair to add more volume.
• Spray with hairspray and let your hair set for a few minutes.
• To finish off lightly comb the back-combed hair into place. Don't comb away all your teasing, but just straighten up the top of your hair. Then use hairspray again to keep in place and either wear your hair down, or use hairgrips or pins to create a loose and messy up-do.

Here's How To Create The Classic 60s Brigitte Bardot Makeup Look - Its Big For This Season

This season the catwalks have been awash with sex-kitten Bardot look-alike faces. All of big fashion names have been recreating the iconic 60s look, but giving it a subtle modern twist. If you weren't around for the first time the craze for Bardot bed-head, eyeliner and nude makeup took hold of world then you have to indulge in the look this Autumn. If you need some tips on how to get the Brigitte look, read on. The look can be worn daytime or evening, and it has benefits too, like widening and opening up your eyes with the elongated eyeliner lines and false lashes. The look creates a mixture of innocence and just a little bit of naugtiness too.

Here's How To Create Brigitte's Makeup

• Using either a light concealer or a neutral foundation apply to your complexion to cover any imperfections until you have a neutral blank canvas to work on.
• Finish off your complexion with a subtle sweep of neutral face powder, and then add a bloom of subtle peach colour over the apples of your cheeks and lightly across your cheekbones.
• Using black or grey eyeshadow sweep it across your eyelid and up to the crease. Brigitte was very much into the smokey eye look. For daytime, you can keep the eyeshadow more subtle. Whichever shade you choose, make sure you blend like crazy to ensure there are no harsh lines.
• Next, ideally using a gel or liquid black eyeliner, line your upper lash line. Bring the line out past the outer corner of your eye to create a cat-eye, winged look. Then line along your lower lash line and join the lines at the outer corner of your eye.
• Apply at least two coats of black volumising mascara to both your upper and lower lashes. If you wish, prior to applying the mascara you can add some individual false lashes to the outer edge of your upper eyelid.
• Line your lips with a nude lipliner and apply your lipstick - keep the colour to a fairly neutral peachy, pink shade.

How To Create Brigitte's Bed-Head Hair

• The trick here is to create volume. If you have wavy hair you are already off to a good start. If your hair is straight create some curls by wrapping sections of your hair around a large curling iron, or use hair straighteners to create lift and waves from the roots of your hair.
• Next section your hair from the crown of your head and back-comb your hair to add more volume.
• Spray with hairspray and let your hair set for a few minutes.
• To finish off lightly comb the back-combed hair into place. Don't comb away all your teasing, but just straighten up the top of your hair. Then use hairspray again to keep in place and either wear your hair down, or use hairgrips or pins to create a loose and messy up-do.

How To Grow Your Eyelashes So They Are Thicker, Longer and Beautiful

Have you ever wondered why some people's eyelashes are longer and thicker than others? Have a look at this picture of Kim Kardashian, she is famous for her long lashes. The length and thickness of your lashes will be inherited from your parents, but it can also be affected by what you do to your lashes - do you look after them or do you treat them harshly so they fall out or snap? If you are a culprit for leaving your mascara on overnight, or using harsh products on your face which dry out your lashes, then you may be breaking them off in their prime, however, thankfully there are a few things you can do which can both increase the life and length of your lashes by giving them just a little TLC.

There are some new products on the market that promise to increase the length of your lashes such as Latisse. This product was originally used in treatments for Glaucoma, where patients noticed an increase in their lash length and thickness when using this drug. However, as well as being relatively expensive, the product has to be applied carefully only to your upper lash-line, being careful not to get it elsewhere, as it can encourage hair growth on other parts of the face(!) Also, once you stop using the product, your lashes will eventually return to their original size and thickness.

We decided that this was not for us, so we looked into some natural remedies that can help you increase the length of your lovely lashes. 

1. Remember that the hair on your eyelids is basically the same as the hair on your head and your lashes need proper nutrition to grow. Ensure that you are taking in enough water each day - the equivalent of 6-8 glasses is enough for the average size person, and also take a multi-vitamin and mineral tablet which will ensure you are not missing out on any essential nutrients - being healthy inside means your hair (eyelashes included) and also nails will grow more quickly.
2. Apply a mixture of olive oil and water to your lashes last thing at night before sleep, the water will moisturise your lashes, and the olive oil will condition them overnight, and will help prevent breakage. As another alternative, Vitamin E oil applied to your lashes will also protect them.
3. Make sure that if you are applying false eyelashes, that you follow the manufacturer's instructions and don't get the glue clogged to your natural lashes, as you are likely to pull a few natural lashes out when you remove the false ones too. If you pull out an eyelash it can take between four to six weeks before it grows back fully. If you want to read up on the correct way to apply false lashes read our article on how to get Cheryl Cole's false eyelash look.
4. Ensure that you use a good eye makeup remover, particularly when taking off waterproof mascaras, and don't pull or tug at your lashes to remove any clumps - your lashes will fall out!
5. Be careful if you use eyelash curlers too, crushing your eyelashes at harsh angles will also put a strain on them and cause them to break off if you are using the curlers every day.

The Best Tips Ever To Make You The Belle Of The Ball At Your New Year Party

If you have been partying for the majority of December, by the time you reach the New Year, you can feel as tired and dreary as last week's turkey. If you are planning to turn out to a party on New Year's Eve, it can seem an impossibility to become the bubbly, eye-catching life and soul of the party that you want to be on one of the most amazing evenings of the year. But help is at hand, because there are some tips and tricks that can help you both look and feel sparkling and dazzling wherever you are celebrating your New Year.

Take A Tip From The Holly Bush

Have you ever looked at holly berries and found them looking drab and dreary - we think the answer is no, never! Then take a tip from this most festive of plants, and get yourself a holly red lipstick. This is the most festive of colours, and teamed up with neutral colours on the rest of your face, with lashings of black mascara, you can turn into a Hollywood starlet, like Reese, for the evening (no pun intended here!). Your gorgeous red lips will draw attention away from any tiredness around the eyes you can be sure.

Hey Eyes - Twinkle Twinkle Like Diamonds In The Sky

If you didn't get any beauty goodies from Santa, treat yourself to an eye cream, which will look after any fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes. Look for one that also treats puffiness around the eyes, and pop it in the fridge before using it - this will give your peepers one mighty de-puffing, skin moisturising treat before your evening ahead.

Little Red Nails

Nothing brightens up the hands like red nails - keep then fairly short and squared off, this is a look that you can take from day to night, and which brings a festive touch to any look.

Let It Glow, Let it Glow, Let It Glow

Invest in an all over body highlighter, and dust this magic sparkle dust over your collar bone, cleavage, shoulders, cheekbones and legs - you will be the highlight of any picture of the night.

Shimmer On - It's A Night To Sparkle

Yep, lots of this season's makeup involves a smoky eye look, but a super sparkly eyeshadow, with barely there colour will stand out from a sea of heavy makeup. Brush it onto lids and line along the lower lashes and then apply super black mascara - this is a totally brilliant match for the holly red lips above.

Can You Facial It?

The day before your big night out treat yourself to a facial. Look for a face treatment which contains salicylic acid as this will brighten your skin, removing dead skin cells, and unclogging pores and allowing brighter skin to surface. This is great preparation before applying your makeup for the evening, you skin will be tons smoother and brighter.

Above all, enjoy yourself - this is the greatest beautifier of all. Remember that soon the party season will be over and a New Year will have begun, have a great New Year everyone, and best wishes to you all for 2011!