2012 Academy Award Fashions

The stars aligned last night for the 2012 Oscars to give themselves and their fellow filmmakers a pat on the back for the good work they've done this year. But what's more important than which movies won which awards? The fashions all these stars wore, that's for sure! If you'd like to see the photos larger, just click on them and the full-sized image will pop up! Enjoy!

The Good
As much as I dislike the fact that Angelina Jolie basically only wears black, nude or white gowns, this dress looked absolutely amazing on her. I think she could have worn some more jewels for the event, but the smile on her face really just makes the outfit. Brad Pitt could be a little better looking if he just did something with that outdated hair that just doesn't flatter his face. Angelina wore Atelier Versace and Brad Pitt wore Tom Ford.

George Clooney showed up with his leading lady, Stacy Keibler, on his arm, he wore Armani and she wore Marchesa. They were the cutest couple of the night, I like their fashion sense and style more than I like Brad and Angelina's simply because I've seen Stacy take more risks than Angelina (it probably helps she has that amazing figure) and George always looks clean-shaven and proper, unlike Pitt.

Natalie Portman wore vintage Dior Haute Couture from 1954. She looked like a beautiful mixture of Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor in this 50's inspired look. Her Harry Winston jewels were absolutely breathtaking and befitting Hollywood royalty such as herself. This retro chic look hit all the right notes.

Jessica Chastain wore this beautiful black and gold Alexander McQueen gown which was perfectly complimented by her strawberry blonde/reddish locks. She didn't wear lots of heavy jewelry and that's the right decision considering how jam-packed this dress is with dripping gold florals.

Although I'm not usually a fan of Michelle Williams for her uber-conservative and shapeless dress choices, last night she got it right in this Louis Vuitton vintage gown in beautiful tangerine. Kudos to her for pulling off that pixie haircut and bright color combination, she was bright and fresh and reminded us of Spring.

Milla Jovovich wore a delicious white Elie Saab gown to the event and her hair and makeup were all from the right retro inspirations. She can do no wrong, she did used to be a supermodel!

Meryl Streep wore this gold Lanvin gown which was chic and effortless, just like her third Oscar win and 17th nomination!! She looked like a Grecian Goddess in this easy-to-wear gown. I really admire that she considers comfort as well as beauty and doesn't just wear something because it looks good but is extremely uncomfortable like many other stars do.

Missi Pyle's Valentina Delfino couture gown deserves honorable mention at this year's Academy Awards because it was completely eco-friendly. It was made out of peace silk and recycled polyester as well as being dyed with natural dyes to get that beautiful aqua turquoise color. She's saving the world one beautiful gown at a time.

Octavia Spencer did it all right and went elegant in this Tadashi Shoji gown. The gown flatters her shape without hiding her body, like plus-sized fashions tend to do.

Although I do not agree with Cameron Diaz on her choice of hairstyle/makeup, her Gucci dress was perfectly beautiful and acceptable for the Oscars. It may have looked nicer if it had more color so we could see the distinct ruffles at the bottom. But it's good enough to not be in the 'bad' category. Next time, I hope she decides to put on some extensions or freshly dye her hair for the event.

Glenn Close stunned in this Zac Posen gown with a jacket which showed off her amazing body. She chose the right hairstyle and makeup and was a sight at the Oscars. Beautiful and classy, feminine and masculine all wrapped into one outfit. Great job to whoever her stylist is!

Gwenyth Paltrow surprised everyone and showed up in a Tom Ford dress attached to a cape! I'm putting her in the 'best dressed' category for that brave and outlandish choice. The dress didn't flatter her body so much, but who cares, because all I could look at was the cape anyway!

The Bad
Emma Stone is a beautiful and talented funny girl but this Giambattista Valli dress completely ate her up. She looked like a giant Christmas Present with that oversized bow that made her head look tiny in comparison. This dress did nothing for her figure or face, this is a dress that nobody should ever wear, regardless of the occasion (unless you're trying to blend in with a pile of presents).

Poor Melissa McCarthy, I don't know what her stylist was thinking when she was advised to wear this atrocity. Draping and ruching can be done very  beautifully, especially in larger-sized fashions, to contour a woman's body and make it appear thinner than it is. However, this Marina Rinaldi dress did the exact opposite and probably added about 50 lbs to Melissa McCarthy. The color choice was all wrong, the embellishments were gaudy, and the sleeves were befitting a butterfly, not a human.

Jennifer Lopez (J. Lo or whatever name she goes by now) relived 2000 with this super low-plunging neckline gown by Zuhair Murad. Unfortunately for J.Lo, this dress was the wrong color, had a strange lined pattern which accentuated all the wrong places, and was completely inappropriate for the event. J.Lo disappoints me every time she goes to red carpet events because she looks much better dressed down, she has the worst taste in gowns.

Kristen Wiig wore this ruffly explosion dress by J. Mendel in a color that was very close to her own skin-tone. I'm not a fan of this dress or her hair styling, too much randomness for an event where she should have looked classy and beautiful.

Sandra Bullock really disappointed in this drab Marchesa gown that looked like a tuxedo-dress gone awry. Her gown engulfed her and hid her beautiful shape, and the embellishments were more befitting a siren gown rather than what this dress turned into.

The Glitter
Ellie Kemper, the funny redhead from 'Bridesmaids' wore a copper Armani Prive gown and it looked great on her, even matching her red hair, she definitely stood out from the crowd at the Oscars.

Melissa Leo's dress was like a glitter explosion strapless dress on top of a short-sleeved glitter explosion shirt. It was all  just too much glitter and contrast, even her heels remind me of the '90s. This Reem Acra gown stood out for all the wrong reasons.

Anna Faris was an absolute fright last night in her Diane von Furstenberg glitter gown in severe black. The hair and makeup were so aging on her and she completely deprived us of any joy when we looked at her. That dress was like a black sparkle hole, sucking the life out of the usually entertaining Anna Faris.

What was up with the glitter at this event? It's like somebody sent out a memo for everyone to wear glitter and they did! Rose Byrne looked okay in this Vivien Westwood gown, although she looks a little too skinny for my taste, and this dress isn't accentuating anything super-feminine about her body. Otherwise, her hair and makeup looks good, at least it's an improvement over Anna Faris.

Pastel Dream Lookbook

Pastel Dream Sunday by lethalglam featuring studded jewelry

Foil dress
fashion.1stdibs.com

ASOS bucket bag
$50 - asos.com

Studded jewelry
$15 - topshop.com

Pastel Bangle Set
$25 - oasis-stores.com

Pastel Dream Sunday

Pastel Dream Sunday by lethalglam featuring studded jewelry

Foil dress
fashion.1stdibs.com

ASOS bucket bag
$50 - asos.com

Studded jewelry
$15 - topshop.com

Pastel Bangle Set
$25 - oasis-stores.com






Pastels are all the rage this spring, so if you're obsessed with trends, make sure you adhere to this girly,  romantic one! I'm a big fan of the mint mixed with peach and pink with a hint of gold. Mesh is a great mix with this girly combination to add a touch of toughness! Hope you're all having a great weekend and wonderful Sunday, see you tomorrow with more posts <3 


xoxo,
Alex

Hairstyles for your age: your 40's and 50's

Welcome to the second installment of 'Hairstyles for your age'! This is the mid-life segment where I'll be writing about women in their 40's and 50's, who are hopefully more carefree about their appearance than their younger selves and have the confidence to pull off whatever look they please! It's important to choose a look that reflects your personality and lifestyle, just as it was in your 20's and 30's. The only rule and important thing to adhere to when considering your hair is to be true to yourself.

Your 40's:
It's important that you take care of your hair as it will get more and more brittle and dry, so you may want to consider oil treatments weekly and go for regular hair trims, anyways from every 4-6 weeks on average. Layers are a great idea if you don't want your hair to appear flat and to avoid tangles. If your hair is starting to go lighter naturally (if you're getting gray hairs) you may want to consider getting highlights so that they camouflage the need to color every 3 weeks or so, you can get away with color every 5-6 weeks if you manage to get plenty of dimension from the highlighting of your hair. The general rule of thumb is that skin tends to get paler as we age, so your hair should match, you will want to go about 2 shades lighter than your natural hair color when it comes to coloring and even lighter should you choose highlights. Warm highlights, rather than cool tones, will bring more redness to your face and give you that 'naturally blushing' appearance that young faces have! Wispy short hair is also a good choice, especially if your hair is too coarse to control long or if it is too thin and would become to weak if you continued to grow it out long. Consider getting lots of layers to improve your hair's appearance and give it a more vibrant, youthful appearance.

You will want to stay away from ombre hair where the darker color is on top and then the tips are lighter because if you have gray hair, once it starts to grow in, it will be like a white line where the part of your hair is against the stark dark brown of your hair or black. You  may want to consider reverse ombre hair which is a funky trend and can make you appear more youthful and draw attention away from your roots. The roots are basically a very light blonde and the tips are a darker shade of brown, creating a beautiful gradient, this gives almost the appearance of a goddess. Ombre vs. reverse ombre hair is pictured below, if you have gray hairs you want to stay away from ombre (pictured on the left) but may want to consider reverse ombre (pictured on the right) to camouflage your grays.

Your 50's:

The most important thing to remember in your 50's is that you are not old and even if you were, you are not doomed to a short hairstyle. If you take care of your hair and it is maintained beautifully, you will never have to go short, as long as you can grow it and it looks good, you will never have to resort to short hair unless you do so because of preference. What is flattering at this age is hair that is about shoulder length, such as a beautifully groomed bob that contours your  face. If you're a career woman, keeping up with the younger ladies in your field will be difficult so you will have to maintain your hair color, or go bold and stand out by dying your hair silver like Meryl Streep in 'The Devil Wears Prada' (I loved this look and think it looks absolutely beautiful). Whatever you do, make sure the haircut you choose is one that will flatter the shape of your face and masque any wrinkles that you're seeing on your face (bangs might be a good choice if you have many forehead wrinkles, for example).

Make sure that the style appears natural and not too fussed over because anything that appears to 'worked on' can be dated and out of style, if you have long hair go for beachy waves rather than severe curls or dead straight hair. If you have short hair, go for a romantic style rather than a spikey style that is best suited for a 20-year-old punk rocker chic. Again, make sure that you are sticking to a lighter color, especially because darker hair colors will bring out the wrinkles in your face a lot more than light hair colors which will bring light to your face rather than creating uncomfortable shadows. If you are still uncomfortable with light colored hair, then consider just using highlights over top of your darker hair color, but I do recommend at least going chestnut rather than a blackish brown. Remember that layers and soft highlights, mid-length or shorter hair is beautiful to frame your face at this age.

Sponge Manicure Nail Tutorial

This is the look the tutorial will give you, apply a final coat of fine clear glitter if you do not want a matte finish

Sponge manicures are increasingly popular and easy do-it-at-home-yourself projects. You can create a myriad of various color and shape combinations to create the most interesting manicures you've ever seen. This is not a manicure for those who are all about perfection because the randomness is what creates beauty in this type of look. So if you like speckles and soft blends of colors as well as gradients, this is the manicure for you!

What you'll need:
- Base coat
- Base color
- Paper towels
- Sponge (either art sponges or makeup sponges)
- Tweezers
- Nail polish colors of your choice - one bottom color, and one intermediate color between base color and tip color
- Top coat
- Glitter (optional)
- Acetone
- Q-tips

I suggest first trying this look with a white base color as any other accent color will look vastly different compared to the white coat and you can easily see what you are doing with the sponge, allowing you better control of your technique. Make sure not to buff your nails, because you want them to be slightly gritty for this manicure because if the nail is porous, instead of smooth and shiny, you will have an easier time applying your color. Make sure that before you start anything, you lay down a paper towel so you don't ruin the desk you're working on with polish. First, apply your bast coat of nail polish and let it thoroughly dry. Then, apply your base color (white in my case) and make sure to concentrate it on the lower third of your nail near the cuticle but lightly coat the entire nail. You will not need more than one coat of this base color.

You can then apply an intermediate color on the middle third of your nail (if you chose to go with blue as the tip color then you would want to pick something like a lighter baby blue to make it look like a gradient going from white to blue). Make sure to apply this intermediate color to the middle third of your nail using a sponge portion that you have ripped off an art or makeup sponge and holding it gently with your tweezers. Make sure not to over-saturate the sponge with polish, it may be a good idea for you to wipe any excess polish onto a paper towel before applying it to your nail. In the sponge manicure, less is more, you want to build it up rather than have to take away polish (which usually will result in having to start the manicure over again).

Then, to apply your tip color, which should be the darkest of the colors you have chosen, for example a fully saturated blue or one with glitter in it, you should use another sponge after your previous coats have completely dried. You don't want to apply the colors while the previous application is still wet because they will muddle together and the stickiness of the previous coat will ruin the manicure. If you find that your gradient is not sufficient, you can go back in with the sponge and dip it alternating in both colors to go over the line where the colors meet to improve the gradient. Let everything dry and apply a top coat, especially if you've chosen a glitter nail polish to add to the tips so that the glitter doesn't move and to make your nails appear shiny as well as for staying power. Use some acetone and q-tips to clean up around the sides of your nail if you have gotten nail polish on your fingers.

Starting with a blue base and finishing with a green tip, covering with green glitter will give you this look

Starting with a pink/mauve base and princess pink in the middle and finishing with a white tip you can get this look by adding bronze colored lines with circular tips using a toothpick or fine-tipped brush

Starting with a red base, orange middle and yellow tip, and drawing on palm tree silhouettes with black will give you this

If you're interested in purchasing a kit to get you started, Konad makes a wonderful one that you can purchase here (btw this is a great deal because these usually sell for around $20):

DIY: Make your own braided headband

Want to reuse your old cotton t-shirts and don't know what to do with them? If you feel bad about throwing them out (and you should) you should re-purpose them into braided headbands! You can make these for yourself or give them as gifts to your friends and family, it's a super-cute idea and you'll have unique headbands to match all of your outfits.

What you will need:
- cotton t-shirt that you're willing to cut up or scraps of cotton fabric
- hair elastic (cut to open it up so it is an elastic strand)
- scissors
- needle
- thread

The size that you cut the strips from which you will make your headband should all be the same width in size (I suggest using about an inch in width from your t-shirt cotton material from the bottom of your tee) and cut 3 equal pieces. You should now have 3 round pieces from your t-shirt and you want to cut one side of them so that they double in length and open up from the circle shape into a line. Obviously the thinner the strips, the thinner your headband will be. It's best to start out a little thicker so you have room for error when you're sewing the ends together to close your headband.



Then tie a knot at one end of the strands to secure that side while you braid. Begin to braid with your 3 strands regularly and try to work in a tight braid as it gives a more orderly and beautiful appearance. Tie the other end down when you're done braiding. Measure the size you want the braided part to be, you must now cut one side and sew your hair elastic to the end of the braid. It helps to wrap some thread around the elastic after you have sewn to make it extra secure. Then use a small rectangular piece of the fabric to cover the sewing you just did (because it will not look flattering) and fold it in half so you have a thicker piece, you can either glue this onto the junction between your braid and elastic or you can sew it on (I prefer glue for a seamless finish). Repeat all of this at the other end so that you complete your headband! It's important that you use the elastic to finish off your headband because, unless you're using an elastic fabric for the entire headband, it won't be able to fit snugly against your head and will either fall right off or be too loose. Make sure to measure it to your head before you sew the final side together.

There are many variations of this that you can do, you can consider double or triple braided headbands, you can use various kinds of fabric and mix colors, or you can add rhinestones and jewelry onto your headband when you're done! Just keep in mind that if you want to do double or triple braids, you will want to secure them all together at the back of the braids by using one piece of fabric and elastic. Have fun and play with your accessories, that is what they're for!

Hairstyles for your age: your 20's and 30's

Everyone knows that certain hairstyles look great when you're young but not necessarily as you grow older. We find ourselves looking at others, at times, in shock and awe with what they've done with their hair. The most important consideration at any age is to find a hairstyle that flatters the shape of your face and to take into account the texture of your hair. Coarse hair lends itself better to wearing long hairstyles while short, fine hair should be worn shorter in a layered haircut to achieve fullness and body. Let's be honest, though, under the age of 20, you can basically get away with the biggest hair atrocities and still look good because of that youthful vibrancy!

Find out what you can get away with in your age group

Your 20's: You can try out all kinds of cuts and styles, many opt for the romantic and pretty long hair styles, but others either want to look younger or older so they get shorter haircuts (whether you look younger or older really depends on the style and the competency of your hairdresser). Beware of getting short cuts that are not ideal for your face shape and age, you don't want to end up looking like a cartoon with a boyish mushroom cut. Highlights and lowlights are always a great way to achieve dimension with any haircut, so consider getting them in a tone matching the full color of your hair.

Make sure to always choose a look that fits your age and latest trends. It's important to consider your career since you are most likely establishing what it will in your 20's. If you're more into the arts you can probably get away with some funky colors and fun styles, but if you're in a conservative profession you should steer clear of anything that might be construed as rebellious. 

You should experiment with length and color because this is the time that you can, later on maybe your hair won't grow as beautifully long and your face may not lend itself to trying all sorts of dye colors. In your 20's your hair will grow faster and thicker than any other time in your life, so make sure you take care of it and take advantage of it!

Your 30's: During these years, you're probably beginning a family or working your way up in your career (if you're lucky, then both) and you can still get away with quite a few styles but you should pick one that fits your lifestyle. If you're busy and need to take care of a baby as well as go to work and look professional, maybe shoulder-length hair is the choice for you so that you can style it more easily than longer hair since there is less of it and  you can throw it up into a ponytail when you're at home. It's simple to curl or flat-iron when you want to look professional or go out on a date with your hubby! Just because you're a mom doesn't mean you can't be sultry, if you want long hair then by all means achieve that long hair, just make sure to take care of it so you don't end up with ratty looking hair.

 Don't be afraid to try new haircuts or go short with your hair, some people just naturally look better with short hair, especially if you have beautiful facial features, they will be highly accentuated without all that hair in the way. If you're starting to have significant amounts of gray hair you can start coloring your hair pretty regularly, or you can ask your stylist to hand-paint the couple of strands of gray that you have in a tone that matches your hair, so that you don't have to color fully. Another great way to camouflage gray hair is to color it with a color of mascara that matches your natural hair (they make mascara in tons of shades now).