It seems like everybody who was anybody chopped their hair off this year. Carey Mulligan, Michelle Williams, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Watson, to name a few, all sported this micro-mini hair trend. They inspired women of all ages to try courageous cuts and for that we applaud them. Pixies are youthful yet elegant and will take you less than five minutes to style -- score.
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Best: Bold lips
Reds, fuchsias and corals -- oh my -- this year was all about playing up the lips. And because a strong lip screams confidence, we say go for it. Here, Amy Adams and Sandra Bullock prove that bold is, in fact, beautiful.
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Worst: Hair tinsel
We love Beyonce and Ke$ha for their dance-inducing beats, but decorating your hair like they did with random tinsel or jewels off the stage or after (even then it's a bit iffy) is not cute. This trend is over-the-top and will have others wondering if you're under-the-influence (of a 12-year-old).
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Best: Ombre hair color
You've likely seen it on celebs like Jessica Biel and Drew Barrymore, but didn't know that it had a specific name. "Ombre" is a French word that literally means shaded like a gradient. And how does that translate to hair color? Well it's two shades, a darker hue at the roots that gradually blends into a lighter shade at the mid-shaft; the masterful blend creates one sexy trend. The greedy gal in all of us has to agree: Why have one, when you can have *two?
*Warning: Ombre hair color can go wrong, so to keep this a "best" trend, don't opt for dark brown roots with platinum blonde ends. It'll simply look like you haven't touched up your roots in a year � or two.
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Worst: '80s era hair and makeup
That decade brought us some awesome things like Apple computers and Madonna, but it also delivered some pretty horrendous fashion and beauty trends. However, this, of course, is forgivable. What's not forgivable? When bad trends that everyone decided were bad a decade ago are pulled out of their dusty past and brought back to life. Huge hair accessories and Jem-inspired makeup weren't cute then and, well, you know the rest.
Trends, be it fashion or beauty, are hard to navigate. Some that are awe-inspiring on the runway or red carpet look downright ridiculous strutting down the aisles of Costco. Case in point: Ke$ha looked like a bad-a$$ in blue lipstick, but if we tried to wear it to work, the boss might ask to "have a word" with us.
Before you accuse us of being too judgmental or close-minded, know that we believe all trends, good and bad, to be necessary. We need some less-than-hip transients to remind us of how important classic trends are like red lipstick. And not to say we have never fallen victim to "bad" trends before, heck, we wore scrunchies in public back in the day, too. You see, we need makeup, nail and hairstyle trends, no matter how embarrassing, in order to differentiate between the classics that deserve more than just their fifteen minutes. However, the real stars are the good trends that reinvigorate our love for beauty -- that is, until the next hot new thing shimmies on by.
And because it is sometimes difficult to separate the looks we should commit to from the ones we should only flirt with, we thought we'd share our opinions on what should stay and what should go. We've rounded up the most popular hairstyles, makeup looks, and nail trends from the past year in order to help you navigate which trends to keep and which to ditch come January 1st. So, you can take our word for it or be the last person wearing hair tinsel at the PTA meeting � you decide.
