Step 2: Quickly blow dry hair, emphasizing your natural texture.
Step 3: If you have bangs, secure them back with a bobby pin (like Miller did); if not, just part hair down the middle. Create a low ponytail at the nape of your neck. Fasten it with a hair elastic (optional).
Step 4: Divide the ponytail in two equal halves. Hold both halves in one hand, separating them with your finger.
Step 5: Take a small section of hair (about 1/4-1/2") from the outside of the right section and bring it over to join the left side.
Step 6: Reverse your hands so you're holding both halves in your opposite hand, then bring a small section from the left side over to join the right.
Step 7: Repeat the steps five and six until you reach the end of your braid, then secure with a rubber band. Then, wrap a small section of the unbraided hair around the elastic to cover it and use a bobby pin to secure it (optional).
Photo 3/15
Wine-colored nails
Why we like them: Photographer Jennifer Graylock's nail color screams "fall" and despite the chaotic week, looks flawless.
Tip: She's wearing CND's Shellac Hybrid Nail Color in Fedora, $17.55, which apparently is um, as tough as nails (it does dry immediate and lasts 12 days), because she said that she could "scrub the gutters or get in a fight with JLo" (in reference to a battle with other photogs to get her photo) and her nails would still look perfect.
Photo 4/15
Blue/green eyeshadow
Why we like it: MAC's PR gal, Heather, definitely deserves the prize for the best backstage eye makeup. Why? It's such a fresh, fun, can't-wait-to-copy-it color. Speaking of copy, we saw the same eye makeup at the Carmen Marc Valvo show later that day, so perhaps she was at the makeup tent with artist Romero Jennings for that show �
Tip: The teal used in the eye makeup look at the Carmen Marc Valvo show was created using a not-yet-available eyeshadow quad (which remains nameless) from MAC that will debut in spring 2011, so stay tuned � in the meantime, try MAC Eyeshadow in Shimmermoss, $14.50.
Photo 5/15
Sleek bun
Why we like it: Molly Ritterbeck, beauty assistant at "Seventeen" magazine, elegantly sports a slick, sophisticated bun.
Tip: Apply gel to hair like Biolage Gelee, $15.75 and use a comb to slick the hair back.
Photo 6/15
Plum lips
Why we like them: Celia, beauty editor at style.com rocks a fierce, don't-mess-with-me merlot-colored lipstick.
Tip: Use a reverse liner like CARGO The Reverse Lipliner, $16 along with a dark lip color like this one on Celia to prevent feathering.
Not sure if this hue is right for you? Take this quiz to find your best lip color.
With the explosion of reality TV and the popularity of gossip sites and magazines exploiting "stars" like Kate Gosselin or Kim Kardashian, we all have an undeniable fascination with real people. So this year at New York Fashion Week, we thought that instead of showing off beauty trends seen on models, we'd share our favorite hair and makeup looks seen on real women.
After all, real women either inspire or get inspired by fashion and beauty trends that models display on the runway or on the pages of a magazine -- and we're the ones that have to make them work. Since trends seen on models or celebrities seem somehow less attainable, it was refreshing at New York Fashion Week to see everyone from makeup artists to public relations professionals to photographers recreating looks they had seen at a fashion show the day prior, or stepping up their usual hair and makeup routine in the spirit of the fashionable week.
As we approached these real women, some were slightly frightened when we pointed our cameras their way, some flattered, some confused, some annoyed, but after the initial awkwardness of approaching them passed, we think most of them felt pretty flattered. The makeup looks you're about to see range from a perfectly executed red lip to avant-garde eye makeup, and the hairstyles you'll find span from zig zag braids to dreamy waves. To top it all off, we also share real woman sporting of-the-moment nail colors and formulas. If nothing else, we hope these photos will provoke you to try a new hairdo or lip color, and we offer up steps, tips and product suggestions to help you recreate these looks.
