Runway Trend to Try: Embellished Pony

Backstage during New York Fashion Week, we spotted the embellished ponytail, which proves that adding a little interest to a classic style makes it exciting.  Jeanie Syfu lead the Tresemme team at several shows this season and is the queen of the fancy pony.  Here's her advice on getting the look.

All you need is a strip of fabric.  Jeanie suggests adding a strip of leather to the base of your ponytail by wrapping it about 2" down from the base as seen at Carolina Herrera.  You can also create two small ponytails and secure with gold ribbon then tie the lengths into a knot on top of your ponytail at your nape which I created for Erin Fetherston.

Which style do you like better?

New Year, New Intern: Meet Kayla

Hi, I'm Kayla and I'm so excited to be joining the BeautySweetSpot team! Being a broke college student, my life revolves around great products that are pretty cost effective. If I'm going to spend money, you better believe it's going to be on something that's worth it. These are some of my favorite beauty buys that I currently can't live without, BeautySweetSpot approved, of course!

Marc Jacobs Matte Lip Gel in Scandal, $30 at Sephora

Every girl needs a good red lipstick. What I love about this particular one is its color. The pigment is so bold, it's meant for making a statement. This is the lipstick I use for cocktail parties or to dress up my look when running errands.

Rimmel’s BB Cream Beauty Balm, $5.59 at drugstores

The foundation of a flawless look is... well, foundation. I love Rimmel’s BB Cream Beauty Balm with built-in SPF (what alliteration). I love it because not only does it cover up those finals-week breakouts but it also moisturizes your skin. It's light and moisturizing, which is exactly what I seek.

Urban Decay’s Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder, $29 at Sephora

This product will literally make you shimmer.  Need I say more? I don’t know how I’ve gone my whole life without it. It’s simple to use and there’s really no wrong method as long as you don’t go overboard (really don’t go overboard or else you could look like the newest disco queen). It highlights my cheekbones perfectly and can even double as a pretty wonderful eyeshadow.

The Body Shop’s Glazed Apple Body Butter, $5 at thebodyshop-usa.com

Body butters are vital during winter, especially a winter as cold as this one. If you're going to be using body butter it may as well smell like the greatest thing ever, right? That's just another reason I'm obsessed with this product. Apply a little to your cracking hands and they'll hands will be as smooth as a babies bottom.

Tresemmés Smooth Salon Silk No Frizz Serum, $9.99 at drugstores

Good haircare products are hard to come by, so when you find a great one it becomes the holy grail. I like this product because I have the curliest, frizziest hair the world has ever seen, but it's also great for straight hair. I just put a dab into my hair when it's damp then style.  It keeps my hair silky smooth and frizz-free.

Everyday Beauty Buys that Make Cluttering Your Medicine Cabinet Worth It

I'll admit it, my vanity is like a rotating door of the "latest and greatest" from drugstores, department stores and specialty stores and I'm rarely ever faithful to one product for too long, unless it really wows me.  Hey, it's my job!  The crazy thing is, in my bathroom Joe and I have four cabinets... three of them are taken up by me!  Even though I don't use all of the products at once, I have to have them all on call for different reasons.  I found some disturbing statistics about how often people clean out their medicine cabinets and have some advice, plus suggestions on new product finds! Being that I'm always shuffling products in and out of my medicine cabinet, I never have to worry about expiration dates because I'm really using them and trying something new.  However, I find that I'm a minority!  In a recent survey by Vaseline, they found that more than one in three women admit to cleaning out their medicine cabinet less than once every two years.  Hello, ladies: products expire!  They also found that 27% of women admit to having a product in their medicine cabinet that has been there for more than three years.  Gross.  I highly recommend staying on top of expiration dates and trying new things!  Here are some of my latest recommendations:

Alterna Bamboo 48 Hour Volume Spray, $24 at Sephora

I use this to add volume at my roots before blowing out my hair.  Unlike other volumizers I've used in the past, it doesn't leave my hair sticky and really boosts volume without weighing my hair down.

Vaseline Total Moisture, $6.99 at drugstores

This lotion actually absorbs into my skin and doesn't just sit on top of it, which is major! It actually does everything so I don’t need to use more than one lotion.  I apply it when I get out of the shower in the morning and my skin feels moisturized, not greasy all day and night.

Make Up Forever Sens'Eyes Makeup Remover, $24 at Sephora

Before washing my face at night I apply this makeup remover to a cotton pad and let it sit on my mascara for a minute before wiping it off.  It removes eye makeup quickly and easily so I don't have to rub it off and doesn't irritate my eyes.

Perricone MD Vitamin C Esther, $120 at Nordstrom

After washing my face before bed I apply this Vitamin C all over my face before I moisturize.  The package comes in four tubes, one for each week, and after a month you're suposed to see a brighter complexion.  I'm on week two.

Q-tips Precision Tips, $2.49 at drugstores

A must!  I don't leave home without them.  I use them to clean up makeup around my eyes and apply lip balm regularly.  I have a bunch of these little travel cases and always throw one in my suitcase, because I hate the ones that have in hotels!

Bliss That's Incredi-Peel, $49 at blissworld.com

Once a week I swipe one pad across my face after I wash and it acts like an overnight facial.  Made with glycolic acid, it works overnight with time release technology to help exfoliate and retexturize my skin.

Tresemme 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray, $4.49 at drugstores

A true, touchable hairspray that leaves my hair shiny.  There's nothing worse than crunchy hairspray!

Renee Rouleau Mint Buffing Beads, $41.50 at reneerouleau.com

I use these microscopic beads as a facial exfoliant about once a week to remove dead skin cells and help keep my pores unclogged.  They're so finely granulated that they feel like the softest sand particles on my face and leave it smoother than a baby's butt.

*This post is sponsored by Vaseline, but all of my actions and thoughts are true.

Get the Look: Selena Gomez's AMA Hair Style in 5 Simple Steps

Selena Gomez's whole look was by far my favorite at the American Music Awards on Sunday night.  She showed off her curves in a low-cut, satin Armani gown, wore a pop of peach on her lips and glamourized her eyes with tons of mascara and silver eyeshadow.  Her hair however, was a show stopper.  Tresemme Celebrity Stylist, John D., was behind the look and filled me in on how to get it in five simple steps. How-to:

1. Towel dry clean hair and comb Tresemme 24 Hour Body Mousse through your strands for even distribution.

2. Create a deep side part over the arch of your brow and blow dry smooth with a round brush.

3. Take the front sections of your hair on both sides and curl them in one inch sections using a one inch barrel.

4. Curl the bangs away from your face and continue curling the rest of your hair horizontally.

5. After curls cool, spritz a boar bristle brush with a finishing spray and brush the curls gently until they fall into a nice wave pattern.

Girl Crush: Mila Kunis, A Guide to Her Complete Oscar Look

I have a total girl crush on Mila Kunis.  I think she's totally sexy without even trying and was so excited to see her pull off a girly yet sultry look at the Oscars last night. Her hair and makeup were on point complimenting that gorge lavender Elie Saab gown.  Here's the full scoop on how to get her look:

Tracey Levy of Lancome gave her a sultry overall look to compliment her gown.  The focus was on her eyes.  Products used: Lancome Color Design 5 Pan Palette in Coral Crush, Color Design Eye Shadow in Impress, Le Crayon Khol Eyeliner in Black and Hypnose Waterproof Custom Volume Mascara in Black.  A dusting of Blush Subtil in Sheer Amourose and hint of Color Fever Gloss in Blazing Pink combined with La Laque Fever Lipshine in Lucent Nude topped it off.

Tresemme Celeb Stylist, Mara Roszak, gave Mila a romantic updo.  She began by applying Tresemme Naturals Mousse to her wet hair and rough dried it parting it to the side.  Then, with a 1" curling iron she waved the hair away from the face.  Once all curled, she brushed them out with her fingertips and pulled Mila's hair softly into a messy chignon that was structured, yet unstructured.

An Ethereal Winter Playground at Elise Overland

The Fall 2011 Elise Overland collection was presented on an ice rink at the Standard Hotel. To create this Icelandic “winter playground,” the models had an ethereal look. David Cruz for Tresemmé was the lead on hair, and he pulled all the models’ hair back into a ponytail from the roots, then made a fishtail braid and used the braid to form a kind of deconstructed bun. Since the designer’s collection was pretty big on texture, he didn’t want the models to look like animals and give them a lot of hair! The fishtail braid bun is simple and tightly frames the face, but still adds that extra pizzazz for the runway. Napoleon Perdis did the makeup, and the look was all about luminous skin. He avoided using creams and gels, and used minimal foundation so that more light would reflect off the models. To prep the skin, he applied Napoleon Complex Skin Renewal Serum and Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer.

He used cool undertones to make sure that the models had a glow on the ice rink. The eyes were very non fussy, with just a few coats of chocolate brown mascara and some Créme De La Cremé Eyeshadow in QuickSilver.  On the cheeks, he used a little bit of Cheek to Chic Blush Duo #6 and Light Patrol Luminizer Palette in Silver. And on the lips, just a light pink shade called “Electra.” The end result was clean and fresh, perfect for a night out on the ice!

How To Achieve A Flirty Pony Tail

With the spring season comes laid-back clothes and warmer weather, which beg for a hairstyle that coincides with the playful attitude.  A girly, textured ponytail gives off fun, care-free vibes that any girl can embrace. Tresemme Celebrity Stylist, Jenie Syfu, who is credited for making starlettes like Sandra Bullock, Amanda Bynes and Lily Allen’s tresses look red carpet ready gave me the scoop on how to get the look.  Here's how she created the textured ponytail backstage at Whitney Port’s Spring/Summer 2010 Whitney Eve fashion show:

Prep

Apply mousse to damp hair and blow dry upside down using a round brush.  “Blowdrying upside down instantly creates more volume,” commented Syfu.  Try Tresemme 24 Hour Body Foaming Mousse ($4.99, drugstore.com).

Curl

Take one to two inch sections of hair and curl using a 1 inch curling iron to create texture.  A great iron, Infiniti by Conair Tourmaline Ceramic Curling Iron, 1” ($11.60, drugstore.com).

Tease

Using a fine-toothed comb, tease the top of the head towards the front of the hairline for volume.

Pull Back

Use your fingers as a brush to pull up your locks into a ponytail towards the crown of your head and secure with an elastic.

Finish

Create even more texture through the top by combing it through with your fingers and mist a light finishing spray over it.  I like Dove Flexible Hold Hairspray ($4.59, drugstore.com).

Go Backstage at Brian Reyes

New York Fashion Week is almost over and we have to bid adieu to Bryant Park and all the memories of fashion and beauty created here throughout the years. Tonight I had the pleasure to go backstage at Brian Reyes and witnessed beauty at it's finest.  Although it seemed packed it was what I would call a "controlled mess" everyone was scattered in a frenzy but knew what needed to get done to showcase Brian Reyes's vision. Pattie Yankee lead manicurist from Dashing Diva dished how Brian wanted a neutral color with a semi-gloss so that it won't take away from the variety of colors from his collection.  They just used one coat of 57th and 5th to keep it simple and to the point.

Martin Christopher created a consistent theme of low pony tails with a slight, not so defined, left side part.  He reinvented the polished look by adding the edginess of the modern woman.  The focus was to create that matte texture.  With a quick blowout but doing so in a forward and then back direction to create volume from the root and bring it all back into a low pony tail and securing it with TRESemmé 24 hour body finishing spray.

On the contrary, Wendy Rowe lead make-up artist for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, wanted to create dramatic eyes to capture strength and confidence.  "The Brian Reyes girl for fall is modern and sophisticated from head to toe, but she has an edge, which her makeup reflects. She's a very cool girl who is comfortable in her own skin," she commented.

For the eyes she used aubergine shades on the upper lid such as Eggplant Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow and lined the lower lid with a spearmint color, Long-Wear Cream Eye Shadow in Aqua, to serve as a contrast.  To keep the lips neutral she faded the line.

Being that it was my first backstage show at Bryant Park it was such an inspiration to see how everything I love about beauty from the nails, hair and makeup can be used to tell the story of the designer and how it all ties together at the end. The same way I do everyday when I apply makeup that is either driven by how I feel that day, what I've seen or even inspiration from my outfit.

-MK