Beauty Squared Round-Up - December 21, 2014

Happy Holidays, lovelies! Apologies for missing our Round-Up last week - things have been very busy. 'Tis the season, right?

If you've been busy, and a little stressed out, we hope that you'll take some time to relax for a few minutes and check out some of the beauty links we've compiled for you this week.

• This isn't a beauty link, but maybe it's relevant to more than just me right now. How to have a stress-free holiday.
  
• If you're fair-haired, this link is for you - eyebrow products for blondes.
  
• Holiday season is party-season. Whether you pull out the red lipstick for special occasions, or wear it regularly, here are some red lipstick tips and tricks.
  
• Traveling this season? You might come across one of these at the airport.
  
• Do you have lots of past-Christmas photos taken Christmas morning of everyone just awake and opening gifts? Not the most flattering photos, right? Here's a quick beauty look that you can do to look natural but refreshed in the photos from Christmas morning this year.
  
• Or, if you're travelling Christmas morning, or any morning, here are some in transit beauty tips and tricks, whether you're in the backseat of a car, or on the bus.
  
• Here's a simple and chic grey smoky eye that will look great at this time of the year or at any time!
  
• Full eyebrows have been in style for awhile now, and Beauty Editor wonders if Lea Michele presents a case for this particular trend not being for everyone. What are your thoughts?
  
• If you're seeking more natural beauty products, this link is for you - 4 Products for a More Natural Manicure.
  
• Makeup artist Troi Ollivierre, responsible for the slicked-back hair, clean, dewy skin and popping lip colour look of the J. Crew photoshoots, talks about the J. Crew beauty look.
  
• Damaged hair meets Kevyn Murphy's Born Again hair treatments.
  
• Cult beauty products to try (if you haven't already).
  
• Women who challenged the beauty status quo in 2014.
  
• Sephora is partnering with Pantone again for 2015's Colour of the Year. It's Marsala this time and here are photos and info of the colour collection.
  
• Remember Esther Honig's Photoshop experiment where she sent her photo to Photoshop artists around the world and asked them to make her appear more beautiful? Here's another where Bustle writer Marie Southard Ospina asked Photoshop artists to make her more beautiful. The difference is that Ospina is plus-size. Did the artists make her look slimmer? Click through to find out.
  

Beauty Squared Round-Up - October 19, 2014

Hello lovelies,
Hope you're having a spectacular Fall day. If not, hopefully you're somewhere cosy and comfortable, or will be soon. 

Here is our weekly round-up of beauty-related weblinks for you!

• Check out these "photoshopped" photos from the 1930s. (These photos aren't photoshopped, they're retouched.)
  
• "Alien vampire goddess" Tilda Swinton will be featured in NARS' spring 2015 ad campaign.
  
• Save some money and buy these beauty supply items at the art supply store.
  
• More Instagram makeup transformations, this time from Lucia Pittalis, who has transformed herself into Keith Richards, Iggy Pop and Walter White from Breaking Bad.
  
• MUA Lisa Eldridge does a very natural Downton Abbey makeup look on Downton star, Lady Edith herself, Laura Carmichael. This look is perfect for anyone who wants a no-makeup makeup look.
  
• Need a Halloween costume? How about Marge Simpson? Check out this awesome tutorial.
  
• Can an extremely talented, very experienced, awesome MUA like Pat McGrath do someone's makeup with her eyes closed? Model Natalia Vodianova challenged her to do just that in this short film. Do you think it's real?

Beauty Squared Round-Up for August 24, 2014

Hello lovelies!

Happy Sunday. 

• Kandee Johnson reviews the new Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette. 
• Do you have curly hair? This post is for you. 
• A step-by-step guide for applying false eyelashes. 
• I love this elegant ruby twist on the French manicure done by Rita Remark for Essie Canada.  
• Anna Sui has revamped her line of lipsticks. You've never seen a lipstick like this before. 
• Makeup bag essentials for beginner, intermediate and professional makeup wearers. 
• An absolutely stunning lavender smokey eye look by Lisa Eldridge done on Sophie Dahl. (Look for an upcoming Beauty Squared post where Catherine recreates this!)
• Laverne Levinson writes about why she uses Photoshop on photos of her face. It's perhaps food for thought.
• Related: here's XOVain's Alle with tips on becoming more photogenic (it's a learned skill!).
• Is a younger face more of a blank canvas than an older face? The Guardian's Invisible Woman talks about her experience with makeup now that she's nearing 60. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - April 13, 2014

Hello lovelies! It's time for our weekly round-up of the most clickable, most interesting, most shareable beauty-related links... Let's dig in.

• Skin finishes - luminous, matte and dewy - what is the difference, and how to get them. Spring time is the time to think skin.
  
• Speaking of skin, one of the latest (and oddest-titled) makeup trends is the "toddler glow". It's a makeup application technique that gives you that extremely youthful glow that yes, toddlers have.
  
• Bright eyeshadow colours for spring. Here's how to wear it so it isn't scary.
  
• Photos and swatches of the Proenza Schouler-MAC collection over on the Makeup and Beauty Blog.
  
• The best long-wearing lip products according to Allure, including MAC, Stila, OCC, Revlon and Wet & Wild.
  
• New beauty brand alert: NUDESTIX - all crayon (chubby stick) makeup for eyes, cheeks, lips and nails (?!) - launching at Space NK stores in May.
  
• Leandra Medine, aka Manrepeller, on why she doesn't wear makeup.
  
• A print ad for Chanel's new foundation features a lovely model with a disturbing neck, courtesy of Photoshop.
  
• National Geographic has a wonderful photo essay for their 125th anniversary issue. In it they look at what Americans will look like in 2050 - a striking and stunning mixing pot of features, skintones and hair colours. (It's a Nerve link, but it's safe for work as long as you don't explore any of the links on the page...)

Beauty Squared Round-Up - January 26, 2013

Hello lovelies!

I hope you're warm and cosy wherever you are (it's chilly where I am). There's lots (LOTS) to settle into in this week's Round-Up so we'd better dig in!

• If you're chilly, here's a smoky eye that will warm you right up. This gorgeous look was done using the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.
  
• Sensitive skin? Clinique has a new line of nail polishes (A Different Nail Enamel for Sensitive Skins) that won't irritate your eyes or your skin.
  
• Concerned about toxins in your beauty products? Here's a helpful list of what you should look to avoid when shopping.
  
• Fashion Magazine's Beauty Panel share their tips for organic and all-natural beauty.
  
• Have you heard of the Caveman Regime for skin? The idea is similar to the Paleo Diet, going back to a very simple routine like our ancestors would have done. Somehow I don't think cavemen and women would have been overly concerned with having clean and clear skin. Here's a XOJane contributor's experience with it.
  
• Tracey from Beauty Reflections takes a look at some of New Brunswick's Reve Maxeville Handmade Cosmetics.
  
• New Beauty Magazine share their picks for beauty essentials - Cutex nail polish remover, Bobbi Brown makeup brushes, FHI flat iron, Smashbox primer, Dove body wash, Colgate toothpaste, Elnett hairspray, and Guinot face mask among others.
  
• Dencia, a Nigerian-Cameroonian pop musician, has released a line of skincare products that claim to lighten hyper-pigmented areas of the skin. It's the latest in "skin toning" which is what it's called in Nigeria, where 77% of women use skin-lightening products on a regular basis in order to adhere to a Western standard of beauty, improve their marriage prospects and social mobility.
  
• Hungarian singer Boggie has released a new music video for her song "Nouveau Parfum", in which her moving image goes through a Photoshop transformation. It's pretty pretty fascinating, and disturbing to see her transform through makeup, lighting and digital manipulation.
  
• Vancouver makeup artist Samantha Ravndahl is suing Lil Kim for copyright infringement after the rapper took one of Samantha's Instagram images and passed it off as her own to promote her new album.
  
• Take this with a grain of salt, but because it's good news, new research from Dove shows that 82% of women think that social media drives the definition of beauty. And, that means that fashion magazines and advertising have less to say over what is beautiful than they did ten years ago. More women feel that they have control over what they think is beautiful now compared to ten years ago. In this link you can read more and also watch 'Selfie', a short film made by Dove that looks at just this, and talks to teenage girls and their mothers about their different views of their own beauty.
  
• After Canadian model Elly Mayday was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer, she chose to continue modelling for Forever Yours Lingerie, despite her surgical scars, weight and hair loss. Rather than representing a sexy, beautiful ideal, she's representing a sexy, beautiful reality.
  
• 3D printed nails? Yikes.
  
• Curly haired ladies, you'll want to bookmark this site. Wavy haired ladies, you too.
  
• Orange lipstick - yes, you can wear it. Here's some inspiration.
  
• Illamasqua's Sculpting Powder Duo reviewed.
  
• Red carpet makeup secrets from the pros.
  
• MTV's Fora shows off some of their favourite headphones with the help of Phoebe Dykstra and MUA Lucky B recreating the looks of M.I.A., Lorde, Miley Cyrus and Rihanna. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - December 22, 2013

Hello lovelies! We hope you're staying warm and full of holiday cheer. There are only three days until Christmas!

If you need a break from baking or family or wrapping gifts, here are some beauty links for you....

• Fashion Magazine's Beauty Panel share their best beauty tricks and tips.
• Nylon has a sneak peek of Cara Delevingne's new Yves St. Laurent campaign and tells you how to get her beauty look. 
• Steal actor Elizabeth Olin's secretly sparkly eye look. 
• Nylon claims that actor Margot Robbie's got her eye makeup matching her earrings. I don't see it myself, though both her earrings and her makeup are fantastic. Nylon does tell you how to achieve the look though, so that's worth it!
• It's so easy to make your own body scrubs and body scrubs are skin savers at this time of year, aren't they? Here's one that uses coconut oil and granulated sugar - yes, you can eat it too.
• Waterproof nail polish? I didn't know nail polish wasn't waterproof. But then I read this. 
• Love how false eyelashes can look but hate that they can look so fake? New Beauty has some tips on how to make false lashes look real. 
• MUA Andi Yancey shares her tips on creating a cat eye on different eye shapes - almond eyes, hooded eyes, monolid eyes and round eyes. 
• Sam of Pixiwoo has done a video tutorial on Alexa Chung's edgy, polished and sexy eye makeup - one of my all-time favourite looks.
• Artist Anna Hill has created a series of fake ads by using commonly used image editing tools to alter photos of herself in order to critique the overuse of Photoshop in today's mainstream advertising. 
• Jenna Talackova is best known as the Miss Universe contestant who was disqualified when it came to light that she had been born a male even though she's had gender reassignment surgery and has identified as a female since she was 19. Elle Canada has a feature on the actor and model. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - December 8, 2013

Hello lovelies and a happy December Sunday to you!

The Beauty Squared gals have been busybusybusy lately, so we're behind on our posting. We've got lots to share with you though, and will be getting posts up soon. In the meantime, there's a lot to round-up this week so without haste, let's dig in!

• It's the shopping season! Here's a round-up of some of the best beauty value sets for those beauty fans on your shopping list, or maybe, as a gift for yourself!
  
• And if you're more on the homemade gift side or want to save some cash, here are some fantastic ideas for DIY Beauty Gifts - Vanilla Body Cream and Crayon Lipsticks!
  
• Are you bored with your red lipstick? Here are some statement lip looks you should check out as alternatives.
  
• Have you seen the new MAC make-up brushes? They're...different. MUA Dustin Hunter has an in-depth review of them here.
  
• Check out this gorgeous, sexy and subtly colourful smoky eye on Olivia Wilde. It uses grey, blue, brown and mint green.
  
• Does eyeliner confuse you? Are you unsure what eyeliner look would suit you best? MUA Wayne Goss has some great tips that may help.
  
• This is a fantastic, simple way to do a retro make-up look without it looking costumey. Classic black eyeliner flicks and red lips won't ever go out of style.
  
• Look at this Louboutin-inspired manicure I came across on Twitter.
  
• And check out these unbelievably creative optical illusions using only faces and makeup.
  
• 'Tis the season for sparkle and parties and dressing up. 'Tis also the season for cold, dry weather and dry skin. New Beauty Magazine has a selection of the best illuminators that will give your skin a healthy, lit-from-within glow.
  
• A (depressing) poll done in the UK has found that 15% of women aged 16-85 aren't aware of how prevalent Photoshop is and believe that models and actresses look the same when they're walking down the street as they do in magazines. More info as well as findings regarding body consciousness among the women surveyed can be found here.
  
• Store mannequins are designed as a human ideal, a blank canvas on which clothing can be displayed to make us want to buy it. But what if they were more realistic? What if they actually looked like the people on the street looking in the store windows at them? Check out this project done by Pro Infirmis, in which people with physical disabilities have mannequins created in their likenesses. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - March 9, 2013

Welcome to this past week's Round-Up where we gather the beauty links we've been checking out for your surfing pleasure...

Beautylish explains what face primers are and why everyone could benefit from using one (not just oily skin types).

Sarah Jessica Parker's poor feet have taken the toll for all those stilettos she wore on Sex and the City. 

InStyle.com has some tips on how to comfortably wear heels.

Sephora's Pantone 2013 colour collection is in stores. In the above video they show you how to wear the emerald winged eyeliner.

LouLou Magazine has some Spring/Summer 2013 beauty looks to try right now (even though it's not quite feeling like spring yet).

This past week, Dita von Teese modelled a 3D printed gown in New York City. See more photos and video here. 

Just as model Andrej Pejic has blurred his maleness into a modelling career as a female model, female and former Olympic swimmer Casey Legler is doing the same for the world of male modelling.

A pretty genius way of fixing a broken nail.

These porn star before and after photos are pretty fascinating.

Buzzfeed has photos of extremely corseted French singer Marie Bouchaud (AKA Polaire). 

Refinery29 has a round-up of the best beauty jobs.

Introducing Fashion Magazine's brand new Beauty Panel, including Arianne of The Glitter Geek and Michelle of LipstickRules.

Check out this new ad from Dove's Real Beauty campaign as they take on the photoshoppers of the world. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - February 17, 2013

It's link love time! Here are the links we found for you this week. Let's dig in!

Movie makeup has come a long way since the first films. Makeup had to compensate for the limitations in the camera technology, using colours to make the actor's faces look normal onscreen. But in person, these actors would have looked very bizarre.

Check out this footage from 1922 of actresses being flirty and adorable. It was test footage shot for Kodak's new full-colour Kodachrome film.

At last weekend's BAFTAs, Helen Mirren showed off newly dyed pink hair. It's not for a role, though. She just wanted to do it after seeing Sophie, the winner of America's Next Top Model (cycle 18). Helen Mirren is awesome, that is all.

Buzzfeed has a collection of Photoshop before-and-after gifs. View it here. 

Makeup Artist Josh Collier reviews all of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. Do you have these yet?

Beauty Squared Round-Up - October 21

It's almost November! But no matter, here's your weekly link love from Beauty Squared.

How to dress like a pin-up girl and style tips from Dita von Teese. 

Scarlet Ibis from MAC Marilyn Monroe collection matches Tracy from Beauty Reflections hair!  

Illamasqua mystery box! This needs to be mine....

MAC's Pro line is now available online to everyone!

In a bizarre beauty trend, women in the Ukraine are turning themselves into living dolls. Yes, that photo is of a human girl. This might give you nightmares.

A review and swatches of the MAC Marilyn Monroe collection and an account of a Hollywood tour of Marilyn haunts given by MAC's Director of Artistry, Gregory Arlt. 

Victoria's Secret photos before and after retouching. 

A (Elizabeth Taylor) Cleopatra Halloween tutorial.

The Disney characters have evidently been dieting intensively and had body modifiying surgery to fit into designer clothes. This is a Barneys/Disney collaboration that has a number of people angered. If you're annoyed at the sickly thin versions of Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Goofy (Goofy???) there's an online petition here.

Beauty Squared Round-Up - September 30, 2012

Here are some of the beauty-ful links we have gathered to share with you this week:

Trend alert: Take a break from the browns and blacks and try a stunning gold eyeliner!

Have you ever photoshopped photos of yourself? This writer used to do it all the time. 

A review and swatches of Dita von Teese's new Art Deco Classics collection. 

From the beautiful to the bizarre: the trend of the bagelhead. Having saline injected into the forehead and then indented with the thumb to create a bagel shape. 

Check out this great face sculpting tutorial from the beautiful Arianne (aka The Glitter Geek). 

Revlon wants to challenge you to try new looks with its new Expression Experiment Facebook app. 

What you put into your body can affect your skin. Here are some ideas for beauty-boosting drinks.

A new trend in eyeliner pens - the trident tip. 

In for fall: a modern vampy lip.

Are you craving a change in your look? Try these bold looks.

Have a look at butter LONDON's holiday collection. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - June 3, 2012

Here are the stories that caught our attention this week:





This is a great makeup tutorial video for anyone with acne. The beautiful, brave girl in it suffers from cystic acne and you can hear the emotion in her voice when she's barefaced in front of the camera. And look at the beautiful finished product when she's finished!

Un-photoshopped, photoshopped.

German Vogue's June issue is running an 11-page spread featuring Peter Lindbergh's un-Photoshopped portraits of prominent German women including supermodels, actors and Vogue's editor-in-chief. 

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study of a 69 year old man who worked as a trucker for most of his life. As a result of spending so much time driving a truck, the left side of his face received much more sun exposure than the right and the results are startling. Doesn't this make you want to wear sunscreen?

Can yoga help prevent wrinkles and sagging in the skin on your face? 

Real Beauty has a list of the best highlighters to make your skin luminous and glowing this summer. 

Also for summer, here are some tips on how to detangle wet hair. You know, for after jumping in the pool, lake or ocean on those hot, hot days. 

Bloxsun makes sunscreen fabrics in the form of hats, scarves and gloves to protect you from the sun's damaging rays. 

InStyle offers 11 Hair Rules You Need To Break (some may surprise you)!

Florence and Machine's new video, directed by David LaChapelle is just as over-the-top, dramatic, glamourous and spectacular as you might expect and Florence is pushing the beauty and fashion envelopes again. Florence looks absolutely stunning and I kind of love her hair.