All runway images: Showbit.com
FOR A BEACHSIDE PICNIC WITH GIRL FRIENDS
Create your own joyous Spring paean to ‘90s Californian surf culture by pairing your distressed denims with a fun fishtail braid that’s fashionably undone and perfectly imperfect. A few loose ends, so to speak, will give your ‘do a windblown sexiness that’s very youthful and very appealing.
To get the look, spritz a styling spray through dry hair for a volumising boost, then gather your hair into a ponytail at the nape of your neck. Secure with an elastic band. Next, part your hair into two sections.
To start weaving, grab the left section with your left hand, lifting the roots with your fingers for body. With your right hand, twist a an approximately one cm-wide piece from the front of the right section and cross it over to the left side, overlapping the plait like you would with a standard-issue braid. Using both hands, pull on the two ends of the ponytail to tighten the plait. Repeat by picking up a piece from the left side and crossing it over, then tighten by pulling the ends taut. Continue crisscrossing, trying to grab sections of about the same width, until you reach the end of your ponytail.
Once you’ve woven your hair down to the ends, secure the fishtail braid with another elastic band. Use a pair of scissors to cut off the elastic at your nape. Finish by working your fingers through the braids to loosen them up, and set with another blast of medium-hold hairspray for a flexible finish you can twist and twirl at random throughout the day.
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FOR YOUR YEAR-END OFFICE PARTY
For the past year, you’ve kept things low-key and minimal in strait-laced A-line skirts and buttoned-up blouses. Remind your fellow cubicle warriors you’ve still got it in you by making a show-stopping entrance at the next office get-together. We think a slick side part that cascades into big, dramatic curls would make for a fabulous follicular conversation piece that will have your secretaries buzzing for days after.
The trick to bagging a buoyant bounce that’s salon-worthy is to start by dusting a degreasing powder into the roots of your hair. After scrunching the texturiser into your hair, blow dry with a rounded brush and make a deep side part.
Keeping the top of your head sleek and smooth, grab sections of hair at ear height and coil around a curling iron. Wait for them to set, then release the curls from the spirals and separate by running your fingers through them. Tease the ends with a medium-sized boar-bristle brush for even more volume, then finish with liberal pumps of a setting spray.
ALSO READ: All the top shampoo tricks and treatments you need for soft and shiny hair!
FOR DINNER WITH YOUR UPPITY RELATIVES
You’re at a glass-and-marble marvel of a restaurant with your pearl-and-diamond festooned mother-in-law. You’re aiming to dress to impress without coming off as too fussy and fastidious. A simple slick-back will do very nicely indeed.
First, gussy up the gloss with a high-shine serum into damp hair. Use a fine-toothed comb to part hair, then sweep back the sections into a tight ponytail that ends at your nape. Twist the tail into a loose chignon and secure the ends with a slim clip that matches the hue of your hair.
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Stick in a bobby pin or two at the side part behind your ear – and you’re done. Extra step: If you’re gunning for a plastered Old Hong Kong vibe to go with your contemporary cheongsam, consider dousing your ‘do with an industrial-strength hairspray. Budge-proof glamour in a jiffy!
The best thing about all three looks: Each of them should take you an hour, tops, to complete. Don’t believe us? We’re throwing down the grooming gauntlet and putting ourselves in the cross hairs, so to speak. Bookmark this page, pick one that catches your fancy, and try them out at the next appropriate event. Have lots of follicular fun!
Want more? Spritz, slather and scrub yourself to a fabulously fine finish with these beauty tips I bet you haven’t heard of before, and check out these tried-and-tested “sleeping aids” to fend off fatigue for softer and smoother skin, even if you’re running on empty. Get your daily dose of beauty at www.herworldplus.com/beauty.
