(no subject)

[titusnowl]

I have no idea how to do my hair.  I always just wear it loose and kind of unruly (it's stick-straight, but if I brush with my head upside down, it falls around my shoulders in a nice looks-like-it-has-volume manner), or sometimes I'll wear twin ponytails behind the ears or turn those into a pair of tiny buns or Pocahontas braids.  But I don't know how to make a bun that actually stays in my hair, or a ponytail that looks good and doesn't slip down to the back of my neck after a few hours, and anything with the word "french" in it - like twist, or braid - is utterly beyond me.  I don't understand how bobby pins are supposed to work - they just slide out!  If I part my hair all the way over on one side, and slick the hair down diagonally across my forehead and tuck it behind my ear, I have this really nice, sleek, smooth look in the front, but then I have my hair hanging down all long and limp in the back, and I feel like I should do something with it, but I don't know what or how. 

Justin's mom bought me a whole new outfit to wear to my interview tomorrow - adorable little black shoes with a bit of a wedge heel and Mary Jane-like buckle trim in the front; lightweight synthetic-weave black pants with button tab trim at the waist and a smooth, flattering drape down the leg; a black and white patterned shirt with short sleeves and an empire waist trimmed with white lace; even a new lipstick in a color called "mocha" that is slightly darker than my natural lip color - more of a lip "enhancer" than a lip "rouge."  But I don't know what to do with my eye makeup OR with my hair, to complete the look and appear professional and pulled-together.

In my makeup kit, I have:
- The new mocha lipstick (which is really a heavily-tinted gloss, and came with matching liner)
- Lipsticks in shades of red, apricot, and one punchy pink (punchy as in "like a bowl of strawberry fruit punch")
- Lipliners in natural and red
- A sheer lipgloss
- Eyeliners in black, white, charcoal, navy, a light blue cream thing that is meant to line and color all at once, and I think possibly a green but I'm not sure, also a tan eyebrow pencil that can also be used as an eyeliner
- Eyeshadow in white, three shades of blue (from sky to navy), three shades of green (pale olive to hunter), pinkish-brown and actual brown
- Mascara in brown/black and just plain black

On the counter, I have:
- Mousse
- Hair spray
- Extra-hold gel
- Some bobby pins
- Lots of hair elastics
- A thin brown leather headband
- A couple of those clips that you open and close by bending them, they're pretty small and they're in dark brown metal

My hair is currently medium brown with auburn highlights, although I have a copper wash I can put in it to make it medium auburn with red highlights.

I'm considering going out and spending a dollar on a new headband - wide mod headbands are in, and I could get it in black or white and wear it with my hair slicked back and just leave the back hair down.  I don't know.

Comments

[emmycantbemeeko.livejournal.com]

I have precisely opposite hair- fine strands but thick on my head and curly curly curly, so this comes from a limited understanding of dealing with straight hair, but I think the "sleek faux-bangs brushed across the front" look is very in right now for straight hair, and that it would look fine with the back down, or with a tight bun.

For a bun that sticks, make a tight tight tight ponytail. Use a bit of product in your hair first to give some texture- it sounds like your hair is very slick. With straight hair you can comb product through- personally I just scrunch it in gently from the bottom to avoid disturbing the curls. Gel, mousse, whatever you're comfortable with. Mousse is designed to give body, hairspray is designed to hold, and gel is a little of both. Start with a little product (and always on wet hair, except for hair spray, which can lightly touch-up dry/damp hair). You can always add more, but you can't take it away once it's in.

So, make a tight ponytail in the spot where you want the bun centered, then twist the pony tail tightly till just before it begins to kink to one side. When it does, bend it in a circle around the base of the pony tail, continuing to twist it as you do so- it should feel firm and dense- and insert bobby pins to hold it in place- try to trap a small amount of hair from both the bun and the hair on your scalp in each clip, but not so much that the pin is sprung open and ready to fly out of your hair at a moment's notice. There will probably be a little "tail end" sticking out- once the bun is affixed securely, pin that under the bun. Spray with hair spray when you're done; it will increase the longevity of the style.

Here is a decent explanation: http://www.ehow.com/how_17117_make-modern-bun.html

Headbands are trendy now, but a nice bun or twist is the height of professionalism and business-appropriate, so I would go for that if you can swing it.

RE makeup, I would go for something simple and fairly neutral. It's best to highlight EITHER the eyes or lips, so whichever you're more confident doing, I'd go with that. It's also better to err on the side of conservativism with your makeup. I would personally go with probably a lighter shade, either the lightest green or the pinkish-brown, on the whole lid, with the dark brown at the outer corners and lightly highlighting in the crease. And line the outer part of the lower lids in a neutral shade IF you're confident in your ability to do so neatly and subtly. If not, just apply the brown-black mascara on your upper lashes (hold the blotted brush at the base of your lashes and wiggle it back and forth before gliding it up the length of the lashes) and then put your finger below the lower lashes, look up, and blink hard once. That will get a smidgen of mascara on your lower lashes without that "spiders clinging to your lower lids" look.

For the lips, I'd go with a flattering, neutral shade in liner, color in the lips with the same pencil, and apply a gloss or balm over the top. I find this wears better than lipstick and is more subtle, though you must touch up the gloss frequently.

I always seem to write a freaking novel in your journal. Dunno why. Sorry.

Good luck on your interview!

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

Well, I managed to go through the motions of making a proper bun - but my hair is not quite long enough. Parts of it end up flopping out and being stupid little fly-aways, sticking out from the rest of it. I would need a maid's help to catch each and every one of them and poke them back in with a hairpin. ::sigh::

Given that buns are professional and headbands are trendy, will I look unprofessional if I wear the headband? Would it be better to skip the headband and just do the slickybangs and leave the back down loose?

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

This is what my best attempt at a bun looks like. I pinned down three or four flyaways, with Justin's help, but the ones that remain can't be pinned.

http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bun0cp.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bun0cp.jpg)

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

Also: Which color eyeliner do you recommend?

I think I'm going to go with the new mocha liner colored in all over my lips, with the mocha gloss on top to make it shiny and nice. That's what I did today and it looked nice. It's a very subtle color and I like it. And I think the pinkish brown on the whole lid and brown on the corners - does "whole lid" really mean "entire lid from lash to brow" and if not where are the edges supposed to be?

[emmycantbemeeko.livejournal.com]

Here we go! It's a fundamentalist website but they surely do know how to do their hair: http://www.prayercoverings.com/pages/howtomakeabun.php

Lots of different updo styles, with step by step photo-illustrations.