We women have various beauty rituals that must be recognized and attended to throughout the calendar year.  Some of the essentials include hitting the spa on any beach vacation upon arrival for a luxurious massage, procuring the perfect, professional mani-pedi in preparation for a summer wedding and always getting the most current hairstyles from our trusted stylists for all those never-ending holiday parties.  Unfortunately for many, time and money are tight this year and it may not be possible to get to the salon for that polished blow-out or coveted up-do before the office Christmas fete.  Never fear, Stylistas! The professionals from Asha SalonSpa, Chicago’s largest Aveda Lifestyle salon, have brought us three very different holiday looks you can achieve right at home.

Model poses for her Before photo

Look #1 – The Natural Beauty

Soft curls and easy makeup for a natural beauty

Makeup
1) Start with a clean surface by removing all makeup from the face.  Try Aveda All-Sensitive Cleanser.  Clean the face with an astringent toner.  Cindy recommends Aveda All-Sensitive Toner.  Follow the toner with a light moisturizer like Oil-Free Tourmaline Charged Protecting Lotion with SPF 15.  “The moisturizer helps to even out the skin’s surface for a smoother look once we apply the foundation,” Cindy says.
2) Lightly dab eye cream onto the lids, underneath and at the corners of the eyes with your fingertip.  Cindy uses Tourmaline Charged Eye Cream which reduces the appearance of fine lines and dark circles.
3) For a dewy, more natural look, use a tinted moisturizer instead of a thick foundation.  Apply with the tip of a sponge, making sure to blend the product well into the skin.  To achieve an even smoother look, use a small foundation brush to cover hard-to-reach places around the eyelids and nose. 

Cindy uses a foundation brush to fill in difficult lines

4) With a small eye shadow brush, lightly dust the entire eyelid from corner to corner and from the lash line to the brow with a neutral shade like Aurora or Sunset for darker skin tones.
5) With a medium-brown eyeliner pencil, line the upper and lower lash lines, starting from the middle of the line approximately where the pupil lines up with the lashes and draw outwards.  Smudge the line with a brush or small sponge.
6)  With a small eye shadow brush, apply a slightly darker shade of shadow to the outside corners of the eyes.  Try Briar, a shade Cindy says is universally popular with clients.
7) Apply two coats of black mascara.
8) Apply blush to the apples of the cheeks with a thick, soft blush brush.  Try a shade like Rose Quartz for lighter complexions and a combination of bronzer with a color like Lotus for darker complexions.
9) With the tip of your finger, dab on a moisturizing lip tint.  More like a lip balm with just a splash of color, Cindy says, this type of makeup alternative is best for achieving the most natural pout.  Try a bright and festive color like Berry.

Hair
Nomi, who has been with Aveda salons for nine years says, “As soon as I saw our model, I immediately thought 'Taylor Swift.'  Since she already has some curl in her hair, I want to utilize the natural textures.  The look for today’s celebrity hair is all about soft, messy, undone.”
1) Start with day-old-washed hair. The dirtiness of the hair if it hasn’t been recently washed helps maintain the curl and style.
2) Spray a gloss, shine or thermal protector on hair before curling to help shield the hair shafts from breakage.
3) Nomi uses a 1 ½ “ curling iron barrel on the model’s hair.  Separating ½” wide pieces from the rest of the hair, he curls random sections throughout the model’s entire head, focusing on the front, side and top layers.  This way, he is able to keep the natural texture of the hair in place instead of curling every strand.  “The attractive part of this style is that you don’t have to spend countless hours curling and styling because the look is one part natural and one part messy for a whole lot of bed-head sexy.”

Nomi uses a 1/2" barrel on the model's hair

4)  For straight, fine or unruly hair, separate a section of hair out to be curled.  Spritz it with a medium-to-light hair spray and then immediately curl it.  Try Aveda Air Control Hair Spray, a softer product that doesn’t feel crunchy or look wet on the hair when it dries.  When finished curling, pull the barrel out slowly.  Hold the curl in place and clip it with a styling clip for extra hold.

A simple clip helps the curl keep its memory while styling

5) Finish with a shine or gloss spray.  Try Aveda Brilliance Spray which helps to reduce frizz and fly-aways.

Look #2 – The Glamour Girl

Glamorous curls in a simple ponytail

Makeup:
“The smokey eye is back,” Cindy says, “So we’re going to really play up this area of the face for a more dramatic look than the last.”
1) Repeat steps 1 and 2 from The Natural Beauty Look.
2) Use a sponge to apply a liquid foundation all over the face, focusing around the eye and nose for a flawless finish.  To fill creases around the eyes, lips, or forehead, use a foundation brush and lightly dab the foundation onto the skin.
3) Brush a light, iridescent gray-toned eye shadow onto the entire surface of the eyelids. 

Jasmine is swept across the entire upper lid

4) Focus a soft black eye shadow onto the outer corners of the eyes, brushing into the creases.  Cindy uses an eye shadow duo, Black Tulip and Jasmine, on the model.

Darker shadow is concentrated in the outer corners of the eyes

5) With a smaller brush, line both the upper and lower lash lines with the black shadow.  “The key to the perfect smokey eye is blending.  Blend, blend, blend and blend some more so you don’t get a harsh look,” says Cindy.
6) With a creamy eyeliner pencil like Black Orchid, line the upper lash line from one end of the lid to the other while making sure to focus the color on the outer corner for a dramatic, eye-opening effect.

Cindy smudges liner into the corners of the eyes

7) Brush the gray, iridescent shade (Jasmine) into the inner corner of the eye.
8) Apply three to four coats of mascara.  Use a clean mascara brush to soften the thickness and avoid the “spider eye” effect.
9) Line the lips lightly just on the inside of the lip with a mauve- or berry-colored lip liner.  Blend into the lips with a lip brush.
10) Dab a light lip gloss into the lips on the thickest part of the pout.  Try Grapefruit Pulp Lip Shine.
11) Apply blush to the apples of the cheeks.  Cindy uses Petal Pink blush.  For darker skin complexions, try Paprika.

Hair:
“To achieve a more polished look,” Nomi says, “You can pull the curls you’ve just created into a side-swept ponytail.  This look is so young Hollywood right now.”  (Think Lindsay Lohan or Lauren Conrad.) “And what is so great about this style is that when it starts falling out at the end of the night, it still looks sexy, romantic and undone.”
1) Separate pieces around the top of the head and tease them at the very root for a fuller look.
2) Pull all the hair to one side of the head and secure with a ponytail holder.

Soft curls are pulled to the side and secured with a holder

3) To hide the ponytail holder, pull out a thin strand of hair from the bottom of the ponytail and wrap around the holder, securing with a bobby pin.  Spray the piece with hair spray at the site.

Nomi hides the ponytail holder with a section of curls

4) For an even more updated look, pull a section of hair from the bottom of the ponytail a bit wider than the last and braid it. 

Nomi braids a section of the model's hair

5) Once it is braided, wrap it around the holder and secure it with a bobby pin, spraying the site with hairspray.  Nomi adds that clients can even buy braided ponytail holders for the same look without the effort.

A homemade braided ponytail holder

6) Nomi stresses the importance of re-curling the hair after it has been put in the ponytail.  “Stressed ends, fly-aways or curls that don’t lie naturally against the shoulders can really destroy the look,” he says. 
7) Finish with spray shine focused at the ends of the hair and on the front layers.

Look #3 – The Vixen

A sexy vixen

Makeup:
“For an even more dramatic effect,” says Cindy, “you can add more color to the lips.  Be careful not to overpower the look with a shade that doesn’t suit your complexion.  The secret is to find colors that complement, not overpower your natural tones.”
1) Create the Glamour Girl look by following steps 1-8. 
2) Line the lips with a berry or red-colored liner.  Be sure to say on the inside of the lip.  “When lipstick wears away toward the end of the night or almost immediately after eating,” Cindy warns, “you can end up with a ring of liner around the outside of your lips.” 
3) Apply a complementary shade of red to the lips.  For darker complexions, try a red that has a bit more orange in it.  And for lighter complexions, use berry-colored reds.  For an even finish, Cindy sweeps Maracuja onto the lips with a small lipstick brush.
4) This look is a little more difficult to achieve, especially for clients with lighter complexions.  If the colors seem to overpower the face, try using a darker shade of brown on the smokey eyes instead of black.  You can even skip the smokey eye and shift all the focus to the red lip—a very modern look that suits just about anyone. 
 
Hair:
For a style that is sexy and sultry, Nomi brushes out the curl in the model’s hair with a blow dryer.  “While soft, romantic, messy curls are very in this season, straighter, voluminous hair is always a smart classic.”
1) Work a straightening gel, like Aveda Hang Straight, into damp hair.
2) Blow-dry wide sections of hair, pulling up and away from the scalp with a large round brush for added volume. 

Pull hair up while blow-drying for jaw-dropping volume

3) Spray front sections and the ends of hair with hairspray.
4) Tease sections of hair at the crown for even more volume at the top. 

Voluminous, straight and shiny

5) Pull all the hair to one side of the neck, separating and the very back pieces into ½” wide sections.  Twist these sections around the neck.

Nomi twists the back sections of the hair

6) Secure them to the hair with bobby pins and spritz with hairspray. “Be creative.  It’s a pretty mess.  You don’t want it to look too structured,” says Nomi.

Nomi's fun creation in the back makes for an interesting twist on this style

7) Finish with high shine spray.

Asha Salon and Spas are located throughout downtown Chicago as well as in Schaumburg, Lombard and Rockford, IL.
For more information, go to: ashasalonspa.com

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