5 Top Hair Trends for 2016

Out with the old, in with the new for 2016. In the world of hair, a lot of the old is new again - call is classic. The natural look is trendy, but even if you prefer to sport hair with raspberry or lavender accents, complementing the skin tone is a must. Here are the top hair trends for this year. 

Melting Colors 

Color melting looks natural, since highlights are applied in varied tones. The colors indeed "melt" together, with darker roots lightening through the rest of the strands to the ends. It takes a while to apply, but because it looks so natural, you don't have to return to the colorist as often for touch-ups. Your hair can grow out quite a bit and still retain a natural appearance, instead of rapidly turning two-toned if just a single shade is used. Color melting fits all hair lengths, even shorter cuts. This leads us to another hot trend for 2016 - the bob.

The Bob Returns

The bob made its first appearance back in the 1920s, and was revolutionary at the time. For thousands of years, women wore their hair long. The bob changed all that, and nothing defined the modern woman like a short cut. The bob is back, and the 21st century version features texture, and some tousle. No matter whether your hair is wavy or straight, this timeless look is a winner. Another classic is back this year - bangs.

Bangs are Back 

Bangs and bobs are made for each other, and a bob with bangs is the au courant look. It doesn't matter what type hair you have - fine, thick, curly or straight - a bob with bangs is a great look. Bangs aren't limited to bobs this year. It's also a hot look for shoulder-length and longer hair. Very long hair is another top style statement.

Long as You Can Grow It Hair

For younger women, there's not much of in-between in 2016. Hair is either short or fabulously long.  If you opt for the latter, that doesn't mean you have deal with the upkeep of very long locks. 

Hair extensions give you the look without the maintenance. Whether your hair is real or purchased, texture is tops, along with a comfortable look suiting night or day. Grace your long hair with delicate highlights, another 2016 trend.

Baby, It's You 

Small children's hair boasts subtle highlights. For adults, that delicate highlighting is known as babylights, and it's a look that's staying the course. The highlights are just a shade or two lighter than your natural color. Babylights focus on your hairline, crown and hair tips. It's a muted look that's much more subdued than ordinary highlighting, and doesn't require nearly as much maintenance.

How to Create a Full, Pouty Pucker

If you were born with lips that are less than full, you may be envious of women who have a full, pouty pucker. While you could pay big bucks for painful injections to make your lips plump, it's a lot easier and safer to use noninvasive methods to get that kissable look. 

Choose and use a lip-plumping product. With full lips all the rage, it's easy to find a number of lip-plumping products on the shelves. These products often rely on irritants like mint, cinnamon or peppers to cause your lips to puff up in response to them. The results typically last a few hours. Expect a tingling sensation when you apply such products. 

Condition your lips with the moisture-rich products. Select a lip balm that moisturizes and conditions your lips. Products containing ingredients like beeswax, urea, glycerin, cocoa butter and dimethicone help lips retain moisture and look fuller. 

Exfoliate your lips daily. 

Brushing your lips with your toothbrush each time you brush your teeth removes dead skin cells and increases blood flow to your lips, helping them to look fuller and softer with minimal effort.  

Use cosmetics to create a full, plump lip look. Use a nude lip pencil to line and cover your lips completely to create a blank canvas on which to build your lip look. Use a lip pencil in a shade that is slightly darker than your lipstick to line your lips slightly outside your natural lip line for a fuller look. Fill in your lips with a rich, creamy lipstick with a gloss or a sheen to it to help the light reflect off your lips and make them look as voluptuous as possible. 

Avoid smoking, sun exposure and dehydration. All of these things suck moisture from your lips and cause them to appear thinner than they really are. Kick the smoking habit, use lip balm with sunscreen when you're in the sun and drink plenty of water every day. Picking up these habits will help your lips look their best. 

Even if you weren't born with lips so full and plump that they drive men wild, by taking the time to maximize your lip potential you'll soon have lips that are pucker perfect.

Dry Shampoo: Why Every Woman Should Own It

While it's been around for decades, dry shampoo has stayed mostly under the radar until recently. Once thought of by the public as an out-of-date product exclusively used by little old ladies that only wash and set their hair once a week, this secret weapon within the hair industry can be your key to amazing hair. 

Skip the Shampoo

More and more we're hearing that washing our hair every day unnecessarily strips the hair and scalp of oils, causing them to become dry and damaged. So what's a girl to do when you want to skip the shampoo, but your roots are too greasy to get away with it? Along comes dry shampoo to the rescue.

By sprinkling or spraying a little dry shampoo on your roots, especially around your hairline and where you part your hair, you can quickly and easily sop up any excess oil and go about your morning beauty routine without the need to lather up. 

Get A Grip

We all love the feeling of freshly-washed hair, and how soft and silky it can be. Unfortunately, it's this smoothness that can make styling your hair difficult. Cue that dry shampoo. Not only does dry shampoo absorb excess oil, it lightly coats your hair and, as a result, gives your hair more volume and "grip" to hold your hair in place longer.

Dry shampoo is especially handy for fine, limp hair or when you need an extra boost of volume for that girls' night out. Creating an at-home updo? A little dry shampoo applied to your hair beforehand will make creating volume, or shaping the perfect curls, much easier.
  

Picking the Right One For You

There are many different versions of dry shampoo on the market and, depending on your hair, and what you're using it for, there will be a version meant for you.

Dry hair? Choose a dry shampoo with vitamin B-12 and keratin in the formula to help replenish missing moisture. Keep in mind, if your hair is excessively dry, it may be that you've been washing your hair too often to begin with, so reaching for the dry shampoo instead will help the situation on its own.

Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo

Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo cleanses by absorbing excess oil and dirt that weighs down hair.
Sea Buckthorn Berry extract, which is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and healthy omega fatty acids, conditions hair leaving it soft and manageable. The lightweight formula creates soft texture and removes odors to refresh hair between shampoos.
Dry shampoo can sometimes leave a whiteish residue on your hair. Those with dark hair would do well to pick one of the tinted versions that contain just enough tint to camouflage its presence in your hair.

Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk (Gentle Formula for Brown to Dark Hair)

Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk (Gentle Formula for Brown to Dark Hair) is lauded as the original and best dry shampoo. It gently revives hair in 2 minutes—naturally.
With a unique combination of plant-based ingredients, it absorbs excess oil so hair is left clean and volumized. Oat milk softens, protects and moisturizes hair.

If you're using dry shampoo to skip hitting the showers post workout, you'll want to go for the stronger formulas. These contain extra oil-absorbing power, along with a fragrance that will help counteract any sweat smell that may linger on your scalp.

RENE FURTERER Naturia Dry Shampoo with Absorbent Clay

RENE FURTERER Naturia Dry Shampoo with Absorbent Clay is perfect for the gym bag, long trip, camping, and office drawer, maintaining your hairstyle, or avoiding frequent shampooing. It cleanses hair in minutes, leaving it light, luminous, and perfectly healthy, without using water.

Whether you're using dry shampoo as a time saver, a styling booster or both, having this handy product in your arsenal will help you say goodbye to those bad hair days.

6 Top Beauty Trends for 2016

It's a new year, and you don't want to look like 2015 anymore. Last year, colors rarely seen in the natural world were trending, but that's not true in 2016. Whether it's food, clothing or home decoration, the natural look is in, and that's especially true in the world of hair and makeup. Look au naturel with the help of some artful cosmetics. 

Classic Lipstick Colors

Get rid of the bizarre lipstick shades and get back to the classics. Lips are luscious this year in red, pink, and dark burgundies. You also won't go wrong with nude and neutral shades. Stay classic with a slightly pouty look.   

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Matte Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Matte Lipstick

The first Dolce & Gabbana matte lipstick – perfectly opaque, it envelops a woman’s lips in an intense, full-bodied red, while keeping lips hydrated and soft. Exceptionally creamy texture. New rounded tip for ease of application.

Smoke Gets in - or Around - Your Eyes

The smoky-eyed look is still going strong this year, but the look is somewhat more subtle. At night, glamorize with glitter. For serious nights out, buck the natural look and bring on the false eyelashes. 

LUNASOL Grace Contrasting Eyes

Lunasol Grace Contrasting Eyes is created especially for graceful purification that was inspired by the sophisticated world of Rococo. Calculated lusters are fuzzily layered over each other to create fine three-dimensionality that can only be achieved by four colors as well as an integrated feel with the skin.

Bangs for Your Buck

Short Wavy Curly Bob Hairstyle /flickr

Short hair is still a top trend in 2016, but bangs with your bob is the current height of chic. That's true whether hair is fine, thick, curly or straight. Natural texture is key, and layering is in. That's especially true if you wear your hair long. Versatility is in vogue, so a cut should give you more bang for your buck.

Shades Found in Nature

Hair colors not found in nature are out the door in 2016. That doesn't mean your hair color stays its natural shade, but green is only natural if you're a leaf. Go sun-kissed blond, as if you just came back from a week in Turks and Caicos rather than hard at work in the office. Brunettes  might opt for tresses the color of rich chocolate. Add some ombre highlights for that au courant textured look.

Accessories Accentuate

Add hair accessories to your wardrobe this year. Have fun with colorful ribbons and barrettes. If you're a bit older - born in the pre-Internet era - jeweled pieces add a classic, lovely touch. Accentuate your locks with velvet or satin-like headbands - a glamorous look for little money.  

More Natural Nails

Stay up to date with this year's nail trends, which mirror the return to natural. That's the nail shape for this year, with 2015's coffin nails laid to rest. You can still wear thin French tips, but try somewhat thicker tipping on clear, polished nails. Try color contrasting, with darker hues on the tips. 

The More Things Change  

Beauty trends come and go, and if you want to stay trendy, you've got some work cut out for you. Keep up-to-date by visiting the top glamour websites and blogs, and burrow yourself into the newest fashion magazines. However, to thine own self be true – master trends, don't become their slaves. Find what does and doesn't work for you – that's true chic.

Forget Cosmetic Surgery: Get Flawless Skin The Natural Way

Everyone wants to have a flawless complexion, but Nature does not bless us all in this way, and modern living can make perfect skin something to aspire to but never achieve. But you don't have to resort to artificial means such as Botox to get the look you've always wanted. Forget cosmetic surgery and get flawless skin the natural way.

Moisture

Nothing looks worse than dry, flaky skin, but what makes our skin this way? The answer is the lack of water. When our bodies lack moisture and become dehydrated, our skin and its inevitable wrinkles become more noticeable and can even dry out to the point where the dead skin cells begin to flake off. So what is the first thing to do to achieve flawless skin? You've got it: drink plenty of water.

Scrubbing

Our skin is constantly regenerating itself, which means that it needs to get rid of its dead skin cells. This happens without us realizing it, but to get flawless skin that glows with health, we can give our bodies a little help by exfoliating. 

Exfoliation should be performed between two and three times a week using a gentle facial brush or exfoliating sponge. If you prefer, use an exfoliating scrub cleaner rather than a brush, but whatever method you choose, remember not to exfoliate every day as you may damage your skin.

Of course, your face is not the only part of your body that needs your attention. Before you have your bath or shower, use a scrubbing brush to exfoliate your body. Begin at your feet and use a circular action, moving up your body until you reach your head. The circular motion will not only remove dead skin cells, but give a boost to your circulation.

APIVITA Brightening Face Scrub With Bulberry

APIVITA Brightening Face Scrub With Bulberry is designed for achieving radiant skin, suitable for all skin types – even the sensitive ones – as well as for men and teenagers. The combination of fine almond grains and jojoba, along with mild fruit acids and bilberry, gently exfoliates and favours the renewal of cells leaving skin soft and shiny. Ideal for combating discolorations and brown spots.

Unwanted hair

Removing unwanted hair from your body can be achieved in a variety of ways, including shaving and waxing. Both of these methods benefit from exfoliation prior to the hair removal, as again, dead skin cells are removed, and the hair is lifted away from the skin to be in a better position for removal. 

Use a gel or foam when shaving to keep the skin moisturized and minimize cuts. When finished, wash away all traces of the gel or foam, and for both shaving and waxing, moisturize the area well.

Veet In Shower Hair Removal Cream (Normal Skin)

Veet In Shower Hair Removal Cream (Normal Skin) works close to the root even on short hair, giving you smoothness for up to four days. Designed to fit in with your busy routine: with a unique combination of water-resisting ingredients, it works while you shower so you can get on with your day. 

Makeup

Most women use makeup to make themselves look better, but makeup products are not always kind to our skins, clogging pores and either drying out skin or making it greasy. Foundations are particularly to blame for these conditions, so if you must wear makeup, opt for a foundation that contains a moisturizing ingredient that is suitable for your skin type, whether dry or oily. For the winter months especially, choose face powders and blushers that include light-reflecting ingredients, as these help to give skin a healthy glow and freshness.

You don't need Botox and other chemical treatments to make your skin look good. All you need do is make healthy choices about what you eat and drink and take care of your skin with sensible daily cleansing regimes.