Beauty Trends For December

The Latest Trends From Around the World.

Laura Sherwood, our Northern US Correspondent
I just finished speaking to Barbara King, owner/operator of HairPlus in Torrington, CT, and she told me most definitively that "CURLS ARE BACK!" Hair is more "texturized" now, which is a term for hair that has shape and definition. Perms are another way of "texturizing" as well. Styles are reverting back to the 1960"s. So, in essence Perms are also back with a more natural curl vs. a tight frizzy curl. Highlights are still hotter than ever with the ladies, with foiling being the top choice. Young men especially are "bleaching" their hair, copying much of the style influence of such major recording artists as BOYZ II MEN, Backstreet Boys. Holiday makeup is "glittery", much shine and sparkle, an added brightness to the face. Dark eyeliner is hot as well. Pastels are quite the rage. Lip are lush and shiny. With all of the products on the market, it is so difficult to decide what to try next. Each month, you will find an assortment that have come across my desk. I have tried each of them and will tell you whether or not I think that they work. Then, if you have been looking for such a product, write down the names and tuck it in your purse for easy reference the next time you visit the mall. It makes shopping for your beauty needs... so much easier.

Deb Nichols, our Southern Us Correspondent
The current trend here is short and curly. Most women around here are also frosting their hair. Their makeup is leaning toward the burgundies, and dark eyeliners, but taupes and brown shadows. Most of the women around here are dressing very festive for the holidays -- you see a lot of red, with an occasional green and lots of holly and Santa jewelry.

Victoria Robinson, our UK Correspondent,
Well hello again my fellow beauty fiends! Another four weeks have flown by: after a rather horrid week in hospital (NHS beauty freebies are really NOT up to standard) & an equally frazzled period Christmas shopping, your UK correspondent is ready to report on all that is beautiful in the UK:

First off, the matter of hairstyling has to be brought to light. Whether it's this 80s revival or the influence of the latest Charlie's Angels movie, hair has gone all Farrah Fawcett on us - flicks a plenty. While this is a lovely evening style for long locks or grown-out short as mine is, it does look a little suspect on a wet afternoon traipsing around town - & , believe me, I have seen plenty of ladies trying to perfect this look on a windswept day.

Daytime makeup is much the same as it always is, but evening looks are going decidedly Christmassy. Yuletide glitter, thankfully, has gone nice & subtle - think sheen rather than spangly. Soft shimmer hairsprays are making an appearance this year to nicely polish up those flicks: Fudge do the most sophisticated - glossy rather than OTT sparkle (thankfully, the only glitterballs will be suspended from the ceiling..). Lips have gone all glittery & glossy with lovely products from Chanel & most major beauty lines. A wonderful product is MAC's Freezefrost Lipglass Gloss which is flecked with hologram glitter for a full-on Diva look.

Shimmer products for the face are a plenty: Stila, Prescriptives, Laura Mercier, Bloom etc. A beautiful bronzer-cum-face shimmer is the coveted Clarins Shimmer Compact - selling like hot cakes in my neck of the woods - I went for the Pink Gold colour which gives a beautiful flushed shimmer. The product which comes in scarlet & gold packaging is presented in a lovely crimson taffeta drawstring bag.

For evening eyes, matte shadows are replaced by sparkly colour. I have just bought Aveda's Cobalt eye colour - a lusciously deep grey flecked with an icy silvery/blue shimmer - stunning for the evening! Also lovely are Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Wash eyeshadows: I plumped for a gorgeous shimmery lilac which will easily translate to summer wear. Eyelure have brought out their wonderful false lashes with fabulous rhinestones.

Lips are still the full on reds, burgundies or plums that began to appear late October. A Christmas twist has been to layer the colour with shimmery gold gloss.

Whipping up a storm is body jewellery: stick on sparkly tattoos. Don't balk just yet - the look is sophisticated, not trashy! Sonia Rykiel, Estee Lauder, Swarovski & Guerlain have all brought out versions. Worn on the arm or shoulder they look stunning. Fortunately, once the 'sticky' has gone, these little gems can be re-used with the help of false eyelash glue!

One fragrance enjoying a revival (much to my consternation as I was beginning to see this scent as 'mine') is Fracas by Robert Piguet. Favoured by John Galliano, Joan Collins & Madonna, my nose is in good company!

All in all, as long as we don't all go glitter happy, the look is still polished: grown up shimmer playing up one face area as opposed to all over slap happy glitter. Looks like we're all going to be in for a pretty gorgeous Christmas!

**I'm always looking for more correspondents from around the world. If you would like let us know what is happening in your corner of the world, just let me know! See you next month with new trends for a brand new year. :)