Cornrow Styles That'll Take Your Braid Game To A New Level

Every Sunday before school my mother would sit me down and braid my hair in cornrows. I would wear the simple, straight-back braids for a full week, until the next wash day rolled around. My story is similar to many young Black girls, but even though cornrows have been around for centuries — way before hair colour fads and insane Instagram styles became a thing — the classic braided look continues to evolve.

Cornrows are frequently misconstrued, misrepresented, and appropriated on runways, in magazines, and IRL, but when done right the style is both fashion-forward and culturally significant. And thanks to tons of talented hair braiders and stylists, there are endless iterations with intricate patterns, bright colours, and fun accessories.

The great thing about cornrows is that — no matter how you style 'em — they're super practical. You can wear your braids for weeks with minimal styling, protecting the hair from damage and maximizing growth. If you want your next protective style to involve cornrows, there are many different designs to consider. Ahead, we've rounded up some of our favourites to take to your stylist or DIY if you've got the skills.

Top tips for an all-day soft glam look

As we enter August, with most of the summer holidays been and gone, we are finding that more and more clients who are going out for the day or night want a soft glam look.

It's all about a fabulous look and making the most of your features, but subtlety is the aim.

Here are my top recommendations for creating a smokey but soft and subtle look this month.

Conceal don't feel!

If you are finding that your skin feels dehydrated and that there are areas with darkness, pigmentation and discolouration, then concealer will be your best friend. I love using Make-up Studio No.2 Concealer (£13.50). I love the creamy consistency of this product, and how it gives such full coverage - but is also so natural when it's blended into the skin.

Ace your base

If you are wanting to ace your base, then it is so important to invest your budget into your foundation. This is one of the staples of your make-up routine. I work with a variety of foundations but one I have recently picked up again after a long time is Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (£42).

This luminous foundation glides on weightlessly for a flawless lit-from-within glow. Enriched with Micro–fil™ technology, it helps to sculpt and brighten your look. This foundation allows for buildable coverage, meaning that you can create the precise look that suits you. What's more, it also improves texture and blurs imperfections.

Brows

An important part of your make-up routine is filling in your eyebrows. When I'm doing this on my clients in my Make-up Pro Store, I always use powder as I find it gives me more control of the sharpness and depth of the brow. One secret of achieving the perfect defined brow is using a brow gel like that from NARS (£17).

It is a glossy, easy gliding gel to tame and groom eyebrows. It keeps brows in place with a unique precision-tapered brush that adds shape and definition to every angle while creating a fuller, smoother brow look to perfectly set the symmetry of the face. A must have for any beauty bag, then!

Powder Power

For all-day wear you'll want your make-up to have great staying power. And for maximum longevity it is important to use a mineral or lightweight setting powder so as not to overly layer the face in unnecessary make-up. For this I love NYX Mineral Matte Finishing Powder (£8). To use this use a large brush to apply and press the powder lightly onto the skin. Simply apply the powder in light circular motions and buff on to the skin for that added natural radiance.

All about eyes

I recently was invited to attend the Harvey Nichols: Fenty Beauty Pop Up shop in Custom House Square. I was absolutely blown away by their new Moroccan Spice Collection, which is an eye-focused edit, hand curated by Rihanna.

It contains the singer's favourite, richly pigmented shades, which are designed to flatter every skin tone. The only sad thing is that it's only available in Harvey Nichols stores or online, but it really is worth the hassle! The Moroccan Spice Eyeshadow Palette (£42) combines everything you need to take you from hot, humid days to sultry, smoky nights - indeed, there are no fewer than 16 shades. These shadows are so rich and have a velvety smooth texture which blend like a dream!

Lips

For all-day use, I always use matte lipsticks on my clients. For a statement lip, such as purple, red or prune, I just love the matte finish they provide, compared to that given by a gloss.

A Fling with Flowers

Spring may be officially around the corner, but it's hard to get excited when your home is still in winter mode. The simplest, fastest way to give any room a visual shot of the season is with fresh flowers. Flowers have an uplifting and calming effect and add warmth to any space.

You don't need formal training or a thick handbook to create original table settings and arrangements. You're not aiming for a perfect art piece (it's best to leave trimming a 200-year-old bonsai tree to the professionals). These 11 tips are a good place to start. So sharpen your scissors, snoop in your garage, forage the mountainsides, and prepare to be bloomin' brilliant.

* Don't be timid. Flowers are perishable, so your creative efforts won't affect their shelf life. Really work those stems.
* Take a hike into the woods and scout for any budding branches, berries, or items that may add intrigue to your arrangement.
* Create a relaxing, inspiring mood by playing some of your favorite music while you work—professional florists often have a soundtrack in their studios.
* Work on a large open surface so you have a good 360˚ view as you create your arrangement.
* Snoop around in your garage and basement, looking for unique containers and vases. Scrub them clean and pay attention to their height and width. And, of course, make sure they don't leak. (If a container isn't watertight, you can always insert a smaller glass jar.)
* When prepping flower stems, remove all leaves in order to avoid the growth of bacteria in the water. Next, cut each stem on a diagonal angle and place immediately in lukewarm water.
* You'll probably need to insert wet oasis or use transparent floral tape on top of the vase to stabilize the flowers. These are available at craft stores.
* Clip some foliage from your houseplants to add dimension and greenery to your arrangement. Asparagus fern and ivy are good choices.
* If your vessel is short and squat, select flowers with small blooms that complement the color of the vessel. Crowd the flowers together in a compact manner for impact.
* A general rule of thumb is that your arrangement should be about one-and-a-half to two times the height of your vessel. When deciding where to place it, proportion and scale are important. If your arrangement is tall, put it in an area that commands attention. If your arrangement is short, it might be best suited to a bathroom, windowsill, or side table.
* When your masterpiece is completed, help ensure it lasts. Change the water and cut the stems every other day to prolong the shelf life of the flowers.

Blending Old and New

This tabletop blends glass with copper for a wonderful transitional look. The copper-colored sheer adds a soft, fluid movement to the glass top. Place settings command attention with large copper chargers, high relief-patterned white dishes, etched wine glasses, and contemporary flatware. Centerstage, the large Turkish vessel of hammered copper overflows with hot pink tulips, blue and white hydrangeas, orchids, pink lilies, and trailing plumosa ferns. The mini beaded glass vases with tulips and alstroemeria are another detail that punctuates each place setting. It's a burst of spring, but when you look closer you'll sense the whisper of intrigue and warmth from those patinated copper chargers. Old and new stories, unveiled.

Elevated Mountain West

An organic tablescape can include your favorite colorful linens, bold dinner plates, earthy stemware, and bronze flatware to complete the mountain theme. The hand-hewn plank centerpiece, created by Annie Zivkovich, is 4 feet long and 10 inches wide. While the one shown here has a holiday theme, it can easily be tweaked for spring. For example, Annie suggests creating a rectangular or round plank that includes mini succulents, fresh mosses, and mini blooming quince branches juxtaposed with lemons, limes, and tulips. Antlers are optional.

Children's Table

Toddlers and tykes tend to nibble, sip, and run, most happily with their own playmates. Find a small bench or table and dress it up with carefree dishes, spoons, and sippy cups. But don't stop there. Mini polka dot ceramic rain boots are just their size, fun to fill with pink and purple tulips and prickly asparagus fern. Don't invest in pieces that are too pricey: Besides being colorful, these little rain boots beg to be touched, sniffed, and snagged by your toddlers. After all, isn't that the intrigue of flowers for all of us—to awaken our senses?

What makes a beauty brand worthy of investment in 2018

As digitally native brands continue to disrupt the beauty industry’s status quo, more and more investors are rushing to back them up.

It doesn’t hurt that beauty at large seems to be having a moment, with U.S. beauty sales rising to $17.7 billion in 2017, a 6 percent increase from the year prior. Skin care accounted for 45 percent of those gains, which is not surprising, given that every media outlet from The New Yorker to New York Magazine has unpacked its current vogue.

But the consumer stickiness and loyalty the beauty category affords makes it appealing in the long-term, too, according to Sutian Dong, a partner at Female Founders Fund, which has invested in brands like Winky Lux and Manicube.

“That results in very predictable revenue,” she said. “But more and more people are also realizing that it’s a really compelling place to make tremendous margins at scale.”

Buzzy companies like Glossier, Huda Beauty and Charlotte Tilbury have all received recent funding, but new investor cash isn’t just reserved for high-profile brands. Last February, the customizable hair-care company Function of Beauty secured a $9.5 million Series A round led by GGV Capital, while its competitor, Prose Beauty, raised $5.2 million of its own this past December in a Series A round led by Forerunner Ventures.

All in all, the beauty sector saw an all-time-high of more than 149 deals in 2017, according to an April report from CB Insights, representing a 19 percent jump from the year prior.

Even the traditional beauty players left in the wake of these younger brands are catching on to their appeal, which has led to a frenzy of M&A activity over the last few years.

After scooping up Smashbox early in 2010, Estée Lauder purchased Too Faced Cosmetics for $1.45 billion in 2016. The same year, L’Oréal purchased It Cosmetics for $1.2 billion. After Unilever acquired a slew of brands in 2015, including Kate Somerville and Dermalogica, the company continued its buying spree last year, shilling for brands like Carver Korea ($2.7 billion) and Hourglass Cosmetics (for an undisclosed sum).

But the beauty startup space is increasingly crowded, and not all new, digital-first brands meet the mark for investors. What it comes down to is a combination of product efficacy, transparency, innovation and customer connection.

The Curious Mystery Of Selena Gomez’s Top

It all started when a brunette woman from Texas wore a red tracksuit and white strappy heels with round aviator sunglasses to the airport in 2016. As it turns out, it was the world-famous singer and actress Selena Gomez who has 130million Instagram followers, and she was wearing a Vetements trackie and Dior Sunnies. It was then that we knew Selena Gomez had adopted an entirely new sartorial personality.

While it’s little surprise that a year and a half on her style reinvention has gone the way of Sandy’s from Grease but, we’re just a little taken aback by how literal it is. At the annual Billboard Women in Music ceremony last night, where Gomez won the ‘Woman of the Year’ award, she wore an outfit that stopped us in our tracks.

Along with a pair of £4,825 slashed leather Versace trousers, she wore a black inverted bustier by the same Italian label. Styled by Kate Young, with pretty low-key hair by Marissa Marino, the head-to-toe runway ensemble looked hella hot on Selena. That said, we were left with just a few questions we wouldn't mind having answers to...

A. Where are Selena’s nipples?
B. Have the twins been taped down?
C. Have they been tucked in somehow?
D. How comes you she wasn't photographed tugging it up? Or are we the only ones that struggle with strapless tops?
E. Is this the tangible birthing of Dominatrix going out-out wear?
F. Do those trousers get breezy?
G. Can you tan through them?
H. Did Gok Wan give you that belt?