History is filled with brave, stylish women who inspired us all by breaking the beauty mould; from Marilyn Monroe's bleach blonde curls, to Mary Quant's swingin' sixties bob, and right through to Amy Winehouse's imitable winged eyes. These ladies are veritable beauty icons and have transformed the way we groom forever. So we're giving them their due with a slideshow of our ten favourites.
Ellen Von Unwerth shot model Dioni Tabbers in this Prada-esque beauty shoot for the July issue ofVogue Italia. For the original A/W 2010 look in Milan, Guido Palau created drawn-out chignons with black woollen headbands. A look that he called “classic French hairdressing.” The Vogue Italia style on the other hand has a more Brigitte Bardot edge: the teased beehive, the thickly winged eye and the seductively pouting nude lip. The elongated glasses by Prada only exaggerate the statement eye. The whole look is dripping in sex appeal and '60s glamour.
Christina Hendricks brings her fierce style to the cover of LA Times Magazine. Wearing feline liner and a creamy berry lipstick, the Mad Men star explains that her decision to go from blonde to racy redhead happened when she was just 10 years old and obsessed with Anne of Green Gables. Instead of discouraging her, her mum took her to a chemist to get some packet dye and the rest, as they say, is history. "I was over the moon. I went to school the next day and felt like myself." What do you think of Christina's look? Very doll-like isn't she?
My, my, isn't Little Miss Hemingway quite the blonde bombshell in the July issue of Vogue China. I am in LOVE with Dree's spread. Hottie. Damn her. Shot by famed photographer, Ellen von Unwerth (who, FYI is all about the blatant sexuality), this is perhaps a little more understated than her usual work but Dree still looks every inch the sex kitten with that big blow-out, those piercing winged eyes and that pouty pink pout. The obvious roots are a salute to those other sultry '60s sexbombs: Edie Sedgwick, Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot.
Since Karlie Kloss came to my attention with her teased hair and who-gives-a-f*ck stare in Marc Jacobs' Lola ad campaign, I've considered myself a fan. That fact was only cemented when I stumbled across her in luxe department store Bergdorf Goodman's Pre-Fall 2010 catalogue. It's beautiful. Sigh. Despite hailing from Chicago, she's got the kind of porcelain skin that wouldn't look out of place on an English Rose, which is only accentuated by the wash of posie pink of the apples of her cheeks. The rest of the makeup palette was fairly straightforward: brows were powdered lightly and full at the arch, a thick-then-thin Alexa winged eye was firmly in place and lips were given the nude treatment. Hair was a cross between ScarJo at the Tony Awards and Chanel's teasing. It really is perfection with a capital P. LOVE.
We've spoken before, at length, about my love for Alexa Chung and her eyeliner. As we're besties, she's let me into the *inner circle and told me how to do it, which I'm now going to tell you. Use it tonight and I guarantee the boys will come a-flockin'.
STEP 1: Coat the lids with i.d. bareMinerals Prime Time Eyelid Primer ($45) which will help any eye product stay strong. Now, because I find most liquid liners a pain in the ass to deal with, I'm going to suggest the insanely-easy-to-use Pop Beauty Cat Eyes Liner in Black Onyx ($35.95). It's creamy and emga easy to apply. Bloom does a similar one; both are slanted so they do the hard work for you. Starting in the centre of the lash line, above your pupil, draw outwards towards the end of our eye and stop at the corner of your lash line. DO NOT FLICK.
I fell over in my Brand New Clogs the other day. (Relevance factor: 0 100. Keep reading.) Looks like Naomi Watts had a similar experience. 'Cept she fell in bronzer, I fell on marble. Not sure which is worse. Sorry if I sound mean. I'm just cranky and upset at Naomi's obvious battle with the bronze-blush as it's such a common mistake. Even I do it. When I'm too lazy to get a tan and think a double dose of Mediterranean Bronze will fix me up, stat. Na uh. Doesn't work. Looks silly. And undoes all your other hard work. Like here: Ms. Watts looks like a little shining beam of radiance, the liner and lash action is all very winged and wonderful, the posie pink lip gloss is oh so pretty and the hair sleek and stunning. But all I see is the bronzer. You?
Psst. To avoid this bad bronzer application, apply it in the shape of a 3 on each side of your face. It means you'll avoid the two 'circles' of colour that look unnatural.
She's already been heavily influenced by her makeup look, choosing a winged eye for the 2007 Golden Globes, so it seems fitting that Angelina Jolie is set to play Cleopatra.
Of course, the most famous face that we remember is Elizabeth Taylor's turn as the Egyptian ruler, but ol' Cleo's influenced a fair few celebs and designers over the years with black bobbed styles and turquoise and ebony excentuated eye shadow cropping up here, there and everywhere. Check it out.
There are lots of things I like about this look, but the birds nest bun sure isn't one of 'em. It looks frizzy and doesn't work against such a structured makeup look, I feel. Rach is all about being polished so such a messy style is difficult for her to pull off. I like how she's updated a classic makeup combo (red lip and winged eye) with a fresh injection of shimmering mauve. It's just the hairstyle that lets the whole sophisticated glamazone vibe down. Thoughts?
Not to be outdone in the wacky hair colour stakes, Katy Perry has seen Rihanna's new red hair and raised it a blue wig. It's been styled in her signature way: Bettie Page bangs and curled ends, but really, what I want to know is, when celebs will tire of dressing like Smurfs? Red I can deal with, blue, not so much. I do however like her killer black and white winged eye. Just don't get me started on the lashes . . . What do you think?
