Allure

losing it

Before my first pregnancy, I had read about postpartum hair loss, that the lustrous mane you’re blessed with for nine months commonly sheds. And after the birth of each of my three kids, it certainly did. This last time around, it was particularly intense. For a few months, our shower drain was regularly covered in a nest of hair. The floor around my desk was littered with the day’s fallout. The rotating attachment on our vacuum cleaner got so entangled in a rope of lost strands that it actually came to a grinding halt. My whole head of hair seemed to be shedding. But the most curious change was to my hairline. As a kid, it sat notably low (if a high forehead is a fivehead, I suppose that made mine…

introducing our first-ever readers’ council

1. DAVID LOPEZ HAIRSTYLIST @davidlopezzz Career trajectory: “Being from the Caribbean, we are very into self-care and beauty. It’s a part of the DNA of my family. In my early 20s, I was acting and bartending, and said, ‘I’m going to do hair.’ I was already doing everyone’s hair and loved it, so why not get paid for it?” No-product-required styling tip: “Set realistic expectations and love your hair as it is.” But if you’re going to buy one product…Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil. Read Lopez’s advice for achieving loose waves, on page 50. 2. JKISSA BEAUTY CONTENT CREATOR @jkissa Most recent makeup inspiration from Allure:“The cover with Ellie Goldstein. The makeup was breathtaking, especially the look featuring all of the pearls. I was so inspired, I had to do my own version!” Favorite beauty advice: “If you want to…

taking requests

going the distance

WAND, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE… MASCARAS YOU NEED TO TRY YESTERDAY. 1. Benefit They’re Real Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara. The wand and the formula are magnetically charged: “The wand draws iron oxide pigments out of the formula and deposits them on your lashes, so you get better payoff and lashes are coated more evenly so they look longer,” says cosmetic chemist Ginger King. “They got it just right.” 2. Maybelline New York Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara. It’s got a flexible wand and a major following—its hashtag has over 39 million views on TikTok. “My sparse lashes looked remarkably fuller without any weigh-down,” says one Allure tester. 3. Victoria Beckham Beauty Future Lash Mascara. This slim wand’s unusually short bristles can get right into the lash line, coating hairs from root to tip. “Small-bristled…

color play

1. MULTICOLORED MANICURES. Nail artist Canishiea J. Sams, a member of our Readers’ Choice Awards Council, says her favorite way to play with color is to do simple nail designs, like adding a painterly brushstroke over an existing base color (hold the brush lightly for an abstract effect and whisk it over the upper corner of each nail). Sams likes using unexpected shade combos. She loves rust and lilac right now (try 9th & Maxwell Nail Lacquer in Hot Yam and CND Vinylux in Lilac Eclipse, below), but any variation of shades that live across from each other on the color wheel are ripe for pairing, she says. Think mint and orange sherbet, or chartreuse and lavender. 2. PRESS-ONS. They can be reused, so they’re perfect for intricate designs: Sams likes…

glow-getter

Taylor Swift and Huda Kattan have at least one major thing in common: They both refuse to be confined to a single genre. Makeup artist-turned-entrepreneur Kattan rose to fame for her mastery of faux lashes and contouring, which she channeled into a wildly successful makeup line, Huda Beauty. (You voted her one of your all-time favorite beauty idols and makeup artists to follow on Instagram.) But her new brand, Glowish, is all about a more natural look. It debuts June 1 with two products: Multidew Skin Tint, a barely there base with hydrating rose oil and vitamin E, and Soft Radiance Bronzing Powder, which imparts the slightest hint of warmth—a far cry from flagship Huda Beauty’s Tantour, a cream bronzer with oomph. “We have a lot of really close partners…