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Love It or Hate It? Sinitta's Prairie Plaits

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Simon Cowell's gal pal and American born singer Sinitta arrived at the London launch of Disney On Ice's "Princess Wishes" show yesterday sporting casual double prairie plaits in her long black hair. Typically we see her dressed up and looking glam, but she toned things down for the kids yesterday. What do you think of this laid back hairstyle on Sinitta?

Trend Alert: New Plait Styles For Spring

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Today's Spring New York Fashion Week beauty trend is all about hair. Plaits have always been in style taking the form of milkmaid plaits, thin plaits around the crown of the head, french plaits and so on, but these new styles get even more creative. Take a look at the runways of Alexander Wang, Gerlan Jeans, Leifsdottir, Diego Binetti and Oscar De La Renta from earlier this week and let me know which hairstyle you like best.

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Trend Alert: The Low-Slung Plait

BellaSugarUK — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Plaits are a casual way to make hair look chic and polished when it's unruly, dirty or just not co-operating. It's been a favourite style of the bohemian culture for ages and the fishtail plait has even become quite fashion forward. In the last week alone, we've seen Blake Lively filming season three of Gossip Girl sporting a low-slung plait, Julia Styles was spotted strolling around Soho in New York City and Rumer Willis dressed up her fishtail at the Teen Choice Awards. Even Vanessa Hudgens looked pretty in a long plait at a talk show appearance. I love how this simple look can be so stylish. Do you ever wear your hair in a single plait?

BigPicturesPhoto.com and WireImage

Hair How-To: Fishtail Plaits

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0800

Plaits have certainly been weaving their way down the catwalk this season. From the pirate plaits at Jean Paul Gaultier, to a more pulled-out messy style as seen at Prada this summer and at Giles' Autumn Winter show. The trend shows no signs of unraveling - sorry, I couldn't resist!

Most of you, are really liking this unstructured look. I have to admit that it's a great style if you want to disguise the fact that your hair may be slightly on the dirty side. Fishtail plaits – with plenty of texture – make an easy transition from catwalk to real life, plus they work well on layered hair, which can look too messy in a more traditional braid. For how to re-create this style at home, just read more.

First prepare the hair, with Bumble & Bumble Prep, (£12.50).
Divide the hair into roughly five sections. Take one of the sections, and divide it into two.
Take a strand from underneath each half, and loop it outwards and over the top, to the centre between the two halves.
Start plaiting, it should feel like you're almost plaiting from underneath your hair.
Leave a few strands of hair outside the plaits, these should be tucked-in or added later for a textural effect.
Flyaway pieces should be encouraged, work quickly and don't be too neat.
Repeat on all sections of the hair. For the tricky back-of-the-head section, you may need to ask for help from another pair of hands!

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2008 Mobo Awards: Mel B

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:32:00 -0700

Mel B opted for a catwalk-inspired awards look last night. She went for edgy glamour with a slick, thick plait twisted into a coil at the top of her head.

This show-stopping look was complemented with dark smoky eyes, lashings of mascara (or is that false lashes perhaps?) and bright pink blush. Mel kept her lips nearly neutral with just a hint of lip gloss to ensure all eyes were on her hairstyle.

How do you feel about her beauty look?

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How To: Perfect Plaits for Jennifer Ellison

BellaSugarUK — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:00:00 -0700

After designers showcased multiple braids this season, including the skinny pirate plaits at Jean Paul Gaultier, the braid could well be crowned the hair trend of the 2008. While most of you love this look it has become a touch ubiquitous in celebrity world, with both Nicole Richie and Jessica Simpson making the trend their own, with single, double and triple braid styles.

Last night, at Dolce in London, Jennifer Ellison followed suit with a Grecian, milkmaid braid wrapped around the crown of her head, as well as a fluffed-up, pulled-back up do. Perhaps it was because the colours didn't seem to match, but there was something odd looking about this style that made me think it was a hair piece.

Admittedly, plaits can be tricky as you're walking the line between Little House on the Prairie and Grecian goddess. For a few easy tips, read more.

For a quick up do, follow Nicole Richie's lead with a braids and bun style. Simply take two sections at the front and plait so you have two long plaits falling on either side of your face. Then scrape hair back into a messy bun and pin. It's supposed to look slightly unkempt so don't be too neat.
For a flattering milkmaid braid, either use a hair piece that matches your hair colour correctly, like Sienna Miller, or wrap around the centre of your head, instead of the front, like Salma Hayek.
Use your centre parting as a guideline, then create two braided plaits and secure each braid with a small hair band. Aim to cross the plaits over the top of your head and secure each side with bobby pins.
For an easy, pirate plait look, just take random sections of hair and plait. Take from the underneath of your hair to make for an unstructured look.

BigPicturesPhoto.com

Hair How-To: Jean Paul Gaultier Pirate Plaits

BellaSugarUK — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0700

Take inspiration from the Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer show, where small sections of hair were tightly plaited for a modern-day, pirate look.

This is a great look for the beach, when hair is likely to already have more texture than usual.

Think deluxe hippy, and combine the plaited sections, with matte – yet healthy looking – hair.

Here's How:

Keep the plaits uneven - to avoid looking too twee. This isn't Little House on the Prairie, you know!
If you want to keep it simple, just one tight plait, on one side of the face, looks chic and sweet.
First, make sure your parting is uneven. Then, randomly pin bits of hair, using grips, to keep the effect sexily dishevelled.
Next, take small sections of hair, and plait tightly. Either leave the ends loose if you already have lots of texture in your hair, or fasten with a small bobble.
For ship wreck chic, fasten the plaits with string that's the same colour of your hair. Or use thin strands of leather.
Keep the rest of the hair mussed-up, by spritzing hair with a texturising spray when it's still damp. I really like Shu Uemura Art Of Hair Texturiser.
A loose hold hairspray will keep the look in place, while still allowing movement. Try Nicky Clarke Red Carpet Flexible Hairspray, (£4.49).

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Do You Wear Plaits?

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The idea of plaiting your hair, once you're older than nine, can seem a little twee. No one wants to look like a school girl, with innocent plaited pigtails, but I have to admit I am quite fond of plaiting my hair.

It's such as easy style for summer and celebrities have been showing off plaited hair for a while now - just think of Jessica Simpson's single, double and triple braid looks in her blonde hair, while Nicole Richie often wears plaits with a bun.

Is this a look you'd actually wear? Do share...

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Hair How-To: Cheryl Cole's Plaits with Pony

BellaSugarUK — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0700

I'm pleased to note that Cheryl Cole seems to have toned down the fake tan, and gone easy on the Barbie-girl hair. Oh and happy birthday for today, Cheryl, too!

She looks bang on-trend here with a multiple strand hair band, mini plaits and a messy, looped pony. I prefer her hair darker too. A few years ago I was lucky enough to style Cheryl for a photo shoot and she was not only very sweet, but also a lot less high maintenance, beauty-wise, than you'd think. So follow her lead with my easy peasy hair how-to guide:

STEP 1: Prep the hair before blow drying with a volumising mousse, such as Frederic Fekkai More All-Day Density Styling Whip, (£19).
STEP 2: Now's the time to do the mini plaits. Take a few strands of hair near the crown and plait into tight, neat sections. You don't need to fasten these with a bobble as if you've used enough product (or you're not working on freshly washed hair) they should hold themselves.
STEP 3: Add the hair band. Wear it close to the face like Cheryl. This will keep the plaits in place and give you room to create some volume with the pony.
STEP 4: This is a baggy, messy pony so don't worry about making it too perfect. Just scrape hair back with your fingers and knot with a hair bobble.
STEP 5: To create the loop, pull some hair strands all the way through as you would with a pony, but leave most of them tucked into the bobble.
STEP 6 : Add some texturiser, such as the new Shu Uemura's Art Of Hair Texurizer and fluff up the hair with your fingers.

BigPicturesPhoto.com

Nice and New: West Elm Chunky Plaited Wool Rug

CasaSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:00:30 -0700

I've long been a fan of the West Elm Cable Rug, due to its plushness, muted gray or ivory color, and its modern look. But, I've heard that the shag rug has a terrible shedding problem, and I worry that it'll go out of style fast. So, I'm delighted with the new West Elm Chunky Plaited Wool Rug ($119-599), which looks equally soft, is offered in the same muted gray or ivory, and is notably modern. It's not exactly a timeless piece, but at least it's not a "trend item" like shag rugs these days. You usually see plaits on a J. Crew sweater, so I find it fun and fresh to see them on the floor. What do you think? Like it?