5 Celebrity-Inspired Back to School Beauty Ideas

Written by Lisa - Barnard College 14 Comments

Looking for some easy tricks to spice up your normal beauty routines? Anxious to make an amazing first impression in class? These five celebrities each have a trademark beauty trick that they use to stand out, and now you can steal their secrets!

1. Lauren Conrad’s Liquid Liner

Lauren Conrad is the master of liquid eyeliner, and wears it for all occasions: parties, red carpets, or out shopping with Lo. She shows that you can take the same basic makeup trick and dress it up or down.

For a daytime, class-ready look, make sure to have an extremely steady hand – I sometimes sit down on my bathroom counter in front of the mirror so that I don’t bobble! Take your liquid eyeliner, and start the line just outside of your inner crease. Follow the natural curve of your eyelid, and apply the liner so the line is right up against your eyelashes. When you’ve reached the outer corner, stop! (You could wing it out into a cute cat-eye to glam this look up for nighttime.) Keep a Q-tip and eye makeup remover nearby to correct any stray marks.

2. Chanel Iman’s Watermelon Lip Color

Meet model Chanel Iman. This 19 year old runway beauty blows me away every time I see her! Here, walking for J. Mendel, she looks like she could be sunbathing on the beach. Floppy hat, v-neck dress, but the best part is certainly her watermelon lip color, which is totally wearable for daytime.

To get this look for class, try a fuchsia-hued lip gloss rather than a lipstick – save the lipstick for your night out with the girls! Some of my faves include L’Oreal HiP high intensity pigments Jelly Balm in Ripe or a lip plumper like theBalm Plump Your Pucker tinted gloss in Spike My Punch (both available at Drugstore.com). Lip plumpers like this are a great way to fake that plump, pouty lip look if your lips aren’t as naturally full as Chanel’s.

3. Shenae Grimes’ Beachy Hairstyle

Shenae Grimes of 90210 fame rocked a totally beachy hairstyle on the red carpet recently. Her tresses are super shiny and defined in small loose curls. This kind of low-maintenance hairstyle is great for the transition from warm summery weather to the cooler, dry fall weather.

To get this look, put a dime-sized amount of shine serum in your palms, rub hands together to warm the product, and distribute through wet hair–once you’ve used a towel to dry your hair from dripping to just wet, work the shine serum into your hair, concentrating mostly on the ends (as it can work to seal up split ends, too!). The more you dry your hair before adding the serum, the more likely you are to have frizz!

If you’ve got curly or wavy hair, you’re in luck! Dispense a palm-sized amount of curl mousse into your hands, and scrunch into your hair. If you work a little bit of the mousse into the roots of your hair, you’ll get some extra volume, too!

For straight-haired girls, try washing your hair at night, adding the shine serum, and braiding your hair into 3-6 tight plaits and sleeping on it. (If you french-braid your hair, you’ll get waves all the way from scalp to ends.) The next morning, spritz your hair with hairspray before taking the braids out (especially if your hair needs help staying curly)! This should give you her bouncy, cute hairstyle!

4. Rihanna’s Trendy Nail Polish

Rihanna is the queen of funky, cool, trendy nail polish looks. She wears the brightest colors everyday, and proves that you don’t need an occasion to rock a fierce nail. Some of the colors that she’s been sporting have been neon yellow, fire engine red, cheetah print, dark vampy colors, and everything in between. She’s a total nail trendsetter!

Check out our guide for a DIY manicure to get nails in top shape!

5. Leighton Meester’s Pretty Blush

What beauty post would be complete without mentioning Gossip Girl? Jenny, Serena, Blair, Vanessa, and Georgina all have their own distinct makeup styles. Leighton Meester may be in character here, but her makeup is totally natural and flawless. This picture shows how you can use blush to gently define your cheekbones.

The trick for this blush tip is to follow what her makeup artist did in the picture: choose a natural-looking pinkish brown blush (as if you mixed a blush and a bronzer together) and apply with a large fluffy blush brush underneath the cheekbones on each side. The color creates more of a shadow that highlights the natural contours of your face!

If you want to take it up a notch, try applying a highlighter on the top of your cheekbones that will emphasize how your face reflects light naturally. My favorite highlighter for students on a budget is the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector (it comes with a concealer on one end and highlighter on the other). You can also use the highlighter to define the inner corners of your eyes for a little extra pop!

Your Thoughts?

What are your favorite back-to-school beauty tricks? I’m the newest beauty blogger for College Fashion–have any beauty questions that you’d like me to research for you?

Posted on on September 2, 2009 / Filed Under: Beauty & Hair / Tags: Back to School, Beauty, Celebs, Chanel Iman, Hair, Lauren Conrad, Leighton Meester, Makeup, Nails, Rihanna, Shenae Grimes, Tips