Allure, the first and only magazine devoted to beauty, is an insider's guide to a woman's total image. Allure investigates and celebrates beauty and fashion with objectivity and candor, and places appearance in a larger cultural context.
Braids, Baubles, and Blooms! Whether you like your hair up, down, or tricked out with piles of accessories, there’s a fresh spring style for everyone. Visit allure.com/springhairstyles for the most appealing and inspirational looks of the season. Generation Green Our obsession with kale has moved beyond the Vitamix. Learn how to rock the leafy-green hue on your eyes, lips, and fingertips at allure.com/kale. Cold Comforts As temperatures dip, so does your skin’s moisture level. See how Allure editors stay dewy at allure.com/winter-moisturizers.…
Can we get someone in here to burn some sage?” joked Alicia Keys, upon hearing that the New York City location for her first Allure cover shoot was said to be haunted. The lights began flickering as Keys sifted through trays of earrings on the second floor of the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights—one of George Washington’s makeshift headquarters during the Revolutionary War. It could have been the spirits trying to tell us something, or it could have been faulty wiring (the house was built in 1765). We may never know. With “Wicked Games” by the Weeknd playing in the background, the 15-time Grammy winner sipped chai tea as photographer Paola Kudacki told her about the makeup plan for the day: “I want to see your soul pour out of…
Hair “Alicia’s known for her head scarves, and they look so beautiful on her,” said hairstylist Esther Langham, who helped create the layered twist on the cover. To start, Keys tied her hair into a high bun and stretched the first wrap around the back of her head. She pulled the two sides forward, crossed them above her forehead, and coiled them in a circle before tucking in the ends. Then Langham wrapped the second scarf around Keys’s head in “a shape that worked from all angles,” knotting it in the back. Makeup To up the dewiness of Keys’s skin, Dotti first wiped her face clean with a cotton square soaked with cleansing oil and water. She then used a jade face roller that was chilled over ice to smooth…
As I write this, we’re a month past the presidential election, and I’m numb, not necessarily from the surprising results but from the rash of hatred spewed out toward women and various ethnic and religious groups in the weeks that followed. I’m taking it badly. And I’m taking it personally. Let me explain. In middle school, a group of adolescent bullies called me an “ugly chink” every day for two years. Every day. Lots of other kids heard—including my friends—and everyone turned a deaf ear, undoubtedly thankful that the venom wasn’t directed at them. I never said a word about it to my parents, partly too ashamed that I couldn’t handle it myself, partly mortified to repeat the slurs. At some point, I told the vice principal, who halfheartedly tried…
On breaking boundaries: “Men and makeup isn’t accepted by everybody, and that’s OK. People have a right to their opinion. But when I get messages from people saying that my wearing makeup inspired them to do the same and feel more confident, it makes me so happy—I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.” On foundation mishaps: “The first product I ever used was my mom’s foundation. When I was younger, I had pimples, so I just slapped it on and hoped it would fix the situation. It never did because it was about 18 shades too light for me.” On gluing his eyes shut: “I’m selftaught, and fake eyelashes definitely took the longest to master. I glued my eyes shut at least 15 times. It’s embarrassing, and I…
50 NUMBER OF OYSTERS EIGHTEENTH century Italian author Giacomo Casanova is said to have eaten for breakfast every day to enhance his libido. 219 NUMBER OF YEARS AFTER his death that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement saying there is no scientific evidence connecting oysters to sex drive. 57 PERCENTAGE INCREASE in the number of oysters eaten on Valentine’s Day. 3 TEASPOONS OF MOON JUICE SEX DUST, a powder containing Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs, in Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipe for chocolate “sex bark.” 1200 KILOGRAMS OF BUDS NEEDED to produce 200 grams of tuberose absolute, a scent that Victorians believed could produce spontaneous orgasms. $380 PRICE OF A 100-MILLILITER bottle of Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower, the perfume with the highest percentage of tuberose. 2014 YEAR THE NEW YORK…
