It’s no news that beauty trends change consta ntly; what ’s new in hair color this fall will be the ‘has been’ style come summer. To keep you in the know and ‘on fleek,’ we’ve listed some popular terms that will have you looking (and sounding!) totally hip.
Babylights: A type of highlight that is supposed to look super natural and mimic the sun-kissed tones of a child’s hair. If you ask for them by name, it will keep you at the salon for hours!
Balayage: Pronounced ‘bah-lee-ahzge,’ the French word meaning ‘to sweep’ or ‘to paint’ refers to the French highlighting technique used to create natural-looking highlights by skipping the foil and ‘painting’ them on freehand.
Blowtox: This one comes to us thanks to the women of New York and London who are injecting their scalps with Botox to prevent sweat from ruining their pricey blowouts while they’re working out. While it might seem ridiculous, Botox has been used to treat excessive sweating, but usually under the arms or on the palms!
Bronde: A custom shade that mixes rich brunette and bright blond tones, it is one of the most requested colors at salons this season, and popular with such celebs as actress Blake Lively and actress/model Cara Delevingne. It’s great for warmer skin tones and can give darker hair a pop for the winter months.
Sombre: The ombre trend in hair has turned into a new style with this name, a combination of the words ‘subtle’ and ‘ombre,’ which refers of course to a more subtle ombre look.
Multimasking: Think multitasking for your face! If you have an oily T-zone, dry cheeks and blackheads on your chin, a single product probably can’t fix all your issues. This word describes applying three or four masks to different areas of the face at the same time, like clay on the forehead, charcoal on the chin and a pore strip on your nose.
Baking: This has nothing to do with chocolate chip cookies, unfortunately. Since Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist is a fan, it’s become ‘a thing.’ A technique commonly used for stage makeup (and really not necessary otherwise), it helps with long-wear makeup: Let translucent powder sit under your eyes for five to 10 minutes allowing heat from your face to set your foundation and cream concealer. When you dust off the powder, there is a crease-less, flawless finish.
Strobing: The opposite of contouring, this ‘bathing the skin in light’ relies on heavy-handed use of either liquid or powder illuminating products to shape and emphasize features of the face. Highlighting products should be applied where you want to appear defined, like tops of cheekbones, center of the nose and inner corners of the eyes.
Marsala: The Pantone Color of the Year that is infiltrating lipsticks, nail polish and more. The color has been described as an earthy wine red.
Squoval: A term combining ‘square’ and ‘oval’ in reference to nail shape. Ask for squoval, a rounded square, at your next manicure appointment.
Hidden Treasure: A term coined by manicurist Tom Bachik, who did J. Lo’s nails for the Golden Globes, it refers to a hidden color or gem on the underside of nails.
On Fleek: Commonly seen on Instagram and Vine, another way to say ‘on point’ or ‘looking good.’ Originally meant as a compliment for someone’s brows (still how it’s most commonly used), it’s now regularly used in reference to hair, nails, etc.
LOB: A hairstyle seen all over the red carpet, a combo of ‘long’ and ‘bob’ lengths.
Terms compiled from Fashion Quarterly digital edition and latina.com