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The bun is back

Mix ‘50s hair (think Audrey) and ‘60s eyes (think Brigitte) for a modern look

Heavens to Betsy, are we ever happy the old-fashioned updo is back. All those silly years of bed-head and rumpled knots are over.

The high bun, like the one you wore at your ballet recital, is a terrific option. (The nape of the neck chignon is also great with bangs.) A few pieces can fall out artfully, but the main message is polish.

“You have to add some volume into the crown,” says Heather Fox, the hair and makeup artist with The Artist Group in Toronto who styled this look. “The bun can't be pulled tight. I set the hair in rollers and backcombed a bit before smoothing it out.”

If your hair is long and thick, pull it together with an elastic and then wrap it around itself; secure with bobby pins. It's very Breakfast at Tiffany's, but without the sickly sweet air of endless homage to Audrey Hepburn.

Once the hair is up, the face is exposed. If you are a tabloid connoisseur, you know that all the movie stars have been sporting big Brigitte Bardot eyes, heavy with liner. Fox prefers dry liner applied with a wet brush.

“I extended it quite a way past the natural lash line and give the angle a bit of an upswing. This is a subtle face for a party, so the eyes carry the weight of the drama. But too much and you look like King Tut.” Just under the brow add a bit of shinsy white. Try Dior Eye Show in White Light Disco.

To balance all of this, you need a pale, matte face with the slightest hint of blush. The high-colour/just-went-for-a-jog pink cheeks of spring have given way to more of a rose-brown colour, says April Jacobs, founder of Pink Beauty.

And last but not least, you need a touch of colour on the mouth. Go for a nude, such as M.A.C Siss, with a dot of gloss in the centre of the bottom lip.

Grown-up glamour

With lips like these, who needs mascara?

Undulating Veronica Lake waves, as seen on the fall runways (think Gucci), are set to rescue Western civilization from the beach-hair plague of the past half-decade.

But this look takes work: For best results, enlist a professional. “That hair takes time,” says Toronto makeup artist David Goveia, fresh from shoots for Italian Vogue. “It takes rollers.”

“It makes an 18-year-old model look a sophisticated 30,” he adds. And while it can't make a sophisticated 30-year-old look 18, smooth wavy hair will lend any age old Hollywood glamour. If you attempt it at home, remember: Hairspray is critical to the success and durability of this look.

Of course, classic glamour begs for a red lip. The trade-off is you stay soft on the eyes. “A red lip has to be balanced with an understated eye,” says Anny Kazanjian, director of public relations for Chanel Canada. “And the skin should be a clean, matte canvas.”

Makeup artist Heather Fox likes her reds sheer and on the brown side. One red that reads less retro 1952 and more sexy 2007 is the new CK by Calvin Klein lipstick called Sinful.

It takes a lot of courage to go bare on the eye, but the effect can be mesmerizing. Blend pale shadows and shimmer (try Cargo's Ibiza palette) and skip mascara. You can do it.

Rainbow brights

Purple and red draw all eyes to your eyes. It's a real punchy look

Versace ads this year featured hair pulled back from the centre, fastened securely with a barrette. It's a distinctly seventies style (specifically kindergarten circa 1972). On the bevy of blondes in the ads, it looks, shall we say, Casino. For a more sophisticated look, we took more hair back and added volume.

“It's all about softness around the face,” says Gregory Parvatan of Toronto's Rapunzel salon, who this week started seeing the rush of social movers and shakers in for the first knee-ups of the season. “Updos are back, but something in between, like this pull-up-and-back look, is also modern,” he says. “The real news is a polished softness.”

The big statement here is the purple eye: depths of plum in the crease and frosty shadow feathered outward. Here is a neat runway trick that can add nighttime drama to real life: Put a little crimson shadow underneath the eye, then line the inside of the eye with black pencil. Do be careful. The line must be minimal, and it must not go all the way to your inside corner. Beware black junk accumulating in your tear duct. And practise safe lining: Do not share your crayon with the other kids.

The trick is to make sure the purple and red do not touch, Fox says. “It draws eyes to your eye. You can also use yellow or a paler mauve for a hit of colour under the eye if red is too extreme for you.”

As for lips, they must be played down. To carry that strong eye, Fox went with a pinky mocha (try Forever Beige by Guerlain). N.B.: Sheer colour is best if you are over 18. A slash of any colour is aging. But, and this is an important but, lip gloss can be a gross thing. Use it sparingly. Who wants to kiss a sticky mouth?