The week of Valentine's Day is now officially here, and whether you're planning a romantic date night with your partner or a wild night out with the girls, we here at Hello Luvvy want to help you create the perfect look! Today's post features me and our wonderful food writer (and fellow Little Rock luvvy!), Melinda Asewicz.
Since this year's Valentine's Day falls on a Friday, we wanted to showcase hair and makeup styles that could easily be transformed from work-appropriate day wear into more romantic nighttime looks.
Heavenly Hair
Both of the hairstyles we'll be talking you through today are totally daytime-friendly (while still looking soft and feminine).
Melinda's Wrap Around Braid:
I am a huge lover of braids. They are always the look I get the most compliments on, and they're just so fun to create. I instantly knew for this updo tutorial that I wanted to do something braided for you ladies! While a milkmaid braid is also on top of your head, this one is actually going to wrap all the way around your hair. This actually really takes it up a notch, adding a certain sophistication to your hair.
For your first step, you will begin brushing your hair tightly on the side you are beginning with. Try to begin your braid as close to your ear as possible. When you begin braiding you will braid up your hair, from the ear up. I know it may look/seem silly, but it really helps me here to cock my head to the side as much as possible. You will begin braiding, and after about the first two completed links, you will begin what I call a modified french braid.
Imagine your hair as numbered strands, strand 1,2,and 3. At any given time, you will have one hand with two of those strands and one hand with one. To make this modified, every time your hand has strand 1, you will just pull extra hair in from the loose hair below the braid. This adds volume and security to your braid.
Notice here, I have strands 2 and 3 in my right hand, and in my left, I have strand one in my palm and am pulling loose hair with my fingers. I've found by thinking of it with numbers, it's really helped me focus on making me more comfortable with braiding. You will continue to pull in hair every time strand 1 comes back around, but not with the other ones yet.
This updo is for braiding this all the way around your hair (which is so fabulous looking!), but if you want to stop half way in, just pin your braid as it reaches your other ear. Pin and then curl your loose hair. This would give you a beautiful, unique half updo. 
If you want to keep going, you will simply just keep continuing your braid around your whole head. You are always just pulling from where the loose hair is. The hand/strand you're pulling with shouldn't change. Whether your pulling with your right or left hand ultimately doesn't matter, it just depends on which side of your hair you start braiding up from.
After every last piece of hair on your head has been braided into this wrap around braid (yes you will continue back on to the top of your hair - don't stop until alllll is braided!), you will wrap with an elastic band and are ready to pin. I always take any hair that I couldn't braid, the last little piece after the the elastic band, and tuck it under the braid in front, like frame five above. Now, those of you with some stray flyaways, no stress, just pin any of those small pieces of hair that may be poking their way through your braid. At this point, if you want to thicken your braid, all you have to do is take your pointer fingers on your right and left hand and gently pull each braided link like in the photo below.
For some extra glamour, add a ribbon like in frame 6 above. I love how romantic this is, and that this braid can easily work daytime and nighttime. Once braided, this braid is so secure you can rock the same look all day.
Katie Half-up Twist:
Using only four bobby pins (and quite a bit of hairspray), I was able to create this simple half-up twist for my day-to-night hairstyle.
I started with my hair down and parted in the middle. About two inches from my hairline, I picked up a small section of hair and combed it straight forward, out of the way (this piece will be smoothed over the backcombed sections of hair!).
Directly behind that first section of hair, I picked up another small section and sprinkled it with Powder Puff, a volumizing powder by Kevin Murphy. I then gently teased this powdered section of hair back toward my head.
I sprinkled and teased one more section of hair (behind the other) and then carefully flipped the sections back, shaping the backcombed sections with my fingers and then gently smoothing them with my comb. I then pulled the free-hanging pieces of hair from each side of the front of my hair around the back below the newly-teased sections.
I carefully gathered the top half of my hair (as if I were going to put it in a ponytail), and then firmly twisted the entire section of hair three or four times. Then I secured the twist by inserting bobby pins (as many as you need) from the bottom of the twist toward the top. Voila!
Makeup Magic
Again, I wanted today's Makeup Monday look to be dramatic and sultry enough for a Valentine's date, but not overly intricate-- after all, chances are you'll be pressed for primping time after work on Friday! So I started with a very basic natural look that I would normally rock at work, then pumped up a couple of features to make it feel really special for my Valentine.
To go from teacher makeup to full-tilt V-Day glamour, but without too much fuss, I decided to focus on three aspects of my makeup: brows, wings, and lips.
I thickened my brows dramatically, using the same technique as I used in my brow tutorial. Then I thickened and extended my black eyeliner using a bent and angled liner brush and black gel liner from Sonia Kashuk. Finally, I used Lime Crime's Red Velvet Velvetine lipstick (which, may I say, is the PERFECT red for Valentine's Day) to create a sweetheart lip.
Notice the fullness of the application on the bottom lip, while the lipstick on the top lip doesn't quite cover all the way to the corners of the mouth. Also, I went above my lip line on both sides of the cupid's bow (that area right below your nose) to give me an even more dramatic "Betty Boop" look.
We had a blast creating these luvvly Valentine's hair and makeup looks for you ladies, but we're only getting started! Tune in all week to see our favorite clothes, dinner spots, cozy bars, and delicious desserts as the 14th rapidly approaches!
Pucker those lips and put on some lipstick!
