It's hard not to cringe when you think about prom hair and makeup. In fact, it's become something of a dirty word, at least in fashion—on photo shoots, if a look isn't right, we worry that it's "too prom." That really sucks for anyone who is actually trying to go to prom. How do you make your beauty look for the evening work when anything that's appropriate for the occassion has gotten such a bad reputation?
To help, we called in two of the coolest hair and makeup artists we know and asked them to come up with super-cool prom beauty looks that aren't cheesy or overdone—which is tricky, but we think they nailed it. The best part: There's no need to book a salon appointment to recreate these looks. They're as simple and easy as they are totally awesome. Click through for your how-tos.
Hair by Clay Nielsen; Makeup by Jenny Scarpelli.
Photographed by Guillaime Roemaet.
Model: Deonna // One.1 Models
Prom is a party, after all: So why wouldn't you want to look like a '90s raver girl?
First, divide your hair into two even sections. Create a high ponytail on one side and secure it with an elastic. Repeat on the other side so that you have two high pigtails.
Pull your hair through the elastic one more time, but not all the way, so that it creates a loop shape. Repeat on both sides.
Wrap the remaining hair around the loop. This will create a bun, but more elongated than your usual bun shape. Pin it in place.
Part raver-girl, part prom princess—all perfection. And to make things really festive, apply a clear lip gloss and then dab some metallic silver eyeshadow over it (as seen here).
Don't believe what you hear: You can wear your hair in a ponytail to prom. Can, and probably should.
Flip upside-down to gather all your hair into as high a ponytail as you can get it. Make it slightly off center, and secure with a few scrunchies. The more scrunchies, the better.
Using a curling iron, curl the hair in your ponytail in sections, all going in the same direction.
Gently brush it out for a uniform curl.
Spray it with a high-shine hairspray for a fancy finish and hold.
Take your braided-undercut game to the next level with cute accessories. Bonus if you match your lipstick to said accessories.
Create a deep side part. Then, begin to do a tiny French braid right above your ear. To make it easier to do, pull the rest of your hair away from your working space with a no-crease clip.
To hold the braid in place, fasten it with a butterfly clip. Create another braid running parallel to it, and throw a butterfly on the end of that, too.
Finish by spraying a texturing spray into the hair that's left loose to create fullness.
To make this blue lipstick more wearable, focus on keeping your skin even and then create a crisp black cat-eye.
No one will be able to figure out what you did to your hair to create this sparkly line of wonder, and that's why it's so awesome.
Create a deep side part, and then take a section of hair going along your part. Backcomb it gently, which will give it a little bit of body.
Lay the backcombed section down. Starting at the crown of your head, slide a bedazzled pin horizontally through that section, so that it's pinned flush against your scalp. Continue to stack pins in a row towards your forehead.
Once the section of hair is covered with a row of pins, smooth down the sides using a shine cream. Tuck it firmly behind your ears for a slick look.
Easy, unique, and stunning—this is one hairstyle to remember.
