The Look Book: 50 Iconic Beauties and How to Achieve Their Signature Styles Review: A Fun Good-Looking ‘Look’ Book

Beautiful is how a woman lives. Beauty is in the mind, not in the mirror. Erika Stalder proves it in her “The Look Book: 50 Iconic Beauties and How to Achieve Their Signature Styles.” At the same time, she provides women with significant tips about how to create a unique style and look stunning without loosing ones individuality.

From Marilyn Monroe’s juicy, red lips or Edie Sedgwick’s raccoon eyes to Veronica Lake’s peek-a-boo bangs—this book has everything and more for women who are looking for new styles and inspirations.

When Stalder starts off with the introduction of brushes, you can already feel the excitement of what she is just about to show. Her careful attention to details and deep understanding of how makeup should be applied makes you feel that you are in good hands.

Different people have their own definitions of what they consider to be attractive. Men have varying opinions of what they deem beautiful in a woman. Even women have their own opinions of what they deem attractive in themselves. Some people focus on the face, others focus on the curves; some think the hair is the most important, while others may have a foot fetish. As for Stalder—it’s lips.

The first section in the book is dedicated to lips. In the ‘60s, women the likes of Jackie Kennedy and Joan Crawford, with their full, or thin, lips, where all the rage. Today is no different. Their unusual and incredibly passionate lips-styles remain ‘hot’ even today.

Stalder explains every little aspect of how to create one or the other lips-styles and what tools can be useful. Besides, with a portrait of Lauren Bacall and a little insight of her life and career, one can be fully absorbed in her lifestyle and delight by her sexy, mystique and legendary Velvet Lips.

The eyes are windows into our soul. Larger, rounder, eyes tend to give women a more vulnerable, submissive look. Sharper eyes or cat-eyes, give the appearance of a more powerful, assertive woman. The next segment in the book is all about eyes.

That’s where magic comes to life. While Twiggy’s Kewpie Doll Lashes charms and fascinate you, Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra Eyes seem to hunt for its prey. Stalder brings back to life fashion icons of the past, but she doesn’t forget about our days. She uncovers a secret of the Angelina Jolie’s cat-eyes, a feminine look combined with playfulness and curiosity in her eyes.
Women, spend so much time applying makeup and making our lips look full and glossy, some of us forget that a small detail, which can make our look complete or ruin it entirely. Brows.

Brows are the “ultimate expressers.” Thin, arched brows or natural, full brows? That’s where it gets tricky. How to figure out, which look suits one better? Stalder’s section “Work Best On” is an ultimate compass for navigation. If you are a Kate Moss type, delicate face features, you definitely won’t shape your brows like Brooke Shield does.

Eventually, the most interesting and desired section comes up—skin and face. The face is a canvas, a foundation of a future makeup, where you highlight and make your eyes, brows and lips stand out.

Next up is skin. Killing yourself in a tanning salon is not he best way to get the J-Lo bronze. It takes only five minutes and a couple of brushes to create this unforgettable, glowing skin. Jennifer Aniston, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman and Kate Winslet commonly use the-girl-next-door or no-makeup makeup techniques.

Some people find long hair to be very attractive. Wearing long hair down will better frame the face and also hide imperfections in facial symmetry. When the shorter the hair, the less flexibility a woman has to create a different look for herself.

However, the shorter hair is easier to maintain and some people prefer the younger, more pixie look afforded by shorter hair.

In order to complete a perfect look, one should carefully choose a hairstyle. Anna Wintour cut her hair when she was 15 and maintained her sleek bob hairstyle for more than 50 years. Vidal Sassoon successfully created Mia Farrow’s pixie hair and Grace Kelly’s sleek chignon is still famous today.

From lips, to hair, to makeup, “The Look Book: 50 Iconic Beauties and How to Achieve Their Signature Styles” is a well-illustrated guide for women who wish to change their look and adopt distinctive styles from icons past and present.