Party Hairstyles You Can Easily Recreate

Bangs are bigger than ever, and if you’re one of the many who’s sporting front fringes, try a style similar to Mary Elizabeth for your next fete. Apply a pea-sized amount of straightening gel, like Redken’s Sheer Straight ($16, visit Redken.com for salons), to towel-dried hair. After blow drying, pull all your hair up—except bangs—in a loose ponytail at the crown of your head. Twist the pony and wrap it around itself, securing it with another elastic band. Next, run your fingers from your bangs to the elastic to loosen up the bun. Finally pull stray pieces from each side to create a fabulous face-framing effect!

If you have a pixie or other extremely cropped coif, consider pumping up the volume like Carey Mulligan did at the 15th Annual Hollywood Film Awards. Suave Professionals Celebrity Stylist Jenny Cho dished about how she created the style for the acclaimed actress. Jenny first applied Suave Professionals Volumizing Root Boost Spray ($3 at Kmart) and Suave Professionals Sleek Anti-Frizz Cream (also $3 at Kmart) to damp hair. She then blow dried the sides and back with a medium-sized paddle brush, adding tension away from Carey’s face. Next, she took a small round brush and blow dried the top section of hair, starting at the crown directing away from the face. She finished Carey’s stunning style with a spritz of light hairspray.

Leaving hair down can look just as elegant as any sophisticated updo, as evidenced by Amanda Seyfried at the Berlin premiere of In Time. To get Amanda’s lovely loose curls, first work root-boosting mousse, like Tigi’s Your Highness Root Boost Mousse Spray ($12 at Drugstore.com), into the scalp while hair is wet. After blow drying with a round brush, take a curling iron with a 1-1/2-inch to 2-inch barrel to large sections, stopping halfway up the length of your hair, and make your way around the entire head. Run your fingers through your tresses to break up any tight curls and finish with a light hairspray to ensure your loose waves keep their shape throughout the night.

Braids, from milkmaid to French, are all the rage this season. So for an upcoming holiday party, create a fashionable—and daringly disheveled—fishtail like Felicity Jones wore at the Los Angeles premiere of Like Crazy. First, pull all longer pieces to one side, separating them into two large sections. Keep the sections separate as you hold both in your left hand. Take a half-inch piece from the outside of the right section and integrate it into the left section. Next, switch hands so you’re holding both sections with your right hand and take a half-inch piece from the outside of the left section and join it with the right. Repeat until you reach the bottom and tie with an elastic band. Tease the crown and the strands opposite of the braid to add edge to the braid—and voila!—you’ve got a look that’s fit for the most posh partygoer.

Feel like nodding to nostalgia this New Year’s? Try a style evocative of the 1920s like Emma Stone did at the Hollywood Film Awards this year. Start by creating a deep side part. Then take a 1-1/2-inch curling iron and create vertical curls as close the scalp as possible without touching it. After you’ve curled all your hair, gently pull tresses into a side ponytail, twist it and pin it into place. Using a medium-strength hairspray, generously spritz your front face-framing curls to ensure they keep their finger wave-like shape.