Virtual Makeover: Try On the Newest Celebrity Hairstyles Now!

Virtual Makeover: Try On the Newest Celebrity Hairstyles Now!

See how you look in the latest celebrity hairstyles by trying on Hollywood's hottest styles instantly!



1.

Try on Rihanna’s Hair

Rihanna brings a bit of old-Hollywood glam to her look. Mist hair with high-shine hairspray and then take a large-barrel crimping curling iron to strands to mimic this vintage finger curl effect. Sweep hair into a high ponytail and secure with a bungee elastic. 

2.

Try on Kristen Stewart’s Hair

Kristen Stewart’s severe side part gives her retro waves a glam volume boost. After creating your part, mist strands with soft-hold hair spray. Curl two-inch sections of hair around a medium iron then tousle curls with your fingers.

TRY IT ON: See how you look with Kristen Stewart’s hairstyle

3.

Try on Alicia Keys’ Hair

For a sleek bob like Alicia Keys’, treat dry hair with a two-in-one shine- and heat-protection serum, then smooth a ceramic hot iron over strands from roots to ends.

TRY IT ON: See how you look with Alicia Keys’ hairstyle

Exclusive: Lauren Conrad's Top 5 Tips for Greening Your Holidays

Between bustling holiday travel and a whopping 25% increase in landfill waste around this time of year (between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day to be exact), the holiday season isn’t exactly conducive to living a completely eco-friendly existence. Luckily, there are many simple ways to make your holiday season more environmentally friendly. Here are a few of my favorite tricks and tips for greening the holidays: 

1. Get crafty! Most do-it-yourself projects reclaim and reuse objects for renewed use. Instead of shopping for new ornaments or festive décor, create your own. Check out a friends idea 9 DIY holiday décor ideas that can be created with things you most likely already have in your home. 

2. Make your wrapping newsworthy. Instead of purchasing rolls of wrapping paper that will ultimately end up crumpled in some landfill, wrap your gifts with newspaper and tie them off with a colorful bow. I love wrapping with newspaper—not only because it looks cute, but it’s a wonderful way to recycle as well. 

3. Give green gifts. Whether it’s a jar of sweetness,coasters, a homemade candle, or something from XO(eco) Collection with BlueAvocado, both sustainable and DIY gifts are not only thoughtful—they’re environmentally-friendly, too! 

4. Entertain the eco way. While it may be tempting to use disposable goods when hosting a holiday soirée, please try to abstain. Ikea has a great low-priced selection of glassware or give bamboo a try! 

5. Shop smart. Reusable shopping bags are not just for the grocery store. Invest in a few shopper bags (I use this one from XO(eco) Collection) and use them when you are out doing your holiday shopping. Think about how much paper and plastic you will save! 

How are you planning on going green this holiday season? Share your tips and ideas in the comments below!

Faith Hill & Tim McGraw

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are a couple in perfect harmony. The country singers (left, in 1996; right, in 2011) first saw sparks when playing together on the appropriately named Spontaneous Combustion Tour in 1996. By the end of the tour, they were engaged, and by the end of the year -- married! Since then, the first couple of country has produced three daughters -- Gracie, 15, Maggie, 13, and Audrey, 10 -- and some wonderful duets, like 1997's "It's Your Love." But Hill maintains that their marriage works because they make the extra effort. "You can't sit back. My husband and I have made the choice that our marriage is the most important thing to us," she's said.  And if anything, the union has made them both more successful: their 2006 Soul2Soul tour -- planned around their daughters' school schedules! -- was the highest-grossing country tour of all time.

Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick

Sarah Jessica Parker's introduction to Matthew Broderick was a family affair: Broderick was directing two of her brothers in a 1991 Off-Broadway play, they invited sister Sarah to go to a movie with them, and the rest is history! The two actors (left, in 1993; right, 2011) started officially dating in 1992 and married in a secret ceremony in 1997. (The always-chic bride wore black.) Now the parents of three children (James Wilkie, 9, and 2-year-old twins Marion and Tabitha, born via surrogate), Parker and Broderick will celebrate their 15th anniversary on May 19. Parker claims that the secret to their strong marriage is -- well, secrecy. "We try not to talk about the relationship," she has said. "It’s not that we’re not proud; it’s just that’s the kiss of death." 

China's export growth weaker than expected

China's export growth came in below market expectations in November as global demand remained subdued.

Exports grew 2.9% and imports were flat compared to the previous year. Analysts were expecting exports to jump 9%.

It comes after data on the weekend signalled a rebound in the Chinese economy, as factory output and retail sales jumped to eight-month highs.

Analysts said the recovery looks to be on track, despite the disappointing export figures.

"The export slowdown shows external demand faces uncertainty due to concerns over the fiscal cliff in the United States. Nonetheless, it does not change our view that growth is on track for a strong recovery in the fourth quarter, as (growth) is mostly domestically driven," said Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong.

Slowdown

China's economic growth, seen by many as a key driver of the global recovery, slowed to a three-year low of 7.4% in the third quarter.

Weak export growth and little improvement in domestic demand were two of the main factors.

The People's Bank of China has cut interest rates in both June and July and lowered the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve in an effort to boost lending.

Now, a slew of data has shown glimpses of a recovery and prompted analysts to predict the worst is over.

US soldier killed in Afghan rescue mission

A US commando was killed during a mission to rescue an American doctor kidnapped by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan, the White House has said.

President Barack Obama said the US rescue team had shown "selfless service" in carrying out the raid.

Earlier, US officials said Dr Dilip Joseph had been freed in a joint operation by US and Afghan forces.

They said that seven of his captors died in the operation but did not reveal the US casualty until later.

"Our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day," the White House said in a statement.

"Tragically, we lost one of our special operators in this effort. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, just as we must always honour our troops and military families."

President Obama said the rescue mission "was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day".

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta described the commando - who has not been named - as a "fallen hero" and said the special forces represented the "highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service".

Dr Joseph and two Afghan colleagues from the Morning Star Development aid group were captured by Taliban insurgents on 5 December while returning from a rural medical clinic in the Sarobi district of Kabul province, near the Afghan capital.

Morning Star said the three were stopped while driving and captured by a group of armed men.

They were then taken to a mountainous area about 80km (50 miles) from the Pakistan border.

Pre-dawn raid

US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, said he ordered the mission when intelligence showed the doctor was in danger of being killed or injured.

No details have been released about the pre-dawn military operation on Sunday.

After the rescue, Dr Joseph was said to be in good health and was undergoing medical checks before returning to the US.

Dr Joseph's aid agency says he is a medical adviser who travels frequently to Afghanistan.

Morning Star Development is a US-registered non-profit organisation which says it aims to help the Afghan people through economic and community development.

Sarobi district was returned to the control of Afghan forces in April. French troops had been in command until then. France ended its combat operations in Afghanistan last month.

Nelson Mandela: South African hero 'doing well' in hospital

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is said to be "doing well" after spending a second night in the Pretoria hospital where he was admitted on Saturday.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Mr Mandela, 94, was "comfortable" and there was "no cause for alarm".

On Sunday Mr Mandela was visited by President Jacob Zuma, who said he was looking well after a restful night.

News of the hospital stay has prompted much concern around South Africa.

Mr Zuma has been reassured that Mr Mandela - admitted to hospital on Saturday to undergo tests - is in the hands of a competent medical team, Mr Maharaj told the BBC, without giving further details about his treatment or condition.

"[We want to] avoid news about Madiba's [Mr Mandela's clan name] health being treated as if it is the movement of share prices on the stockmarket," Mr Maharaj added.

'Great person'

Mr Mandela was taken from his home in the rural village of Qunu, in Eastern Cape province, to hospital in the capital on Saturday.

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“Start Quote

Get well and continue to inspire us”

Congress of South African Trade Unions

Local media report that the decision to move him was taken so quickly that some family members and his own foundation were initially unaware of it.

Mr Zuma's office said on Saturday that Mr Mandela needs medical attention "from time to time which is consistent with his age".

The authorities are keen to respect Mr Mandela's privacy and control any information about his health, the BBC's Andrew Harding in Johannesburg reports.

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Nelson Mandela's health scares

• Feb 2012: In hospital for minor procedure to treat abdominal pain
• Jan 2011: In hospital for a few days with serious chest infection
• 2001: Diagnosed with prostate cancer, of which he was cured
• 1994: Underwent cataract surgery soon after becoming president
• 1988: Diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis while in prison
• 1985: Surgery for an enlarged prostate gland

But there is enormous public concern here for the man widely revered as the father of democratic South Africa, he adds.

Prayers were held for the former leader at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, once the centre of protests and funerals during apartheid.

"Yes, it really worries us because he is a great person," churchgoer Shainet Mnkomo told Associated Press. "He did so many things to the country, he's one of those persons who we remember most."

The Congress of South African Trade Unions said it hoped the government's statement about his condition was true, and urged Mr Mandela to: "Get well and continue to inspire us".

Good spirits

International media have set up outside a military hospital in Pretoria, where Mr Mandela is said to be

Mr Mandela retired from public life in 2004 and has been rarely seen in public since.

He served as South Africa's first black president between 1994 and 1999, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

He spent more than two decades in jail for leading the struggle against South Africa's white minority apartheid regime.

Mr Mandela was last in hospital in February, when he underwent a minor procedure to investigate the causes of an abdominal problem.

And in January 2011 he was treated for a serious chest infection.

Mr Mandela spends the majority of his time in Qunu, which is close to where he was born.

Our correspondent says he is known to be frail and his memory is fading, but visitors have repeatedly said he is in good spirits.