Bella Book

From her makeovers on The Today Show to her columns in Prevention, I've found makeup guru Bobbi Brown's tips to be straight to the point with a little bit of unexpectedness. So, it's no surprise her new book, Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone From Beginner to Pro ($21.12), has tips on everything from leading a healthy lifestyle to applying dramatic makeup like a geisha.

This book, Brown's fifth, was written "as a complete reference guide for everyone who wants to know about beauty and makeup." It's got your standard makeup-y advice: what’s what when it comes to brushes, tools, application methods, skin care, and choosing colors/formulations. To find out what differentiates it from the rest, read more

It's no secret that Mad Men has popularized retro fashion — and if you're looking for some tips on Joan and Peggy's makeup, these straight-from-the-set secrets will help you achieve their looks. Hair, on the other hand, is a little more involved. That's where Vintage Hairstyling ($29.95) comes in. Hair and makeup artist Lauren Rennells has created a full-color guide to recreating classic styles from the '40s through early '60s. Whether you're looking for pin curls, victory rolls, finger waves, or pompadours, you'll find easy step-by-step instructions. While some of the looks are too stiff for me personally, others are delightful if you're trying to work a softer retro vibe. And though it should go without saying, this would be a fantastic gift for the Dita Von Teese wannabe in your life.

I know what you're thinking: "I don't need to look any younger, so this book, Looking Younger ($13.17) is just not for me."

Well, don't judge a book by its cover. Although written with an older audience in mind, this isn't an old fashioned makeup guide. Author Robert Jones, a painter-turned-makeup artist, explains in great detail how to choose colors, formulations, and application techniques based on your needs and facial structure.

With over 20 years of experience, Jones has created an encyclopedia of the ins and outs of makeup. His focus is to prevent you from making beauty mistakes — like inadvertently aging yourself with wrong choices — which spans all ages. While some parts may not be applicable to the under-30 crowd, let's face it. We all age. D'oh, even right now.

My favorite part? The magnificent tips he provides. And although not a quick read, for this price it's worth it just for the wonderful nuggets of information alone, particularly an eye makeup chart complete with shadow and liner choices. All in all, Looking Younger is like Makeup 101 and beyond for the mature (and not-so-mature) crowd.

I know many of us have already read The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf's 1991 screed against tyrannical ideals of beauty. But at this point, it's worth revisiting the bestseller — or reading it for the first time if you haven't already. Wolf turns a critical eye on advertisers, magazines, and our culture in general, pointing out the unrealistic standards that we women try to attain. Women, she argues, are kept busy trying to live up to a perfect standard of female beauty, and in the process, we miss out on creating more solid accomplishments.

When the book was published, Wolf took a lot of heat for her questionable statistics about eating disorders. (Fair enough, but whether 100 or 1000 women starve themselves to death every year, shouldn't we still try to improve body image?) And in 2008, some of Wolf's observations seem almost quaint in the age of size 00, Botox and extreme Photoshop. Still, any woman who's interested in beauty should read this book. Doing so doesn't mean you have to lose your lipstick or give up your highlights, but Wolf's ideas will make you question the way you define beauty.

Max Factor (born Max Faktor) is credited for being the first to produce a number of beauty accouterments, from false eyelashes to brow pencil. In a new biography, Max Factor: The Man Who Changed the Faces of the World by Fred E. Basten (Arcade Publishing), it becomes clear that his legacy is a lot more than that. After escaping a life as a kept cosmetician by the uncle of Czar Nicholas II and religious persecution in Russia to arrive in America by boat with his young family, Factor became Hollywood's go-to cosmetician (he made wigs and styled hair as well).

For average women in America, however, Factor is responsible for a lot more. Before his wildly successful greasepaints hit the mass market, the word "make-up" (his spelling) barely existed and had a negative connotation when used by women who weren't professional performers. According to the book, a bill brought before the Kansas legislature threatened to make it a misdemeanor for any woman under 44 to wear cosmetics "for the purpose of creating a false impression." Aside from the freedom to use beauty products, Factor can be credited for decisions that still inspire its use: he painted lipstick beyond the outline of Joan Crawford's lips (a trick he called "the smear") and lightened Jean Harlow's hair to platinum.

The tone of the book, written by a former assistant to the head of public relations at Max Factor, is extremely reverent (he uses lots of exclamation points), but that doesn't prevent the subject matter from being accurate and interesting to those with a fascination with all things beauty.

Throughout her 15 or so years in the cosmetics biz, you might say Carmindy's picked up a thing or two along the way, and she's truly become the master of lifting spirits. In her latest book, Get Positively Beautiful: The Ultimate Guide to Looking and Feeling Gorgeous ($14.95), Carmindy dishes out advice like a girlfriend who knows all kinds of beauty tricks. She admits to not feeling so cute in her younger years (complete with awkward school photo) and details the moment when she said enough is enough.

So, stop wasting energy focusing on covering up what you don't like about yourself, she says. Zero in on your natural beauty, and you'll discover your best feature to accentuate instead. Yeah, it might sound relatively obvious, but there's just something about when Carmindy says it that makes it really stick.

Pep talk aside, the book is also full of the ins and outs of beauty, from seasonal makeup tips to colorful pictures (love it), to makeovers. (Who doesn't love a good makeover every now and then?) It's beefy enough for the advanced crowd, but written in a non-intimidating way for the beginners. Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone looking to learn about the basics of makeup to those who are looking for some nifty new tips — and to Carmindy fans, of course.

Yesterday, my best friend and I were headed out for the night. Sick of this bronzer-mascara combo we've both been rocking all summer, I opened Make Up Your Mind by Francois Nars to a random page and followed the directions (with whatever similar products I had). This classic tome is broken into eight sections that begin with general tips and end with step-by-step instructions for each look. And the middle? Amazing big images of faces with inventive makeup, each proceeded by a clear plastic page diagramming what shades are used where. Kind of like a junior high school anatomy book, but infinitely more stylish. To see how our eye look evolved and read how to get it, read more

Even before Perfumes: The Guide came out, I was excited by it. (More background here. It's as enthralling as I'd hoped. If you love perfume, you must buy this book. If you love good writing, you must, at the very least, spend an afternoon at the library wrapped up in the wit of co-authors Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez.

The book begins with a short history of perfume, suggestions for choosing a fragrance to suit you, and other Fragrance 101 essentials. But the real joy of this book is browsing more than 1,200 perfume reviews. Turin and Sanchez are masters of description, whether they're praising their favorite scents or insulting others. Their gift for hilarious bitchery may be unrivaled in the beauty world, and the book is worth reading even if you're not obsessed with scent. Do pick it up; you won't regret it.

Over the long weekend, I hunkered down with a new book called Lessons of a Lipstick Queen ($15.64) written by Lipstick Queen creator, Poppy King. The book talks more about her becoming an entrepreneur than it does about makeup, as she takes you through the trials and tribulations of her journey from idea to inception.

Poppy's voice is genuine, and her story is interesting, heartfelt and uplifting. The thought of actually going through with a business plan, finding the right time, niche and the finances to back me has always scared me a little. However, once I finished reading the book I felt inspired.

I especially liked the set-up of the book. She talks about a lesson and then follows each lesson with a personal story and a conclusion at the end of each section. (One of my favorites is Manage your Inner Critic.)

I often let unwarranted negativity get in the way of a good idea and wind up not following through. Her book is a reminder that when you hear a critical voice in your head, ask questions to challenge the pessimism instead of automatically giving it validity. Not only is it a confidence booster, but it allows you to talk through any doubts you may have in your idea or plan.

I really liked this book. It's not a fluffy page-turner, so if you are looking to get swept away in a story about lipstick or royalty, this isn't for you. But, if you are someone with a dream (even if you aren't really into lipstick) you'll enjoy learning from Poppy's experiences about how to successfully develop your own ideas into something fruitful.