Headband: Red or Blue?

Gossip Girl hasn't even started this season, but my obsession with headbands persist. The other day while I was buying a simple clip for my hair (it is way too big by the way), I came across this Cara headband and fell in love with it.
It's just so simple and understated, with a feminine but elegant bow on the side that doesn't make me look like a little girl. The subtle shiny navy blue color subtly contrasts with my black hair, making it appear even more black, which effectively is the effect I aim for. It's the perfect headband to carry me into fall, since it's so subtle I can probably wear it with everything.

The problem of course is that it comes in a variety of colors and I'm wavering between the navy blue and the deep maroon red color. My first instinct was to pick up the blue, but then I caught sight of the red and the red is so nice too. It also contrasts with my dark hair beautifully, but while the navy blue is subtly elegant, the red pops and makes a statement. It won't be as versatile as the navy blue, but it'll definitely be special.

So if you were me, which one would you pick? Or is it nothing special at all (and that I was only in love with it because it happened to match the outfit I was wearing that day) and I'm better off without it?

08 Trend: Braided Hair

Braided hair has been one of the most obvious beauty trends this year. People seem to have a love-hate relationship with it -some people think it's pretty and some think it's just too cutesy. For most part, I think braids is a cute way to add some girliness to ones hairstyle, but it really depends on how you do it and whether it suits the rest of your look.

The celebrity that has been sporting braids the most seems to be Lauren Conrad. And if you know Lauren's usual style (-very girly,) then you would probably agree that the braids really suit Lauren.

The basic way seems to be braiding the front bit of your hair and pull the briad to one side, and tie all your hair up into a pony tail. Look how well the braid goes with Lauren's style!

And she even manages to use the braid to glam up her whole hairstlye and look.

Nicole Richie uses the braids to complement her boho, LA style.

Then there's the braided up-do.

I have to admit I think this hairstyle really doesn't suit Gwen Stefani. It looks so complicated and just... weird on her.

I love the way Rachel wore the braid. She manages to wear the braid without looking overly girly, keeping her casual and trendy look.

Despite how cute I think the braid is, I still haven't tried it out yet. It's probably because I don't want to look like I'm 14, but mostly because it requires some effort to pull together (as opposed to doing nothing.) What do you think of the braid trend? Have you tried it?

Image Credit: http://justjared.buzznet.com