School balls can be stressful - especially if you are exploring hair, makeup and beauty options for the first time. Luckily, the Beauty Bible and Gloss girls have been to a few school balls in their time and have plenty of advice on what to do, where to go, and how to save money.



The look:
Balls are about being elegant and classy and enhancing your natural beauty. Many of the team in our office look back at our photos and cringe because we either followed the trends too strictly, had no idea what we were doing when it came to hair and makeup, or went too OTT.

Please be careful when following current fashion trends for your school ball look - luminous and classic should be the look you are aiming for.

Makeup


DIY
There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing your own makeup at home – in fact, I quite like the idea as you can spend the money you would have paid a makeup artist on products, and these will last you longer than just the night of the ball.

Make sure you practice the look you want to go for in advance so you can work out what products you already own, and what products you need to purchase, or borrow.

One product I really recommend purchasing is a primer – primers help your makeup last the distance – so you’ll still look freshly made-up at the after-ball. You can check out Beauty Bible’s pick of the primers here .

HOT TIP: Mobile beauty therapists

Hair and makeup artists who come to you in your own home are becoming more and more popular - and they make the day of the ball a hell of a lot less stressful and you don't have to travel anywhere.

Most mobile beauticians do both hair and makeup - and if you get a group of girls together at one house, it is often cheaper per person. It is a great way to start the night with your friends and makes life easier for for everyone.

If you are looking for a mobile beauty service, Beauty Bible recommends Beautified for fabulous hair and makeup - not to mention fabulous personalities and great prices - but you'll have to get in quick as they are booking out fast. Hair AND makeup by Beautified in your own home is only $100.00!

Hitting the makeup counter

If you get in quick, you can secure an appointment at your favourite makeup brands counter or store where one of the trained artists will apply your makeup. You have to pay for this privilege but you can usually redeem the fee for product – a win-win situation really!

The cosmetics section of Farmers has a great selection of designer brand counters that will do ball makeovers for reasonable prices ( $40-$90) - as do department stores.

Counters we love:
M.A.C Cosmetics
Bobbi Brown
Napoleon Perdis (in Farmers stores)
Chanel
Elizabeth Arden

It helps to take your dress (or a fabric sample along with) so the artist can create a look that will suit what you are wearing, and getting your hair done before your makeup will mean the artist can tie your makeup in with the style of your hair.

If you have a particular look in mind then take a picture a long with you – but if you don’t, then don’t sweat it – the makeup artist will be able to work with you to create something beautiful.

Tips: Planning on doing your makeup at home, but want a little bit of glamour? Make an appointment to have someone at the M.A.C counter apply a set of false lashes for you to really make them pop. It only costs the purchase price of the lashes and it looks amazing.

Hair
DIY hair
Some people are good at doing their own hair, and others (like me) could not do it if their life depended on it. If you have hair that is easy to work with, or the magic touch when it comes to styling, then doing your hair yourself is a great, inexpensive option. 

Trialing your look well before the day is not an option – it is a necessity! If you need products and/or styling tools and don’t want to spend the cash, ask family and friends if you could borrow from them.

YouTube has thousands of videos that tell you how to create hundreds of different do’s – so once you have decided on what look you want to go for, why not log on and find a demo video to follow.

Off to the hairdressers?
On ball days, popular, central hair salons are going to be frantic, so make sure you get in quick. If you are trying to save money and time, why not book in with a lesser known suburban hair salon - they may not be as busy and the prices may be slightly lower.

Try to decide what kind of style you want before you go in and take magazine pictures with you.

Go in with clean hair (wash it that day). The rule used to be that you should have “one day old dirty hair” buts Ashlee Kellet of Beautified tells me this is on old wives tale. Hairdressers have products that can create oil in the hair if neeeded so start with clean hair.

HOT TIP: Make sure you wear a top that does not need to be pulled over your head when removed (i.e button or zip up) so you don’t ruin your hair and makeup when you take it off.