After two best-in-show award show appearances, we had BIG expectations for Emma Stone’s Oscar look. And although the Birdman actress left menswear-inspired clothing completely in the dust for last night’s red carpet ;( , we were stunned by her sometimes gold, sometimes green embellished Ellie Saab gown (seriously, who else could wear chartreuse with such aplomb?). But the frock wasn’t the only thing that left us swooning: not only will her peachy complexion serve as our go-to spring makeup look, but also her hair, curled into a glam asymmetrical style, gave us major formal styling inspiration. Whether you need a knock-’em-dead look for major meeting or want to elevate your locks for your bestie’s wedding, here’s how to DIY Emma’s Oscars ‘do in just six steps.
Step 1: Heat Protector/Setting Spray
Place a dramatic side part into your hair. Then pick up 2-inch sections of hair and apply Kenra Platinum Hot Spray ($13) to each piece. This is going to help your curls set, give them more longevity and protect your strands from the impending heat.
Start at the roots of your hair and begin curling your 2-inch sections in the direction away from your face, gently pulling the curling iron out to feed the rest of your hair into the iron until your ends are in. Using this technique, the roots will get equally as hot as the ends of your hair, which makes your wave pattern more even in the end. Pull the iron out by gently unclamping it and letting the curl fall into your hand. Use a duck bill clip to hold the curl in place. Clip the base of the curl onto your head leaving the top portion of the curl free.
Step 2: Curl + Pin
Continue curling like this until you get to the opposite side of your head. For this side, switch the direction you’re curling in. This allows your curls to fall more naturally. Keep pinning your curls like before until your entire head is covered.
Let your hair set for about 15 minutes or until your pin curls no longer feel warm to touch. Pro tip: This is a more effective way of making your curls last longer. Then remove the clips — your curls should be Shirley Temple-level bouncy.
Step 3: Cool + Remove Clips
This step is the key to this look. Starting on the side with the dramatic side part, use your fingers to gently break apart the curls and blend them into one another for a softer look. Define the shape by twirling them around your fingers and lifting them into place with your hands. Move slowly: you can always break it apart more, but you can’t revive the bounce.
Step 4: Tousle + Shape
In order to create that striking asymmetry, break apart the curls less as you move to the other side of your head. If you have short hair, leave the curls on that side of your head almost completely intact — they won’t need bobby pins to stay in place! If you’re a girl with longer hair, then you will need to fake the length faux bob style. Check out how to pin your hair in an asymmetrical style using this tutorial as an example.
On the side of your head that has the smaller section of hair, pull your hair behind your ear and use a wax like product like TIGI Bed Head Hair Stick ($13) to smooth the hair down.
Step 5: Sleek Down
Finish by spraying your hair with a lightweight touchable hairspray like Kenra 25 Volume Spray ($20) to really seal the deal — these curls aren’t going anywhere.
Step 6: Spray
It’s official: these Emma-approved red carpet curls are our new go-to formal hairstyle.
What was the most DIY-able beauty moment from the Oscars? Tell us about your favorite looks in the comments below.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
You X Ventures for Unsplash
Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
Kobu Agency for Unsplash
You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures