Despite their 12-year age difference, we couldn't help but think of a zillion reasons why Leonardo DiCaprio nabbed Blake Lively: she's a self-professed whiz in the kitchen, is expanding her acting resume beyond the Upper East Side with a slew of upcoming movie roles, and is BFF with some of the fashion industry's biggest icons.
Oh, and did we mention that the Gossip Girl star is drop-dead gorgeous?
So in honor of her 24th birthday on August 25, we decided to call out the best look-gorgeous ideas we've picked up from the California girl.
Be your own stylist. "I'd go to fashion shows and call my publicist and say, "Can I wear that?" I think I became my own stylist by not knowing any better," Lively told Glamour in a July 2011 interview. "And once I was told it was time to get one, I thought: This is one of my favorite hobbies! And I'm going to pay someone to steal my hobby from me? That's a terrible idea!" It was her penchant for style that led her to meet two of the fashion world's biggest icons: Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour.
Don't be afraid to switch up your hair color. The natural blonde debuted a fiery new hair color (for her film Hick) at the TIME 100 Gala on April 26 in NYC. "I think she's having a lot of fun!" the star's colorist Rona O'Connor told Us Weekly in June. "She has gotten a chance to make a new statement and feel a little different.
Play with different hairstyles. From bombshell waves to an unexpected peek-a-boo braid, Lively loves experimenting with fashion-forward 'dos. (Jennifer Aniston, take notice!) The secret weapon behind maintaining the star's super-shiny locks? "Any Kerastase hair product!" she told Cosmopolitan.
Show off your assets tastefully. While her on-screen character Serena van der Woodsen loves cleavage- and leg-baring numbers, Lively follows a key style rule on the red carpet: balance. Whether she's showing off her amazing legs in a flouncy mini or her svelte figure in a hip-hugging dress, you will barely ever see the star showing too much skin.
Boast a bronzy glow. Lively's skin tone is a far cry from any fake-and-bake complexion you see in tinseltown. The secret behind achieving the actress' healthy glow? "Stila has a great compact with two colors that you brush onto the skin to create that glow you see on Blake. There is a paler pink side and a more beige side," celeb makeup artist Kristofer Buckle told BeautyHigh.com in April.
