Leighton Meester Talks 'Really Hard' Breakup

Romance hasn't come easy for Leighton Meester over the years – and that's okay with her.

"I think that the importance of love is really strong for me in my life, whether it's a guy or a friend or just my puppy," the Gossip Girl actress, who also stars in Country Strong, tells February's Seventeen, on newsstands Jan. 4. "I think love changes you over time, and whether you have good or bad experiences, you always grow and learn from it."

Still, Meester, 24, admits to some trouble finding the right fit in a romantic relationship.

"I've never really liked anybody before. Even when I would date guys, it would sort of be on the surface and it was always a relief when we broke up," she says.

Asked about her relationship with costar and ex-boyfriend Sebastian Stan, she says, "I've only had one experience where it was really hard and I was really sad when it ended, but that's what taught me a lot about myself and love and life – and that's good."

Despite the heartbreak, Meester believes in love. "If I shut love down or didn't let it in, I would just be this really cold, sad person," she adds.

Credit: People

Lauren Conrad Style: Behind The Scenes

Take a look at what goes on behind the scenes as author and TV star Lauren Conrad does a photo shoot for the cover of her upcoming style guide book, Lauren Conrad Style.

"Lauren is the perfect combination of classic girl and up-to-the-moment trend setter. There's not a girl alive who wouldn't want a little of her style magic!"  -Ann Shoket Editor in Chief, Seventeen magazine

Credit: HarperTeen on YouTube

Lauren Conrad: Seventeen Mag Make-Up Look

For Lauren Conrad's Seventeen Magazine cover look, I wanted to create her trademark California Glow, even though we shot it in November. So I used a foundation color one shade deeper than her skin tone, which can be tricky since it doesn't match, so I made sure to shade in her neck, chest and even her arms as well. I used mark cosmetics Speedway Foundation Stick in Honey with their Foundation Brush for her face then a large sponge everywhere else to save time by covering more area. Because Lauren doesn't like to wear eye shadow, I used the Speedway stick on her eyelids as well. Now that I made her face into a blank canvas, I had to go back and create dimension, so I contoured the hollows of her cheeks, temples, at the hairline and underneath her jawline with Speedway in Golden, a slightly darker shade than Honey. TIP: to find where your cheekbones are (mine didn't come in until I was 26!), suck in your cheeks like a fish, then contour slightly below where the bones protrude.

Next I used mark Just Pinched Instant Blush Tint in Peachy, a brand new color that they sent us that is amazing but not out just yet (sorry!). I applied it with mark's foundation brush on the apples of Lauren's cheeks. TIP: to find exactly where your apples are, simply smile in the mirror and they look like little cherries!

Now that all the cream work was finished, I powdered her entire face with mark Mattenificent Oil-Absorbing Powder in Golden Honey using a mark Powder Brush. Then I contoured and blushed the same areas again, this time using powder formulations. For the hollows of the cheeks, jawline, temples and along the hairline, I used mark Bronze Pro Bronzing Powder in Pro Golden with their Angled Contour Face Brush for better precision. I used mark Good Glowing Mosaic Blush in Chica on the apples of her cheeks with my favorite Kabuki Brush.

Of course then we lined her signature cat eyes with mark Get In Line Hook Up Waterproof Liquid Liner in Painted Black. If you have trouble or are intimidated, a great technique is to start with drawing the wing first by imagining a line from the corner of your lashline to the end of your eyebrow, then use that angle to start building your wing with small brushstrokes. Then go back and line your lashline starting at the inner corner. I followed with two coats of mark Make It Big Lash Plumping Mascara in Raven.

Finally I coated her lips with mark Dew Drenched Moisturlicious Lip Color in Mist followed by mark Juice Gems in Juicy HoneyDew.

All photos courtesy of Seventeen Magazine and mark Cosmetics.

Credit: Amy Nadine Beauty Blog

Lauren Conrad: Spring Seventeen Sweet

Lauren Conrad steps into Spring style on the March 2010 cover of Seventeen mag.

The 24-year-old actress/author chatted with the mag about life after The Hills, her new novel, and being on a budget. Check it:

On her new novel, “Sweet Little Lies: An L.A. Candy Novel”: “Jane is the main character and most like me. But also when I was more sarcastic and against [being on] the The Hills, I was able to illustrate that through Scarlett, her best friend. So they almost became the two sides of me, because there were times I absolutely hated the show and there were times I loved it.”

On loving life after the mess of reality television: “You set out to do a show based on your life, and you end up living a life based on your show. Everything you do has to be cleared — where you work, people who come to your birthday, people you date, what clothes you wear. I had to get the paint color for my apartment approved by the director of photography. It was things like that that I don’t miss.”

On being one of the many on a budget and sticking to it: “At 18 I was cut off financially! Seventeen was a happy time for me, but 18 was hard. People think that I’ve had it easy, but I haven’t had it as easy as you think. When I went off to college, I wasn’t going to class in Louis Vuitton. There were definitely times when my bank account was zero. I was financially independent, but I wasn’t exactly living a lavish life. My dad was really adamant about that. He’d say ‘You’re going to go to college and live it like everyone else, because if you want to make your own decisions, you need to support yourself too.’”

Check out more of Lauren’s outtakes at Seventeen.com and check out her vids below!

Lauren Conrad - March 2010 Cover Shoot

Lauren Conrad - Two Truths & A Lie

Credit: Just Jared Jr.

Lauren Conrad: Seventeen Magazine March '10

Lauren Conrad Exclusive: Sweet Little Lies

Lauren Conrad gives you an exclusive excerpt from her new book, Sweet Little Lies!

Just before 9 a.m. on Monday morning, Jane pulled into her usual parking spot behind Fiona Chen's building. She turned off the engine and carefully searched the entire lot through the window. Good - no photographers. She'd had to fend off two of them outside the apartment earlier. They were so obnoxious, shouting out questions at her about Braden and Jesse - "Jane, why did Braden move to New York?" "Jane, what do you think of Jesse's new girlfriend?" - and snapping picture after picture of her while she gritted her teeth and tried to ignore them. She hadn't heard anything about Braden going to New York or Jesse having a girlfriend. But she knew better than to talk to paparazzi.

Still . . . the thought of Braden and Jesse moving on without her, and so quickly, made her heart feel heavy. Neither had tried to contact her since the Gossip story broke. Obviously she hadn't tried to contact them, either. She knew she had to at some point. She owed Braden an apology—for hooking up with him when she was so mixed-up about everything, and for inadvertently getting him involved in this whole mess. And she owed Jesse an even bigger apology. She had no idea how she could possibly make things right after cheating on him, and in front of the whole world, too.

There was one guy she didn't owe anything—and he seemed to have no problem getting in touch with her: Caleb had texted her yesterday, from Vail—something about the awesome powder, and did she remember when they went to Tahoe during her senior year, and she wiped out on her new snowboard, like, twenty times? A few minutes later, he had texted her a photo of her lying in a pile of snow and laughing hysterically. Jane had no idea why he was sending her this stuff. It was nice that he was thinking about her. But confusing. And she didn't need "confusing" right now, on top of everything else.

Riding up to her office in the crowded elevator, Jane felt butterflies in her stomach. And not the good kind. She hadn't been to work in over a week, and she was really nervous about facing Fiona. She had sent her boss a quick email yesterday, saying that she would be back in the office on Monday. Fiona had responded right away, writing simply: SEE YOU TOMORROW AT 9 SHARP.

So what was in store for Jane at 9 sharp? A furious Fiona waiting with a long lecture? A pink slip, telling her that she had two weeks to find new employment? Maybe one followed by the other. Can't wait. To make things worse, the L.A. Candy cameras were up there already, prepared to shoot Jane's return to work. When Trevor had called Jane yesterday, Jane had felt compelled to pick up after ignoring him for so long. He asked her if it would be okay for them to shoot her at work the following day. After going MIA on him, what could she say but yes?

Much to her surprise, Trevor had been really sweet on the phone and didn't sound angry at all about the Gossip thing or her disappearing to Cabo. Which was weird, since he'd sounded so stressed in his messages. He told her that he was happy she was back, and that everything was going to be fine. He said that he'd been thinking about how to present "recent events" on the show, and thought her story line should be that she had cheated on Jesse (without naming Braden, of course), and that she wasn’t sure who had spilled the news to Jesse. Maybe she could confess to someone, like her coworker and friend Hannah Stratton, that she felt really bad about the whole thing. It would be Jane's opportunity to tell her side of the story. He promised her that after people saw her side, everything would be better. And that was that. Trevor added that he would talk to each of the girls—Madison, Gaby, Scarlett, and Hannah—to clue them in on his ideas...

Click here to read the rest of this sneak peak!

Credit: Seventeen Magazine

Seventeen's Style Stars: Whitney and Kristin

The City star, Whitney Port, talks about her most stylish moments of 2009!



Kristin Cavallari of The Hills tells you about the signature style piece she takes everywhere with her.

Whitney Port Shows Off Her Seventeen Cover

Whitney Port debuted her new cover for Seventeen Magazine's October Issue last night at the Hearst Tower in New York City.



She looked lovely in a silver sleeveless minidress teamed with matching heels as she posed for the paparazzi. Click here to see pictures and video of Whit's photo shoot for Seventeen!

Her friends Samantha Swetra and Roxy Olin were also there showing support for their friend and City co-star as well as enjoying their second season premiere episode of "The City."

Whitney: Seventeen Magazine October Issue

Whitney Port is definitely learning about the business world on the new season of The City, and she knows the women she works with can teach her a lot about what it takes to cut it in the fashion industry. The people over at Seventeen magazine seemed to think Port's perseverance in the cutthroat industry made her a perfect candidate for the cover of the October issue.



Port dished to MTV News at the issue's release party Tuesday (September 8) that working for design maven Diane Von Furstenberg and PR queen Kelly Cutrone has showed her that it takes a strong personality to make it. Both women have given her key advice to make her dreams come true.

"Diane really taught me a lot about empowering myself as a woman, and in my relationship world, she taught me a lot about appreciating myself and putting myself first," Port said.

This season of The City shows Whitney taking a cue or two from Cutrone as well. While Cutrone and Von Furstenberg may seem like very different people, they gave Port very similar advice.

"She's really boosted my confidence," Port said of the tough-as-nails Cutrone. "And made me believe in myself and really taught me I should just follow my dreams and not be afraid to fail."

Credit: MTV News