Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port and Taylor Swift: Lob story short

2014 has truly become the year of the lob. (That's a 'long bob,' FYI). While lobs are popping up on Pinterest boards and Instagram feeds with a frequency to rival the motivational Monday morning quote, there are a few celebrity chops that really caught our attention this year. First up, Taylor Swift. After years of rocking a mane of long blonde ringlets, the pop star showed she's not all kittens and cupcakes by lopping off her locks at the shoulders - well-timed with the release of her edgier new album, 1989. Somehow we don't think the video for Blank Space would have had quite the same impact had T.Swift been sporting her once-signature pageant-style curls.

After years gracing our TV screens with long smooth locks, former The Hills star turned fashion designer Whitney Port also took the plunge, leaving behind the Rapunzel-esque tresses of her youth to make way for a more sophisticated style.

The starlet debuted her new 'do on Instagram back in May with the caption, "Finally did it! Man, I feel like a woman!"

Port's fellow The Hills star Lauren Conrad followed suit just last month - but chose to make the change at a slower rate, revealing various stages of shortness over a three week period. LC told E! News that she and stylist Kristin Ess had planned to make the change gradually so that the 28-year-old didn't "freak out."

"My hairdresser did it slowly, she didn't do it all at once because she knew I would freak out," she explained. "So she cut it in like three steps...I see her a lot, so every time I'd see her, she'd take a little bit off."

Kylie Jenner and Renee Zellweger: The names on everybody's lips

Celebrity scrutiny reached an all-time high in the second half of 2014, when Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kylie Jenner hit headlines for her suspiciously plump lips. After posting a number of pouty selfies online, the Twitterverse went ballistic, with speculation the 17-year-old had had her smackers surgically enhanced. But it turns out the teen is just a dab hand with the lip liner.

"I love lip liner and over lining my lips," Jenner told E! News, a statement that was backed up by Kylie's sister and fellow selfie queen, Kim Kardashian West.

"She draws her lip, and it looks amazing," Kim told beauty blog Pixiwoo, according to MTV. "And I go into her room like, 'What liner do you wear?' because she only wears a lip liner and she fills it in, she doesn't wear lipstick or a lip gloss." There you have it, just a good old-fashioned trompe l'oeil.

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But it wasn't just the Kardashian clan creating a stir on social media this year. Who could forget the frenzy that occurred in October after Renee Zellweger hit the red carpet for ELLE's 21st annual Women In Hollywood Awards looking dramatically different to the Bridget Jones we all know and love. Dr Alex Karidis of London's Karidis Clinic told MailOnline he believed the 45-year-old may have had an upper eye lift and botox, but in a statement issued to People, Renee explained that her appearance was all down to the healthier lifestyle she now leads.

"I'm glad folks think I look different!" she revealed. "I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows."

"My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy," she added. "For a long time I wasn't doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn't allow for taking care of myself. Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion. I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things."

Lorde: The M.A.C. moment

She's taken the world by storm with her stunning vocal abilities, thought-provoking lyrics and enviable style, so it seemed only natural that our favourite Kiwi should sink her teeth into the world of beauty too. On June 27 Lorde launched her very own shorthand makeup collection for M.A.C. Cue everyone from teens, to bloggers, beauty editors and office managers chomping at the bit to try their hand at recreating the Lorde look with the deep grape Pure Heroine lipstick and Rapid Black Penultimate Eyeliner. And as with everything Ella Yelich-O'Connor touches, her mini collection was met with rave reviews, with Smith & Caughey's ordering up five- to six-fold more stock than usual for an initial limited edition celebrity line order. "We've never ordered these quantities before," revealed cosmetics buyer and manager, Lynda Grant.

Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley: Pain-free pixie grow-outs

It's no secret that when you decide to commit to getting a pixie cut, you really do have to commit. But it's only natural that at some point you may decide to embark on the sometimes painful journey of growing it out. Luckily this year we've been privileged enough to watch three of our favourite celebrities grow out their short 'dos in their own unique and completely non-awkward ways - proving that maybe it's really not such a bad time afterall.

In 2012, Anne Hathaway did what many of us could never fathom - shaving her head for work. It was a starring role in Les Miserables no less, but still a huge ask of any woman. Two years on and we've watched Anne's style go from a number one all over to a cute pixie cut and now, in 2014, she's sporting an ultra-chic chin-length bob. Our style observation: Side-parts are a short-haired woman's very best friend.

But it wasn't just Miss Hathaway who showed commitment to her career recently - Shailene Woodley had a date with the scissors for her role in The Fault In Our Stars, while also showing her altruistic side by donating her freshly chopped locks to non profit organisation Children With Hair Loss. While the 23-year-old is still rocking a shorter 'do, we love the versatility of the star's hair when walking the red carpet. From slicked down, to smoothed out and sometimes a little tousled and carefree - it's safe to say this leading lady is having a blast with her new look.

Jennifer Lawrence also proved the versatility of an edgy crop by growing out her once asymmetrical style into an on-trend wavy bob, thanks to the help of a few simple accessories. At the world premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 in London in November the Academy Award winner kept her hair pulled back with a simple black headband. Only a few days later she'd swept her hair into a side-parted half-up half-down 'do and even managed a modern take on a low french twist at the film's Los Angeles premiere. J.Law, is there anything you can't do?

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