Picture this: you’re at a beauty counter. There are 36 shades of eye shadow angled toward you ever so sweetly, each like a velvety soft puppy, begging to be taken home. People with pink undertones should choose blue-reds, right? And olive skin tones should steer clear of pastels...or something? There are ‘rules’ to color-matching of course, but maybe whoever first wrote them up had it all wrong in asserting that a person’s hair and makeup shades should be based skin tone. What about starting with hair color? After all, Drew Barrymore once told us, “We could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and we’re going to have played it safe and conservative? Forget it. I want to try every hair color, I want to paint my face crazy colors. I don’t care what people think or say, I want to live. I want to have fun!”

In an attempt to demystify hair shades (let’s be honest—how many times have you been asked to “bring a reference” to your colorist?) while having Barrymore-level fun, take a look at the work of hairstylist Thanos Samaras, who essentially created six entirely new identities for us with a change of hair color and a little makeup experimentation. It’s all in celebration of John Frieda’s new Colour Refreshing Glosses. Because what’s that warning that comes at the end of every lotto commercial? Play responsibly. If you’re going to go for a new color, keep it looking good between salon visits (or enrich what you’ve already got going on) and your colorist won’t kill you for Manic Panic-ing your hair in a moment of...panic. And now, the fun part:

The hair you want: Auburn brown, or a vibrant red with bluish rather than orange undertones. You hold on to a random 2010 tabloid mag that you bought compulsively along with a pack of tropical Starbursts just for that red carpet feature on Rihanna and her glorious red curls at the AMAs—and are considering having the photos laminated for future reference.

Your Colour Refreshing Gloss: Cool Red. The bright magenta gel helps counteract fading to keep those vivid red tones from turning to a weird dull orange.

Makeup experiments:

-A creamy, spice-colored lip, lots of dark lashes, and a subtle flick look especially ladylike with auburn hair. Not boring ladylike, but a cool lady...who rides a motorcycle and speaks five languages.

-Try incorporating creamy white as an accent, either with an Mod light-nude lip gloss, or in pencil/paint form on your lids.

-Smudge clementine-orange cream paint from lashes to crease, blending in a metallic copper shadow for some texture and depth.

-Royal blue on the nails or as mascara on the outer lashes is a subtle complement to the bluish undertones in the hair—plus, congrats on having the chicest hair color with which to pair Guerlain’s hard-to-pull-off teal-colored Terracotta Loose Powder Kohl Liner.

-Bubblegum-pink blush actually looks pretty damn sophisticated on women of the auburn persuasion.

Part 1 of a 6 part collaboration with John Frieda Colour Refreshing Gloss. Annie Kreighbaum photographed by Emily Weiss in New York on January 19, 2014. Hair by Thanos Samaras; makeup by Junko Kioka.