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: Burnt caramel brown. Olivia Palermo is your hair idol, and you’ve been caught awkwardly staring at the Victoria’s Secret catalogue, requiring you to explain that you were just studying Lily Aldridge’s ombré. You don’t get it colored too often, but could always use more shine and vibrancy.
Your Colour Refreshing Gloss: Warm Brunette. Especially for former blondes that have ventured a few shades darker, this will trade greenish tones for chocolates and add tons of shine.
Makeup experiments:
-With Thanos, we went for subtle contouring, bare eyes, and a glossy nude lip— Tom Ford Lip Color in Sable Smoke beneath Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Rose Crush. Under-eye circles and a leopard coat finish the I’m-on-tour look.
-A tomato red lip is also your friend, either opaque or as a sheer tint.
-Consider trying grass green (á la Karlie [12] in our lower eye makeup guide) and metallic magenta on the eyes.
-Dark onyx lashes really pop against the warm brown and gold highlights, so load up the mascara and kohl liner.
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.
