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: Copper red. You’re trying for that perfect shade of Jessica Chastain, and scoff at all your blonde friends who complain that they have the hardest color to maintain. Also, if Cintia Dicker isn’t on your hot-redhead radar, add her now.
Your Colour Refreshing Gloss: Warm Red. The rich, burnt-umber gloss will reverse fading and pump up the cinnamon tones.
Makeup experiments:
-We went red-on-red with MAC Russian Red lipstick. The youthful strawberry-blonde hair keeps a thick, super-contoured cat eye and bold lip feeoing playful rather than like that random friend who you saw on an episode of no particular iteration of Real Housewives.
-Copper hair is the ideal contrast for metallic silver—glitter, cream shadow, or a super shimmery pressed shadow wet with eye drops and painted onto lids.
-Matte navy, or an inky dark teal on the eyes with ruddy orange-ish bronzer is a modern way to wear blue shadow. Just resist the urge to blend together four different finishes—like in those quad palettes.
-Jewel tones are a predictable match, but won’t feel that way if you stick to one shade, be it a peridot green or reddish purple garnet.
-A fruit-punch pink lip will pair beautifully with copper hair. Take a cue from stylish Korean women and dab the color at the middle of the lip and blend out to fade.
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.
