This Season: Fuss-Free Messy Hair, a Bold Red Lip, and Peach Eyes

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Welcome to Summer Beauty, our weekend coverage of this season's hair and makeup trends, as applied by masters in the biz on some very exceptional models. We headed over to the Hudson Guild Fulton Center and the Greenwich House Senior Center to photograph the finest ladies around in this summer's most sought-after looks. While doing so, we even learned a few tips to help us get through July and August—without breaking too much of a sweat.

Kari Stuve, 63
Hairdresser Andre Davis of Julien Farel Salon gushed over Kari's Annie Lennox–style cut: "I love love love her hair. It just speaks a lot to her personality." And that it did: For a 63-year-old woman, Kari had more energy than all of us youngins' combined. "She has a great crop cut. I wanted to keep it edgy, so I used some styling paste and I just ran my hands all the way through it and just gave her a really nice edgy, summer look. The blonde speaks for itself: It's blonde and short...you can't go wrong with that." Wrong you can't. To get those spikes, Andre used a Phyto Fiber Paste and Nexus Root Extend.

Makeup artists Joy La Rosa from Sam Brocato Salon played up the wild hair with a strong lip. "We did a bold red lip which is a huge thing that we're seeing this season. We're not afraid of makeup anymore—there's almost a reinvention of it." To get just the right shade, she used MAC's Russian Red lipstick, and added a light peachy eye in MAC yogurt and bamboo eyeshadows. As for her skin, Joy kept it light and dewy. "I think with older skin, it's really important to use a tinted moisturizer—something that's really lightweight and airy, as opposed to something that's really thick and heavy that would look cakey." She used Smashbox Sheer Focus tinted moisturizer mixed with their Light Luminizing lotion.

Andre feels that for summer hair, just because it's hot doesn't mean you shouldn't just go for something crazy. In fact, that's probably why you should. Because who cares? If it doesn't work, the humidity will knock it down in a second. The look he did for Kari is one that "is taking you out of your day to day, and [it's about] doing something a little more edgy. Maybe you're a teenager, or a senior citizen, but it doesn't mean you have to stop feeling sexy and alive."

And Joy has some tips for how to tackle the season's trend of bright lips if you're feeling quite so adventurous. "If you're afraid to do a bold lip, one thing you can do is apply your red lipstick and then blot it off. Then, you've almost created your own lipstain. So it stays a little better and it's a little less scary. It's a good place to start, but nothing makes you feel sexier than a bold red lip." Amen.
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