This Season: Wash-and-Wear Short Hair and Burnt-Orange Blush

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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.

Sonia Rivero, 68

Hairstylists Robert Stuart of the Robert Stuart Salon focused on the cut of Sonia's hair, and trimmed the top of it to give it more movement. "Her hair was really, really dramatically short on the sides, so what I did was cut the top because her hair is so thick. And again, with her hair, it's just scrunch and go." That scrunch involved Spice pomade and Phyto sculpting gel, plus a little bit of Morrocanoil treatment and luminous spray.

Makeup artist Susmta Patel used a color palette of sage eyeshadows and burnt-orange blushes to compliment Sonia's skintone. She began with a Giorgio Armani primer and Laura Mercier hydrating foundation. She dusted her cheeks with Joe Blasco burnt orange blush, and used L'Oréal sage eyeliner with Make Up Forever green eyeshadow. Lastly, she used a Maybelline waterproof mascara and Kevyn Aucoin "Coco Chic" lipstick.

Robert is a firm believer that the cut makes the woman, and feels that styling your hair should come secondary to finding a cut that works for you. "My thing is to really go out of the box and try different things because hair grows and it's really nice to explore. Hair is like an accessory, you can keep on changing."

Susmta advocates the wonders of blush, and even pushes that it can double as a lipstain. "It stays longer as well. Then you can go over it with a not too matte lipstick that has a little moisturizer in it." She also says that you should be careful as to what kind of blush you pick for summer skin. "You want a cream-based blush so it gives you that dewy look instead of powdery."
· Robert Stuart Salon [Official Site]
· Studio Sush [Official Site]
· All Summer Beauty Posts [Racked]