Once you build your base with uncompromising color and a take-no-prisoners cut, a signature style is guaranteed to complete your look. What often comes more naturally to younger dolls -- effortless waves, sun-kissed streaks, and silky shine -- can also be had easily by all women.
Your tasks are to:
• Always experiment.• Always use results-driven products -- mix and match.• Always play it up: Find your most attractive, balanced and complementary overall silhouette, deep side or middle parts, quick sweeps and updos, and not-too-girly-girl accents.
Kick it up or down a notch -- or six! -- by stealing the looks of these sexy spellbinders for show-stopping results:
A Shaved Head: Natalie Portman showed it off best in V for Vendetta. The young actress shaved her head to showcase both her bold nymph-like facial features and dramatic persona. Charlize Theron recently shaved her head for the part of Furiosa in the latest Mad Max adventure, Mad Max: Fury Road, due out in 2014. If you dare to go bare: (a) go to a professional to do the job and (b) be sure to use a 45-SPF sunscreen afterward and always. For a variation of the shaved head, carve an elaborate henna design complimented by color. Better yet, subtly tattoo your mark on a key location -- maybe just above or slightly behind your ear?
The Short, Choppy Crop or Emo-Mod: Victoria Beckham's emo-mod asymmetrical hybrid is the ultimate glam tomboy look -- a slightly feminine jagged edge with a ska twist. The key to working with a messy, ragged statement is taking advantage of hair muds, spray waxes and lighter matte pastes to define and separate. Emulsify the product first (tip: apply product to hair and heat it up slightly with a blow dryer), then finger piece modestly to ends only or, for full funk and flair, pull product from the root through the ends chunking with product-coated fingertips. Whether thorn-like and barbed, or darling and daring, your hair will be custom chic. Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway and Emma Watson trend softer and more sensible flawless choppy crops. To add drama, pop in an irresistible bejeweled hairpin or a feather, floral or leaf garland headband.
The Classic French Bob: Though different takes on the same style, Hayden Panettiere and Katie Holmes both boast the two keys to the classic bob: boldness and shine. To get this look, start by using a root lift enhancer or volumizing spray. Pull out a medium- to large-sized round brush and blow sections of your hair straight, yet full, with a slightly underturned end. Finish off with a holding shine spray. If your hair is already dry, and superstraight, try taking sections and misting them with a boosting agent like an aerosol extra-hold hair spray. Let spray dry then hit sections with a two-inch-barrel curling iron, focusing on bumping the ends under. Flip a few ends out for full flirt appeal.
The Wild 'Fro: Erykah Badu and Macy Gray have always flaunted their natural assets by letting their mystery hair run wild. If you've been blessed with a natural Afro, tame the frizz by adding a carrot-sheen product and pull out your pick to volumize and shape. Modified, updated versions have been sported by Beyonce and sister Solange Knowles -- "fro-ultralicious" at any length. Blonde it up, adding a stunning juxtaposition to mocha-colored skin.
The Wavy, Ethereal Pin-Up: Marilyn Monroe trademarked the look, and stars from Gwen Stefani to Scarlett Johansson to January Jones have updated this intricate 1930s style with a 1-2-3 formula. For a soft, sultry effect, pick up some old-school curlers at your local drugstore and roller set your damp locks with an old-school setting lotion like Dippity-Do or modern liquid spray gel. When hair is dry, unroll your curls, brush out gently, use your fingers with a little Argan oil to finesse, sculpt and set. If you like, gently tease lower curls, rendering a piecey and polished overall silhouette. This look always receives raving retro reviews!
Long and Luxe: Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston often sport the sleek, sheet long, super-straight hair, with the aid of a long-haired lassie's lethal weapons: a few key hair extensions, a flat iron and shine spray. To get this look, start with a straight base (even if you have to blow dry for an hour to get it), snap or tape in hair and give it a finishing spin by working a flat iron through your hair for integration. A flat iron is perfect for making a statement look ultra-straight. And you get the added bonus of sealing the cuticle, which reflects shine and allows hair to glide and swing. Clean and sleek are your goals here, so don't forget to top it off with a high-reflecting silicone shine.
Victoria Secret-Sexy: Gisele Bundchen, Angelina Jolie, Sofia Vergara and Julia Roberts have mastered that over-the-top tousled look. The signature strand style that's practically a trademark of sex kittens is a key factor in the ultraseductive quality of the women who wear this hair. Currently Kate Middleton pulls it off -- Princess Perfect. A modern classic with fullness meets smaller, piecier, brushed (even fuzzy) curls at ends. The key to this look is volume and flow, or at least a "crown and side bump" -- backcombed sections of your hair that boosts your silhouette -- hand-crafted with a teasing comb and smoothed with a paddle brush then finished off with a strong-hold hair spray. Vavoom Valumptuous!