Something about the change of season makes me very antsy regarding the state of my hair. Suddenly, I want to dye it auburn or cut bolder bangs or chop it off in a sleek bob. However, with many experimental hair phases under my belt, I’ve come to the (sometimes VERY painful) realization what does and does not work for me.

In the defense of subtlety, sometimes a small color change can make the biggest difference when you are experiencing the hair blahs.

Two of my good friends recently shook off their doldrums with Féria’s new and improved home haircolor by L’Oreal. You know how some home haircolor brands have the tendency to look a little, um, FLAT? Well, Féria’s color spectrum delivers incredible color and triple highlights, plus a new built-in conditioning technology. Which means sayonara to flat color and hello to awesome, shimmering hair. (You can see all of the shades here.)

So, Holly and Andrea joined me for a little Féria party. Not only did these beauties get the chance to try out Féria’s new and improved haircolor, but they also got to dabble in a fair amount of L’Oreal makeup.

(Lucky bastards.)

Let’s take a look at Holly’s before photo.

Clearly, a GORGEOUS girl. (I’m pretty sure Holly could color her hair chartreuse and still look breathtaking.) Holly chose Féria #45 (Deep Bronzed Brown) and got down to business.

How ANYONE could look so perfectly cute with a towel wrapped around her head, I’ll never know.

And the new Holly!

The deep bronzed color really looks gorgeous. Don’t you think? (And seriously, what is UP with the shimmer? How does that technology work and HOW can I get my hands on it?)
*insert maniacal laughter here*

Let’s not forget my stunning friend, Andrea!

Andrea really wasn’t looking for much of a color change, but was more than happy to get in on some of that Féria shimmer action. She chose #40 (Deeply Brown), and it was the perfect match for her.

Take a look.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of instant shine and shimmer created from the coloring process. Andrea looks fantastic.

Thanks to these lovely ladies for letting me document their coloring process! Let’s do it again soon, shall we?

Many of you might know our next participant, Tertia. She writes the popular blog, So Close, and is no stranger to internet polling. (In fact, her thoughts on the matter were part of this New York Times piece.)

Tertia’s hair:

Naturally dark brown with blond highlights
Chemically-processed hair, oily at roots
Thick hair with individually fine strands
Would prefer to keep length longer
Typical day involves a little bit of mousse and air dry
Doesn’t own styling tools
Wears ponytails 95% of the time
Lives in a Mediterranean environment

From Tertia’s email:

In a nutshell, it naturally has that half-grown-out, old perm look.  Flat on top, wavy on the ends.  Think thatched roof. I’ve worn it long for years, and I’m a ‘wash and wear’ type of girl.  However, because I have an impending midlife crisis on the horizon, I thought it might be time for a change.  But what type of style suits an almost 40 year old who has a long face, big ears and hair that naturally has the half-grown-out, old perm look?

Never fear, Tertia. We are here, ready to catapult you into your midlife crisis with a head of fantastic hair!

Let’s talk about good options for those of you with longer faces. Layers? Good. Sideswept bangs? Good. Shoulder length and/or a little longer? Good. Fullness around the face? Good.

Super short hair? Bad. Long hair with no layering and/or movement? BAD.

Let’s glance at Tertia’s photos again. Looking at the second photo, the thickness and texture of her hair is beautiful, right?  But do you notice how her long, all-one-length hair elongates her face? It’s as if that particular cut visually stretches her face longer.

However, you don’t need to say sayonara to long hair if you have a longer face shape – you just need to add fullness to give the illusion of a face less long or more rounded. OR you can add bangs to cut the length of the face off. (Sounds violent, but it works!)

Let’s take a look at the options.

Option #1 would involve Tertia taking a little length off and adding long layering around her face. Nothing too short if she doesn’t want to foray into bang territory, but just enough to add fullness around her face.

I’m not going to lie, Option #2 is my favorite. With this cut, Tertia could leave all the length in her hair, but add the sideswept bangs, which will not only give the illusion of a shorter face BUT will also balance out her strong jawline. Add a couple of additional subtle layers around the face and Tertia could continue to air-dry for a slightly messy, wavy look. Hot cut for a hot lady, am I right?

Tell her what you think.

I would also recommend Tertia have some lowlights added to her hair to give her a deeper base, yet allowing the lighter pieces to highlight her gorgeous eyes.

Alright! Moving on!

Our next participant is Anna:

Anna’s hair:

Natural copper color
Normal/oily condition
Medium-thick, straight with a little wave
Open to any length
Pulls hair halfway back during the course of the day

From Anna’s email:

I’m open to bangs, layers, anything, but I prefer a “simpler” style (not too trendy).  I basically don’t want layers all over the place or a style that’s really popular right now that doesn’t fit my face, which is long, and I have a high forehead.

Anna, I would kill for your hair color. KILL.

I think adding some subtle, sideswept bangs would be perfect for Anna. First off, like I mentioned before, bangs lessen the length of longer faces and since she pulls her hair halfway back more times than not, the bangs would give her more of a style.

Now, I don’t think Anna needs tons of bangs. Just some fringed pieces that can be swept to the side easily.

Like Option #1.

(Oh my Lord, is anyone else obsessed with Mad Men? I want to BE Joan Holloway with that red hair and those dresses. Alas, that will never happen unless I start shoving copious amounts of tissue into my bra.)

Also, when Anna has the time, curling her hair into loose waves with an iron like Option #1 would look beautiful with her hair color, plus adding fullness around her face to combat the longer face shape.

Now, #2 is an option if Anna doesn’t want to cut bangs. This cut would look super sleek with Anna’s straighter hair, but I wouldn’t let it get much longer than the photo, in order to combat the visual lengthening of the face. (In fact, the hair in this photo had a sharper angle, but I photoshopped the front length shorter because I’m a OCD freak like that.)

Which one would you prefer on Anna?