Deana's extremely long, fine hair dominates her appearance, taking the focus off her best feature: her beautiful green eyes. To reverse that effect, Luke pulls her hair into a low ponytail and chops off her long locks, which Deana plans to donate to Locks of Love. Luke then adds structure with soft layers and softens Deana's forehead with full bangs that she can wear down or sweep to the side. The result is a much healthier, youthful cut that will grow out neatly with a quick bang trim (much cheaper than a full trim) every four weeks.
To achieve a sun-kissed look on a reasonable budget, Rona suggests diffusing hair with soft, multidimensional highlights that are two shades lighter than your natural color. The process time is fast (about 10 minutes), costs less than frequent highlights, and blends away gray hair while adding a soft, blonde glow. To add even more blonde dimension, Rona uses foils to only lighten the top layer of hair, letting the rest remain a bit darker. "This gives the illusion of more light on the surface," she says. (If foils spell f-e-a-r, don't worry. Follow this top-rated highlighting video and our at-home coloring guide for expert, do-it-yourself advice.)
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Step Three: Update Your Makeup
New hair color requires new makeup! By following Robert's application tips, you can use affordable makeup to get amazing results. Start by preparing your skin with a good moisturizer (we like these Olay wonders) and letting it sink in. Then apply a cream-based concealer to your under-eye area and eyelids to brighten and conceal veins. Dip a wedge sponge into a translucent powder and dab it on your lids to set the concealer.
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Step Four: Bring Out Your Best Feature
Deana's best feature (the eyes) is easy to emphasize. Simply line the eyes all around, including the inner lash line and corners, with black or dark brown eye pencil. (Try one of these low-budget consumer picks.) Apply a white or bone-colored eyeshadow just under the brow bone to highlight, then blend shimmery and matte eyeshadows in neutral shades (Robert uses champagne, gold and light brown on Deana) from lash lines to creases for definition. Finish lids with a splash of color (use lavender for green eyes) on the center and blend outward. (For budget-friendly shadows in one compact, try this Revlon shadow quad.) Apply mascara.
Tip: If you're playing up your lips instead, skip the black eyeliner and use a light hand and light colors on the eyes. Find your best shadow colors here.
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Step Five: Add a Sun-Kissed Glow
Bronzer is the one makeup tool you must have to pull off a sun-kissed look. Sweep this drugstore favorite (the lowest-priced powder in our top-rated bronzers story) on your forehead, cheeks, jawline, neck and collarbone for a natural glow. (Tip: Dip your brush gently into bronzer, then your favorite blush, then back to the bronzer before dusting on cheeks. You'll get a much more believable color.) Finish with your ideal pink lip gloss (use a bright version if your focus is lips).
After losing 80 pounds, TotalBeauty.com reader Deana felt great on the inside but still needed help on the outside. Inspired by sunny Hollywood blondes like Goldie Hawn and Heidi Klum, our dream team -- celebrity hairstylists and owners of Lukaro Beverly Hills salon Luke and Rona O'Connor, and celebrity makeup artist Robert Bolanos -- gave Deana a bright new look to help boost her confidence, and kept it budget-friendly to boot!