Hey, Red! Don't use that heavy makeup anymore!

By Jennifer Lloyd
Seattle Times staff reporter

PHOTO BY BETTY UDESEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES, MASKS BY MICHELLE KUMATA / THE SEATTLE TIMES Let your freckles show and lighten lashes and brows; the old look, with heavy foundation and black eye makeup, is passe.

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Only 2 percent to 5 percent of Americans are true redheads, though many more are making their way into that minority with a bottle of dye.

And cosmetic companies finally are figuring out that redheads' skin tones and eye and hair shades need their own subtle makeup hues to complement their coloring.

Julianne Moore is a spokeswoman for Revlon, and Nicole Kidman (a natural redhead who's recently sported blonder tresses) will represent Chanel No. 5 this fall. And individual cosmetic lines — founded by redheads fed up with trying to find the right shades — are seeking their own niche in the market.

One of these is the product line Just for Redheads, which offers a collection online (www.justforredheads.com) and by mail order.

Paula Pennypacker founded the company, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., because of a too-honest comment made on a first date. Her future husband, Duane Abbajay, was admiring her at a romantic Italian bistro when he asked, "Why do you have such beautiful red hair — and black lashes?"

Pennypacker, who recently had made an unsuccessful run for mayor of Toledo, Ohio, decided shortly thereafter to start a business with Abbajay designing makeup for redheads.

"Having lost the opportunity to change Toledo, I vowed to change the lives of redheads forever," Pennypacker said. "I really want to look natural in makeup. I don't want to look made up, and my husband was really hinting at that on our first date."

Resources for redheads Just for Redheads: Call 1-800-831-8240 or visit www.justforredheads.com Redheads' Fancy Cosmetics: Call 1-860-426-REDS or visit www.redheadsfancy.com

The product line began 11 years ago with reddish mascara and since has expanded to include foundation, skin-care and hair-care products. The line features warm tones including apricots, pumpkins and browns. Her most popular products include a peach-colored lipstick called Enchanting ($13) and Mascara Ultresse in Ginger Henna ($17).

Similarly, Harriet Bitar, founder of the cosmetic line Redheads' Fancy Cosmetics based in Southington, Conn. (www.redheadsfancy.com), was inspired by her aggravation with mass-marketed lipstick colors.

"It was sort of a tangible vision — a vision of all of these cast-off lipsticks that were the wrong color," Bitar said. "I had lined them up on the ledge in the bathroom and I had given them to my daughter to play with."

And even those with artificially red hair have their own challenges.

Sara Strand, the 22-year-old makeup artist who is founder of POP Beauty and is partner with her two sisters in Pixi cosmetics (both lines sold by Sephora, www.sephora.com) has dyed her hair in reds all over the spectrum.

"Certain shades you notice don't work as well when you change your hair color," said Strand, who lives in London. "When I was a teenager, I went through phases of trying loads and loads of different colors, and red is the one that stuck. I do have quite a bit of red pigment in my hair, but I tend to help nature on its way."

Melanie Glover, senior makeup artist for MAC Cosmetics, went from blond to red for seven years.

"At the time, I had very long blond hair and I was going to a Halloween party and I was going to be Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid' and I got a temporary red hair color and fell in love with it," Glover said.

She found that her hair had such an impact she had to soften her makeup colors to accommodate it.

Summer trends

Genuine redhead or recent convert, it's easy to help nature along by applying this summer's color trends carefully.

The Euro Institute of Skin Care For information: 10904 S.E. 176th St., Renton; 1-877-655-7546 or www.euroinstitute.com

"The look is kind of sweaty," said Ximena Cedeno of Sephora in Bellevue Square. "It's hot. It's a very sexy surfer-girl look, unkempt but kept."

With trends such as glossy lips like ocean waves, dewy skin hinting at humidity and golden eye shadows and bronzers like the shimmer of sun-baked sand, you could take a tropical vacation just starring into the mirror. Throw in a few juicy fruit tones, especially apricot and peach.

Summer, for many, means at least some tanning, but not everyone is blessed with large amounts of melanin. Pale-skinned redheads should focus on wearing a very light foundation with sunscreen.

After applying concealer to the under-eye area, Dwight Wayne, Chanel counter manager at Bellevue Square Nordstrom, suggests using Chanel's Vitalumière Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup in Nude with SPF 15 ($50).

"The most important thing to correct is skin tone," Wayne said. "You want an even skin tone because your skin is thin."

Pick a dewy foundation with light coverage and save the heavier matte foundations for fall and winter.

And Glover recommends that redheads not try to cover up freckles.

"There's a terrible lot of makeup involved in covering freckles," Glover said. "You should embrace your skin and the undertones that you have, rather than finding something to conceal what is actually a beauty mark."

Other foundation options for pale skin are Bourjois Paris En Toute Légèreté Ultra Light Foundation in Ivoire Naturelle ($20) and MAC's Hyper Real 200 ($24).

Black vs. brown

With pale skin and eyebrows, black eyelashes stand out on redheads — perhaps too much. Natural redheads often have practically clear lashes. The votes are divided on whether redheads should don black, brown or nothing at all. But now, there are options.

Mascara Ultresse Ginger Henna by Just for Redheads blends well with red hair coloring for a natural look, plus the applicator comes with a built-in eyelash brush and comb.

"I've got the pale eyelash and the pale brow," said Pennypacker, a strawberry blonde. "You can imagine how horrible a black mascara would look."

Redheads' Fancy offers mascara in a dark blond called Fairest and an Auburn shade ($7.50).

Wayne suggested lash tinting for a natural look. The Euro Institute of Skin Care in Renton tints lashes for $10. The tint lasts from three to six weeks and is available in several colors.

But Wayne believes the best shade of mascara for any hair color is black, "because black opens up your eyes," he said.

For the indecisive, a good black-brown mascara is CoverGirl Professional Mascara ($4.79), which is fairly smudge-proof.

Shimmer in the shadows

Golden tones complement the highlights in just about every shade of red hair. The champagne, bronze and golden eye shadows (try Urban Decay's Chopper eye shadow, $15, or the Naturally Popette face kit from POP Beauty, about $32).

Add additional golden punch with a Benefit Gilded eyeliner pencil ($16) or mix it up with a plum eye pencil such as Chanel's Le Crayon Yeux in Berry ($27).

Blushing beauty

Whoa there, girly, go easy on the blush. Fair-skinned redheads have to use a light hand not to turn the apples of their cheeks into tarts.

According to Wayne, the best way to avoid blush overkill is to pat your blush brush in a little powder first so that less blush clings to it. Then begin a soft sweeping motion under your cheekbones by your hairline.

Try peach and apricot-toned blushes such as Chanel's Joues Contraste powder blush in Tempting Beige (It's $38.50 — but it smells good), or try a cheek gel such as Pixi's Sheer Cheek Gel in Fresh (about $20).

Brave world of bronzing

If you're brave enough to try bronzers, then be sure to pick a little color. Though tangerine colors are in, you don't want to look like one all over. Pick the lightest shade, like Cargo's Bronzer in Light ($25) or the Stila Cosmetics Sun bronzer in Shade 1 ($24) — and please apply sparingly.

For a more permanent glow, grab a light or golden self-tanner rather than those advertising a dark tan. Try Clinique's Body Quick Bronze and Self-Tanner ($15.50). This product also has a bronzer for instant gratification. The tan shows up in one to three hours and lasts two to three days. But, always remember to wear sunscreen.

Lip service

For lips, dip into the fruit basket again.

Try POP Beauty's Duo Lip Gloss in Yummy (about $11) or get a peach-toned lip liner like MAC's Lip Pencil in Dervish ($11.50) and apply Urban Decay's XXX Shine Lip Gloss in Ozone ($15) on top. Not only will the clear lip gloss give the pencil's color all the pop it needs, it's minty fresh.

Jennifer Lloyd: 425-745-7809 or jlloyd@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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