Real Girl Makeover: “I Tried Clip-In Bangs For A Day”
Photo: Angela Pham
If you’ve ever had a bad haircut, you’ve probably wished you could hit “undo” and start all over again (we sure have!). Celebrities do it all the time — which explains how someone like Lea Michele can show up with bangs on the red carpet one week, then have them magically disappear the next. We were curious about how clip-in bangs would work in real life, so we recruited Perrie (who also happens to be Senior Editor at our sister site, StyleCaster) to try faux fringe, courtesy of hair stylist and extensions expert Angelo David Pisacreta at Angelo David Salon in New York.
“For someone who doesn’t want to commit to cutting bangs, these are great,” Pisacreta told us. But most bangs won’t work straight out of the box, he explained. For starters, you’ll want to get a perfect color match to your natural hair, and the most exact way to do this is to have you colorist tint a clip-in fringe to blend seamlessly with your natural shade. Pisacreta adjusted the color of Perrie’s bangs four times (this attention to detail is why he calls the personalized service Couture Bangs) before settling on the perfect shade.
Photos: Angela Pham
Next, he styled Perrie’s hair with a curling iron to create voluminous waves and began the process of fitting the fringe—another step that’s best left to a professional, who can trim the clip-in piece to blend with your natural hair and to flatter your features.
A new hairstyle always calls for makeup tweaks, so Perrie headed to makeup artist Julie Tussey’s chair before donning her final look. “Brows frame the eyes, and when you have bangs, I say you’re double framed,” Tussey explained. “You need higher impact on the eyes.” She used Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow ($24, bobbibrowncosmetics.com) in soft brown shades to create a smoky eye and added false lashes that would “fan out into the bangs.” Tussey also added a pop of pink lipstick for bright color to balance out the bangs.
Photo: Angela Pham
Finally, it was time to test out the look. “I always thought my forehead was way too tiny for bangs—a look I’ve always been curious about—so was actually really surprised that they didn’t swallow up my face, but rather accentuated some features,” Perrie said post-makeover.
“I also couldn’t believe how easy they are to clip in and out. I think I’d rock a faux fringe occasionally to shake up my look, which I like to do often. In the future, though, I might blow dry my hair stick straight and then clip in the bangs—that’s a project for next time!”
Photo: Angela Pham
Credits:
Photos: Angela Pham
Hair: Angelo David Pisacreta for Angelo David Salon
Makeup: Julie Tussey for Angelo David Salon | Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
Read more: Real Girl Makeover: “Help! What Should I Do With My Hair?”
