True, installing balayage can be a fairly lengthy process (anything from 45 minutes to 3 hours), but once they’re there, they can grow out seamlessly without the need for bi-monthly retouching.
The hand-painted scattering of pretty highlights means there’s no band of root regrowth, so your natural colour can blend in and still look flawless.
Balayage remains one of the most popular hair colour techniques both for its beautiful blend of multidimensional highlights (balayage in French quite literally means “sweep”) and also for its low-maintenance approach.
Because of its relaxed painterly approach, balayage is most commonly associated with laid back beachy texture and tousled waves, but silky smooth strands can be just as mesmerising. In fact, hair colourists love a glossy straight texture to show off their artistry since a smooth canvas is the best way to showcase flawlessly blended highlights, especially when there are no waves to hide behind. And if you’ve gone to the effort of getting a gorgeous balayage, you’re gonna want to flaunt it in the best way possible.
Jennifer Lopez’s ‘glam Barbie’ look has reignited my love of half-up hair
It’s been years since I’ve worn my hair half-up. My go-to hairstyle in school, it somehow went by the wayside during adolescence, never to return again. And while the classic look has never really gone away, I certainly haven’t seen it on other people nearly as much as ponytails and loose, fully down styles. It’s like we forgot the happy medium that is half-up hair. But sometimes, all it takes is one little moment – or one humongous superstar – to remind us of one of our favorite, underrated, universally flattering beauty looks.
On Monday, August 23, Jennifer Lopez posted a few photos to her grid in which – brace for a shock – she looks absolutely gorgeous. She’s wearing glowy, neutral makeup with glossy, nude lips and highlighted cheeks, an elegant wine-colored manicure, and the cutest highlighter-yellow, ribbed knit dress. What really pulls the look together, however, is Lopez’s hairstyle.
Her long, honey-highlighted, straight yet full hair is mostly down, with just the very tippy-top layer – starting well above her temples – pulled back sleekly, though not too tightly. The slender ponytail sits neither high nor low, adding a bit of horizontal fullness when viewed from the side.
As is so often the case, Chris Appleton can be credited with the style, which he says has a “Glam Barbie vibe. ” But a half-up look like this works for way more than a fancy getup. I’m already planning to wear it for a low-key date and a Zoom meeting.
Want more JLo half-up inspo? Although she doesn’t usually wear her hair like this, she did recreate her famous “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” half-up hairstyle earlier this year, proving how versatile it is – and how it really should become a huge trend again.
