Credit: OPI

This may seem like a small detail, but we always face a bit of a dilemma as we attempt to transition our manis and pedis into spring. Winter polish colors are all dark reds, browns, mahoganys, navy blues and even black matte (all the rage right now). But jumping straight into the neons, Barbie doll pinks and pastels feels somewhat presumptuous when the weather is still bobbing back and forth between snow and clear, sunny skies. Which is why a pinkish red like OPI’s new A Definite Moust Have is our favorite in between shade. It’s still got a cool weather feel but it hints at bright spring colors.

Credit: Jun Sato/WireImage

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: short piecey-bangs have an edgier feel to them—just check out Rooney Mara as an example. So, how is it that Marion Cotillard managed to chop shorter bangs and still appear so delicate during her promotion of Rust and Bone in Japan?

We’re attributing it to her round face and soft features. Of course, it helps that Cotillard tends to have a wardrobe filled with much more color and patterns than Mara. She also brushed her bangs to the side a bit so they don’t sit straight across her forehead. But, at the end of the day, these two ladies exemplify the versatility of bangs. Long, short, piecey or soft and full, with bangs you can easily switch up your look. And don’t forget…your face shape plays an integral part in how you’ll look with a certain styles of bangs.

James Franco’s a jack-of-all-trades. He’s as much a Hollywood leading man—in the recent Oz the Great and Powerful and this spring’s This Is the End—as he is a daytime- soap star, a film teacher at the University of Southern California, a musician in the band Daddy and the occasional Justin Bieber–spoofing viral-video star.

So it’s not exactly like the guy has time for a high-maintenance cut, even if he does have an army of professional stylists on speed dial. “Sure, you might see a photo shoot where it’s obvious that professionals have done his hair and it took a lot of time—the average guy might not be able to do that,” says Terry Varty, a Regis stylist and manager of Progressions Salon in Bloomington, Minnesota. “But James’s cut is not unattainable. Any guy can easily get his everyday carefree look.”

When you ask your stylist for The Franco, you’ll get a basic layered men’s cut that works with any hair type: thick, thin or any texture in between. This isn’t a precise, structured style; your stylist will leave your hair grown out a bit, without perfectly clean edges. The sides are short and the top is longer, and the longest hair is right above the forehead.

Styling’s a breeze. Using a small amount of gel (we like Sebastian Gel Forte, $15.95, Regis Salons), run your fingertips through your hair, moving it back and away from your forehead. Let it air dry, then run your fingers through your hair again for a softer, more natural finish. “James’s hair naturally grows away from his face and off to the side,” Varty says. “If yours doesn’t, letting your hair dry with the gel in place will give it the memory to stay in that shape.”

A low-maintenance cut that requires about 30 seconds of styling for a look that will last all day long? No wonder Franco always looks so good while on the go.

One of the highlights of every issue is putting together our exclusive photo shoot for The Look. and while it’s easy to get caught up in the action—the models! that hair! those clothes!—we can always count on Regis Senior Artistic Damon Footer to be working tirelessly behind-the-scenes to create the styles you see here. With more than 30 years of experience, Footer is the man of the hour when it comes to all things hair, and we’d trust no one else to give us the lowdown on this season’s must-have cut: the pixie.

How did you get into hairdressing?

My uncle was—and still is—a hairdresser, and it’s something I just sort of fell into. It allows me to do something creative that also provides a steady income.

Do you have a favorite haircut?

I particularly like the pixie cut we’re doing. It’s extremely versatile and can be worn in many ways—edgy, sleek, elegant or messy. However, it’s not for everyone, as many are scared to completely cut off their hair.

What’s your inspiration for today’s cut?

We’ve gathered images that exemplify iconic women who have made the leap that I’m talking about. From Agyness Deyn to Emma Watson, these ladies wanted to change how they felt about themselves and how they were perceived; they did so by cutting off their hair. The idea is to show the versatility of this haircut. Deyn is generally perceived as edgy and more of a tomboy, whereas Watson is very pretty and very girly. It’s all about your personality and how you style it.

I see that Twiggy’s iconic cut has made it into the mix.
Yes, Twiggy is someone that we as hairdressers always come back to. She’s timeless—one of the first examples in the history of hairdressing where a model went and cut it all off. She’s a ’60s icon who’s still relevant.

We’re also focusing on blondes for spring. What’s the key to doing blonde right?

When you go blonde, you either bleach it, for brown to dark brown hair, or do a high-lift blonde tint, for naturally light hair. If you’re fair-skinned, keep the color more golden to avoid looking washed out. For darker complexions, like J.Lo’s and Beyoncé’s, you can still do blonde; stick with warmer tones that complement your skin tone, as a cool blonde will look unnatural.

Aside from blonde and short cuts, what trends do you anticipate this spring?

We’re seeing a continuation of ombré as a major trend, as well as pastels. They can be subtle and small, or edgy and dramatic.

Color Coded

Always consider your color when you cut. “For a fair-skinned blonde, like our model, Allison, it’s important to keep the color more golden,” Footer says. To add some warmth to her pale complexion, Matrix colorist Michael McDonough toned Allison’s darker roots with sunny blonde highlights.

Day-to-Nighter

Don’t think for a second that a pixie cut will make you look boyish—Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick and Audrey Hepburn proved that short hair will never fall short of being glamorous. “A pixie is completely feminine and sexy,” says wardrobe stylist Priscilla Polley. “It works just as well if you’re wearing a gown as it does a simple T-shirt and chic sunglasses, like we’ve done here.”

Messy

The ultimate night out requires a showstopping dress, sexy cat eyes, a bold lip—and a cut with an unexpected edge. because this pixie is long on top and tapered at the nape of the neck, use your fingertips to muss it up, adding volume and texture. Don’t worry about every strand being perfectly in place!

2. Pureology Colour Stylist Supreme Control Hairspray ($9) fits perfectly in your purse for on-the-go styling. Add volume to limp locks and create hold that will keep your style put no matter where you are.

3. OPI Top Coat ($8.50) will protect your fingertips from chips and nicks. Just apply this glossy guardian atop your manicure every other day.

4. Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo ($9) and Conditioner ($9.50) have a color-safe formula that keeps your hair hydrated, whether you’re hitting the shores or the slopes.

5. Murad Energizing Pomegranate Lip Protector ($17) contains the necessary SPF to ward off harmful UV rays. Plus, the lip-smacking pomegranate, jojoba and shea butter formula exfoliates and hydrates your pout.

The first thing you may notice about Kate Bosworth is that her eyes are different colors. This condition, called heterochromia, certainly sets her apart, but what leaves a lasting impression is her hair. No matter what shade of blonde Bosworth tries, she always seems to get it exactly right.

The California-born, New England–raised actress has transformed from fresh-faced girl next door to sophisticated beauty since her firs lead role, at the age of 14, in Robert Redford’s 1998 film The Horse Whisperer. Already a champion equestrian, Bosworth passed on a Princeton education to pursue her Hollywood aspirations, but it was 2002’s Blue Crush that put her—and her golden locks—on the map.

One look and it’s clear why Bosworth hits all kinds of high notes for casting directors and audiences—she comes across as feminine, easygoing and smart. Still, in a 2006 profile in W magazine, Blue Crush director John Stockwell spoke of his initial reservations about casting Bosworth: “I thought other girls wouldn’t be able to access Kate, that she’s too unapproachable,” he said. “but my daughter is mixed race and told me, ‘I want to look like that.’ Every girl wants to be her.”

And of course Stockwell’s daughter was spot-on. Bosworth has a look to covet.

Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, who directed and starred with the actress in the 2005 Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea, told About.com that when he was looking for the right person to play the famous blonde Sandra Dee, “My casting director said, ‘You’ve got to meet Kate Bosworth.’ I went to this dinner, I walked in, and she’s a smart girl and she dressed as the role. She was sitting across this area of this restaurant, sitting on a bench waiting for me. I just saw her from across the room, about 20 feet [away]. Her blonde hair was across [her forehead], and she was wearing a little sweater and a little print dress. I just went, ‘oh, my god.’ … she was funny, she was intelligent, she wasn’t wrapped up in herself. She’s an East Coast girl. I knew in about 15 minutes.”

Throughout her career, Bosworth has turned heads and sparked hair envy with every shade of blonde she’s tried. Take Blue Crush: While her portrayal of surfer girl Anne Marie Chadwick demonstrated her acting ability, her beachy, salt-water-sprayed blonde hair helped to make the character believable. For her role as Rosalee Futch, a small-town girl with a big-time crush on one of Hollywood’s leading men in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, Bosworth warmed up her hue a bit and debuted a set of bangs. Once again her mane was a perfect fit for her character. In the card-counting drama 21, Kate snipped her locks into a chic, sexy bob—an ideal cut for her role as a sleek and smart Harvard student. “She was the first one to have it,” said her hairstylist, Renato Campora, in a CNN interview. “And then everybody did the bob. she was the inspiration.” She lightened up her locks once again to play a preppy girl in the upcoming thriller Black Rock, and one of Jack Kerouac’s love interests in Big Sur, which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Blonde is so fitting for Bosworth; it’s almost impossible to imagine her with any other hair color. But that’s not to say she won’t try it. She went brunette for her role as the girlfriend of adult film star John Holmes in Wonderland, and dark again when she was cast as dogged reporter and Man of Steel love interest Lois Lane in Superman Returns. For Bosworth’s part, it seems she likes being blonde just as much as we like seeing her as a blonde, once telling InStyle that she doesn’t “take things as seriously when I’m blonde.”

And no matter what take on blonde she’s sporting at the moment, she makes it her own. For example, when Campora met Bosworth, he told CNN, “she had beachy [sandy] highlights.” A little time in his chair and Bosworth emerged with brightened color, a look Campora compared to “a young Marlene Dietrich.”

“The hair is always beautiful, the nails, the makeup

—she’s never overdone.”

In each role she takes, Bosworth manages to embody the ultimate blonde even as she significantly varies her natural color. At the same time, she never steps out-of bounds for her complexion or personal style. None of bosworth’s picks for the red carpet (or elsewhere, really) have the slightest bit of pretension or excess. Stylist Cher Coulter once described Bosworth’s style as “effortless, comfortable and elegant” in a StyleBistro interview, while Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa told InStyle, “the hair is always beautiful, the nails, the makeup—she’s never overdone.”

Through the years, Bosworth’s look has changed a lot as she’s transitioned from wholesome beauty to understated and sexy, leaving little trace of the young girl starting out on the set of Horse Whisperer. But the one thing that hasn’t changed is that fabulous blonde hair, no matter which end of the spectrum it’s on.

Credit: Thinkstock

What’s in store for hair trends this spring? Texture and more texture! This means we can continue our love affair with soft, beachy waves. So while we can’t hit the beach just yet, we can reach for Ultimate Radiance Wave Catcher Texturizing Spray. Just spritz on damp hair and scrunch for that “I just flew in from the Caribbean” look for a fraction of the cost.