I'm sick of "Livin' La Vida Loca".  Other than the fact that it's the most overused phrase since "Show me the money!", the song itself has goofy lyrics.  "Her skin's the color mocha"?  What kind of sentence structure is that?  Why not "She likes her Cola Coca"?  Or "Her dressing's Blue Cheese Roka"?  Plus, it...what's that?

Why am I ranting about a Ricky Martin song since that has absolutely nothing to do with celebrity hair news?  Hmmm.  You have a point.  Moving on...

Lots of spray this month to give you a firm, yet manageable hold on the tresses of the rich and/or famous.  Plus, the Fleature is a little different than normal (you'll see what I mean when you get there) and the contest should actually be a challenge.  No, really, it will.  I hope.

So, I'll stop babbling about irrelevant topics ("She lives in Raton Boca"?) and get to the good stuff...

I'm still looking for pictures of LIV TYLER as a redhead, ROMA DOWNEY with her mid-back cut and day-glo color, and KIRSTIE ALLEY as a ill-advised blonde (though you've probably seen the color and equally questionable style on TV by now anyway).  If anyone runs across any, send'em in.  I'll share them with the faithful and give you credit for digging them up.  In the mean time, one to what updates I do have...

I'm sure there were some of you who disagreed with my comments last month on GWEN STEFANI's new platinum, feathered, shoulder-length 'do.   I'm assuming that, since I know each email I receive represents additional ones of you out there who didn't write.  Ok, I only actually received one email, but Mrs. Flea didn't agree either and I'm sure she represents somebody.  Anyway, I think those of you that were unimpressed with the style may have been distracted by that big blue patch on one side.  Understandable.  So, how does hot pink grab you?

Before	After

FLEA'S CALL:   Well, I don't know about you, but it doesn't so much grab me as remind me that it's State Fair time again.  In other words, Gwen shouldn't stand too close to the cotton candy machine in the concession area of the midway.  Despite that, I'm sticking with my originally assessment that the style is happenin', even if the color isn't.  I mean, who knew that Pepto-Bismol even made hair dye?

Back in March, I reported that I though DARYL HANNAH had cut her hair to a bob, only to later semi-retract that in confusion after seeing Daryl on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" with her traditional mane of blonde hair.  Well, here, many months later, I finally stumbled across another picture of Daryl that shows that the pics from March were indeed some sort of weird wig experiment.  As you can see below, she is still sporting her long blonde waves, though maybe in a bit darker shade than we're used to seeing.  In fact this is the longest I can remember seeing it since she had extensions and a tail.  You know, when she was a mermaid in "Splash".  Geez, do I have to explain everything? 

The fake bob	The real mane

FLEA'S CALL:   I'm glad I was wrong in March.  Sure the bob wasn't terrible, but it just didn't look right.  If nothing else, the short wig served to show that 1) Daryl is more flattered by hair at least as long as her shoulders and 2) bangs just don't work on her.  Bottom line:  Daryl isn't Daryl without those flowing locks...and given how long it's gotten, I may soon have to add "Rapunzel-like" to that descriptions.

Yeah, I know this was called A Better Look last month, but some of the stuff I want to include here is more accurately covered by "A Second Look" since it's somewhere between a better picture and a true update.  Then again, you don't care, do you? 

First, I came up with a couple of better pics for two of the celebs highlighted in my review of hair at The Emmys.  Happily, they both serve to further emphasize why DEBRA MESSING graced (just going to beat that pun to death, aren't I?) the "Best Hair" list, while the usually lovely JERI RYAN was banished to the "Worst Hair" section.  I think the difference between Debra's sculpted curls and Jeri's I-let-a-raccoon-sleep-in-my-hair waves is pretty obvious...but it's always nice to have better pictures to prove me right.  J

A couple of months ago, I had a tiny picture of MARLA MAPLES indicating that she finally seems to have recovered from the super short shearing (a little something for you alliteration fans) she got talked into about a year and a half ago and that I reported on in my very first column.  Back then, she wanted to go shorter and her stylist said that if he was going to cut it, she had to let him REALLY cut it.  She agreed and boy, did he (see the picture at right).  Anyway, here a mere 18 months or so later, it's back to the same, cute, familiar fluffy blonde style proving once again that even after making the worst mistakes it will, indeed, grow.  Are you listening, Keri Russell?

Speaking of short cuts, I reported last month in a quote from FashionDish that BAI LING's formerly shaven scalp had sprouted hair to a gamine length.  The only picture I had, though showed her with a scarf covering it.  Here's one that shows that it has indeed gotten long enough to be worn as an actual style, albeit a super short one.  In this current era of the cropped pixie, it's definitely stylish enough to wear without the do-rag.  Plus, it keeps me from having to ever use the phrase "do-rag".

A couple of months ago, I reported on JUDITH LIGHT shaving her head for her role in the Broadway play "W;t" (Wit).  I also had a quote from Judith after she had accepted the role, but when she still had hair, saying that she wasn't planning to shave it all at once, but go shorter a little at a time.  If you're like me (and again, who wouldn't want to be?), you probably only saw Judith when she had her regular longish blonde 'do and after she had been sheared.  By complete accident, I managed to find one pic of the interim stage; Judith in a bob.  Other than the curiousity factor, it does demonstrate that the messy bob REALLY doesn't work on her.

Faithful reader Hal pointed me toward the latest issue of Miami's fashion magazine, Ocean Drive, which has a picture of GLORIA ESTEFAN on the cover (left).  He had just caught a glimpse and was giving me the heads up because he thought is showed how Gloria's new short cut in curly mode actually looked pretty good.  After scrounging around and finding the picture, it appears that Gloria's 'do is indeed curly, but either wet or heavily gelled.  Still not that good, as Hal grudgingly agreed.  The magazine did, fortunately for yours truly, ask her about the new style, though.  Gloria said that she loved the new 'do (groan) and mentioned that she used to wear it short between '75 and '85 before stardom hit her (which you may remember from the early Miami Sound Machine videos).  They also asked her why she did it, to which she replied...

I have wanted to cut it for a while, but I believe that your hair holds a lot of your energy. When I had my accident, Emilio had one patch of white hair on his beard - no gray. I have a picture of him two months later and he is completely gray. So you hold a lot of those energies in your hair, and I wanted to do a major cleansing before the millennium is over. And I was like, "That's it, I'm cutting it." 

Anyway, I did see her in recent interviews for her new movie "Music From the Heart" where it was styled fuller and a bit wavy and it was easily he most attractive that I've seen it (right), though I still think the cut is all wrong for her face shape (somewhere between round and triangular). Before I write her off completely, however, I want to see it dry and curly.  Anyone have a picture?

Snippets

CLAUDIA SCHIFFER hasn't grown her hair completely back out after cutting it up to shoulder-length earlier this year, but it is a bit longer as you can see from the picture.  Two things I really like about this look is that it's a bit more blunt cut than previously, giving it more volume and that she's taking advantage of her natural wave again.  Sure, it's still not any sort of radical departure from the look that Claudia has had for years (with the exception of going bangless), but it updates the style enough to make it look fresh.  Oh, and please note the lack of bad magic or David Copperfield related puns in that update

Periodically, I will fantasize to myself that my constant harping on a star's follicular faux pas will actually influence them in someway to rectify the situation.  That said, allow me a moment to believe that my sporadic chastising of HOLLY HUNTER's series of terrible short cuts got her to finally adopt some semblance of a style.  As you can see from the picture taken at the GQ awards, Holly has grown the back out a bit and the whole style looks more balanced.  For those of you who may be thinking that it just looks good because it's an award show, I would remind you of what it looked like at The Oscars.  I rest my case.

Minor update on BRITTANY DANIEL, who, with her sister CYNTHIA, used to star on "Sweet Valley High".  Brittany is the one who cut her hair short after the series ended and did those 10-10-9000 and Biore commercials.  Still with me?  You should be, since I went over all of this a couple of columns ago.  Ah, how soon they forget.  But I digress.  Anyway, Brittany is now on "Dawson's Creek" and has gone even shorter (closer to Sharon Stone territory) and blonder (looks like there are even some platinum streaks in there).  How does it look?  Well, suffice it to say that Dawson isn't...uh...playing the piano with her at every opportunity out of pity.

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