Virtual Hair Styles at Makeover Solutions

Welcome to another virtual hair styles guided tour by Curly Hair Styles Magazine.

Makeover Solutions Home Page and Login

The login panel is in the middle of the Makeover Solutions home page.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Curly Hair Styles Magazine presents a virtual hair styling tour of Makeover Solutions, with step-by-step screen shots, comments, instructions and examples.

Makeover Solutions is much more than a virtual hair salon. It's a site that offers total makeovers online - hairstyles, cosmetics and accessories.

Our focus is on hair styles and hair styling.

We've used a lot of images to show what Makeover Solutions can offer you as a virtual hair designer. You might want to grab a coffee while the page loads.

We'll be ready when you come back.

The Virtual Makeover Tour Begins!

Go to the Makeover Solutions home page and log in.

When you log in for the first time as a member, you have the choice in starting your makeover:

You can choose a model

or upload your own photo.

We're going straight to uploading your photo, because that's the question we want to answer: What can Makeover Solutions do for you? It's the same approach we've taken with the other virtual hair styles sites we've looked at before this.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Uploading Your Photo

Click on the "Upload a new photo" button:

You're taken to a page called "Step 1: Uploading & Positioning".

Click the "Open" button.

You come to a brief instruction page with examples of four types of photograph you shouldn't upload, and one you should:

The instructions don't specify a particular background for your photo, because Makeover Solutions removes an area around the face where your virtual hair styles will be applied.

When you're ready, click the "Browse" button.

Navigate to the photograph on your computer and double click the file name.

Then click "Upload".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Preparing Your Photo

This is a very good site for virtual hair styling, but Makeover Solutions doesn't just do virtual hair styles.

This extraordinary website offers complete virtual makeovers. As well as virtual hair styles, virtual hair colors and virtual highlights, you can try on:

virtual lipstick, lip liner and lip gloss

virtual eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara

virtual blush

virtual nail polish

virtual teeth whitening

virtual accessories like hats hair clips, flowers, glasses, contact lenses and sunglasses.

It's wonderful.

It's complicated.

And compared with sites that only offer virtual hair styles, it takes longer to set up your photo.

Makeover Solutions requires much more specific information about your face, and it begins with the eyes.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Positioning Your Eyes

The first page you see after uploading shows your photograph on the left, and a panel of instructions on the right.

Your first task is to fix the center of your eyes using the cross-hairs provided.

A model's photo shows how to place the cross-hairs, or dots, over the pupils.

The pink and purple cross-hairs move independently, so you can do one eye at a time.

When you're happy with your eye positioning, click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Brightness and Color

Your next landing page looks like this.

On the right a set of sliders lets you adjust your photo's brightness, and the amounts or red, green and yellow it displays.

On the left is your photo with the background removed.

It's not the shape of your final picture so don't worry what it looks like. Here you're only concerned with color and brightness.

You don't have to do anything here if you're happy with your photo as it is. If you do make changes here and then change your mind, click "Reset" to return to your original light and color settings.

When you've finished with brightness and color, click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Cosmetics Tracing

You now arrive at the first Cosmetics Tracing page.

On the left your face is enlarged to focus on the eyes and mouth. Your task is to place six green dots, one at each of the corners of your eyes and mouth.

Examples on the right show correct positioning of the dots.

Each dot moves independently as you drag its triangle with the mouse.

When you've finished pinpointing the corners of your eyes and mouth, click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Adjusting Your Eye Shape

You're now at the second stage of Cosmetics Tracing, where you tell the software the exact shape of your eyes.

Your photo is now enlarged even further. A black line surrounds each eye, with four green circles that can be dragged independently to match that line to the exact shape of the eye.

Outlining Amanda Peet's Eyes - Photo 1

Outlining Amanda Peet's Eyes - Photo 2

Outlining Amanda Peet's Eyes - Photo 3

The black outline can be rotated, too, with buttons on the right.

When you're happy with the outlines around your eyes, click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Adjusting the Shape of Your Lips

Stage three of Cosmetics Tracing - your lips.

Tracing the outline of your mouth is similar to what you've already done with your eyes.

There are buttons to select a thinner or wider lip shape:

and to rotate the entire outline:

Outlining Amanda Peet's
Lips Photo 1

Outlining Amanda Peet's
Lips Photo 2

Happy with the mouth? Click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Revealing Your Teeth

The next screen asks whether, in the photo you uploaded, your teeth are showing.

If you click "Yes", you're taken to a new page designed to map the area between your parted lips.

The photo on the left is enlarged to focus on your mouth, and the example on the right shows how to trace the inside edge of your lips.

Drag the four green markers until you're satisfied with the purple shape inside your mouth.

Between Amanda Peet's
Lips Photo 1

Between Amanda Peet's
Lips Photo 2

Happy? Click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Hair Tracing

You've arrived now at the crucial point for virtual hair styling.

It's here, under "Hair Tracing", that you'll select a specific shape for your face and adjust it to fit exactly ... or as exactly as you can make it fit.

The shape created here determines what part of your face will be removed by the software, and what part will remain to be adorned with the virtual hair styles you select to try on.

On the right are seven face shape buttons. Clicking any of them will place a white outline of that shape around the face in your photo.

You can select an oval, square, diamond, round, oblong, heart or triangular face shape.

At any time you can replace your choice by clicking on a different face shape button.

On the right is an example of correct placement.

You adjust the shape around your face by clicking on the size buttons (bigger or smaller) beneath the example face.

To give you a better idea of each face shape outline, here's a series of photos showing Amanda Peet wearing each of the outlines in turn.

Amanda Peet with Oval Face Shape Outline

Amanda Peet with Square Face Shape Outline

Amanda Peet with Diamond Face Shape Outline

Amanda Peet with Round Face Shape Outline

Amanda Peet with Oblong Face Shape Outline

Amanda Peet with Heart Face Shape Outline

Amanda Peet with Triangular Face Shape Outline

The oval face seemed to suit Amanda Peet, so that's the shape I started with:

Amanda Peet Hair Tracing 01

Amanda Peet Hair Tracing 02

A few clicks brought the oval face shape down to Amanda's size:

Finished tracing your face. Getting itchy to try those virtual hair styles?

Click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Shoulder Height Adjustment

Just one more step separates you now from the virtual hair styles you've come to try - moving your shoulders up or down.

The page displays your photo on the left, cropped and trimmed now the way you'll see it when you add your hair styles.

They want you to match your shoulder level to what you see in the example:

I couldn't do anything here.

For Amanda and me, clicking the up and down arrows produced no movement at all.

Maybe you'll have more luck.

Ready to hit those virtual hair styles now?

Click "Next".

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Virtual Hair Styling Starts Here!

At last!

You've reached the virtual hair styles at Makeover Solutions!

You'll see your photo on the left, and a panel of celebrities on the right. But you don't have to start with virtual celebrity hair styles, just because they're there.

Let's check this place out properly.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Options in the Virtual Makeover Menu. This is where virtual makeovers happen, including your virtual hair styles, so let's have a look at the menu that runs along the top.

There are four sections - Hair, Cosmetics, Accessories and Looks.

Clicking on them produces a drop-down menu for each section - Hair, Cosmetics, Accessories and Looks.

At the bottom of the page, on the right, is a working menu for saving, emailing, printing, listing and changing your virtual hair styles and looks:

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Virtual Celebrity Hair Makeovers

When you click on the Hair menu at the top of the screen, you can select Celebrity Hair, Hairstyle, Hair Color or Highlights.

Celebrity Hair styles begin with "All New" celebrities like these:

But you can search for particular celebrities by name, under A-D, E-I, J-N, O-S and T-Z.

Here's the first screen of Celebrity hairstyles, A to D.

When you click on the photo of one of these celebrities, the hair style she is wearing is applied to your photograph.

I clicked on the photo of Alexis Bledel:

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Adjusting Your Virtual Hair Style

With a virtual hair style selected, you can make changes using the tools beneath your photo frame.

Virtual hair style adjustments work like this:

Move the Hair Style Up.

Move the Hair Style Down.

Move the Hair Style Right.

Move the Hair Style Left.

Make the Hair Style Bigger.

Make the Hair Style Smaller.

Flip the Hair Style.

Rotate the Hair Style Clockwise

Rotate the Hair Style Anti-Clockwise

The Hide Hair Button is to conceal or reveal the background from your original uploaded photograph.

Hide Hair "On" conceals the background.

Hide Hair "Off" makes the background visible again.

You can click "Adjust" to go back and make any alterations you want to the outline shape you chose for your face.

Makeover Solutions then returns you to your currently selected hair style.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Hairstyle Menu

At the top of the screen select "Hairstyle":

Sub-menus allow you to select categories of virtual hair styles to view:

We'll try Short, Curly Hair Styles with any type of bangs:

Press the "Submit" button when you've made your selections.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Virtual Short Curly Hair Styles

When you've submitted your choice of virtual hair style categories, a new screen appears showing the first examples that match your criteria.

Here's the first panel of virtual short curly hair styles as you'll see them on the page.

When you click on a hair style it's applied immediately to your photo in the default color - blonde.

Amanda Peet with Virtual Short Curly Blonde Hair Style

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Changing Your Virtual Hair Color

Under Hairstyle you have two additional menus available: Hair Color and Highlights.

Click on Hair Color.

Makeover Solutions ties its hair colors to specific product lines.

By default the menu shows all brands, which at the moment means Garnier 100% Color and Revlon High Dimension Haircolor.

Click on either brand to display its virtual colors.

Garnier Hair Colors for Virtual Hairstyles - Page 1

Garnier Hair Colors for Virtual Hairstyles - Page 1

Revlon Hair Colors for Virtual Hairstyles - Page 1

Revlon Hair Colors for Virtual Hairstyles - Page 1

Clicking on any color immediately applies that color to your current virtual hairstyle.

Here's Amanda Peet with the same short curly hair style in different colors:

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Adding Highlights to Your Virtual Hair Style

Still in the Hairstyle Menu, click "Highlights".

As with its hair colors, Makeover Solutions' highlights represent specific product lines - Clairol XtremeFX and Clairol Hair Painting.

Clairol
Virtual Highlights
XtremeFX

Clairol
Virtual Highlights
Hair Painting

I chose Clairol XtremeFX Hot Red.

For any highlight you select, you can choose from among three different application styles represented by these buttons:

Here are the three highlight application styles in Hot Red, applied to Amanda Peet's Natural Black short curly hair style:

Highlights Style 3

When you select a highlight, a new tool panel that appears so you can adjust the amount of highlighting on your virtual hair style:

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Virtual Accessories for Virtual Hair Styles

We'll just take a quick look at Accessories, because our focus is really on virtual hair styling.

Select a virtual hair style - say a long, dark brown and curly hairstyle like this:

Go to the virtual accessories menu:

Click on "Hairclips"

Choose a flower range - Medium, Small, Mini or Large Flowers, and select a flower:

and there you have it - a virtual flower hair clip for your virtual hair style!

Once your flower is applied, you can adjust its size and position at will.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

Looks and Virtual Hair Styles

The Looks menu is the last of the four main areas at Makeover Solutions.

Looks are a way of presenting an entire package in one - hair style, cosmetics and accessories.

When you click on Looks you are presented with two choices: "I-Click Looks" (or is it 1-Click Looks"?) and "Cover Effects".

Under "I-Click Looks" Makeover Solutions presents you with four "Brands" -

Super Model Style, Bridal Looks, Prom Looks and Celebrity Looks.

Clicking on any of these takes you to a new visual menu:

Super Model Looks

Bridal Looks

Prom Looks Menu Page 1

Celebrity Looks Page 1

Here's Amanda Peet wearing a virtual Prom Look called Prom High Style.

It's not just a virtual hair style, remember. It's the full deal - hair style and virtual makeup. If you click on "Product List" you'll get a run-down on all the cosmetics you need.

Looks can include accessories.

The Dramatic Bridal Glamour Look above includes a virtual tiara as well as hair style and cosmetics.

Do take note of this warning about Celebrity Look products:

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

The Problem with "Looks"

Looks are a terrific feature of Makeover Solutions - a one-click total makeover package.

But there's a problem.

They really are ONE click.

When your photo wears a Prom, Bridal, Celebrity or Supermodel Look, there's no tool panel underneath.

You can't make any adjustments.

If your Look doesn't fit perfectly first go, it isn't going to fit at all.

So the Gwen Stefani and Jessica Simpson Celebrity Looks, for instance, or the Tyra banks Supermodel Look, are no use to Amanda Peet.

Virtual Gwen Stefani Look

Virtual Jessica Simpson Look

Virtual Tyra Banks Look

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

"Cover Looks"

There's not much involved in "Cover Looks", but it's a cute feature.

Select a cover - one for a light background, the other for dark

and instantly you become a virtual cover girl!

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

"Before and After" Emails

With its email feature Makeover Solutions is a bit different from other virtual hair websites.

Whether you email your finished virtual hair style or your complete virtual makeover, the picture itself isn't attached.

Instead, your friend receives a link that takes them to a Before and After page like this, and invites them to come and try a virtual makeover too.

Virtual Hair Styling Tour
Number 3 - Makeover Solutions

The End of the Tour

We've reached the end of our virtual hair styling tour of Makeover Solutions. I hope this page has given you the sort of information and details you were looking for.

Where Do You Want to Go Now?

Do you want to go to Makeover Solutions?

Or back to Online Hair Styles at Curly Hair Styles Magazine?

Thanks for visiting!

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