Surfer Girl Hair and Makeup Secrets

We asked Carla Fourie, the on-set hair and makeup expert from Blue Crush 2, out this month, how she transformed a cast of actresses into believable surfer girls.

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Salt water might seem like the fastest way to get that crunchy, piecey texture, but according to Fourie, it can actually be quite damaging. "Whenever the girls were in the water, I insisted that they tie their hair up in a ponytail or a braid," she says. "We also kept their hair well-conditioned at all times." If you're hitting the waves, spritz your strands with a leave-in conditioning treatment like this one from Frederic Fekkai ($24, neimanmarcus.com before twisting it into a thick, Nicole Kidman-style braid. When you're done with the water, rake through your hair with a wide-tooth comb (Cricket Friction Free Rake, $5, peninsulabeauty.com), which detangles without excessive tugging or breakage.

There are two ways to achieve surfer girl waves. To try the wet method, douse damp strands with a sea salt spray like Tigi Catwalk Session Series Salt Spray ($19, tigihaircare.com for salons), and scrunch with your fingers, allowing the style to air dry. If your hair is already dry, mist it with a matte hairspray like Wella Professionals Ocean Spritz ($16, wella.com for salons), twisting and wrapping sections around your fingers to add dimension. (Rebecca Romijn is a confirmed fan of this very product and technique!)

If you have stick-straight hair, air-drying it won't result in beachy waves, no matter how much product is involved. Rather than turning to curling irons and hot rollers, which yield too-perfect spirals, consider Kevin Murphy's Surfer Girl Kit ($50, kevinmurphy.com for salons), which comes with everything you need to perfect the look: texturizing cream, specially shaped clips, a hair net and a moulding comb. It looks complicated, but trust us, the wind tousled results are worth reading the fine print.

Contrary to beach legend, surfer girls do not bask unprotected in the sun all day. They cover-up-big time. "We used a very high SPF on the girls' faces and were constantly reapplying tinted moisturizer with SPF," Fourie told us. Try Lancome Bienfait UV SPF 50+ Super Fluid ($35, lancome-usa.com), a satiny smooth fluid that smooths out skin and looks great under makeup, and Bobbi Brown SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free ($40,bobbibrowncosmetics.com), a cooling gel formula that comes in nine flattering tones.

So you're fully protected from the sun's damaging rays, but that doesn't mean you can't work a sun-kissed glow like Lea Michele. A combo product like Too Faced Primed amp Poreless Bronze Tint SPF20 ($30, sephora.com) evens skin tone and leaves behind a believable tan. Finish with a sweep of MAC Surf, Baby! Cheek Powder ($28, maccosmetics.com) to infuse cheeks with a peachy, gold-flecked flush.

"Because they don't feel organic, heavy powders, colored eye shadows and lip gloss take away from the beachy, surfer look," says Fourie. So skip the aquamarine liner and juicy lip gloss for more neutral tones and finishes. Guerlain Terra Inca Ombre Fusion Cream Eye Shadow ($35, saksfifthavenue.com), shown here in Bahia, comes in three found-in-nature shades, and looks great smudged on the inner corners of the eyes. We're also loving Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm ($7, burtsbees.com), which taste sweet and look cute.

Strutting around in bikini bottoms is much more comfortable if your legs are in tip top shape-and while spin class will help, there are a few tricks for faking it. Start with an ultra-close shave with Schick Quattro for Women TrimStyle ($13, drugstore.com), a four-blade razor that doubles as a bikini-line trimmer. Then, rather that stressing over streaky sunless tanner, opt for a temporary bronzing gel like The Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil ($14, thebodyshop-usa.com). Apply with a circular motion when you're fully naked and rinse your hands quickly as the formula does set.