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Shannyn Sossamon: '40 Days and 40 Nights'

Shannyn Sossamon goes for a "naturally beautiful" look in "40 Days and 40 Nights."

(In Style) -- At the risk of sounding all Carrie Bradshaw, we ask: When a man takes a sabbatical from sex, does he gain clarity of thought or a dirty mind? The answer is both in the case of Web designer Matt (Josh Hartnett).

Reeling after a breakup, Matt tries to forget his ex -- by having lots of sex. When that fails, he does the opposite: He takes a Lenten vow of celibacy. But wait! There in the Laundromat: a temptress named Erica (Shannyn Sossamon).

Earthy and braided, she doesn't seem Matt's usual type. "He had always been looking for blond California babes," says hairstylist Kathrine Gordon. "Erica was on the grunge side." Adds makeup artist Taylor Roberts, "She's a very no-fuss, no-muss character," albeit, "naturally beautiful."

Enough to shake a man from his vows?

Hair

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"Shannyn plays a modern-day girl," says Gordon. "And girls today don't really do their hair." So Sossamon's strands were given an underdone look—which took some doing. Red-magenta highlights were added to give Sossamon's dark locks a textured look.

And for a grunge touch: Half of Sossamon's hair was wrapped into thin braids, the rest left straight. To make the braids, Gordon dampened Sossamon's locks the night before shooting, then took half-inch sections for knotting, first making sure to work in a few drops of a special ingredient: Abra Moisture Revival lotion. "It polished the hair but didn't make it greasy," explained Gordon. "It was phenomenal."

Eyes

Roberts started with the brows, shaping them with Chanel Perfect Brows (a mixture of all three shades). She applied Laura Mercier Eye Colour in Whiskey on the contour of the lid and highlighted with MAC in Ivory on the brow bone. Upper lashes were lightly lined with MAC Crème liner in dark brown and coated with Chanel Drama Lash Maximum Wear mascara in Jet. The lower lid line and lashes remained bare.

Face

"Shannyn really wanted her own skin to radiate through," says Roberts. "She didn't want a lot of makeup for her character, so it had to be sheer." For foundation, Roberts used a mixture of Chanel Pure Perfection Makeup in Bisque and Sand. Next, a light dusting of Chanel Natural Finish Translucent pressed powder, followed by an application of MAC blush in Harmony. Roberts finished with Nars lipstick in Gipsy.