Another cycle of America's Next Top Model, another hit or miss makeover show. I guess there is one good thing about these episodes: they are an object lesson in what the wrong hair color or cut can do to a face.

Last week, Anya rose to the top of the pack, but I think the white-blond hair was the wrong way to go for her; I think a darker, deeper shade would have better played up her features. With the washed-out color, she seems to look a little more ordinary: less supermodel and more bleached-out Celine Dion. Allison's hair color was a miss for me too. Although I never saw “model” when I looked at her (more like “Soleil-Sarah Silverman-Moon-Frye”), she clearly needs a dark brown shade without so much red in it to maintain the edge she did have. I think she would have gone home for her attitude anyway, but the hair could not have helped.

For others, it was the hair cut itself that seemed to be the problem. Tyra primly told Dominique that she could stay on the show with the haircolor Tyra has asked them to give her. Oh whatever, Tyra, the haircut screamed – as I thought before Paulina said it – soccer mom and I cannot imagine a different color is going to help that. And putting a soccer mom haircut on an older model just seems like an all around bad idea.

And so how did the girls do with their new heads of hair in this week's photo shoot. Reviewing the stills, it was striking how much like models some girls already looked, even with some amateur moves, and how some others really did not seem destined to go far. As always, I could be wrong with how these girls will do in the future, but here are my picks from this episode of America's Next Top Model.




I have a feeling Claire and Lauren are going to be a my favorites this season. I agree with Tyra that Lauren seems to be someone who can kind of accidentally stumble onto fierceness without even trying too hard, much like Heather Kuzmich last season. Her odd angular posing looks questionable when you see it live, but captured on films, it's a beautiful, weird photo.

Claire is a little hammy in this shot, but she's so magnetic and beautiful, it's easy to overlook it. Marvita did well, too – it's good to see her pulling herself up despite the way she seems a little uncomfortable with the girly aspects of fashion. I am still wondering if she can pose without the almost-furrowed brow scowl, but for this shot, it's pretty subtle and not off-putting. Fatima's legs might be stiff, but she's got a lot more model potential with what she's using just above the waist than many of the other girls have in their whole bodies.




Allison looks like a mannequin on sedatives (although she could probably find work as a model for the cover art of V.C. Andrews novels). Dominique…well, I don't have to say anything about that, let's move on. Amis is a good example of the anti-Lauren, i.e., when awkwardness doesn't work. Stacy Ann's photo is also a big mess, and I can't help but seriously question if there wasn't a better shot in the whole bunch? Her posing is so awkward, it looks like she was in the process of changing poses, and I wonder how the rest of her film looks.

The girls not mentioned in Best or Worst – Aimee, Whitney, Anya, Katarzyna – all had a few weaknesses this week, but I think those four do have good potential too, and if they can bring some additional sophistication to the shoots, their photos could be very good on future episodes of America's Next Top Model.

- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of CW)