HERE'S A SPLASH OF GLAM FOR SPARTAN FANS
By: Maureen McDonald - The Detroit News

NOVI - A Spartan-green fright wig and grease paint "S" tattoo? Nah … been there, done that, saw a guy sporting it during last week's MSU-Iowa State game.

For true Spartans, Saturday's semi-final showdown with Wisconsin calls for more than a garden-variety show of spirit. Slathering on green body paint won't cut it. It's time for a more avant-garde brand of fanaticism.

"So many people are in to the Spartan spirits," says Nadwa Yono, a Novi salon owner, who customized a Spartans hair style for The Detroit News. "It's just fun."

On a recent day, Spartan fever took over the styling floor of Salone Nadwa and Day Spa. Using green hair extensions, Styrofoam, hair pins, lots of molding gunk, and a mound of creativity, Yono fashioned Spartans' hair worthy of college basketball's last dance (or maybe a TLC video.)

"A lot of people dye their hair green for the games," Yono says. "But just because it's temporary hair color doesn't mean it's going to wash right out. You might be stuck with green hair for a week or two."

Hair extensions are safer, says Yono, who recommends painting white extensions or a white wig green. "There aren't many extensions that actually come in green," she says. "So you might have to use green hair paint."

And the NCAA final four wouldn't be complete without the perfect game face, says Salone Nadwa makeup artist Orin VanLoon.

"Instead of putting that big S on the face. My Spartan makeup ended up being kind of clubby," he says. "It reminds me of an old episode of Star Trek."

VanLoon's funky face is created with green and white eye shadow, blue/green lipstick, hunter green liner, rhinestones, shimmer powder and foundation. "It's not everyday makeup. I mean, green lipstick is not going to look normal," he says.

VanLoon, who has a theatrical makeup background, also suggests Spartan fans color block their faces using brushed-on makeup and sharp angles created by paper. "You can block off parts of the face," he says. "It will be like in the movie Blade Runner."

Or, for the glam fan, stick on a Spartan tattoo; then fill it in with rhinestones glued on with eyelash adhesive. "The rhinestones will give the tattoo more of a posh look," VanLoon says. "Then you will look more special than a crazy fan."

But what could be more special than a crazy Spartan fan?