As the music video tells the story of a crooked billionaire and her relationship with her driver-turned-undercover-agent, the characters’ corresponding looks had to evolve. One of JLo’s favorite styles on set was what Appleton calls the “Wolf of Wall Street” scene, where he pulled her hair back on the sides and pushed her natural curls to the top of her head as wavy, faux bangs. “It’s also one of Alex’s favorite looks,” says Appleton, referring to Lopez’s husband, Alex Rodriguez. “He loves her hair like that—always. The way it’s tight at the side gives you this kind of androgynous feel, but then the volume with the curls on top is just kind of fun and a little bit of an 80s or 90s nod as well.” Part of its success was another sign of the times: “I think with quarantine, people have been embracing their natural texture,” says Appleton. “Trends come from society, what’s going on, and the mood, and it’s definitely a reflection of that.” He spritzed ColorWow Dream Coat for Curly Hair through her lengths and let them dry into “a really defined curl, but it’s not crispy and hard, nor is it frizzy and soft,” to allow for the honey hue—perfected by colorist Tracey Cunningham to glow on camera. A simple blowdryer attachment was key. “Bring the diffuser back!” Appleton enthuses, pointing out that concentrated airflow can create frizz. “Effectively, the style is as simple as working with your natural texture, and then you want to get the sides tight,” says Appleton. “I always work with the eye line and pull it upwards, then it’s a french twist at the back, get some pins in there, and then you want the volume on the top and you can play around with the bangs to suit your face shape.”
Shooting on location in New York City, like the glassy views at Edge in Hudson Yards, left room for spur-of-the-moment decisions–and craft-store purchases. “That was all about those two singing together,” says Appleton of JLo and Maluma’s skyline duet. “She had a very fitted black number on with some chains, and we decided the hair should be a very simple high-shine bun, which always looks amazing on Jen–but I was like, ‘let’s add a bit of attitude.’ So I got these chains and put them through the bun. And as she danced and as she moved, it just looked so cool.” Even cooler is where he sourced the DIY accessories. “You know where those chains are from?” he asks with a laugh. “They’re from Michaels. People can have so much fun in an inexpensive way, even for a simple look.” Even Maluma couldn’t resist their appeal. “He would grab her chains and kind of play with them,” Appleton shares, noting that for an extended shoot, these are choices that play a huge part in how a scene reads. “Hair has such a big part of the storytelling,” he says. “The hairstyle enables you to believe who that person is or what situation she’s in–it was a lot of fun.”
Two of the eight music video looks.
Appleton credits a Leandro Limited styling iron for creating curved bends as well as mirror-like shine on straight blowouts, like Lopez’s final look in a bubblegum pink suit. “The last look is straight, that was like one o’clock in the morning and she still looks amazing, I don’t know how,” says Appleton. “We wanted it to seem like she’s gone high shine, this beautiful color and blonde pop at the front, she’s gotten a blowout and she’s going off to live on an island.” Behind the scenes, Appleton and Lopez captured the moment in a photo together before wrapping. “We actually finished at five in the morning, that’s how much of a trooper Jen is—you’ve gotta do it so you get the shot,” he says. “I think me, Jen, and the crew were just happy to be back, we’re like a family,” he shares, adding that Mary Phillips “did a great job” on the makeup. “It was a lot of filming, a lot of scenes, two songs, and two music videos that hopefully people will love.”