Oscar season is upon us. Stars will be attending countless parties, choosing fabulous dresses and spending hours with stylists perfecting their red carpet look. With the awards themselves just days away, A-listers are putting final touches to their style and outfit – not only hoping for Oscar glory, but to be crowned style queens of Hollywood (and to escape scathing tabloid press reviews!)
Last year, female celebrities opted for the stylish screen siren look from the golden age of cinema, taking inspiration from legendary icons such as Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich. But what can we expect this year? It’s not only the dress that gets talked about but the whole package, which includes having the perfect hairstyle to complement it.
Keeping an eye on the red carpet is always a way to get an idea of future high street trends and the pressure to constantly maintain and update the celebrity image falls squarely in to the lap of the stylists and advisors.
Colourist Susan Baldwin, (UK creative colour director at John Frieda), is recognised as one of UK’s finest technicians - her famous client list includes the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Jagger, Claudia Schiffer and Renée Zellweger!
She joined FemaleFirst recently to discuss what we can expect to see at the prestigious awards in the States this weekend amongst other things.
How important is it for celebs to get their hairstyle just right on Oscar night?
We think it’s absolutely essential really because these people are being shot from every single angle. More people than at any other event in the year are seeing them. It’s really important – because it’s like a showcase and it’s great for us professionals because it’s really showing of all of our work as well. So it’s really vital.
What hair and style trends will the A –List Stars be following for this year’s ceremony?
We think that it’s going to be quite soft, really lovely and something that a lot of us can do actually. A kind of half up half down look – moving on from the sort of boho beachy look – a bit more finished. Tongued, lovely soft romantic curls – maybe just clipped back. Really this probably comes from all the young girls coming through who don’t want the really severe up dos that do look really great and glamorous – but they’re kind of making their own look I think for this year.
The celebs are going to be hurrying about with arrangements for their own favoured award hair beauty fixes at the moment aren’t they? Can you divulge the details of some of the treatments on offer to us?
Absolutely – work starts quite early you know, and they’re going to be having lots of treatments. Their colours – they get it sorted out a couple of weeks before, then usually a day or two before, and then sprinkled up on the day. It’s a lot of work. (Laughs)
So what colour is going to be the big story for the season?
I think for the Oscars it’s definitely going to be blondes and I think for us guys blondes are going to be big. We’ve got some great blonde role models out there, Helen Mirren is really – it’s amazing to see somebody a bit different out there, especially for the older woman and it’s that beautiful pearl blonde. It’s unusual to see that, but it’s really a good inspiration. Then you’ve got beautiful, elegant blondes like Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet with her lovely soft, young girl blonde. I mean you can be a brunette as well. (Laughs) But I think we’ve had a lot of brunettes and I really think this spring/summer, blondes are going to be the big story. I reckon we’ve had about two years of, lots of brunettes and it’s been really good, because some people just look great brunette. But there’s nothing like a blonde on a red carpet. It really catches the eye.
How can we achieve the red carpet look in the comfort of our own homes then – because that’s what we’re all really after to be honest aren't we..
Exactly it is isn’t it… Well don’t get too disheartened because you can do it. (Laughs) It just takes that little bit of effort I think. Just that little bit more – especially if you’ve got a big event and there are just so many products out there now. All these shampoos that are right for blondes. There are shampoos that are designed to bring out the best in your colour and blondes really rely on that because they do get dull. So.. and using treatments and the wonderful new glaziers that are coming out. They really do bring out the best of your colour. They do give it that really glossy shine and they literally take three minutes in the shower. So there’s lots of stuff out there and it’s much easier for us to achieve it now.
We’re learning now that there’s no good having the colour you want without the condition being there, cos it’s just not going to show it off. So prepare your hair for colour. Also follow the instructions – just take your time with it because we try to do everything in such a rush. But there are some things that you do really need to take a little bit of extra bit of time with.
Not all celebrity hair colours are suitable though are they – what looks good on Scarlett Johansson may not look good on me. There’s the belief, for instance that older ladies should stick to going lighter and cutting their hair shorter isn’t there?
It’s not for everybody. I think we have to remember that a lot of these urban myths come from a long time ago. I’m certainly sitting here well in my forties with quite long hair and I hope it’s working (Laughs) but I think it’s the whole thing of just toning down what you’ve got a bit as you get older. Just reign it in a little bit – maybe just a little bit shorter if you’ve got its very long or a little bit longer if its short. The lightness – usually light is very flattering but too light is really aging. Tone it all down. The thing is, try not to go too far from what you’ve got naturally but just enhance it rather than trying to be too ambitious. If you are under 25 and playing around with it fine– but then you have to grow up. Really find out what works for you.
Many women are supposed to find it a struggle when it comes to changing their hair colour because they’ve kept it the same exact one for years. Have you found this yourself – that many get stuck in a rut?
Oh yeah absolutely – definitely. It’s the thing of being too blonde or too dark. It also can get too blonde or too dark without you really noticing, and you just continuously…. You need to step back and have a look at it. Also ask your friends what they think to try and get other opinions about it. Have a little rethink and spring’s a great time to do that!
You’ve worked on many fantastic Hollywood films haven’t you, from Proof of Life to the Oscar winning Cold Mountain?
Absolutely yes – lots of blondes (Laughs) But it’s a little bit different with film hair really because it’s very high maintenance, and that’s the thing with some of these looks, they are very high maintenance. But as we’ve mentioned, you can do a version of them.
Which movie did you enjoy being involved with the most?
I think Cold Mountain was probably the most exciting. Doing hair colour in a trailer half way up a mountain was quite fun. (Laughs) I think we run out of hot water at about 11pm at night and we had to use old Evian bottles. It’s quite stressful because we’re used to working in a salon that’s equipped with so much stuff for colour and you’ve got to take everything in a bag with you, so you’ve kind of got to know what you’re doing really. But it is very good fun to get out of the salon sometimes and you get that whole atmosphere with a film. It’s quite amazing really.
We are quite lucky because we get called in – they usually have real wig and arts and crafts people. So we get called in often when it’s a relatively natural job. But you do sometimes have to take people from blonde to dark and stuff like that and it is very challenging because the hair still has to look good. I would say that is one of the biggest things – a complete turn around with the hair. When you’ve done something like that to a colour it’s usually a little bit unstable so we usually leave them with loads of fillings to keep them going. Continuity is one of the hardest things – it’s really tricky.
It’s all a bit quiet with the films at the moment; I’ve got to be honest. We usually start – the spring comes through – they do a lot of filming in London and England during the summer obviously when they days are longer, so I’ve not got any exciting trips at the moment. We’ll have to wait and see what happens at the moment – but the Oscars will be very exciting. We have lots of clients coming up – Absolutely!
For more advice and tips on maintaining gorgeous hair, please visit: www.johnfriedasheerblonde.co.uk