This weekend, I attended my second wedding in two weeks. It seems February is THE time to get married, and everyone is doing it – or at least everyone I know. I’m just turning 30! (What’s the rush?!)
With all the events I’ve had of late, my creativity in the hair department is at it’s end. Failing a ponytail with a bit of height, my not-cut-since-Christmas locks are a bit tired and flat, overworked (and underpaid) with heat and product. I put in an emergency call to the Blow Out Bar for a stylish wedding do and got ready to RE-LAX.
After a quick sesh at the Napoleon Perdis Lifestyle store at the Como Centre for a wedding make up look, I arrived at the Blow Out Bar only knowing I wanted something not too ‘done’ – which I am sure stylists hear all the time, probably a bit like asking for a Big Mac with a diet coke.
My stylist Aiden showed me some pictures and I oohed and ahhed, and then told him to do whatever he thought would look good and get it ‘up’, out of the weather. Magazines were thrust into my hands and I sat in the opulent surrounds while Aiden set to work. The TV was also showing a movie, with teletext to follow over the music, and within minutes I was immersed in back issues of Shop Til You Drop, and ‘Identity Thief‘.
Aiden curled and twisted, pinned and spritzed. He added a donut (hair speak for ‘you don’t have enough hair’) and braids for some fun at the front. It was the exact right mix of formal and fun. Fabulous.
Dress by Sol Hermana, Shoes by Sachi and Clutch by Kmart. Jewels by Swarovski.
Braids are all the rage at the moment, according to Simone Van Haltren, the General Manager at BlowOut Bar Toorak, with celebs Scarlett Johansson being famous for braid crowns, Blake Lively often rocking the fishtail braid and Sienna Miller, Jessica Alba and Charlize Theron all sporting the look of late. It seems the braid is the new top knot, effortlessly combining the more relaxed natural look with a ‘done’ but ‘undone’ style.
I ask whether braids are particularly suited to any face shape or hairstyle, and Simone tells me that braids are best in blonde and medium brown hair, as highlights and differences in tones show up best, but that any face shape can rock the braided look. The stylists at Blow Out Bar can assist in working out whether the hair should be parted in the centre, or the side, and whether the majority of the hair should sit at the back or to either side.
I leave the Blow Out Bar sufficiently relaxed, and in need of a video store so I can see how Identity Thief ends. The wedding was divine (as weddings are!) and my hair stayed put for a good twelve hours, collecting compliments along the way.
And just in case you were wondering (as I was!), what the difference between a plait and a braid is? A braid incorporates whole sections (big or small) of the hair and can be done in many different shapes and forms – the 3 strand braid, 4 strand braid, 5 strand braid, up- close to the scalp, away from the scalp, fishtail or waterfall. A plait is more simplistic and usually only uses 3 strands. It’s much more limited with the choice of shape and sectioning patterns, a plait can not be done close to the scalp and has a more loose appeal to the eye.
