Headfirst

Perfect setting

Perfect setting

By Gemma Scullion

7/12/10

Well I’m back in the salon after a hectic but fun few days. Our Live on Location tour went ahead in London and Manchester despite the weather conditions, we battled through blizzards but the show MUST go on! The Edinburgh show was cancelled but we took that as an opportunity to work on our team building and looks.

The access all areas layout of the London show created such a relaxed and friendly environment, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. And of course our host Alex Zane kept the ladies smiling!

I was working on the S/S11 segment, with Jess and Dan, and mentored by Snowden Hill, who is an exceptional, laugh-a-minute session stylist. Snowden’s expertise are second to none – he’s trained with Guido Palau, has lots of A-list clients, not to mention work on Prada, Alexander McQueen and Cavalli shows.

There was never a dull moment, and the weaving on our hands and knees for what felt like 24-hours certainly paid off for our Alexander McQueen-inspired models.

None of our fantastic looks would have come together so well if it wasn’t for Wella Professionals new Care & Style products. My personal favorite? Perfect Setting, which is an amazing product for session styling and at the same time very adaptable for many of my clients, adding great hold and brilliant shine to the hair. Velvet Amplifier was one of our hero products of the tour, used as a primer to style and add great shine, containing extracts of diamond dust. Whilst Pearl Styler was also key for adding control and shine to our Prada finger wave looks.

Gemma x 

Dear industry mob…

Dear industry mob…

By Paul Corbett

7/12/10

To quote The Kaiser Chiefs, “Oh my God I can’t believe it, I’ve never been this far away from home!” Or at least that’s how it felt when we were all stranded in the snow at Edinburgh on our recent Live on Location tour, and then again when the tour bus kept breaking down on our way to Manchester! And yet I also feel very much at home with the Generation NOW team, we are one amazing family. Ask anyone who was on that tour and they will tell you that it was probably one of the most fun trips ever.

I cannot wait to view the pictures from the photo shoot that took place on the night. The models looked amazing and they seemed to really enjoy wearing the looks that we were creating with the new Wella Professionals Care and Style range. I was on Desmond Murray’s Glamour Styling Hair team, and as ever working with Des was incredibly exciting and fun at the same time. He is a real visionary and a great mentor.

I have so many highlights from the tour, such as the entire team having a snowball fight and building a very impressive snowman, getting a hug onstage from Alex Zane (a very manly hug I might add), and spotting that Sean Dawson of HOB Salons was in the audience watching us! To have someone of that calibre watching is both nerve wracking and an honour.

However, my biggest highlights were seeing the looks we had created come to life on the catwalk, and spending a week with an amazing group of people.

Bringing people together is definitely one of the things our industry does better than any other.

Paul x
(Follow me on twitter.com/paulthecoiffure)

It’s snow time

It’s snow time

By Dafydd Rhys

7/12/10

What a great weekend! After spending Friday and Saturday in London to celebrate my 22nd birthday what a better way to continue the celebration than to go on the Live on Location Tour with my Generation NOW buddies!

It was a miracle that the plane actually landed. We all thought we were still in the clouds with so much white and no definition from the runway, but the scariest bit was looking back at the plane after departing, it was covered in snow!

With the Edinburgh show cancelled due to the torrential weather, the team quickly had to find ways to entertain themselves. John the production manager, Jo Davies the team manager, and Steph our wardrobe mistress decided to have a ‘best hat’ contest. Who wins? You decide!

My models Bradley and Lucy did a great job at our London show. For Lucy I created a glamorous wave through the fringe coming from a low parting, and on the remainder I stacked a textured wave to create strength through the perimeter and to widen the style to create more stage presence. For Bradley I took inspiration from our global creative director Eugene Souleiman’s latest Care and Style collection, using Craft Curl mousse to blow dry for a soft, romantic style.

Dafydd

Red or dead

Red or dead

By Jessica Williams

28/11/10

I’m not sure about anybody else, but there’s been an outbreak of Cheryl and Rihanna wannabes flocking to the salon wanting red locks, and it’s not just clients that crave this look. At Paris Fashion Week the S/S11 shows were all about the ‘Matador Red’, almost stealing the limelight from the clothes! This look is perfect for a new Christmas style and for a more commercial, lower maintenance style, Cheryl’s plum tones are appealing to clients.

Another look I love is the two-tone dip-dying trend sported on the likes of Drew Barrymore and Alexa Chung, a more laid back style, which I want when my hair eventually starts to grow! I can see this look lasting long into next year and carrying on through to the summer.

Jess x

Lights, camera, acti

Lights, camera, action

By Dafydd Rhys

28/11/10

Although I have been blogging for a while now, I have yet to reveal too much information about an area of my work that I’m very proud of – my regular slot on television.

Being a Welsh speaker, I have had the amazing opportunity to work on the national welsh language show, Wedi 3 (which translates as After 3) since last February. It’s a daily magazine show on S4C that runs for an hour.

Every Monday I talk about the latest trends and styles in hairdressing and show the techniques to achieve them. The show is produced down in Llanelli and presented by Rhodri Owen and Emma Walford.

A day of filming begins at 1.30pm where we go straight to make-up, this of course is essential (although I have a perfect complexion!) as the show has recently gone HD. Then its straight down to the studio to film my opening link, this is a short 10-second clip that will be shown at the top of the programme. Then its back up to the green room to prep my models’ hair and wait for our five-minute call to go back to the studio for the show at 3pm. It is a very exciting to be part of such a fun television show.

Until Live on Location, be good and remain inspired.
Dafydd x

Live and kicking

Live and kicking

By Dan Spiller

28/11/10

It’s all about Live on Location. The three nights are going to be amazing when I’m on stage with the rest of the Generation NOW team. The team will split, with half working with our mentor Desmond Murray, and half with Snowden Hill from Realhair, a master session stylist with shows such as Prada, Louis Vuitton and Alexander McQueen under his belt. This section is all about S/S11, so we’re going to be showing some fresh, exciting hair. And I’ve just got all the products in to have a play with, can’t wait to see you there!

Dan

On the fringe

On the fringe

By Denise McCabe

18/11/10

It’s been a very exciting few months since the whirlwind of Generation NOW began. From meeting the team, to the Wella Professionals Trend Vision UK final, it was an achievement for us all!

Generation NOW has opened a lot of doors for me at home in Ireland – my face is everywhere! The last few months have been crazy, from presenting awards to attending seminars and workshops with the amazing Patrick Cameron.

I was involved in a photoshoot with the Lunatic Fringe art team, shot by a brilliant Irish photographer called Barry McCall. We also had an apprentice competition for four of our salons at in Dublin last week.

Next week is going to be exciting here for me. I’m going to be involved in the media launch of Wella Professionals Care and Style in Ireland with brand ambassador Tamar Chambers, who is also my boss!

Denise x

Making it count

Making it count

By Paul Corbett

12/11/10

Well it has been a few weeks since the whirlwind that was Salon International and I think I’ve just about recovered. It was the first show for Generation NOW as a team on stage and the feedback has been great. We each showed off our own styles and worked well together. It is the fact that we are allowed to express our own personalities and styles that makes Generation NOW so exciting and satisfying to be a part of.

I am fascinated with the art of taking an already strong haircut and then manipulating it with different textures to show the many ways that one cut can be worn. Clients are now asking for their styles to be more versatile, yet like to be able to change their look as easily as possible. I believe that this all begins with the cut. Use the right lines and textures to suit your client’s needs and you should then be able to show them many different ways to wear it. The best example of this right now has to be Dannii Minogue on the X Factor. Every week she wears a different style and yet it all stems from the same haircut.

It is also that time of year where we begin to see some amazing collections being released, and I have been so inspired by so many, in particular the new Sassoon Collection, Jamie Stevens and my close friends Lewis Moore and Jackie Crosby.

The other day I had my first ever conference call, which was a very strange experience with all those voices talking at once, but we were told some very exciting news about the Live on Location tour. Apparently, we are not only working with our mentor Desmond Murray, which is an honour in itself, but also with the truly inspirational Snowden Hill from Real Hair. I have had the privilege of working with Snowden before, and was completely blown away by the level of knowledge and standards this great hairdresser possesses. It is going to be a remarkable event!

Paul x
Follow me on twitter.com/paulthecoiffure

Move over

Move over

By Ryan Wood

11/11/10

With Live on Location fast approaching and bookings in the salon hotting up for Christmas, it’s going to be busy few months for the Generation NOW Team and I. We fly to Scotland for the first Live on Location event on 29 November, then it’s up at the crack of dawn to get to Manchester the next day, and back on the tour bus on 1 December for the final show in London, but I’m sure the adrenaline rush will keep me going!

This part of the year is often the busiest for hairdressers, and the salon floor can be a hectic place in full flow. Some people don’t like this season, but I love it. Being busy is what it’s all about and if you’re not feeling it now then you’re in the wrong game… lots of haircuts, great tips, and lots of parties and glamour.

I really like the ’40s inspired trends going on at the moment. It’s feminine and sexy with the Jessica Rabbit and Veronica Lake peek-a-boo bangs, pin curled and beautiful soft waves brushed out and glowing in soft. Wartime chic with cheeky victory rolls look just as good now on Katie Perry, Gwen Stefani and Amy Winehouse as they did way back then on stars like Vera Lynn and Bette Davis. That said, Amy Winehouse has more of the rockabilly style to her, which is pretty cool too. Pompadour and beehive barnets just seem born to fit her pinup girl tattoos and dirty ballet pumps.

Banging in a pleat bun or roll at home, sleeping on it, then getting up and adding some hairspray or style dust and walking out the door is what’s great about today’s looks. If your bun or beehive is hanging like your trainees on a Saturday morning, don’t worry, it can kinda work!

Men’s hair is also swinging back in time. With a faint whiff of the ’80s still thrown in, the hottest men’s looks go high and tight in military and soldier boy chic. Top and front-heavy for the rockabilly kids with slick shiny ’40s finishes turning heads. Steve McQueen and James Dean wouldn’t look out of place at Mother Bar in Shoreditch (although not much would), and the styling in movies like Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds worked so well because we’re seeing those threads on the street already.

I’m growing a moustache for Movember too, so I’m hoping this ’40s trend can help me carry it off!

Ryan

A Euge compliment

A Euge compliment

By Dan Spiller

10/11/10

What a weekend! After arriving in Paris on the Thursday for the Wella Professionals International Trend Vision Award (ITVA), we had a welcome dinner and got to meet the rest of the teams. It was only then that I realised the scale of ITVA – 81 competitors from all over the world!

Friday came with a fully-booked day of rehearsals. Being backstage and seeing that three out of the four teams showcasing Wella Professionals 2011 trends were from the UK, made me realise how lucky I am to be a part of British hairdressing – we are at the forefront of the industry.

We got to see our stations and the competitors that were around us and as soon as I laid eyes on Iceland’s model, I knew they would be walking home with a medal. She was absolutely stunning.

Saturday came and it was an early start. I felt my model’s hair went well and with three hours to get the look nailed I was sorted. With 2,000 people to watch there was a lot of people to trip in front of!

Evening came and everyone got their glad rags on. I was wondering how they would top the UK final, which was immense, but somehow they did. And to the announcements! Now because I did more of an editorial look I was happy to hear that the judges for the young talent were, Eugene Souleiman, Olivier Van Doorne (Select NY) and Rita Balestriero (Italian Vogue). It was so cool to be called up as one of the final six, my heart started pumping pretty quick.

Although I didn’t win a medal, I certainly felt like I was a part of a winning team. Afterwards, Eugene Souleiman came up to me and said he wouldn’t have changed a thing – he loved it, so for me that was enough.

I hope everyone from the UK who went had as much of a good time as I did, and I wish the best of luck to whoever wins it next year because it’s being held in New York, which will be a stormer! Finally, I just want to say a massive thanks to everyone for their support over this incredible journey!

Dan x