Pretty & Messy...words to live by

I’m loving all the hair and makeup inspiration that is pouring in from the various fashion weeks all over the world. With 2 weddings on the calendar, and subsequently 2 hens, I have been mulling over hair and makeup looks for these auspicious occasions. I have my dress and shoes already, so all I need is jewellery, potentially a belt and a kickin’ hairstyle.

When I’m bumming around at home I quite often do my hair in a French braid diagonally across my head, so I was stoked to see my 'at home' hairstyle on the runway this week at Clements Ribeiros. The hairstyle (created by Barney Martin for Pantene, I believe) is very much the ‘pretty mess’ trend we are seeing at the moment, and I am all about pretty messy, loose & textured and looking like you did your hair in 3 minutes (which is sometimes true, and sometimes it takes an hour to look that undone). Obviously the guys who created this are hair geniuses and I am not, so I’m interpreting it to suit myself and my skill level.

How did I do it? Glad you asked. Washed hair (O&M ‘poo and condy), then let it air dry just a little. Sprayed it chock full of O&M Atonic Thickening Spritz and blow dried. This thickening spray is seriously juicy. It’s one of those products that you use all the time and forget about, like a silent, unsung hero. Someone asked me the other day what my top 5 products were and I rattled off 5 and then later realised I forgot Chapstick, even though I use it more than any other product in my arsenal. This spray? Like Chapstick, but for hair. Only not.

I french braided from the top left of my head to the bottom right. I probably should have done it a little tighter, so mine is less pretty messy and more actual messy. Then once I had braided to the end, I looped it back up and pinned it into place. I had a side part and sweep across the front, although not as severe as the high fashion version. Also, I did my part with hair moving away from the start of the braid, while the proper version is the opposite. Creative license. What do you think? This hair teamed with my floral church dress for my friend’s hens at the Victoria Tea Room? I better practice stirring my tea without clinking.

Price: $27.95
From: Selected salons, Adorebeauty
Why you need it: So you can do hair like mine. Hint: it’s also excellent for heat protection and giving hair lift and texture, which is SHRN (so hot right now – I learn all my acronyms from Dolly magazine)

Picture notes: I shamelessly thieved the top picture from PRIMPED because I couldn't find another one and this best demonstrated what I was trying to do - sorry PRIMPED girls! O&M pic from O&M; my hair pic is just amusing because one is with flash and one is without. Both are me, I promise!