On my way to Brazil and Argentina, I picked up the box set of Mad Men, the multi award-winning series set in the early 1960′s. I love to watch episodes back to back so I can really absorb shows. I do it all the time and long-hal travel is the perfect opportunity. So in between work and late at night, I sat and soaked in the styling and characters.
I am obsessed with Betty Draper – a well-heeled Grace Kelly doppelganger/ former model/princess/Daddy’s little girl.
And of course I’m obsessed with her hair. The way she moves from one look to another with perfectly coiffed yet simple styling… I rewound so many scenes just to study her hair!

Being in Buenos Aires at the time, I felt like I was in my own Mad Men world because the women here in the restaurants and dancehalls dress in a very similar style, like they are caught in time. I admire it so much and it has such a wonderful glamour to it. Women wrapped in furs with pristine dresses and beautifully coiffed hair dining with their friends late at night…
It makes me wonder if we have lost something in these modern times when we are so keen to wash and go!

When Betty turns up in Rome with the slicked and suited Don Draper, she books into the hotel salon and so turns up to dinner with a breathtaking look matched with a stunning dress. It really made me think.
With salons opening that specialise in these classic techniques, there must be women out there who are also yearning for the glamour of yesteryear!

My wonderful, talented friend James Molloy has his own blog. I love it because it has so many tips on how to get catwalk looks and it’s written in a simple style that is so easy to follow. Also, he gives an honest unbiased guide to products, and this man knows soooooo much about which products really perform and give great results. One of the great privileges of my job is that I get day-to-day tips from him, and I always find James’ make-up ideas make me feel so much better yet still myself – which is important, don’t you think?
Anyhow, here’s an excerpt from his blog. Enjoy x

Now I’m a bit of a sucker for a smokey eye, especially at a show and this season the girls at the Monique Lhullier show in New York did not disappoint. I’m drawn to the Khaki black but not black tones in this look I call it the smokey eye with extras! It works for me as the rock chick classic take on the dark eye felt a little too done for the summer season, in its place came the dirtied, dappled darks that wrapped the eyes in a mussed up veil of colour that felt more mesmerizing.

 Monique Lhuiller SS10

Here are my tips on getting the look -
1. Start by taking a mid toned flat brown eye shadow and circling the eye using a large blending brush. This eye isn’t about a tight shape and using the brown tone first will give you the blown out edge.
2. You want a real depth of colour on the lid so try an eye Kohl as a base all over the eye. I like M.A.C Smoulder as it has a slightly green tone when blended out.
3. Next take a selection of shadows ranging from black to grey and deep green. Using a tapered blender start to diffuse the colour at the outer corners of the eye and in toward the bridge of the nose. If you shadow starts to go patchy I find that a little loose powder blended over the top will help to fade out the colour.
4. Using a black eye kohl rim the inner water line top and bottom making sure to fill in the inner corners of the eye.
5. Use a smaller shadow brush and bend the green/grey shadows underneath the lower lashes. Don’t be scared to take the colour quite low as it helps to open up the eye and balances the shape.
6. Team this eye with a luxe matte skin. Take time on concealing the under eyes, it’s a heavy look so anything to real and your eyes could look heavy.
 
xx

The talented Nuno sent me this – and of course I had to share it with you. He has become my biggest inspiration. Look out for my interview with Nuno, when I discover the story behind the man, but in the meantime relish this!

These beauty pics are from RUSSH magazine. Make-up by Mariel Barrerro.  I luuuuuuuuurve the attitude and the style!

Following James’ liner piece I found these images from Nuno da Costa. Amazing!

I just love Goldie Hawn. Here are some of my favourite Goldie looks

In Germany I came across this magazine – TUSH. Just incredible! I love the beauty shoots especially; the images are beautiful and also incredibly inspirational.
They have a website with archives of all the issues and as you scroll down you can see all of the shoots.
It’s addictive! Story after story… Amazing tones… Amazing hair (look out for Esther Langham a friend of mine and a hair genius)… I highly recommend you take a look. In the meantime here’s a taster.

“Bouncy, blown-out Charlie girl hair.” Sarah Mower
A look ahead to autumn /winter, and here is the Chloe Blo.
This hair by Guido is polished and beautiful. It is the kind of blo that makes girls walk taller. It is so light, the hair bounces as you walk and the ends maintain their curl.
This is Seventies American hair at its best – expensive and alluring.

Last night I watched this film, directed by Mika Ninagawa, a famous Japanese photographer who works in fashion and advertising and who is known for her incredible, bright images.
It blew me away with the sets and the costumes – wondrous.
Here are some of the stills and a little of Mika’s work

How beautiful is this hair? It’s taken from a shoot in Harpers Bazaar. Great style. So many women would love to leave the salon with this very do. It has just the right amount of wave with exactly the right amount of sheen. It’s the glaze on top that modernises it. Classic meets modern.
Luuuuurrrrrrvvvve!

I found this on my favourite blog of the week with other beautiful hair pics. I love this and thought you might too…

How I love this blog! I wanted to share it with you. Daily doses of things this lady loves. Images that make me smile on a windy London day .

I found this shot by Marcello Geppetti in 1961 of Brigitte Bardot. Another great summer braid look.

I thought I would share some pictures with you. I was once told by the great  Gaynor Hodge on a presenters course that to keep your mind alive you should mix up what you see each day. So, for example, if you walk to work you should take a different route each time. When I go on holiday or work away, I find taking pictures of things I love is a great reminder of home and seems to help me at times when I need inspiration – and it can be anything from shop signs to grafitti. Anyway, here are some of mine from Mexico…

I have mentioned Nuno many times in my blog. We started working together about 18 months ago when I met him through Hari’s salon.
He is a self-taught illustrator who is talented beyond belief, and his work adorns the the walls of the salon and also my home.

He sent me these images last week and I thought I would share them with you. Check out his work too.

Can you imagine being that talented? I am in awe…

She Does Hair. I love this. It has so many how-to-do styles, and although it has been done for young girls’ school and church hair (well, it taught me a twist or two!), when I spoke to my assistant she rated it too. Stick with it and trust me. Put those twists on a hot girl about ten years older and they work! Really!!

If I had a team of my own and they where fully Zoe trained in my kinda “hair love” way then I would include, as part of my junior training, the Shampoo film.
The lead character, George Roundy, is based on actual hairdresser Jay Sebring and on Jon Peters, the film producer, who is a former hairdresser.
It’s one of my all-time hair video favourites and I have a particular lust award for Goldie Hawn’s hair too.
What better an introduction to Sixties hair?!!

My wonderful friend Nuno sent me this as I am the biggest Luella collector. It’s a design from her final show.

I call my friend Ellen: the chick with the best references.

We met over a picture. I sent a photograph of the “kitten” – a haircut that I did five years ago – to the offices of Elle magazine and she booked a haircut with me.
We love the same images and collect pictures of women we would like to be, or perhaps be in another life.
She has a blog http://vagabondiana.blogspot.com. You should read it.

Ellen inspires me, is a dream client, a wonderful friend and is the most amazing writer with a resume that journalists would die for.

Here are some of the references we love…

Zoe Irwin with Lisa Snowdon at the UK's Most Wanted 2009 Grand Final

Creative HEAD stepped up the style stakes this year with its inspiring UK’s Most Wanted awards, which proved full of surprises. I brought along a few friends for a special Creative Head shoot. They loved the evening and the shoot, which had such beautiful hair and styling. The trouble was there was so much going on, it was hard to know which bit to watch!

My Best Dressed Award goes to the beautiful Sacha Mascolo-Tarbuck, who wore a jacket that screamed “I am so hot and so this season.” If I didn’t love her so much I would be jealous!

And Adam Reed, who owns so much of his best mate Henry Holland’s collection that I’m sure he even jogs in it!

Seeing all my peers and the work they do for awards inspires me to push my ideas further. I left thinking I want an award and I must check Net-a-porter for a new jacket when I get home!