Dove

Back in 2006, Dove — the brand that pioneered the use of real women in campaigns — commissioned a nationwide survey that revealed that only one percent of Australian women described themselves as beautiful. Keen to see how perspectives have changed since, the beauty giant commissioned a similar survey and the results today, thankfully, reveal a boost in confidence with 81 percent of girls describing themselves as beautiful, but only 51 percent of women, showing that we still have a problem with ageing gracefully. The survey also reveals some fun facts that are state specific. Read on and see if you agree with them . . .

• Women from NSW are most likely to describe themselves as beautiful and pretty
• Women from VIC are most likely to hate their breasts. And wrinkles
• Yet they spend the longest looking at themselves in the mirror each day. 13.9 minutes to be exact!
• QLD women are most likely to describe themselves as ugly
• They're also most likely to want to have Pippa Middleton butt-lifting surgery
• Women from SA hate their stomachs less than any other state
• But they're the most likely to want to get a boob job
• Women from WA spend longer on their daily beauty routine than any other state: 15.6 minutes.

Celebrity stylist Mark Townsend had quite the busy awards season, working with Lea Michele for the Grammys and Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence for the Academy Awards. He said that Jennifer has been working on getting healthy hair. "It's in great shape," he explained. "So I wanted to show it off." He brought Jennifer images of models from '80s fashion mags with thick, healthy hair to give her some ideas.

To create volume and shine, Mark blew Jennifer's hair out and added a drop of Dove Nourishing Oil Leave-In Smoothing Cream. Then, he set her hair in hot rollers. Once the rollers were cool, Mark took them out, sprayed a flexible hairspray on a flat brush and then brushed her hair out. Simple. As. That.

When creating Lea Michele's wavy hairstyle at the SAG Awards last night, Dove celebrity stylist Mark Townsend looked to another era for inspiration. "I went to Lea's dress [a beaded Oscar de la Renta] fitting and immediately knew I had to complement it with a modern take on '70s chic glamour. I drew a lot of inspiration from photos of Bianca Jagger," he said. This is what he did:

• Townsend started with clean, just-washed hair. He added serum to smooth Lea's strands.
• He then applied some mouse throughout Lea's damp hair to increase texture and volume. Next, he blow-dried with a round brush, using about five-inch sections all around.
• Then, he curled the hair in about two- to three-inch pieces with a one-inch barrel iron. (Tip: to create big flowing waves like Lea's, direct the curls away from the face.) He also made sure to alternate the time he held each curl in the iron. "The longer you apply heat, the sharper the curl," he explained, adding, "I alternated the curl time between two and 10 seconds to create different shapes throughout the hair that wouldn't fold together."
• To create volume at the top, he asked Lea to flip her hair upside down. He then blended some smoothing cream in his hands and raked it through her hair from the bottom up to eliminate flyaways and increase shine.
• To finish, he sprayed plenty of hairspray to lock in the curl. "Lea jokes about how much of this I use!" he quipped.

So last week I told you that Pat Rafter is the new face (and body) of Dove Men+Care and yesterday I had the delightful job of heading down to Melbourne to meet Pat and talk about the new range of Dove Men+Care over a gorgeous lunch.

And, ladies, first up, I have to say that Pat Rafter is quite possibly the nicest man I have ever met. So down-to-earth and real, you can see why Dove made a beeline for him. He totally embodies the everyday Aussie bloke. Which, yes, means he wasn't crazy about appearing half-naked on a 30ft billboard in Melbourne — especially now he's been paid out by his fellow tennis commentators who asked if Pat Rafter is ever going to model anything with clothes on — but did it anyway. Because he knew it would make us happy. Well that and Dove asked very nicely. And that's not the only thing that Dove have made him do. Keep your eyes peeled during the final of the Australian Open where you'll see Pat as you've never seen him before. Hint: it involves singing and the shower. He held his head in his hands as we watched a sneak preview with him! But that's why the former number one tennis champ — who says he loves being married and having kids — is perfect for his new gig. He's comfortable in his own skin so he's up for (almost) anything. He's good-looking, but isn't a model; he's fit, but isn't crazy-toned. In other words he's not intimidating. Other guys (and girls) want to hang out with him.

Keep reading . . .

Dove is best known for one thing: keeping it real. In the past we've seen giant billboards of REAL women — of all ages, sizes and ethnicities — fronting their campaigns, as opposed to models and celebs. 'Tis in-keeping with the wholesomeness of the brand and I know the majority of women love the, ahem, realness of it. So I wonder what you'll make of Dove's latest signing for the Men+Care skincare range: Pat Rafter.

At first I thought, hang about, that's a bit of a change of direction, Pat being not your average run-of-the-mill bloke an' all because, well, I've never met a guy who was a world no. 1 tennis player*. But then I realised that Pat isn't your average sleb. You don't see him falling out of clubs and being all flash. He is normal. He does keep it real. So actually, he's the perfect Dove man. Don't you think? Pat says of his new gig: “It’s great to be recognised as an Aussie guy who’s comfortable in his own skin, even if that does mean appearing in 30m poster without a shirt!” Do you reckon it's a good fit? Do you like the ad?

* This is in fact a lie. I did meet Pat once. I was 10, it was at Wimbledon. He wouldn't sign my autograph book which upset me at the time, if I'm being honest. But I'm over it. I am. Really.