updos

The next time you find yourself in front of your mirror trying to get your updo just right, take a step back. Tousled styles are having a moment. Recently, Jennifer Lawrence (left), model Selita Ebanks (upper right), and Olivia Palermo (lower right) have all been spotted sporting this cool messy look.

To re-create the style at home, the trick is to form lots of body as a base. Prime your hair with a texture-enhancing product, like KEVIN.MURPHY's new Texture.Master ($34.95). Then, it's time to customise. Pull random sections of your hair away from your hairline and bobby-pin them at the back of your head. Whether you allow pieces to fall in your face is up to you. In the back, gather a portion of hair at the nape of your neck, and pull it into a loose, deconstructed ponytail. For an even more imperfect and dramatic look, tease pieces of your hair near the hair elastic, and you're done . . . or should we say undone.

Your wedding day—most likely the biggest day of your life and you want some guarantees that you're gonna look F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. Wedding hair seems to be one of those beauty to-dos we leave 'til late in the planning process cause it is the finishing touch. But I'm thinking it's all much easier than you might think with all of the great product and tools on the market these days. So whether you want to try-on different 'dos to settle on a look (and have your stylist create the final version) or to test your DIY prowess, Stylist Sherri Belanger shares a few expert tips on how to create two elegant hairstyles you can do yourself on the big day: a gorgeous half-up, half-down style and a romantic updo. Watch now for step-by-step instructions!

I tell you what, we were totally spoilt for hair choice yesterday. Normally, we're given one (very lovely and lust-worthy) style per show, but yesterday, at Kirrily Johnston, Saint Augustine Academy and Gail Sorronda, there were a multitude of looks greeting us as soon as we popped our heads backstage. Brad Ngata, the man responsible for the high crowns at Dhini, created a bevy of cornrows, "pom-poms," and crimping action for Gail Sorronda's Spring/Summer 2010-11 show. It was all about making the models more "elongated," distorting things and giving the illusion of more (yeh, like they need it) height. I really like the look, it was very couture hair—totally unwearable—but a dream to look at. Don't you think?

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When we grabbed Nathan Gorman backstage for a quick chat about the crazy hair looks at Saint Augustine Academy, he told us that the designer was inspired by the Crystal Ballroom, this music venue that was a "melting pot" of goth, punk and new wave in the '70s/'80s. The show was definitely music orientated, which Nathan said, "manifested in the hair," too. The one thing tying all of the unique styles together though was the texture: it was "soft, big, fluffy" and had a "natural curvature" to it. Nathan created the texture using Sebastian Professional products: lots of Thickefy Foam, Moulding Mud, Craft Clay, Shaper Zero Gravity, Trilliant and Re-Shaper. Here, Nathan talks us through the look . . .

It's the '70s. Studio 54 is the place to be. There's music, there's dancing, and there's one girl that no one can take their eyes off. She moves as though the music's flowing through her veins. And then, never missing a beat, she effortlessly scrapes up her hair. That, ladies, is the vibe and the hairstyle that ghd Hair Director Jayne Wild created for Ruby Smallbone. Jayne used some ghd Fat Hair, just on the edges—the style wasn't meant to look too fixed or product-y. Then she worked in Maximise Mousse to the centre of the head and finger-dried the hair. There was a bit of teasing action and then hair was secured in a bun that sat just on the crown; it wasn't a top knot. Of course, if you've only got a few minutes, you can just tip your head upside down, dry and pull up and secure. Pull some strands loose in the front to give that 'just-off-the-dance-floor' look and, ta-dah, you have yourself one "posh, chucked up" 'do as Jayne calls it!

James Nash, who directed the hair for the Michael Lo Sordo show, wanted "simple, clean, beautiful, loose and soft" hair so he opted for a low pony, which was "ruffled," and then wrapped into a bun. The dishevelled look was easy to create, according to James—you tie the pony "tight, but not too tight," which allows you to manipulate and tease bits out at the top of the head. Only three products were used: Aveda Confix, Shaping Wax and Control Spray.

ps . . . Aveda was backstage doing its green thang: the eco-aware brand only partners with designers that support environmental leadership and responsibility . . . and they provided organic food backstage which was totally delicious and soooooooo welcome as the food around RAFW has been scarce to say the least. Bella = starving.

Inspired by the idea of royalty, L'Oreal Professionnel Hair Director Brad Ngata created a magnificent crown shape by backcombing like a mad man and using L'Oreal Professionnel Volume Lift. To make the 'crown' stand out, Brad braided a small section, just above the nape of the neck. I was skeptical whether it would stay in place on the runway, not for one second because I don't believe he's a genius (I go to his salon myself), but because I've seen the strut on some of those models . . . fierce doesn't even cover it! I shouldn't have worried though, the style, which was surprisingly quick to create, held up and transformed the models into princesses.