L'Oreal 100th Birthday bash in Paris!

Hi Again,
It’s been a while – I’ve been sunning myself in St Lucia and checking out Amy Winehouse at the Jazz she was brill. Also I’m having my second baby which is so exciting and thoroughly crazy you might add.
Well let me fill you in on the most incredible event of my career so far, I think I mentioned I have been invited to represent Saks H3 and myself at the 100th Birthday for L’Oreal.
This is how it went – I arrived three days before the main event for our intensive process of rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals … This is fairly unusual for an event normally you get a few hours to rehearse so that tells you the magnitude of this one.
I was one of nine of the H3 Creation Team from season 1 and 2 joining together, it was so interesting to get together with an international group of hairdressers swapping stories, learning about cultures and observing how differently we all work.
Our first meeting was with L’Oreal’s marketing department we were there to discuss new product launches and give our input on developing ranges/images and products. Next step we meet and prepared our four models. This is usually a tense moment for the hairdressers as we must get the right girl with the right length who will let us do what we have planned. As you can imagine with 36 models and 9 hairdressers we had some diva moments and tears. All a part of the job for me I was very happy with my choices and off we went into three days of rehearsal.
· Team rehearsal
· Model rehearsal
· Technical rehearsal
· Sound rehearsal
· Translation rehearsal
· Dress rehearsal
· Full rehearsal
Just to name a few … Phew … after all that I’m completely ready so off for dinner and an early night.
Early, early start – It’s show day. We have 4 shows running almost consecutively an the mind blowing thing was this event was reaching an audience of 4000 from 70 different countries …
The translation alone was a finely tuned machine from English to French to Malaysian or from French to Spanish to Lebanese and sooo much more.
All our shows went off with a bang, I was the opening act, creating a haircut in 4 minutes on long hair with 3 sections only. This proved to be a very popular shape, the crescendo for the show finished with all 9 H3 team working on stage for appox 1.5 mins changing our models into look 2. On speaking to the audience this moment gave many of them a high and me too.
We had a great time with a standing ovation on each show and photographs, interviews even some autographs to sign.
We then got whisked off to the Zenith which is like our Wembley Stadium and went to watch the other hairdressers or should I say rock stars do there bit. It was fabulous to see Aldo Copella, a 70 year old Italian legend hairdresser still going strong. Also Angelo Seminara and Trevor Sorbie was a journey and utterly fabulous!
Launched as well was L’Oreal’s new colour product ‘INOA’ this is a technological breakthrough which will be the beginning to L’Oreal going green with odorless colours completely scalp friendly, no ammonia and biodegradable. The hair feels in amazing condition and the tubes are tiny.
Well to finish of this wonderful trip we had our final night in the Grand Palace which is breath taking and all 4000 hairdressers had a sit down meal and off course a boogie. For me it was a big photo opp for many of the hairdressers found myself up and down like a bridges nightie posing and signing autographs to a sea of people shouting celebrity … celebrity – Wow what a memory to finish the show.
http://l'orealinspiration.com

Alison x

I seem to be in an ever changing work environment. Throughout May I have been in London, Hertford, Milan and Poland. I have certainly been kept busy over the past few weeks. May started with an in salon visit at Saks Hertford. I was greeted by a loyal and longstanding team who were amazing fun and very welcoming. The team were award winners from January and it was great to finally meet them all on a more individual basis. I was sharing some ideas based around the new spring/summer trends (i'm sure you all have the mood board poster in your salon) and how I view the mood board for inspiration to approach clients. My brief was simple, to create client friendly looks with a contempary twist. I decided to work on The "Metalic" trends for my colour inspiration in two contrasting ways. One would be a Golden Metalic inspired look for a softer more gentle approach and the second would be a deep contrast of .1 and .7 tones to create a stronger solid colour and finish. Both looks we recieved brilliantly, as it showed the diversity of the trends and how each one of us as individuals interpret what we see on the mood baord. The day was a great success and I look forward to more salon visits in the future! Thanks Saks Hertford.

Next stop Milan! At the beginning of the year I wrote about my trip with Andrew and the show we put on to launch the trends out in Italy. I would be very fortunate to be returning to the spectacular venue Cap 29010 to teach and inspire once again. As I entered the venue I was greeted with the same warm welcome and smiling faces from before. It was great to see everyone again and even better to see the sun shinning through the amazing sky light over looking the stage area. (The weather had not been kind to us on our last visit) I left early Saturday morning and would be returning to the UK Tuesday night. Luckily I had the bank holiday free to enjoy at home before packing my bags once again.....this time for Poland.

The agenda started off with me working for two days using our Trends as my source of inspiration for spring/summer. I was delighted to see a few familiar faces in the auidence some of whom I gave a cheeky re-style to on my Febuary visit and all of which were still sporting their new look, albeit re-cut from their own salon. I was excited to show them some of my new found ideas and got straight into my usual flow of "yes my name is Mario, and sadly no I dont speak Italian" this always gets me a few laughs, even if it is at my expense lol. After a full day of colour and cut demos I was ready for a quick shower something to eat followed closely by bed. The next day was just as exciting and intense, I picked up a few e-mails from the office, and I had one asking me to stay an extra day to round up the course with some mens looks. Luckily for me the fab team back in the London Academies were able to do a bit of diary shuffling and I was able to complete this request. The mens looks ranged from short tailored edges and heavy fringes, to a longer rugged textured look with plenty of layers that would just work perfectly on that thick wavy Italian hair. The students were delighted and I left for home once again feeling satisfied I had fullfilled my job role proudly.

Poland! The weekend flew by and before I knew it I was heading back to the airport to catch an early morning flight to Warsaw. I then took a light aircraft to fly me to Krakow where I would meet Tracey Gallagher for lunch then a casting. The casting was a great turn out, we worked the room looking for exactly what we needed. Once the six models were chosen we got to work preparing some colour and arranging outfits for the girls. This would give us less to do on the morning of the presentation making everything run much smoother. I had decided to work my double intreptation of the trends once more, this time working with a Pastel Metalic and darker one. For the first time I was using Luo Fresh which had amazing colours ranging from soft Jade greens, to Rose and even Grey. I just loved the thought of a pretty pastel grey and green and as I started to plan my colour placement. Tracey was busy as usual preparing and planning the next day which gave me plenty of time to continue the colour work and make sure all was spot on for our morning demo. Once we finished for the evening we were taken out to dinner, however I had been up since 3am and it was now gone 11pm. My eyes were heavy and I couldn't possibly stay awake any longer. So I excused myself and headed back to the hotel for a well deserved rest. The following morning I met Tracey for breakfast. We then headed back to the venue to finish set up for the days event. As soon as we entered the salon, it was work hat on to finish any colour work not completed from the night before. I had my cut and styling mapped out in my mind and I was keen to show a longer and shorter look and finish with an Ethnic style trend. The models looked amazing, and we had a great reception. It is always so great to work with either Andrew, Tracey and Alison, I always get that real buzz from it and love every second!When the day was finally over we packed up and made our way to the hotel for a quick shower and a night out in Krakow. It was great fun, a stunning place to visit and we were well looked after. Thanks to all involved.

London! Tracey and I landed at Gatwick airport at 1pm local time. I was straight on the next train back to london to support the NVQ beginners who were preparing for their graduation show. I eventually arrived around 3pm, and with hardly anytime to put my bags down, I was straight to work.... pin hair up here, set there, fringe trim, etc and hearing all the excitement and plans of the night to come.This years theme was Etheral Sinners. It was a superb mix of good and evil and Student Tom Stock having worked on a media course, compilled an excellent intro CD that started the show with a bang!The show the students put on was fantastic and the room was filled with parents, partners and staff. We all cheered as the show began and my hands were genuinely sore from all the clapping! As usual we saw many tears, and everyone was thanked for their input and support.

Mario :)

A Team Field Trip

Last year saw Alison Dace pilot a new scheme to encourage creativity across our network and launched the A Team!

I was in my first year as an Art Team member and Alison gave me every opportunity to get involved and really get stuck in! The experience taught me so much and the 2008 A Team shoot was fantastic, a real inspiration and a job well done by all.

So when Alison asked me to be involved again this year, my eyes lit up with excitement and the smile on my face was a definite yes! The A team for me is a truly amazing journey, where not only do the Team get to know each other, but get to know themselves a little better too.

Alison took their first meeting with a fantastically fun filled day, as I would be taking the second meeting I had a tough act to follow. Last year saw us on a field trip around London Galleries and museums, the feedback of this day and the inspirational gain was so great we decided to run it again. This time I would be taking the group alone and my previous experience had well prepared me for such a task. We all met at the London Academies, I gave a breakdown of the day and we set off in our casual clothes and foot wear as a lot of walking was going to be done!

With no time to waste we headed straight to the underground and were on our way to the first stop, the Tate Britain. I felt very much like the School teacher looking after the kids (in the adult sense of course lol) as I watched and waited for everyone to roll through the underground barriers. I had researched the exhibitions and found some great works, from Turners "Colour & Line" experiment, to Gothic Romance of Henry Wallis and Richard Wetall, who’s paintings depicted war sparked by love. I have always been fascinated with history and how great cities had fallen all because of love and betrayal. The Team paired up and it gave them a wonderful opportunity to bond with one another and also gave me a chance to speak to them on a more individual basis. Pens and pencils were scribbling away with ideas, sketches and notes. I was in awe of the amazing development I could see before my very eyes. After 2 hours of studying art works past and present we took a well deserved break and stopped for lunch. We began to discuss our findings, what inspired us, moved us, upset us. As the emotional debate unfolded it was clear to see they were truly individuals yet as a team they were agreeing to disagree. I felt a strong bond developing and with no time to lose, lunch was over and we headed to the next venue. We covered the Tate Britain, the Royal Academy of Arts and the National Gallery in one day. These are excellent venues to visit as admission is free and the art work displayed is timeless. This day is designed to get the A Team working together, to question everything, challenge their emotions and get inspired. The day ended on an exhausted high and we finished off at the Academy so I could hand out their homework!

Once we had finished the team and I stopped at a local bar to embrace the day with a well deserved drink before parting ways......ready for the next A Team meeting.

The discussions and creative ideas that were produced on the day, showed me we are in for another exciting year. Well done Team, and thanks. You were a pleasure to have and I enjoyed the day immensely.

Mario ;-)

L'Oreal Poland

FRIDAY – Busy organising last few things for our trip to Poland, going through my checklist as usual so that I don’t forget a single thing, music, DVDs, show blocks, agendas, e-tickets, gowns, shoes, clothes ,special box of things I cant live without(colour wise that is)and the list goes on etc. Myself and my partner in crime Alison Dace (Creative Education Manager)are to do 2 Master classes (demonstration and then workshop sessions)and then Mario Failla (Art Team member) for L’Oreal professional in 3 Different cities, a whirlwind mini tour you could say. It will be my second time in Poland, Andrew Barton and I went there last year to do the L’Oreal colour Trophy Grand final show which was amazing the team out there were great so really looking forward to seeing them and working with them again. The case is packed and as usual I find myself sitting on it to get it shut, wondering if any of the bondage clothes for the models can be removed and hoping I don’t have to open the case at the airport as might have some explaining to do….!

SATURDAY - Oh my god it’s early 5.30AM!!!!!!!! And the taxi is here to collect me with Alison Dace already inside. Always scared i'm going to sleep in when such an early start as definitely not an early bird… Snooze in the taxi I think. L’Oreal always sends out a program of what is planned throughout the whole trip, who? what? where? How? Etc, and it will be the first time we have presented it so it will be great to get some feedback.
We land in Poznan and are greeted by 2 L’Oreal technicians Edyta and Ratajczek and a translator Anna who I met last time, she has a great little style going on Japanese Manga meets vintage tweed, so easy to spot. We are rushed off to a casting at the Poznan L’Oreal Academy where we need to choose 6 girls for cut and colour makeovers which we manage really easily as the turn out was fantastic about 40 girls were there so spoilt for choice. Once the girls were picked we began the colour makeovers with the help of the technicians and Anna the translator of course, the colour techniques need to be salon friendly but inspirational too, the trends collection works brilliantly for this as there are no boundaries or limitations, perfect! It’s 9.30pm and the models are finished so off to the hotel to check-in and get some food and some sleep as early start tomorrow 7am to finish for a Master class to start at 10am.

SUNDAY - The Master class goes off without a hitch, the models look great and the audience were really excited to try the techniques in the workshop session. We finish at 5pm and head straight to the train station for the next leg of the tour…. Battling with 2 heavy cases and stairs a plenty we manage to catch the train to Warsaw with seconds to spare. We are sat in 1st class(because were worth it…)which is a bit oldie worldly , separate cabins with a corridor running down one side, nice and private for relaxing for 3hrs. No more work this evening as too late but staying in a nice hotel which has a fabulous fusion restaurant, one of the perks of travelling.

MONDAY - The next morning sees another early start as casting and preparation need to be done before an 11am Master class, so all hands on deck. Alison Dace and I have worked together for soooo long now that it is a real breeze no matter how much pressure is on and feel we can conquer almost anything….. She can pay me later. We are working in one of the Prestigious Salons in Warsaw ‘Atelier Leszek Czajka’, the owner is a celebrity hairdresser who is a big TV star too so Poland’s version of our Andrew Barton. It’s always interesting to me to see inside salons as it helps you get a feel for the business there etc.
Once again the models are great and we are spoilt for choice, it’s no wonder half the models in London are polish their gorgeous and with so many natural cool blue bases to choose from I’m in heaven…well almost.
The Master class is really well received and 20 hairdressers get ready for the workshop session extra sections are brought in and 2 models are sat on the same chair but manage to re-arranged things for a better fit, even Leszek managed to get a new do from Alison Dace!
We are staying in Warsaw for the night and a dinner has been arranged at a Beautiful boutique style manor house style restaurant, no time to change though we are whizzed straight there from the salon, the weather was lovely still so we were sat outside all al fresco style, Fab.

TUESDAY – Alison left really early to fly back to London and Mario Failla is flying in to help me present the final Master class in Cracow. I’m on a train to Cracow so 3hrs to chill and take in the scenery, well catch up on some emails at least. We are working in a Salon/Academy ‘Atelier Roman’ for the preparations and the seminar tomorrow but in different rooms and floors each day it is quite a maze but has lovely candles burning along the halls and stair ways to help you find your way. The models are already there waiting for us so we cast straight away. The models are more reserved in Cracow but we still manage to find some great girls to get our messages across. One of the great things about travelling to different countries is finding new colours in Poland they have Luo Fresh which is a range of colours that work on pre-lightened or natural hair but in interesting tones such as rose, pineapple, kiwi, grey, orange and a few more which are nice as a soft result so nothing like crazy colours, so need to find some room in the case for some samples…
The colour preparation goes smoothly and we are off for sushi in no time.

WEDNESDAY – All the models have arrived on time and the make-up briefing has gone well, so just need to finish off some final colour work and take the models through their final rehearsal so time to put my choreographer cap on,1, 2, 3 and 1, 2, 3 lol. The team at Roman and L’Oreal worked hard and really looked after us, truly helping to make the event a big success; Mario charmed the room as usual with his inspiration and his enthusiasm. We Packed the huge case for the final time and headed back to the hotel for a couple of hrs to re-charge and freshen up ready for dinner, which was probably the first time through the whole trip that I‘d have had to myself…How rude! Dinner was at a lovely Italian underneath the main square and after there was dancing…well when in Rome etc.

The tour was a success, we had let our hair down and all that was left was to carry our hangovers and suitcases back to London. Thanks again to everyone who helped throughout the mini tour we couldn’t of done it without you.

Tracey Gallagher x