To the rescue...

...Ojon Rub-Out Dry Cleanser. Peter Gray may want to challenge our notions of what good hair looks like, but I wasn't ready to break any barriers going backstage to the shows with no time to wash it. After a weekend in wet and windy Whitstable (alliterative and true) I could barely get a comb through. I rifled through my drawer of products and gratefully grabbed this one. And it works a treat! I tipped my head upside down, sprayed it into the roots, stood up, lifted up some sections of hair and spritzed underneath, then ran my hands through to distribute. To get a bit of root lift, I rub my fingers in little circles over my scalp and I'm ready to go. It smoothed the frizzy bits, gave it a bit of shine and smelt nice too. Result.

Luke and Lisa at Osman

Hairdresser Luke Hersheson's assistant helpfully put all the how-to's for this look up on a board, so it was left to Luke to explain where the look was coming from. He referenced early 90s minimalism mixed with Catherine Deneuve in Belle du Jour. "Her hair was always back off her face in that movie with a bit of a wave. We toughened it up with lots of Tec Ni Art Airfix hairspray at the front." The result, a gorgeous, dropped-out wave that went perfectly with the high collars in the collection.

Lisa Eldridge used Suqqu to create the understated, sheeny make-up with Pre Make Emulsion as the base; Blend Eyeshadow in 04 Shunboku, a beautiful shimmery mushroomy-taupe shadow swept over the sockets and a little bit underneath, concealer to mute the lips and a strong defined brow drawn with Eyebrow Liquid Pen.

Backstage confidential

If you've ever wondered what it's like to go backstage at fashion week (or even if it's never crossed your mind!) I recommend you check out this post on Beauty Insider, Ateh's fab blog. She really sums the whole experience...good and bad.

Wild hair at Westwood

It was all about light and shadow when it came to the make-up at Vivienne Westwood Red Label. Mac's Gordon Espinet played with creating shadows and highlighting parts of the face to mimic light hitting the face from one side. His trick to get the luminous skin was to mix Face and Body in white with equal parts of C1 or C2 and Strobe highlighter. Hairdresser Peter Gray talked through the polaroid board, explaining how the look evolved. He was all about the texture - he wanted to get hair the texture of mohair, challenging the idea that only smooth, silky hair is desirable. So after prepping with Tec Ni Art Volume Architect at the roots and Playball Texture Tonic through the midlengths, hair was messily backcombed ('like a client would do it," he said!) and curled without brushing it through then tucked up into exaggerated shapes. But it still felt soft like mohair. Out front, everyone had to budge up to accommodate Janet Jackson, but like a game of fashion musical chairs, that left Ke$ha and pal without a seat, so they stormed out. But a PR chased after them, swapped a few seats around and everyone could sit down and admire Gordon and Peter's expert work. Oh, and the clothes of course!

Model image: vogue.co.uk

Chanel catwalk spy

Found this amazing video via fab blog Hair on the Brain where a spy camera is hidden in a girls hair to give a models-eye-view of the catwalk at Chanel's S/S show. It actually made me feel a bit nervous watching it. As well as negotiating a spiral staircase to get to the catwalk, models also had to navigate haystacks and wooden pillars. When I've been to shows, I find watching models struggle not to trip up in impossible heels excruciating. But then I remind myself they are being paid a fortune and don't feel quite so bad for them. Also noticed how tiny the 'real' people are next to the models; true, the camera is on top of her head, but if I hid a camera on my head, it would still be about level with these girls cleavage (if they had any, that is). I've heard of nanny-cams and dogcams - what next - celebcams? I'd love to get a celeb perspective of a red carpet moment. WDYT - could be the new Twitter?