Sinéad Kelly London in Barnes has emerged victorious in the beauty battle for the prestigious 2016 L’Oreal Colour Trophy crown. Sophie Williams goes to have a trim and a chat with the team behind award-winning glamour
London is awash with choices when it comes to hair and beauty salons; from independent and luxury, to high street brands and big chains. Having won the prestigious L’Oreal Colour Trophy Award, Sinéad Kelly London – located in the picturesque riverside haven of Barnes – stands a cut and colour above the rest.
Winning the L'Oréal competition has seen some great press, social media hype and many new faces through the doors of Sinéad Kelly London (myself included) all looking to be styled by the winning salon. Blessed with wild Afro-Caribbean curls I was intrigued to see how the stylists would tackle my misbehaving locks. Normally challenged with seeking out London’s specialised afro-hair salons I felt confident once placed in the knowledgeable hands of Sara Bergantini who created the salon's award winning cut.
Sara gave me some great advice on how to maintain my hair at home whilst remedying some old miss-shapen layers into a beautiful cut and blow-dry. Having seen my hair transformed in to a glorious work of art, I felt it was time for a one-to-one chat with the salon's talent about their award winning look.
Before & After
The L’Oréal Awards are known as the ‘Oscars’ of the hairdressing world, attracting the biggest names in the industry, fashion icons and the latest up-and-coming talent. This is the industry’s longest running and most fashion-led hairdressing awards, so creating a winning look takes months of preparation and competition is certainly tough with entries from more than 1000 salons across the UK. Entrants are challenged to create an inspirational, well-executed colour, cut and overall on-trend fashion look.
“It’s a real honour to have won this award as this means we have been judged the best salon in the whole of the UK”, says owner Sinéad Kelly. As the first independent salon to ever win the award, Sinéad proudly displays winning images of her team in celebration around the salon.
“I am absolutely delighted for my team. Mostly I am proud at what they have achieved. They worked so hard and created an amazing look. We are looking forward to working closely with L’Oréal Professionnel throughout our winning year and are delighted that they loved our look”.
Winning colourist Vas Mikellidis and stylist Sara Bergantini created a fashion forward Autumn/Winter 2016/17 look inspired by the denim trend using the beautiful model Natasha Underwood. Mikellidis’ art and graphic background helped the team steer the look and visualize what they wanted to create, whilst it was stylist Sara’s job to give the haircut a classic, yet punchy style that balanced the bold colour with an on trend image. Often judged for being so fresh faced at the young age of 21, Sara has certainly accomplished a great deal in the early years of her career.
The model’s make-up was created by Cristiana Maxim, which gave the look its strong industrial finish. The winning statement blue colour really shone through with a classic bob-cut to frame Natasha’s face shape, finished with a fierce leg flashing LBD and gladiator sandals to take the look from commercial to catwalk editorial.
John Bradley Photography
Natasha Underwood with the winning look
“The L’Oréal Awards have been running in the UK for 60-years, so we were all a bit shocked to be honest, L’Oréal is a traditional French brand, which is well – traditional. So it was a big risk and I don’t think the judges would have ever thought they’d pick a blue”, says Vas, team colourist.
Whittled down from Regional Finalists, to Paris Finals, to National Winners, the team now looks to the final big event in Lisbon, commencing at the end of October 2016. The ultimate prize is up for grabs as the Sinéad Kelly London team pull together once more to create the show stopping blue at the first ever world L’Oreal Colour Trophy Awards. Sinéad Kelly's team will be representing the UK and competing against the best of the best; international winners from all over the world recreating their own national-award-winning looks.
“This event really gives appreciation and kudos to hairdressing, it breaks that preconceived barrier of just going to get your hair cut and showcases how creative we can really be”, muses Vas.
I left the salon madly in love with the fresh new look Sara had crafted for me and in no doubt that Sinéad Kelly and her team are going to make another colourful impression at the world L’Oreal Colour Trophy in Lisbon come October.
Update
UK Team stylist Sara Bergatini, from Sinead Kelly Salon in Barnes, beat out competitors from across the world to win the Young Talent Award at the first ever International L’Oréal Professionnel Style & Colour Trophy. The event in Lisbon hosted thousands of hairdressers from across the globe, one of the largest of its kind, with celebrity stylists and industry executives from over 50 countries.
To book an appointment with the award-winning Sinead Kelly hair salon visit sineadkellylondon.com
Check out another one of our great beauty and fashion pieces, like our recent piece from Mrs Stylist London on her top fashion tips for the school run
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