Style Obsession - Twiggy, Jean & Cary

Tragic Jean Seberg. 

Ask anyone who knows me for the last 40 decades, they would know I long been a fan of the short cropped hair cut.

Cary Mulligan

Well the fact that I look better with short cuts. Trust me, I had it long I have it medium; both aged me and I feel like crap. I must say I am pro-minimal maintenace. I hate fuss. Plus, girls with long hair all look just about the same anyway! Short hair says spunk, character, guts and individualism!

Having to rub hair care products in to maintain shine and tie hair up in the morning for work is hell for me. So it is no surprise I had it all cut off (years of keeping it to its length, snipped of in a minute. Woohoo!)

There is also the other reason why I favour a short cut, how it makes me feel every time I had my hair cropped. I feel lighter, younger, happier and overall, in control.

Since moving to England I have yet to find a hair stylist who is able to do what my friend cum hair stylist friend in Singapore (Anne from J Salon, Far East Plaza) can do. I cannot wait to go back to Singapore to have her do her magic and indulge in our usual girly banter about our husbands.

Really love Twiggy's look back then - individual and unique with a touch of cheekiness.

Anne knows my love for the short, heavily cropped look, with long fringe and a bulky crown. I showed her pictures of Twiggy and Jean Seberg for inspiration at the first visit, what follows was years of friendship between us; and never need me to tell her what to do. I think it is the hair stylist's job to understand our face shapes, and to adapt our hair cut to our lifestyles, hair type and head shape. And Anne covers all those areas in wonderful ways. Every visit all I do was I sit comfy and let her do whatever she wants. An hour later I would walk out, as if on air; feeling a million dollars, and strangely MORE powerful.

I went to David Youll in Paignton for my hair cuts, upon recommendation from locals. Service is not cheap, products they use are good but what bothers me is how little my stylist contribute to my hair cut. Which I find rather unnerving and annoying at the same time. Joules, my hair stylist; she is nice enough in a saccharine way. After several visits, I find she has little or not knowledge of the shape of my head (which is flat at the back); I had to constantly remind her to texture my hair at the crown. Even having a bob I need to tell her how I want it (angled, not a bowl shape).

Just couple of days ago I switched to another salon located near the beach when I need a trim.
The bloke is Ian from Scalps Salon. Lots of chit chat and laughter, and he really textured my hair in after listening to my needs. And he even did a undercut, which is cropped at the back, with layers overlapping slightly (with wax, this helps to bulk up and look fuller on the crown). It is much shorter visually, which disappointed me as I did walk in with a shaped bob by Joules. With the textures, the bob looks like I had a short boyish cut; but Ian promised the shape of the bob is still there. So I reckon after couple of weeks it will grow out nicely, bob shaped with lots texture. Fingers crossed. But Ian has shown more initiative and understanding than Joules, so I am quite happy to go back to him when the back needs cropping in again.

No one should underestimate the value of a good hair cut. If you find a stylist who makes you feel as good as how I felt leaving the salon, stick to him/her. Saves you having to give instructions or explain how you want your look to be (ridiculous when we should be advised how we should have our hair done to look our best. They are supposed to be the professionals for crying out loud) and it is the best therapy without surgery.
So let's see in a couple of weeks how things grow out.

For now, enjoy the collection of pictures I used as inspiration for my hair.
There is Twiggy and Cary Mulligan; then there is the late Jean Seberg.
Jean, an American actress; starred in 37 films in Hollywood and in France, including Breathless (1960), the musical Paint Your Wagon (1969) and the disaster film Airport (1970).

In August 1979, she went missing and was found dead eleven days later in the back seat of her car, which was parked close to her Paris apartment in the 16th arrondissement. The police report stated that she had taken a massive overdose of barbiturates and alcohol (8g per liter). A suicide note ("Forgive me. I can no longer live with my nerves.") was found in her hand, and "probable suicide" was ultimately ruled the official cause of death by the French coroner. However, it is often questioned how she could have operated a car with that amount of alcohol in her body, and without the corrective lenses she needed for driving. One year later, her former husband Romain Gary committed suicide.

Tragic it is. One wonders how she would look now if she would have lived. Looking at how Twiggy has grown in her years gracefully, bet Jean would have too. RIP.