Adam Reed, Henry Holland and Babyliss bloggers event

I was delighted when a note from Babyliss arrived in my inbox inviting me to attend an evening with designer Henry Holland and hair-preneur Adam Reed at Soho House to celebrate the launch of the Babyliss Boutique Collection.

Adam and Henry talked us through their creation of the “Pastel Punks” show at SS12 London Fashion Week: Henry took inspiration from Tour De France cyclists, while Adam looked to Felicity Kendal from “The Good Life”. Henry divulged his three key trends: pastels, prints and rose gold as the finishing accessory; Adam demonstrated summer hair looks on models.

Adam used the Babyliss Loose Waves wand to create messy, natural waves revealing his top tip: “Take big chunks of hair and wrap around the wand, roll the wand up and down the length of the hair”... think of a rolling pin action.

Adam, Henry and a model dressed in House of Holland SS12 (sorry for the poor iphone picture quality...!)

I couldn’t resist introducing myself and asking Adam some questions...

Ten minutes with Adam Reed:

Me: Adam, It’s such a pleasure to meet you; I absolutely adore Percy & Reed. Your product range has gone down so well with the beauty press - you guys are everywhere! How have you done it? You must have amazing PR?!

Adam: Haha! Yes we’re lucky that so many of the beauty editors are fans! I’ve been doing their hair for years so that made it much easier to launch our own products.

Me: Of all the products and brands you must have access to, why Babyliss?

Adam: We get sent so many new things to try at the salon, we’re absolutely bursting with options but I really love and trust Babyliss, it’s a fantastic heritage brand. The hairdryer from the Babyliss Boutique Collection is amazing; I take it with me to the shows as it’s lightweight but very powerful.

Me: The Percy & Reed dry shampoo is one of my favourites from your range, it smells amazing and the packaging is very cute...

Adam: I love it too, it was actually one of my secret weapons at the SS12 show; I used it as the finishing touch to a look, giving the hair a more lived-in look, and adding volume and texture. 

Me: The Loose Waves tool looks fantastic; I can’t wait to try it out. The only thing is that with my blonde highlights my hair can look really dry and frazzled; I always worry that too much heat will damage it further...

Adam: I wouldn’t worry about it, the Loose Waves wand is ideal as it has five heat settings. For your hair I’d go for a low setting and use lots of heat protecting product. I’m always saying to my clients, “You wouldn’t put a scolding hot iron on a silk shirt would you? No, so don’t use a hair tool that’s too hot.”

My beauty blogging friend Billie: I’ve just cut my hair into a bob, what can you suggest for styling my hair this summer?

Adam: One of the models at the show had hair like yours – short and straight – but I used the Loose Waves wand to give her volume and texture and it looked amazing!

Me: Thanks so much for chatting to us Adam; it’s been great to meet you! 

Adam, me and Henry!