Although the 2018 Toronto Internation Film Festival has officially cleared out, we’re still not over the incredible red carpet looks celebrities served this year. Hitting all the points for fashion, makeup and hair is Natalie Portman, yet again.
At the premiere for Vox Lux, Portman graced the red carpet wearing a ballet slipper mauve Dior Haute Couture dress. The ensemble was complemented with a soft, smudged smoky eye and soft tousled waves. But believe it or not, the entire look was created in less than an hour! Celebrity hairstylist Bridget Brager, who worked with Portman that evening, reveals Portman only had 50 minutes to get from shower to the red carpet. “We were under a time constraint, so we kind of collectively decided on a great blowout,” says Brager.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BncYl5hgTry/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
To help you recreate the same romantic waves at home in zero time, Brager walks us through her steps.
- To start, wash the hair with a gentle shampoo and conditioner. “Shampoo and conditioner is a great foundation. There’s not a red carpet style that I do that is not on wet hair or freshly washed hair,” says Brager.
- Brush damp hair with a boar bristle brush and divide it into sections to part the hair into place. To create Natalie Portman’s clean and defined side part, Brager used the Mason Pearson Boar Bristle Brush ($314). “Sometimes hairlines can be tricky, so if you have any kind of curl in your hair — and Natalie has naturally curly hair — you want to pay close attention to the hairline. Using a boar bristle brush, really allows you to get close and it is so important because it also adds a lot of shine to the hair,” she says.
- Using a round brush and a hairdryer, take a section of hair and begin to blow it out. Brager uses an Ibiza Hair Round Boar Brush ($90) T3 Cura Luxe Dryer ($365) for this step.
- Before moving onto to the next section of hair, prime the same section with Herbal Essences Volume Airspray ($8). “Hairspray offers really good memory and hold. I love the Airsprays by Herbal Essences because it’s the strongest [hairspray] and [it] still leaves the hair soft and brushable,” she explains.
- After setting the hair with spray, using a wide curling iron, start at the ends of the hair and wind the hair upward. For this step, Brager used the 1.25” barrel of the T3 Twirl Trio ( $370) which is a customizable curling wand that comes with three interchangeable clip barrels.
- Next, allow the curl to set and cool by clipping it with a duckbill clip (a large bobby pin will work, too!) while you repeat the steps above to the next section of hair. *Pro tip: It’s super important to follow these steps with one section of hair at a time to achieve smooth, piece-y waves.
- Once all the of the hair is blown out and curled, brush the hair in place to set your part. With a rattail comb, gently tease the hair at the crown for additional volume. You can skip this step, but Brager encourages a little teasing to the hair for any red carpet look. “When a style is photographed it shrinks. If you were to see her [Natalie Portman] in person, it would look beautiful and perfect. But we have to add a little more volume for red carpet photos,” she explains.
- To complete the look, finish the hair with a dime-size amount of Herbal Essences Moroccan Argan Oil-Infused Crème ($8) for additional shine and smoothness.
