Brigitte Bardot, you little minx. HOW DO YOU GET YOUR HAIR TO LOOK LIKE THIS? Believe me, I've tried to throw myself out of bed, racoon-ring my eyes in liquid liner, and crazy pin my fauxhive into some semblance of devil may care nonchalance, but it never quite turns out like this. The photos above are what I had in mind when I thought, "Bedhead's good, right? Bedhead can be good, if you just-" (mouthful of bobby pins, scalp jabbing pinning motions) "And then it kinda..." (fanning top of hive with free hand, hairspraying it to bejesus) "There!", oggling my own reflection for possible improvements.... Only "there" was more like "Did you sleep there last night?" as opposed to "Now THERE'S the look I was going for!" Brigitte, what is your secret?
My hair inspirations, in chronological order-- Cher (high school, dead straight, center parted, near waist length), Zelda Fitzgerald (jawbone bobbed, geometric in the front and shaped in the back), Kim Novak (ill-fated experiment with white blonde hair), Jean Seberg (shorn boy short to regrow hair damaged in Novak phase), and Louise Brooks (just for fun, but it turns out flat ironing the thousand cowlicks my hair is heir to...not so much fun). That brings us up to two years ago, when, after a bad haircut too many I decided to just never, never cut my hair again. Not for split ends, not for a trim, not for love and money. From the Brooksie bob, my hair is JUST NOW elbow length.
Which brings us to our current state of "everyday I'm beehivin'". I love how easy the kind of hair I do IS to do. Procedural, as follows:
- Brush hair into tight ponytail.
- Pull ponytail through pony tail loop once more until ends of ponytail are alllllmost through but not quite.
- Pin ends to nape of neck. Pin the half ponytail towards front of head.
- Fan middle of ponytail into parabola shape. Tug at edges until arriving at desired shape.
I'm willing to put in the time if I get to look like an early sixties' siren. Do I lighten it or leave it, though? And let us not forget how Bardot uses ornamentation! I've taken to sticking velvet bowties in my hair on the occasional lark, but see how well she uses a velvet ribbon tied in a bow to various effect.
I'm telling you, she's almost got me convinced it's worth the trouble.
Who's YOUR hairstyle icon? Any tips on how to achieve the four B's (Brigitte Bardot Beehive and Bangs)?
Enjoy a singing, beautifully coiffed, though B & W video of our lady of flawless hair below. Isn't she even more gorgeous on film? She has those dark silent film eyes that just glitter.
I have long since decided that Brigitte sold her soul to the devil to achieve such perfection. It's the only way that she could be THAT perfect.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't know how to do this hair either but would LOVE to have it.
Yes yes yes!! Her hair is so glorious, though I suspect there's some faux cheveux going on there.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I have no great secrets, except set it with big curlers for bounce and wave, and then tease, tease, tease the heck out of it. I had a beehive period in high school where I washed my hair like once a week, keeping my rat's nest of a bouffant tied in a silk scarf at night. Fun! But greasier locks do make for the most volume.
Oh man, I've been thinking beehive lately too. My locks are finally long enough to do some tricks with but alas, it is always up in a pony tail. I'll try the pony-pouf method of lazy beehiving when I get home! I bought a blond fake hair fall that matches my own dye job quite well. I want to use it to fill up a beehive. I think that may work! I have a vintage party comin' up and I'm dreaming of updo's like the examples you have here! Thanks for the inspiration ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've had a hunch for a while that hairstyles featuring extreme volume that we see in movies, TV shows, and photos of the time were achieved by using hair rats, extra hair pieces, or even wigs much more often than people nowadays assume. BB had long enough hair to get some nice pouf the natural way with teasing or just piling it all on top of the head, but for people looking to recreate this look who don't have that advantage, I would say not to be shy about adding to what you already have (just like what Amber Von Felts said).
ReplyDeleteRecently I have been experimenting with my own homemade, all-natural hair rats and can now create some new lovely styles. (Don't say no until you've tried it!) Planning on posting a tutorial sometime soon on how to make one...
I absolutely think of this as my wedding do. Would it look nice for a wedding, with a classic off-the-shoulder wedding gown? The only problem is that I wish for a lil' tiara & I'm not sure if it would work fine with the Briggite Bardot coiff.
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