Celebrity hairstylist Craig Gangi used Leonor Greyl products to create Anna Kendrick’s perfectly textured blowout for the Los Angeles red carpet premiere of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.
Craig has known Anna since her career skyrocketed after the release of the film Up in the Air. He knows her hair and knows what works. “Anna’s hair is naturally curly and fine, but she has a lot of it,” Craig says. “Curly hair tends to be dry so one of my favorite products for her is the Leonor Greyl L’Huile de Leonor Greyl.” Anna wore the oil overnight and shampooed it out on the day of the premiere. The cult-classic product “softened Anna's hair and gave it instant shine.”
There are some days when Anna’s happy to sit back and let Craig’s expertise guide the creative process. But for a big event like this, the hair is a product of teamwork. “It’s a group effort among Anna, the stylist and me. We all give input. It’s a big premiere, and we want her to feel her best so we work together to achieve that.”
Anna’s short Calvin Klein dress had what Craig calls a “futuristic, metallic” finish. “It almost looked leather.” The dress made a very modern statement, so Craig says he wanted to counter that with a beautiful, simple blowout. “It’s the kind of blowout every woman dreams of.”
To prep, Craig applied the Leonor Greyl leave-in styling cream Leonor Greyl Eclat Naturel. “It nourishes dry hair and adds a bit of texture and separation. You know how hair can sometimes look like a helmet? This breaks it up and adds movement. It's almost like next day texture, which looks great in photographs.” Craig finished his prep with a bit of Leonor Greyl Mousse au Lotus Volumatrice on the roots to add a little lift.
Using a round boar hair brush, he blew the hair out smooth, lifting at the root. As he dried each two-inch section, he’d pin it up. “I let the set cool off for five minutes, and when you remove the pin curls it creates volume but not curl.” He brushed out each section and sprayed with Leonor Greyl Voluforme, which “locked in the set without being stiff or sticky.”
"After brushing it all out I gave her a side part and pushed her hair behind her ears to show off her beautiful shoulders and the gorgeous strapless dress." The end result: “Imagine a Parisian woman leaving a salon after getting a great blowout.”
Craig’s tip for getting a perfect blowout every time: “Don’t use too much product. A lot goes a long way, especially with high-end products like these. Too much product weighs the hair down. Also, less product means hair is touchable, soft and effortlessly beautiful.”
Leonor Greyl products can be purchased at www.leonorgreyl-usa.com, shop.nordstrom.com and www.saksfifthavenue.com.
Celebrity hairstylist Craig Gangi created the look for Anna Kendrick for the red carpet premiere of ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ last night using Leonor Greyl products.
Anna wore a Stella McCartney graphic print, asymmetrical one shoulder dress. Craig wanted to soften the look and give her romantic, Old Hollywood hair. He used Veronica Lake as the inspiration for Anna’s style, but gave it a very modern sexy twist.
“Since Anna’s dress was a one-shoulder dress, I wanted to cover the other shoulder with her hair, like Veronica Lake. Anna arrived with damp hair to the hotel room. First I used the Leonor Greyl Eclat Naturel Nourishing and Protecting Styling Cream on her hair. I worked the cream through her hair using a vent brush; by using a vent brush, the cream is evenly distributed through the hair, from roots to ends. I really like the Eclat, as it makes hair silky smooth, it’s a wonderful detangler, adds lots of moisture to dry hair while it protects it against hot tools. The Eclat is also the best defense against frizziness.
After brushing the Eclat through Anna’s thick tresses, I then used the Leonor Greyl Mousse au Lotus Volumatrice—Volumizing Styling Mousse at the root area only. I wanted her hair to have lift and volume. Then with the vent brush, I dried the roots first to give the hair movement and body. I wanted to keep as much volume as possible for the look.
Once the hair was blown out, I then lightly sprayed each 1 inch section with the Leonor Greyl Laque Souple Styling spray, then used a 1 ½ inch curling iron on each section. Once a section was curled, I then used bobby pins and pinned it. I pinned up all her hair like an old school roller set. After the hair cooled off, I then took the set out, brushing out each pin curl, one-by-one lightly with a Mason Pearson brush, and teased the roots for volume. I then lightly sprayed the section again using the Laque Souple and them used a 1 inch curling iron, and used the iron in the middle of the strands to create a wave. I really like the spray, it’s light and keeps hair feeling soft and touchable, but will hold the style in all night.
I wanted to create an effortlessly chic and undone style. When you set the hair first, as I did, the style will last all night long, from the premiere to the party and longer.”
Leonor Greyl products are available at www.leonorgreyl-usa.com.
