Celebrity Edit | Hair by Félix Larivière

Several months ago when I first met Félix Larivière, personal stylist to some of the hottest names in Hollywood (Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Julia Roberts to name just a few), I was struck by several things: A) how drop-dead gorgeous he is (seriously, though), B) what fun he is to talk to (utterly charming), C) his vast wealth of hair know-how and D) how drop-dead gorgeous he is. Oh wait, I already said that. Moving on…

So a few weeks ago when I was invited to have a one-on-one hair styling session with him, trust me when I say that I jumped all over that.

Bio: award-winning stylist Félix Larivière who hails from a small town in my province of Québec, started off in this field at the tender age of 16. After stints in both New York as well as Paris, he returned back to [our] shared hometown of Montréal, where he quickly rose through the ranks in both the Fashion and Film industries, making a name for himself with regards to his innovative approach of merging cutting-edge trends with a deep knowledge base of how hair performs. Presently, Félix is the Canadian spokesperson for John Frieda haircare products, a range whose provenance hails from the UK with several of their products having achieved cult status (who hasn’t heard of Frizz-Ease?).

Upon my arrival and after a brief consultation, Félix got to work; with an armada of John Frieda products laid out before us, he opted for just 2 items to use on my hair: Frizz-Ease Moisture Barrier Hairspray and Frizz-Ease Miraculous Recovery Repairing Crème Serum (which also made Allure’s Best of Beauty List this year!) Beginning with an all over light spritzing of the spray, he then proceeded to take large sections of hair which were rolled up into giant curls, each of which was then held in place by just 1 clip. That’s it. The entire procedure took maybe 10 minutes, and while we let the hair set for a few minutes, we went on a zany selfie spree. In between all the fun, I was able to interview him about hair trends; according to Félix, we’ll be seeing a major return to sleeker and almost retro-looking hairstyles (think 40’s & 50’s glam), looks that he feels will be a driving force on red carpets everywhere come awards season. I can’t help but agree, as makeup trends appear to be pointing in the same direction as well, with matte vampy red lips having a total ‘moment’ right now. Not that a red pout will ever go out of style, mind you.

This event took place at Panache Salon located in the eastern end of Montréal, where a simple yet totally urban sign hangs above the door to one of the coolest spots in town; decorated with sheets of unfinished plywood, you’d be tempted to think that the place was under construction, but a closer look reveals how cleverly the entire look has been put together with the aim of keeping the focus on you, the client – and not the decor. Well played, I say.

After removing the “rollers”, Félix proceeded to explain how this one setting would go on to create four looks; if I hadn’t seen it firsthand, I would never have believed it. Gently shaking the curls out, Look 1 was all about that Bardot dishevelled just-rolled-out-of-bed hair (which I totally LOVED), but then grabbing a paddle brush, he proceeded to smooth everything out and within a minute, Look 2 was created: a side-swept Veronica Lake-esque wave that cascaded over one shoulder. So gorgeous. Moving on quickly, Look 3 was all about a messy updo, with pieces framing my face in front and the party in back – all held in place by just 2 strategically placed hairpins (and created lightning fast, I might add). Finally, Look 4 was full-on GLAM, with sleek waves on top and serious volume on the ends. Félix capped this last look off with a dollop of the serum that he then ran through my ends for some extra moisture, and a light dusting of the spray for a touch more hold. Four – count them – FOUR impossibly stunning looks created without the use of styling tools, and the insane part? The time span was about 6 minutes from look 1 to look 4. Like I said, unbelievable yet so true.

Panache Salon, 1126 Maisonneuve West, Montréal (514-509-1126)

Arrival … (and why is my hair so damn flat-looking?)

The John Frieda army … and my water served in a Mason Jar (cute, no?)

weapons of mass construction

let the games begin

Look One

Look Two

Look Three

Look Four

(and now you know where this look came from, as seen in my sidebar!)

I don’t care if this looks cheesy – just look at MY HAIR

A huge THANK YOU to the amazing team at Citoyen Optimum for making this magical day happen, to Panache Salon for being such a gracious host, and most importantly, to the maestro himself, Félix Larivière for making me look & feel like a major celebrity.

PS: So, does this mean that J-Law and I are now BFF’s by association?