Blonde Ambition:OscarPRGirl Goes Platinum
Today we show you a BLONDE AMBITION in just 12 hours!
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| Photo (from left): Mimi Ritzen Crawford; Marissa Kraxberger |
Yesterday, in a dramatic, twelve-and-a-half-hour hair coloring marathon at New York’s Marie Robinson Salon, Erika Bearman, known to the masses as OscarPRGirl, went from deepest, sleekest brunette to palest, pearliest blonde.
If you follow Bearman on Twitter, where she wittily documents the goings-on within Oscar de la Renta’s design atelier, you know that even in the midst of zillions (zillions) of social media responses to the proposition of such a radical change, only one opinion really matters: Oscar’s.
A few days ago, when she told de la Renta of her plans, he looked at her intensely and said, “I am deeply skeptical,” recalls Bearman. Of course, he had a big smile on his face. Oscar’s final word: “Well, blondes do have more fun.”To make sure she wouldn’t regret her decision, and to ensure that the shade would flatter her skin tone, Bearman had already slipped into Ricky’s near her office the week prior to try on a range of blonde wigs (a fail-safe move all colorists recommend to clients making a major change).
Which brings us to Robinson’s Flatiron District space, yesterday morning, 8:30 a.m. Before leaning back into the sink, Bearman snaps her last picture as a brunette, sending it out to her 150,000 Twitter followers. As Robinson spreads blue bleach over the first chunk of hair, a stream of comments flows into the feed on Bearman’s phone:
“Noooo!!!” wails one follower.
“Dye your hair green and you would still look très gorg,” encourages another.
“Erika—this is very, very controversial,” chastises yet another.
And then: “The only important thing about today is @OscarPRGirl’s hair. #patientlywaitingtoseeit”
The commentary continues as strips of cotton are laid between bleach-slick curtains of brown hair. Plastic wrap keeps the layers separated, and slowly the color beneath the plastic starts to turn. Then it’s time to rinse and repeat. The hours are ticking by as Robinson begins another round of stripping the color, this time using a thick white paste with foils. Bearman has craved platinum ever since she saw Madonna’s Truth or Dare in the mid-nineties at age thirteen. In the film, Madonna’s hair is ice-blonde, her brows are black as night, and for breakfast she eats white sourdough toast with black tea. “I had that for breakfast for about ten years, I was so obsessed,” Bearman recalls.
Why did she wait so long? “I really listened to everyone else who said I would regret it, but then I decided it was really my choice—you only live once.” Or, as they say in the Twitterverse: #YOLO.Between the second and third processes, as her hair begins to shift from brassy yellow to pale lemon, Bearman begins to get excited about the fashion changes she can make with her new look. Specifically, she’s been saving a black—what else—Oscar dress that’s been hanging in her closet for the past few weeks. “With my dark hair it was all just too much black,” she reflects. “Now I’m psyched about it.” While flipping through inspiration images of blonde bombshells on her Pinterest (models Abbey Lee Kershaw and Lara Stone, Angelina Jolie circa Gone in Sixty Seconds), she and Robinson discuss styling. Of wearing her hair tousled and up, Robinson says, “Just having those little pieces coming out, that will be the sexiest.”
Robinson’s tips for maintaining Bearman’s look and protecting her hair are all about what notto do. She recommends that she use only clear or white shampoos and conditioners, and to avoid yellow oils like argan oil. Products that contain chamomile, which can change the shade of blonde, are a definite no-no. To battle potential brittleness, Robinson sends her home with ColoristCure, a deep treatment with vitamins and essential oils that promises to protect the color while conditioning the hair.
By dinnertime, Bearman is radiant. Robinson applies a toner that brings her hair to its final color, which she aptly describes as “beigey-creamy.” Stylist Kelly Sayers steps in to snip off the ends, which need a fresh trim to optimize Bearman’s hair’s health after hours soaking in chemicals. “I already forgot what I look like as a brunette!” she says. It’s time for the final reveal, and in the spirit of Oscar, Bearman calls in a delivery of champagne. He was right, blondes do have more fun.
“Noooo!!!” wails one follower.
“Dye your hair green and you would still look très gorg,” encourages another.
“Erika—this is very, very controversial,” chastises yet another.
And then: “The only important thing about today is @OscarPRGirl’s hair. #patientlywaitingtoseeit”
The commentary continues as strips of cotton are laid between bleach-slick curtains of brown hair. Plastic wrap keeps the layers separated, and slowly the color beneath the plastic starts to turn. Then it’s time to rinse and repeat. The hours are ticking by as Robinson begins another round of stripping the color, this time using a thick white paste with foils. Bearman has craved platinum ever since she saw Madonna’s Truth or Dare in the mid-nineties at age thirteen. In the film, Madonna’s hair is ice-blonde, her brows are black as night, and for breakfast she eats white sourdough toast with black tea. “I had that for breakfast for about ten years, I was so obsessed,” Bearman recalls.
Why did she wait so long? “I really listened to everyone else who said I would regret it, but then I decided it was really my choice—you only live once.” Or, as they say in the Twitterverse: #YOLO.Between the second and third processes, as her hair begins to shift from brassy yellow to pale lemon, Bearman begins to get excited about the fashion changes she can make with her new look. Specifically, she’s been saving a black—what else—Oscar dress that’s been hanging in her closet for the past few weeks. “With my dark hair it was all just too much black,” she reflects. “Now I’m psyched about it.” While flipping through inspiration images of blonde bombshells on her Pinterest (models Abbey Lee Kershaw and Lara Stone, Angelina Jolie circa Gone in Sixty Seconds), she and Robinson discuss styling. Of wearing her hair tousled and up, Robinson says, “Just having those little pieces coming out, that will be the sexiest.”
Robinson’s tips for maintaining Bearman’s look and protecting her hair are all about what notto do. She recommends that she use only clear or white shampoos and conditioners, and to avoid yellow oils like argan oil. Products that contain chamomile, which can change the shade of blonde, are a definite no-no. To battle potential brittleness, Robinson sends her home with ColoristCure, a deep treatment with vitamins and essential oils that promises to protect the color while conditioning the hair.
By dinnertime, Bearman is radiant. Robinson applies a toner that brings her hair to its final color, which she aptly describes as “beigey-creamy.” Stylist Kelly Sayers steps in to snip off the ends, which need a fresh trim to optimize Bearman’s hair’s health after hours soaking in chemicals. “I already forgot what I look like as a brunette!” she says. It’s time for the final reveal, and in the spirit of Oscar, Bearman calls in a delivery of champagne. He was right, blondes do have more fun.
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