While the UK marvel at Stella McCartney’s kit for their Olympic team and the Italian Olympians get fitted for their team Armani suits, we Irish treat our Olympic team’s Mums to a spot of pampering ahead of their departure for the London Olympics 2012.

Earlier today we popped along to see P&G Professional Ireland’s VIP Day in Dublin where Irish Olympic athlete’s Mums got their hair styled by the country’s top Wella Professionals Stylists and received a full beauty makeover, courtesy of Olay and Max Factor celebrity makeup artist, Lyndsey Cavanagh.

After contributing greatly to the development of their sons and daughters and now doubt made many sacrifices along the way, today’s pampering session was a welcome pat on the back for these special Irish Mums.

See how to wear sportswear as streetwear with these street style pictures we took at the event

More pictures from the event below.

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We’ve turned to award winning hair stylist Ciaran Nevin of Shampoo.ie to show us how to do the perfect blow dry.

They’ve got a great ‘Ask the Expert’ section and there’s a whole section devoted to video tutorials too, packed full of useful ‘how tos’ on hair-care musts like how to simply wash your hair correctly or getting that blow dry right whatever the occasion.

P.S. Want to win Kerastase hair care products, chosen by Ciaran, tailored to your hair type?   Enter to win from Shampoo.ie!

Back in January, we predicted the top hairstyles for 2010, and the crop was one of them. Luckily it suits most face shapes and adds a “thickening effect” to fine hair if you have it. Let’s look to some of celebrity’s finest cropped styles for inspiration.

Carey Mulligan

Back then we were spellbound by the pixie cut that English actor Carey Mulligan sported, and she’s become our number One Hair heroine since, with her fashionable appearances at The Cannes Film Festival, 2010.

Pictured, Carey wore an Azzaro peter pan collared dress for the premiere of Wall Street 2 at Cannes. Charming the home crowd for her first time on the red carpet at Cannes by wearing a French designer, the collar is made of magnificent crystals.

Emma Watson

But the pixie or cropped hair cut really came into its own a couple weeks ago when Harry Potter star Emma Watson chopped off all her locks.  At first glance,  I didn’t like it, but it’s grown on me and I can now see that it really shows off a beautiful eyes and lashes, both of which I’d never noticed before.

In fact when Keira Knightly chose a cropped cut back in 2007, it really emphasised her cheekbones, taking away from her signature pout, which was hailed as a breath of fresh air.

It’s rumoured that Watson went to great lengths (excuse the pun) to get the part in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo movie, where they are still looking for the leading lady (Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart and Ellen Page are also in the running for it). The role could bag Emma £10 million over three movies, and with no further Harry Potter movies planned, she’s keen to keep the money coming in.

Frankie Sandford

Frankie Sandford of The Saturday’s (pictured) crop is side swept, and longer than the pixie that Mulligan and Watson wear, but delightful all the same.

So is this new hair style the cream of the chops? I certainly think so. Inspired by these lovely ladies, I got my own hair cropped last week –indulging in an all round fabulous experience at Charles Worthington in Convent Garden, London. My new style it’s more Frankie from The Saturdays then Emma Watson, but am loving it all the same.  Check out their website for which face shapes suit certain celebrity styles.

For more celebrity cropped hair ideas, see the gallery below.

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Hair Trends for 2010

Hair Trend We Like: Fringe

For as long as there have been glamorous movie stars we have wanted to copy what they look like. For decades now women have tormented hairdressers wanting a ‘Jackie O’, the ‘Farrah flick’ or ‘The Rachel’ do.

This year is no exception as hairstyle trends continue to be celebrity inspired.If you’re confused about which hair style to go for, here are some top hairstyle trends for 2010 inspired by some leading ladies:

1. The Blake

This hairstyle, which is currently the most requested style in Manhattan hairdressers, was brought to our attention by its namesake, Blake Lively, and is the newest rage for long hair. Full of invisible layers, to pull off this style perfectly, leave heated rollers in until they’ve cooled.

Suits: Thick hair, oval and heart shaped faces

It reminds me of my friend Elaine, who, when her husband was asked “which item would Elaine not leave the house without” , he answered (correctly)” her rollers”. Yes she has fab hair!

2. The Posh

When Posh cuts her hair, the masses follow. She showcased this choppy bob towards the end of last year which has converted into a must have cut for those looking for a different short style with loose waves this year.

Suits: Most face shapes. Not for curly hair or straight hair if you don’t have time for maintaining the style.

3. Salma Hayek

This is a comination of Hollywood glamour, grunge and glossy  – all at the same time.

Suits: Fine to medium thickness hair, round and oval faces. Avoid if you’ve got thick hair.

4. Carey Mulligan

This is a new take on the Pixie haircut with softer, longer layers. It’s a very wearable short style – I love it on actor Carey Mulligan, seen here at the Golden Globes.

Suits: Suits most face shapes. Perfect for giving a “thickening effect” to fine hair.

5. Cheryl Cole

I breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs. Cole chopped off her Barbie like extensions (so did L’Oreal probably who got into a lot of trouble over them!)  – with the result being a long layered bob.

Suits: Heart shaped faces especially and most face shapes. Requires high maintenance in the form of curling tongs almost daily.

6. Lily Allen

Finally I’m loving this soft choppy cut as sported by Lily Allen. It’s shorter at the front and longer at the back with feathery layers.

Suits: Thick hair and round face shapes.

If January sees you as broke as I am after Christmas, a savvy tip for haircuts is The Robert Chambers school of Hairdressing on Grafton Street. It’s over Vero Moda and is wayyyy cheaper than a salon if you’ve got some time on your hands – 10am and 2pm Mon-Fri and 5.30pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.  I got my own hair cut there last week, saved myself €70 and would highly recommend it. More details on The Savvy Shopper.

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Hair trend we like: Fringe

Boho plaits

Today we introduce this season’s best hair and makeup tendencies. For Spring beauty 2009, you will find the whatshewears.ie team’s favourite Spring styles and the top products for getting these looks.

Straight Hair

This doesn’t mean the end of beachy waves or curls anytime soon, but this season is all about straight, swingy hair, if you can imagine such a thing. Unlike the GHD straight hair of previous seasons, this look is full of natural, movement with no need for straight properness. Think Claudia Schiffer who captures this look perfectly and her fabulous flowing mane. To get this supermodel-type hair, here are some key tools of the trade:

My hair stylist once advised me to brush with a paddle brush to dry my hair, not a round brush. It gives you bounce and smoothness,all at the same time. The best brush to achieve this is The Body Shop’s Paddle brush (€9.65)

To get your hair feeling smooth and silky use Redken’s Satinwear 02 Ultimate Blow-Dry Lotion.

Bo ho Up do’s

..are a totally differently glam hair do for those of you who don’t have long locks. See how to sport this trend which we covered a few days ago.

Bold Orange Lipstick

Chloe Sevigny wears this lip colour no matter what the occasion or season. This sassy, bold shade was really big on the runways this spring, seen combined with messy hair at Proenza Schouler’s fashion show.
How to achieve this look? Leave your face “barely there”, with some mascara and let this lip shade take centre stage.

The easiest to come by lipstick in this shade is Mac’s Lady Danger (€11.20) which is described as vivid, right coral red.
Try this blood-orange lip colour by Max Factor’s Vivid Impact Max Lipcolour in Ms Right (€7.20).

Purple Nailpolish

If you haven’t already noticed, the colour purple was huge over winter and is big again this Spring. Zac Posen’s runway was full of futuristic violet shades which can by hard to pull off. Instead we have opted for the darker shades of this colour scheme, letting you dip into the trend without looking too space age!

Check out this luscious purple lacquer by Laura Mercier or a rich dark violet in the fabulous form of Vendetta by Chanel (€18).

Awards season is upon us again and the whatshewears.ie team is very excited to be giving you the lowdown as to what Kate Winslet et al wore to The 2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards.

We didn’t care so much as to who won which acting award as all eyes were on the frocks.  This year however, we were a tad disappointed to see that the emphasis was on black. The stars stuck to safe, black dresses with the exception of a few - Frieda Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire fame pulled off a powder pink Oscar de la Renta tulle number which would’ve looked twee on anyone else.

 Three trends emerged at this year´s awards:

SENSITIVITY in light of the current economy.  The lack of £4 million worth of borrowed bling from Chopard seems to be no longer appropriate amongst actors.  Let’s see if the trend continues at The Oscars on February 22^nd

Avoiding a fashion faux pas or influenced by the wintry British weather, the big screen glitterati played it safe – BLACK was the colour of choice on the night

The dresses were upstaged by the HAIR.  Penelope, Kate, Frieda and Angelina all grabbed our attention with their magnificent hairdos

1. Kate Winslet wore a Zac Posen plunging black gown with a fishtail skirt.  These are great for showing off hourglass figures and we sigh with relief that Kate has not succumbed to the size 0 pressure of Hollywood.  She’s certainly “having a moment “and note that she only wore £1 million worth of Chopard diamonds.  Brava!

2. Angelina Jolie lived up to her goddess status once more in a black Armani gown with an acid yellow trim.  She opted for a huge beehive hair style and Christian Louboutin shoes

3. Penelope Cruz looked quite the flamenco dancer although her gown was quite similar to Kate Winslets (see Trend 1 above).    ”Pe” was curvy in a velvet Azzedine Alaia number with criss crossing straps.  Her dramatic fringe and Nefertiti-type do scored a 10 in our style stakes.

4. Demure Emma Watson showed her patriotism at the BAFTAS by choosing a designer from home; a black Temperley dress with floral straps. Find your perfect Temperley dress in Ireland at Costume (10 Castle Market, Dublin 2, 01 679 4188)

5. Sharon Stone defied age and worked (and matched) the red carpet wearing a floor length red corseted John Galliano gown

 Find out what the Hollywood stars will be wearing at the glitziest red carpet event of the year aka The Oscars, in our next edition of What She Wore