Philip J. Smith's Blog: Bohemian Braid to Romantic Updo

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Bohemian Braid to Romantic Updo – Notting Hill Hairstyles

Hair Romance x Batiste collaboration

Inspired by my recent London travels, I have created two hairstyle tutorials to take you from day to night. First up is this quick and easy bohemian braid that you can do in curly or straight hair. Then I'll show you how you can build on it to create a sweet romantic updo inspired by the roses of England.

One of the reasons I love travelling is to find inspiration in new surroundings. I love to sit in a café with a coffee and just people watch. I could do it all day! I'm fascinated by how a destination changes people's styles.

In London, I noticed how many women were embracing their curly hair. There was also this kind of effortless style on the streets – lots of unfinished braids and loose curls.

Inspired by this London style, I've included these elements in two of my new favourite hairstyles that I think work equally well here in Australia.

First, the loose bohemian braid. I'm just working with my natural curls that I have given a little bit of a boost with the Batiste XXL Volume Spray. You can see my video here on how I get mega volume in my curls.

Bohemian Braid Tutorial

What you need:

Step-by-step:

Flip your hair over to create a deep side part, leaving some strands loose around your face.
Pick up a section of hair at the front, split it into three and create a Dutch braid. Cross the right section under the middle and then the left under the right. On the next section, add in some extra hair and combine it into the braid.
After couple of braid stitches, continue adding hair only to the right side of the braid and angle your braid straight across.
Once you reach level with your ear, stop adding in hair and angle the braid down, finishing in a regular braid.
To secure the end of your braid, you can use a hair elastic or alternatively you can just slightly backcomb the end of your braid to leave it loose and unfinished.
You can finish with spritz of hairspray or shine spray if you need that extra little sparkle.

Then you're ready to hit the streets, explore all the gorgeous little shops along Portobello Road and pretend you live in a pastel pink house in Notting Hill.

English Rose Romantic Updo Tutorial

Later in the day, you can transform your bohemian braid into this cute romantic updo.

What you need:

Bobby pins
Batiste Hair Spray
Batiste Frizz Tamer (optional)

Step-by-step:

Building on from the bohemian braid, we'll create a loose twisted updo on the left side out of the simple braid in the style we've already created.

Start by picking up a section of hair from the right and twisting it over to the left. Loop it around your finger to create a rose-shaped bun and pin it in place next to your braid.
Continue twisting small sections and looping them around your finger to create little rosettes. Weave a bobby pin through the middle of the rosette and then underneath to pin it to the rest of your hair. You can also weave bobby pins between two rosettes to connect them.
Once all your hair is twisted up, you can leave some pieces of hair loose around your face for that romantic finish.
A spritz of hair spray helps hold the style and the Frizz Tamer helps to hold down any existing frizz and prevents more from forming.

These two styles worked beautifully in second day hair and you could even swap them around, wearing the updo in the day and leave just the braid out at night.

Thanks to Batiste for partnering with me to share this travel inspiration and new tutorial. The Batiste minis are always in my handbag and are perfect travel essentials – especially for long-haul flights.