Brisbane hairdresser Wendy Gunn has been crowned global winner of the L’Oréal Professionnel Style & Colour Trophy in Paris, in what was L’Oréal Professionnel’s 110th anniversary. Being the first Australian to win the prestigious title, the 69-year old hairdresser from Ink For Hair in Newmarket took out the title for creating a contoured pink look inspired by the colours of the rising sun.
With more than 50 years hairdressing experience under her belt, Gunn defeated 32 finalists to compete in the hair-raising extravaganza on Monday 25 March at Salle Pleyel in Paris with the theme of the evening paying homage to L’Oréal Professionnel’s natural and chic French style as well as the brand’s dedication to innovation. This was not Wendy’s first crack at the big stage, in 2018 she was awarded the Australian L’Oréal Colour Trophy and was therefore qualified to compete at the international level. This year she went on to take out the top prize, winning an invaluable three-day VIP trip with L’Oréal Professionnel to further enhance her skills.
Wendy was thrilled to compete at this level saying “it felt a bit like the hair industry’s version of Eurovision and proves you don’t need to be defined by your age. Never stop learning. I’m always eager to explore the latest trend techniques. L’Oréal Professionnel has given me the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m so excited to further develop my skills to take back to the salon”.
Across the globe, pink tones were seen as the biggest trend throughout the competition. Inspired by a sunrise, Gunn recreated her winning look using apricot and peach colours, resulting in a rose gold tone on her model. She explains, “Exploring strategic hair colour placement is becoming the latest trend after the make-up phenomenon with contouring. To give your face some shape, you contour the hair using light and dark colours, such as the currently popular bronze tones”.
L’Oréal Professionnel General Manager, Cara Riley, said L’Oréal Colour Trophy is the longest-running and highly esteemed competition showcasing exceptional hairdressing talent from across the globe. “Last year, Wendy created an innovative and fashion-forward look which demonstrated exemplary skill and technique. This is a huge achievement for Wendy to take out the International title as well as represent Australia for the first time.”
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