Hair and Beauty in the Fashion Capital of Paris

Paris Hair & Beauty
March 23, 2016

Paris, the famous French capital, has to be one of the most beautiful cities I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Everything from the intricately designed architecture, to the fabulous tasting food and the elegant fashion scene makes Paris a must see destination in Europe.

Luckily, each year I get to travel down to Paris for Adaptable Travel’s annual Hair and Beauty event. Student groups from all over the UK spend 3 days in the inspiring city of Paris expanding their ever growing knowledge of the hair and beauty industry. Students receive talks off some of the most popular and experienced brands in the world. The event is always a great success and I am proud to be a part of it each year.

The first day of the trip is filled with travelling down to France. I travelled down by Eurostar (from London St Pancras), which is always an enjoyable experience. The check-in is always simple, and security is pleasant. There are lots of places to grab something to eat and drink plus plenty of areas to relax in before your journey. The only thing I would say is that seating in the waiting area can fill up quickly, but trains are very punctual so nothing to worry about. The Eurostar trains are spacious and comfortable, they offer Wi-Fi on board, along with a snack bar. The journey is nice and quick, it’s definitely my preferred mode of transport to get to Paris.

I arrived in Paris around 3pm with my colleague Alicia, the weather was dry and sunny with icy winds blowing frequently. Although it was a little chilly, I was happy to be in Paris and ready to get started on the event. Our Wella event is now in it's 13th year and 2016 marked the first year we welcomed the incredible Make-Up-Forever brand to the event taking the place of Lancome.

We took a taxi to the Hotel Bedford where the beauty seminar took place and had a quick meeting to run through a few things. We then walked through Place de la Madelaine to the Wella studios. I always love the walk from the two venues as you get to see many pretty shops and tres fashionable people. My favourite part of this area is L’eglise de la Madeleine. The church stands tall and wide; it is simply magnificent.

Once everything was organised we took another taxi to get to our hotel. Driving in Paris is a little hectic to say the least, there is always plenty of bibbing and people driving into the tiniest spaces down the winding backstreets of the city.  The journey was the perfect opportunity to take a few snaps. The ivory buildings stood tall, some of them had bright green floral décor hanging from the windows which looked incredible. As I was taking photos, the famous Eiffel Tower began to grow taller and taller over the buildings. It finally appeared full, in all of its beauty. We decided to cut our taxi journey short and take a walk under the Eiffel Tower, on our way to the hotel. As we walked underneath, I couldn’t believe this was a human creation, it is truly inspiring.

In the evening, we ate at the Bistro Saint Dominique. The restaurant was petite and true to Parisian style. The food was amazing, I had a medium-rare, rib eye steak with hand cut baked chips and for dessert the classic Chocolate Fondant.  We took the metro back to the hotel, which is always eventful. We realised that we could catch the Eiffel Tower lights if we waited a few moments, they are so pretty and sparkle so bright. It’s something I could sit and watch for a while and it never gets old. After a few pictures, we headed back to the hotel.

The seminars took place on the second day, so after a quick breakfast we set off to the Place de la Madeline on the tube and the day began!

This year Wella introduced their new Ecaille collection, where they explored the natural multi-tonal hair colour trends with two live cut demonstrations on both female and male models. Wella also held a question and answer session where groups got to speak with the hairdressers about the demonstrations. At the end of the seminar groups were handed their well-earned Wella diplomas and had free time in Paris.

At the Make-Up-Forever seminar students were welcomed with a free gift bag containing an eyeshadow pallet and lip-gloss. The students were given live demonstrations on a few different make-up looks including Day Make-Up, Night Make-Up and French Fashion Cat Walk Make-Up. I sat through the Make-Up-Forever seminar and learnt a lot of different techniques and technical information about the application of make-up. The make-up artist Mathieu was truly inspiring as he effortlessly transformed the models. Throughout the seminar, groups were given the opportunity to take photographs with the models.

Once the seminar was completed, the groups were handed their diplomas and had time for a question and answer session. Students then had the option to head off to the Make-Up-Forever boutique where they were given a private shopping experience, along with a discount of 40% on all make-up. I took a trip to the boutique myself, which was a quick walk from the venue. The layout of the shop was amazing and everyone was really excited. The atmosphere was great and there were lots of assistants on hand to help- the students had a lovely experience there.

Overall, it was another successful year for the hair and beauty event. I left Paris feeling inspired by both the seminar and the city itself. Paris is always unforgettable and a must see destination for any students or teachers looking to further their knowledge and experience in the hair and beauty industry. It is certainly a city I will visit again and again.

Until next time Paris-Au Revoir...
by Educational Travel Consultant Summor Asantewa-Ampaduh

If you are interesting in visiting Paris and exploring the hair and beauty scene please contact Adaptable Travel today for further information .