Mother of three Helena Nord used to live in Zhuhai in southern China before her family moved to Beijing in the summer of 2017. She had always been prepared to travel far for a good hairdresser. “Good hairdressers were not easy to come by in Zhuhai, so my girlfriends and I would normally go to Macao when it was time to trim those split ends,” she smiles. Yes, Helena has a nice sense of self-deprecating humor and was the perfect candidate for a make-over. She did have a moment of panic the day before the makeover, as she wanted to make sure that she would get a say and not be dragged into something she didn’t like. After a bit of encouragement from the team, Nord realized that it’s not called a makeover for anything – so she decided to go with the flow. Not only did she agree to try something new, she also suggested to go shorter than the length hairstylist Anna from Catherine de France had originally planned.
A classy bob below the jawline framed Nord’s face, but the real change consisted of something she had never tried before in her life: dyeing her strawberry blonde locks! Anna suggested highlights in order to “lift” Nord’s natural color slightly.
The result was truly stunning while staying natural, so a happy and relieved Nord could finally sit back and enjoy the styling and pampering. Anna went for a wavy vintage styling and completed the look with a bold evening make-up featuring smoky eyes and nude lips.
With hair and makeup done, it was time for Nord to slip into a beautiful, deep purple dress from the China/US-based brand Dream Cloud Couture. The brand aims to combine Chinese traditional heritage with modern Chinese design, and in terms of the fabric, this qipao-inspired dress is made of something special. “Perfumed cloud silk” is a type of silk which is obtained by adding pressed yam fruit and mud from local rivers in the Guangdong area to raw silk, in order to create a special color as well as a thicker and heavier type of silk. Due to the craftsmanship required, it is also known as “soft gold.”
The all-important accessories for Nord’s photo shoot were provided by Bettina from Seeds of Serenity. The lime green pompom earrings were the perfect contrast to the purple dress, and some sparkle was added with a delicate, beaded bracelet and a matching long necklace.
The exclusive cocktail bar Finders Keepers provided the perfect backdrop for an elegant photo shoot, and with newfound inspiration and courage, Nord waltzed out into the Beijing Friday night, looking more glamorous than ever.
Get This Look
Catherine de France
Tue-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun-Mon 11am-6pm. 1/F, East Avenue Bldg, 10 Xindong Lu, Chaoyang District. 朝阳区新东路10号逸盛阁首层. (8442 5120)
Dream Cloud Couture
WeChat: luckycloudcouture
Jewelry by Seeds of Serenity
This article appeared in the beijingkids November 2018 Beijing Makers issue
Photos: Uni You
