With six of the 10 New Zealand finalists at ColorZoom Sydney coming from Schnips PHd, competition tension might have had some entrants tearing out their hair but not this talented team which took it all in its stride.
Cutting edge Kiwis, Bethany LaneNoa and Leonie Nicholls (Manukau salon) won second and third place respectively in the highly skilled Creative Colorist section while Claudia Hogwood (also Manukau) and James Daly-Dixon (Botany salon) took out second and third places respectively in the New Talent Colorist section. All had created looks that were head and shoulders above others.
“We did the creative work back in New Zealand combined with a professional photography shoot before submitting photo entries,” says Bethany. “The global competition is open to salons all over the world and the Sydney event was to select the Australian and New Zealand finalists who will attend the global grand final in Las Vegas.”
Bethany says the awards night was “magic” and stylists had no idea whether they had placed until the announcements were made at the dinner. “It was just fantastic. Back home we had so much fun the day we did the shoot, we weren’t really thinking about winning so on the actual night we were all a bit nervous.”
Working to the competition theme of Traditional Rebels, Bethany’s beautifully executed, head-turning orange/gold colour combination exuded pizzazz with a punchy edge while Leonie’s elegant brunette coif was highlighted by stunning green tones to create a Rockabilly effect.
In the new talent sections Claudia’s sensational merging of black to silver hinted at hidden depths and James’ tousled redhead was all mercurial splendour, the lively, not quite burgundy tones, impacting powerfully. “Although only the first place-getters were going through to the grand final, we still had a wonderful time and learnt so much,” Bethany says.
“Rubbing shoulders with some amazing stylists and seeing their creations gave us such a boost and provided us with loads of ideas we can adapt to the market here. But really it’s a big thank-you to the Schnips PHd management who encouraged us to enter, provided the photo session and supported us all the way. We’re all so motivated now and looking forward to returning next year.”
