Pembrokeshire hairdressers win place in top UK showcase final
Pembrokeshire hairdressers Gail Jephcott and Emma Price are preparing for one of the most prestigious events in the styling industry after being selected to take part in the L'Oreal Colour Trophy Award grand final in London.
The duo, who are both based at the Andrew Price salon in Narberth, will be joining ranks with some of the UK's leading hair colourists and stylists after wowing judges earlier this year with their outstanding colouring and styling skills.
'This is undoubtedly the biggest achievement in my career and we're both absolutely thrilled to have been chosen for the grand final,' a delighted Gail Jephcott told The Herald.
'It proves how the opportunities here at Andrew Price can lead to up-skilling and the chance to take part in some top professional experiences in the hair industry.
'I had an absolutely fantastic model to work with in the previous round and plans are now well underway with my next model for the grand final.'
The L'Oreal Colour Trophy Award was established way back in 1954 as a beacon for emerging talent within the hairdressing industry. Its aim is for colourists and stylists to explore previously uncharted dimensions of colour and artistry.
This year, the lineup of judges will be looking for outstanding skills in colour, general technique and placement, resulting in a stunning style and finish. Competitors are asked to take inspiration from upcoming trends to promote forward-looking and pioneering fashion. The model's clothes, makeup and accessories should also enhance the overall look that the hairdressers are creating.
'The colouring has to be done prior to the event, and when we get to the grand final on June 30, we'll have just 30 minutes to complete the final retouches with our model,' explained Gail.
'Yes, it's obviously going to be a nerve-wracking event for everyone taking part, but to reach the finals is such a huge achievement for both me and Emma, and also for Andrew Price. Without all the encouragement and support he's given us all along the way, this probably wouldn't be happening.'
The L-Oreal Colour Trophy grand final takes place at the L-Oreal Academy, London, on June 30.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Syme's silverlining underlines the value of patience
Or, at least, you're used to hearing the band's name muttered on the golf course as auld Cammy hoiks one off the toe of his 5-iron and gasps, 'that's only going in one bloody direction', as it veers wildly into the impenetrable shrubbery. Again. The reason I bring Horan into this week's meander is that his management company, Modest Golf, looks after the affairs of Connor Syme, who became the latest Scot to win on the DP World Tour at the KLM Open in Amsterdam. Horan, as you can imagine, has quite the following on social media. On the platform X, the site that flabbergasting madcaps, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, have clashed handbags on recently, Horan has over 39 million disciples. Tiger Woods has a paltry 6.4 million in comparison. Given that he's handy with the stick and ba', Horan posts a lot about golf. Back when Syme won his maiden professional title on the second-tier Challenge Tour in Turkey in 2019, Horan stuck up a message of hearty congratulations above a picture of the Fifer. Underneath flowed a torrent of gushing responses from dreamy pop fans saying things like, 'I love you', 'you are amazing' and 'will you marry me?'. Funnily enough, it was a bit like the comments of the readers under the Tuesday column on The Herald's website. This tsunami of adoration, of course, was largely directed at Horan himself and not for Syme's Turkish triumph although, amid the giddy worship by teenyboppers, was the odd response saying, 'ever since he won the Northeast District Open Amateur in 2013, I've followed Connor's career keenly.' Six years on from his breakthrough as a professional, Syme now has the KLM Open trophy plonked on his mantelpiece. As he gazed at the names engraved into the clump of silverware that was presented to him on Sunday, the 29-year-old was understandably cock-a-hoop to have his own name chiselled into a decorated roll of honour. Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie, Payne Stewart, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia? Syme certainly won't tire of giving this spoil of golfing war a regular polish with some Silvo and a lint free cloth. This win was the 150th by a Scottish golfer on the European circuit. A nice little milestone. It's a case of welcome to the club as far as Syme is concerned. Over the past few years, he's watched old amateur sparring partners like Robert MacIntyre, Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson win on the DP World Tour. In that time, he knocked on the door more times than an Avon lady but couldn't quite get over the threshold. Since 2020, Syme has had three second place finishes, four thirds and 18 other top-10s on the main tour. Eager observers would often say, 'his time will come', but there are never any guarantees of that in this game. And you can hing on a heck of a long time too. Oliver Wilson, the former Ryder Cup player, had nine seconds before he got to savour his first tour victory at the 228th attempt. Syme's fellow Scot, David Drysdale, meanwhile, played 576 events on the DP World Tour and never got over the winning line despite a number of close shaves which featured a quartet of runners-up finishes. For many, that time never comes. Patience and perseverance remain great attributes in this pursuit and Syme continues to display those in spades. The former Walker Cup player, who lost narrowly to a certain Scottie Scheffler in the final day singles as GB&I suffered a grisly thumping in the 2017 transatlantic tussle, made the switch into the paid ranks that season and marked his debut by finishing 12th in the tour's Portugal Masters on an invitation. At that time, there was a dearth of young Scottish talent on the circuit. In this relatively barren land, it was hardly surprising that Syme's sturdy showing in Portugal was greeted with the kind of triumphant reaction that could've been accompanied by the 20th Century Fox fanfare. He breezed through the qualifying school at the end of that campaign to fast-track himself to the DP World Tour, but he just failed to hold on to his card. His stint on the Challenge Tour – now the HotelPlanner Tour – in 2019 not only gave him a first pro victory in Turkey, it also equipped him with a lot of the various golfing tools that were, perhaps, missing in that rookie campaign when he'd just made a big leap from amateur golf to the rigours of the main tour. The second-tier remains an uncompromising coalface and its no frills cut-and-thrust certainly provides an eye-opening, at times eye-watering, yet wonderfully robust apprenticeship. Earn your stripes there and you've made it the hard way. Syme knows that. 'The Challenge Tour was essential to my development,' he said in a chinwag with this correspondent a couple of years ago. 'I won my first event of the season on it but still just held on to one of the promotion places. It was a hard year, but it set me up for tour life again.' It certainly did. After this latest tartan-tinged tour triumph, let's hope Syme's career trajectory continues in, well, one direction.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Angus Robertson urges Edinburgh festivals to expand
Mr Robertson said the move could to out-of-town locations, such as Leith and Edinburgh Park, could help spread the benefits of the festivals and ensure more people had 'easy access' to culture. Read more: The Edinburgh Central MSP told The Herald that a new festivals taskforce could help improve public transport services during major events like the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe and the Tattoo. And he indicated that the government would consider new 'interventions' to tackle the cost of accommodation in Edinburgh during the peak tourism season when most of its festivals are being staged. Culture secretary Angus Robertson. (Image: Scottish Parliament) He suggested that the festivals had been a victim of their own success due to the popularity of the city and admitted that some people had been 'priced out' of the coming to its cultural events. The capital's festivals, which date back to 1947, are largely staged in a small part of the city, particularly in the Old Town and south side, including around Edinburgh University's main campus. Significant changes in recent years have included the relocation of the Edinburgh International Book Festival out of the New Town and into the Edinburgh Futures Institute complex at the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Several other Fringe venues in the New Town have stopped operating, while the Edinburgh International Festival is no longer using Leith Theatre after several years of staging contemporary music concerts there. The Edinburgh International Book Festival relocated to a new home at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, near the Meadows, last year. Two new taskforces have been created in the last year which are expected to help shape the future of Edinburgh's festivals and tackle some of their biggest challenges, including rising costs, shortage of affordable accommodation, congestion in parts of the city centre and pressures on public transport. Mr Robertson instigated a new 'strategic partnership' for Scotland's leading arts festivals doing Edinburgh's annual cultural celebration last summer, while Edinburgh City Council has led the creation of a new 'festivals leadership group' which will also involve the Scottish Government and its agencies. Mr Robertson told The Herald: 'It is for cultural programmers to make decisions on where they would confident about having successful runs. 'I think it would be tremendous if venues in different parts of the city could host events for the festivals. 'There are already great venues outwith the city centre that have a lot to offer. You only have to look at the example of Leith Theatre as a potential festival venue. 'People in Edinburgh are fantastic supporters of the festivals. 'But I think there are lots of opportunities for Edinburgh's festivals to be more accessible and to make sure there is easy access for Edinburgh's different communities. 'I am confident there will be new festival venues in future that have good infrastructure links that make it easier for people to go to them and there will be greater community benefit from them.' Mr Robertson said he believed there were 'a number of ways' that festivals could be better supported in future to ensure they remain 'world-class' events, citing the cost of accommodation and public transport availability as examples of key areas to tackle. He told The Herald: 'We are going to have to understand what potential interventions there are that might be able to satisfy many of the concerns that have been raised. 'There is no getting around the fact that Edinburgh is an extraordinarily popular city. 'It is a sign of the success of Edinburgh's festivals that so many people want to come to the city and stay in the city. 'There is an issue of supply of supply and demand. I understand that some people have been priced out. 'Interventions have already been made to provide student accommodation, but we need to think about all options which might make a difference. I am open to suggestions that people have. 'But there is also a balance to be struck for people who live in Edinburgh, about quality of life in a world-class visitor attraction. These are challenges popular cities around the world also have to face.' Mr Robertson said he had asked festival organisers for their 'best information' on what public transport changes would make a difference to them. He said: 'It's really important to make sure that we make sure that, with the convening power of government, our public agencies work in partnership with festivals so that they can reach their full potential.'
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh arena opening and ticket sales dates revealed
The venue, which will span a 200,000 sq ft site in the Edinburgh Park area, is due to be up and running by March 2028. Tickets for the first show are expected to go on sale in 2027 under the latest timeline for the £80 million project. Read more: The Herald can reveal that all the funding is in place for the arena, which will built alongside a new 'urban quarter' already taking shape in the Edinburgh Park area. The new venue, which has been known initially as the Edinburgh Park Arena, will be renamed after the headline commercial sponsor of the complex, which has been predicted to generate more than £520m for the city's economy each year. AEG has reported 'strong interest' in the naming rights for the arena, which it has predicted will become 'one of the UK's most iconic venues". First announced in November 2023, the arena is expected to transform Edinburgh's ability to attract some of the world's leading performers throughout the year. Work on Edinburgh's new indoor concert arena is expected to start in early 2026. The project, which received the green light from the city council a year ago, is expected to attract around 700,000 visitors a year and create 1300 new jobs once it is up and running. AEG, which also owns arenas in Berlin, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, Shanghai, Nevada and Los Angeles, has promised to bring 'world-class live music and entertainment' to Edinburgh when the new venue opens. Edinburgh's new indoor concert arena is expected to open by March 2028. (Image: AEG Europe) When the project was first announced, the company described Edinburgh as 'one of the best cities in the world for live entertainment". It is expected to plug the biggest long-term gap in the city's cultural infrastructure. Music industry decades have long bemoaned the lack of a major indoor arena in or around the Scottish capital. The biggest year-round concert venues in the city is the 3000-capacity Corn Exchange in the Chesser area, while the Usher Hall can accommodate around 2900 if the seats are removed from its stalls area. Concerts are occasionally staged at The Playhouse, Scotland's biggest theatre, which has a capacity just over 3000, and the Royal Highland Centre, which can host shows for up to 9000 people in its Highland Hall. When planning permission for the new arena was approved, AEG said the venue would take around two years to build. Alistair Wood, executive vice-president of real estate and development at AEG Europe, told The Herald: 'Securing planning permission last year allowed us to move ahead with our plans, from progressing design work to entering discussions with contractors and sub-contractors. 'We have funding in place, and now we're in the procurement phase. Once we have a final design, suppliers and contractors we'll break ground. We hope to begin construction early in 2026. 'We're excited to start the build process as soon as possible so that we can bring world-class acts to Edinburgh. We're hoping that the new arena will open its doors during the first quarter of 2028, with fans able to purchase tickets to the first shows during 2027. AEG has existing naming rights deals in places for its venues around the world with companies including T-Mobile, Mercedes-Benz, BBVA and Accor. The company launched a search for backers of its Edinburgh venue within weeks of securing planning permission last summer. Mr Wood added: 'We've initiated discussions with a range of brands regarding naming rights opportunities. As expected, there's been strong interest in what is set to become one of the UK's most iconic venues. 'While we're still three years away from opening, these conversations mark the early stages of an exciting journey.'
