Late scratchings are your only hope for a Cup Day blow dry
Months of planning, deep pockets and early morning starts are necessary for winning form at the race that stops a nation, especially if you need a blow dry.
Hair salons, eyebrow technicians and teeth whitening clinics are reaping the rewards of the race day revival, but crammed reservation books have those seeking last-minute attention for frisky flyaway fringes sweating harder than a jockey after a breakfast buffet.
Jacqui Fagg gets ready for the Melbourne Cup at The Blow, making use of their fascinator application service with stylist Melina D’Aprile.Credit:Scott McNaughton
“We have been fully booked since September,“ says Phoebe Simmonds, founder of The Blow boutiques in Melbourne and at Sephora in Chadstone. “Our wait list is out of control and getting bigger. We’ve even extended our hours to cope with the demand.”
“Blow dries can take 45 to 60 minutes, so we have been encouraging customers to get dry styles where we use tongs, which are fast and effortless and can only take 15 to 30 minutes.”
Simmonds has trained staff to be ready with hairpins and to position elastic for those who have booked the extra service of having their hat or fascinator professionally affixed.
“Customers were coming in past years with their hats, and we hadn’t allocated the time. Things quickly got out of control. This time we’re ready.”
Bookings for eyebrow entrepreneur Amy Jean Linnehan’s Melbourne salon reached capacity more than a month ago, with the Brisbane and Sydney outlets of the Amy Jean Brow Agency accommodating the Cup lunch crowd who like to raise perfectly arched brows at the sight of a feather masquerading as a hat.
Brow lamination is a popular pre-Cup treatment from Amy Jean Linnehan. Credit:Instagram/@amy.jean.official
“The Melbourne Cup signals the start of the party season that continues throughout November and December,” Linnehan says. “At this time of year there’s strong demand for lash extensions and brow sculpting and tints. There has also been a rise in customers looking for brow laminations.”
Lamination is a treatment that makes brows sit upwards, at its best providing a bushy result reminiscent of Brooke Shields and in the hands of amateurs making eyebrows resemble static electricity victims.
“Most of our clients like the instant attention and prefer to leave more serious treatments like brow tattooing and lip tattooing until January.”
Those unable to have hair above the eyes pampered are seeking alternative treatments for a last-minute glow-up. Teeth whitening has joined the checklist of aesthetic treatments.
“We became fully booked two weeks ago,” says Dr Rita Trak from Dental & Skin Clinic in Bentleigh East.
A last-minute fix for Jacqui Fagg at The Blow in Melbourne from stylist Melina D’Aprile. Credit:Scott McNaughton
“Some of them are people who couldn’t get their spray tan or haircut in time,” Trak says. “They will look at what else they can get. It’s something instant that scratches the itch and satisfies the pick me up.”
“We suggest that people get their teeth attended to 2 weeks before a major event but there are customers that leave things until the last minute. Ultimately, whether it’s a tan, hair appointment or your teeth, as long as you’re left smiling it’s going to be a good day.”
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