My Day at the BAFTA EE Style Suites

A few weeks ago I posted this image on my Instagram account….

Once the cameras had stopped rolling, I started my tour of the Suites.

First up was the mens bit which began with 88 Rue du Rhone – a Swiss watch brand who is the first watch partner to come on board for BAFTA. They launched in the UK last summer in Selfridges and John Lewis and always feature 8 or 88 diamonds in the watches (sounds like my kind of watch!)

The nominees visiting the Style Suites will be offered a selection of watches for them to choose from. Dustin Hoffman and Anthony Hopkins have already been gifted the gorgeous rose gold watch which is big and masculine (but I still think would look great on my wrist!).

For the second year running, Hackett is the menswear partner for the 2013 BAFTA Style Suites. This year they are offering classic suits either single or double breasted. The trousers are formal and black with piping.

They had some gorgeous velvet suits in jewel colours with peaked and grosgrain lapels, finished off with a pleat front or marcella shirt.

The accessories are big – it’s all about the bow tie which they also offer in velvets, dress scarves in silk or velvet, pocket squares, tie pins, and dress studs replace the buttons to lift the shirt more.

On offer to the nominees is a selection of 12-15 dinner jackets and 3-5 options of dinner suits. Stephen Fry has already confirmed he will be dressed by Hackett, but sometimes they won’t know until hours before that a nominee wants to wear one of their suits, so it’s all hands on deck to get the alterations completed within a couple of hours!

Now the men’s stuff is all rather interesting and gorgeous, but the girlie bit of the story now begins…

I was taken into one of the bedrooms where Lancome had set up their make up stations. They are the official make up sponsor for the BAFTA Style Suites and provide a team of make up artists (and this year, skincare experts to prep the skin) on site to make the stars beautiful before they head out onto the red carpet.

Skincare Preparation

• Lancôme Eau Micellaire Douceur Express Cleansing Solution
• Lancôme Bi-Facil Non Oily Instant Cleanser
• Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate – this is their award winning lightweight serum which makes skin glowy – this is a red carpet must!
• Lancôme Hydra Zen Neurocalm Extrême Cream-Gel

Red Carpet Make-up

• Lancôme Eclat Miracle Complexion lluminator in 01
• Lancôme La Base Pro Perfecting Make-up Primer – this is a lovely oil free primer – it felt gorgeous, and left my skin mattified and radiant at the same time!
• Lancôme Effacernes Concealer in shade 02
• Lancôme Teint Idôle 24H foundation in shade 010 – this foundation is perfect for the red carpet as it’s long lasting and feels so light on the skin.
• Lancôme Poudre Majeur Loose Powder in shade 01
• Lancôme BAFTA Limited Edition Blush Subtil in their best-selling shade Rose Sable (exclusive to Selfridges) Full review of this here
• Lancôme Ombre Hypnôse Mono eye shadows in P102 (Sable Enchanté) and M204 (Très Chocolat)
• Lancôme Crayon Khôl in Noir 01
• Lancôme Artliner felt eyeliner in black
• Lancôme Rouge in Love lipstick in 240M (Rose en Deshabillé)
• Lancôme Contour Pro lip liner in 303 (Rose Boisé)
• Lancôme Hypnôse Drama mascara in black 

Next stop was Asprey, the official jewellery partner, who hosted the nominees party for the 5th year running. They dress the nominees and presenters of the awards, by sending them a selection for them to choose from, or they come to the Style Suite and pick something out (oh, how the other half live!)

Some of the pieces on display at the Style Suites, and on offer on to the nominees and presenters were the Daisy Collection – this is an iconic and classic collection, boasting coloured diamonds and big earrings.

The Lattice Collection is typical red carpet jewellery – the lattice necklace costs a whopping £120,000, with the matching bracelet ringing in at £78,000 (no wonder there was also a guard in the Asprey room!). These kind of pieces will go with anything, which makes the style a big favourite for the nominees. My personal favourites were the feather earrings, which when they are worn, are super duper sparkly as they have so much movement and are constantly catching the light.

The Whimsical Woodland Collection is a fun, quirky collection designed by Brit, Shaune Leane, which has a main icon of the oak leaf. The pieces are less traditional and perfect for anyone wanting something a bit different. The oak leaf necklace is simply stunning, as was the intricate detail on the charm bracelet.

Onto the dressing room of the suite, where I got to meet the legend himself, Mr Charles Worthington who personally styled my hair.

Like the Lancome Team, Charles’ team also discusses with the nominee what they will be wearing to try to achieve a complete overall look. There will always be the classics like Hollywood curls and dolly buns on the tops of the head, but this year there is more of a 60s vibe going on, and a lot of the styles will be looking not too “done”.

Once one look has been done on one person, the team ensures that nothing remotely similar is done on another of them – that is a complete no-no. Even things like a simple plait would have to be totally different to ensure each person looks completely individual.

The unpredictable February weather can cause havoc with freshly styled hair, but the team of experts is on hand, and standing backstage with brushes, pins and products ready to make sure the nominees’ hair is perfect the minute before they step onto the stage.

My last stop before the final surprise was the bedroom that had turned itself into a giant Escada-dress-filled walk in wardrobe. There were short dresses, long dresses, bright dresses, dark dresses…. oh so many dresses!

Manequins were dressed in some of their iconic pieces, with photos of stars wearing their dresses at previous awards.

I was invited to try on anything that took my fancy (squee!) and I went for this gorgeous Grecian number – I thought it tied in with my hair rather well. It was amazing – the top part was made of chain mail which draped over the shoulder… I felt a million dollars wearing it, apart from the fact it was tiny and I couldn’t do the zip fully up, it was perfect.