Janelle Chaplin
On her morning routine:
“Drinking a glass of lemon and hot water to start. Then I dry shampoo my hair, twist up and under shower cap, and then do a cleanse. At the moment I am using a Bliss face cleanser, then I use a serum and light SPF 15 moisturiser. I then apply my make-up which varies with the outfit.”
On her high-rotation products:
“[Dr. Jart’s] BB cream is outstanding. She also has a refreshing, oil-free gel cream moisturiser which is infused with hyaluronic acid to plump skin all day. It works like a dream!”
“I find my skin really dry from radiator heat here… so I use Perricone MD Deep Moisture Therapy for my mug to sleep in. LOL!”
Products pictured:
Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue in Too Cool
On lipsticks:
“I LOVE three brands equally – Nars, Illamasqua and MAC. I love a matte finish that lasts, I’m so busy I need to know it stays there!”
“I have tried every eye cream under the sun as I get dark circles. I use every morning and night – my favourite at the moment is actually Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector for the AM and then Ahave Extreme Firming Eye Cream for the PM.”
On products for a perfect blow-dry:
“I love Atonic – it’s a blow out fluid that gives the perfect amount of bounce but gives you smooth ends.”
Products pictured:
Sisley Eau Efficace Gently Makeup Remover
Bliss Fabulous Face Lotion with SPF 15
On her go-to two minute hair look:
“I do love a messy top knot in the day that then sets and turns to effortless texture for dinner at night. Spray some leave-in detangler and a little texture spray, pull all hair up at the crown and twist large sections on it’s self. Leave to set all day at work, shake out and spray more salt spray at night and hit your dinner!”
On her signature beauty look:
“More, more and more! Lash/cat-eye/matte red lip…Ruby Woo by MAC is still my No. #1.”
Products pictured:
On her makeup kit:
“I use all kinds of make-up. I do LOVE the Maybelline pencil with a felt tip, it’s called Master Precise, it’s basically a sharpie for your eyes! BEST EVER! And it’s cheap as chips! I also LOVE the YSL Touché Éclat and Chanel shadows.”
On the products she can’t live without:
“Eve Lom TLC face cream and Ruby Woo MAC lipstick.”
Products pictured:
“A lot of my product knowledge and choices come from working on editorial shoots, where I work closely with the models and make-up artists – there’s a lot of chat and it’s usually about product.”
“The Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel IS MY FAVOURITE THING IN THE WORLD EVER, I do this weekly and it makes my skin feel like it’s as smooth as a baby’s bum. It also glows for 2 days after, I guess its kind of like a semi permanent peel.”
On her love for Ahava:
“Ahava was actually sold to me and this is how: I was handed two droppers filled with water – one with NYC tap water and one with water from the Dead Sea. It was amazing! The tap water was almost scratchy on the backs of my hand and the Dead Sea water felt like a light baby oil! I love the hand cream and the body lotions. I also like the eye cream at the moment.”
Products pictured:
Essie nail polish in (L-R): Bordeaux, Swept Off My Feet and Cherry Blossom
Essie Good To Go Quick Dry Topcoat
Sneakers or heels?
“This is a tough one, I have ALWAYS been a heels and sneakers girl, however my heels are extreme… so its air max or 7 inch! NO KITTEN HEELS ALLOWED!”
On her beginnings:
“I’ve always had a passion for hair since being in school. When I was in the 10th grade I began styling my cousins and her friends’ hair for graduation formals, they said it was better than any professional styling they’d had done. I bought a doll head and used to pause the Oscars and replicate the hair-do’s of the actresses. Drove my mum bonkers with hairspray all up in her kitchen. After all, your hair is your best beauty accessory.”
“I am a 2 shampoo and then a mask girl every wash, which is around once a week! My favourite mask is O&M Power Base.”
On her favourite pick-me-up’s:
“YSL Touché Éclat, Juice Press, and I always go for less make up on those days – just loads of moisture and a little lash curl and mascara.”
On her haircare routine:
“I use O&M Detox Shampoo to remove the world then follow with Fine Intellect shampoo and conditioner. My hair is fine, so styling products I can not live with out are a dry shampoo, O&M Surf Bomb and then Frizzy Logic lightweight serum for the finish. I love the combo of the matt hold in a surf spray, finished with a light serum for definition! Fab on the hair!”
On her skin saviours:
“Eve Lom is my favourite products EVER – the TLC cream and the Rescue mask.”
“ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL LOVE CHANEL POLISH! I just think they get it so right. From classic colours to uber cool colours but the pallets still remain chic somehow… I truly love the dark blue as it goes well with my pale skin and it’s so easy to touch up on the go – you can not fail to fill in the chips LOL!”
Product pictured:
On her ideal Sunday morning:
“A local coffee and pastry in the hood (West Village), fresh flowers for my apartment, flicking through fashion mags (physical), catch up on beauty blogs (vitual), beauty masks, and cheeky Netflix indulgence downtown to cocktail hour… oh, and smooches/arguments with BF!”
Products pictured:
On living in New York:
“You wouldn’t have an instant love affair with NYC… the pace is like lightening and there is charm and romance around every corner… also, y’get shit DONE!”
On texturizing in two minutes flat:
“I have fine hair (all I ever wanted was an Afro!) so I love a good texturizer. I love to spray these at arms length away from your locks once your style is complete, so on dry hair. You can then re-dry in and shake or brush out for BOOM volume!”
On her most treasured pair of shoes:
“McQueen alien shaped gold vintage heels.”
Shop Alexander McQueen heels here.
On her approach to beauty:
“First of all know your skin, your tone, your texture, what finishes you like… basically the same principles I apply in my job when it comes to hair.”
Products pictured:
The great American essayist Fran Lebowitz famously said, “you’re only as good as your last haircut”, and while we acknowledge that this is an analogy not designed for literal interpretation, it’s hard to deny that a great haircut can be a revelatory experience.
Janelle Chaplin has been delivering revelatory hair experiences to girls since high school.
The gorgeous, irresistibly spirited and hilariously candid brunette is the global Creative Director for Australian hair care brand O&M; you’re probably familiar with the cool, minimalist packaging design (which is 100% recyclable to fit the brand ethos of being gentle on the body and the environment).
Janelle recently moved to New York City from London to “spread the O&M love” and launch to the US market place, but in the same tradition of musicians who discover their genius in the bedroom or garage, Janelle discovered hers in her mum’s kitchen.
“When I was in the 10th grade, I began styling my cousin’s and her friends’ hair for graduation formals. They said it was better than any professional styling they’d had done.
Does criticism get better than the wise, comparative appraisal of teenage girls?
“I bought a doll head and used to pause the Oscars and replicate the ‘dos of the actresses,” Janelle says. “I drove my mum bonkers with hairspray all up in her kitchen.”
With O&M going from strength to strength on American soil, recently landing stockists the calibre of Net-a-porter and space.nk – plus a concept store in the increasingly style-centric meatpacking district, Janelle is not a woman with piles of time on her hands. Despite that – perhaps to no one’s surprise – she always looks categorically awesome.
Hers is the enviable, pre-Millennium aesthetic of those beautiful, polished babes of the old Hollywood era – a look that requires major commitment to grooming and a general palpation of sass. “More, more, more!” she laughs when we ask her to put her signature beauty look in words. “Lash, cat eye and a matte red lip – Ruby Woo by MAC is still my number one.” And her personal approach to style and beauty is all about extremes.
“I either go all or nothing. From a simple moisturised complexion with a curled lash to a bold blow-out that’s borderline drag! He he!” And Janelle applies the same attitude to her choice of footwear: “I have always been both a heels and sneakers girl, however, my heels are EXTREME – so it’s either Nike AirMax or seven-inch heels: NO KITTEN HEELS ALLOWED!”
As for her fabulous hair?
“I like a classic bob,” she says. “I’m a huge fan of one-length hair – so Forties, so classic. I’m blessed with the natural texture of my hair when brushed out, but a few truckloads of volume wouldn’t hurt. I’ve always said: ‘I’ve got big hips, I should’ve been born with bigger hair!’”
When we had the pleasure of spending time with Janelle Chaplin we were reminded of the famous Fran Lebowitz quote about good haircuts, but perhaps our favourite recent quote is the one Janelle – a great hairstylist – offered as her words to live by: “At the end of the day we all die and a dog will piss on our grave – we may as well do it all while we’re here! LOL!” Not bad. Not bad at all.
Photography by Soraya Zaman.
Words by Susannah Tucker.
