Jennifer Coolidge is known for many things. In particular, there’s her larger-than-life personality, her iconic character Tanya McQuoid in White Lotus and her penchant for classic red carpet glamour. The latter certainly came to pass at last night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards. Coolidge walked the red carpet in an elegant Saint Laurent gown that she teamed with diamond-encrusted jewelry. However, the real star of the look, at least in our opinion, was her throwback hairstyle. With plenty of volume, big barrel curls and a sleek black headband that keeps it in place, Coolidge channeled a classic French style made popular by Brigitte Bardot in the ’60s. The look was created by celebrity hairstylist Sami Knight, who it also counts other celebrities like Gwen Stefani, Rita Ora and Adele as clients. “I really wanted Jen to be the ultimate bombshell,” he says. “This look is all about big volume and soft waves.” Keep scrolling for a step-by-step guide to recreating Coolidge’s red carpet hairstyle.
To start, Knight prepped Coolidge’s damp hair with this mousse. The formula is lightweight and provides flexible hold and body. She applied it directly to a brush and ran it through his hair for “perfectly even distribution.” Take it from us; Don’t sleep on mousse if you’re looking to create a voluminous hairstyle. It is very useful, especially for those of us with fine hair.
Here’s the brush Knight used to evenly distribute the mousse through Coolidge’s hair. He said the “two-tiered teeth gently detangled her hair while evenly passing through the mousse.”
Once he was sure the product was evenly dispersed, he reached for his blow dryer. Using medium heat, he blow-dried Coolidge’s hair while using a round brush to accentuate volume.
Before applying heat directly to her hair with a curling iron, Knight sprayed this hairspray on each section for two reasons. The first was heat protection (protects hair up to 410 degrees). The second was staying power without stiffness (remember, a Brigitte Bardot look is all about volume with movement).
From there, Knight moved on to curling her hair. “I took a 1.5-inch curling iron, pulling 2-inch sections, and curled around the barrel,” she says. “I curled all of the hair from the top of the ears towards the face, and all of the hair above this I curled away from the face. Doing this is flattering as it gives the shape a touch of voluminousness.”
Then, it was time to tease Coolidge’s hair. “Once her hair was curled, I used a tail comb to comb the hair at the crown of the head as long as I could,” says Knight. “It’s important that the hair can stand on end if you want it to hold up to brushing.”
Once that was done, she applied this hybrid volumizing and texture spray to her full length. In doing so, she added even more volume and body to Coolidge’s hair. The bigger the better.
Once the volumizing and texture spray hybrid was applied, she went ahead and smoothed the top layers of Coolidge’s hair with this brush for a voluminous yet seamless look.
“We added a black headband to the front of her hair for a touch of that ’60s Bardot vibe,” says Knight. “You can also add a ribbon or a large barrette, whatever you want!” All in all, it’s not a red carpet look that’s too hard to recreate on your own.
Just don’t forget to spray some hairspray. Knight says the final touch was a “generous drizzle” of this hairspray to hold the style all night. It works for all hair types and offers a firm hold without stiffness.
A matte faux fur headband? Yes please.
These are comfortable and incredibly inexpensive.
We like this inflated version of a classic headband.
This headband is stretchy and has an ultra-wide fit.
It doesn’t have to be a headband. You can also channel a ’60s Bardot vibe with a simple black bow.
Next, recreate Zendaya’s Dreamy Pink SAG Awards makeup using the exact same products.