Expensive-looking hair colour

You know when you have the perfect hair colour. It looks great and you feel good as it flatters your complexion. 

Finding the perfect hue can be difficult even for the professionals. I should know I have worked with several hair colourists. When other hairdressers comment how gorgeous your colour is, you know that you have got it right.

My success is down to the expertise of Clara Ingesson at the highly-acclaimed Windle & Moodie in London’s Covent Garden. It looks so natural that you would not know it has been coloured. This is the mark of expensive-looking hair.

Expensive-looking hair
Courtesy of Windle & Moodie

Clara has got the tone right. It works with my complexion and does not fight it. She also instinctively knows how long to put the colour through the ends. This part of the hair can be dry, especially if your locks are long and, therefore, will suck up colour faster.

“If you are using one colour, you have to ensure that you still get tones running through your hair and the ends are lighter than the roots, otherwise it will look unnatural,” explains Clara. “If you are blonde, a couple of highlights to frame the face maybe all that is needed."

Clara also points out that you alter your make-up seasonally, so you may need to tweak your hair colour prescription.

My success

I asked Clara what is the most serious hair crime. “Home colourants,” she says.

“So many people come to us for colour correction caused by DIY colour. They think they will save money by doing it themselves. But, ultimately, it costs them more as it has to be corrected.”

It is hard when you go into a store to gauge the right shade from a picture on the box. “The results shown do not take into consideration what you already have on your hair to begin with,” she explains. “Also people tend to leave the colour on the lengths and mid-lengths far too long so it gets darker and darker. Only a professional can begin to put that right. A pro can see how porous your hair is so will keep the colour for the right amount of time.”

Colour can look different according to the lighting. Clara always looks at my hair in natural light before she touches it. 

Before you think about colouring your hair yourself, go first to a professional. You should explain if you cannot always get to the salon every few weeks. Your colourist can advise you what to do in between visits.

If you make a mess of your hair you may find your hairdressing bills far more expensive than if you went to the salon in the first place.

By Daralyn Danns

For more information about Windle & Moodie visit windleandmoodie.com

Destination Lake Como, Italy

Image you have stepped off the world and landed in paradise. Because that is the only way I can describe Lake Como. 

Lake Como from Como
Courtesy of

Provincia di Como
Settore Turismo
Ufficio Promozione

Picturesque villages hugging the shoreline, stunning villas with manicured gardens set against a backdrop of mountains make this sophisticated little corner of Northern Italy seem like a film set. Only the sight of ferries chugging backwards and forwards across the blue still waters reminded me this beauty spot was for real.

“Watch as the haze lifts and the midday sun changes the colours,” said my Italian art master from the Abele Experientia Artis, as I was enjoying my lesson. After learning how to prepare colours using antique Renaissance techniques, it was time to unleash my own talents. I certainly did not create a masterpiece but I had a lot of fun and learnt plenty about colour and lighting. 

“A treasure whom the earth keeps to herself”, was how the poet William Wordsworth described Lake Como. And I could see why. This wonderful vision made me starry-eyed and, no, I did not see George Clooney, who has a villa here. The only star seducing me was the inverted “Y” shaped Lago di Como as the Italians call it.

Aerial view of Bellagio’s peninsula with Villa Melzi

By Lanfranconi

After arriving from Milan, I glimpsed my first sight of the lake at the city of Como. The silk capital of the world, as it is known, sits on the southern tip of the lake. It has grown-up around the magnificent Duomo (cathederal) which started to take shape in the 14^th century and and took nearly 400 years to complete. It is a fusion of styles but mainly late-Gothic Renaissance.

Sauntering around the pretty streets of the medieval town taking in the historic sites. I was soon seduced by Como’s elegant charm. However, my visit was short and sweet. Before long it was time to take the hydrofoil to the small town of Bellagio. Once a Roman settlement it has grown into the main resort and has everybody who visits smitten. 

Awash with pastel-coloured buildings, a labyrinth of cobbled streets lined with cafés, restaurants and chic boutiques, climb their way up the hill to the centre. Sitting by the tree-lined wharf with a glass of prosecco, I felt a million miles away from reality. Here I was soaking up Old World glamour and I could not get enough of it.

The gardens at Villa Metzi

Walking into the luxurious Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni (not to be confused with the Villa Serbelloni) was like taking a step into the days when travel was all about style. Here period charm melds with unpretentiousness. It was enchanting. This was such a lovely hotel that I could have stayed there the duration of my trip. But the allure of the grand villas and their gardens fronting the lake was calling. 

Villa Melzi d’Eril, built in the early 19^th century by Francesco Melzi d’Eril, count of Lodi and vice president of the First Italian Napoleonic Republic, has the most spectacular gardens studded with rare and exotic plants. There are also Egyptian sculptures and Roman statues to marvel at. A more romantic garden would be hard to find. 

No wonder the likes of Leonardo da Vinici and Queen Victoria stayed at the 15^th-century Villa Serbelloni, now owned by the Rockefeller Foundation. You cannot visit the villa but you can enjoy the gardens that slope down towards the lake and the jaw-dropping views that they enjoyed. (Can only be visited by guided tours.)

In the evening, I climbed up the steep steps that lead up from the lake to the main shopping streets to have dinner at the family-run Ristorante Bilacus. Sitting on the secluded terrace, decked out with flowers, I enjoyed a most delicious meal. This is what I call Italian cuisine, good quality fish served with mixed vegetables simply cooked. I would go back just for the chocolate cake which I had for dessert. It was so moist, it melted in the mouth. The service here is excellent. The owner, Aurelio Gandola makes sure that everybody is well looked after. 

Bellagio’s centre: Salita Serbelloni at sunset
By MT – Afb 1999

I think it would be hard not to eat well in this town. The perch, a speciality here from the lake, I had for lunch at the Bellagio Sporting Club was also worth writing home about. 

The next day I took a 20-minute ferry ride to Tremezzo to visit the stately Villa Carlotta which dates back to 1690. Once the home to a marquis, the villa is now a museum. The gardens, bursting with plants and trees from around the world, were the big draw for me. They are stunning. 

By the time I had finished sauntering around the grounds, I had worked up quite an appetite. So I visited the five-star Grand Hotel Tremezzo which was close by. This opulent establishment with Art Deco interiors has a beach club with trucked-in sand and a “floating pool” on the lake. 

After devouring salmon sashimi followed by cooked-to-perfection sea bream, I boarded another ferry to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Villa del Balbianello, in Lenno. This monument to Italian adventurer Guido Monzino which rises up on a small wooded promontory above the lake, is renowned for, you guessed, the beautiful gardens. 

Lake Como has many other gorgeous towns such as Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia along its shores vying for your attention. Time was of the essence so I picked Varenna. 

This tiny, so-pretty town clings to the eastern shore of the lake. Stroll along the winding lanes and you will come to the Villa Monastero. Once a monastery and a noble’s residence, today's visitors are drawn to its lakeside gardens.  

Lake Como has a unique magical quality where I found tranquillity and a peace of mind that is so rare to find.

By Daralyn Danns

Getting there

British Airways flies to Milan (Malpensa Airport) from £45 each way. Visit  britishairways.com to book and for the cheapest rates

Take a short train ride from Milan to Como(for times visit trenitalia.com) and take either the slow boat (2 hours) to Bellagio or the hydrofoil (1 hour). Alternatively, take a train to Varenna and take the ferry from there

I stayed at the spectacular Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni. Rates from £395 per room (including breakfast) per night based on two people sharing. To book and for the best deals visit villaserbelloni.com

For tourist information about Lake Como visit lakecomo.it

Or call IAT in Como phone 031/269712 lakecomo@tin.it , Bellagio 031/950204 prombell@tin.it  (You can also visit Promobellagio’s website bellagiolakecomo.com) and Menaggio phone 0344/32924 infomenaggio@tiscali.it

For details of art classes with Abele Experientia Artis visit abeleexperientiaartis.com/en/