Claudia Winkleman is funny, self-effacing and has the most iconic fringe on TV; so who better to sit down with and ask for her style and beauty secrets?
Claudia Winkleman finally has some time off, after four intensely busy months presenting Strictly Come Dancing she can kick off her high heels and slip out of her ball gown and get back to what she really loves; black jeans, black boots, black t-shirt and an oversized coat (her words not ours). January is officially sofa and family time for Claudia, but as the new ambassador for Head and Shoulders she is sharing her style and beauty secrets with HELLO! – and no she doesn’t have dandruff.
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?
"Absolutely not, don't believe in them. I used to as a youngster but always broke them by four pm on the 1st."
So no get in shape resolutions for you?
"I am allergic to sweating. Seriously I get in shape by lying down. If I was to wave my arm at you now my upper arm would still be wobbling in 2018. The most I can do is swimming. I enjoy the experience of being under water, no phones, no noise, the peace of it; I do the whole Speedo and goggles but can only manage to paddle for about five minutes and I'm out and I feel like Sharron Davies."
So be honest do you really have dandruff?
"No, no, no! When Head and Shoulders got in touch and asked to work with me I thought 'listen love, you've got the wrong person here, I am not a man and I don't have dandruff,' and put the phone down. But then they told me that they had this new formula that makes hair really shiny and they sent it to me and I used it religiously for three months, in fact the whole family did, and it works. I'm not just saying this, Nadine, my hair has never been shinier or glossier."
So it's the opposite of what you think a dandruff shampoo is going to be?
"Well for a start it's a cream, in fact it looks like yoghurt and so you think it's never going to get my hair clean, but it does squeaky clean, and I love that feeling, then the conditioner leaves it super shiny, like glass."
How do you blow dry your hair?
"I don't, I'm that mum on the school run with wet hair. I usually just wrap it in a towel and then let it dry. Honestly. I get it blow dried and straightened for telly, but not for every day."
Be honest do you ever cut your own fringe?
"No, never. But I have a standing, and I mean that literally, appointment at Michael Charamboulous. I walk in, he offers me a gown and I say, 'No, are you mad? I don't have time.' And he cuts it whilst I stand up, then I go. I have to have to done every six weeks. He has looked after my hair for years."
Who is your beauty icon?
"Steven Tyler, well him and Chrissie Hynde. I love that ageing rocker look, dressed in black and looking like you slept in your make-up. I am convinced that I still have some eyeliner on from the '90s, and I'm good with that. And I'm good with ageing too. I mean I actually enjoy it, bring it on, it's a good thing to get older, it means you're alive. To me it's much better to just cuddle it, I want a walk in bath; that's my aim in life."
So no Botox for you?
"No. Honestly I haven't seen my forehead in decades, there could be squirrel or parrots living up there. If I could grow my fringe down to my shoulders to cover my entire face and occasionally peer out to answer questions I would. It's my beauty security blanket."
Tell me more about your style?
"Again it's the ageing rocker thing; in normal life I don't make much of an effort and have a bit of a uniform; black jeans, black t-shirt, black boots preferably ones that jingle when I walk like a pirate boot, and an oversized coat or jacket. I don't like anything too perfect, or anyone who looks like they have just stepped out of a salon; that's not for me. Add a fringe and you can look messy and ramshackle but with a bit of oomph."
What will I always find in your 'ageing rocker' makeup bag?
"Always a Mac Fleshpot Lipstick, a Lord and Berry Polish Eyeliner in Black, never a chocolate brown, and Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow; I think it might have been made by actual mermaids, it is so brilliant. I met her once and virtually mounted her I love her so much and her make is phenomenal. She does a pencil called Black Diamonds that is just too good. I've never knowingly taken it off, the make-up you see me wearing is basically left over from the day before."
Are you good at doing your own makeup?
"No, I am awful; I am both impatient and have bad eyesight. So I need things that work and go one easily and look good smudged, or like I've slept in a skip which is sort of the look that I'm going for anyway."
Do you like to rock a Cara Delevingne eyebrow?
"Well let’s just start by saying that I think that Cara just might be the most beautiful human being on the planet. I met her without a scrap of make-up and she has those huge sparkly eyes. And she's funny which is always sexy. Now as to brows, I do like a groomed brow, I tweeze them myself and use the Benefit Brow Gel. You don't see my brows but I like them to feel loved under my fringe."
Do you have a signature scent?
"I went through phases my whole life and then I tried the classic Opium about six years ago and it is THE PERFUME for me; singularly the sexiest scent ever created. It's a room rocker. I put it on and even if I'm tired and everything is a bit overwhelming I feel hot to trot, I love it."
Best bit of beauty advice your mother (Eve Pollard) ever gave you?
"Sleep. My mum was the only mum amongst all of my friends who would never nag me to get out of bed. She would never tell me that I was wasting the day. She believes that sleep is like insurance, it's when everything is being fixed and mended and her main advice to me whenever I am stressed is, 'Go to bed.' And you know what it works."
She sounds like the perfect mum?
"She is and as a teenager her other advice to me was, 'Don’t worry about it,'; your make-up might be down your face or you wear blue sparkly eye shadow, or put bronzer in the wrong place – don't worry about it. And I was brought up in a house with no mirrors. That's the staunch feminist in my mother, who instilled in to me that what you look like isn't really that important, that's not the interesting bit, instead try to be funny and interesting. And I try to instil that in my daughters, we now have no mirrors in our house, hence why I sometimes look like I do on the red carpet."
Where do you like to go on holiday?
"I like to go within the UK; bundling the kids in the car and go to Somerset or Wales and I'll tell you why. When they were smaller we went to the other side of the world for a holiday and spent the whole time jet lagged and miserable and so we made up our minds that we wouldn't do that again until they are 18. So it's Europe or UK for me."
Last book that you read?
"Om my goodness, Hanya Yanighara A little Life. That absolutely stuck in my head."
Last song you danced to?
"Always the Justin Timberlake theme tune to Trolls, Can't Stop The Feeling, dancing in the kitchen, or FloRida My House; while the kids gets ready for school."
What would I always find on your bedside table?
"A can of diet 7Up, an IPhone charger, a Blistese, and a book."
Claudia's Catch
Head & Shoulders 3 Action Formula £2.99.
Head & Shoulders 3 Action Formula Conditioner £2.99.
Lord & Berry #Reglam Eyshadow Pencil in Incognito £12, from Boots and the Lord & Berry Polish Eye Pencil £10 in Black
MAC Lipstick in Fleshpot £15.50. From maccosmetics.co.uk
Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow Face Primer £38.50. From charlottetilbury.com
Tangle Teezer The Original Plum Delicious £11, visit tangleteezer.com.
Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in Black Diamonds £19.
YSL Opium Perfume £80. From John Lewis
Benefit Gimme Brow Volumising Brow Gel in Deep £18.50. From benefitcosmetics.co.uk
