Daniel Lewis on Oscar Hair

Daniel Lewis, celebrity hair stylist and Bravo’s Shear Genius Season 2 Fan Favorite, knows a thing or two about Red Carpet style. A fan of timeless elegance, Daniel was happy to see classic styles like those worn by Anne Hathaway and Vanessa Hudgens make a welcome comeback at the 2009 Academy Awards.

Daniel’s Top 5 Oscar Hair Picks
1. Kate Winslet – Flawless! Her hair is exactly what Oscar hair should be.
2. Penelope Cruz - Her perfect bun and thick fringe bang were absolute perfection.
3. Sarah Jessica Parker - She looked spectacular as usual. That mane of hair is just so perfect and was a great example of appropriate fullness.
4. Tilda Swinton - Love the new blonde hair! She usually looks a little hard for my taste, but the new color takes that lizard look down a couple notches. Just shows how hair color can change your whole aura.
5. Meryl Streep - As much as I love her, she usually lets me down with a disheveled style for awards shows, but this time she looked surprisingly appropriate and really beautiful with hair up and soft and.

Who Missed the Mark?
Jennifer Aniston - You would think since borrowed her dress from Miss Missouri 1994, her hair would have been better but what was that?
Marrisa Tomei - Looked like she was up for a roll in “High School Musical 4.” That look was a little too prom for her age.

Daniel Lewis Updates

So what has our darling Daniel from Dallas been up to these past few months? Well, he's been getting some nice publicity in local media. First there's an article from Frisco STYLE, and then he was named On Magazine's "On Personality."


If you see or hear anything else about former Shear Genius contestants, please let us know here at Blogging Shear Genius by dropping us an e-mail.

From the Mailbag

Here's a blurb from the Rocky Mountain News about three Shear Genius contestants who participated in the 303 Magazine Hair Show:

TRESS TROT: A slew of hairstylists from local salons teased and tamed tresses on models during the 303 Magazine Hair Show on Sunday at the Expo Event Center, 35th and Walnut streets. Stunning and shocking styles included mohawks, chignons, braids, buns, pompadours, updos, frizz and curls, with models accessorized with rhinestone eyelashes, hair extensions and - in some cases - freaky frocks.

The show featured style segments from Shear Genius 2 finalists, our own Charlie Price, Nicole Obert (even tinier in person) and Daniel Lewis (such a doll). Those three in the final four of the Bravo reality series were beat out by Dee Adames.

Price showed off his trademark glam waves - a throwback to the 1940s - with local lovely Holly Kylberg in his model lineup. Obert chose hot hunks with pompadours, slicked-down Yuppie 'dos and a gamine bob. It won't shock fans of the show that Lewis relied on his Texan background and penchant for big hair. In the finale, his models came out spraying hair spray.

Fan Favorite

Congratulations to Daniel Lewis for winning the Shear Genius Fan Favorite award! It must have been your Southern charm and sense of humor that won you so many fans among the viewers.

We hope, like last season's Fan Favorite, Tabatha, we hear from you again...maybe see you on the small screen once more!

When Reality Worlds Collide

On Wednesday, Laura K and I went to New York to attend the Shear Genius finale viewing party, sponsored by Nexxus. Upon arrival at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, Laura K spotted Charlie, his sister Kelly, and Daniel in the lobby, and they were nice enough to pose for some photos.

Before the party, we met up with Project Runway's Malan Breton and model Amanda Fields to have dinner at Top Chef season one winner Harold Dieterle's restaurant, Perilla. On our way out the door, we ran into finalist Nicole, posing here with her friend, Matt who came up from Texas to cheer for her. She was tiny and completely adorable.

Dinner was fantastic, and I enjoyed meeting Ms. Fields for the first time. Here are our dinner companions posing on the red carpet at the party.

The party started at 8PM with flashbulbs, as photographers flooded the red carpet area with lights to capture the stylists. Jaclyn and Rene were also in attendance. They are both as utterly gorgeous in real life as they are on the show. More so, actually.

Rene and Jaclyn pose with Nicole, Dee, and Charlie.

Other stylists in attendance were Glenn, Gail, and Daniel. The gals were just plain stunning in the flesh. Gaw-juss!

After the initial red carpet photography, the stylists were allowed to mingle with the guests and Bravo shot mini interview videos (which will pop up on BSG sometime later). Then came a surprise Short Cut challenge in which the three finalists cut the hair of women who were making a donation to Locks of Love, a charity that creates wigs for children suffering from long term medical hair loss.

Here we see Jaclyn Smith, Nexxus Editorial Director Roy Teeluck and President of Locks of Love Madonna Coffman during the judging.

At 10 PM we were ushered into the hotel's theatre to watch the finale broadcast. The stylists sat in the front row, with the rest of us in the seats behind them. Everyone cheered and clapped during the broadcast, and it was probably the most fun I had watching TV in a long time. However, it did feel pretty weird not to be taking notes. Fellow blogger in attendance David Dust expressed the same sentiment.

After the broadcast, Dee was presented with a giant check and there were more photos taken plus interviews. At that point, the guests took the opportunity to thank their hosts and leave the event, as did Malan, Amanda, David, Laura, and I. What a fun party it had been!

BSG Interview with Daniel Lewis

Daniel Lewis has an enthusiasm and lust for life that is just plain infectious, as evidenced by his answers to a couple of Blogging Shear Genius' questions....

BSG: How frustrating was it that you couldn't work on your Mom's hair in the Surprise challenge?

DL: It was not at all frustrating. I am so busy at the salon I am usually not the one doing it anyway and I knew she was in good hands with Charlie. Although the plane barely hit the ground in Dallas before she had a full head of foils.

BSG: Who was your favorite guest judge and why?

DL: My favorite guest judges were Alison Sweeney (I have grown up with her on Days of Our Lives) and Robert Hallowell. They both spent the most “get to know you” time with us after their challenges and both seemed truly honored to be there. Jose was pretty great too and I was not expecting that at all.

Click here to continue reading.

Three Stylists Left!

In our first poll of the season, we asked who you thought would be the top three finalists. You chose Daniel, Glenn, and Nicole. One of them will indeed compete in the finale this Wednesday, August 27th - but will Nicole win? Or will Charlie or Dee take the prize?

poll by twiigs.com

From the Mailbag

Did you watch Tabatha's Salon Takeover last night? What did you think? There's an interview with Tabatha at AfterEllen.

There's a cute pic of Daniel Lewis with a short blurb here.

And, there's an interview with Paulo Candido here and one with finalist Charlie Price here.

Daniel Lewis' Exit Interview

Click here to see more.

BSG Love to Daniel

Daniel, from the first cut, it looked like you would be in the Final Three and go to the finale; it's quite surprising to see that you made it only to the penultimate episode.

The judges did not like your styling and they did not think it was avant garde enough, although we know you did what you thought worked best based on the instructions you were given before the shoot.

You are a gentleman with true charm and a passion for what you do and we are sorry to see you go.

Note: Only positive comments on this post, please! Any other thoughts belong in our Reactions post here.

From the Mailbag

The Frisco Enterprise has a nice article on Daniel.

“It’s weird to turn the TV on and just hear myself in the background when I am fixing cereal or something. People recognize me way more than I thought that they would. I was in Vegas two weekends ago and there it happened more than anywhere else, [like] people stopping for pictures. You just don’t think so many people are watching this one show,” he says.

We are watching, Daniel!

Photo courtesy Frisco Enterprise

From the Mailbag

Here's an article on Daniel Lewis and his views on "Dallas hair."

Something from a particular California newspaper about this week's challenge. (Spoiler warning!)

A tidbit from the Denver Post about Charlie.

Congratulations, Daniel!

You created a modern-day interpretation of Wilma Flintstone with a gorgeous red color and a fabulous shape. It was elegant, sexy, and FUN!

This post is ONLY for positive words for Daniel or for his interpretation of Wilma's 'do. Any other thoughts belong in our Reactions post here.

From the Mailbag

Jaclyn Smith will be appearing on Fox's Morning Show with Mike and Julia today at 9AM EDT!

Here's an interview with Dee Adams on AfterEllen.

...and a feature on Dallas-area stylists and Shear Genius contestants Matthew Tully and Daniel Lewis in the Star-Telegram.

Meet Daniel

Daniel Lewis, age 28
Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida
Resides in Dallas, Texas
Co-owns Green Peridot

Daniel grew up on a farm in a small town just outside of Tallahassee and began to do his parents hair at the age of nine. He originally decided to pursue interior design, but realized that styling was truly his passion. Daniel went to graduate from cosmetology school and moved to London to train with a company that styled hair on a cruise ship, and went on to split his time between London and a ship in the Bahamas. Eventually he returned to Florida where he opened two salons and began doing freelance work around the country. After tiring from the hectic freelance schedule, Daniel settled in Dallas and opened a third salon, Green Peridot, where he currently works.

Image and bio courtesy of Bravo.