Oscars 2014 fashion: How celebs spend HOURS on their outfit, hair and make-up for the red carpet

It’s a hard job being a celebrity on an awards season promo trail.

Endless red-carpet appearances, wearing the most beautiful dresses hot off the runway and getting your make-up professionally done – it must be tiresome.

For most of us, the Oscars are just a distant dream but I was lucky enough to get that one step closer as I went backstage at the Savoy Hotel in London to get red-carpet ready like the celebs do for the BAFTA Awards.

Arriving at the plush Strand hotel, I was preened and pampered to within an inch of my life in exactly the same way that stars including Sarah Jessica Parker and Alice Eve have done in the past for the annual British Academy Film and Television Awards.

If I learnt anything from my day at the Savoy, it’s that it takes a LOT more effort than it looks to get a celeb red carpet ready for the BAFTAs or Oscars.

But hey, I’m not complaining…

A flawless, nude make-up look

Firstly, I was under the impression that the stars are taken into one of the bedrooms in the hotel where they are attended to before an awards show.

I was wrong… there’s a whole FLOOR dedicated to making over the A-listers for the second biggest day of their lives behind their own wedding.

I was led into a plush double bedroom at the end of a corridor (with stunning views over the Thames, encompassing the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye within my view) for my makeover.

Stepping inside, I spotted a glamorous-looking vanity table (filled with make-up, skincare and brushes – I was in heaven!) and director’s chair waiting for me, surrounded by fresh white roses and a friendly-looking make-up artist waiting to make me over.

Shehla Sheikh introduced herself as Lancôme’s Elite Team Leader and she was tasked with transforming my pale face (I’d also broken out that morning) into something that resembled a BAFTAd red-carpet beauty.

There were three key looks that the Lancome make-up artists focused on for BAFTAs – eyes, lips or skin.

Shehla decided to pay attention to my skin in particular, working on a ‘very nude, beautiful look with both soft eyes and lips and gentle contouring.’

She emphasized to me the importance of properly cleansing your skin beforehand so that it’s ready to apply make-up.

She took the time to gently remove my eye make-up with Lancome’s best-selling Bi-Facial Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover (unsurprisingly one of her favourite products) before massaging in a comforting cream cleanser.

Shehla likes having the time to really prep skin before applying make-up so added the Advanced Génifique Anti-Ageing Concentrate Serum to my regimen – but this step could be missed if you’re short of time.

As the focus for my BAFTA look was on skin, Shehla slowly built up layers of Lancôme’s Teint Miracle foundation to ensure a natural-looking, full coverage effect. She concealed my blemishes and dark circles with the Lancôme Teint Miracle Corrector before moving onto the piece de resistance of the look – the limited edition BAFTA blush.

“Blush is my secret makeup weapon. For a fresh and beautiful day look, lightly buff the product starting by the ear and gently pushing inwards towards the apple of the cheek, building up the right intensity as you go. This shade will immediately lift any skin tone,” said Shehla.

With the skin fresh and flawless, she moved onto creating my ‘soft eyes’ look with the neutral shades from the Lancôme Hypnôse Star Eyes Palette.

She drew a cat-eye flick using Lancôme’s Artliner 24h on the upper lash line and lashings of Lancôme’s best-selling Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara. A slick of Lancome Gloss in Love completed my BAFTA-ready beauty look.

A brilliantly bouffant up-do

You know you probably should have washed your hair when Charles Worthington asks you if you’ve ever heard of dry shampoo.

Cue a few stressful minutes from Charles as he figured out about how to create a voluminous blow-dry with my greasy locks, but we got over that slight setback by opting for a bouffant up-do instead.

The Official Hairstylist for the EE BAFTA Awards – who’s worked with everyone from Jerry Hall to Mena Suvari in the past – used his Volume & Bounce range on my flat locks, enriched with plumping collagen to help hair appear thicker and denser, ‘plumping up volume from hair to tip.’

As we were going for an up-do with plenty of height, Charles used his Volume & Bounce Root Lift Backcomb Powder to add volume to my roots. Normally, backbombing is used to add volume for special occasions – but this product can be used daily without damaging hair.

He sprinkled the powder into my roots and rubbed it gently in between his fingertips to add natural volume. The miniature size of the product is perfect for popping into your handbag as well for those spontaneous desk-to-drink occasions.

For volume throughout the lengths and ends of my hair, he used his Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray. It’s a dry, invisible mist that he applied directly to my hair before ruffling it in between his hands to give it a tousled finish.

He proceeded to add what felt like a million Kirby grips to my head to keep the up-do in place – let’s just say the boyfriend wasn’t particularly happy about having to be the one to remove them all at the end of the night when I couldn’t see the back of my head – but it kept my hair in place.

To finish the look, Charles used his Long Lasting Max Hold Hairspray from his Style Setter range – a collection that’s designed to keep every strand of hair in place without losing its natural movement.

The hairspray is a star product from the range – it’s a non-sticky, micro-fine mist that forms an ‘invisible net over the hair.’

He sprayed it all over my up-do to keep it in place, but Charles also recommended spritzing it onto a hairbrush and brushing it through locks before styling.

It says it keeps styles in place for up to eight hours and I wholeheartedly agree with that – it hadn’t budged after a whole day at work.

And yes, I did have to go back to work with a bouffant up-do that looked like I’d been fast-forwarded from the ‘80s – but I loved it!

A designer dress fit for a Queen

After picking out VERY expensive jewels from Asprey London, I was tasked with working with the British Fashion Council to find a designer dress to complete my BAFTAs look.

It was interesting to speak to the BFC about the efforts they go to to promote London Fashion Week designers abroad (in the States specifically).

For example, I didn’t realise that an Emilia Wickstead dress that Suki Waterhouse wore to a pre-BAFTAs event in LA had been arranged by the BFC to promote the British brand overseas.

I don’t think I’ve ever touched a designer dress before in my life – anyone that knows me will know I’m more Primark than Prada – but I was in heaven as I perused the rails of frocks including those from Emilia Wickstead, Roland Mouret and Jenny Packham.

I was surprised to find there were only a few dresses that weren’t sample sizes – don’t get me started on the shoes – but luckily I managed to find a dress that was my size from one of my favourite London Fashion Week designers, Peter Pilotto.

It was a case of don’t wear a bra or choose another dress as the halterneck design meant my straps would be on show – this must be why so many celebs have tit-tape wardrobe malfunctions on the red carpet.

Choosing bra-less Peter Pilotto, I don’t think I’ll ever get over the feeling of wearing a designer dress, probably because it was the first time I’d done it and the last time I ever will.

I picked a pair of metallic strappy Jimmy Choo heels that were two sizes too big for me because they hadn’t sent any shoes in sizes 4 or 5 - before the photographer tracked me down for my obligatory, pouty BAFTAs shot.

Sadly the BAFTA Award I was supposed to pose with did a runner before my photo op so I had to make up poses in a corridor – which is harder than it looks as you can probably tell from my awkward expressions.

It was four hours after I’d first stepped foot in the door and I was actually pretty exhausted – but seeing the final pictures makes me want to do it all over again.

Those celebs are lucky things!

[Best Actress Oscar winners and their beautiful dresses over the past eight decades]

[Oscars red carpet disasters]