Tara Smith haircare at M&S

There I was in Glasgow’s Rogano a few Monday nights back, enjoying a glass of champagne, when who should I bump into but an old friend, who was having a late night drink with Tara Smith. Tara Smith of the vegan haircare range which has just launched into Marks and Spencer Your Beauty halls in Scotland.

‘You need some Shine On on that hair,’ shouted Tara from across the bar, and went to on to tell me (a few times) that her products are ‘tested on film stars, not on animals‘. Always a good thing.

Tara Smith’s vegan haircare range is in the most beautiful packaging I have seen in a while. I was told that at her M&S pitch, when the buyers asked Tara why they should stock her, she simply showed them her packaging. Of course, there is a lot more to the product that just the packaging.

Tara Smith Vegan Haircare is a collection of 11 products,  produced in the UK, including eight  core shampoos and conditioners and three  styling products. The ranges are Shine On, Gorgeously Gentle, Working Curls, and Feed The Root. There are also little travel sets for £12.50 which would make fab Christmas gifts.

I’ve tried Gorgeously Gentle, which is mild and gentle, and scalp-soothing, and probably not doing enough for my over-processed, dyed, hair. But my other half likes it. I’m keen to have a go with Shine On – which Tara so loudly recommended for me in the bar! My poor hair does need a bit more moisture than most, and particularly at this time of the year.

Tara herself has the most AMAZING mass of curls – she’s certainly a brilliant advert for her haircare range. She’s worked at the Emmy’s, BAFTA’s, Golden Globes and Cannes, Venice, Toronto and Sundance film festivals, and her  work is also featured in the pages of fashion mags including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Elle In 2009, Tara was voted the UK’s “Celebrity Hairdresser of the Year” by the Clothes Show Style Awards. She’s certainly qualified to make her ‘film stars, not animals’ statement – she’s worked with Anna Friel, Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, Kiefer Sutherland, Lucy Liu, Marisas Tomei, Orlando Bloom, Rhys Ifans, Rosario Dawson, oh and she created the hairstyles for Sex and the City: The Movie.

If you want to get a bit of Tara Smith in your life, her range is available at Marks and Spencer Your Beauty halls, and marksandspencer.com, prices from £10 for Shampoos and Conditioners.