Olivia Wilde Has Been Plotting Her Transformative New Haircut For Ages Now

Don’t let the rom-com movie montages fool you — when you want to go for a major makeover, it doesn’t always require shedding serious inches or completely changing up your hair color. Oftentimes, it’s the more minor tweaks that can end up making the biggest difference overall. Case in point: Olivia Wilde’s chic curtain bangs, just cut for (and unveiled at) The Fashion Trust’s inaugural U.S. awards ceremony. The usual components of Wilde’s signature aesthetic are all still there, including her dark gold hair and cool, graphic eye makeup. But thanks to some strategic snips by celebrity hairstylist Mara Roszak, Wilde looked less like a typical American A-lister and much more like a classic French ingenue — a fun switch-up for the star-studded fashion event.

According to Roszak herself, the transformation was well-planned and a long time coming. “ I had the idea of creating effortless bangs that were extremely versatile and had pulled images and inspiration for Olivia to review,” Roszak tells TZR, explaining that the two were plotting the cut for a few weeks. “We just needed to find the right place and time to do it and last night was it!” And indeed — against Wilde’s minimalist black turtleneck gown and geometric eyeliner, the bangs stand out beautifully.

Wilde’s bang length and shape started to gain serious traction in 2020 — thanks in large part to their universally flattering nature and relatively mild maintenance requirements — and have only continued to grow in popularity. Roszak dubbed the style “the French girl bang” which is very appropriate considering its masterful balance of chic sophistication and devil-may-care effortlessness — the two chief pillars of that proverbial French girl beauty. Despite the relaxed nature of the bangs, though, it does transform Wilde’s entire aesthetic, especially when compared to recent photos of her from March’s Oscars after party.

To nail that perfect curtain bang swoop, Roszak shares she took a less-is-more-approach with products. “First, I started with the RŌZ Santa Lucia Styling Oil to define her hair, and then I added a soon-to-be-revealed RŌZ product (coming in the next month) as a finisher for the ends,” she explains. “After I applied the products, I used an Ibiza medium boar bristle round brush and placed the hair on top, blow drying the hair forward and up for volume with the Bio Ionic Blow Dryer,” Roszak says, adding that the technique creates a soft, easy finish. Grab everything necessary to get the look at home, below.