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Published on November 21, 2007

The reputation of French hairdresser Eric Zemmour draws customers from all over Europe eager to visit Nice for the pricey honour of a cut from the master coiffeur.

He was in town for the L'Oreal Professionnel Colour Trophy Thailand 2007 last week to bestow recognition and awards on the finest Thai hairdressers. He also introduced his latest creation, the hairstyle collection he's dubbed Sweet Gourmet, which takes its theme from the irresistible shiny texture of chocolate.

"I don't know anyone who can say no to chocolate," he says. The essential appeal you find across all sorts of chocolates is my main inspiration.

To best compliment this new hairstyle I recommend red lipstick on full lips," he adds.

The 42-year-old haute coiffure for L'Oreal Professionnel has been passionate about hairstyling since he was quite young. He cut his teeth working for the runway shows of famous fashion houses like JJ Valaya, Ritu Beri, Escada and Yves Saint-Laurent. In 1995 in Nice, he opened his own salon, specialising in creations for long hair.

 He became a familiar face as a hairstyling judge for competitions and is responsible for a popular French television programme called "Reviewing Procedures". He was also private hairdresser to the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

Right now he owns a handful of salons on the French Riviera, known for romantic resorts like Monaco and Cannes where Hollywood stars can often be glimpsed among the jet-set. "I love the French Rivera. It has outstanding mountains and the beautiful crystal-blue Mediterranean."

He reveals that chopping the locks of famous people isn't as daunting as it might sound. With over a decade's worth of experience cutting the hair of celebrities, Zemmour says he has learned that boosting customers' confidence is the most crucial aspect of creating a new look.

"It's about doing your homework on the new images customers want. Usually, people walk into a salon with an idea in mind - some will come with a magazine. The duty of a hairdresser is to fulfil that dream-look customers arrive with while taking reality into account," he notes. "Changing a look is not about cutting long hair shorter but changing the overall style, the feelings, and then showing customers easy steps for maintaining the look at home."

Short hair is his personal preference as it shows off a good cut. "Very feminine, perhaps with a tuft to give a sweet, sexy, elegant touch," he says of his ideal look. But he appreciates the natural beauty of longer hair, too.

Zemmour's Sweet Gourmet collection comprises numerous styles with different volumes and lengths. His three hot choccie looks for autumn/winter are Dark and Milk Chocolate, Choco Caramel , and Choco and Gold.

Kupluthai Pungkanon

 The Nation