There were cheers and tears as Yvonne Frankel from Exclusive Hair Co was crowned overall winner of the L'Oréal Young Colourist award at the L'Oréal Colour Trophy Grand Final. The talented young hairdresser from Belfast scooped the brand new award in hairdressing's most fashionable competition with her stunning colour work. This is the first time in the 52-year history of the competition that a competitor from Northern Ireland has won in this category (formerly known as Next Generation).

Over 1,200 of the world's top hairdressers gave a standing ovation as Yvonne collected her award from the evening's ultra-fashionable presenter Fearne Cotton and Jayne Lewis-Orr, Editor-In-Chief of industry bible Hairdressers Journal. Speaking moments after Yvonne came off stage, it was clear that the enormity of her achievement would take a while to sink in; "I couldn't stop crying when I heard my name - I still can't believe it."

Talent, drive and determination saw her through three tough rounds of the competition which started way back in March. Over 1,200 salon teams entered, 350 Regional Finalists were short-listed; with 45 Finalists selected to compete at the Grand Final.

The win means that Yvonne is on her way to hitting the hairdressing big time at the age of just 22. In addition to the industry recognition she will gain, she picks up a once-in-a-lifetime prize package that will catapult her ahead of her peers and into the future of a glittering career.

One week prior to the Grand Final, Yvonne represented Northern Ireland alongside eight aspiring Young Colourist's from across the UK at the L'Oréal International Academy in London. They had 3.5 hours to create a fashionable, high-street look on their model. The pressure was on to perform as a panel of prestigious industry judges observed them at work and then interviewed each competitor about their inspiration and ambition for the future. "It was a brilliant experience and I got so much out of the whole day," said Yvonne.

Unaware of her fate, Yvonne and her supporters attended the spectacular Grand Final event at
Earls Court 2. Throughout the evening they were treated to stunning shows by Headmasters and Tim Hartley in addition to an exclusive preview of fashion designer Aimee McWilliams' Autumn/Winter 07 collection.

After an anxious wait, it was time to reveal the winner. Upon hearing her name called out, there was disbelief then delight for Yvonne who was clearly overwhelmed at the news that she had won; "Just to be at the Grand Final is a dream come true - to win is simply the best feeling in the world. My prize is amazing and I'll be working on magazine photo shoots and I will also be shadowing a top colourist. It will be great to find out all the tricks of the trade and bring them back to the salon to my clients."

Despite stiff competition, the judges unanimously agreed that Yvonne was the most promising young colourist in the UK as Jo O'Neil, Global Technical Director for Toni&Guy explains: "Yvonne's composition of the total look was excellent and she had created an incredible technique that worked beautifully with the cut. The colours that she chose worked amazingly well together and the finish was perfect. There was no doubt in our minds that she was a very deserving winner."

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