Shear Genius 3 Episode 8 Elimination Challenge Detailed Recap

Modernize Hollywood Iconic Hairstyles

Jon kicked off the Elimination Challenge by telling the camera "when we first arrived this morning we walk into this huge photo shoot. After today there's only going to be three people left. I didn't ever think I wouldn't be in the top four let alone the top two let alone taking home the check. Go ahead and give it to me."

First Editorial Photo Shoot

Camila greet the Final Four for the Elimination Challenge and said "Welcome to your first editorial photo shoot."

Brig said to the camera "I'm feeling a pressure today because I was called out in front of Linda Wells yesterday by Janine. I really want to show Linda I am professional and I'm dead serious about being here."

Camila introduced Linda Wells to explain the Allure Elimination Challenge. Linda said "this is your opportunity to show your ability to work on a magazine editorial."

Jon's Lack Of Experience On Editorial Shoots

Jon said to the camera "I wouldn't say I've done editorial shoots of this caliber before. I have a bad habit of freaking out on set. I let my nerves get the best of me. And now this? You've got Linda Wells standing there, critiquing you. It's definitely an addition of stress."

Camila said "for this challenge you will be asked to update and modernize some of the most memorable hairstyles in American cinema.

Iconic Hairstyles From Films

The iconic hairstyles used as your inspiration will be Gwyneth Paltrow's romantic curls from "Shakesphere in Love", Dolly Parton's buxom bouffant from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", Audrey Hepburn's classic updo from "Charade" and Bo Derek's braids from the movie "10".

Matthew said to the camera "I probably want to steer clear from Dolly, it could go weird."

The SG3 Stylists Pick Their Iconic Themes

Since Jon won the Short Cut Challenge he was allowed to pick his model first. He chose Audrey Hepburn. The rest of the stylists picked scissor boxes. Janine got #1, Brig #2 and Matthew #3.

Janine picked the Gwyenth Paltrow role and told her model "we're going to try and do something different, come on over."

Brig picked the Bo Derrick model and said "this is a toss-up. Know what? Modernizing braids sounds like a big challenge."

Matthew got stuck with Dolly Parton. Matthew said to the camera "waaa waaa. I get the last pick and it's Dolly. It's definitely going to be big and blonde, I can tell you that much."

Camila told the four "you will be judged on how well the final style reflected and modernized the look of the movie and how well you work with your photographer on the set."

Leaving The Set And Getting Down To Business

Janine said "we leave the set and get back to the salon and we're down to business." The stylists had two hours to do their hair magic.

Brig started by telling her model "I'm only going to be washing half of your head today." She told the camera "my inspiration for modernizing this look is to braid the front but instead of going down, I'm going to braid the braids back and up at an angle and I'm going to make the back really full and sexy with a lot of texture."

Janine told her model "I'm going to add some feather braids in there to made it more interesting. I'm going to do the same overall shape and pulled back but instead of the shape being just pulled back I'm going to make it into a feather braid on each side so that it has more texture and like a more ribcage feel."

Matthew Tackling Modern Dolly

Matthew looked at the image of Dolly and said to his model "she has this really strong Italian top part that kinda like goes like this but with your face I don't think it's good."

Matthew said to the camera "it's a little bit of a challenge to modernize Dolly. I mean, her looks were mostly wigs so definitely I want to make sure it doesn't look like a wig." The model said to Matthew "you can get it up there." Matthew agreed "I'll definitely be able to get it up there."

Jon told his model "I was going to give you this amazing bob." He told the camera "Audrey Hepburn to me was so timeless and so classic. I'm going to cut this model's hair into a bob and give her an amazing bang."

Jon Hit A No Cut Zone

Alas, it was not to be. The model did not want her hair cut. Jon curses and then says "right off the back my model says I can not cut her hair, at all." He said to the model "then I'm going to have to figure something else out. I'm going to have to fill it to make it darker." Jon said to the camera "I don't know what the F*** I'm gonna do."

Matthew asked Jon "what's your plan?" Jon "I'm going to have to put her hair up now." He looked very annoyed. And the camera caught him cursing.

Orlando walked around and talked to all of the contestants, as he always does. He told Jon "something needs to change and bring it into today." Jon indicated Orlando was making him nervous and said "go away." Orlando laughed.

Orlando Pita Expresses Concern Over Brig's Braid Plan

Orlando seemed concerned with Brig's direction. He said "I'm afraid the braids are a very strong look." He encouraged Brig to really question combining braids with curls. Brig said to the camera "braids have bit me in the ass in previous challenges so I'm pretty much trying to make things right. I may braid myself all the way home."

Janine Having Fun With The Hair Styling Exercise

Janine chatted with Orlando about her intricate braids and how she was going to modernize her look with the hairline braids. Janine said "it's risky in the sense that it's not a common thing that's done around the hairline. Yeah, it's an intricate braid. It's definitely a little bit out there and can be loved or misinterpreted."

Orlando asked her if she was nervous. She said "I'm excited. This is my most fun. This is like my playtime."

Orlando said "it's not playtime. It's Linda Wells, it's Allure. It's the real thing." Janine said "yes."

Matthew's Old Fashioned Roller Set

Then Orlando went to see Matthew who was doing an old fashioned roller set and he told Orlando when he asked how it was coming along he said "Good, voluminous. I'm probably going to go a little bit of mushing and pinning you know just to keep it kinda square. Because I think square's cool too. And in that picture (of Dolly) it's square."

Orlando said "it kinda feels like it's not too modernized." Matthew said "ummm". Matthew said to the camera "there was a moment there where he was almost making me second guess what I was doing. For one of the first times I was like 'am I doing the right thing?'

Jon's Struggles With Hair Color

Jon had trouble with his mode's hair color. He said to the camera "while I was blowing my model's hair dry I realized it just wasn't rich enough. It wasn't exactly the color I want. Now I'm getting really stressed. So I've got to go back and put another color on."

Matthew said about Jon coloring again "I just don't think this is going to turn out well." Brig also told the camera it took her a lot longer to braid than she planned and she was "seriously questioning putting that many braids on the front of her (the model's) head."

Last Minute Struggles

Janine told the camera "the braids were causing me a little bit of grief. I wanted to see more of the definition and they kept falling flat."

Jon was obviously stressing and wiping sweat from his face. Brig was "spending the next 5 minutes trying to get a dead horse to gallop again." Matthew said "I've just got to make sure not to make it too old school Dolly."

Jon "I'm shitting bricks. I don't know if the Editor In Chief" of Allure "is going to take one look at my thing and be like 'F*** man, you won yesterday what the hell's this pile of s***?"

Janine "I'm starting to panic. It's hard to make two braids look exactly the same and I didn't totally know how I wanted them."

Going To The Shoot

Janine said "we leave the salon and we're going to the shoot. She's (the model) dressed, she has her make-up on she looks beautiful." Janine goes over the photographer and said "Hiiii, I'm Janine."

The photographer said "Hi Janine, I'm Steve (Danelian)." Steve said to the model "Is it Kim or Gwen?" Steve said "I want to do something. These (the braids) need to come down, they look like horns right now." Janine said "Okay"

Janine said "it was really embarrassing. I tried to stay pretty composed. The braids definitely do stand out more than they should.."

The Four Judges Talk In The Background

In the background the four judges (Linda Wells, Kim Vo, Jonathan Antin and Camila) were talking. Jonathan said "it's the braids they way they kinda stand out...bulp..."

The photographer tells Janine to retwist the braids all the way to the back. Janine said "it's tough but it gets me going. And I'm excited to help get to what he sees." The photographer said "let me shoot that real quick."

The photographer shoots and then says "we're done. Nice job." He and Janine clap hands and then they shake hands.

Brig's Hair Style Not Working

Brig is next. She says "I walk out onto this set that is way bigger than I've seen in person. I'm shaking and the hair I'm putting up is not representing my talent." The photographer says "let's try something. Is this her hair?"

Linda Wells says to the rest of the judges "the braids are working but the rest of it is not right to me." Brig said to the camera "it's embarrassing to put this work out on the set today."

Kim Vo said to the rest of the judges "If she would have kept the braid and made it into a mane in the back it could have been something interesting."

Brig said to the camera "I'm thinking what can I do to make this work." Brig says to her model "head down" and proceeds to pour a bottle of water over the back of her head. The photographer says "maybe another bottle of water." The photographer says "drip it on the face too."

Brig hops out of the shot while the photographer shoots the model's hair. Brig said "I think the style's actually looking better." Brig said to her model "you're a trooper, I'm glad I'm not a model."

Matthew Pumps Up Dolly's Hair Volume

Matthew is next. He says to the camera "I walk in to set and get to see my model and she is Dolly." The photographer coaches the model as Jonathan says "this is Dolly Parton modernized." The photographer tells Matthew to make it as big as he can. Matthew says "that I can do."

The photographer is saying "crazy big, crazy." Matthew is massaging the hair to pump it up.

Matthew than said "I live in Colorado remember, the higher the hair, the closer to God." Matthew said to the camera "I just need all of them to know that I'm a good session hairdresser and I could be relied on for this kind of thing."

Jon Had To Change His Underwear

Jon was last and said to his model "this is it baby." He said to the camera "I think I had to change my underwear before I walked into the set today. I'm so nervous. I mean Allure pulled out all the stops for this thing and I mean if I fall on my face now, it could ruin my career."

The photographer instructed Jon to redo the model's bangs. Jon said "I'm sorry this is taking so long" as he sprayed and combed and finger picked.

Linda said to the judges "this makes me so nervous." Jon said "he (the photographer) wants the traditional Audrey Hepburn break in the bangs so you can see the forehead through it but there's no way with the length I left on the model to do it. So I'm stressing the F*** out."

Jonathan "he obviously doesn't have a lot of experience onset." Jon said to the camera "today I'm sucking but not in a good way." Jon said "F***"

Kim Vo, resplendent in yellow said "I'm getting scared." Jon said to the camera "sweating bullets and then oh come on" as he struggled to redo the hair. Kim Vo said to the other judges "he could use a cocktail about now."

Results Of The Judging - Jon

Jon was first. He told the judges "Oh my god, I'm so nervous right now." Camila said "take a deep breath." Jon "I'm afraid I might throw up."

Camila mentioned that Jon's inspiration was Audrey Hepburn in Charades. Jon said "she came in with two different colors of blonde. I colored it to one shade of brown and I still wasn't happy with it so with about 45 minutes on the clock I recolored it again. Kim Vo said "that's a gorgeous color. Definitely for a photograph, warm, rich auburn is excellent."

Linda Wells "the color was great and the shape was stunning. But what do you think was modern about the look that you gave us?" Jon said "to me it was a little bit more piece-y and jagged of a bang and when they clicked their head over the intricate pieces in the bangs hold them over."

Camila "I actually like that the bangs were longer. It gave me a sense of something updated. Jonathan "on the shoot I saw that you ran into some issues with the bangs."

Jon said "I fell apart at that minute." Jonathan "I noticed that." Jon looked like he was full of panic.

Results Of The Judging - Matthew

Matthew was next. You had Dolly Parton's bouffant from the Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Matthew said "when I think of her I think volume and country, you know? So I did a really voluminous roller set. I cut and colored her hair. It was really brassy to begin win. I wanted it to stay golden. I think that's modern as well."

Jonathan "I love that you did an old school beauty roller set. It's one of my favorites, I think it worked."

Kim Vo "I didn't want it looking like Dolly Parton sex dolls. I really wanted to see it much more artificial and embrace that Dolly Parton artificialness to it. Linda "it's beautiful texture, the hair looks like it's beautiful quality and that's hard to pull off with Dolly Parton as her inspiration.

Results Of The Judging - Janine

Janine was next. Camila said "you look was Gwenyth Paltrow's waves in Shakespeare In Love. It was a really simple shape that I was dealing with. And so I did some intricate braid work on the soft with a really soft but fuzzy curl. Linda "this is a really beautiful hairstyle. I'm not so certain what you started with. It was almost more old fashioned than what the inspiration was." Kim "your original view was very Renaissance Fair but now I see this and it's gorgeous. Jonathan "Janine, I really like what you did. During the shoot Steve was really grinding you down to the bone and I think it takes a great stylist to be able to handle that kind of pressure. Not buckle."

Results Of The Judging - Brig

Camila said "Brig, you went for Bo Derek's braids in the movie "10". Brig "the Bo Derek braids in the movie 10 went the other way on the head and I wanted to modernize and take it back. I did the best that I could but I'm not happy with what I'm looking at.

Linda "when the model came out her hair was kinda a mess. The back of it was like a Barbie that had been put through torture." Brig "this was the biggest fight I had with a head of hair. I just lost control of it. I could not get the volume I was looking for.

Jonathan "I don't know that you really modernized it but the model in the photo works.

Camila "I think what really saved you here was the water bottle. Kim shook his head in agreement.

Waiting Behind Closed Doors For Judge's Decision

The stylists waited in the Shear Genius 3 salon while the judges deliberated. The camera showed the stylists talking. Brig went over the side of the room by herself and Janine encouraged Matthew. Janine said to Matthew "I told you, wait till you see the picture, they loved it."

Matthew said "they liked everybodys." Jon "except for.... and Jon said "yeah, Brig" and Matthew was pointing to Brig. Jon said "they were like, OK, your conduct on set was. You know, Brig's conduct on set too was great. Mine wasn't, I lost my marbles."

Deliberation Of The Judges

Meanwhile the judges were deliberating. They started with Janine. Kim Vo said "I love etheral hair. That to me, the movement was etheral, it was great. Jonathan "braids need to stay against the head. It was no longer part of the hair, It became an accessory like a crown."

Camila "but it did almost work in the end." Linda "magic happened when she and Steve worked together to create this final image which was really beautiful."

Jon was next. Jonathan said "Jon is a cutter and a colorist. He's not that experienced in the world of session work. He definitely fell apart on set. You know, and that was really really clear and obvious."

Linda "he really presented a beautiful shape. Looking at that hair when it came out, it was beautiful. Kim Vo "he did take her from blonde to brown. He did a beautiful color."

Brig was next. Linda said "as pretty as the cornrows were she seemed to have no strategy. It was saved by the last second. Camila "she had a good idea, dousing it with the bottle of water. Kim said "the sexiness, she lucked out." Jonathan "on set for a magazine it's 'did we get the shot?' It's all that matters. And we got the shot."

Matthew was the last stylist to be evaluated. Jonathan said "he went in with big rollers all the way around and built a great set for this hairstyle. She looks hot, she looks really sexy. Kim Vo said "I think he did everything great but I wanted, really, Kylie Minogue. Almost patent leatherly."

Linda said "it still has the over the top quality. It's country. I think he just did this really sexy over the top big hair that worked."

Camila "all the pictures looked great, this is going to be a tough one."

Matthew And Janine Were The Top Two

Matthew and Janine were the top two and were called forward to stand on the stage in the front of the room.

Camila told Matthew "you laid a great foundation the way you set the hair. It was a great update on Dolly." Camila told Janine "your collaboration with the photographer made your look a success. And your finished product was beautiful."

Matthew won the Elimination Challenge. Matthew and Janine hugged. Matthew said to the camera "I'm so happy to have Linda Wells like my stuff. This is killer." Matthew told the judges "thanks" and went back to join the rest of the stylists where Janine reached out and they held hands. Janine seemed thrilled for Matthew.

Jon And Brig Were The Bottom Two

Camila called Jon and Brig to the losers podium. They were in the bottom two. One of them would be sent home.

Camila told Jon "the color you chose for your model was beautiful. It's a shame your nerves got the best of you during the shoot. And you didn't seem as if you were prepared." Camila told Brig "what concerned us was the only thing that saved your hairstyle was dousing it with a bottle of water. That said, your braids held up and your style resulted in a beautiful photograph."

Jon And Brig Defend Their Work To The Judges

Camila said "with only four of you left, we had to make a very tough decision. We believe we came to a fair conclusion. But before we deliver the results we would like to give you the chance to defend your work."

Camila asked Jon "between the two of you, who should go home? Jon said "uggghh, god I hate this" He covered his face with his hands in anguish.

He said "um, I guess just for...I don't know." Brig looked at him and said "don't be hard on yourself." Jon said "alright, I'm going to have to say the whole competition through I feel like, you know, Brig's struggled a little bit more that I have."

Camila said "Okay." Jon looked at Brig and said "I'm sorry." Brig "I appreciate your honesty."

Camila said "Brig? Same question." Brig said "I have to tell you that my hair that walked up on set...it was unforgivable and Jon's looked beautiful and so I would stamp my own ticket home today. I think he should stay." Brig and Jon hugged. Jon "well that doesn't mean that's going to happen. I don't know."

Matthew had a look of disbelief. Jon shook his head and Janine was shocked. Meanwhile Brig was smiling to herself as the judges paused in silence.

The Final Judge's Decision?

The final result? Camila said "well we appreciate your honesty. Brig, you're safe. Please join the group." Brig said "thank you in an elated way." Jon said "oh my god."

Then she said "shoot, I'm getting off that platform and coming over here (to join Janine and Matthew who were not happy). She jumped back up on the platform and said "hi guys" to Matthew and Janine who ignored her.

Jon waved at the remaining three contestants and smiled. Camila said "Jon, you're also safe." Jon said "f***ing hell." Matthew burst out laughing. Janine looked shocked and said "whatttt?"

No Loser Tonight

The judges were all laughing. Camila said "there is no loser tonight." She told Jon "you may join the group." Camila said "Jon and Brig you're both still here because in the end your styles looked fantastic in your editorial photos. We feel you all believe to be in this competition. So I think you should all be very happy and step up your game even more. Have a good evening. And stylists remember, hair is important."

Last Thoughts From The Shear Genius 3 Stylists

Janine waves goodbye as the stylists left. Janine hugged Jon. Jon said to the camera "I'm safe, I can't even form words right now. I think this is the chance to prove everyone right. I have every right to be here and I've always had my eye on the prize and now it's more focused."

Matthew, Janine and Jon were clustered together. Brig was on the other side of the salon. Matthew said "when I won I thought that's amazing, I'm going to be in the Final Three. And then this F****** twist. Now I have to kick some more ass. I've got enough friends right now. I need to win the competition.

Janine said "knowing that everyone was safe tonight was not good news for the Top Two. I thought Brig was going to go for sure. But I hoped she went home since the day I met her."

Brig told Jon "the whole time I was kinda peeing myself." Brig said to the camera "for weeks and weeks now Janine and Matthew at every elimination think I'm leaving and I'm still here. Still going."

Matthew and Janine hugged and then Janine sighed. The show ended on that note.

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