Kao Salon Global Creative Awards 2025: Finalist Focus

Brad de Waal
Jul 7
2 min read

With the announcement of our local finalists in the Kao Salon Global Creative Awards, we’re excited to showcase over the next few weeks, a series of stunning colour styles from each of our finalists, and the inspiration behind their finished look.

This week we focus on Leandi Beukes from Parlor Hair and Caro Botha from Alchemy Hair Studio.

Each post will feature two incredible stylists — one from the Creative Colorist category and one from the New Talent Colorist category — highlighting their standout work side by side. With six posts in total, we’ll be celebrating the talent and creativity of all 12 finalists. Stay tuned for weekly inspiration!

CREATIVE COLORIST

For my look I was inspired by the nature of a halographic shade and how it changes depending on the perspective that it is viewed from. I love how opposite spectrums can come together to create an imperfect harmony. This can be seen in the cut with the bluntness of the Hime inspired fringe going into the soft layers of the length. By placing the darker blue shade and light blonde shade with the same three pastel formulation it shows how the perspective changes based upon what is partnered with it.

The consistency and color of Goldwell allowed me to create harshness and softness where I needed it, producing beautiful harmony.

Leandi Beukes | Parlor Hair

NEW TALENT COLORIST

My Global Creative Awards entry is inspired by the interconnected nature of our environment, and how the natural world creates beauty and art in the most unlikely places. My main reference for the design is mycelium - a part of mushrooms that function as an underground network to spread fungus and begins the vital process of decomposition. It can be microscopically small, or stretch underneath an entire forest. It makes the most beautiful patterns as it grows, but because it's found underground and on rotting things, we hardly realize it exists. I think there's something magical to it, and we have a lot to learn from fungi about finding beauty in the darkest parts of ourselves.

To illustrate this idea further, I used colours that aren't conventionally "pleasing" to the eye - bright neon green, muddy beiges and earthy, matte browns. The hand-painted pattern might be what draws the attention first, but the "plain" brown is actually made up of intricate layers of gradients designed to create a shifting optical illusion. This wouldn't be possible without Goldwell's Pure Pigments - I used the Gold, Ash Blue and Matte Green colours to play with the light and represent the unique layers of soil that feed our earth. I am so proud of this entry, and I'm absolutely thrilled to be chosen as a finalist.

Caro Botha | Alchemy Hair Studio