Campaign clippings

>> Meet Benjamin Robin, personal hairdresser to Jean Charest

by ALEXANDRA SPUNT

Jean Charest--always at the center of some hairy controversy. Or rather, some hair controversy. In fact, it often appears that people talk more about the man's hair than his politics. So the Mirror tracked down the man behind it all: Benjamin Robin, personal hairdresser to Jean Charest.

Robin has made a name for himself in the commercial and film industry over the last 20 years. This Brit native is the personal hair and make-up man to actors Aidan Quinn and Gary Sinise, and has worked on the likes of Susan Sarandon, Robert DeNiro and Ben Kingsley (to name-drop but a few). In between Charest and the stars, he's dedicated to his multi-faceted salon here in Montreal. His team does hair, make-up, and henna tattoos for special events, like weddings or Halloween parties (real movie make-up!). And if you just want a trim, he'll do that too.

It was not too long ago that he was contracted by a commercial company to do the hair and make-up on a political video for Charest. Robin decided to approach Charest personally. "I told him to come visit me in the shop, so I could change his look a little--so that people will look more at his face, rather than that big ball of curls on his head."

Robin held a long-time desire to work with Charest's look. "He's someone I really respect and I wanted to alter his image slightly. Because I think he's an attractive man who has a lot of charisma." It's a slow process, though. Charest visits Robin's salon in Westmount every three weeks. "I consciously decided to do this gradually, not overnight like that Manning chap out west. I don't think it's a good idea, in the middle of a campaign, to expose your leader to ridicule. No matter how good it may look, the opposition can always attack."

What of the ubiquitous campaign posters? Unfortunately for Charest, Robin didn't have a part in that. "I don't understand why they didn't spend more time on the poster--he looks like he doesn't have any eyebrows in that picture, and then he loses expression. I mean, were they in such a hurry that they missed that detail? Someone messed up on that poster."

Robin declined to reveal certain beauty secrets--like how he deals with the apparent thinning of Charest's hair (let's be honest, it's a bald spot). However, Robin spoke confidently of the debate (which, at the time, was still to come): "We already know exactly what he's going to look like. I'm sure Bouchard's going to look like he has pancake all over his face, like he always does, chin flapping around. Our guy's going to look like a healthy, young go-getter. That's what we're after."