So Wednesday night I walked the streets of New York City… in the middle of Los Angeles. That’s right, I attended a chic, exuberant event staged on the NYC set on the Paramount Studios Lot that was held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Shaper Hairspray by Sebastian. A fierce, ultra-firm finishing hairspray, this is the hairspray that achieves the impossible updos seen on the likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

Walking down the lit streets of New York apartments, I suddenly realized I was dressed like the quintesential Californian girl: a bright blue tank, Paige Premium jeans and messy surfer hair. Everyone else was in black with slick hairstyles. Models with sculpted, futuristic tresses walked the lot chatting and posing in seriously killer boots.  And yet, I didn’t feel out of place. Maybe that was due to the veggie burgers and the complete lack of smoking (or maybe it was the black martini I was handed immediately upon entering…). Either way, much mingling was happening. A large stage was set up with several stations where you could literally watch these stunning hair creations come to life on the models. Stunned, I watched a skilled stylist de-frizz and disentangle one model only to recreate another gravity-defying coiffure. But that wasn’t all there was to see, there was Johnne Perez (a sculptor) and Food One (aka Jim Mahfood, a muralist and live art rocker,) as well as acrobats, projections, a live modeling shoot and music.

As I sat on a stoop, my black martini on the step next to me with all the sugar licked off its rim, I really got the vibe of Sebastian: chic, upbeat and social. And then that wonderful salon-smell of hairspray hit me. You know that smell which makes you loathe to wash your hair after a professional cut? And then, I really started to wish it was my hair being twisted, teased and braided into a bouffant Marge Simpson would approve of.

All in all, the Paramount water tower looming in the background only served to remind us what a fabulous and elaborate production this was. Appropriate for a fabulous and elaborate hairstyle that would call for a product like Shaper, made by a man like Sebastian. To quote Johnne Perez, this was “quite the surprise, quite the party.”