It's a dark art, really...
Pictured: Olivia Palermo, a shining example to us all…
The pursuit of a perfect messy bun is tough work. It takes determination, nimble sculpting hands, and a scaffolding of Kirby clips to pull it off – and, as with all good bun-making, sometimes even then the end result won’t rise to perfection.
Let us count the struggles…
This Bun Is Too Big… Reaching peak snowman proportions with your actual head.
Or Is It Too Small? Prima ballerina territory. Looks cute, but oh Lordy, it’s impossible to condense big hair into such tiny twists.
It’s Got Too Much Grease Slick like Miss Trunchbull was not a look anyone was going for. Ever.
Or Not Enough Grease Oh the irony! Silky smooth, freshly washed hair does not a good bun make, either. What is up with that?
This Bun Is Too Perfect To donut or not to donut, that is the question. If your perfectly messy bun is too perfect, everyone will know your secret. Even worse if somebody accidentally pokes you in the bun, or, God forbid, gives it a squeeze and makes a honking noise. The humiliation...
My Flyaways Have Flown Away Ah the scruffy bun. A universally acknowledged hair solution for popping to the corner shop in your PJs. But if those wispy bits don’t play ball when you actually need them to, there will be hell to pay.
Or It's Really Just A Total Shit Show Brush, scoop, raise, repeat. Over and over again, because it’s just not happening. Our arms ache, this is genuinely a workout. We think we'll just shove it up in a ponytail.