Ever in search of a decent haircut, on a recommendation I tried this place, a boutique salon situated towards the end of Monmouth Street. Stuart Phillips himself is, according to their website and literature, a celebrity hairstylist at the centre of the hairdressing world, styling nominees for the BAFTAs as well as a star-studded client list, including (among many) the likes of Mr Big Chris Noth, Ronnie Wood and even The Hoff! Just to be clear, none of whom are my hair style icons! And when he's not teasing celebrity locks into camera readiness, we're told you're most likely to find him demonstrating his skills on morning TV or in the midst of an A-list party. Wow, fancy eh! For Stuart to get his hands on your barnet it'll set you back £200 (ladies) or £115 (for gents), for which he will apparently provide a complete lifestyle hair consultation to determine your perfect haircut. Given the price tag, it could be an expensive routine to get into, so you may want to save an appointment with Stuart for if you do actually get an invite to the BAFTAs. For my first visit I just had some highlights put in by one of their colour technicians, plus a blow-dry and fringe trim. Rest assured the prices for a regular stylist/ colourist are much less than a session with Stuart, and broadly comparable with most London salons pitching themselves at the same kind of level. My colourist seemed really pleasant and professional as did the other staff I came across and I'm completely happy with what she's done. She listened, assessed my hair, and made some suggestions, which is what you want. It also seemed to me that she worked very neatly and attentively. I'd feel comfortable trusting her enough to take a few more colour risks - well, within reason, I still have to go to work! The fringe trim was probably the most diligent fringe trim I've had anywhere, from one of the main stylists who stepped out from his current client for a short while to attend to my bangs so I could actually see where I was going again. The attention to detail for a mere fringe trim impressed me sufficiently to return for a full cut here and to see how they did with the rest of my hair, and I was really happy with the result. I think it's one of the best cuts I've had, and it's held its shape well as its grown out. One minor observation I have about the experience, which doesn't reflect negatively on the service or skills of the staff at all, is that I think the salon decor maybe looks a tiny bit tired. Obviously it's a subjective matter of personal taste, but I wasn't particularly keen on the heavy wavy frosted glass mirror surrounds. And when you're at the hairdressers you spend a lot of time looking at the mirrors. It does however make a good impression on entrance, and the Swarovski crystal light fittings and velvet covered waiting chairs convey a certain level of luxury, but for a premium salon, I don't feel the rest of the interior is quite up to the standard of plush or modern captured so well by The Chapel in Islington, or Ena a bit further up the road, which is what I'm comparing it to. So I would hope they perhaps consider a bit of an update in the not too distant future. It really wouldn't take much. read more

Stuart Phillips - Hair Salons Near Me - London, XGL

I used to hate getting my hair cut, until I found out about Stuart Phillips. It's a nice little salon in Covent Garden, smart but not over the top and with very down to earth staff that don't make you feel out of place or scruffy like some salons can. By chance I was given Mitz for my first hair cut and I'm so glad! He completely restyled my hair twice, once from a bob to a crop, and always does an excellent job. He takes a lot of time and care over his cuts, does an excellent colour and is a lovely person to spend a couple of hours with too. All in all, a fantastic experience. read more

Lara did a fabulous job, when I first turned up I was really fed up with my hair and moaned about how lank and boring it looked, she listened to my frustrations and cut and styled my hair in such a way that even wash after wash it still looks great, 3 months on I am writing this review and I am pleased it's grown out nicely. Lara has a great personality, very friendly and warm, although it's slightly over my budget I wouldn't hesitate in going back again, and I would definitely recommend her to my friends. read more

22/2/14 My daughter had a cut and blow dry with Ellie today and came away really upset. She was told over and over again, in a very unkind way that her hair was dreadful, dry and in the worst condition ever seen. She has always had dry hair and has regular treatments and her hair is now probably the best it has ever been. She goes to a hairdressers every week and spends a lot of money on her hair. Ellie was very mean to her, it is fine for a hairdresser to point out the condition of someones hair but not tear them to pieces in a really unkind way. You are meant to come out of a hairdressers feeling good about yourself not upset and near to tears! read more

I've been a client of this salon for a few years now and have always been pleased with the end result and the staff.

've got a £15 haircut for £80, and spent a tiring hour listening to how cool they are :(. From the very beginning I told that I need a haircut that won't need any efforts. I know that it's possible - my previous hairdressers did it. To achieve it, they ususally spent an hour carefully cutting every strand of my wavy hair on different levels so the result looked great and volumous just after washing. Here the haidresser spent like 3 minutes in total cutting my hair on one level, and an hour - making my hair (what for - I needed a decent cut for the next 3 months, and I didn't need anything for that particular evening, and I made it clear) and self-advertizing. Plus some "hair-treatment" which made absolutely no difference and added ~£20 to the final price. I'm ok with paying more for a good result, but here I paid for nothing and was not happy at all. And hairdresser was a "top stylist"! read more

Would not recommend! As a student travelling around Europe this experience was awful. I had searched nice hairdressers on the internet as i was looking at getting a hair restyle before returning home to Australia. I came across Stuart Phillips as emailed them to book an appointment as i had no phone access, they were prompt with their reply and i quickly booked for 10:15 on Friday morning. When i arrived however very early to insure that i wouldn't miss my booking they explained that they had canceled my appointment as I hadn't replied to the last email within enough time. the receptionist was rude and treated me as an annoyance. I asked to rebook for two hours time she replies " I suppose I could find a spot for you" very unprofessional. they were going to charge me 90 pounds (180 Australian) for a cut. As a student this was out of my budget but I was prepared to pay for a delightful service. I then left as i had a two hour wait and came across another salon down the road (Sassoon) . I asked how much it would be for a cut to then see that they had a student price of 40 pounds much ore affordable and lovely service. Marco was fanatic if seeking the full package of service head up Monmouth st towards Trafalgar square to feel the difference. read more

I have regular colour and cuts by Ellie at Stuart Phillips and can honestly say she's brilliant; I've never once left feeling disappointed. The colour is always fantastic and I only wish I could blow dry my hair so it looked as lovely as when Ellie's finished! I've recommended friends and have no hesitation in passing on the word... read more

Where do I start was booked in for 2 didn't get seen until 3:15 the woman with the bright red hair behind reception must have had a bottle of wine with lunch I could smell it as soon as I walked in I would not go near this place ever again by far the worst salon experience I've had while in London and the cut was horrid I had to go to another place the next day to get it evened out complete and utter disappointment!!! read more

I had an appointment with Stuart on Tuesday for the first time and I am sorry to say this but I am disappointed with the results. I wanted a lovely, soft, sexy and feminine look with many layers, but he insisted that it wouldn't go well with my head shape, and gave me a very plain, boring cut - basically he seemed to have just cut off the ends all around to even it out. While I appreciate the creative thinking and years of experience that went into determining what haircut he would give me, I couldn't help but feel that the actual cut itself could have been done by my mom at home in the bathroom - it was literally just making the ends even, no layers, no effects, nothing clever or interesting whatsoever. It was literally the kind of haircut that my grandma used to give me when I was at school and she couldn't afford to take me to a hairdresser. When he showed me the results, I was horrified... It was exacerbated by the fact that he completely straightened out my hair in order to be able to cut it evenly, and I look hideous with such straight hair. Also, it is actually quite difficult for a non-hairdresser to see how it's all going to turn out once it's back to its normal shape. At my insistence, he finally added ONE layer, which turned out way too thick and way too short and somehow seems to live a life of its own and not integrate well with the rest of the haircut. There are odd dangling bits here and there and now I'm thinking that the bottom bits would have to be cut as well to bring it more in line with this horrendous thing on the top of my head - which is a big shame, as I certainly didn't intend to lose this much length! I have had haircuts in the past that were really well done and turned men's heads and I kept getting compliments on them. This is NOT one of those cuts. Having paid £200 for it, I would rather not describe how I feel because it makes me way too upset. Some of the possible explanations include: 1. Maybe I am not good enough at explaining what I want and need to learn 'hairdresser language' to effectively communicate what I want. 2. Maybe he had a long day and didn't feel like giving me a too elaborate haircut. 3. Maybe he was biased by the fact that I am a fat, boring accountant and not one of his celebrity clients, and somehow subconsciously ended up giving me a haircut that reflects that. 4. Maybe he truly, genuinely thought that this is the cut that would flatter me most, in which case I have to respectfully disagree with him - along with all my family, friends, acquaintances and members of the opposite gender. Also, for some reason I thought that this price would include a blowout as well, not just wash and cut. Again, this could be my mistake, I probably didn't read the T&C carefully enough, or just kind of assumed that it did include it. As I've said above, he straightened out my hair completely so that he could give me an even haircut, but I look hideous with such straight hair! For £200 I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to leave the salon actually looking good, and not just hoping/assuming that my hair would start to look better once it actually gains some shape. The reason why I'm giving two stars and not just one is because he was really polite, respectful and professional, focused on me and didn't make me uncomfortable at all in any way, which was a nice surprise and something I wouldn't have expected from a hairdresser who does celebrities' hair on a regular basis. However, in a way I would have preferred being treated rudely but leaving with a top-notch haircut. read more

I've lost count of the amount of positive comments Ive received regarding an elfin crop of a haircut created by the fantastically talented Ellie of Stusrt Phillios. Many friends and colleagues have rushed off to see her and have been delighted with the results. Interestingly I've noticed that the cut and colour ( both Ellie's ) are complimented on even when it's grown out a bit and I'm due for a visit, a very good sign of a great job. I appreciate how she listens carefully to what you want and makes really helpful suggestions so that you come out with something that suits you personally. She's a lovely woman and a sensitive and skilled hairdresser. I've recommended her to friends who work in the media, they are very discriminating because a good haircut is part of their professional makeup. Now they know they can rely on Ellie many have passed her name on to further colleagues who also beat a path to see her in Covent Garden, nice and easy to get to as well ! read more

Hi. I was really excited to have my hair cut at Stuart Philipps. Took an appointment with a Senior stylist as I wanted to do a Pixie and wanted to have someone I could trust. It was the first time ever I was so DISAPPOINTED. I had an appointment with Jules. He was nice but then when I showed him what I wanted he said I have my reservation,blablabla according to him my crown did not like having my hair short. Told him I have my hair short all the time and sometimes really really short. And he started asking why I wanted such change. I hate those kind of hairdresser. I know it is better to say no than having an unhappy customer. But at least he could have found a compromise. I ended up with more or less the same cut that I had before and it doesn't even look as good as when I had it cut originally as originally it was way shorter and I was looking more sophisticated. And plus I paid 1/4 of what I had to pay at Stuart Philipps. Too bad that that hairdresser that I went to before is in Krakow. read more