How DID Kate look so great? The bedside blow-dry, manicures and a bespoke dress, how crack squad of stylists made sure Duchess was perfect from head to toe 

  • Hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker entered the Lindo Wing around 1pm
  • Duchess used Brightening Finishing Powder from favourite Bobbi Brown 
  • Her nails were short, square and neatly finished with a French manicure

By Rebecca English and Sarah Rainey For The Daily Mail

Published: 17:18 EST, 3 May 2015 | Updated: 11:53 EST, 4 May 2015

She emerged through the swing doors of the Lindo Wing like a ray of sunshine, wearing a yellow flower print dress and a smile so dazzling it was brighter than the hundreds of flashbulbs going off around her.

Just hours after labour, most other women would be reaching for the biscuit tin — exhausted, emotional and undoubtedly still in pain. But there were no bags under Kate’s eyes; no hair out of place; barely a bump still visible beneath that Jenny Packham designer shift dress.

Instead, she was perfectly poised, coiffed and in control as she tottered down the steps in towering heels, babe-in-arms, accepting only the slightest helping hand from William as she proudly showed off her daughter to the waiting crowds.

So, just how did she do it? We reveal the secrets of ‘Team Kate’, the crack squad of stylists and personal assistants on hand to make sure she was picture perfect from head to toe.

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She emerged through the swing doors of the Lindo Wing like a ray of sunshine. Now, we reveal the secrets of ‘Team Kate’, the crack squad of stylists and personal assistants on hand to make sure she was picture perfect from head to toe 

She emerged through the swing doors of the Lindo Wing like a ray of sunshine. Now, we reveal the secrets of ‘Team Kate’, the crack squad of stylists and personal assistants on hand to make sure she was picture perfect from head to toe 

THE BEDSIDE BLOW-DRY 

She’s been cutting William and Harry’s hair since they were teenagers and is responsible for Kate’s luscious locks.

No wonder, then, that hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker, 51, was spotted entering the Lindo Wing at around 1pm on Saturday, with a bag bulging with heated rollers, curling tongs and hair products.

Known as Mandy to her friends, she styled the Duchess’s hair after Prince George was born, meeting the baby ahead of even his grandparents Carole and Michael Middleton. And the same was true at the weekend.

Straight after giving birth, a mother’s hair can be lank and lacklustre, so Amanda will have used shine serum and hairspray to hold Kate’s loose curls in place.

Along with the half-up hairdo Kate favours for galas and red carpet events, this is one of her trademark styles and is designed to hold its shape outdoors.

Freelancer Amanda, who has travelled with Kate to Australia, the South Pacific and America, is paid £300 plus travel expenses for her services.

Her former husband, Neville Tucker, trained the celebrity stylist Richard Ward, who colours Kate’s hair every eight weeks

Hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker was spotted entering the Lindo Wing at around 1pm on Saturday, with a bulging bag. She will have used shine serum and hairspray to hold Kate’s loose curls in place

Hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker was spotted entering the Lindo Wing at around 1pm on Saturday, with a bulging bag. She will have used shine serum and hairspray to hold Kate’s loose curls in place

GLOWING SKIN — FROM A POT

Kate does her own make-up and has developed a trademark look: dark eyebrows, heavily shadowed eyes and a dot of pink on the apples of her cheeks and lips.

During pregnancy, her beauty routine has changed little, but she earned plaudits for her glowing skin, which looked fresher and dewier than ever as she left the Lindo Wing on Saturday.

After Prince George’s birth, she is said to have turned to beauty favourite Bobbi Brown for the brand’s £40 Brightening Finishing Powder, an iridescent powder in shades of taupe and rose, which is applied on top of foundation to add a pearly shimmer to the face.

She also owes her post-pregnancy sparkle to Bobbi Brown’s £28 eye cream, £23 concealer, £15.50 eyebrow powder (to darken and thicken her brows), £15 lip liner pencil and blush-pink lipstick for £18, buying her make-up at Peter Jones department store in Chelsea.

Kate has confessed she worries about bags under her eyes, and sleep will be at a premium with a newborn baby and 21-month-old toddler.

She will have had her nails done as recently as last week to ensure they looked pristine for the birth, with an hour-long ‘signature royal manicure’ costing £50

She will have had her nails done as recently as last week to ensure they looked pristine for the birth, with an hour-long ‘signature royal manicure’ costing £50

No doubt she will be reaching for specialist Deborah Mitchell’s bee venom face cream (£55 a pot), to which she was introduced by the Duchess of Cornwall in 2010.

Made from honey, rose, lavender and bee venom, the organic cream is described as a ‘natural facelift’. Mitchell, based at the Hale Clinic in Regent’s Park, also offers bee venom facials for £165 each.

MANICURE FIT FOR A DUCHESS

Short, square and neatly finished with a classic French manicure, the Duchess’s nails were immaculate as she gently adjusted her daughter’s knitted shawl outside the hospital, the engagement ring that first belonged to Princess Diana sparkling in the sunlight (above). Her nails haven’t always been her finest feature. In December, five months into her pregnancy, she was spotted with ragged, dry nails, suggesting she hadn’t been looking after them as well as she should. On Saturday, they looked perfect.

She has manicurist Marina Sandoval, who works on a freelance basis and at the Nicky Clarke salon in Mayfair, to thank for that.

Marina has been doing the Duchess’s nails for five years, attending to her at Kensington Palace. Her hand soak, massage and manicure treatment using natural oils from South America leaves Kate feeling utterly relaxed.

She will have had her nails done as recently as last week to ensure they looked pristine for the birth, with an hour-long ‘signature royal manicure’ costing £50. The Duchess favours a natural nail colour, wearing a mixture of Essie’s Allure polish (a pale natural pink, costing £9.95) and Bourjois’ So Laque ultra-shine nail enamel (£5.99) for the Royal Wedding in 2011.

‘Catherine wanted something natural and I felt these matched her skin colour beautifully,’ said Marina.

Kate’s pregnancy nails have been understated, too, ranging from beige to nude and subtle pink shades. Ever practical, she knows a natural shade is best for a mother of two.

Choosing a dress that skirted the knee drew attention from the post-childbirth waistline by showcasing Kate’s perfect pins — a trick she used throughout this pregnancy
Her shoes, £360 Jimmy Choo Gilbert nude heels she has debuted previously, are subtly leg-lengthening

Choosing a dress that skirted the knee drew attention from the post-childbirth waistline by showcasing Kate’s perfect pins — a trick she used throughout this pregnancy

Look mellow in yellow like yummy mummy Kate

The wait is finally over. The Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a little princess - an 8lb 3oz sister for George.

Fashion Finder was excited to catch a glimpse of the new addition to the Royal family who will no doubt follow in her fashionable mother's footsteps. But we were just as thrilled to see the Duchess herself, absolutely glowing as she stepped out of St Mary's Hospital.

Kate may have just given birth, but she looked as elegant and stylish as always wearing a spring fresh dress by Jenny Packham. Duchess devotees will remember that she wore a blue polka dot frock by the same designer when she left the hospital with Prince George almost two years ago and both were custom made.

Better known for her showstopping evening and bridal wear, Packham is a favorite of Kate's and this very pretty dress with it's loose fitting shift silhouette is a lovely choice for her first appearance with her baby daughter. The sunny floral print is a motif from Packham's SS15 collection but as Kate's dress is bespoke it's not available to buy online.

So click (right) to check out some of the label's ready-to-wear dresses at Net-a-Porter or recreate Kate's look with our edit of similar dresses below. From Erdem to MSGM and Asos to People Tree, there's a blooming lovely option for every budget.

* PRICES MAY NOT BE AS ADVERTISED

...NOW GET ONE LIKE IT

LEG-LENGTHENING NUDE HEELS

Choosing a dress that skirted the knee drew attention from the post-childbirth waistline by showcasing Kate’s perfect pins — a trick she used throughout this pregnancy.

Her shoes, £360 Jimmy Choo Gilbert nude heels she has debuted previously, are subtly leg-lengthening. To ward off the spring chill and ensure that her skin tone matched her beautifully bronzed face, Kate wore seven-denier nude non-slip tights, £5 from John Lewis’s Barely There range.

The non-slip brand, which she is thought to pick up at the Peter Jones department store in Chelsea, have a thin gel cushion on the base of the foot, designed to stick it in position in the shoe, though this has been spotted peeking out from inside her heel on occasion.

She is better known for wearing 40-denier black tights — so much so that Debenhams said it had seen sales of opaque tights rise by 115 per cent in January this year.

The Duchess’s PA, Natasha Archer, was on hand to make sure her outfit, which would have cost in the region of £2,250, was spotless and crease-free

But this nude hosiery is better suited to a May day and keeps her look youthful and spring-like.

BESPOKE DRESS TO HIDE BUMP

What better way to disguise what was left of her baby bump than a bespoke silk shift dress from Jenny Packham with its sunny buttercup design? Packham was also designer of choice when Kate left hospital with Prince George two years ago and the designer’s dresses featured prominently in her early pregnancy wardrobe this time round.

On Saturday, the Duchess’s PA, Natasha Archer, the calm, reliable blonde in charge of helping Kate day to day with everything from supermarket shops to online clothes orders, was on hand to make sure her outfit, which would have cost in the region of £2,250, was spotless and crease-free.

Natasha, a privately educated graduate in Hispanic studies at King’s College, London, who has worked with the Royal Household since 2007, is rumoured to be the reason Kate why finally rid her wardrobe of her beloved wedges in favour of high-heeled pumps. She is said to have encouraged her to show more leg. But whispers that she is Kate’s stylist are categorically untrue, even if her input will have been sought on Saturday.

Kate paired the outfit with pearl drop earrings by British jewellery designer Annoushka, costing £1,060.

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