Red carpet hairstyles: vanity fair party

With the Oscars over for another year, Hollywood's A-list headed out to various events to party the night away - and whether they were celebrating or commiserating, they all looked suitably stylish doing so.

The annual Vanity Fair party allows those who weren't nominated to enjoy a bit of award show glamour for the evening, with musicians and non-movie folk hob-knobbing with the award-winners. 

Taylor Swift is rarely seen without her trademark curls tucked in to a stylish side updo these days - she is definitely an inspiration to all curly girls on the red carpet. 

Meanwhile Aussie actress Naomi Watts looked pretty and casual with her hair half up in a volumised beehive, with loose curled tendrils framing her face.

Neither Cameron Diaz nor Emma Stone were nominated the Oscars, but both stars looked great at the Vanity Fair party. Cameron's trademark honey blonde locks are simply styled as usual, with a glossy finish and effortlessly tousled lengths.

I'm still getting used to Emma as a blonde, after a few years as a redhead. I love the fringe and wavy length combination, and with her Chanel sequinned gown she looks like a true fashionista.

Jessica Biel and Juliette Lewis also attended, with both stars showing off glossy brunette locks. Juliette looks much more sophisticated than usual with this slightly retro-inspired updo draped artfully across one eye.

Jessica Biel looks stunning in her beaded gold gown, but I wasn't blown away by her slicked back bun - she has such beautiful hair, I would have preferred to see something a bit more glam.

The party also attracted two doyennes of true old school glamour, Jackie and Joan Collins. The sisters looked chic and blow-dried as usual, but in this sibling battle of style I think older sister Joan wins for me - her set curls are just a bit more glam than Jackie's voluminous style.

Volume is always in fashion on the red carpet, and both Helena Bonham Carter and Jessica Szohr opted for the more-is-more approach to styling at last night's party.

We're used to seeing Helena with her locks piled high, but the bouffant was something new for Jessica - I'm not convinced on this look I'm afraid.

Both Gabrielle Union and Abbie Cornish opted for really retro styles, with hair gently curled around the face and softly tumbling into waves. I love both these old-school looks, which show exactly how a slightly slick look can be pulled off to perfection on the red carpet.

Long and blonde is always in fashion in Hollywood, and two leading ladies opted for just that at last night's party.

Amanda Seyfried has some of the best hair in the biz, but I do prefer it when she wears it curled or wavy - in this battle of the blondes, Charlize Theron edges it for me with her effortlessly styled waves and pristine champagne shade.

Loose updos are now a red carpet favourite, and both Anna Paquin and Rosie Huntington Whiteley rocked textured styles last night. Both actresses added some volume on top with a bit of a quiff, and both also kept the style simple and unfussy with a few loose tendrils. I love this look, and with a red carpet dress it's always a winning look.

The girls from Glee are rapidly becoming red carpet pros, although they both tend to sport very different looks.

Dianna Agron wore her hair up in a loose chignon, with face-framing tendrils on either side to soften the style and blend with her sweeping fringe. Meanwhile Lea Michele looked smoking hot with sultry smoky eyes and a dark, dramatic pulled back pony.

Also rocking updos, both Zoe Saldana and Kate Beckinsale chose to wear their locks pulled back to show off those fab frocks.

Zoe's look combined lots of curls with a tucked back style, while Kate - no longer a blonde, but still with a hint of colour through the lengths, joined the pony club with an up and away look which showed off her sparkling earrings to perfection.

Blunt fringes have had a real moment this season, with the likes of Sandra Bullock and Olivia Wilde wearing full, flat styles.

Zooey Deschanel has been wearing this look for ages, and both she and Kerry Washington rocked peeper-sweeping fringes last night. While Zooey kept things loose with long curls, Kerry's look was poker straight all over with long sleek lengths to match that fringe.

Both Eva Mendes and Claire Danes kept things casual with straight locks and plenty of texture and body. It's refreshing to see straight hair on the red carpet again, and as these two proof a combination of movement, colour, and texture mean the look is far from boring.

There were a couple of parent-and-child duos on the red carpet, including Steve and Liv Tyler. In this stylish family it's hard to know who has the most lustrous head of hair, but for her Hollywood styling, it has to be Liv this time!

Madonna and Lourdes also took a trip to the party, and here it's easy for me to pick a most stylish - Lourdes looks beautiful!

I love this flattering creamy blonde on Madonna - complete with trademark roots - but Lourde's glossy mane of shiny black hair wins hands down,

Justin Bieber also chose the Vanity Fair party to go public with his relationshiop with fellow tween-idol, Selena Gomez. The good-looking twosome even wore colour-coordinating outfits!

Selena is of the Taylor Swift school of curly updos, and this side-swept style even flatters Justin's sweeping look!

My two favourite looks of the night were Ginnifer Goodwin's cute crop and Bryce Dallas Howard's tumbling mane of auburn curls.

Ginnifer looks fab with her raven crop, and the textured styling across one eye owes more than a hint to Agyness Deyn's trademark style.

I love Bryce's bright red locks, and this old-school style also owes a debt to a hair icon - Rita Hayworth. These tumbling waves look sensational, and with Bryce's dark eye makeup and beautiful blue silk gown, add up to a winning look for me.