Hairstylist Carl Bembridge on working with "muse" Maura Higgins

"In my home, I've got a hair-drobe", Carl Bembridge tells me, instantly conjuring images of Barbie's Dreamhouse proportions. "It's something I always wanted. And I was like, I need to make that happen."

It's more than just fantasy for the celebrity hairstylist. It's a necessity when working with so many clients: "I've always got different hair pieces in every colour, washed and ready to go in different kit bags so I can grab that and grab whoever's hair I'm doing, I grab what hair, just take loads of options."

Bembridge has rapidly become a highly sought-after celebrity hairstylist, and his polished and ultra glamorous styles are immediately recognisable, whether on a red carpet or in an Instagram photo carousel.

This is in a large part due to his collaborations with Maura Higgins, who he calls his "main muse". From voluminous curls and sleek ponytails, to retro cropped styles and flicked out bobs, the pair have curated Higgins' look to perfection, drawing inspiration from archival fashion shoots and movie history.

"I always call her a chameleon because she can adapt", Bembridge tells me. "We can do a very girly, very cutesy look, or she can do very sexy and very strong looks. She's just so versatile, and that's what I like to be as a stylist, is versatile. We can be editorial or we can be glam, we can be natural, we can do a 90-foot ponytail if we want, or we can do a short bob."

But what is the DNA of a Maura Higgins look, I ask?

"I think as long as she looks sexy, it's never boring", Bembridge says. "Whether it be girly and cutesy or if it's strong and powerful, we make sure we hit it from hair to makeup to outfit, and it's got to be a total look."

The magical element in their relationship is clearly a desire to push the boundaries each time: "We've got the same mind when it comes to fashion and looks. What can we do to top the last one? Or what can we do to make it different?"

By way of example, Bembridge recalls a recent night in with the Love Island star: watching the Apple TV series In Vogue: The 90s and brainstorming hair ideas. "We watched it together and we were like, Oh, my God. Look at all the looks, the hair, the makeup, the outfits!"

"In my head, I'll be like, 'Or how can we put a little spin on it? Or we might add an accessory or we might be like, Oh, let's do that texture and volume, but with a shorter length'. It's always nice to dabble on the whole in the past, but bring it to a modern, fresh look also."

The results of these brainstorming sessions invariably make headlines, whether its a sharp 1940s-style micro fringe, a bouncy bob or flowing, honey-toned highlights.

Maintaining that element of suprise when it comes to Higgins' looks demands a level of organisation that Bembridge himself jokes is possibly too much. "I love prepping and I love being organised. It makes me thrive", he says.

"We've got the Brit Awards coming up, and we work around the outfit. And then once you've seen the outfit, you can envision what hair goes [with it]. So then I prep hair pieces and ideas. And I make a bit of a mood board so that she has the ideas to choose from. Then she'll say what she likes, what she doesn't like.

"And sometimes it'll be very easy and we're like, yeah, let's do that. And then sometimes she'll be like, 'Oh, is that a risk?' And I'm like, 'Maura, we love taking risks!' And she always goes, 'Yeah, I trust you'."

One of their go-to looks is the slicked back, high ponytail. Perfection, Bembridge says, is key here, but always with an awareness that "perfect to every single person is different".

When it comes to nailing the look, Bembridge says: "A lot of it is in the product and a lot of it is in the preparation of, let's just say, I'm doing a sleek look on Maura. She'll have washed hair and I'll douse it in extra-strong dream coat from Color Wow." Bembridge is an ambassador for the brand.

After covering the hair in the spray, he'll "blow dry the hair back into the position of where I want the pony, just to encourage everything to set and dry into that place". Next, he fixes the pony with hair ties from Útiles, a brand of super stretchy mylon bands. "They're really kind to the hair, and it allows me to keep the control, but without being too harsh on the hair."

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"Then I will snatch up the pony tail", he says, brushing each strand into place. He'll follow that up with a root powder, "just around the hairline, not too strong, but just to fill in any gaps, just to make it look seamless and very pleasing to the eye".

Finally, finish with a healthy coat of shine spray: "I feel like with any style, shiny hair is beautiful hair. You want it to reflect either the cameras or the flashing lights or just people's eyes and just be like, wow, look at her hair."

Speaking of his work, it's clear that Bembridge's own ambitions are perfectly matched with Higgins, which is one of the reasons he's managed to thrive so much in such a short time. "I'm still dreaming and I feel like I'm one of those people that the more I do, the more than I want to do.

"We're all hard on ourselves with different scenarios and different times in our lives. But I look on moments like that or doing these huge names, and I'm like, Oh, Carl, you're just a little boy from Bristol from a little council house, and now you're doing these A-Listers' hair and this amazing dream that you've dreamed of doing."

With that, he heads back to the hair-drobe.