Conditioning Cocktails

Still don’t have soft silly hair after buying almost every moisturizing conditioning product out there, or your client’s hair is still dry and unmanageable let me suggest we go back to old school. Before we had all these lotions and poisons, and modern technology our grandmothers, their grandmothers and so on all had their own concoctions and solutions we all know of, mayonnaise, vitamin E oils, olive oil, coconut oil, neroli oil, ‘which Cleopatra used to drench her hair in and sit for weeks with it on her head until it was washed out 10 times’. For centenaries and till today the one fundamental ingredient was oil, and going back to my assistant training and biology knowledge what I do and use in my studio and suggest to my clients has always been deep conditioners plus an oil added.

We cocktail our styling aids mixing mousses and gels together or pastes to achieve a certain style and to me the some theory I apply to the homecare regiment I recommend to my clients with their shampoos and conditioners to mix them up 'everyone has more then one conditioner under their sinks, cause your stylist has recommended many or your a product junkie. Back in my day we used a lot of olive oil yup a bottle was also in the despensary, adding it into our treatments for clients and stuck them under steamers, which took 5 washing to get it out, this is why today there are great natural products that are refined without losing the potency of all the old kitchen goodies our granny’s used, who has that kind of time today, 5 shampoos I don’t.

The recipe; ½, 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil for each time you shampoo your hair; I take the amount of conditioner required for the length and thickness of hair and judge the amount from there. And if you have curly, frizzy fly away hair use a drop into your finishing seriums and styling aids , beat the dry summer heat and watch it control the humidity off your hair.
After shampoo take your masque, deep conditioners and add oil to it, concentrate on applying it first to the mid-part of the hair working it down to the ends then to scalp massaging it through then use a wide comb gently combing all the tangles out with adding oil to your conditioners you will discover less tangles and hair loss, leave it on for 2 to 5 minutes then rinse.

And Thank you to my Friend Sandy for inspiring me to share this as she reminded me how great oil is for her hair over our great burger.

My Recommended products

Aveda Beautifying Composition ; The Moroccan Oil

Model Hair Spotlight # 1

Freja Beha Erichsen

At the age of 18 Freja made her debut as a model in 2005 at the spring/fall Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Miu Miu shows in Milan and Paris. For the past 4 years I have watched her allure us in with her androgynously sexy look with a series of editorials and campaigns that cash in on the Danish beauty’s ability to conjure the masculine as well as the feminine within her poses. I have enjoyed watching her change her hairstyles and cuts, from the shape fringe and straight long hair to a shorter layerd cut to presently a textured bob, striding down the runways of some of the biggest designers in fashion and media pages in the industry. Perfecting her frilly beauty to the edgy style with killer bone structure and her bold attitude, this beauty remains as strong and in demand as ever.

Lip Savers

Summer Lip Care

This summer don’t forget the lips, which is the thinnest skin of any other area of the face, the lips are virtually defenceless against subtle changes in sun, wind, temperature, dryness, even diet - requiring special attention. We often think applying gloss or lipstick is enough and study’s are showing that more and more woman’s lips are pre-maturing faster. Trick is before applying any lipsticks or glosses or even stains drench your lips with a balm, they’ll look and feel plump and refreshed.

My recommended products

Aveda Lip Saver SPF 15: Kiehl's lip Balm SPF 15: La Mer The Lip Blam

Chanel No5

Legendary Chanel No 5

Just like in basically every field of art, there are some legends and Chanel No. 5 is without a doubt the most legendary fragrance in fashion history.
First introduced in 1921, Chanel No. 5 (for your information: 5 was Coco Chanel's lucky number) was planned to be the most expensive perfume in the world. It has been described as "the world's most legendary fragrance", and some of the world’s most beautiful women have appeared on commercials and ads for Chanel No5. Its fragrance has been revised and considered to have a fresher appeal. Fan or not we pay homage to the house of style and elegance. Look for the new commercial with the new spokes model the beautiful French actress Audrey Tautou.

Cathrine Denuve; Ali macgraw

Carole Bouquet ; Estella Warren

Nicole Kidman

Hippie Chic Braids

Braids, Plaits, Fishtails, have hit the runways for spring/summer and it’s a great way to pull hair off the face and let the world see your beauty. Add a little twist to any individual style you are, bohemian, hippie, or even classic braids have always been a great accessory to hair, and this summer with those day’s when you don’t feel like washing your hair and it's the thrid day with a ponytail and it’s messy; braid it without using a comb but your fingers, let the loose pieces just fall. Learn how to do a basic braid and from there create a beautiful romantic summer look with sexy braids.

Brunettes

Raving Beauty's

Exotic, Romantic and Seductive are words used to describe brunettes. Brunettes throughout the ages have always had a special place; also some of the most famous "blondes" in the past century were in fact brunettes: Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe, and Bridget Bardot not to mention the hundreds of them today.
At first, one may think that making someone a brunette is a simple task for a colorist to do. But the truth is that making a good, rich brunette can be very challenging. The most beautiful brunettes are when they have variations of browns, caramels, honey tones, running through from light to medium shades.

I suggest, making the base (Tint) more of a cooler blue base and add the warmth with fine slices or fine weaves of hi-lites. We often hear my tint is dull or it’s washed out, well this is because we focus on perfecting rich chocolate bases on already warm natural color, (all humans are warm, and chocolate is blue based ) even the ones that consider themselves mousy have either red or gold natural remain pigment, hence why I suggest to add hi-lites or low-lites of warmer shades to blend into the desired base (Tint) instead of in your base formula.
The great thing about brunette hair color is that it has a wide assortment of fantastic shades, and by adding a little this or that into a formula can make Jambalaya Soup, keep it natural and simple and add hints of sparkles.

Skin that Glows

Glowing Skin

Making your skin look perfect is the first and most important thing you can do to achieve a truly great look. The key is to enhance your natural beauty - accentuate the positive.

In most cases, attempting to hide imperfections under makeup doesn’t improve your skin’s appearance—it just looks like you’re wearing gobs of makeup. I can't stand when I see young women with foundation lines at the jaw line or that the choice of shade is darker then the neck , this is not pretty. Learn to work with concealer to hide blemishs or any imperfections, invest in good skincare get facials on regular bases, drink loads of water and keep your face out of the dreaded sun and never ever sleep without washing the day's dirt and impurities away.

Two of my very favourite products I highly recommend:

Aveda Inner Light -Tinted Moistuizer,

Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer

Star Trend #2 : Christina

Christina Ricci the constant reinvention

We were first introduced to her as Wednesday Adams from the film Adams Family, Big eyed, pouty mouth awkward beauty. Christina Ricci is one of Hollywood’s top actresses known for her ability to transform her looks for any part she play’s, remember Sleepy Hallow or Monster.

I have been watching her evolutions of style for more than a decade now, seeing her go from the grungy teenager to the chic elegant woman she has become today, voted one of the top dressed in Hollywood, and for the past couple of years I have had clients bringing in her pictures, most recent for her lighter hair coloring, she has become another great reference for me when I am consulting, keep Ms Ricci in mind, she frequently changes her hair color and we love her for that.

Christina Ricci hair changes

Updo vs Upstyle

It’s 9:00am and the first client is an updo, oh god what am I going to do , I hate "updo’s”. These are comments I have been hearing for years when some stylists have to do an (updo), and I have come to the conclusion that its mostly fear based not knowing how to do one or they take more time then a haircut, or purely lazy. Well here comes the season of Bride-zillas and Prom-snots, and Gala events, so it’s time to become skilled at the art of an Upstyle not an Updo. Get those around brushes, curling irons, rollers (hot or Velcro) out and start practising how to do a simple French twist or even a braid, after all your a hairdresser! aren’t you suppose to know how to achieve almost anything with hair? Some hairdressers love them and do beautiful work they inspire themselves with ideas taken from high end fashion magazines runway shows, vintage hair looks etc. And gone are the days of artichokes on top of someone’s head, or a stack of ringlet curls with every single piece of hair perfectly placed with a gallon of hairspray and a full box of bobby pins making them look exactly like the traditional wedding bride updo’s we know and have seen or warn ourselves ek .

The most beautiful upstyles whether it be on a bride or for a special event I have seen is when they look almost slightly dishevelled with ribbons of hair twisted and knotted appearing effortless and free with a slight editorial feeling, not the stiff and perfect hair that came from the 1950’s era "updo’s". Approach them with a chic modern fashionable upstyle not as an old fashion “updo” get crafty and remember doing a red carpet hairstyle can be exciting and fun to do which can get most of you out of the everyday routine, cut, color, blow-dry, flat iron. Make women look stunning by capturing an essence of them, encouraging with enthusiasm to go a little more modern with their upstyles, I guarantee they will be back for another fabulous upstyled look for just a mere dinner party or evening out to the theatre.

I used to work with a stylist that I would say was more of an editorial guy, he would always amaze me how fast and effortlessly he would whip up an upstyle for his clients, and they always looked like they were coming off the pages of vogue and the best part of it was that they were average everyday women going to an event, I loved watching him do them, he would take a simple ponytail adding a little tease and a little creative placement and a master piece was designed especially for them. Ideas can come from pages and pages of all the fashion magazines out there, learn to incorporate and work with hairpieces, beautiful ribbons and small real flowers, and even delicate jewellery can look absolutely stunning, and as with everything you do remember to always strive to create your own signature .

These are some inspirations for today’s Upstyles, not to be taken literally but as creative variations and fashion is all about variations, Happy Upstyling.