Summer Ombre

This summer it was all about the ombre! The once faux pas hair style (god forbid you show any roots) has taken over the hair salons of America!
The first time I saw this look was on Drew Barrymore and I was appalled! But as more celebrities began to try the style it grew on me. It's not a new style but since it's such a fun, beachy, carefree look, it works so well in the summer, especially in Florida where color tends to fade anyway.
here are a few ombre looks I created for some of my lovely clients:

short hair ombre:

long hair ombre:

I really love when ombre is subtle and the colors fuse together seamlessly. One of my biggest pet peeves is super dark roots and overly bleached ends. I feel that it makes the hair look dry and not on purpose as opposed to the softer version . 

Even I was rocking the ombre look on my short hair :)

As the fall season approaches, I as excited to try new looks like different shades of reds and mahogany on my clients. Also, fading ombre techniques with a multitude of color combinations.  I've seen a lot of reverse ombre happening in fashion and I am dying to try this look on someone! 

Growing your hair out.

As I mentioned before, I am engaged and we will be getting married in 8 months. About 4 months ago I cut my hair shorter than I have ever had in my entire life! As much as I loved my short hair I always imagined myself as a long hair bride. I am now doing anything and everything in my power to grow my hair out. These are some of the things I am currently doing to help my hair grow as fast and healthy as possible.

There is no point in growing out unhealthy hair. The end result will be raggedy looking ends that are thin and do nothing for your over all look! So step one is making sure you take care of your strands.

-Brush your hair with a wide tooth comb when it is dry.

-Limit your hot styling (i.e. flat iron & blow drying). Since my hair is so short and very straight, the only time I ever need to use any heat on my hair is if I ever want to add curl to my hair. It ends up looking very flat without any heat styling, but I know this stage is temporary. I will need it more as my hair grows, so I am taking advantage of being able to limit my heat styling as much as possible.

-Always use protective products when you style your hair. My personal favorite is Marrakesh oil. This stuff is amazing! This lightweight oil smells great, is all natural, a smoother, and heat protector in one.

-Treat yourself to weekly deep conditioning masks. You can do one in salon or at home. If you choose to do it at home, make sure you choose one right for you. A lot of deep conditioning treatments contain protein, which is great for damaged hair, but you can easily over do it. If you do decide to choose one with protein, make sure to only go through one bottle of it, then switch to a moisturizing one so you don't develop brittle hair. 

-Take a multi vitamin loaded with B vitamins (especially biotin). I heard pre-natals work wonders on making your hair grow, so now I  am trying a pre-natal gummy multi vitamin. It tastes great and it is iron free. I find that too much iron upsets my stomach and the iron free doesn't. 

- Regularly massage your scalp, especially in the shower as you are applying conditioner.

-Get regular trims with a stylist that understands how important it is to you to grow your hair! As a stylist, I have heard horror stories from my clients who have gone to other places in the past asking for a trim and leaving with a full on much shorter do! There is nothing more frustrating! So know your stylist and don't be afraid to show them pictures of your goal so you are on the same page!

and most importantly....

BE PATIENT! Hair needs time to grow so don't be afraid to try new styles as your hair grows in. If you continue to try to style your hair as you once did at a different length, you will get frustrated and be tempted to cut it! So get on Pintrest, look as different ideas, and have fun! 

Hair Show 2013

This past weekend I went to Orlando for the annual Premiere hair show. As always, there is so much to see and so much to do! This year, I was determined to be productive, take classes, and try not to do so much shopping.

In order to do so, I pre registered for a color class and an up styling class with Kris Sorbe, a well known stylist who has won many awards including NAHA Master Hairstylist of the Year (North American Hairstyling Awards), she also received the 2004 and 2005 Canadian International Hairstylist of the Year, an ABBIES award for Best Salon Education Program and at HairColor USA Best Educator and Most Inspirational Educator of the Year. 

In her class, I learned a lot of really helpful hints and tricks that I plan on incorporating into my daily work. She showed me new techniques to create ombre looks like this one:

I also learned how to create the latest high fashion "buns" even on the finest and shortest of hair.

She was extremely motivational and so down to earth! She even gave me a pack of her own bobby pins so I know what to look for next time I go shopping for new ones in order to achieve the best look for certain up styles. 

On my agenda for the show, I also wanted to find an airbrush makeup kit. I have been dying to try one of these and at the show I found a really great company. The cool thing about this machine is you can use it for foundation, blush, eyeshadows, really colorful face painting and stenciling, as well as tanning! I am currently practicing trying to perfect my skills so I can one day incorporate airbrush makeup to me line up of services to offer to my lovely clients. 

I also wanted some new inspiration for my male clientele. My main focus is really women's styling but I do have many male clients who are looking for new and exciting looks as well. It's nice that fashion is bringing men back to a more classic look instead of the awful blowout! I got some new ideas from watching the show put on by American crew. It's all about the matte look rather than the wet gel look. Here are some of my favorite male looks I saw at the show:

All in all, I would have to say I accomplished all of this and managed to do a little shopping. It was a great experience and I look forward to seeing what next year has to offer!

Blessed

As we continue onto our fabulous wedding season, I have been blessed with the sweetest brides to work with. I am always so honored when a bride chooses me to be a part of their special day because in this competitive field, there are so many options. I think what sets me apart is me genuine love for hair and makeup and my ability to listen to my brides and try to incorporate as many details into the day as I can.
As a future bride myself, I know how stressful weddings can be so when a bride chooses me to do their hair, I try to respond promptly to any and all questions and be there as much as they need me because that is what I would want for myself.
Here are some photos of my most recent weddings:

Here is the lovely Brittani with her sister and maid of honor. I did both the hair and makeup for the ladies.

photography by images wedding photography

This next set is an updo I did for the maid of honor for my most recent wedding. She wanted a tousled style with lots of texture and class. Her hair is straight to I used a curling wand to add the texture before pinning it into a style.

 Here is the lovely bride Katy who opted out of a traditional veil but instead chose a beautiful hair piece she found at Alfred Angelo to frame the style I designed for her. Funny thing is, without knowing, I bought the exact same piece and will be wearing it on my wedding day!

Well, I have some news to share....

I am engaged!!! 

I am so excited to be marrying the man of my dreams next March. Being in the wedding industry has made planning a lot easier from me because I have heard so many stories from brides that I meet that inspire me or help stear me in the right direction.
I am going for a vintage 1920's style wedding. Here are some hair ideas I have for myself.

I love the classic look of this style. It's very timeless.

I am by no means a Miley Cyrus enthusiast, but I really have been liking her hair styles lately!

I love the detailing in the front of this style


 My hair is still pretty short, but with the help of vitamins and lots of head massages, I am hoping to at least have a bob by next year. By the way, these theories have not been proven to help your hair grow, but as of now I am willing to try anything!

 At work, I have been staying busy with lots of weddings and proms. Here are some photos of my latest creations!

Goodbye acrylic nails, hello fun!

About 6 months ago, I decided to ditch my acrylic nail obsession. Not only was it costly, but damaging to my nails as well! As cute as they were, I said goodbye and soaked them off after a 2 year run with them.

After an excruciating growing out process, my nails were finally back to normal and I could do all sorts of fun things with them!

I first experimented with the sally hansen nail sticker polish. It turned out great! It was super easy and they looked awesome. Only downside was after like one day they started peeling :(

After a while, I was just played around with different color polishes depending on the season or whatever holiday was coming up. I began to get bored and was almost thinking about calling my nail tech to spice up my nails with some acrylis. Until one day, I was playing on pintrest.com (i can spend hours on that site!!) and I came across this:

*http://heynicenails.com/*

According to all i have read about this water nail technique, all you do is choose some different polishes and drop some drops into a cup of water, swirl the colors together and then dip.

It looked so easy and so much fun! I've tried it two times now and i haven't quite gotten it but im going to keep trying to perfect it! heres my first attempt:

I had just gotten the new polishes from china glaze inspired by the hunger games and wanted to try them all at once :)

today, I attempted my second try at it and decided to only do one finger

this time, I just went with a hot summer pink and some black.

Now, I have found that in all the directions, it says to just dip your nail but i think next time I do it, instead of just dipping it in and out of the water, after I swirl the polish, I think I will dip and kind of skim the top then pull it out of the water to see if that works better at keeping the design so it doesn't look like such a blob.

My next thing, is I want to try galaxy nails and caviar nails!

Welcome to a (belated) new year!

Hello friends! I know we are now in March and spring is right around the corner, but I have just realized I have not posted a new entry since October! Wow. Unacceptable!
New Years Resolution for 2012: Post more entries!

With a new year, came some changes! I recently moved to a new place that I love which is in south Fort Myers bringing me a little farther away from work. The "snowbirds" are in full force here in Cape Coral, Florida. The traffic has been crazy lately. If it wasn't for how much they stimulated our economy I would be very annoyed!

Another change for the new year is my hair! I no longer have long flowing locks. I now have sassy short hair! I must say it was a big change but I am absolutly loving it!

also, we added a new member to our family....

Her name is Winnie, and she is a Teddy bear puppy. Yes, teddy bear is really her breed! It's a mix between a Shit-zu and a Bichon.

Now that I have you up to speed, lets talk about hair trends for the Spring!

This season is all about adding new twists to old styles! The retro style waves are all the rage on the red carpet, were seeing more celebrities go for the short Audrey Hepburn pixie cut, the 80's asymmetrical cuts are making a comeback, and braids have been everywhere from the runway to your local schools.

I love how now-a-days anything goes as far as hair and makeup is concerned.

Now that the warmer season is approaching, I am having more requests for highlights and lighter tones. Ombre hair is still a phenomenon because of its low maintenance and high fashion look. Blondes are wearing more platinum, icy blonde tones, redheads are going for more of a vibrant look and brunets are rocking the sun kissed honey highlights.

Since I haven't posted in a while, here is some fun photos of my lovely clients!