Leave salon without extensions?

Most Salons (by necessity) work on the principal of volume. What does this mean? To pay their bills they must have many clients pass through in a limited amount of time. I worked in hair salons since I was 18…with a few breaks. Why did I take those breaks? Because the salon environment was stifling my creativity. Uniforms and packed-in chairs does not good hair make! Most hairstylists are artists. I come from a long line of visual artists and there isn’t a person in my family who can’t draw, paint, sculpt, etc. Artists need freedom to fuel their fires. When I worked in traditional salons  there was not time or room for creativity, therefore I always felt dissatisfied with my work. I realized a long time ago that I may need 2-3 hours to make the hair PEFECT, not good, not great, but PERFECT. When I didn’t have the time to make it Perfect, I felt dissatisfied. It wasn’t only about pleasing the client, it was about, and is about, pleasing myself. Feeling that feeling of optimism: like, “This woman just went from a 7 to a 10 and she is going out there to rule the world.” That’s how I get my kicks 🙂

We’ve been doing a LOT of tape extensions for the past couple years in addition to the crazy amount of strand-by strand extensions we have always done. Because of this, many new clients have come to us from other salons. I ask a lot of questions, because I want to know what is going on in other extension salons. Shockingly I have found out is that many salons remove the extensions and retape them-whenever- and then have their clients come back in a day or two, sometimes even after the weekend!!!

Maybe I am a snob, probably so. Maybe my clients are snobs too. Who knows? But I cannot imagine taking my extensions out and having to wait days to put them back in!!! I would not accept that. My clients would not either. When they come here it is like a gift to themselves. They know they will meet other intelligent, stylish, and fascinating women here in this very neutral and intimate environment. It’s sort of a ladies club. Discerning ladies: young and “of a certain age” as they say in Paris, all get along easily. They are all here with stories and dreams. They are all powerful and filled with feminine energy. And they all expect to drink their wine from a crystal glass, to drink Fiji water rather than store brand, and get FULL service, even if that means an impromptu makeup lesson or brow shaping, and they certainly expect to leave with their hair looking like they just stepped out of a salon!!

Lesson: IT TAKES A QUEEN TO SERVE A QUEEN ! 😉

We can do your eyeliner even better than you can???

The thought of waking up with eyeliner on might seem too good to be true to some, but it’s not only possible, but with semi-permanent makeup your eyeliner can look even better than if you did it yourself. Why? When applying your own eyeliner it usually is difficult to make clean straight lines with your pencil. Typically you are going right above the lashes, while when we apply your semi-permanent makeup eyeliner we start actually in the rows of lashes. We are also able to either stay very subtle and natural by just defining your lashes (excellent for men! invisible way to take 10 years off) or add a little custom color to bring out your eyes, or a perfect shape which can make the eyes look more uplifted, awake, and larger when necessary. We also can make these lines as even as possible which is hair to do at home since most people are better with one eye than the other (this has to do with being right or left handed and the angle in which you see your face). We can look at your features objectively and correct any asymmetry with our design. After the service you will always have this foundation of a great definition and flattering color and shape and if you want to be more dramatic for an evening out you can use traditional makeup to add to the look.

So Beautiful So Natural!

Why are husbands hesitant to let their wives get semi-permanent makeup, specifically eyebrows?
Well, it’s understandable because they equate semi-permanent makeup with the infamous blue eyebrows seen on elderly ladies or the Latina sperm-shaped arch. This is the only permanent makeup they have “seen.” Reason: good semi-permanent makeup is never seen! Our semi-permanent makeup, looks so natural that no one notices it. We strive to help educate people, so that they will understand that semi-permanent cosmetics are beautiful, natural looking, and virtually pain-free.

Why I Love Tape Extensions

Extensions, the best way to dramatically improve your appearance in a matter of hours. Hair is the first thing we notice and last we talk about. Strand-by-strand extensions have been the ideal meathd for a long time. Well done strand extensions (name brands like Hairdreams, SoCap, Great Lengths, and many others that you would or wouldn’t recognize) have been the gold standard since the early 2000′s. I have personally worn strand by strand since 2002 to make my fine and wavy hair thicker, longer, and more manageable. Those of you with fine hair know at while it feels the absolute softest of any hair out there, it is the worst at holding a style. Extensions have enabled me to keep a hairstyle (curled or sleek) for several days. As I am going on and on about how I love strand by strand extensions, specifically the Hairdreams I had been so faithful to, you must be wondering why I am saying I now love tape extensions. Well, for one thing, while I can do strands in a way that my clients can grow their hair out while wearing them, not everyone is as careful (and perhaps neurotic) about their placement. Tip: never let a person who is not wearing hair extensions do yours, they just don’t understand. After training many people to apply extensions, using myself as sir mannequin, my hair was not what it used to be. I had finally been successful in training my present assistant, and of course out the fear of God in him 🙂 My hair was improving again, albeit slowly, but I was back on track. Finding the 3-5 hours to switch out my strands was still an issue. Also, training someone to cut strands is a lot more difficult than training them to install them. Poorly cut strands look like spaghetti, not good. So I was sitting there Forever and then spending days fine tuning my hair cut. It’s not easy to cut your own hair…even if you know how….so please ladies, don’t try at home! Enter tape extensions: they can be installed very quickly and removed very quickly. Less blending is needed when they are shaped. I love this about them! They have made my life easier and I feel less obligation to a hairstyle because I can change it easily. Yay Tape!!