boyfriend material {he fits mine}

Seriously this dude has the coolest last name, Sebastian and my nephew's first name. He also has some great gusto to just put it out there. What he wants that is, you can read the full post here:

1.Confidence - I want someone who can act with certainty, someone who is sure of herself.

2.Intelligence - I hope you read, know what’s going on in the world, and can understand different perspectives and views.
3.Humility - Know who you are without feeling the need to tell everyone how great you are or making everything a look-at-me situation. You don’t need to sell yourself to me. I already see something in you.
4.Compatible sense of humor -  Chemistry and timing are two very powerful things, and I love finding someone I can get in sync with. Be dorky. Be witty. Be you.

5.Open to learning - I’m open to learning new things from you, and I hope you’re open to learning new things from me. I don’t like willful ignorance.
6. Good with/ doesn’t hate children -  Not relevant now, but if FutureGirlfriend wants to become FutureWife, she should like children and work well with them
7. Not a slacker -  I try to give whatever I’m doing— work, relationships, etc.— as much as I can. I hope you work hard in whatever you do.
8. Have a creative side - Dance, ballet?

9.Care for others - You don’t have to volunteer every weekend, but do what you can for others
10. Loyal/ committed - I value loyalty. I think there’s security in stability. I love stability. If I’m with you, I’m with you, and you won’t have to worry about me looking elsewhere.

 What do you think? Does this fit some of your boyfriend/girlfriend criteria?

images: zara, vmagazine, agentbauer,tumblr

what's in your bag of tricks?

Sally Hershberger, a true hairstylist to the stars, her favorite on the go products here

Shaper fierce, I like it too!

I agree don't scrimp on a good hair dryer. These high powered tools minimize the amount of drying  time with the right amount of heat and technology. The cuticle smoothing, and moisture retention that an expensive dryer has, will save your hair in the long run.

Mason Pearson the Rolls Royce of brushes costs a pretty penny but again, makes a difference in smoothing the hair especially with all the rage Brazilian Blowouts. I always recommend having a good boar bristle on hand too.

A smoothing product is essential for letting hair dry naturally devoid of frizz or taming while blow drying. I know Morrocan oil is all the rage, but my personal experience has been it leaves a bit of a residue in the hair. If it works for you please let me know, I'm willing to give  it another try.  My favorite smoothing serums: Sebastian Trilliant ( leaves a halo of sparkle in the hair) and liquid gloss. Originally seen on Gwyneth's Goop I would love to try this finishing treatment to see if it's worth every penny. What's in your hairstyling bag of tricks?

summer buns

Summer buns,  Do you love them? Imagine my delight when I caught sight of these piled high chignons, perfect for summer!

Blondes do look lovely with this look. Smoke it out with a sexy eye like this and barely there lip stain also by Scott Barnes here.

Imagine my extra excitement when I saw this little bottle my chair side tool also the styling spray of choice for the looks here

Just a little side note about the tutorials, I think Scott Barnes is an amazing make up artist, I don't however agree with lighting your eye pencil before applying. My tip* choose a softer, mineral oil free, black or dark brown pencil for this look, and make sure to sharpen regularly.
*This helps to keep pencil free from bacteria especially when using around the eye.
images: vogueitalia

through the years

puppy love + inspirational collage of beauty

having fun in photo booth with my favorite apple genius Darrell

 Hello loves, have been busy working on some collages and pics to add to my website. Pictures shown here are just a sample collage of my years working with Sebastian and lots of make up imagery as well as my own inspirational, and personal work, and play, pics. I take apple computer classes often enough but sometimes the things I learn don't seem to stay in my instant recall once I leave the building. I Have been trying to export this collage via pages to my iphoto without any luck. This lovely lady has another great reason why I need an ipad with her novel idea of demonstrating Contouring and Highlighting here. I could think of a hundred excuses how I could utilize a new ipad for my Class demonstrations. Some examples: showing technique and images without so much paper waste, Scrolling through photo imagery. The ipad even has a key note app to make any presentation stellar . What do you think of the new ipad?

images: my own

shear genius inspiration + carnival

 curls set with perm rods using potion 9 by Sebastian  a wearable treatment that helps hear Flow. To style,  curls were then backcombed and spritzed with Sebastian Shaper Fierce spray 

A babydoll inspired bob styled for a dramatic poof and sealed with Sebastian Fierce

These vintage inspired waves curled with a barrel iron using Sebastian Thickefy Foam

Potion 9 was the stylist's choice and a shredded look with a little crimping makes it more eye catching and unique. Sebastian Fierce helped  set the look 

Pure inspiration from this collection inspired by Shear Genius Season 2 alumni, Charlie Price, Meredith Spiros, and Glenn Mitchell.  For this collaborative effort, the trio included the use of synthetic wigs. and paired Styrofoam forms and a variety of fishnets to create this graphic, finished look.  Tent-like gray dresses were used to create an overall Eighties New Wave motif and Carnival theme.


images: behindthechair

fearless femininity

Just came back from a Sebastian update,  The Collection; Velvet Vertico, voluminous, wearable haircuts like these shown. Full Frontal, a not so classic bob with an undercut edge, that can be styled in to a daring Mowawk Plume. Celestial Sphere, a shoulder length hair cut that is not your usual feathered friend weight is defined, and balanced with soft curves, think of an hourglass. Swinging Shapely, long, layers, with a lighter texture created with shears and softly skimming of the razor with soft bangs, swinging softly to the side. This season's collection inspiration comes from Fashion, as in this designer's classy clothes collection, feminine and girly with decadent flamboyance.  Design, objects that would normally be associated with the masculinity show femininity with a bling. To get the best of these weightless, voluminous, dramatic looks, start out with Volupt Shampoo and conditioner and Volupt Spray gel to define these disconnected haircuts as you style. For more support, Mousse Forte and Shaper Zero Gravity for waves, and curls, in curvaceous forms.
More great news to share, congratulations to Megan, you are the winner of this gift away posted here.

 I am looking forward to hearing if it will be a touchdown for me in the giveaway posted today at Amber's Notebook.

images: sebastian professional, hinks taylor, james jaxxa, 

Shear genius inspiration

I wonder if there is a vinyl record under that hair and net?

Green hair or lighting?

I love the boudoir feeling of thigh high's and heels with a corset and soft waves flowing and accents of pink even in her hair.

This kind of yellow is definitely a special blond mix or cellophane perhaps?

eyebrows whited out can be done with this pencil to match the  Lana Turner look

 Va Va Voom a smokey eye and a pouty fuschia lip like Funny Face from Nars that certain skin tones like this can wear so well.

Black lips, stilettos, and a feathered fedora, very glam

 A bit of inspiration in honor of Shear Genius 3.  I couldn't be more excited to see what host Jonathan Antin and Camilla Alves bring to the cutting table along with this years pick of international hairstylists.  Loved Shear Genius 2 as shown here.  A special shout out to this season's contestant, Janine Jarman, another talented Sebastian artist who will also be sharing her talent. Sebastian/Wella we are family.  Kim Vo last Season's judge will be returning and Orlando Pita one of my favorite celebrity hairdressers will be adding his expertise as previously shown here.

images: Sasha Pivovarova by steven miesel

education

Lovers with Oxford College beckoning in the back round,

Effortless upswept hair, soft smokey eye, with a  pouty red lip.

Easy to forget she is still a young school girl

Updo very Audrey Hepburn a la Breakfast at Tiffany's

Great hair looks good under lovely leopard hats too.

Romance, cocktails

  & beautiful music








Looks like today will be a dirty secret kind of day for me in regard to my hair. With a busy work day ahead I would rather spend this time with you to share one of the Golden Globe nomination's, An Education . Love the darling actress, Carey Mulligan as Jenny, kind of reminds me of a young Katie Holmes. We see her grow up before our eyes as the desire of an older man captivates her heart. Glimpses of Oxford college, smoky nightclubs, sultry music, 60's inspired hairstyles, and faux furs and hats. Reminiscing on hairdo's past and present. This new product from Sebastian Volupt, for big hair paired with NioSpray, love the reflectives gives hair a shimmer even on fine hair with out  weighing it down. Currently educating myself with a new computer  blue tooth software, flush keyboards, and hidden buttons, took me a bit to figure it all out but it's good to be back!
image: from here

braided beauties

This first piled high, braided, chignon, is magical and a perfect compliment to the season.
The 2009 Fashion Week collections were an inspiration of some fascinating hair trends. The Look: braided beauties, period pieces inspired by the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s and chic chignons. Odile Gilbert and Wella master colorist Eva Scrivo came up with a look that was both unexpected and curious—alluding to the artists of the movement. They offered sleek, sophisticated chignons in a multitude of shapes and a variety of colors.  They used extensions and hairnets for dimension, which made the updos anything but typical.  These braided chignon via runway at  Rodarte “The shapes are simple but the texture is complex." Orlando Pita for Carolina Herrera  created a young but sophisticated version of the 'do. A young take on the classic chignon was the perfect way to pull hair up and include copper rose embellishments from the collection. The look was sophisticated but fresh, and looked like the girls had done it themselves in a hurry. Speaking of Orlando Pita, looking forward to seeing him  as one of the judges on the new season of Shear Genius along with Blowout's, Jonathon Antin, and Matthew McConaughey’s love, Brazillian model Camila Alves make this a must see in the New Year for me!

images: behindthechair.com

wella koleston perfect

Today is day one of my bi-yearly updates for the Wella Color line that I have been representing since September 2009. I was previously an educator with Wella/Sebastian as a Trucco Make up Artist.  These updates are chock full of info that is jam packed from early a.m. til late into the wee hours like now! You would think that after so many years with Trucco education I would have my presentation skills down pat but I still get nervous and even struggle with a little self doubt. I am presenting the Wella Koleston Perfect color line in a 30-45 minute teach back with my 2 other team educators. My info consists of the consultation: Your  color consultation is your map. Questions to ask your client would be:
Are they warm or cool?
Natural level
Desired level
Percentage of gray/white hair
texture of hair
porosity of the hair
density of the hair
target shade
developer strength
With the color consultation next I will deliver information on the Wella Koleston Perfect Tonal Families:

Pure Naturals: Starting with /0  Pure natural looking color from radiant blonde to full dark tones, perfect for grey coverage especially when using the intense naturals, for course and resistant grey. example: 66/0.
Rich Naturals: Naturally looking color with refined fashionable accents,  a nice balance of cool  and warm tones with ash, matt, and pearl tones.
Vibrant Reds: a wide range of distinctive reds from warm to cool violet tones. The most vibrant of the  reds contain the 5 sided P5 molecule that reflects only red light, Example: 66/45
Deep Browns: A wide range of brunettes from cool frosty browns to warm cashmere colors.
Special Blonde: High lift blondes starting at a level 12/. My favorite to use at the moment, 12/03 and 12/22 for exciting blonde effects.
Special Mix: Pure mix tones that create more intense color and creativity when used within the tonal family of colors. Click here for visual.
I am feeling more confidant as I listen to my live webinar with the information embedded in my brain. I hope you get a little inspiration from this important bit of information that I will be presenting and please let me know if you have any questions. Wish me luck!

sonia rykiel for h&m

The Parisian launch of the Sonia Rykiel for H&M collection At the Grand Palais the night was transformed into a fantasy version of the city of love. With all of the quirkiness and fun that fashion should have. Girls with wild hair on bikes sporting Sonia's knitwear line that will be launched in February. The latest lingerie line will be available this Saturday, December 5 and in my hometown store in Pasadena. I included some of my favorites and of course it's all about the wild, curly hair, looks good with sexy lingerie don't you think? This kind of kinkiness in the hair can be achieved by taking wide and sections of hair and spraying with a little shine and define wrap around the barrel of a small to medium size curling iron and voila!


voque
h&M
platinumblondelife