MAKEOVER!!

2 | February 7th, 2010 | Posted in Celebrity hair, Hair Color, Hair cut, Products, Styling

I absolutely LOVE what I do.  I opened p!ay almost four years ago so I would have an amazing place full of culture to transform my clients hair into modern, manageable and sexy styles within the city limits of the simple, kind community of Simi Valley.  I walk outside p!ay’s doors and see the Rocky Peak Mountains.  How lucky am I?  VERY!
I LIVE for a makeover.  The surge of confidence that can come with a new look is the most amazing thing for me to witness.

Meet Jeanine…

Jeanine BEFORE

Jeanine BEFORE

I met Jeanine Hattas at a party about a month ago.  Pretty girl with boring hair.  She told me she was in tears leaving her last hair stylist experience and needed someone new.  She lives in downtown Los Angeles, but I assured her the 30 minutes drive to p!ay in beautiful Simi Valley would be worth it.

Last Friday morning I met Jeanine bright and early, 8a.m., for our first appointment together.  I asked her what her goal was with her hair and she told me “to grow it long”.  I am all for that scenario if the hair is healthy, thick enough to support longer lengths and most importantly would flatter the woman.

In Jeanine’s case I felt that short hair would suit her best.  First I talked with her about her idea to grow and explained that her existing length looked a bit “mullety”. I felt that if she were to grow it longer, I needed to cut the back up about 2 inches to give the overall look a better shape.

After listening she asked me “If you had carte blanche with my hair, what would you do?”.

I right away suggested Michelle Williams recent crop ode to Mia Farrow
.  It is a short choppy pixie cut.  She asked to see pictures.  I shared some pictures with her of the cut that I had in mind, and then a few longer “short” cuts.

She chose to be bold, daring and go outside of her intended idea to grow and we decided on an above the chin length, super choppy, easy to maintain cut.

No brush needed!

No brush needed!

Her color was bland and monotone. I layered a brighter warm blonde with a golden brown to add contrast to the new cut.  I really admired Jeanine for trusting me not only on our first visit, but at 8a.m. in the morning!

Jeanine AFTER

Jeanine AFTER

To finish her new look, NO brush was used.  Just a blow dryer and some great products:

1. Start by using Bumble & bumble Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner then towel dry.

2. Lightly mist Surf Spray all over.

3. Blow dry from the back of head to face.

4. Add a fingertip amount of Styling Wax to palms and work through ends of hair to add separation.

5. Throw on something fabulous and show off your new style!

Jeanine left with a huge smile, but I checked in with her 24 hours later to get her verdict after she got familiar with it.   “Awesome! I am just loving this new cut and color. What a change. And it’s SO easy — cut my morning routine in half!” reported Jeanine.   SUCCESS!

Jeanine is an extremely talented artist and muralist.  Check out her website: getfresh.biz

To see more of my work, watch Bravo TV’s Shear Genius 3 on Weds @ 10p.m.  as I compete against 11 other stylists from all over the world!

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Grow out your hair…

0 | January 12th, 2010 | Posted in Hair Health, Products, Resources
Jessica Krewson of designKREW.com

Jessica Krewson, Owner of designKREW

At one time or another, all of us women have wanted to grow our hair long.  Meet Jessica Krewson, owner of designKREW, my client & long haired friend.  Her hair used to be above her shoulders and together we grew it long and healthy.   On her last visit to p!ay hair lounge we were reminiscing about the journey of her hair and how it went from short to long.  Her hair is striking!   We got to talking not only about what part I, as her hairstylist, had in that but also her role.  We realized this was information that others would find useful.  I hope you do.

Before I was a stylist, I always read the advice to get regular trims and my hair would grow faster.  I never understood this logic.  If it keeps getting cut, won’t it get shorter.I now know this advice is true.

Let me explain it easily:

Hair grows on average of 1/2 inch every four weeks.  Not fast if you are wanting it a foot longer.  You can help encourage quicker growth by being sure you have a balanced diet, taking a multi-vitamin & using quality professional products to maintain its health.

Hair that is not regularly trimmed, splits on its ends.  When these ends are not cut off in a timely manner, they split higher up the hair shaft breaking off somewhere in the middle.  Enough of this cycle and you will notice the overall thickness of the bottom perimeter of your hair starts to look see thru.  Or worse, starts to form the dreaded V and actually gets shorter.

Follow these steps to long locks:

  1. Be sure your hairstylist understands that you want to grow your hair long.
  2. Listen to your hairstylist.  You might need to cut off some length to rid your hair of unhealthy ends in order for it to grow longer at the beginning of this venture.
  3. Go for regular trims approx  every 10 weeks to eliminate any new splits.  These trims should only be about 1/4″ off the ends.
  4. Take care of your hair at home by using quality products such as Bumble & bumble to add plenty of moisture and prevent heat styling damage.
  5. Be realistic and know it will take patience, but hair does grow.

Have a goal length in mind, but if as it grows it doesn’t look right on you, abandon the plan and try something different.

**Jessica is a brilliant graphic artist who created the logo for p!ay hair lounge.

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Recipe Rampage

0 | December 29th, 2009 | Posted in Resources, Uncategorized
"Extraordinary" Chocolate Chip Cookie

"Extraordinary" Chocolate Chip Cookie

I can be honest to a fault, so I must admit that this blog entry was inspired by my love of baking & recent viewing of the Julie/Julia Project.  Great movie! Sorry style, you are shelved for this post……

It is 12:36a.m. on December 24th.  I finished at p!ay today and came home and took a 2 hour pre-baking nap.  I didn’t have much of a recipe plan except to make my mom’s hard butter candy recipe.  I headed to Albertson’s at 10p.m. and grabbed a few necessary items.  I also came across a recipe for Cinnamon Crumble Cake.  I have been craving anything cinnamon since my client Jenn Erzen brought me a mini loaf of “banana bread without the banana” on Saturday.  It barely made it home with me.  So much for “hands free” driving.

Let me be honest, I didn’t find a recipe, I found a Krusteaz box in isle 7 that calls for you to add an egg & some water.  Love it.

Easy and cinnamon.

I’m making the batter now.

So the recipe wasn’t as easy as the box lead me to believe.  If you make this, READ the directions all the way through before you start.  It gets put together in a few layers.

I will let you know later if I think that makes a difference in the outcome. It is finishing up baking in the oven right now.  5 more minutes.  I think.  I hate the guess work on baking.  Is it done?  Is it not?

My apartment smells ridiculously good, in fact if it wasn’t this late or 49 degrees out, I would open my windows and torture the neighbors.  I only hope they get to taste it before the sugar devil inside of me goes on a rampage tomorrow.

While that is baking I whipped up a batch of dough for my Mom’s “Melting Moments Stamp Cookie recipe.  It called for flour, so while I was pouring the flour I noticed a recipe teasing me on the back of the flour package.

(Wait, timer buzzing…checking cake….)

hmm, is it done or not?  5 more minutes for safe measure or to completely dry it out.  Hope it isn’t the latter.

So this Gold Medal Flour recipe is for “Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies”.

Wow.  Extraordinary?  I am intrigued and must make immediately.

I am headed back to the kitchen to remove the Cinnamon Crumble Cake from the oven & whip up this new recipe.  Says it makes 6 dozen cookies, I am NOT falling for that @ 12:49a.m.  I am going to 1/2 it and see if they live up to their name.

(Crumble cake turned out perfect except for the crust was too hard.  Definitely follow the directions with the layering of the batter.  Taste is good.)

1:19a.m. and the “extraordinary” dough is complete.  I 1/2 everything except the chocolate chips.  1 entire bag.  Actually 1/2 a bag of sweet & 1/2 a bag of semi-sweet.  Ahhh yeah!  The dough tastes great. One funny thing about the recipe is that is gives a “#40″ size ice cream scoop instruction for the dough ball size, or you can use a tablespoon.  Hmmm.  Do they think that we, home kitchen cooks, have a plethora of different scoopers? I have a 1.5 inch gelato scooper…I’ll use that.

I decided I need to bake the stamp cookies and get my candy cooking on the stove, so I am sparing the chocolate chip cookies for an early morning bake…after I sleep for a few hours.  I will deliver most of those to p!ay for the Christmas Eve guests and stylists & see if I get EXTRAORDINARY feedback.

(45 minutes later)

Back to the kitchen…. I couldn’t wait ’til the morning to bake the chocolate chip cookies.  While away on a trip this summer, I couldn’t find a baking sheet where I was staying, so I used a cupcake tray to bake chocolate chip cookies and they came out kinda RAD.  Remembering this I decide to used a mini muffin pan for these ones.  I followed the directions except I added a few minutes to the baking time since I had used the mini muffin pan.

Waiting…waiting…waiting….. YUMMY!  They are perfection.  ”Extraordinary” if someone else did all the work and I just got to eat them, but seriously try the recipe for yourself.  It will not fail you.

"Extraordinary" Chocolate Chip Cookie

"Extraordinary" Chocolate Chip Cookie

It is 2:40a.m. and I need some sleep.  My original 9:30p.m. idea to make “Mom’s Hard Candy Recipe” came out great.  I will share all of these treats with Mom & Dad later today….

Happy Holidays & a FANTASTIC New Year to you! :)  Brig

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Rodarte @ TARGET!

0 | December 23rd, 2009 | Posted in Fashion, Resources, popular

Photo: Courtesy of Target **Dress can also be found in my closet :)

I am so absolutely excited about RODARTE for TARGET!  This affordable line was inspired by three films: Harold & Maude, Bonnie & Clyde and Rosemary’s Baby.

First I want to back up share some brief info about how sisters Kate & Laura Mulleavy aka Rodarte (pronounced Row-dar-tey) , got their clothes through New York’s fashion door in 2005.  Yes, just a short 4 years ago…

  • It was blizzard weather and the non-fashion schooled CA natives braved NY Fashion Week with their first collection of one of a kind pieces in a trunk willing to show anyone who would look
  • They used handmade paper dolls showing their collections to pass on to editors of magazines (BRILLIANT!!)
  • Just days after arriving, Womens Wear Daily used an outfit for their cover (JACKPOT!!)
  • Vogue’s Anna Wintour took notice and the rest is history
  • Rodarte is their mother’s maiden name   (My mom is my HERO!)

So here is how my personal RODARTE adventure went down….

I was thrilled to possibly own anything with their name in it.  I think they are awesome and truely unique to the abyss of fashion.

I keep myself on a fashion budget and could not afford the bad ass real deal Rodarte, but Rodarte for Target sounded doable!  It is not as rough as a lot of their high end line, but really, who cares!

I had Sunday, Dec 20th-the line’s launch-  marked BOLDLY on my calendar for about 2 months.  I already previewed some pictures of “the goods” on the internet and was determined to get a first in person look aka “buy” at opening (8a.m.) at the Simi Valley Target of course!  So with sock monkey slippers and Rodarte on the brain, I thought I’d best call Saturday night and confirm the launch the following a.m.  Much to my upset, I was told that they put it out 2 days early and they only had a couple items left.  What!!!??!! My Simi Valley Target failed me! I went straight to TARGET to find great stuff left only in tiny sizes.  BUMMER!!  The denim jacket I was most thrilled about hadn’t been through the store yet.  Patience, I hate you.  I bought the blue dress.  Amazing.

Quick as I could I ventured out of Simi Valley & braved the Sherman Oaks Target.  Rodarte HEAVEN!  Every single piece of the line, including lingerie like bikinis & a skeleton dress filling 7 racks.  I decided to try on anything I thought was fabulous….. 10 items in the fitting room and the workout session began.  My clothes off, dress on, dress off, skirt & cami on….. 15 minutes later I decided I must have the grey t-shirt (pocket-less  thanks!), yes, before you call me out about it…I admit I only bought it because the tag says Rodarte.  Truth be told I already own 5 grey t-shirts, but I plan to Brig this one out and make it an original BVO for Rodarte for TARGET.

**Note to self- Call Andrea and tell her about Skeleton dress.  I remember she always had a thing for skeletons, or maybe her parents hit the costume store too late.  See below….

My best childhood friend, Andrea(Skeletor) & I(mom-made Raggity Ann) in 1980

Andrea (store bought Skeletor) & I (mom-made Raggity Ann) in 1980

The light peach slip dress also found its way home with me.  It is delicate, yet raw & all around perfection.  The denim jacket?  Well, the medium was too small & the XL was too big.  Large was nowhere to be found so I decided to move on from it.  I also own the fushia, with lace cami.

I can’t say enough great things about this Go International Collection.  It is well made, great fabrics, wearable cool shit in sweet colors.  The only negative is apparently they think only size XS-XL exist.  Size 15 & 17 + XXL should have been added.  Curvier girls need love too.  I speak from the experience of living as a size 14 for many years.

I don’t expect the line to last longer than a couple of weeks. A couple items are already on E-bay for A TON more than suggested retail.  I think that is dumb, but greed is everywhere.

Great job Rodarte!  4.5 stars out of 5.( .5 pt deduction for lack of larger sizes)  I will be proud to ROCK out my TARGET bought Rodarte.

I might even replace my Alexander McQueen for TARGET bikini with one of your naughty ones.  Hallelujah!

Go International has redeemed itself from a rather dry run.  Only problem now?  How the hell do you plan to top Rodarte, TARGET?

Another recommendation: Check out Style Rookie’s 13 year old genius blogger Tavi’s video about Rodarte.(Also see her on the current cover of the international POP magazine)

Tavi - 13 year old genius blogger of Style Rookie in Rodarte

Tavi - 13 year old genius blogger of Style Rookie in Rodarte

I want to be Tavi when I grow up.

Expect more do it yourself tips and style on a budget.

I am never one to run out and wreck my paycheck on a bag (unless it is Diesel, clearance of course).  I promise to keep it “thrift” & fantastic!  :) brig

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2 Questions for you….

0 | December 17th, 2009 | Posted in Hair Color, Hair cut, Resources

On my drive to the salon today I noticed I was having a conversation (in my head) with myself.  Don’t laugh.   Admit you do this too and we will both have a better trust in each other.

Before I continue,  answer this question:

  • What don’t you like about your hair today?

My incommute(new word) conversation was all about how I HATED my hair today. This morning I realized I desperately need a haircut, so instead of wearing my hair down, I added a lethal amount of hairspray and piled it on top of my head using about 100 bobby pins.  So as I drove, NO wind in my hair, I came to terms with the cold hard reality that I also need a color touch up.  No sooner then coming to these realizations, did I find excuses for why MY hair could wait.   The truth is, it can’t.  My reality and most of ours is that a bad hair day causes all sorts of wrecks around us.  A great hair day gives us confidence to conquer the world.

Now ask yourself-

  • What do you love about your hair today?

If your list of answers to the first question out weighs the second, please, please, please take the advice I gave myself and book an appointment with your stylist STAT!

I WILL be getting a much needed haircut and color in two days from now.  I am excited to be reintroduced the back of my neck again.  Long hair was so “married life” for me or “my 20’s”  as I refer to that near prehistoric time.  Now as a proud to be 34 year old, I personally love having short hair.  When I desire long, I clip in some temporary attitude boosting, always human hair, extensions for a night, but am always glad to unclip rather than have to care for ‘down to there’ locks.   Find your hair destiny for today.  Doesn’t mean you can’t make a shift when the wind changes direction, you end a relationship or a new decade enters. Today means today.   Right now.  This date __/___/____ (enter date)

As I reluctantly ended my day out x-mas shopping, two young girls(8 years old) passed me and one waved.  I waved back and heard her tell her friend “She has yellow hair!”  So even from my  drive in to p!ay hair lounge today when I convinced myself my  identity was lost in a bad hairstyle, this girl was able to see me shining through the NET of spray

.   It did feel good, especially since the ‘normal mom’ wasn’t around to shoosh her daugher.  (this yellow hair is a choice moms, not an accident) This girl & her friend better prepare for the next time our paths cross and my color and cut are anew.   I will hopefully inspire them or anyone else out there to find themselves!  Your hair is your greatest accessory, but it can also be your worst enemy.  Get a hold of it now before we roll a new year over!

Send me your hair questions and let me help you tackle them! E-mail me

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