Balay…What? (Balayage, Defined)

What is Balayage, anyway?

Above is an image of some beautiful cool tones painted into my client’s hair for spring/summer 2015. She wanted to be grey, but has a conservative career that she is pursuing. We chose a color with strong hints of cool silvery brown and blonde.
Balayage is a french color technique that comes out of the 70’s. Balayage means to sweep or to paint. The technique is created by hand painting decolorizer or color into the hair. This can be done on all lengths of hair, but it looks best on styles that fall below the shoulders. This technique can look soft and natural.  The draw to this color is that it is low maintenance. In this current day and time women are busy and want gorgeous hair that still looks good when they return to the salon. The goal is to keep the root/base deep and rich with color or come close to the natural color. The highlights should be randomly places into the color design so the grow out is subtle.

Below is a gallery of images from Tasha Torres, a stylist at Salon Envy, the salon where I work. She does a ton of this kind of work. She is well known for her skill in this style of coloring so I collected some images for you to see.

This image is a color correction from a client that experiences a balayage gone bad

She even does balayage on my hair

Although these next images aren’t technically Balayage, there was a bit of hand painting in this color process. The model already had a beautiful rich color. She only wanted to add a touch of radiant dimensional bronze tones for the summer. This technique only requires 12 color packets.

I use TIGI Color Meches so I can paint the color where I want it in the packet. In the application I used decolorizer and color in the same packet of highlights to create a very random and soft effect. There was very little done to the hair but it created a high impact.

A lot of women want some change in their hair for the spring/summer. Let this be inspiration to try something subtle and beautiful during these sunny and shiny months, and enjoy a little sparkle in your life.

Water Works (Airbrush Stands Up To the Water Test)

Jump in, the water is perfect.

I’ve been claiming the moisture resistance of Temptu SB makeup forever. Temptu is an airbrush cosmetic company that serves both the professional and consumer. From their website you can purchase either the pro or personal version of the air-gun and compressor. I use the pro compressor and gun; however I also have the modifying gun that accepts air pods.

I figured since I sing Temptu’s praises, it was time to put the product to the ultimate test. It was a hot and steamy poolside, so why not jump right in. The round shapes on the face were inspired by bubbles and created by airbrushing different sized to circles with Temptu SB makeup.

Yep, it worked!

Classic Makeup in San Francisco

I just wanted to send out a quick post from the L’oreal Professional show in San Francisco.

Easy breezy classic makeup is so universal. The goal was to create a makeup look that worked for these three very different hair looks. The challenge was for the cosmetic application to be the same (universal) look, and to be on trend.

In this case, you can’t beat a classic cat-eye!

The looks for spring 2015 can back that statement up. These are just a few looks I collected for my next post on the eye liner of the season.

I like to use the lashes as my guide. Lay the applicator on the lashes, slide the length of the brush next to the skin, and glide along the lash line. Start in the middle of the lid (where you want the most concentration of color) and glide to the outside edge of the eye. Don’t reload your wand with product.

Use the wand that has slightly less product to apply liner to the inside corner of the eye in the same manner as before.
Don’t forget to lift the brow while you apply product. This will ensure that you get the color close to the lashes.

If you want to learn more about this technique, check my post “Demystify the Cat-eye”.

Something for Everyone (Wedding, Beauty, Travel, and Good Eats) Part 3

Travel and Good Eats

After the wedding my husband Carl and I stayed in that vacation rental (The River Jewel) I told you about. Wow, the attention to detail was all over the place. The property owners really love making this place feel like home. We stayed in a loft style suite.

Our balcony overlooking the river

This place is very rustic and homey

I love that the owner used a lot of his own personal, trinkets, road signs, and childhood toys to decorate.

The next morning we found this cute little café/bakery called Antoinette’s. They had a menu full of natural organic and locally grown foods. It was super delicious, and the staff was very gracious. The chef and I got into a conversation about the River Jewel… he works there too (it’s a small community). He also shared with me his appreciation for the Jewel and the attention to detail. He served us up a fantastic breakfast. We will definitely be back.

Later we went to lunch at a food truck in the area. This place has quaint outdoor seating and a unique menu of natural organic comfort food. I hear in the winter this place keeps a fire burning, and the guest get to wrap in warm thick blankets that are brought to them by the owner. The food was delish.

I went for the chicken and waffles. These weren’t just any waffles; they were a brown butter sweet rye waffle with honey butter and maple syrup. I’m salivating as I write this. The other dish was a buttermilk fried organic chicken sandwich with avocado cabbage slaw. If you’re ever in Three Rivers you have to stop at The Ol’ Buckaroo.

Don’t forget to try the candy/icecream shop Reimers.

Something for Everyone (Wedding, Beauty, Travel, and Good Eats) Part 2

Beauty

The morning of the wedding was kind of fun because the bride and all of her maids were prepping at Salon Envy where I work. The bride is also a stylist there. I love this salon; it’s a quaint little boutique salon dedicated to educating the stylist and raising the bar of customer service. At Envy we love serving the brides.

The bridal party chose airbrush makeup and soft wavy knotted hairstyles. Check the images and videos below.

quick how-to demo

How gorgeous was the final product?

Beautiful enough to make a mama cry

Wedding day selfie

I love that she used a brooch to embellish her style. This is so on trend. It’s her “something borrowed”. It will look sweet when she takes the veil off.