Give the finger

My favorite trend right now...

  I am in love with all the funky nail design trends right now!! I love all the prints, the comeback of vibrant hues and the 'hombre' (color fading).   I must say, one of my favorites is doing a different color, design or texture on one finger on each hand.  Its a great way for those of you that don't usually like bright color polish!  You can have just one done in a vibrant color and not feel too overwhelmed!  I have seen some really cute different textures on a single nail as well.  i.e. Doing the one finger glittery or matte.  This even works with all the nails the same color and just doing your ring finger with same shade of glitter or crackle/shatter nail polish.  Give it a try!  I always love new ideas for nails and toes, so if you do something fun, comment your tip or email me a picture and I will post it on the blog!!
(I had mine done this week with lavender and yellow with a silver glitter fade by Nicole Adamson)

  Happy summer y'all and let those toes show off :) !  Remember this summer to be keeping your skin and hair healthy with exfoliating and leave in and deep conditions!

Orange ya glad...

  As we approach Spring and Summer, we see many bright colors becoming trendy for the warm months.  This season in particular, its all about Orange and coral.


  I would use any shade of orange as your main pop of color.  There are so many ways to incorporate it into your warm weather wardrobe. Whether its your outfits, ring or head band.... I think anyone can pull off some version of this trend.  Not everyone loves the shade of orange necessarily when it comes to their clothes, but there are so many shades to chose from, that it can work with any skin type. Maybe try a shade of melon, a burnt orange, red-ish orange or peach.

  Here are a few ideas for you to embrace one of this seasons most popular trend  : 

* With the colored jean trend, I have seen many stores carrying coral cropped jeans. Very chic.

* Maybe add a melon or peach sandal or shoe with a floral maxi dress.  The peach would look great with a busier pattern, so that way it doesn't take away from the outfit and still brings a light block of color to the outfit.

* Try accessorizing with a burnt orange messenger bag or a pumpkin color belt with a sun dress. With it being warmer weather and floral patterns everywhere, try a orange flower or headband in your hair.  I just bought a orange purse that can be a shoulder bag or made into a messenger bag at ROSS for under $15.

* If your feeling a little more bold, maybe try a coral or melon color lip stick or gloss.  I have bought a couple of melon-coral-y lip glosses made by Revlon that I really love.  One is Revlon's COLORBURST line, in Sunset Peach, and the other is Revlon's SUPER LUSTROUS line, in Coral Reef. Both affordable.  For a more subtle shade, maybe try a blush with a slight coral tint to it.

  If you try any of these ideas, I would love to hear about how the turned out!  Happy Spring readers and if you have any comments, post away... with questions that you would like to have me answer on here feel free to email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Give it a Try!

As most of you know, I am a big advocate on trying new styles and trends, putting your own spin on it and making it your own. Here are five trends to give a try as spring is rapidly approaching.



BRIGHT COLOR JEANS- Spring time is no stranger to bright colors, the bright colored jeans can seem a little loud for some people, butI would encourage you to give it a try! I have recently acquired a pair of red and electric blue jeans. (Which I was inspired to buy after seeing my Mama's awesome coral jeans...) And I have fallen in love! Pair them with a fun printed top, or a muted down colored top and you have a very fashion forward outfit! I.E. I paired my red pair of jeans with a Navy Blue top and camel belt, brown and camel wedges and the bright red was the perfect off set to the navy and camel! I bought mine in a cropped length, much longer then capris, but stopping a little before the ankle, which went very well with the wedges! Or try a big fold on the hem to make a more cropped, updated look.



FUN, LOUD PRINTS- Whether its a top, skirt, dress, shoes or accessories, Prints are the way to go! Which with the first trend of colored jeans, prints make a perfect pair! Floral is always an easy way to go in the spring, but try to branch out with paisley patterns, geometric shapes, chevron strips or native American inspired prints! Pair the prints with a bold color clutch or jeans and the look is very chic!



CHUNKY HEAL SHOES- The wedge is definitely back this spring and summer, so I say put your own twist on it. Floral and nautical inspired shoes are what you will start to see a lot of with the warmer weather, and with a bold pair of statement shoes, its the perfect pair with black dresses, or an earth toned top and jeans. For those of you that are more conservative, loud shoes is a great way to add a little flare to an outfit without having to be terribly bold everywhere else.



DENIM- When we think of denim, you usually just think of jeans, but branch out a bit. And No, I don't mean a Canadian Tuxedo! I recently bought a denim dress from GAP that I can't wait to wear. Also for the cool spring nights or an accent piece to a fun sun dress, a denim vest or jacket can be a great additional to a wardrobe. In my opinion a nice denim jacket is a classic piece to have in any ones closet, there is something timeless and Americana about them. If your feeling like stepping the denim up just a tad, try a white jean jacket! A white jacket can make the simplest of out fits, a touch more bright for this spring.


UPDOS- Whenever you think of updos, most women's minds go right to their senior proms. An updo can be a very fast, and fashion forward way to style your hair. Whether its a braid or a modified pony tail, your options are truly endless. The nice thing about the updo trend is that the 'texture' look in hair is in. Texture meaning it doesn't have to be smooth, perfect or symmetric. Give the crown of your head a little back combing, pull over to the side or middle with an elastic, twist and loop different pieces and pin in place. There are tons of videos on YouTube of how to do updos and braids, so check a tutorial out! Like I said, in the AM, it can be a quick, chic way to make your look even more put together.


I hope that some of these trends you are willing to try.... with spring coming, its a perfect time to play with colors, get the hair up from hanging down your neck, and have fun!! I would love to hear how some of these ideas have worked for you so don't be afraid to comment or email me!!



Cheers!

Toning with Purple Shampoo

FINALLY, a question! It was sent by a facebook friend:

So my hair has a very slight purple-tint to it from my shimmering lights. What do you suggest I do to change this? Besides take a break from the purple shampoo for a bit? Will it go away soon?!?!

First I would like to say that I am a big fan of toning shampoos/conditioners! Its a great way to keep your hair color refreshed between your color appointments. That being said it can go wrong if you aren't careful. The whole point of purple shampoo, is to help eliminate gold (Yellow) tones in blond hair, for a more platinum blond. Depending on the shade of blond and the length of time you use the purple shampoo, you run the risk of over toning the hair and it turning lavender. The best way to avoid this, can be controlled by the amount you put in. When using the purple shampoo, I always tell clients to cocktail the purple with your regular shampoo, 50/50, and leave it on for 1-3 minutes and rinse, (and condition as normal). This was you can determine if you need more purple. If you need more purple, then try 2/3 purple and 1/3 regular, and so on. Same with the amount of time its left on. However I would not put that shampoo and leave it on more then about 4-5 minutes. The more yellow (warm, goldish) blond, the longer you'll probably leave it on.
A lot of times when I am pulling dark color out to add highlights, you come across two tone hair : really blond at the roots (where the grow out is virgin hair) and then the warm ends (where you are trying to pull and strip out the previous color). If this is the condition that your highlights are in then when using the toning shampoo, only use the purple on the warm ends to help take out the yellow and give you more even highlights, roots to ends.
Now, if you have left this toner on to long and your your rockin' the Easter egg hair color (lol JK), it will come out in time, but there is a trick to getting it out faster. One way would be do buy a clarifying shampoo, which will help strip all product, oils and cuticle stains from the hair. Using that a couple days in a row with warmer water should help the color stain come out.
On a side note, I do think it is important for everyone to have a clarifying shampoo on hand. About once a month use the clarifying shampoo to help pull out any product build up on the scalp (to help the scalp breath) and down your hair strands. If you don't want to buy a clarifying shampoo, another way to clarify the hair is to rinse your hair with vinegar. I would use the apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar. Vinegar is an excellent way to remove stubborn product from your hair, especially for men's hair glue and gel.

I hope I answered your question (let me know how it worked!) and hopefully gave some of my readers a new tip on how to improve the quality of your own hair. I would love some feed back or comments from anyone who has tried these suggestions on their hair or any additions to removing cuticle stains from the hair.
As always, you can email me or comment/message on blogger with suggestions for topics or questions of your own!

Happy New Year Everyone....Unless emailed a question or topic, my next blog will feature an edgy new style trend for 2012! I will be doing 2 blogs a week, so stay tuned!! Cheers!

$604 !!!!!!

HAPPY AUTUMN !

(PHOTOS ARE ALL FROM THE 'LOOK FOR A CURE' BREAST CANCER AWARENESS EVENT)
For the month of October we all know that it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Every year, I try to offer some kind of deal to help raise awareness and buying products that donate to their proceeds to finding a cure. This year, I decided I wanted to do more. Really try to do something bigger, where I could feel like I was really helping make a difference in fighting for a cure.

The"Look for a Cure" Breast Cancer Awareness Event was held at the salon on Saturday October 8th. We offered seated massage, PINK nails or toes, Pink clip in extensions (real hair), face painting, Pink rubber bracelets, and had a raffle of 6 different gift baskets filled with products who's proceeds went to cancer foundations. We also had PINK refreshments and PINK decorations EVERYWHERE!!! The event came together seamlessly and I had plenty of help with providing the services... I am lucky to have such great family, coworkers, and friends that wanted to help the day of the event!

I would like to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone that came to support my event and your generosity to donate by having one of our 'pink' services done. Whether you spent $1 or $50, anything helps, & I truly appreciate each and every one of you! I honestly have the best family, friends, co-workers and an AWESOME clientele that showed so much support!! With our 4 hour event on the 8th and our bracelet & extensions sales for the month of October, we raised $604!!!! I will be donating this to the Breast Cancer Awareness foundation, with a letter explaining the event, and will include a full list of every ones name that donated! (which is why Jeff was there taking down every ones info, to make sure everyone that contributed would listed and acknowledged)

Again, Thank you so much for supporting the event and recognizing how important it was to me to make this a success! We had such a great turnout, that this will become an annual event. Love you all!!

Calling all Brides and braids...

Hello everyone. I am sorry for my absence...It has been a BUSY summer for me. Between work and traveling, its hard to find much time for anything else.

I wanted to put the word out there for any brides who's hair I have done for their big day. I have at least a handful of weddings that I am doing in 2012, and wanted some of my own styles to show and have brides possibly reference from. Sooooo, if there is anyway you could send me a picture of your hair from your wedding day, I would very much appreciate it!

There are a couple new things this fall that I have been experimenting with that are fun, simple ways to change your look from day to day. I have started parting my hair more towards the center. I usually do about a 1/2" from the center, and letting my bangs kind of swoop to each side. I wouldn't necessarily do a complete center part because the center isn't always the most flattering for certain face shapes. This look is such a simple way to try some chic, classic styles... I.E. big loose curls and buns.

I have also been really into braids and twists lately, which anyone that knows me, knows I LOVE BRAIDS. Anything that adds a change in movement and "texture" difference to a style, is fun and helps to break up an all curly or all straight do. And you can pull this look of with anything, whether it be beach waves for a day out or a special night out on the town. (the picture isn't the greatest, but it will do for now...)

I also want to put out there for everyone, that as usual, I will be running specials during the month of October for Breast Cancer Awareness, so stay tuned!!

And as always, for questions or comments , you can email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com. I would love to know who reads this!

Happy Fall! Cheers!

Flowers and Feathers

Sorry for my absence from my blog, it has been a pretty busy first half of the year.

As warmer weather approaches, bright colors and floral prints start to emerge in style trends. This year, more then ever... and a couple new, different trends have surfaced. Feathers, flowers and bows are everywhere it seems like!!! There are so many was to "spruce" up a a hair style and/or outfit with fun, unique hair accessories. There is so much out there, that I think everyone can find something to fit their style. Here are a couple trends that I have been loving... enjoy!

First, would be the flowers and bows for your hair. Pinning one off to the side is one of my VERY FAVORITE looks right now. Its a fun way to add a little some thing to your day to day shirt and jeans or even to add a pop of color in your hair with a dark dress...etc. So many options really. I have been loving them so much, that I had my neighbor (THANKS KAITYLN) show me a couple of styles of flowers to make with fabric and it just gave me a huge boost of creativity, turning into figuring out new, unique styles and looks. I am selling them at the salon and they range from $5 to $10. If there is a style or color that you want to have made, just send me an email, or comment on the blog. I would love some feedback on what everyone thinks of them!! (I have also been making ones with peacock feathers, that are more like a hairpiece then the bows and flowers.)

Another HUGE trend right now is feathers put in like extensions. I think they are beyond awesome!!And depending on what color and where you place them, it can be very bold or more hidden. I currently have six in, (Two extensions, 3 feathers in each, just so you don't think I am looking like a parrot),One extension is kind of hidden which has a hot pink and black one, hot pink one and a turquoise and black one. In the other I have a white and black, gold/tan fading down to white and a pink and black short one, which is placed closer to my face making it more noticeable. I am offering them as a service at the salon for either $10 a feather or 3 for $25. Give it a try, I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine!!

Hopefully I've inspired you all to give something a chance. You might surprise yourself with something you didn't think was necessarily your style. Its summer, so be bold... add some color to your style, in whatever way, shape or form that might be.

As always, feedback is always good, and if there is something that you would like to have me write about or questions, you can email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com. (Also, if your interested in a hair piece, and don't live around here, you can place an order w me as well)

A winter friendly pedicure

Happy Friday Beautiful People!

I absolutley love fun, painted toes! I am one of those people that paints their toes every week. But in the winter time, my feet get so cold and I don't want to walk around barefoot on the cold wood floors.... So I came up with a "remedy" for a more winter friendly polish change.

I always seem to get holes in the toes of my socks, and one night it dawned on me.... I could just cut the toe off, and use them to keep my feet warm when doing my toes! I though it was pretty brilliant myself. :) SO, if you get cold feet, but want to do your toes, give it a try... really, too easy not to try it :)

I get asked all the time about how I get polish to stay on my toes so long and not chip off. I can usually get polish to stay for about 3 weeks +. There a couple of products that I really like, that I think make a difference. Well, this is what I do....

1-Apply a base coat first. This is important, because some nail polishes can stain your toe nails. I.E. Red polish can stain a toenail a yellow color, and no one wants toes like that. I use OPI's NAIL ENVY, which can act as a base coat, but is also a nail strengthener. (If you have "fake" nails that have just been taken off, this works really well to help build back the brittle nail beds)

2- I apply OPI's CHIP SKIP. It appears to just be a watery liquid, but dry's instantly. I brush that on each toe twice, applying mostly to the edges.

3- Apply 2 coats of nail polish. 2 coats to ensure you get the desired color you want.

4- Let the polish dry completely, and then apply a top coat. I like Essie, OPI and Creative nail's top coats. OPI makes a RAPID DRY top coat, that really dry's fast. 1 coat is sufficient, and 2 will give it more shine.

In the picture I posted, I picked out some of my favorite colors that are in right now. Mostly the current trend is "metal" colors like gray, silver, bronze, etc. And also dark gem tones, like forest green, deep navy blue, indigo, etc.

SO there you are, some tips on a longer lasting polish, color trends, and a use for "hole-y" socks.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to read about, you can email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com or leave a comment on the page.

Shampoing Everyday.... Do or a Don't?

Washing your hair every day... a DO or a DON'T?

A very popular concern and question a lot of my clients have. In my professional opinion, unless you are doing strenuous activities everyday that make your scalp sweat, it is not necessary. Some of the oil that your scalp produces are beneficial. Especially with a dry, flaky scalp and itchiness. That being said, you should not go a week without washing it. (Unless your 70+, that's a different story..) Not washing your hair that often, can be very bad. And by not that often, I mean people that go 5+ days all the time before washing. All the oils, product, "dirt", that builds up can start to "plug" up the hair follicle and is not allowing your scalp to breath. Which in turn, can lead to hair loss. Use your own judgement, you know how your hair is and nobody wants to look greasy or go into the poor house because they go through product too fast because of frequent use.
Moral of the story...
Everyday - Not really necessary
2days- Perfect
3days-Not bad
4days-Don't do that often
5+days- Not healthy.

For those of you that go 2-3 days between shampooing, SEXY HAIR makes a Volumizing Dry Shampoo. I love it, and think it works great!! To the touch, your hair still feels 'dirty' but to look at, not greasy at all. You spray at the roots throughout the hair, wait a couple minutes and comb through. It has a kind of clay base that 'holds' onto the grease and when you are combing through, it pulls the grease through with it. And this brand really does add volume. So, if you are looking for a way to get good volume with second day hair, and you don't want to look greasy on the 2nd day, give this a try. You wont be disappointed!

If you give this dry shampoo a try, let me know what you think. If you have questions or comments,

Guess Whos Back... Back again... Happy 2011

So.... A million apologies for those of you that were into my beauty-advice blog, and then I just fell off. The only excuse for this is, well laziness. HOWEVER, one of my professional goals is to post on my blog once a week. I have been brainstorming lots of new ideas~~

To start out 2011, I thought I would give you my TOP 5 beauty products that I am into right now, and that in my opinion, are all MUST HAVES!

Without further ado....

1- Pick a new color palette of eyeshadow that you maybe wouldn't normally go for. A pop of color is in for makeup, hair and nails this season. And is ALWAYS in style once you head into spring. Step outside your comfort zone and try something new this year. (I got this palette for Christmas this year from Jeff, and I have been playing with the Navy Blue *which is new for me*, and I really loved it!)

2-My favorite accessory these days isn't necessarily earrings or shoes, its a fun head band or flower for my hair. These are a fun way to show your personality with a work outfit, a perfect color accent for an all black outfit, and so much more. I LOVE them, and some kind of version of hair accessories, anyone can wear. The options out there are really endless!!

3- This currently is my VERY FAVORITE thing. (Props to my Mama for getting me hooked!!!) This is a clear foundation, in the form of a moisturizer like consistency, that you put on before your regular regiment of foundation and powder. You apply an about pea size amount evenly all over your face, wait a couple minutes to 'dry', and then apply a conservative amount of your usual, foundation and/or powder. It fills in fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin texture and helps blend and minimize pores. I am telling you, this stuff is amazing, I borrowed some from my Mama at Christmas in TN, and then day I got back... It was the first errand I ran. It is called 'the present' by Philosophy. You can buy it at Ulta and Sephora at JCPenny. (Those are the two I know for sure)

4- Wide tooth comb. (WTC) Get it. Use it. Love it! My two favorite purposes about a WTC is, first- Take with you in the shower, and when you apply your regular and/or deep conditioner... run the WTC through and that way your applying mositure evenly through your hair. Makes an actual difference. Hair Dresser Promise! And second - I like it to use when I am doing loose curls. After I have everything set, I run this through just to held 'piece' out the curls. Love it.

And 5- Popular trend that isn't going anywhere soon, as far as I can see. Glitter. No I am not talking 7th grade circa 1997 body glitter....I mean hints of glitter, be it on your nails (hand or feet), eye shadows, hairspray with a little shimmer or lip glosses. Its in, its fun....live it up. OPI has some really fun glitter polishes and I am noticing that most of the new palettes of make up are incorparating lots of sparkle.

Those are my top 5 New Year "Can't Live Without's"... try them out and let me know what you think. Its a new year, so try something new. You never know what will end up completing the look your going for, and its always fun to try something different. As always, you can email me questions for a new blog post or send comments on if you have tried any of my must haves. I would love feed back and to know who's following this these days. Good to be back! Happy 2011, stay gorg!!

Throw those sponges away!!!

Sorry I haven't been very good at posting lately. 1,000 apologies.

Well if you read my blog and/or know me....you my # 1 rule with make up is to ...
THROW THOSE SPONGES AWAY!!!

I found a good set of affordable, decent make up brushes. They are called EcoTools and I I got a set of 5 brushes, that came in its own roll up case and bought an extra brush, all for under $15!! Make up brushes, especially ones that give you a clean application, and have softer bristles are sometimes pretty pricey. I was doing make up at the salon and the make up case with my brushes was locked (don't ask...), so I ran over to Albertson's or whatever it is now, and bought some temporary ones. Turned out, I loved them! I was pleasantly surprised! So, if you are looking to invest in some new brushes or are finally throwing away the sponges, I say give EcoTool brushes a shot. Better for your make up and they wont break the bank!!

Feel free to email me questions @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com! I promise I will be better at posting tips!!

Glitter Toes

Spring is coming and that means we can finally wear sandals!! I LOVE painting my toes, whether people see them or not, I usually paint mine at least once a week. Well last night, my sister and I were painting our toes and I decided to be festive for St. Patrick's Day and give myself kelly green glitter toes. You can just use any kind of craft or make up glitter. Turns out SO cute and super easy!

Step #1- I always put some kind of base coat on first to prevent my toenails from getting stained and then I apply OPI's ChipSkip. If you don't own chip skip.... get it! It works phenomenally and really helps from polish chipping!!

Step #2- Pick your toenail color and apply one coat to the first foot. You are going to probably want the same color as your glitter.

Step #3- With your glitter sprinkle a liberal amount over each toenail.(Place a paper plate under your foot to catch the excess) Then tap or shake your foot to get rid of the excess glitter.

Then repeat Step #2 and #3 on the other foot.

Step #4- Apply 2 coats of a top coat. I like OPI's rapid dry top coat, Creative Nails Super Shiny Top Coat and Out the Door top coat (which you can buy at Sally's) **After I was down with my Top Coat, I wiped of my brush before putting it back in the bottle, because their will be a bit of glitter on it :) )

I would have posted a picture of my foot, but for some reason the computer isn't uploading the pictures. I hope this finds your toes happy with warmer weather and if you try it, post a comment and let me know how it worked for you!!

Questions?? Love to help, Email me at hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Finding your Foundation

Hey Katch. So as you know Jess and I have worn Mary Kay for years now. Well, we stopped selling it and after a while of having a stockpile, I am about out of foundation. I am really nervous about it cause I have used the same stuff for what feels like forever. Can you tell me a good brand? I dont want to sound snooty about it, but really I havent worn 'store-brand' stuff for awhile, and now Im clueless! Thanks! And really your blog is very helpful :)

Foundation can be a very tricky thing for different people. There is pressed powder foundation, liquid, mousse, compressed in a stick….So first start there. Now depending on your preference on “store” bought or “department” store bought there are hundreds of brands to choose from.

When it comes to foundation and face make up I am very blessed (thank you Mama and Big) when it comes to skin…so I don’t have to spend a fortune on face make up. I personally use Maybelline when it comes to face make up, it’s affordable, doesn’t ever feel heavy, doesn’t make me break out and they have a good variety of tones to make it easier to match what’s good for you. I use their Dream Matte Mousse. It is very light weight (like mousse) but has great coverage that isn’t too heavy and never feels caked on….even when I do break out and need a little more. I have used other store bought lines, and personally that one is my favorite. They also make a really good pressed foundation in a compact if you are someone that needs coverage throughout the day and like to carry it with you. It’s not quite as light as the mousse but it still does the trick.

As far as “department store” brand, I really haven’t strayed too much from eye shadows but when I do make up on clients at the salon I use Mirabella. The coverage is good; however I do feel like they don’t have as large of a selection when it comes to skin tones. Two of my friends are master estheticians and so make up seems to always creep up in conversations, so this is what they love and would recommend… MAC (of course), Urban Decay, Mirabella, Stila and Bare Minerals. My best friend swears by Bare Minerals.

When you have picked out they brand, tone and form of your foundation, sometimes we get put in the predicament of picking from two different tones…. (WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE), I usually would suggest picking from the lighter of the two… too dark will diminish your features and with a lighter shade, you can always tone with a powder and of course bronzer for a healthier complexion!

Sue, I hope this was some help to you and let me know if you need any more assistance on this! Also I would love some feedback on what you guys think....
Feel free to email more questions @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Colorful Lips

Hi Kathie i have a question. I am trying to find the right shade of red lipstick and was wondering if you could help. I am fair skinned and have blond hair that tends to be more on the ash side. Help! Any advice?

Kellie
This is a good question Kellie, and red - bright colored lips tend to scare most people. It is for sure something that forces to girls to step out of their comfort zones.
Generally a rule of thumb that I go by when picking a lipstick for my clients is mostly about eye color. The lighter the eyes, the brighter of lipstick they can usually pull off.

Blue Eyes - Bright Reds
Hazel Eyes - Medium Pinks with a hint of red
Green Eyes -Bright Pinks with hints of fuchsia-y purple
Brown Eyes - Darker Reds with hints of brown or purple depending on skin tone

Think about the celebs you see, when they play up their lips from their regular nude, natural lips... Christina Aguilara - Blue Eyes, RED lips. Scarlet Johansen - Greenish- bright Pinkish red lips. Eva Longoria - Brown eyes, darker red lips. I don't think that bright red lips are necessarily for everyone, but with this guide of eye to lip color works as a good general rule of thumb for me when I am working on others. Don't forget, bright lips need confidence, so if your going to rock the bright lips, Diva it up! :)


I am So glad that I have been getting emails!! I am running out of emails, so keep sending me suggestions!!! How are you guys liking the blog? Feel free to comment, if anything doesn't make sense.
hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Tutorial on Day to Day Make-Up

Next Email:
Hey sis!

Can you give a tutorial on how to properly put on everyday eye makeup? I always love how you make it look, and I always forget how you tell me how to do it! Thanks!

Love ya!
Steph

First off... Steph... thanks for being patient. Second off... I probably get asked about make-up tips from more then 75% off my clients. It is something I enjoy doing and I love to play around with. I am going to give you a tutorial on an everyday look that if you wanted to you could glam up, or tone down with different colors, eyeliners and blending.
First things first, brushes. Go buy yourself some make up brushes.... Beauty Supply Chains, Target, Wal-Mart, Ulta, etc. THEY ALL CARRY THEM! You can get an OK set of brushes at Wal-Mart for under $10. With brushes, you can control your eyeshadow, by just tapping the brush to get excess product off. The sponges that come in the eye shadow's at the store are crap. Toss 'em! You can't control the amount of product on them, their messy, they fall apart, you can't blend very well with them... get rid of them. Ha, that being said.... let's begin.

Step #1:
On a basic everyday look, I usually pick 3 colors and a highlighting color. First, with a your brush, take your highlighting shadow and apply a brush across your upper eyelid... from the crease up. It's just to open the eye's up more. Make sure its a REALLY thin application, your not trying to be Mimi from Drew Carey. Then apply the light color to the entire lid... which doesn't mean to your eyebrow. I mean about 1/4" above crease and down. With the tip of your brush, apply your light color right below your bottom lashes, just lining the underneath. This makes your eyes stand out a little more.

Step #2:
With your medium color, open your eye slightly and brush back and forth in your crease, I like to do about 3/4 of your crease, leaving the crease out that is closest to the center of your eye. Once you've got that on, wipe your brush off and with your clean brush, in a downward, diagonal motion blend the medium color down a little bit onto your lid. This will give it a little more blended look. Then same with the medium color, along your bottom lashes IN THE MIDDLE, line it with a little bit of the medium color. (This is adding some dimension)

Step #3:
With your dark color, get a little bit on the tip of the brush and apply to the bottom corner of your eyelid. You almost want to apply it in a small triangle, and then go out just a little bit, and down under your bottom eyelashes. That way it blends around the outside corner of your eye. Once again, wipe your brush clean, and brush the dark over onto the middle of the lid... again you are trying now to blend the dark in with the medium and light. The more dramatic look your going for, the bigger the triangle in the corner you'll want to start out with.

Step #4:
Eyeliner. Don't be scared of it, it really completes most looks. A good eyeliner application, can make your makeup look like you spend forever on it, so I wouldn't skip this step. For during the day, I like to put on my clients, a little eyeliner in the corner, starting out slightly thicker at the outside corner, getting narrower and end about 2/3 way through the lid. On the underneath, do about a 1/3 of the eye, and then with a Q-tip, smudge it a little on bottom so it doesn't look to hard. For me, to make my eyes stand out just a little more, on top of my regular eyeliner, I add a little line of Victoria Secrets glitter eyeliner. Seriously my favorite stuff!! Then add mascara of your choice and your ready.
:Finished Product: (don't mind my zit by my mouth :/)

A big thing with make up is, practice with colors. One night dedicate with this particular application but try with a little darker of colors. This application with darker colors, makes a fabulous smokey eye. It's all about what you feel comfortable with and most people just need to practice. Make up is fun and there are SO many awesome ways to do it! (Can you tell its a passion of mine lol) A good tip to remember with make up, is lighter colors make things stand out, make features more prominent and darker colors, make things apperar smaller, diminishing features.

Let me know if this made sense or if you have anymore questions! I have officially answered all my e-mails, so feel free to email me more questions and/or ideas!!
hairgoddessblog@blogspot.com

Softness and Shine

Next Email:

Hey Katch,

I'm trying to get back to my natural hair color, but it's been hard because I miss the side-effects of coloring my hair. Whenever I color my hair, it's always really soft and shiny. That goes a way after a while, but at least for a bit I enjoy it. For those that don't color their hair, what sort of things can be done to super charge hair with shine and softness. Good shampoos? Special conditioners? Spa treatments?

Thanks,

Mac


Mac, this is a good question. Your right, it does seem after you get your hair dyed that it always is super shiny and soft for the first few weeks. I have the perfect thing for you, which a lot of people don't realize is a real thing. In some color lines you actually can go get a 'clear' color put on your hair. It is applied the same way any other solid, all over color is... it's just clear. It is essentially used for a high shine, gloss look and to protect the color underneath. Works phenomenally. At the salon on my clients, I also do a deep conditioner but on steriods :). Not only does it make your hair feel like silk, it also restores the hairs pH levels. And the cool thing about the deep conditioner that I use, is that you can pick what kind of treatment you want to focus on, i.e. color, brittle, dry, damged, etc.
As far as shampoo and conditioners that help with softness, my favorite's are :
Fine-Normal hair : Bed Head Moisture Maniac Shampoo & Conditioner Redken Clear Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner
Normal-thick hair : Biolage Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner, Redken All Soft Shampoo and Conditioner
Damaged Hair : Redken Real Control Shampoo and Conditioner, Joico KPAK SHampoo & Conditioner

Also, all of these lines carry a deep conditioner which is ALWAYS good for not only shine and softness, but to help repair limp hair and add extra moisture to your hair and scalp. ** Deep Conditioning Tip : Take a WIDE TOOTH COMB into the shower with you when you plan to deep condition, and once conditioner is applied, comb through the hair, that way you aren't getting it too concentrated in one spot, and it's evenly combed through. You'll get better results this way!**

Hope this helps! Stay tuned... next post is another about makeup!! (Steph... :))
Got a question? Email me at hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Kardashian Curls

Next Email :

Do you know if there is a 'curling iron' out that does the outside wave (if that makes sense) the kind of curl you can do with the CHI or using a curling iron and wrapping the hair around the base? Listen Katch, I'm lazy, and my hair never wants to curl. I love the look of that particular curl and now with the hair getting longer I want to start curling it, I can get the curl with the CHI about half way then it just stops working, and I burn the mitts the other way and it takes to long. I would LOVE a curling iron that did it for me!!! :)
Celina

Since Celina's email, I have actually done her hair and got the opportunity to show her how to do this particular curl. She wants the equivalent of Kardashian hair... Don't we all!

First, you need to pick your desired size curling iron. I would go with a mid-size curl ironing (3-4"), that way your to start your curls are a little tighter, giving it time to loosen a little and not 10 minutes after you've done it.
Next, section the hair off. On my clients I like to start at the bottom, taking about 3" partings. DON'T forget, use a thermal protectant!!! Curl each piece the same way you would do any plain ringlet curl... your not going to achieve a 'ringlet' because the size of your curling iron, so don't let that scare you. Once you've reached the sections around your face, you are going to want to curl AWAY from your face, this includes your bang section. (Unless you have bangs above the eyebrow.... in that case, just curl under, and finger comb over to the side) I leave the section in your part for last, I like to curl horizontal with my head, and let the curls fall whatever direction. That way it gives it a little more natural volume, and letting it just fall gives it a not 'too styled' look.



**With the Kardashian curl, those girls all rock the center part. As stated before that's not always flattering on everyone but play around with it and see what works best for you. On Celina we ended up with about a 1/2" from the center part which turned out very cute. So it was almost center but not quite, so it was flattering for her face shape and a different look from her everyday hairstyle part.** After you've curled ever piece, to make it more loose and flowy, finger comb through it. Be gentle now, you don 't want to just rake through it. Then finish with a light hairspray. I say light because anything too firm takes the movement out of your hair. But, everybody's hair is different with how it holds, so pick accordingly. I like BED HEAD'S Masterpiece Hairspray, Paul Mitchell's Extra Body Hairspray and Kenra's 25.

Hope this helps any curling questions!
Any questions, Email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com. Have a great weekend

Fit Your Face

My hair is has gotten really long over the last year so I was thinking about chopping it all off to maybe a longer bob (to maybe a bit above the shoulders) but I want to make sure that is a good idea since I have more of a rounder face. I don't want to add attention to where it shouldn't be. What are your thoughts on the bob hairstyle & different types of face shapes?

Thank you!

Kristine


First off, Kristine good to hear from ya! and....I Love bob's. I love how styles come full circle. The bob is a very classic, mod hairstyle, and there are several different 'types', as far as face shapes. You just need to know how to pick it....
The key to any good hair cut to flatter your face is to think oval. Oval is the 'ideal' face shape, so you try to fit to that mold. Here are some guidelines to follow for different face shapes :

Oval - Almost anything goes. And this face shape is usually the ONLY shape that can do a center part.... otherwise, not cute.

Round/Circle - To make appear more oval, make sure you have layers frame into the face from about mid-cheek done. Avoid blunt bangs, and blunt cut bob that's chin length. Either have it above chin length or below. Blended layers work well on this face shape, giving you body everywhere.

Square - Avoid too short of layers, it makes your look more boxy, in turn making your strong jaw line more noticeable. Go for layering chin length down. A soft, full or side bang usually looks good, giving the square shape a little 'softer look'. I would avoid a blunt chin length bob... too boxy. You want most of your volume in the mid-section to help off set the square, not too much at the top.

Heart - Your width in your face is in the check area, so a side, swoop bang looks good.... with a couple short layers framing the top of the face, on both sides. To fill in the 'pointer' chin (or the bottom part of a heart..) go for layering from lower cheek done. Blunt and blended layering usually work for both. You want most of your body to be from your lower-mid section down.


I hope this helps with anyone trying to find a cut for their face shapes. Let me know if you have any other questions! For people waiting for their emails to get answered (STEPH!), I am trying to get to each one in a timely fashion, so stay tuned :)
hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

It's all about the fillers

So what's wrong with using Pert Plus?

Shaun



Now there is a good question that defiantly needs some clarification. Not just the answer 'because their bad'.
The biggest difference is the ingredients. You pay for what you get in my opinion. "grocery store" shampoo and conditioners contain a lot more fillers. Fillers in their products, that aren't necessary better for your hair just cheaper. Which is why you can pay $1.98. Also, their alcohol content is very high, in turn drying out the hair and damaging your hair follicles. With all these fillers, it compromises the cleansing quality, not fully cleansing the hair properly.
Professional brands don't skimp on the best ingredients for your hair. So, therefore it's not going to be as cheap as buying it at the store. They concentrate more on keeping your hair's pH level healthy, leaving it in a better condition, which with all the fillers in others, it's not as much of a priority.

I hope this makes sense, if not Shaun, we will have a chat more about it at your next haircut :)

Beat the Heat

**2nd Email**

If I'm going to straighten my hair almost every day what is the best iron and what products should I be using to prevent damage.

Jana


I actually get this question a lot. First and for most, if you are going to be using ANY kind of hot tool on your hair, please PLEASE from a stylist point of view, use some kind of product to protect your hair....
Ok, in my opionon I would either go with a CHI or a Nano Babybliss. Both are a little pricey, but your hair is something that is always on you, its not like a shirt you can just take off. I will say, that if you have had a bad experience with your CHI iron the last couple of years, they were being made outside the US, but recently because of all the problems (I assume, bc I got A LOT of complaints) they are now being manufactured in the US. A plus to the Nano is you can control the heat. So if you have coarser hair, you can apply more heat so you don't have to straighten the same piece 234 times.
For product, there are a couple straightening products that I prefer. For all hair types and what I personally love the best is Sexy Hair's SMOOTH AND SEAL. They only reason my hair never looks like a scarecrow damaged mess, is because of this! You don't need a lot, and stay away from the roots for the most part. Just a light mist in each section you are straightening. This is essentially like a Biosilk in spray form, so if you spray too much, you will look greasy and have no body. If you have pretty healthy hair and are looking for more of a hold (for those of us who's hair doesn't always stay...), Paul Mitchell makes a product called HOT OFF THE PRESS. This product you also don't need a lot of, it's got the hold of a light hairspray, but not the feel. And my other favorite, if you have short hair and want to straighten it, and then get the messy look, I like Short Sexy Hair's PLAY DIRTY. It's a spray wax, and works phenomenally! It is a wax, so don't get too crazy. Play dirty is great for just a wax too, after you've used something else to straighten. I actually use it for texture a lot in curls, and as a light hairspray for myself to keep my bangs over. At the salon on almost all my clients, I actually cocktail these together.

Hopefully this helps... moral is, DON'T EVER skip on product when using heat on your hair!! Including just blow drying...
Anybody else have ides?? You can email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com