My Creative Work Commisioned and Captured

Just a few month ago, the idea of having my work photographed by a professional crossed my mind. I do ok with my phone and Instagram is awesome but I am by no means a professional. Also, there's nothing like the experience of a good photographer and the expertise that comes with it. As much as I say that some day I will own a good camera to take better pictures of my work, I'm not sure that I have the innate ability to catch the humanness of an individual the way the Jenn and some of my photographer friends do. I think the Universe was more inclined to bless me with the talents that made the collaborations of my most recent endeavors possible. So, you can understand the overwhelming excitement I felt when I was approached by my client, Jenn, of 3 Tea Leaves to do hair and makeup for a few of her clients.

The lovely ladies you see here are the first photo shoots I've done hair and makeup for in quite some time and, quite frankly, they couldn't have come at a better time. I can't say enough how much I love doing creative work and now that I've jumped the hurdle of being in business and one full year, my heart and mind are much more open to delving back into the creative work that I love!!

Above is Marisol. She has long beautiful hair and great skin. It was important to keep this look as natural as possible and I did so by creating a soft curled look with a very clean and natural face. I worked to enhance her natural glow and made sure to keep the lip subtle as to not take away from how beautiful her eyes are. You can't see them in this particular photo BUT you can see what I'm talking about by visiting the gallery on my website.

To the right is Sha 'Ran. With a personality that can light up a whole room and a natural beauty that is unmatched, it didn't take much to make what you see here happen. Before she arrived, I already had a lip color in mind and really focused on making her lip the focus. Her hair was easy, as she showed up with in braids to control texture. She helped me unravel her braids and I shook and finger styled her hair into place using a few "natural curl" techniques I have in my pocket to give her hair the right shape and relied heavily on her natural texture to support this look. Really, I'm pretty sure she rolls out of bed and looks like this.... Seriously!!!

Doing this type of work is always fun and a welcomed experience. I love doing creative work and being a part of the creative process. I have since done hair for another photo shoot and hair and makeup for 2 more. I can't wait to post those pictures and share them with you!! If you would like to see more of what was captured of these two lovelies, visit the gallery on my website. If you'd like to check out more of Jenn's work, visit her website and her FB page.

Also!!!!!

Check this out!!!! To the right is my friend, client and recent collaborator, Kori!! This is her on ebony.com featured in an article regarding the 5 Black Plus Size Models You Should Know. I know her and now the whole world has no excuse!! This is actually evidence of the first time we met. The photo of her on the right is from a photoshoot she did with Willow of Willow's Photography. I styled her hair for that shoot and even let her borrow one of my wigs. Part of me hoped that our relationship would grow. I would have never guessed that it would have blossomed into the relationship and collaborations it is now!! Since then I have been cutting her hair and keepin' her lines fresh for modeling gigs. We recently worked together on a couple of her photography ventures. Did I mention that she is a phenomenal photographer as well?!? Look for her model work on Instagram at @korileilani and her photography work at @irok_images.

Women and Girls in Sports: A Resolution and a Wonderful Memory

To the left is a picture I took yesterday of my niece and I at the Washington State capital building. We joined my roller derby team, the Oly Rollers, in honoring Women and Girls in Sports.

This picture is very important to me for a few reasons.

1. My life is full of busy. I sometimes forget how important it is to stop and take time to spend time with the children in my life. I forget that she, her sister, her brother and her cousin all love to spend time with me. I spoil them with what I can, I require dance parties in the car, I apply "earmuffs" that I was told yesterday do not really work that well AND I make sure to embarrass them every chance I get. I forget that those are all job requirements inherent of the title "Aunt". I love them. This photo is a reminder of how important that time is, and that I need to make an effort to allow for more of this in my and their lives.

2. One of the super important senate people reminded me that I'm a roll model. WHAT?!? ME?!? I guess I can handle that!!! I am a business owner, an independent stylist, a skater, an Aunt and a role model. If I'm not careful, she may pick up on these things and then where would the world be? More awesome?

3. Hair... I find it important to remind my niece that she is perfect just the way she is. During our day-venture, she remarked a few times that she should have done something different with her hair. I thought it was perfect and I made sure to let her know that. The moments I get remind her of that are very important to me. I also do my best to apply this thought to my appointments and interactions with clients. I get the opportunity to create with hair. The many things I am able to do are as a result of what you and I both bring to the table. Your hair is an expression of who you are and I do my best to take your ideas and my expertise and make your expression an tangible reality. The way you wear it, love it and help create it make it perfect!!

This picture represents many things. I love that it is of the two of us on a day-venture. It makes me giggle that you can see my selfie arms in the reflection of our sunglasses. I love that we are wearing sunglasses in the PNW during a mild but amazing Winter day. I love her smile. I love that I get to share this photo and my reflections with you.

Sometimes You Swing and Miss

There isn't a stylist in all of the worlds who could tell you that they've hit it out of the park every time and I would be lying if I proclaimed to be an exception to this rule. I am human and, to be quite honest, it has taken me some time to come to terms with the fact that each and every one of you know this. Sounds kind of silly right? I know...  Lucky for me, I have THE GREATEST CLIENTS ON THE PLANET and because of this, I have been allowed the opportunity to become comfortable in my own humanness to say, "You know, I'd like to give that another try."

Yesterday, I did not hit it out of the park. I was a little bummed that the color I applied didn't do what I hoped it would and with a snafu like that, you have two choices; let your client walk out with a not so up to par do OR ask your client if they'd like to let you have another shot at it. I chose to do the latter and from my experience making the choice to recognize your own humanness is definitely the way to go.

Thank you all for recognizing my humanness and thank you for being there to help me recognize it as well. It is my job to make sure that you all have the greatest hair of your lives and I appreciate the opportunity to make that happen. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't but I am so grateful that you all have allowed me the chance to be human and make adjustments when snafus arise.

Do Blondes Really Have More Fun?!?

I honestly don't know the answer to that question but what I do know is that the path of discovery Mirela and I took to create this beautiful color has been a fun adventure for the both of us.

Mirela came to me a few years ago with box colored hair proclaiming that she wanted to be lighter.... and eventually blonde!! Yeah... I know!!!! Fast forward to our most recent appointment and you can see that we not only got her lighter but we've stuck with it. As time has passed, she has been differing shades of blonde but this is by far our favorite.

Mirela is naturally a level 6 with a heavy amount of yellow pigment. I lift her with Mask Bleach and 20 volume in a full foil. Once she's processed, I use the newly concocted Mask 10,12 with 40 volume and a processing time of about 15 minutes to break her base and also tone her blonde and lift out a little bit more of her natural pigment.

I styled her with Oi All In One Milk and More Inside's Curl Building Serum blowdrying with a smaller, vented round brush to give a loose curled texture to her style. She told me as I was pre-drying that she was going to go grocery shopping and then head home to crash after a long day of work. I assured her that she'd have the best hair at Fred Meyers!!! Hehe!!

Sometimes, it's not about the color we've done on your hair in the past, it's about the journey we've taken to get to the best color you've ever had. I love taking that journey with my clients and love even more when "the best color you've ever had" happens more than once.

BEST.COLOR.CORRECTION.EVAR!!!!!!!!!!!

So... Let's just gaze at this picture for a minute and bask in its amazingness....

Ok... Let me know when you're done.

Well... I guess the amazingness deserves a little explanation in that this is far from the color it used to be.

This is my friend Rachel, a natural level 7. I have been coloring her hair black for a number of years and before I got my hands on her, it was colored by someone else (but we won't talk about that....) A few months back she told me that she wanted to go lighter and closer to her natural but wanted to be a different tone. When she told me she wanted to be copper, I freaked!!! I got so excited I did an internal happy dance. The prospect of giving her a new look excited us both and we talked about the process and when we should do it. We decided that staying a raven haired goddess through her wedding was the best idea and eventually came to the agreement that we would take the plunge after the New Year.

Leading up to the day we sent texts back and forth and discussed all of our options. The conclusion we came to was that it would probably be the most awesome thing ever but if it wasn't, we could always go back to black. The day came, she showed up and we got right down to business.

The process was long but completely worth it. After lifting her hair to a banded level 7, we decided that we would do two tones of copper since we really couldn't decide on which we liked better. I parted out a block to go in her perimeter and applied Mask 7,43 rood to ends knowing that the color in that tube was dense enough to give her even coverage. I had to get a little sciencey with the top section and take into consideration the copper that was already happening in her previously colored but lightened lengths. Since the desired end result for this section was Mask 7,34, I applied a straight formulation of that on her root, reformulated for her very copper mid lengths using what remained in the bowl (about 15g of color) and mixing in straight 7,3, applied and in her ends mixed and new formulation of 7,34 because her ends were more shallow than the mid section.

Did your brain explode?!? If you are a colorist, you totally get me. If you are not... well think of unicorns and rainbows and that should make your brain feel better.

What you see pictured above is the end result. After rounds of lifting to get her previous color out so we could put her new color in, this is what we got. What amazes me the most is that it is remarkably even, shiney and still a very strong strand of hair.

Due to the magic of Davines' Mask Color, I was able to make this awesomeness happen for Rachel. We were both so pleased with the end result that our faces hurt from intense smiling. Seriously.... my face is still sore from the over use of my smile muscles!! Ha!! I gave her a fat stack of my cards and people have liked it so much she's already had to ask for more. The greatest thing to come out of this experience is knowing that I was able to give Rachel EXACTLY what she wanted, she LOVES it and it's a wearable color that will allow her the freedom to play with copper tones or grow out her natural if she so chooses with less hassle than staying dark.

BEST.COLOR.CORRECTION.EVAR!!!!!!!!!

A New Year, A New You...

I'm very excited about what 2014 has in store. My first full calendar year of business is behind me and the second has a bright, bright outlook. I've spent the last year working hard and cultivating ideas with the intention of making sure you guys all know just how much I appreciate you.

One of few ideas is the Indigo Elite Membership program. A few of you asked when I first opened if I would be creating something of the sort and here it is!!!

This program is not only designed to create savings for each and every one of you, it has rewards built into it that honor things you already do. The next time you're in, make sure you ask me about what it means to be a member and how you can go about being among the first to take advantage of a program that's designed just for you.

How do I earn Elite Rewards?
· Prebook (1 point)
· Purchase product (1 point)
· Book an add on service (1 point)
· Refer a new client (5 points)
**each point is worth $1 and can be used toward any regular priced product purchase**

Can I earn Elite Reward points if I am not an Indigo Elite Member?
YES!!!