hair Archives

Corinna B May 5, 2016

How To Choose Your Perfect Shade Of Blonde

Taylor Swift Vogue 2016

I love love love Taylor Swift’s new blonde hair.
It’s fresh, it’s modern, it brightens her up – it’s just fantastic! And it got me thinking, how do you find your perfect shade of blonde?

Summer and blonde go together like gin and tonic. They are a perfect pairing. But only if you get the right shade of blonde for your complexion.

Ever wondered how to get the absolutely perfect shade of blonde for your skin tone? Or maybe you tried blonde and it looked awful?

One of my good friends, Heather Strange, is a celebrity color specialist who worked forever on Rodeo Drive perfecting some of the most most famous blondes in America, so I figured she would be a good person to ask how to choose your perfect shade of blonde…

When you are choosing a blonde the most important thing to remember is that your shade of blonde has to compliment and set off your complexion. The wrong shade of blonde can wash you out and make you look awful, so we are going to break it down by skin tone.

Pale Skin

Pale skin girls can pull off platinum shades and shades close to their skin tone, but need to be careful not to lose their facial features or look washed out. If you are going pale think about balancing it out with a strong eye makeup or a bold lip.

OR go with a warmer, more sandy toned blonde to brighten you up. Think about the shade of butter or the inside of a banana peel.

Pink Skin Tone

Pink toned girls look great is ashy blondes and beige blondes. The blue and green undertones help balance out the rosiness in the skin.

Yellow Skin

If your skin has a yellow undertone your best bet is to go with a neutral blonde, not too ashy and not too warm.

Darker Skin

Darker skin tones need to stick with darker blonde shades. This not only keeps the maintenance down but also keeps the hair looking more natural.

Think about honey blondes and butterscotch blondes. Color Melting is fabulous for darker tones.

Summer Blonde Hacks

Heather also gave me a couple of fabulous hacks for summer blondes.

1. Even when doing darker or rooty shades she pops a few highlights on the hairline to keep her clients looking bright. Lightening up around the face is always a good idea.

2. No matter what shade you are you want to keep a blinding shampoo on hand to keep brassy-ness at bay. The summer sun can bring out those unwanted orangey tones, but using a blinding shampoo 3 or 4 times per month will keep your color true.
Try SachaJuan Silver Shampoo from Sweden, available online at Space NK

Silver Shampoo, , large

You can find Heather on Facebook at Scottsdale Colorist

See some of her blondes on Instagram @ScottsdaleColorist

Or go see her yourself in Scottsdale at Carolyne’s Salon

Corinna B May 3, 2016

The Hot New Blondes For Summer

Are you thinking about upping your blonde game for summer?

Blonde and summer go together like gin and tonic – they are a perfect pairing.
But not just any old blonde.
You are a modern girl, you love fashion and beauty, and you want to be sporting the blonde du jour, so I got the downlow for you.

One of the super cool things about being a working makeup artist is having access to some of the leaders in fashion. So when I wanted to find out about the most fashionable blondes for summer 2016 I asked Rodeo Drive celebrity color specialist Heather Strange (who now takes clients in Scottsdale) what the 4 biggest trends are this season for the super chic blonde.

Here is what she told me.

1. Color Melting

This is the cooler, sleeker sister to ombre. It’s more subtle, with a shade in between your root color and your ends color, with the shades blended seamlessly which makes it look more natural.

2. Rooted Blondes

This is the best option for girls with naturally darker shades. You won’t have to run to the salon every 3 or 4 weeks to get a touch up, and it has a great subtle sexiness to it.
this works on bother paler and warmer shades.

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3. Nude Hair.

This is a very new and sultry color for 2016.
Although it’s “new” it actually takes hair color back to shades found more naturally in the hair. And it suits pretty much everyone!

4. Pastels.

Fun, flirty pastels are all the rage for summer!
You can cut loose, choose something fresh and fun and not have to be married to it forever, because they usually fade quite quickly, especially if you are getting some beach time or pool time this summer.

If you want to have Heather color your hair (she is the best!) you can reach her at Carolyne’s Salon in Scottsdale.
Find Heather on Facebook at Facebook.com/Scottsdale Colorist

Corinna B April 14, 2016

The Curly Girl’s Guide To Gorgeous Summer Hair

Are you a curly girl?

I am.

If you have curly hair, wavy hair, kinky hair or tight curls, then this post is for you.

In my mind my curly hair looks like Ciara’s.
Unfortunately in real life it doesn’t.

In my mind I have luscious, beautiful, bouncy curls, but in reality I have that nasty curly hair that looks like a really bad home perm, gone terribly wrong.

Although my kind of hair holds a blow out like no other, it can be brutal in the summer when you’re going to the beach, pool parties, dealing with humid weather, traveling – basically anything that falls under the headings of “fun” and “summer”. Unless of course, I want to spend the time blowing it out. Which especially when I’m on vacation, I don’t.

Shakira’s beach curls – I wish mine looked like this!

So I have been looking for something to help me both for everyday life and also for dealing with summer, and found these fabulous products courtesy of Ouidad, world renowned hairstylist and pioneer of the curly hair industry, and her fabulous line of products designed specifically for curly girls.
(A.K.A. lifesavers!)

One of the things I love about Ouidad products is that I can buy them in travel sizes. If you have curly hair then you already know that you absolutely must have products with you when you go on vacation or you will look like a frizzy, unkempt mess.

Curl Essentials Travel Set

I just got the Ouidad Curl Essentials Trial Set which includes what I call travel sizes, of their famous essential core products:
The Waterworks Clarifying Shampoo, to cleanse the hair without stripping away essential nutrients and moisture.

The Moisture Lock Leave In Conditioner, a lightweight leave in product that gives a breathable moisture foundation that keeps your hair hydrated without weighing your curls down.

Botanical Boost Curl Energizing Refreshing Spray energizes and reawakens curls, both the day you wash your hair, and the following days when you need to liven it back up. (Especially good for those of us who can’t shampoo our hair every day without looking like a brillo pad)
Climate Control Heat And Humidity Gel fills each strand of hair with the optimal level of moisture and then seals it in, preventing expansion in even the most humid conditions (stops you getting frizzy), but doesn’t leave a greasy or heavy residue.

Another Ouidad product that is totally amazing for curly girls is the Ultra Nourishing Cleansing Oil. Curly hair can get really dry, which makes it brittle, causing breakage. When curls dry out they look dull and lifeless and to make it worse they get frizzy.
Sometimes the answer is in the way we cleanse our hair.
Ultra Nourishing Cleansing Oil turns even the driest, lackluster curls into bouncy, gorgeous curls, adding moisture from the inside out, and then coating them in CR4 Repair, binding the moisture in and making your hair glossy and shiny. I’m ordering this next!

There is a BOGO on The Ultra Nourishing Cleansing Oil at the moment, so you can buy one and get a second one half off.

Read about Ouidad and her lifesaving line of curly girl hair products here.