You get what you pay for.

A woman came into the salon yesterday and told one of my coworkers that she "found" Moroccan Oil at Walgreens for $8.  She was super impressed with herself for her scouting out such an amazing deal.  "It's the SAME THING!"  Sure, dear. You're just the only genius who walked by the hair aisle at a drugstore.  So sleuthy!  (I'm going to venture to guess that Marge's discovery at Walgreen's was something along the lines of "Arabian Oil" or "Macadamia Oil".)

Just days before, our brand rep from Moroccan Oil said that old bottles of the product (that would normally be sent back to the manufacturer) were being resold at a cheaper rate on Amazon.  They even had old labels on them.

And speaking of reselling merchandise, you may have seen some Bumble products gracing the shelves of Target.  Yep, those are old bottles too.  Just ask the folks at Bb.

The point of all this?  The best salon products aren't available outside of a salon, and there's a reason: they are sold in a salon so that an expert has the opportunity to tell and show you how to use it, and if it doesn't work, you can bring it back and find something that does.

So if you want Aveda, Oribe, Bumble & bumble, Moroccan Oil..... don't expect them to pop up in the aisle at Walgreens (ahem MARGE), and if they do, you can safely bet that they are cheap imitation / reduced quality, and won't give you your money's worth.

Hair Color: How to avoid fading

Many of you (hello, redheads) have often felt the woes of a fading hair color.  Fresh from the salon, it's shiny, rich, and vibrant, but four weeks later, you're grieving the loss of all those things. 

Here are a handful of things to try at home to help prolong the greatness:

  - Try to shampoo every other day, if possible.

  - Don't use super hot water on your hair: the hotter the water, the more open your hair's cuticle will be, allowing those color molecules to rinse away.  Plus, it definitely dries your hair (and skin!) out quickly.

  - Shampoo & conditioner matter: you must use something equipped to properly care for your color - a shampoo that doesn't overly cleanse and a conditioner that provides a good amount of moisture, neither of which should be high on the pH scale.  Despite your hair's other needs (smoothness or volume, for example), color care should be priority numero uno for shampoo & conditioner (styling products can make up for what you may not get out of a color-care shampoo/conditioner).

  - Keep it moisturized: this dry air is killer on hair, regardless of color.

  - Blondes need protein because of the chemical damage being done every time you lighten (especially if you have long blonde hair) - depending on your preference, both Aveda's Damage Remedy and Bumble & bumble's Mending lines are great for this purpose.

And some options to deal with the fading/outgrowth:

  - Aveda offers color "conditioners" in five shades.  I put that in parentheses because there's very little moisture and doesn't get applied like conditioner.  Apply the color wherever you want to see the results. If you're fading and growing out at the root, apply it there, and leave on in the shower up to 10 minutes.
         Blue Malva - for toning down brassiness in blondes and for grey/silver
         Camomile - for adding golden tones to blondes
         Madder Root - for red heads (and I mean RED, not auburn)
         Clove - for brunettes (could be mixed with Madder Root for auburns)
         Black Malva - for dark cool brunettes/black. 

  - Bumble & bumble has a line of tinted spray hair powders that are great for covering up a line of outgrowth, especially if grey hairs are involved.  They're also great at soaking up oils on second and third-day hair (which goes along well with the "don't shampoo too much" idea!).  These come in white, blondish, brown and black.

  - Add a "gloss" to your haircut in-salon between full color services.  It's mixed up and applied for about 5-10 minutes at the shampoo bowl.  It's a great way to boost your color and add a ton of shine!

Hope these tips help!
xoxo,
KM

Shiny and new!

Welcome to my NEW old blog!  I am back with a new look and a new home.  For those of you that knew and supported my makeup business, thanks for sticking with me!  This is the same content reloaded into a new place.  And for those of you wonderful people who are just jumping on board to my new Facebook page, welcome! 

The idea behind the FB page and the blog is to provide you with some tips, tricks, and how-tos to utilize at home.  Please let me know if there's anything you hope to see featured or addressed here.

xoxo,
Katrina

Perfection? Nailed it.

Manicures - feel and look great when you get them, horrible when they get nicked as you zip your coat to leave, chip in 6 hours and peel in 48. What's a girl to do?

Having nice nails is something that's surprisingly important in my job.... people notice. And yet, it's not exactly the easiest thing to accomplish when my hands are in water all day long.

Enter the life-changing GEL POLISH.

I'd heard about this stuff, but didn't really understand it. It's just like a nail polish, except it's "cured" under lights rather than just drying. They do a little bit of scuffing the nail surface to ensure lasting result, but it's not nearly as damaging as the process used with fake nails.

I chose my polish (Gellish: Stand Out #37) and watched as my fabulous new manicure took shape. I LOVED IT!!!!!! So shiny, so smooth, so perfect, so professional. My nails looked ***perfect*** and I became instantly addicted.

Another share-worthy tidbit about this stuff - you can paint nail polish right over the top of your gel polish, and take it off (even with acetone) without damaging your gel manicure. It's a great option for people with really flimsy or ridge-y nails to create the strong, healthy appearance, even if you just opt for a translucent color choice.

Now, it's been two weeks (tomorrow) since my manicure and they're going strong. I have only one tiny chip on the very edge of my right pointer finger - aka the finger I use all the dang time to pick open various things or dig stuff from my teeth. But they're still fab. Here's a photo of my left hand with my two-week old manicure:

TWO WEEKS post manicure!

You may notice that you can see a tiny gap of outgrowth, but honestly it doesn't bother me one bit. Something to note is that the polish has to be removed in-salon.

I'll definitely do Gel Polish again, assuming there's nothing traumatic about the removal process. And this perfect shade of red may just have to be my signature color! It makes me quite a Stand Out, don't you agree?

Gel polish manicure available at Cole's Salon for approx $40

xoxo,

KM

Not just for pot smokers anymore...?

Ladies, I don't imagine that many of you partake in such activities these days, but why must you walk around with blood-shot eyes day after day?

This may not be as much a beauty tip but more of a hello! wake up! reminder that eye drops do exist and do work wonderfully to give you bright white sparkling eyes. And in mere moments! It's like what tooth-whitening does for your smile, but in .000143% of the time!

I will say that this step is highly recommended if you ever wear blue or green eyeshadow, as those will LOUDLY broadcast any redness in your eyes, and prompt your coworkers to ask if you've been crying.... (or getting high in the copy room!)

To summarize: eye drops=good.

Back in everything but black!

Ladies and gents, I have returned to blogging. I know, you're thrilled.

Since last you've heard from me, I've graduated my Cosmetology program at the Aveda Institute Minneapolis, and started work at Cole's Salon in Eagan. My training program is about 15 weeks intensive, followed by continuous mentorship and development throughout my career. It's a lot of hard work, still, but I'm filled with passion and motivation for this business! I can't wait to really truly hit the ground running with a schedule filled with friends, family, strangers, referrals - all with whom I would love to connect, share and serve.

Because of my passion, incredible amounts of learning, and love of sharing and educating, I've been itching to spread the wealth. Sometimes I opt to live a bit vicariously through a blogging comrad and personal friend, Beauty Bets, by leaving wordy comments on her posts, but my needs and yours are much better served through this lil' gem here.

So I'm ready with quite a few ideas for posts and should be plugging some out in the next few days for your enjoyment. If you have any particular inquiries or curiousities that you'd like me to shed some light on, say so in the comments below and I'll drum up a post for you!

Be prepared for AWESOME.....

Until next time,
KM

Negating the "Lobster" Effect

As the sun shines brighter and the days become longer and more and more beautiful, many of us will find ourselves at happy hours, barbecues and outdoor baseball games (woohoo!) without realizing how powerful those rays really are. Until we get home and notice that we have an awkward, bright pink sunburn.

This is the perfect time to call upon a sunless tanner. Many scoff at how "orange" they look, but layered over the pink sunburn makes it look like a perfect and natural shade of summer glow.

Be sure to choose something with moisturizing benefits, as the sunburn most definitely needs that moisture to heal (and not peel). I like Jergen's Natural Glow, as it's cheapish, easy, and favored by many (read: tried-and-true). Choose the shade based on your skin tone, slather on, and you'll steer clear of pesky lobster jokes.