Skin Deep

He brought me a picture of a comic book character…....

Sun, 12 May 2013 17:02:28 -0500

He brought me a picture of a comic book character…. #SodamYat #menscut #highandtight #fade #gentlemanscut #barberskills #clippercut

Hair & makeup on my lovely stepmother for her glamourous...

Sat, 11 May 2013 21:57:50 -0500

Hair & makeup on my lovely stepmother for her glamourous night out. A little Gatsby inspired loose finger waves & lots & lots of pins! #glamour #hair #makeup #afetishforhair #gatsby #fingerwaves

And it’s been 11 years since we lost gods gift to makeup....

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:45:23 -0500

And it’s been 11 years since we lost gods gift to makeup. May 7th. My birthday is sandwiched between the death of my heroes. Kevyn Aucoin is it to my makeup work what Vidal Sassoon is to my hair work. #makeup #inspiration #genius

One year ago today. My hero & inspiration. Our world is a...

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:34:58 -0500

One year ago today. My hero & inspiration. Our world is a little darker without his light. #vidalsassoon #inspiration #legend #innovator

My amazing bff surprised me with LOVE this morning. In case you...

Wed, 08 May 2013 08:48:12 -0500

My amazing bff surprised me with LOVE this morning. In case you don’t know, carrot cake cupcakes from Quack’s = LOVE! #happybirthdaytome #QuacksAustin #carrotcake #cupcakes #bestielove

About damn time, huh?

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:59:30 -0600

About damn time, huh?

Experimenting With Home Remedies

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 10:57:33 -0600

As a child of the 70s/80s, I grew up in a pretty holistic, “hippy” household where we tried to do everything natural & “organic” (long before the word was being stamped on every label). Our food was mostly healthy & natural, some even grown in our own back yard, or from the gardens of friends & family. My mom used “natural” hair & skin care lines, found at Whole Foods (back when they were just one little store in Austin, not a nationwide chain) & vitamins were everywhere. I also remember there being plenty of “home remedies” for this & that. Some were born from tradition, passed down through generations (“old wives tales”) & others came from the extensive reading my father did on all things healthy & natural.

For as far back as I can remember, I would spend hours in my room with various products & ingredients, pilfered from my mother’s bathroom & kitchen, mixing this & that, concocting the perfect products for this or that. At the time I was more concerned with skin care products, probably because that’s what I’d seen on tv or in magazines. Women were always shown devoting a great deal of time to creams & masques for their face during their beauty routines. Hair care seemed really to only consist of using the right shampoo (Vidal Sassoon – because if you don’t look good, we don’t look good!), learning how to get a good nights sleep in a full set of rollers, & a healthy coating of hair spray! Of course, over the years, I learned there is much more to it than that &, eventually, started experimenting with a variety of ingredients on my own hair.

Fast forward to present day – As a licensed cosmetologist, I have a wealth of products readily available to me & promising all manner of results. Some backed by years of research & the finest quality, least damaging ingredients (Kevin.Murphy, Sojourn, Aquage’s SeaExtend line) & many others that are really no better (possibly even worse) than the cheap drug store lines – they just come in a nice package with “famous” name. But for all of their research, proprietary blends, & patented ingredients, have we managed to lose sight of the fact that, for centuries, women have grown long, beautiful, healthy, strong hair without the aid of man made products? Are we overlooking brilliant remedies that may be found right in our own back yards (or local, natural markets, as the case may be)?

Recently, part out of necessity & part out of pure curiosity, I’ve began to experiment with some of these “home remedies” again; researching the ingredients that have traditionally been said to do this or that for your hair & applying that knowledge to mix my own potions. I thought I would start sharing some of the results – wins & losses – here.

So… keep an eye out, as I will be posting the first couple this weekend (complete with pictures)! And, if any of you have any home remedies, for hair or skin, that you love – or ones you’re curious about, but haven’t yet tried – please use the Ask Me a Question link to share it with me, so that I can give it a try & post a review!

Happy birthday, Vidal Sasson. A man who’s passion for the...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 09:56:02 -0600

Happy birthday, Vidal Sasson. A man who’s passion for the craft was matched only by his talent. Thank you for changing our world & my life!

It's Official...

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:15:16 -0600

I am now officially a licensed cosmetologist in the state of Texas. Only took me 18 years, but what the hell! :-)

So, she sits here on my desk at work, because I really had...

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:50:02 -0600

So, she sits here on my desk at work, because I really had nowhere else to put her. A bit out of place in my corporate office, but I suppose so are the photos of Vidal Sassoon & my Sassoon competition ”before & after”.
#compromisingthedream

All packed up & ready to go! Look at all those pretty #SKS...

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 23:59:54 -0600

All packed up & ready to go! Look at all those pretty #SKS colours in there. :-)

...fetish is coming...

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:50:45 -0600

www.afetishforhair.com

It’s officially official… I can now take credit...

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 11:42:21 -0600

It’s officially official… I can now take credit cards.

Some days I’m just so indecisive.

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 21:29:50 -0500

Some days I’m just so indecisive.

Almost There!

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:13:02 -0500

Took my written state board exam about an hour ago. Completed the 110 question test in just under 30 minutes & scored 87%. Now, just a few more weeks & I’ll clock the last of my hours & be ready to take my practical. Anticipated graduation date is set for November 20th.

18 years in the making… hard to believe it’s really almost over.

Trend Alert: Ladies in their 40s, 50s and 60s Now Have the Boldest Hair

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:47:43 -0500

Check out this blog from Birchbox.

So….. I just really don’t understand what the big deal is. Who says we have to lose all sense of style & “self” as we age?

I’m not quite 40 yet (38), but I can assure you that I have absolutely no intention of suddenly toning down my look once I hit some arbitrary magic number.

Think about who it is in their 40s, 50s & 60s right now. These women “grew up” in decades when punk & rock & roll were still edgy. I’m a mom, I have 2 teenage boys & I’m covered in tattoos, have my nose pierced, stretched ear lobes & like to keep my hair long with very drastic, edgy layers. Right now it’s black with platinum blonde balayage on the tips of my bangs. I also like it with blue bangs or blue ombre. If I ever did choose to cut it off, I’d probably opt for something asymmetrical & funky (like Miley Cyrus’ new cut - loving that!) & still play with the colours.

What do y’all think?

birchbox:

British artist Daphne Guinness leads the trend in baby boomers rocking edgy hair. (Photo: ohnotheydidn’t.livejournal.com)

We’ve covered a number of crazy hairstyles on this blog, from Miley Cyrus’ asymmetrical platinum cut to Katy Perry’s orange locks on the cover of L’Officiel. But we definitely didn’t anticipate this new trend that’s hitting hair salons across the country. The New York Times is reporting that the bravest, edgiest hairstyles aren’t on the heads of teenagers and 20-somethings anymore—but women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.

Read More

Crowd Fund Me

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:19:19 -0500

I’m piecing together an Indiegogo campaign (it’s like Kickstarter, only you don’t have to hit your goal to get the funding) in order to purchase the tools, supplies & classes I need to expand my abilities as a makeup artist & enable me to get more freelance work & offer more to my clients. I intend to get it all together & launch the campaign no later than the end of this month. One of the things I want to fund is the airbrush class I was talking about the other day, but there are other items I could use too. Anyway…. keep an eye out for it & please consider helping out & sharing it with your friends. ALSO… if any of you have any ideas for cool “perks” I can offer to contributors, please let me know. Right now I have come up with some hair & makeup services to offer (including 1 big perk available for a bigger spender where I will contract to do hair & makeup for their wedding or special event).

Alexandria working the runway. Best shot I was able to get with...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:08:45 -0500

Alexandria working the runway. Best shot I was able to get with my phone. Too many lights & flashes going off. (Taken with Instagram)

Can’t find geisha pins anywhere in town? Fine. I’ll...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 14:14:57 -0500

Can’t find geisha pins anywhere in town? Fine. I’ll make ‘em my own damn self. Industrial hairstyling, it is! ;-) (Taken with Instagram)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:04:48 -0500

WOW!!!

avaniondine:

Beads by Roberto Perozzi

© ALEX FORSEY PHOTOGRAPHY.

Skin Deep

He brought me a picture of a comic book character…....

Hair & makeup on my lovely stepmother for her glamourous...

And it’s been 11 years since we lost gods gift to makeup....

One year ago today. My hero & inspiration. Our world is a...

My amazing bff surprised me with LOVE this morning. In case you...

About damn time, huh?

Experimenting With Home Remedies

Happy birthday, Vidal Sasson. A man who’s passion for the...

It's Official...

So, she sits here on my desk at work, because I really had...

All packed up & ready to go! Look at all those pretty #SKS...

...fetish is coming...

It’s officially official… I can now take credit...

Some days I’m just so indecisive.

Almost There!

Trend Alert: Ladies in their 40s, 50s and 60s Now Have the Boldest Hair

Crowd Fund Me

Alexandria working the runway. Best shot I was able to get with...

Can’t find geisha pins anywhere in town? Fine. I’ll...

WOW!!! avaniondine: Beads by Roberto Perozzi © ALEX FORSEY...