Swept Up

Sinatra Night and San Jose's "Page 6"

2012-02-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

Each year, a good friend of mine throw's his annual "Sinatra Night" at the gorgeous De Anza Hotel in San Jose, CA. It's a good excuse to dress up in your finest digs and remember what it was like when men wore suits to impress the ladies (instead that sweaty Giants hat worn backwards), and girls wore their favorite heels (instead of their stank Ugg Boots) to woo the gentlemen.

Against my own fashion rules, I re-wore a dress I purchased for an old work party--but it just shouted Sinatra night (and let's be real: a re-wear falls nicely in my budget these days).

Low and behold, this girl makes it in The Metro back page. Now, I know what you're thinking. It ain't Page 6. I get that. Second thought: that's a lovely cocktail in your hand (nice nod at my lush status). But really, this was my crowning moment as an official socialite of Silicon Valley...in my own head.

Now, for the point of this blog. THE HAIR.

Kung fu grip on my Cosmo.

For the first time, I did what I never thought I'd do: watch YouTube how-to hair videos for Marilyn Monroe styles. I found this video since she has about the same length hair I do and altered it a bit, since I didn't have the time to set pin curls -- a girls' gotta work hard and play hard, right?

I went in with a 1/2 inch curling iron to set it, pinned it in place while I took a whore bath (you read that correctly), and applied my make up.

I used a baby brush (you can buy them at Longs, no joke) instead of a comb like she used. A comb would have been suicide to my thick, normally curly hair. I pinned back my hair on my better side, taught with some bobbies, locking them in place with my favorite "x" bobby pin pattern. I added some Fredrick Fekkai Advanced Brilliant Cream to whip it all together and shape.

I shellacked it in place with good hair spray. I warn you against cheap hairspray--can't save the planet on this one. You have to absolutely go for a great aerosol spray for light, solid hold.

I hope you explore videos to teach yourself a new style. I challenge you to try at least one new style a week!

Loren's Final Photos and Slide Rock

2012-02-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a hot minute, hasn't it!? With my new full-time gig at Google in full swing, the holidays, roller derby, my dog and so many cups of coffee to tackle, I've been busy. In all this madness, I realized I never posted any of the final images from Loren's big day last summer.

I had a wonderful time in Sedona, and had some quality time with a bestie. Not only did we share the big day with Loren and her family, but we visited Slide Rock and slid down some rocks (duh).

Probably one of the funniest pictures of all times. If you could only see the aftermath of the large Hawaiian man that ended up on top of me at the end of this slide. Hope that mental image made your day as much as it did mine.

As far as Loren's styling, what an afternoon! I ended up styling most of the bridal party. Some of the most gorgeous, thickest, longest hair I've styled, which you know takes a great deal of time. Combined with some Arizona heat, and I was cookin'!

Below is a great shot of Loren's hair later in the day. Don't mind the fly-aways--roll with it ;) Between her and Dan and Vanessa, I'd say this picture is officially categorized under "adorbs".

It's Creepin'...

2011-01-31T17:43:00.000-08:00

...back into wedding season!

I'm just about to start back into my whirlwind of trial runs; my first being none other than one of my dearest girlfriends, Loren. She and I actually worked together a few years back and have been friends ever since. She's moved to Arizona with her fiancée, Dan, and together they have started a brand new life, in a gorgeous new home, in Prescott. Her wedding is going to be held in Sedona, AZ--I hadn't heard of it either until my mom ventured there for a girls weekend.

Kind of peed my pants a little at how breathtaking nature in Sedona, AZ can be:

Spas, pools, hiking, driving something called the "Pink Jeeps" I keep hearing about, 70s themed hotels, all so awesome, and totally unknown to me until the other week!

And even better, I hear everything is themed that fantastic turquoise/sand color combination down there. Right down to the old Mickey D's (kind of gross, but kind of made me LOL):

But I digress...(can you tell I'm looking forward to travelling to Sedona?)

Loren is going to look fan-friggin'-tastic. She's got this bodacious feather dress, with a fitted strapless top. We're going with a tousled, side up-do, and keeping it natural will the products. I advised her to get a feather hair-piece made with the same materials as the dress as well as a large white flower to match her bouquet. You can see she doesn't need much to make her glow--Loren's beautiful, hilarious, spunky, fun-loving spirit is going to shine brighter than those Sedona mountains.

I see a Chloe-Monster spying in the background. PS Ugly red flower is mine, just for the trial run :)

Text to bestie: "OMG. My hair! Look!" Bestie's response: "You look stunning!"

Don't wait until the last minute to book your trial run for your wedding! My weekends are filling up fast and I hope to meet some new friends this season. xoxo-Lexi

Scrumptious.

2010-08-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

The divine Brigitte Bardot.

I create beauty through styling hair--the trans-formative process, the instant gratification of taking a person from one point to another in a short period of time through changing their hair. At some point over the past few years, I've noticed a gradual shift from being simply interested in hair, to wanting to understand this process. I'm a student to only myself and have taught myself through trial and error and exploration.

I'm exceedingly proud of these photos. The technical aspect of this shoot was a lot more challenging than I had anticipated, but I listened to my gut, made suggestions for styling, and worked collaboratively with the photographer to achieve the looks she was also envisioning. A photo shoot is different than any other styling situation as you're working with another person to create beauty--you must both agree that this is the message, the image, you are conveying to your audience. You're telling a story, and you want to make sure it's the story you had set out to tell.

There were a total of 5 styles, 2 photographers, 2.5 models (there were also two adorable little girls at the shoot in pretty little things), a make up artist and myself. Photos were taken in San Anselmo, CA on one of the loveliest days of the summer.. Below are some of the photos for your enjoyment.

Ms. Bardot, circa 2010.

Precious.

"I don't know, I just wake up and look like this"

I love this. Love.

succulent.

had to sneak one in of me in action.

More pictures to come. Stay tuned, lovelies!

Birthdays and Bombshells

2010-08-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Here are some of the photos from the shoot on Saturday! eeeek! So pretty!

As I mentioned in my last post, my 28th birthday was spent doing what I love: big, beautiful, fabulous hair! I arrive at Silvana's home to find two lovely models, two photographers and a very talented make up artist. Silvana, per usual, had an awesome spread of munchies, complete with my newest obsession: Elderflower Presse sipped with pinky-up out of vintage champagne glasses. I'm so bougie. After discovering the food (which always catches my attention first), we got right to work and creating lovely photos.

Silvana gave me some guidance but for the most part let me have full reign over what looks I wanted to create on both models. My inpirations were "Boho Bold" and "Vintage Rose", both equally scrumptious styles. We did three different looks for both models, but I was only able to snap some quick iPhone photos of the last two styles. Both models had lovely hair to start with which made my life easier.

For the first style below, I used a sea salt texturizing spray by Aquage to make her hair "dirty" so it would hold a more natural wave to it. Then in very tiny sections, I used a 1" curling iron without the clamp to create a soft, loose curl. I pinned the curls to her head with large bobby pins as we went along so they cooled in messy, tossled look. Once I finished curling, I then took out each individual piece and backcombed it to create the look Silvana wanted: a brushed out perm. I recurled the pieces around her face to make they feel away from her face correctly and did a severe middle part to speak to the Bohemian look.

The next image is of the other model we styled--it was one of her first gigs as a model, and holy hell,this girl is a gem. She's guh-orgeous and to top it off, so humble and sweet. We did her hair in three very different styles, this one below was the third. I did a Spanish-inspired side chignon to show off her collar bone (the most elegant part on a woman, I think), and let's not even talk about this bangin' vintage dress. I'm not above eating rice cakes for an entire month to fit in it. And, I'd wear it simply around my house. Just because I could.

This style was a lot more technically challenging as I had to make sure it was smooth and chic, pulled back at the correct location on her head and the bun itself was balanced and not lopsided. I curled individual pieces with a 1 1/2" curling iron and pinned it back on itself. I then kept a piece of hair on the outside to wrap it around the base of the bun, to cover up bobby pins and any other imperfections in the style. I added a dark red succulent for accent (taken out for this picture) and voila!

I cannot wait to see the finished products of this shoot! Really, I can't imagine a better way to spend my birthday, creating loveliness.

We, of course ended the shoot by drinking champagne out of jars, making do with a candle we found, and eating birthday cake. Thank you all for an incredible day!

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeVille...

2010-07-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, I wrote about the lovely Angie and styling her hair for her wedding in the beach town of Inverness (dreamy, oh-so-dreamy). And as mentioned before, I had met Angie at a photo shoot last summer...

I wanted to do a little throw-back post, to recognize this original collaboration between myself and the incredibly talented photographer that day, Silvana DiFranco: Chapter 3, Photoshoot in Silvana's Backyard Fairyland

I'm writing to thank Silvana for taking a risk on me (we were connected through the craigslist Gods), and trusting me to style these lovelies for the shot.

It just so happens that she asked me earlier this morning if I'd be interested in working on another shoot this Saturday in hopes of submitting some of these photos to magazines. Real. Live. Magazines. Holy rollers. There was no way I'd turn this opportunity down. All that is left to do before Saturday is load up on bobbies, clean my brushes, and start brainstorming ideas for what I will be creating.

And, Saturday is my 28th birthday. What else would I want to be doing on my birthday except hair? :)

Summer Glow

2010-06-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

I love meeting people you are certain you were friends with in a former life--Molly was one of those. And talk about easy going and effortless beauty: she had a stunning, simple halter dress (I believe it was Calvin Klein?). The price was absurd; I won't reveal it--my mom told me to stop telling people when I got stuff on the clearance rack on Target despite my excitement for finding bargains-so I'll respect Molly's fiances too. But let me tell ya, she's got all y'all beat on best-wedding-dress-price-ever. I think if I chose a dress ever (I may or may not have a folder already with ring and dress photos I've saved on my computer titled "In My Dream Life") it would probably be fairly close to her style.

In our consultation prior to her big day, we discussed that we'd do a simple blow out to give her some volume and body for the day. We had a hair piece that we clipped in and tucked gently behind her ear. For make up, I kept it all bronzes, browns, and earth tones. I used Dermalogica Sheer Tint SPF 15 as a very light foundation and protection since she had chosen to have an outdoor ceremony. We then used my favorite liner (and VEGAN!), Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in "Baked" to give her warmth around her eyes. I used a variety of golds, bronzes and shimmered tones to really give her the look of a summer bride.

Simply put, Molly was glowing. See? I swear, she glows from the inside out.

And here she is with the new hubby, loving this dress in the black and white photos.

Thank you Molly for trusting me on your big day. And, even bigger thank you for coming to my roller derby game nearly 6 months later. Really, you're the best!

Mary Elizabeth

2010-06-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Location: Bahamas, Cat Cay Island

Luggage: 3 total, 2 for hair and make up, 1 for bathing suits

Perpetual State for the week: a hot sweaty mess.

My dear friend Mary wed handsome Niall a few years ago, before I had started this blog. There was no way I could not feature this. It was the first time someone had trusted me with their complete styling: hair and make up for an entire bridal party, including myself.

I prepped mostly by hyperventilating. That and researching some bad-ass new styling tools. I bought this beaute: Clipless Barrel Curling Iron. It came complete with a glove (so MJ) to protect against burns, and I was able to manipulate Mary's hair into gorgeous, natural waves:

How cute is Mary? I mean, really. The smaller flowers in her hair I actually purchased while still in Miami. I toted them on the flight with me, smashed under a very teeny tiny seat, into a even tinier fridge, to emerge a few days later still pretty much in tact! Also note: Mary is a "bangs" connossoir. We had a very successful bang job (err, I mean...) and she was thrilled with the results.

Of course, it wasn't done with Mare-Bear. I ended up styling the whole group of us, sans the bridesman, Ryan. He was handsome enough already, that little devil. There's me with my looooong and very brown hair. From the left it's Megs, me, RyRy, Mary, Katie and Andrea aka Campby:

Here's me, spray spray spraying away....god help us in this humidty.

And let's give a huge shout out to Miss Cheyenne Shultz and her hubby, Geoff, who tag-team photographed this wedding. Special shout out to Chey for facing her fear of flying to do so :) Note: I'm a total Shultz Photography lurker. Cheyenne's entrepreneur spirit and zest for life is to be admired. Love her...now you will too: The Shultzes Blog

Twice Is Just As Nice

2010-06-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Nimisha and I found eachother on this fancy schmancy site, MiNeeds. You post what cha need, find people who can give it to ya. I was able to scan the site looking for brides-to-be seeking a stylist and found that Nimisha needed me not just for one occasion--but for two! In the same day!

She and her husband to be, Samit, were planning a traditional Indian ceremony and a western-style reception. I was thrilled when I had learned this as I'm slightly fanatic about Indian culture--I desperately want to have a sliver of culture and the color, vibrancy, warmth of the Indian culture is unparalleled. Nimisha let me in at our trial run that we were doing hair for both the ceremony (under her head scarf and adorned with jewelery) and then a western style for her reception (think: vintage hollywood glam).

And, we were doing Mom and Cousin too. Let's say I hydrated for the 48 hours ahead of time, and brought a truckload of bobby pins.

First, for her Indian ceremony I did a very sturdy, traditional up do. Because of her face shape, we decided against a part, and softly brought it back away from her face. I actually convinced her to let me put in some "fake hair" to give the bun and curls a thicker, fuller feel, and hold the sheer weight of the head pieces. This was just the pic I snapped with my iPhone, but you get the idea:

Then we added the jewelry, all held in her hair with small bobby pins and clipped to various places on her face (nose, ears). The actual scarf weighed probably a good 8 pounds, and was held in place by some serious heavy duty monster truck bobby pins. Simply stunning, was the result:

After the ceremony, I met her at her hotel, and we took the entire piece down. Using the curls already in place from the morning, I created a low, chic bun at the nape of her neck and attached a bird cage veil on top that she had actually made her self (little miss crafty, huh?). Unfortunately, because of the rush of the evening, I didn't snap a picture of the second style.

Crossing my fingers I get to do another wedding like this again. Thank you Nimisha and family for letting me participate in their incredible day!

Lovely Angie

2010-06-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

Angie wrote to me: "I'm worried that I'll be a short girl with a poofy dress and big hair looking silly:-( I need to stop stressing. I have to trust your hair magic, right?"

Which is exactly what she did!

Angie and I actually met over a year ago--brought together by the craigslist gods, when I responded to an ad to do hair for a photo shoot in San Anselmo with Silvana Di Franco. (Just die a little when you see how incredible her photography is, and then thank me for finding her for your wedding). I'll show pictures later of that shoot, but for now, I want to highlight Angie and her loveliness.

It's impossible to make her hair not look incredible. I mean c'mon--great cut to start with, and the capability for volume. Just delicious! I used a large 1 inch barrel; curled all over and pinned the curls to her head while it cooled; I teased the hair at the crown and worked with it to create natural, earthy curls with sex appeal. And, an added bonus, we converted this hair piece from a tack-tastic Chico's lapel magnet pin. I literally ripped the magnet off and pinned that sucker to her head.

Thank you Angie for letting me be part of your wedding adventure!

Photos by Silvana Di Franco

It's about time.

2010-06-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

I've started a collection of friendships, styling tools and more bobby pins than I care to admit. And, I've realized that in order to make my dreams a reality, I need to start blogging, recording it all, and sharing the beauty with all of you. Like yesterday. I need to chronicle my journey through this hobby-sorta-turning-lucrative-business, and share with you the people I meet along the way, their stories, and my own self-discovery through styling.

I hope you enjoy diving into my creative space as much as I enjoy creating.

xoxo,
Lexi