♥

For someone who runs a website like this one, I really am quite abysmal at getting my hair cut and maintained to a pleasing standard. Massages, exercise classes, buying my lunch and restaurant dinners seem to drain the majority of my “extra money”, while my hair gets left being swooped up in a simple high pony tail day after day, only occasionally being privy to a hair straightener.

This year, I’m determined to make an extra effort to have “babe hair” more often than not, so with that in mind I headed down to Element Aveda Concept Salon in Subiaco for a cut, colour, blowdry & style AKA a complete overhaul. I had a 60′s themed night out planned too, so I was especially excited to have my hair styled.

When I phoned up to book the appointment I was a bit nervous, as I always am with hairdressers, but the guy who answered the phone was great and managed to book me in with Bree, the Creative Director for my whole sesh. Note to the uninitiated: seeing the Creative Director usually costs a bit of extra moolah, luckily for me it was worth it in this case!

♥

With my long scraggly mop in tow, I was greeted with cups of Aveda tea (so yummy once you get used to the unique taste!), hand massages and the signature “blue oil massage”. Bree and I decided to go with a chestnut colour, which has the gentlest of red tints to it, similar to my own hair colour but just a bit more oomph. Love the colour, but next time I think I will be a little more daring!

♥

For the cut, I wanted quite a bit off, but still a longish side fringe and the ability to make it a lil wavy. Check, check, check. Bree delivered all this and more and was fun to talk to. I ended up with an Alexa Chung-esque long bob with waves which I digged, and she even gave me a mini lesson on how to create GHD waves on my own… which I’ll try soon!

The whole experience was about 2 & 1/2 hours, and everyone was super friendly, I was kept hydrated and…THERE WAS A PUG IN THE SALON!

This certainly was a plus for me as I am wild about pups.

♥

I purchased the Aveda Brilliant Hair Spray ($39.95) which makes hair super shiny, gives a medium hold & contains black tea, certified organic chamomile, aloe and more! I found it kept my waves in well throughout a night of 60′s dancing!

So without further words…

Tah dah. New hair.

The total cost for my wash, cut, colour, blowdry/style & Brilliant Shine Hairspray was $265.

I will definitely be back!

Element Aveda Concept Salon
17 Rokeby Rd Subiaco WA 6008
(08) 9382 3004

Do you like the short hair or the long hair?! Love to hear your thoughts!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

For the low-maintenance lady with a love of sun-kissed locks, balayage has been pretty hard to beat. A popular hair trend that has seen a slew of Erin Wasson hair doppelgangers emerging from salons since 2009, I too jumped on the band-wagon. But this summer, I wanted something different. I’ve seen another band-wagon travelling past, and I have jumped straight on. If balayage was the zeitgeist of a care-free summer beauty routine last year, this summer will see 90s style pastel pretty hair making a come back. You might have also seen it referred to as Ombre, from the French ‘to shade’. It’s basically a dip-dye effect where the hair is dyed from light to dark, or dark to light.

♥ Model Dree Hemingway

I decided to make the switch on a whim, and having heard wonderful things about King Street’s Head Studio, I book myself a last minute appointment. Having called at 10am, I manage to get myself down to their swanky studio by 10.45am. If I wasn’t thoroughly impressed already with their flexibility, Head Studio’s antique decadence leaves me feeling like I’ve entered the royal frontiers of Perth’s hair dressing salons. Perhaps not the place for those looking to relax, Head Studio feels a lot like a busy Northbridge café, with a playlist made in indie heaven (I believe I listened to Wolfmother’s first album) and a staff of very fashionable and talented young things. With some of the hair dressers responsible for the glorious manes of Perth’s Fashion Week, I know I’m in good hands.

♥ Model Charlotte Free

I’m greeted by two lovely ladies who escort me through as we discuss exactly what I want. I’m thinking more along the lines of a subtle hue a la models Charlotte Free and Dree Hemingway rather than My Little Pony, so we decide upon a tasteful and understated magenta. After a complimentary head and shoulder massage (bliss!), my colourist retouches my balayage so the magenta will come up brighter. After that’s developed and I’ve caught up on the latest Oyster magazine, we then get down to business. The magenta is actually a mixture of pink and blue mixed in with toner, and I’m told that sadly, will fade within a few washes.

After a light trim, my hair is then dried and loosely curled with a GHD.

♥

The colour completely washed out after 3 washes, but my hair is notorious for being hard to maintain colour. I’m not too disappointed though – the staff were perfect conversationalists, and if you check in on Foursquare you get a free milkshake! I’ll definitely be back there soon!

Cost: $235 for cut/colour/blow dry

Web: www.headstudio.com.au

Salons:
PERTH SALON 08 9481 6464
64 King St, Perth CBD

SUCCESS SALON 08 9498 7577
Shop 20A, Gateway Shopping Centre, 816 Beeliar Drive, Success

ROCKINGHAM SALON 08 9527 1697
Shop 4/7 Railway Tce, Rockingham Beach

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/headstudio
Twitter: @headstudio

Pastel hair – 90s raver faux pas? Or fashion forward? What do you think?

Review by Camilla Peffer, pastel haired princess (for a brief time anyway) and curator of Cunning Copy.

Be well,

xoxo

♥

I had been thinking about getting hair extensions for a little while now. As a lot had changed in my life recently, so I decided new hair was just what the doctor ordered!

I went into Blackberries for Hair in East Perth and had a free consultation with the owner, Evadney, who has been specialising in hair extensions for over 30 years. During the consultation she explained the various ways she can apply the hair and what she recommends based on your hair type. I decided to have the microlink technique with Russian hair.

My hair was looking rather unintentionally balayaged, so she gave me the option to go to my regular hairdresser with the sample of the hair to get my hair a more uniform colour so the hair extensions would blend better.

Evadney applied the microlink hair extensions by separating my hair into even triangle sections with the same amount of hair she clamps onto it. She explained if not enough of your hair is used and then a hair extension is attached which is too heavy, it can lead to your hair getting pulled out, the hair extension falling out or even bald spots!

Lucky for me Evadney is a perfectionist. Once all the hair extensions were expertly put in, she cut and blended my natural hair seamlessly into my new long hair. The whole process took about 4 hours. During this time I had a great chat with Evadney, watched a man get dreads, read some new magazines and learnt how to look after my new hair.

I’m so happy with my new long beautiful hair. I walked out of Blackberries feeling great, confident and a little bit like Rapunzel…

Blackberries is offering an October special, $550 for 120 strands of Russian hair instead of the usual price of $990 which I was very happy to take them up on!

Blackberries for Hair
3/74 Corner of Wellington St & Bennett Street
East Perth
(08) 6161 1431

Review by Jana Tann, aka Rapunzel!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

I’m pregnant!!

Don’t get me wrong – we love hearing them from friends, then it’s all shrieks, hugs, and tears. But there’s one person we simply do not want to hear it from, and I’m pretty sure I can speak for the whole sisterhood here…your hairdresser.

Years of unflattering cuts, tragic colours, and massively botched home attempts, litters a rite of passage to be endured until you find, THE ONE. So when your hairdresser enthusiastically declares her impending motherhood, I understand that it takes all your strength not to pick up the buzz razor and fashion a reverse Mohawk through the centre of her perfectly sculpted bob.

Word of warning, if you’re a hairdresser about to make a life changing announcement, please don’t be offended if your clients don’t share your enthusiasm, it’s just that we know our life is about to become ruled by our fickle follicles.

When my last hairdresser drifted off into oblivion, I found myself skulking back to a major corporate salon I’d used years ago in the nineties, Maurice Mead Subiaco.

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Perhaps it was a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder but I was thrilled with the service. Not only were the magazines post World War II, I was given a cup of tea and placed in front of a television showing the latest fashions, then given a head massage to die for. The act of hair washing reached a whole new level when, lying back on a black leather vibrating massage chair, the apprentice worked his magic for a good 15 minutes, all the while checking on my personal level of pressure, bliss. Numb beyond belief I watched on as my stylist, Ailsa, retrieved my card and identified the colours that had worked best for me in the past then listened to what I wanted. Not only that, she checked regularly to make sure I was happy. In the end I left the salon relaxed and feeling very special. While it was a lot dearer than my previous stylist, I’d almost pay double just for the head massage, but don’t tell them that.

Maurice Meade Subiaco
9/127 Rokeby Road, SUBIACO WA 6008
Salon is located on Barker Rd

PH: (08) 9381 6447
Web: http://www.mauricemeade.com.au

Review by Glennys Marsdon – author, blogger, consumer behaviourist who’s spent a lifetime researching why we do what we do, but still hasn’t worked out Hollywood tap.

Be well,

xoxo