The Hills are Alive with Wedding Bells & Great Style

Granted the bells rang nearly two months ago, I just have to say Lauren Conrad looked absolutely flawless when she tied the knot to William Tell on September 3, 2014. The more I look over the wedding photos, the more I fall in love! I've always admired LC's style but I was extremely thrilled to see how simple, yet elegant her long locks looked on the big day. Many brides think they need a complicated, extravagant updo, and where this is sometimes the perfect look to compliment your wedding day style, a simple understated 'do can also be absolutely perfect to complete the look. Example A:  

Photo courtesy of US Weekly

Having the perfect hairstyle is not just a wedding day stress. With the holidays rapidly approaching, a nice hairstyle can bring together your look for the much anticipated holiday party. Charity events, Galas, and Balls are also a great time to enlist a stylist for hairstyle inspiration. 

Whether it's your wedding day or other special event, the perfect style will always take into consideration the following:

• Hair length. No matter how great your stylist is, a short haircut (such as a pixie) will never be able to hold an updo. Know your options and tailor each look to your specific needs. 
• Dress style. It's important to take into consideration the style of your dress. If you have a unique neckline or fun back to the dress, wearing your hair swept up can help accentuate the style. If you want the attention to be on the dress itself, keep the hair simple. Conversely, if your dress is simple and you want the focus to be on your hair, try a style more extravagant. Whichever you choose keep in mind less is more. You don't want your look to be too busy. Direct the focus where you want it by balancing the look. 
• Adornments (i.e. veil, hair clips, fancy hair pins, etc.) Adornments should accent the style not BE the style. Work them into your look as a compliment to or as a focal point but don't rely on the adornment to make the look.
• Personal comfort. This is by far the most important consideration. If you are self-conscious about a particular feature, find a style that helps camouflage what you see as a trouble area. When I was younger, I was very self-conscious about my long neck. I had a hard time wearing my hair up because I felt too exposed. A nice half-up hairstyle was my go-to look to keep the hair out of my face while covering my neck and giving me comfort.

No matter the occasion or the style-rules, if you love the style and you feel comfortable and confident, you my friend have found your perfect look!

To get Lauren Conrad's look at home, here's a quick tutorial from LC herself!

Video from laurenconrad.com

Have questions? Don't hesitate to ask! Never be afraid to educate yourself. After all, knowledge is (potential) power and that my friends is a beautiful truth.

be.YOU.be.BEAUTIFUL.

Reading Between the Lines: Ambition is the New Black

Trying to figure out how to go about this post has come to a comical realization; you can't keep a blog and leave the personal out of it. It's not funny-ha-ha I admit but rather ironic. My last post, "Reading Between the Lines: A Personal Note" was rather difficult for me to write and ultimately share. I'm not usually very comfortable talking about myself. I like to keep my personal separate from my professional and always keep my personal life private. However, I am quite fascinated with others' stories and life adventures. I'm always prompting others to share more about themselves but only if they are comfortable doing so--hypocrisy thy name is you…or rather, Tyree.

My realization was founded on this one thought: A blog is simply a collection of one's thoughts, opinions, and perspectives. There is no possible way to keep a blog without being prompted to add your personal thoughts, opinions, or perspectives. Therefore, I cannot keep the personal private or separate with this endeavor. However, my goal with this blog is not to have my inner most thoughts read or air my dirty laundry, but rather offer encouragement and help break down the communication barriers between guest and stylist.

I've often read beauty-advice articles that portray hairstylists as the enemy. The reality is most stylist only have your best interests at heart. They want to see you happy and excited about their work. They've spent thousands of dollars to earn an education in order to get licensed and many continue to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year after graduating on continuing their education. Keeping up on the latest trends and techniques and attending trade shows or perusing trade magazines to make sure they are providing you, the guest, with the best services possible along with the best products available.

photo found on Pinterest.com

Of course, with any industry, there will always be those that are only in it for the glitz and glamour but ultimately your appearance is a walking billboard for your stylist. So why wouldn't they want you to look and feel your very best?  As stylists, we are not the enemy believe it or not. We are not trying to trick you into paying us all your hard-earned money. We aren't trying to scam you out of being able to provide for your family. We are however running a business by offering a service. Many of us are self-employed and our pricing will reflect as such because we too are trying to provide for our families but we aim to be worth every last penny.

As with any relationship, communication and trust are key. With my writings, I hope to help open the lines of communication between you, the guest, and your stylist which will ensure satisfaction with every service. I also hope to help educate. As a stylist, I do not expect my guests to know the jargon or proper terminology when asking for a particular style. That is why education and communication are so important to help each other convey and understand the desired look and trust that we are on the same page before each service ever begins.

I love my guests! I love this industry! I love my small studio salon! and I love the freedom of creativity I'm allowed and encouraged to share daily. I could geek out all day everyday discussing techniques, chemistry of hair composition, and color theory but I've come to find there's not really a receptive audience for that. Many guests aren't really concerned with how I get from point A to point B, they just want point B to be exactly what they hoped for. I don't expect my guests to know what level their hair color is, or which technique I need to use in order to obtain a specific look. That's why I take classes on my days off, watch professional webinars when my son goes down for his nap, and fall asleep reading trade magazines because it's my chosen field, my passion. 

My ultimate dream, my main ambition, is to help those in need find a style they are comfortable and confident with. As I mentioned in my last post, I firmly believe that when you look good you feel good. I also firmly believe that it's important  to find a stylist that best suits your needs and personality. I know I may not be  that stylist for everyone but that's the great part about being involved in such a diverse and uber-talented industry; there is a stylist out there for everyone.

I've had my fair share of shopping around for a stylist. I know it's not easy. But every experience taught me something new about myself. Take the good with the bad and learn from every experience because once you find that stylist you can truly communicate with, trust, and be comfortable with. your hair (and you) will never be so happy!

So what's to come? You can expect to read about the latest trends, techniques, product reviews, style inspiration, and personal motivation to help you communicate better with your chosen stylist. But most of all, you'll be encouraged to find a style that's truly uniquely you and a stylist that helps you obtain this time and time again!

photo found on Pinterest.com

Have questions? Don't hesitate to ask! Never be afraid to educate yourself. After all, knowledge is (potential) power and that my friends is a beautiful truth.

be.YOU.be.BEAUTIFUL.

Reading Between the Lines: A Personal Note

Before truly embarking on my new adventure into the blogisphere, I wanted to first give just a little background to help you understand where I'm coming from and what motivates me. These next few posts will give you a little insight into what inspired my journey as well as what my ultimate ambition is on these pages and in the salon. Afterwards, my posts will be in pursuit of that ambition by presenting articles regarding issues most commonly found in the salon, discussing popular trends and how to adapt them to your style, product reviews, offer style inspiration, as well as personal motivation. 

I'd like to first preface this article by saying hair and makeup are truly my passion. My husband can vouch for that. Unfortunately for him (being so readily available) he has to listen when I rant and rave about my likes and dislikes on the latest trends, my reviews of new products and techniques, ideas I have for the salon, and so forth. He humors me and I appreciate his unconditional support and feedback.

My husband & I in Denver 2010

This has not always been the case. I was not the girl who grew up dreaming about doing hair and makeup professionally. I never played with my friends' hair, nor did I let them play with mine. I've never had an updo  or makeup done for a special occasion and I was 21 before I actually started going to a professional to get my hair cut.

Many people I knew years ago are shocked to hear I am a cosmetologist. I was extremely involved with my athletics growing up and many think I'd be better suited in the fitness world by coaching or instructing some activity. Most agree however, definitely not a hairstylist. Don't get me wrong. I, like most, have always been aware of my appearance. I however did not follow current trends but rather dressed for myself; if I liked it, I wore it. Of course I was teased, but honestly, who wasn't in high school?

It wasn't until my Junior year that I became aware of what my appearance said about myself to others. For fear of boring you, I'll simply say my Junior year was hard. It was by far the worst year I had encountered in my life up to that point and frankly, I just didn't care. I guess my daily sweatpants and ponytail were a billboard letting the world know "Yes, indeed, Tyree has surrendered!" I was unaware of what my appearance said to others until one day, in the middle of class, an upperclassman pointed out how grungy I looked. He asked me (in a condescending tone) if I have ever heard the term "Dress for Success". Being absolutely humiliated and frustrated by this encounter, I blew him off and discounted the entire experience as a bully just being a bully.

For the rest of the year, I continued to wear my ever-faithful sweats and a ponytail but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about our dress-for-success-encounter everyday while leaving the house. Summer came and went and by the time school was beginning again, I decided to use the phrase as a mantra instead of letting it eat at me. I vowed that I would "Dress for Success" every day of my Senior year. What did that mean to me? I wore a dress or skirt EVERY DAY and I made sure my hair and makeup were done before leaving the house. Over that school year, the strangest thing happened; I actually felt good about myself! By the end of the year I had earned the best grades of my entire high school career, received a full athletic scholarship to continue playing a sport I absolutely loved, and was voted Best Hair and Best Personality of the Senior class.

Senior Picture 2004 (Yes, unfortunately that is a perm) 

When people discuss appearance (or that pertaining to) it seems so superficial. We've all heard the saying "it's what's in the inside that counts" and I couldn't agree more. However, I now firmly believe that when you look good, you feel good. There's something so empowering about feeling good about yourself. You feel unstoppable, more motivated, more energized. Think for a second about the last time you were excited about a new hairstyle, or the way your makeup turned out so perfectly. How did you feel? Was it different from the times your makeup just didn't look right? or your hair just wouldn't do what you wanted it to?

The truth is, your appearance says a lot about you. Your hair is your best accessory but is often the most overlooked. For me, it's not about fitting in and following the trends. It's about feeling good about myself. Feeling comfortable and confident in my appearance.

In cosmetology school the instructors used to tell us that we had to look the part to be successful in this industry. Again, I struggled to fit in with the current styles and trends and honestly, I let the opinions of others overwhelm me. I was teased about the clothes I wore and the way I did my makeup. Most of the ladies grew up playing with makeup and reading fashion magazines, whereas I grew up playing in the dirt, and running around outside. They were more experienced yes, but I was motivated. I knew that I could not be the only woman who felt overwhelmed by the expectation to look perfect according to a certain standard and who just wanted to feel good about myself; just the way I am!

Even after finishing cosmetology school, I felt like an outsider looking in. It wasn't until a few years ago that I decided to re-embrace the "Dress for Success" mantra that brought me out of my funk years before. I can appreciate the latest trends but frankly, I'm usually not comfortable in them. When I try to fit in, I feel like a little girl playing dress up. I'm an impostor. I've decided to embrace my own unique beauty and appreciate my natural appearance that is unique to only me.

Officially a licensed cosmetologist 2010

That's my ultimate goal! To help others realize their own unique beauty and find a style that helps them feel comfortable, confident, and unstoppable. For some, that may be the latest trends and I say kudos to you. If you can pull it off and it makes you feel good about yourself, embrace that! But if you're like me, don't let it frustrate or get you down. Instead customized the look. Make it your own but above all else don't ever give up!  

My little family 2014
Photo by CJ Ward Photography

Who would have thought a mindless encounter almost twelve years ago would have helped lay the groundwork for my journey. I truly believe every experience (good, bad, or otherwise) helps mold who we are today. I must say the upperclassman I spoke of early has since become a very good friend of mine through my husband and I cherish our relationship today. These experiences helped me realize we have a choice in life; to be a victim of our circumstance or a warrior. While watching football last Sunday, the anchors referenced a Tweet from Steve Smith SR. The photo he shared was a picture of a lion and the quote attached read:

 The greatest fear in the world is of the opinion of others, 

and the moment you are unafraid of the crowd, you become a Lion. 

A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom.  

I wish you much joy and freedom in your days, months, and years ahead!

be YOU. be BEAUTIFUL.

http://instagram.com/irisdior_hairandmakeup 

Have questions? Don't hesitate to ask! Never be afraid to educate yourself. After all, knowledge is  (potential) power and that my friends is a beautiful truth.

A Style That Never Goes...Well, Out of Style!

Thinking about updating your look to welcome the Fall? Get inspired by the  shorter days of Autumn and use it to inspire your new look! A shorter 'do is always a fun way to transition your style and embrace the change of season. The classic bob is a great go-to style to stay current no matter the time of year.

Many celebrities have tried the bob and succeeded. As a stylist, one of the best aspects of this particular cut is it's versatility. The bob has the ability to be customized to any one's specifications and personal needs. The concerns I hear most behind the chair are "will shorter hair make my face look too round?" and "I like the style but my face is too fat to pull off short hair." Well ladies let me tell you, if a "round" or "fat" face are your fear, worry no more!

There are several variations of the cut that can help reduce this fear and frustration. With any cut or style, make sure your stylist is taking into consideration your personal bone structure and is able to customize your look to accentuate your best features while camouflaging any unwanted traits. For instance, if you worry your face is too "round" or too "fat", make sure the style doesn't cut you off right at or just above chin-length. This can round out the face and bring the focus to the wrong areas.  Instead, ask to keep the cut slightly longer and add some texture (or layering) around the face to help accentuate your eyes, cheekbones, and jaw-line. This is a beautiful way to emphasize your positive traits by drawing the eye to the areas you want noticed.

No two bobs are exactly the same. And they shouldn't be. Your hair is your best accessory! Make sure it's saying what you want it to say; "I'm an individual and I'm absolutely beautiful!"

To help inspire you make a change and embrace the bob, check out this great photo gallery courtesy of www.usmagazine.com and take note of how each style (even though all bobs) is different and perfected for each woman individually.

For the full gallery, click on the photos above

NOTE FROM BEHIND THE CHAIR:

You, as a salon guest, are not expected to know the perfect look for your facial features. Put your stylist to work! Let them apply their education, talent, and creativity to create a customized look that meets your personal specifications. Make sure to be clear about your style likes and dislikes. Communication is so important! Leave nothing to interpretation unless you trust your stylist to make the important decisions without you. 
Quick Tip: Pictures can be extremely helpful to get the dialog moving. Share photos with your stylist of looks you like and even those you don't like. This will help you both have a clearer understanding of what you are looking for and hoping to achieve.

Have questions? Don't hesitate to ask! Never be afraid to educate yourself. After all, knowledge is power and that my friends is a beautiful truth.

be YOU. be BEAUTIFUL.