Motivation Mondays: Stephanie Talks Fashion Week, Hair & More!

Today, lovely readers I bring you a Motivation Mondays post from the wonderful Stephanie from Cutloose hair!  Some of you may remember she colored my hair a couple of weeks ago and this weekend she is trimming it for me (yay for trims!)

Stephanie is incredibly talented and such a lovely spirit that I couldn't resist asking her to be featured here on my blog.  Her dedication to her career and passion for what she does is evident in every cut, color and style she does. Oh, and her favorite color is fuchsia (yep, we may be soul-mates.)

Stephanie recently scored a much-coveted spot doing hair for Bumble & Bumble at New York Fashion Week!  If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is.  Here's what Stephanie has to say about fashion week, hair and more!

Meet Stephanie:

1.  How long have you been doing hair?
Since 1999. The "Meg Ryan" haircut was all the rage. I probably did 500 of them. Thanks Sally Hershberger! :)

2. What made you decide to be a hair dresser? Were you always passionate about it?
I was always into beauty growing up. As a kid I would watch my mom get ready for dates, and I would be mesmerized by her transformation. I love that in fashion, you can be whoever you want to be. That's power.

I didn't always know I would do Hair as a profession. I had done so much to myself- color, cutting, you name it. The day it dawned on me that I could do what I already had a predisposition for (as a career), it changed my life forever. The industry saved me in a lot of ways.

3.  You recently did some shows at New York Fashion Week- what was that like?
It was an honor to work with the Bumble and Bumble Team. I got to work with lead stylists in the industry that I have admired for years. I got a real view of what life is like for that breed of hairdresser. You have to have real skills and tough skin. It also made me appreciate my family at Cutloose Hair Salon. My coworkers and my clients mean everything to me.

Stephanie with Rolando Beauchamp, an editorial stylist for Bumble and Bumble

Th Parkchoonmoo show (a modern Korean designer)

From Alexander Berardi

4.  What behind-the-scenes stories can you share with us from fashion week?
At Catherine Malandrino, the presentation was about to begin and a model came screaming in from another show. Usually, models are doing multiple shows a day. They were literally dressing her, applying her makeup and styling her hair at the same time. -My quintessential Fashion moment!

5.  What hair trends were you seeing on the SS 2011 runway? What do you predict will be hot for the spring/summer season?
Spring Summer is typically more laid back than Fall/Winter hair. The styles I worked on were everything from flat ironed bone-straight to the low side-chignon of season's past. The low side pony with a 60's inspired tease was my favorite, at Alexander Berardi.

6.  What is your favorite thing about your job?
When you live and work as a hairdresser in the same salon, you grow roots. It only gets better, and your relationships get stronger.

7. What is your least favorite part of your job?
I'm rooted. No living in Italy for me!! -(David Tran, I know you're reading)

8.  What are some tips you can share to keep hair healthy?
If you trust your hairdresser, listen to them. The right products will go a long way. Stop using the flat iron everyday, and if you MUST, use a heat protectant. Also, some protein masks out there can actually make your hair more brittle the more you use them. If it does right away, you need moisture. If you are truly damaged, use the protein treatment until things improve. When they do, switch to something lighter.

9.  What are some of your favorite hair trends and styles?
I still love braids. The basket weave at Alexander McQueen was stunning. The classic chignon, french twist and ponytail never go out of style, and can make your "holiday look" very elegant.

10.  Which celebrities' hair do you love?
I love Julianne Moore, especially her hair in "A Single Man." I love that Emma Watson just chopped all of her hair off. It's adorable on her.

11.  What styles over the years have you tried with your own hair? anything crazy you want to share?
I too chopped my hair off to 1 inch all over when I was 21. It was when Gwyneth Paltrow had her short hair ( and was dating Brad Pitt.) I loved that I did it, but I'll never do it again!

12. In your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes women make with their hair (this can be cut, color, style etc.)
Anything "As seen on t.v." is usually not wise. Go see your hairdresser and ask him/ her to SHOW you how to style! And then go home and PRACTICE! Psst: ( that's the only thing we have up on you.)


Thanks so much Stephanie for sharing your tips and experiences :)  If you have any questions for Stephanie please post them in the comments and I'm sure she will come back and answer as many as she can.

xoxo,

Veronika.

Finally Colored My Hair & Weekend Shopping (Some OOTD's too!)

I am SO HAPPY today!  You know how I was all nervous about getting my hair done and going to a new person to get my hair colored? Well, I think a picture says a thousand words:

I am THRILLED with the way my hair turned out!  I went to Stephanie at Cutloose and she totally understood exactly what I wanted.  I am SO happy I found such an awesome hairdresser.  Stephanie recently got to work at fashion week, so I asked if she would share her experience with my readers so look out for that interview soon!

I mentioned to Stephanie that I love the ombre hair look but that I wasn't ready to take the plunge so she added some lighter pieces in the front underneath part of my hair and they just blend beautifully with the rest of the color.  I honestly hadn't realized how horrible my hair looked until I got it done today.  You see, Stephanie has mirrors both in front and behind her station so I was able to see the back of my head and man oh man did I have a lot of roots and dullness! I am so happy to have had my color touched up, everything is back to normal now!

I am also going to have Stephanie trim my hair in the next week or two.  I really trust her and she has long hair herself so I know she gets that I want to keep it long.  I can't wait to see how she trims it! I definitely need to have my layers taken up and overall just have it reshaped so it styles better.

Here are some more pics of the color (excuse the messy hair, I was trying on clothes all day while shopping.)

With Flash

 Without Flash

Now onto some OOTD's that I wore this week.  I kind of dressed more casually this week. Here's one of my outfits:

Top- Target
Cardigan- Tristan & America
Pants- Express
Shoes- Aldo

 

Dress- Target (I've worn this one a lot!)
Belt- Forever 21
Cardigan- White House Black Market
Shoes- Jessica Simpson

In addition to my incredible hair appointment, I had a wonderful shopping trip as well!  I was so happy with my finds.

First, I got this AMAZING blazer at Express. I have been wanting one for quite awhile but could never find one that I loved the fit of.  This one is perfection and has stretch to it so it's so comfy in addition to being stylish. It also looks equally great worn both opened and buttoned.  It retails for $98 but I bought it using a discount coupon.  I highly recommend this blazer. I got a size 2 because I love the look of it being really fitted.  The size 4 fit as well but I thought the shoulder part on the size 2 looked nicer on my body (the jacket has shoulder pads).

Next up are these two incredible dresses from Charlotte Russe. I was so surprised when I tried these on because number one, they are both long enough to wear for work and number 2, they fit extremely well and are totally flattering.  I am beyond thrilled about these dresses. They were both $26. 

I just realized I have fitting room pics of these!

The first dress (above) has the most gorgeous full skirt.  The top is very flattering and the straps are adjustable so if you want to pull the neckline up you can.  The second dress (below) is stunning on.  It skims the body and hugs it in all the right places without being too tight. I actually got this in a size large because the medium fit perfect but it's a dress that needs a slip so I needed to have room to accommodate that.  I also wanted to get the extra length that comes with a larger size. It doesn't look like much on the hanger but it has very interesting sleeves. I honestly think this dress looks expensive when it's on.

I picked up a couple of things at VS PINK too!  I got these v-neck tees (2/$24). I got these in a size large because I like my tees to be looser for working out.  They are so comfy and they have such cute colors out right now!

Lastly I got some super-comfy boyfriend sweats.  They are really flattering especially if you don't like tighter fits around your thighs. They are a relaxed, loose-fitting style. Absolutely love them!  I got the black ones in a size small. You can see them here, on the Victoria's Secret PINK website. I am wearing them right now! They are the perfect lounge pants!

While shopping, I also checked out GAP's sale.  I got this cute navy-blue patent wallet for just $7!!!  I was really happy to get such an inexpensive wallet since I hadn't been using one for quite some time.

I do have a vent though.  GAP's customer service was atrocious today.  Not only does their new logo look awful...but their service was terrible too. I was shopping in the Houston Galleria store and I was trying to find something in the store that was on a mannequin.  I finally tracked down a girl who worked there and she pointed in some random direction and said "it's probably over there" even though I told her I checked that area. OK.

So I finally just give up and start trying to take the jacket off of the mannequin because there was no one around to help me (why isn't their store adequately staffed on a SATURDAY when they are having a SALE?!) I soon realized the arm of the mannequin was attached to the hip so it would have to be removed to take the jacket off.

I once again went on a search for ONE employee that was not working cash and they were nowhere to be found. I even checked the fitting room area to try and find someone to help me there and instead of employees I found 2 people waiting in line, also confused as to why the store had no staff.

Someone at the cash register finally helped me take the arm off of the mannequin and I tried on the jacket and wanted to put it on hold (I ended up buying the way cuter Express blazer anyway) but I had to buy the wallet. There were 3 people on cash with a line of 6 people or so.  Does anyone else get annoyed when you have to wait in a long line to buy something? I know it's inevitable but sometimes it's just ridiculous.

I have recently had a lack of good customer service at both Banana Republic (which I emailed corporate about and got a response) and now at GAP.  I have worked at GAP before when I lived in Canada so I'm not really sure what's going on with the stores and why they aren't staffed properly on weekends.

So ladies...what do you think of my hair!? Did you buy anything this weekend? Have you experienced bad customer service recently? Share your story below!

xoxo,

Veronika.

2011 Health & Fitness Goals & Help Me Make a (Hair) Decision

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's been a pretty busy week for me but I've been able to stick to my classes and did Pilates yesterday and today. 

I was thinking about my fitness goals for 2011 and as I was looking through some old photos on my laptop, I saw the one below from the day after our wedding.  We had laid out at the pool at our hotel for a couple of hours and I remember H taking this photo.  Until I saw it now, over a year later, I didn't realize how much more in shape I was then.  I can clearly tell that the work I did paid off- I was more toned, defined and lean.  My goal is to get back to this body:

The odd part is, that when I did have this body, I didn't realize it at all.  It's only when I stopped working out consistently that I noticed how much better my body looking when this picture was taken.

So yeah, that's my goal. To get back to regular working out and to be toned and healthy.  I think I am going to see my trainer for the first time tomorrow so that should be a tough workout since the last time I saw him I was in much better shape than I am now. I'm getting better though, I can feel that I'm getting stronger again and it feels good.

WHAT ARE YOUR 2011 FITNESS GOALS?

Onto topic number two, I NEED YOUR ADVICE READERS!  I would love it if everyone would chime in on this. Yes, it's about my hair. I know. I get crazy and emotional about it. 

So, here's the deal.  I wrote awhile ago that my hairdresser moved to Italy but that he was coming back. Well, he's not coming back. He got a job there. I am really happy for him because he's happy there and doing what he loves...but my hair is sad.

So I booked an appointment this Saturday with a stylist that he recommended so I could move on....BUT then I got an email from him saying he would be home for awhile in November (maybe a couple of months).

So, here is my predicament (and I think I know the answer in my heart)...should I:

A.  Wait for my hairdresser to come back from Italy and see him one last time to do my hair...it will be another month before I can see him (at least)

OR

B.  Go to the new girl and move on, because it is inevitable anyway and she is talented and comes recommend by my current hairdresser

I am leaning towards B.  I just think that it might be time to carpe diem and just accept that hairdressers come and go. My hair colors are on file and my hair isn't complicated.  Also, I have like 5 months or more of roots going on right now.

What do you ladies think?  One last hurrah with my colorist or carpe diem and move on to the new one? Let me know what you would do in the comments below.

For those of you who don't remember, here is my lovely hairdresser David. Thanks in advance for your comments and advice! Don't forget to tell me about your 2011 fitness goals!

xoxo,

Veronika.

A Touch of Color: My Tresses Rejoiced!

This afternoon, I paid a visit to my awesome stylist and had my hair colored.

Here are some photos to show you all how it turned out. I am very pleased with it! So blended and pretty, just how I like it!

David curled my entire head for me with a curling iron, kept them in pin-curls until they cooled, and let it all down at the end of styling. These curls are definitely made to last (lots of hairspray was involved too!)

I hope you all like it as much as I do! More to come tomorrow...I'm seeing New Moon! Can't wait!

xoxo,

Veronika.