A wedding from this past summer

This summer was a rainy one to say the least. While they say rain is good luck my poor bride,a long time client, was wishing and hoping the rain would stay away!! The day before the wedding it rained so hard there was water in the mall in kitchener.The family was un able to set up what was to be an out door wedding the day before as planned, so when I arrived at the home to set up my bride was out in the back helping with last minute details. We spent the morning preparing and hoping the rain stayed away. By the time I started in on the last updo the clouds parted and sun shone through the clouds. I was so happy to be a part of this wedding, getting to see long time clients in their big moments is just one of many perks of my job. enjoy a peek at the day!

The truth about OMBRE and other and other tips

I don't normally like to be the feature of my blog  but its going to work out that, and  apparently my hubs will be featured as well. I wanted to talk a little about Ombre vs melting.   A lot of people bring me photos and they think its ALL ombre, a lot of them ARE NOT. If you notice when you  look at the photos too NONE of them look the same ? they all look different? I would say the MAIN difference between them is ombre  has a blend from dark to light and the colors are more solid in the color change (a blended solid of course)  a MELT   is the same idea but  often that lighter high light may be more face framing  and your  darker color may also run through your hair.  mine is an ombre, my ends are solid, the black and white photo you can REALLY see it. The other thing I want to tell  clients about  either method is that some times it takes 1-2 times to perfect it. Its REALLY HARD taking certain colors to  a perfect  ombre or melt in one step.  I know it seems like Oh you just smash on a darker color and  work your way lighter , it is NOT that easy. also if you're USED to having your blonde's  touch your root, you REALLY need to be open minded when you try this out b/c it is supposed to look  kid of grown out the trick  to keeping it looking fresh is to keep the roots touched up.  The thing I love about my color line is the natural highlight the color pulls on it own. ALSO you can do a cooler melt or ombre but MOST of these photos that pop up are WARM they are peanut butter caramels  reds, etc. i find personally  they melt and blend and look more natural  warm  they still work cool but it does tend to look more natural warm, since that's what the sun does to most of us. So in keeping with this whole WARM talk I want to mention to the brunettes who always say "  I don't like yellow highlights but i want caramel"  Caramel is NOT yellow nor is honey but its pretty damn warm. its an adjustment if you're used to white blond. So just keep an open mind when asking for the warmer tones, they  will grow on you, you are just not used to it! I spent most of my teen years saying I wanted caramel but not red.....now I laugh b/c the color I use is a blond copper! go figure!

While we're at it, lets talk men's hair!!! hair is back  !  no more shaved heads or ski jumps  its all about men with hair. I'm actually surprised it took this long for the trend to come back since Patrick Dempsey has been rocking the BEST MALE hair for YEARS, and I kind of like it! I'm not saying grow it out long or    every one needs to rock the Timberlake/Pompadour etc etc. I'm saying   change it up a bit to  become modern and with the times.   

I would also like to say, I have fake hair in, in all these photos.  I STRONGLY suggest it for brides. It is well worth the money!  and you will more or less have them forever! mine are 24 inch which is  way longer than  what I would suggest to buy 15 -18 inch is more than enough length! any bride who wants a HALF up do should have them, they will give you so much more volume and fullness  and that's what you want and I can promise you that's what these celebs etc all have Very FEW people have enough hair to pull off some of the looks   out there!!!  

Notice the bright blond only at the face ad the ends

Here you can really see the contrast  I like the contrast its not for every one but it can be done with less contrast!

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!

AND here are a few of the group together! Again, am I not so lucky to have these beautiful ladies at my disposal? And such a Wonderful Photographer??? How about that Make up? For Any budding make up artists and photographers, I am available to help  with hair for  portfolio building, or for event days such as boudoir or other stylized shoots.   Thanks for letting me play its nice to jump out of the box of day to day!!

http://www.vanwalkphotography.com/

Much ado about Feathers?

Whether you are Blond or Brunette, a great way to add color and texture is with feathers. These are NOT craft store feathers. They are hand picked , treated and colored they come in every color  from natural  to HOT PINK! What else is great about them? You can curl them and they last for MONTHS! you can bundle them up or spread them around. Often they last SO long clients with    have me take them out for their colors and put them back in again.

  Erin  who is a long time client and more or less family member,  has what we call a waterfall braid, you can see the details in the last photo a slight bit better but all in all its a fantastic choice on long or short,  curly or straight hair.  You achieve it by dropping a WHILE strand of the braid and picking up a friend right next to it.  The concept may seem mind boggling at first but once you get the hang of it , its pretty easy. again a powder will help  or some back combing to keep it in place,  b/c you are dropping a section each time it is a looser braid and if you are doing it on a child they can mess it up pretty easily  you can also secure with  hair pins  but you have to be sneaky and good at hiding the pins!  usually I go along top and pull it a bit looser so its not so flat to the head, this is a style I see turning up A LOT at weddings!

http://www.vanwalkphotography.com/

Mastering the POOF and still being a princess!

The lovely Kinga, she has fabulous hair!! and its ALL NATURAL!!! No hair color! So you're thinking OK then how does she have copper highlights?!  CLIP IN FAKE HAIR PEEPS!   Have you noticed a trend here? EVERY ONE has fake hair in this shoot except one girl  who has feathers.  But here is the thing. IF you are going to do bright colors and u are not going to be willing to 1. not wash your hair  often (I'm talking only 1 to 2 times a week) and then 2. be back in 6-8 weeks for touch ups   fake  clip in hair is the WAY to go.   just like the natural colors you can buy these fake pieces in  both full head sets and  highlighters  that are 2 inch wefts. you almost NEVER wash this fake hair so the color will always be amazing. It may seem like work to put them in but it REALLY is easy and you can learn anything on YOUTUBE these days!. so I want to talk about this POOF! People tell me they can't do it. That my friends is Caca del toro! you can do this style or even the mini pouf NO PROBLEM, if you have the right tools. You need to 1. be willing to back comb your hair a bit and you want to do this  back far enough that  you hit the spot you will put your bobby pins in.  the reason is because this will help HOLD the pins in spot.  The back combing is going to look nasty,  you will then brush it smooth and it will look great, its easier to  go bigger and tame it down that to try and add more later. 2.  So  then  I like to add some powder especially if your hairs is slippery like Kinga's was you can used hair spray too but   powder will be your best friend forever if you use it!  3.  you smooth it like I mentioned earlier and  put your pins in place in an  X. 4. if you are  lop sided or you want even more volume use your tail comb to gently pull it up !  POOF its easy! If you want to rock a super long braid to the side and you find your hair is too short this is where fake hair ill also come into play. We only had 18 inch ones to work with  so I placed some fakes in the actual braid to get some extra length.I'm really happy I got a chance to show some Copper off, people are So afraid of it, but I think it looks awesome on this color of hair as a peekaboo this was placed on a blond extension so its a bit brighter but  it can be toned down by  adding it to  natural level hair!

Beautiful make up right?

http://www.vanwalkphotography.com/

Whimsy, and Wonder of a Twisted Braid, and another Variation of a Headband Braid

Cassandra is not only a client but a friend and a godmother to my 3 munchkins,  although her hair is already fairly long we added a doubled weft full head set of clip in extensions to add fullness and then I also added a few pieces of a 24 inch  to create a longer more whimsical braid.

 there are tons of dif methods of doing this "headband" braid but this particular one  you french braid and ONLY pick up hair on the top side of the braid NOT the side closest to the forehead. this helps give a more interesting look , I also pull the braid loose a bit to create volume and  and a bigger looking braid. If you look at the photo of the back of her hair you can see I  pulled it all the way around and  then also made  a made a small braid on the other side to create a  a full "head band" look.Also don't you just love this red/blond look? Any one believe me when i say shes not REALLY a ginger? or a blond? 

The next super fun technique you can start doing with your braids is twisting and wrapping   you can twist the entire braid, but ALWAYS twisting your out side pieces  inwards its supposed to messy and if you take pieces from past sections no worries it adds to the look!   then if your hair is long enough just take a piece and wrap it around the entire braid and then pick the braid right back up again. Remember to ALWAYS pull pieces loose in the braid starting from bottom to top, you can pull the whole braid or alternate pieces. This keeps braids modern and NOT little house on the prairie! Cassandras Hair was also curled prior so the  loose pieces would have shape to them. Can I also point out how nice her eyebrows look? I do those too!

http://www.vanwalkphotography.com/

Fishtail Fun with Jen

Jen has been a model for me  quite a few times now, and EVERY ONE just loves her. She's got this super ethereal look with the white blond hair ad the BIG baby blues.  When I decided to do a photo shoot inspired by the latest run way looks I  knew she'd be perfect for this look. At home you can create a version of this look that works  for  more day either using a fish tail or a braid.  Recently its been referred to as the "coachella" braid, Which if you don't know what Coachella is I suggest you google it there is A LOT of hair fashion coming from this Musical event.  Either way here is a link to a blog on a HOW TO   for a more day to day version of this look.HOW TO DO THE COACHELLA.

 So Jen  actually has hair extensions added into her hair, they were only a single weft, Normally I would suggest a double weft, but they did the trick well enough, if your hair is thick enough you do not need to add fake hair , a few techniques to remember when fishtailing is to take small pieces , you get more intricacy that way and  it will look like a fish tail  rather than a braid.   If your hair is really fine add some wave or  some hair spray or ideally hair powder, this will keep it from slipping as much. Another tip is to use your fingers or the tail comb to gently  pull the  braid or fishtail looser and voila!

http://www.vanwalkphotography.com/

Boho ? Warrior? Couture? OH MY! Some of the fall fun I got to have with some of my fav people...

People always ask me "WHY?"  when I say I'm doing these photo shoots and not getting paid (or getting paid in trade)  my answer is, "Why not?"  As a small business large audience advertising is not my thing. I'm working out of my family home, where I'm not 100% comfortable with just ANY ONE showing up. I've been doing this long enough I can be choosey who I accept as a client. I find word of mouth through my existing clientele to be the best method of advertising.  So when I do these photo shoots I ALWAYS use my own clients.  Why? because they are my cuts, my colors, and of course some of my fav people. In turn I also like to use  a photographer I enjoy and support the talent of, and a make up artist I would recommend to my clients.  For this particular shoot I used Vanessa Walker as my photographer, this is my 3rd time using her and in my opinion I haven't gone wrong yet.She a real trooper,  as were my models this lovely fall day was dark and dreary and it rained!  But after a half day of prep the show went on, and although it was VERY cold we had a great time!!!  Big thanks to Kirsten Young,who did all the make up.Kirsten used to teach my oldest daughter (then 18 months now 7) dance, and I delighted to find she was a budding make up artist. All I had to do was say "Make my girls look fresh and young" (which they all look that way anyways)  and she delivered just the right amount of make up to make their eyes pop without looking heavy!!! So lets start with some BEHIND the SCENES  shots ....

All ready to start the day, salon is set up with clothing, jewelry and of course FAKE HAIR!!

Trying to stay dry , and warm!

These ladies were FREEZING their butts off but all of then laid in ditches,  climbed trees and WERKED it  and I just love them for it!

The Lovely Kirsten Young  Getting ready to  make up Erin's Face!

AND NOW Here are a few of me and my girls  As taken by VanWalk Photography

All Gorgeous right??

I saw this outtake and HAD to have it ! These ladies are all a total hoot its hard not to be laughing through the whole shoot!

And one final shot of my gang and I,  I will be posting the rest in individual blogs so I can talk about each style on its own, along with products used!

XOXO!!!!!