Beauty Brands Salon – years of disappointment
Superstore of BAD customer service
Over the years I have visited a particular Beauty Brands salon. When it comes to competitive sales and finding a variety of top of the line hair care products and cosmetics – they really slay the competition. However when it comes to the hair salon and Customer Service, to put it nicely, they fall short.
Once you sign up for their free Beauty Brands membership, they send you regular advertisements and coupons for free products or 10% percent off a purchase. Which again, for the penny pincher in all of us, you can’t really say no to “Free” products that run $15 – $20 a pop. While there they do offer a full service salon, including Manicures & Pedis. However, before you check them out, keep reading…
Throughout the years , being a consumer and working in the management industry, I have become quite persnickety about Customer Service attributes. Which as a consumer, that is usually 50% of the reason why you continue shopping at certain places, correct? So I digress into my tale…
I am extremely careful about who I allow near my hair, especially with scissors. A few years ago I had a wonderful cut experience at Beauty Brands with a stylist – who of course moved to a completely different salon after I went there, figures. I normally go to Toni & Guy, however Beauty Brands had fit my budget better at the time, and seeing how my past visit was positive, I gave them another whirl. My Beauty Brands stylist was very kind and complimentary, which was pleasant – but it got kind of creepy after the first 10 compliments. I had a picture – which is something you ALWAYS do with a stylist, new or familiar! It was a simple long layered cut, with thick blunt bangs ala Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada.
Anne in The Devil Wears Prada
We had a consultation in which he looked at me, looked at the picture and began to tell me how my long and straight hair could not be cut into that style. I looked at him puzzled, and he explained to me that the bangs in the photo were simply to thick and would force him to cut further into my hair line. Already I knew something was a-miss. I expressed to him that I have had this cut before (akhem Toni & Guy) and never had that told to me. He said, “Oh I can do it, but I will do it in my own way if you don’t mind (insert compliment).” His compliments don’t faze me at this point and I say to him that as along as it’s what I ask for, I don’t care HOW you do it. He nodded and thus the cut begins. So after sitting in a chair for an hour next to mister “creepy” compliment guy, he shows me the finished product. If I hadn’t seen him look at the picture myself, I would have believed he saw something else. Firstly my bangs were not blunt across, they were lightly textured and side swept. The “long layers” were replaced with what I call a light “dusting” or trim of my hair at the ends and that’s it. I told him that is wasn’t what I asked for, he tells me, “Ohh gorgeous this is so much better.” I am not kidding you, that quote still haunts me today.
Rather than thinking, “What has this guy been doing over my hair for the pass hour.” I say thanks and go to the front to pay. I don’t tip him and quickly ask to speak to the salon manager. I show the picture to her and explain that my hair wasn’t what I wanted. She offers me a chance to get it “recut”, I say no. She offers me product after product, anything to avoid the dreaded, “refund” option. I take her up on the products and had a credit on my account for a while. Now one could chalk this up to the stylist had a “bad hair” day or something ? Well not to long after that I had friend go to him for her cut, and the EXACT same thing happened to her. It looked as though he did nothing to her hair. So both these incidents happened about 4 years ago. So lesson learned right? Oh wait there’s more!
Come around the end of last year, I go to this Beauty Brands to do some regular products shopping. I have learned to steer clear of the salon area. My car is in their parking lot, and there is one other customer. It’s a slow weeknight. I am shopping when I look out the window and see that a group of teenagers are doing wheelies and tricks next to my car on their skateboards in the parking lot. I go to the manager and ask her if she could do something about it. She’s a young girl and looks at me and says,” Not really, they do this every night. I mean I even told my manager and called the police and they said they can’t do anything.” I was shocked, I was like they are kids, can’t you just go out there and tell them to stop? She is like, “Well some of the other employees here have and the kids just curse them out.” So I decide I am just going to go about my shopping and ask for her managers number as I leave.
Then the fun begins… one of the kids skates up to the back bumper of my car and almost crashes into it. So knowing that apparently I am only one who is going to do anything about this, I walk outside to the kids. I wedge my foot in the doorway and very nicely but firmly ask the kids to stop skating by the parked cars, please. They turn to me and tell me to F myself. Then I said, “Look please don’t skate by my car or I’ll call the police and I don’t want to do that.” They flick me off so I ignore it and go inside.
One of the younger teens then skates up to my car and acts like he is about to ram it, but falls off his skate board trying to stop himself from actually hitting my car. I have had it, I turn to the manager on duty and say can you call the police , non emergency line please. She looked at me like I asked her an alien question. She said, “I told you they won’t do anything.” I then said never mind, and pull out my cell phone and call them. Magically they answer and say they were sending a car ! I go back outside and see that now a group of 5 teens were behind my car and go outside and say to them that, “I have called the police and they are on there way.” The “older” teen (and by older I mean he had the only car) he shouts at me,” Why the hell would you do that, you stupid bitch.” I said,”I warned you guys to stay away from my car, you left me no choice, I was even nice about it.” So now emo older teen is all pissy because it’s his Dad’s car, and yes I gave the cops the license plate number.
The cops arrive but just before they do the mother of one of the teens comes into the store. Apparently she wants to know who called the cops on her angelic children. The manager on duty immediately covers herself and says, ” oh no ma’am I didn’t call the police, it was one of my customers.” Seeing as I was the only freaking customer in the store at the time, its no wonder why the mom turns to me and tries to lay into me. I cut her off and say, “Look, I called the police, I warned them, they were skating near my car and pretending to run into it. Your kids do not need to be skating at 8 pm in the middle of a lowly lit parking lot with parked cars in it. They were shouting obscenities at me, they need to be home or in a park”.
The mother gets really quiet then and she has two girls with her that were apart of the teens. The girls then begin to tell the mother that it was me that was cursing at them and that they were just minding there own business. Just then the police come into the store and we go through the whole “different” sides of what happened. Basically (and so I figured) my car was intact so they couldn’t do anything else. But they did tell the mother that her kids could not be skating in the parking lot. After the police and kids left the scene I turn to the manager and say, “Yes I would like your store manager and district managers numbers”.
After I had called the Police the manager on duty did put me on the phone with a woman who represented herself to me as the District Manager – which I later found out wasn’t true. She was just an Assistant/Store manager. She also told me that the Regional Manager lived near the store and that she would be coming by, which again was not true, it was her that showed up. So already I am getting the best service ever, no not really. I only hung around after wards to speak with someone who was a real manager.
She came in gave me the same, “Oh they have been bugging us forever” line the other girl gave me. I said to her, “You know all I did was pick up the phone, I don’t appreciate my 5 minute trip being turned into a few hour fiasco”. Let’s be honest at this point I was not in a good mood – for good reason. The Assistant Manager then gave me this complimentary salon card for my trouble, which she didn’t have too. Frankly I didn’t want to be in that store anymore. It was a a free salon service of my choosing for both myself and my family member who was with me. So we both left, had dinner, and had a sour taste in our mouth. Honestly the free service just seemed to little too late after that…..
So just when you think there was a happy ending…
Not too long after the events took place I call the salon and make an appointment with my family member. We both decided that we will try getting our hair colored. Because the hair cutting just wasn’t working for them. I wanted a simple all over color with two chunky high-lights…simple enough. My family member – highlights. So I speak to the Salon Manager, I tell her in detail what we both want, I ask if those are ok for the “free salon service.” If not then we will do something else. She is very chipper, puts me on hold, and returns with, I just checked those are both fine! I said, “great!” Then she says to me, “You know we can also offer you guys a free massage while your here, especially after all you went through”. I said, “Okay, as long as it’s free that’s fine too.” So she books us and that’s that!
We go back there for our appointments, and are greeted by the chipper Salon Manager. She gives us drinks ushers us to some seats and really for a brief moment my opinion of them was rising. That’s until the “Store Manager” comes to us and says, “Well how are you guys, well i just heard that you guys were getting massages, hair colors, cuts and pedicures all for free, and well we can’t have that. My district manager just chewed me out about giving the whole salon away for free, so you ladies can’t be doing this here!” I was shocked I looked at her and I said, “No we aren’t doing ANY of that and that she needs to go back to her employees and straighten some things out”. She looks at me and says, “Well okay then” and walks off. If there was ever a time when I wanted to leave a place, that was the moment. Even a FREE salon service at this place made me want to leave because of how I was treated, how pathetic is that?! I stayed because not only was my hair already being processed, but my family member was in the same boat. I was stunned, I swear the bar for what qualifies as a manager must be below somewhere between Lindsay Lohan’s probation bracelet and Britney Spears’ parenting skills…
The stylist that was assigned to me was again pleasant, but didn’t know what he was doing. He told me that he couldn’t dye my hair the color I wanted because it wouldn’t match my skin tone and would make me look bald. Even though again, I have had the color before. On top of that, the chunks I wanted were not even visible. My family member’s hair was a soft honey blonde, but the highlights they put on turned her hair to a brassy gold color. Trained monkeys could color my hair better than this crew.
So I go to check out, and I am extremely unhappy at this point. To make matters worse, the same young manager I dealt with before greets me and tells me the chunks I had gotten, were an extra charge, but she had cut my cost in half and made it seem that she done me this big “favor”. So I said fine, I gave her the money and said, “I will not be coming back here ever again and be sure to tell your managers that.” Frankly I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. So we both left, extremely dissatisfied beyond belief. To this day I never received an apology from any of the managers. I basically not only took myself but my entire family with me from the salon. The Customer Service is so below par at this store that they should just start all over again. To be honest, I have never been treated so appallingly by an establishment, and trust me I have seen some pretty hopeless cases.
My advice, after giving Beauty Brands more than their fair share of chances, they have proven to be unreliable and misleading in what they offer and actually can perform. If your looking for great deals on hair products, check out the Toni & Guy salons. They have been offering some great sales and incentives such as two of their styling products for $20 (includes Catwalk and Bed Head). Also their salon services are more expensive, but given the expertise you receive, it’s well worth the additional $10 – $20. Also all of their stylists are required to receive updated training on all new styles – so there is never a “lapse” in training.
As for Beauty Brands, if your looking for Beauty, no matter how hard you look, you wont find it with them….
BP Oil and why we the people are just as guilty…
Cha-ching! The more you pump, the more we die.
I know that everyone would like to put the blame solely on BP for this, but they aren’t the only ones to blame. ANY oil company is to blame for this catastrophe. WE as consumers are to blame for this too. Every time we purchase gas we are telling BIG OIL companies that it’s okay to destroy the environment. We are facilitating oil companies to do this by lining their pockets with our money. Everyday we give oil companies Billions and Trillions of dollars to massacre and rape our world.
Do you really want to make a difference? Then don’t buy gas! We as the public have a lot more power over these thugs, we simply have to put our foot down and REFUSE gas and DEMAND other SAFER alternatives. We have the power as consumers to make these companies stop this – but no one wants to do it because of “convenience” and being “lazy.” If that’s the case with you then I say you have no right to complain because BP and other oil companies are only doing what YOU have paid them to do.
This is BIGGER than US, this is the ENTIRE world!
Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? A REVIEW (Spoilers)
Meet Teri Horton. Why she's awesome? She could give a sh*t what you think. Rock on Teri.
So let me tell you about a little documentary I just watched titled,” Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?”. This documentary tells the story of a retired long-haul truck driver named Teri Horton. While in a thrift shop Teri comes across an unsigned 5 ft 6 by 3 ft 11 inch painting that catches her eye. So Teri buys it for a friend, and talks down the price from a whopping $8 to $5. Teri bought the painting as a gift, when her friend couldn’t fit it into her home, it went into a garage sale. A local Art teacher saw the painting and told Teri, “you know I’m no expert but that looks like a Jackson Pollock”, Teri’s response? (see above), hence the title of this film…
Teri's thrift shop find, Could this be a Pollock?
The film then explores Teri’s dealings in the art world. Contacting various agencies and gallery’s trying to find out if her painting is authentic or not. Teri soon discovers that the art world doesn’t appreciate being bothered, especially from someone who “shops at thrift stores”, so to speak. Being an Art major and dealing with Antiques myself I know all to well how “more business” and “less art” the art world is. Teri; not being easily discouraged; takes it upon herself to prove once an for all, is this painting real?! Teri then enlists the services of a Forensic Art scientist named Biro. Biro uses crime scene techniques and forensics to discover the validity of paintings. Biro comes with a long line of credentials for proving and disproving paintings that have been found in places like garage sales and sometimes even the trash.
Biro takes the case of “Teri’s find” literally approaches the painting like a crime scene investigation. The results you ask? The biggest find was a partial fingerprint located on the back of Teri’s canvas. Now the next question, where do you compare the print too? Pollock known for being a recluse, drunk, and all around hermit-esche type of fellow never experienced the joys of the legal system. Meaning, no fingerprints were on file of Pollocks’. Biro then takes a trip to Pollock’s art studio, and being allowed inside the gallery, takes paint samples, photos, and yes he finds a fingerprint on a paint can that was used by Pollock, ZING!
Pollock's paint can fingerprint
Well the evidence is in, and while garnering the services of a retired Canadian Mountie fingerprint expert eh, he rules that the prints match. Now he shows in details in a 3-point analysis how the prints match. So here’s the line up:
1.) Partial fingerprint evidence
2.) Pollock was known to trash a lot of his paintings
3.) Paint samples on floor of Pollock’s Studio matched the same chemical compound of Teri’s painting.
Whoo hoo right?! Wrong, now the experts say, well without “provenance” that Teri’s painting isn’t authentic. (Provenance: a paper trail.) In not so many words the art experts state without there literally being a document that certifies that this painting came from Pollock, it’s no good. To the partial fingerprint the art experts say, it means nothing. So in other words, if Pollock took a squat on a canvas and a fecal analysis was performed even down to what he ate that day, and that was then cross referenced with food he had in his actual fridge that day, without a piece of paper that said the Prince of Persia bought it for $45 million, that evidence would be useless.
To understand the art world a little better, its basically like high stakes gambling. What speaks is money. If someone puts forth a lot of money for something, that is its worth. If the person is of note, then that person’s credibility becomes the paper trail. So something that could be a forgery gets bought by someone well known and they stand by it, then that becomes the “provenance”. It’s a higher form of calling someone’s bluff per say. The art experts even in the film admitted that provenances are forged all the time, even if they can be researched. The simple fact is that it takes one person semi credible to purchase it and deem it “authentic”. It really comes down to a numbers game more than; we can prove it’s real with science and carbon dating. This business doesn’t really care about what it is, it’s really about the money and investment. To quote one of the art experts in the film, Thomas Hoving states,”true painting connoisseurs are the only ones who can identify the real from the fake (fingerprints and forensic evidence are secondary).”
After all that, various Pollock “experts” pour over the painting in person and point out such incredible findings as, ” Oh it doesn’t feel like him”, or “Oh it doesn’t have the emotion in it”, or “There’s too many lines or not enough lines”. Really? Pollock was a known alcoholic, who was suicidal and had severe psychiatric problems. He was know to be reclusive, volatile and eccentric. Even to the point where he would make a painting, become so distraught and unhappy with it that he would throw it away and start again. His wife wasn’t even allowed in his “studio” of crazy. So why not could this piece I ask just be a product of one of those episodes? I’m sorry but a finger print is pretty damning to me. At the end of the film it even says Biro was able to find another fingerprint off an undisputed Pollock. This time the fingerprint was a full one and again it still matched. Alas, the experts still argue that its not authentic. In my point of view, looking at the evidence of the film, the paint samples, the fingerprints, the overall style compared to his other works and knowing his history, I am not convinced this is a fake. Yes there are some great forgeries out there, but seriously this forger-er would of had to of been the SUPERMAN of forgers. They would of had to be in Pollocks’ studio, used his paints around the late 40’s early 50’s, painted in his same style, and somehow placed there fingerprint on the can and on various other pieces of his other artwork. Seriously if this is a forgery, this painting should sell for 25 million just for the simple fact that the forger should get an Oscar for Fakes.
Is it a Pollock? Left: Teri's, Right: "authenticated" Pollock
The fate of Teri’s painting you ask? Well after the documentary and the publicity of the piece got out into the world; Teri had a first offer of 2 million, which she turned down, then she had another offer of 9 million which again she turned down. Teri argues that it’s simply principle, she want’s 25 million for it period because she knows it’s real and she is not backing down. I say I completely understand and with being in her 70’s; she it not going to back down or take any sh*t from the art world. I don’t blame her one bit. But honestly 9 million is still a good chunk of change and for a $5 sale that’s a pretty good profit. Still you can’t blame Teri for sticking to her guns. Overall I found this documentary entertaining to say the least; but it also sheds light onto little know facts of the art world.
Just like anything that brings a lot of money, especially in the creative fields (art, film, music), there are people in it just for the buck, it’s a business. They really don’t care about the art, technique or talent; as much as the art of knowing a piece or artist well enough to invest a lot of money into it. Not to say there are some true individuals out there who do enjoy the talent, but they are few in comparison to the greed mongers that now flood these industries.
More information:
Art Expert Thomas Hoving’s findings
Celebrity VS Tabloid Woes
Brad and Angie packing "something special" for the tabloids
I read a few interesting articles today, and some thoughts came to mind. In this article MSNBC takes the stance of how the “Brangelina” phenomena has swept the checkout lanes and backroom 7-eleven stands since their pairing. It also goes in dept of how the media has taken the popularity of the couple and literally ran with it. Exposing such startling revelations as, “Angelina shops in grocery stores!”, or how “Brad used a public restroom!!”. The article did bring some intelligible insight of how the media may in fact be “making up” half of what they splash across their covers. In this case the, “Brangelina break up rumors”. Though one thought that they didn’t bring up is how some celebrities could very well been encouraging the press and tabloids to post “any coverage” in order to get the celebs name in the paper. Some celebs may very well go as far as “threaten” and promise “legal action” toward the tabloids in question. But in actuality as they say, even in this article, “any press is good press”. Not to say that team Brad and Angie have sunk to this tactic, but celebs in the past and more often than not will probably continue this practice in the future. This is where the marketing and publicist department come into play for the celeb. Also it is interesting to take note that when a celeb seems to be swarming tabloids it has a tendency to coincide with certain movie, album or book releases. I mean when your name is everywhere it can only help ever so slightly.
Lindsay WIN!
In another article also by MSNBC they discuss the troubles of Lindsay Lohan. In this article they discuss how Lindsay blames her father for exposing her private life to the press. Now I know it’s hard to believe, but Lindsay who regardless of her age or fame is still just a young girl. Yea it’s hard being a celebrity, and once getting there, trying to maintain the lifestyle you’ve become accustomed too. But seriously again the press loves reporting controversy especially when it involves kicking someone when they are down. But in a way it’s almost like a mirror for these celebs. Just look at it a few years ago in Hollywood’s “Golden Age” more specifically the 1920’s – 60’s, where pretty much your onscreen persona was also your private one off screen. Where a celebrity was the entire package, even when not on the big screen. Where studios contractual requirements were so strict they bordered insane. The reason? Only to maintain an artists’ blissfully and painfully pristine image.
ABOVE: Rock Hudson & Doris Day and TomKat "The studios were so determined to maintain a stars persona that they even staged marriages and dates between leading men and ladies so the public wouldn't get wise to a certain celebrity's sexuality".
Take for instance the biography of Shirley Temple’s, in which she details how a movie studio executive who is well known make sexual advances toward her when she was just barely a teenager. Or the sexuality of leading men of the big screen such as Rock Hudson and Montgomery Clift. The studios were so determined to maintain a stars persona that they even orchestrated marriages and dates between leading men and ladies so the public wouldn’t get wise to a particular celebrity’s sexuality. Of course these cases do not even begin to cover the prevalent substance abuse of drugs or alcohol that can become readily available, especially when you are a celebrity.
So the lesson to be learned from all this? As the visage of celebrity has always fascinated us, it is and still will always be a “business”. Yes at one point a lot of these artists were struggling at one point, and probably wanted to be something creative and above all, like everyone, they wanted to be successful. But along with the fame, money, and power: there are also large firms, studios and a team of executives in a board room deciding whether or not your one night of partying that was captured by the paparazzi would have a negative or positive effect on the next film your in that they are backing. There is a difference between being known and being infamous and even though times have changed and a lot more is on the table about a celebrity’s life, it’s still as it ever was. So I say as much as the press runs with a story, sometimes it can bring awareness to someone who really does need help. But like many things you have the ones that use the knowledge and ones that abuse it. So in order to survive as a celebrity it does take quite a special person that is able to persevere above all the noise that is out there, or someone who simply doesn’t understand “human talk” like….
Today's celebrity?? I miss LiLo already
VINTAGE ADS A GO GO
MMMMMmmm YES! Who needs a gym when you can ingest some nice parasites??!! NOW IN SANITIZED!
When cardigans say so much...
In my webby travels I came across some vintage advertisements of days gone by, and I think to myself, ” Wow oh how meanings have changed.” Ads in days gone by served primarily as the “info-mercials” of yesteryear. Just when you thought some products couldn’t get any crazier just take a peek at some of these …..
Ahh a woman can't resist a man who can fill our lungs with his Cancer stick...
I don't know what concerns me more that they used Science to prove it, or that the Scientist is smoking as he proves it..
Smoking bad? Heck No! Just look at these ads! I mean that’s a REAL Scientist, they wouldn’t just say something like that kids!
This was a time when “a handshake” and “your word” were still considered as honest as it gets.
And finally…..
Before you give your significant other a hard time, take a gander at these lovely gems….
The female jockstrap anyone?
LEFT: Here you’ll find the originals of the “feminine napkin” when it really WAS a napkin. Courtesy of the Museum of Menstruation (oh yes, you read that right) here you will find the answer to every question you ever wanted answered but we too horrified, scared, and left lifeless in corner about to ask…
Viagra leaving you a "little" flat? Simply strap this around your member for an extra JOLT!
RIGHT: Ahhh yes this little contraption called the Heidelberg belt was invented to work your abs, make you feel more manly, and perhaps assisted in management of your man-ticles..the possibilities were endless! Though I think what alarms me the most is the 10-day trial. What would happen to the “returned” belts?…..
FAIL EntertainMart!
EntertainMart does NOT discriminate against fecal employment...
If you are not familiar with a retail chain named EntertainMart, basically they are what I would call a “overly glorified” pawn shop. Except in this case they only deal with Media such as DVD’S, Cd’s, Video Games and the associated electronics that go with them. They do Sell and Buy articles back from the consumer at low prices in order to mark them up considerably for resale, the same practice as pawn shops.
So today on a journey to a movie review I notice EntertainMart on my right. In regards to stop lights and in killing those few vital seconds until green; I happen to see that their marquee has a peculiar employment request. Now the obvious hilarity of this forced me to post it, even considering sending it off to a particular popular blog for these things. Then I thought to myself, “What would the manager say if someone called about this?”. So I did the only thing I could do, I rang them immediately and spoke to the store manager. World wind ideas of the “disgruntled DVD stocker” who was forced to work during his favorite rerun episode of Adult Swim or maybe the “moody and menacing janitor” who was going to get these kids; could have pulled a fast one. The manager’s response you ask? When I brought it his attention, I’ll be honest I wanted to hear him respond with a “What ?! That’s it were totally cutting off the Halo lan party tonight!” Instead the manager very nonchalantly says,” Um yea, so?” So I made sure he was the ACTUAL store manager and not some angsty Assistant Manager on a crusade to get home before anybody else in the store… Alas, no. He was in FACT the ACTUAL store manager, who knew it was up there and really didn’t care. He asked me why I was even calling about it in fact, as if it was not really a big deal and I was taking up his time with silly questions. I’ll be honest I have shopped at EntertainMart before and like most of it’s retail clones/brothers (Movie Trading Co & CD Warehouse), to say the Customer Service leaves something to be desired would be like saying; Ebola leaves you with just a light headache.
Dallas Observer Ad
I guess what more could one expect from a retailer that has to resort to toilet humor in order to get people in their stores. With that being the case, there is no wonder why that the applicants are not amongst the academically elite. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not a retail snob, but seriously when I ask you if you have something in stock, don’t look at me as if my interrupting your titillating conversation about what “Manga chick is hotter” conversation with your co worker is really that much of an inconvenience. Furthermore; pointing over my head into a retail facility that is over 32,000 square feet and saying, ” Pfft its like over there, or something I think.”, without looking in the computer in front of you and then returning to your co-worker and saying,” So yea I’d totally do Sailor Moon”. This is an experience that has happened to me each time I’ve gone there. So in short I guess one could ask how far should a retailer really go? At what point is customer service that severely overlooked and at times just plan inconvenient, well just ask the crew at EntertainMart – that is, if they aren’t too busy.
Dallas Observer Ad 2
Dallas Observer Ad 3
Why it’s never good to color Eyebrows
In my years of experimenting with the follicle color wheel, there is one rule that I always
Gwen's eyebrows go MIA!
stand by, NEVER color your eyebrows. The reason why I say this is simple; it never turns out right. A lot of people disregard the amazing camouflaging abilities that the brow possesses. It’s all about perception. Brows have a marvelous tendency to coordinate with your skin, and brows bushy or not still draw a a lot of it’s hue from your actual skin tone. That’s why when they are dyed, it can sometimes look like you lost a battle with the electrical socket again.
The reasons why dying brows can also go awry is because there is simply not a lot of hair there. Even if they are mimicking the rain forest, there still isn’t a great deal there. So naturally in dying hair, follicle damage does occur. Thus causing hair to fall out from being broken. In dying your brows you already don’t have a lot of hair there. So the damaging chemicals found in peroxides when they cause there routine hair breakage; it could result in a catastrophic tragedy for your eye mates.
Honestly I always recommend if you feel the need to lighten or even darken you brows do it with makeup. It’s simply easy and honestly better for your skin. On top of the possible hair damage, the skin around your eye is more sensitive than your scalp. So even if you are a, “pro color wheeler”(as I like to call myself) ; you could even have an allergic reaction to the peroxide on your facial skin which could cause a more serious problem. Even if it’s a pro salon I’d still be hesitant about dying my brow girls. Makeup and plucking alone can really make a great difference in your appearance and only by exploring these two alternatives you’ll see a difference.
Here is a simple tip I use when I want change the color of my brows.
Step 1: Start with a clean fresh face – always important. Begin by adding a concealer that’s blends well with your current skin tone, and apply that with a fingertip or brush over your actual eyebrow.
Step 2: Blend the edges around your brow to ensure all concealer has been blended into your skin. You don’t want to completely erase your brow but depending on if you want to go darker or lighter adjust accordingly. Less concealer for a darker look, more concealer to go lighter with your brow.
Step 3: Using a brow shadow that is two shades within your original brow color apply it in a hatching/soft strokes motion over your brow. Again it all depends on how dramatic you want to go; the concealer can help the shadow last longer, you can also apply shadow just directly to the eyebrow for a much more subtle look.
Step 4: Use a brow pencil or wet the shadow brush and dip it back into the eyeshadow; to create a more dynamic stroke. Apply again as in step 3.
Note: The hatching/small line stroke motion is important as to maintain a more natural appearance. Drawing a line directly on top of your brow could potentially have you cast in the next Cirque Du Solei show, so it’s up to you.
Step 5: I always like taking a large blush brush and sweeping it across my brows when I am done. That way any excess shadow or makeup can be sweep away, allowing what remains to hold better. Again depending on what look you want to achieve; experiment with these steps to find what suits your needs the best!
Bare in mind; with makeup nothing is permanent, so if you don’t like it just use your favorite makeup remover and voila! Clean palette once again!
So remember always have fun and always find what works best for you!
A Review of “Garden Spells”
Garden Spells Cover
Over the holidays I had a chance to read the audio book Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Over all I found it be a light and enchanting novel. Especially something nice to read during the holidays. To draw comparison, it reminded me here and there of Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. The story does surround the lives of the Waverly Family, and the Waverly House. A large focal point of the story is the dynamic between the two sisters Sydney and Claire and their “magical” apple tree. Sydney portraying the rebellious young sister; who at a young age runs off; only to find herself 10 years later back at the old Waverly house. Claire is the older, and one could say more stable of the sisters and has remained in the house ever since. All the while creating her own catering business where she makes home made meals based on the unusual herbs and flowers found in the Waverly garden.
The novel does approach how the sisters find love, overcome passed trauma and basically how they become a family again. This is properly not a novel I’d read a second time, for the simple fact that the story did not draw me enough to warrant a second endeavor. The style of writing is simplistic and not overly wordy but I think this adds to the charm of the novel. This book struck more as a short story than a full length novel.
Again, if your looking for a light and quick read, especially during a trip; then this is what I would recommend. Not really a deep novel that will stick with you. It’s a novel that wraps the ends up very nicely and in a cute little package. But sometimes, that’s all we need 
.
Tools of the Trade
The Jedi Arsenal
Look familar? This is what a lot of women come face to face with each morning. The plethora of beauty products that one women can solely possess could fill an entire store un to it self. What, with the barage of marketing that a single women or even girl can encounter in one day alone could put any political campaign manager to shame. Take for instance a popular beauty/health magazine that came out this month, the magazine itself consisted of 144 pages, 49 of which were advertisements having nothing to do with the actual content of the magazine. Of course of those 49 advertisements, that does not cover the additional marketing that is paid and solicited for inside of the actual pages. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE reading magazines while getting the coolest tips and deals on upcoming products. But literally every month there is going to be that one item that is going to be advertised as the new “MUST HAVE”.
So as you can tell it can be very taxing and costly being a fem. But whats wrong with that, right?. The best secret I’ve learned when it comes to the visual onslaught of candy coated sweetness that can attack anyone of us during the day is to, “know what you have” and ” to know what you need”. Most importantly, just because it is more expensive does NOT mean it is better. I have had the same results from products I’ve spent $5 on to products I’ve spent ..well a lot more than $5 on. Honestly, the BEST recommendations you can get is word of mouth. On top of that, it is always a good idea to know the return policy of the retailer you purchase from too. A lot of people can forget the power they have as a consumer, especially when it comes to our beauty regime. As a person who has worked in retail for 10 + years I can assure you that a retailer would much rather make you happy than to have you make a lovely little phone call to their boss, District Manager, Regional Director….etc the list definitely goes on.
I will delve into the world of retail in a later blog..hehe
In short, know you. Just because “insert celeb here” used said product it does not mean they have the same skin quality you have. Think of this logically. in some cases a celeb could have worst skin than you. Seriously, with all the theatrical makeup they are required to wear, being under hot lights for grueling hours, having to run 40 times in ridiculous weather just to get the “shot right” all of this havoc adds up; it’s no wonder many celebs have to find alternate means to remain healthy. Of course having a few mill to toss about doesn’t hurt either.