Salon Savvy

Okay, here's the details on why I went to the salon so many times this weekend:


Salon Visit #1: Ever since I had read about the drybar at Blow, I wanted to get a blowout. A blowout is when a salon thoroughly cleans and blow dries your hair to silky perfection. Depending on your preference they can flatiron and or barrel curl your ends. Afterwards you have a gorgeously clean mane of hair that lasts for days and makes even Barbie jealous. Blowouts are notoriously over-priced but finding an inexpensive one was on my list for New York. This article led me (and a curious Allie) to HairPlus Design in Chinatown.

Salon Visit #2: This was sparked with a comment from Emily about how she wanted lash extensions. I really wanted them too after reading about them in some magazines. I did some extensive research and found out that the average price for the semi-permanent fringes was $400. No. Way. But this reminded me that I did want to get my eyebrows threaded at Pinky's, a salon that has zero wait and charges $7. I called them to check their hours and on a whim asked if they did eyelash extensions. They said yes and they charge $35. What! Needless to say, Emily and I hopped on the subway immediately.

Blowout. It was such a cool experience! Thousands of Asian women surrounded me, scrubbing and massaging my hair until it was squeaky clean. Next, I was ushered to a chair where one woman rough-dried my hair and another blasted it smooth with a dryer. She then curled my entire head in huge ringlets. After they cooled she picked them loose with chopsticks! Once she applied a tiny amount of smoothing serum and hair spray the woman informed me that my hair would fall into a more natural style within a few hours. I paid a total of $20 ($15 + $5 of tipping) for a 25 minute process, it was magical. The best part is that two days later my hair is still smooth and slightly wavy. It feels cleaner than it normally does after two days of not washing and although flatter than the original 'do, I can confidently wear it down. I just might develop an addiction to blow outs.

 smooth, bouncy perfection

Threading. Using only sewing thread, the stylist removed all my strays in 2 minutes flat. It was moderately painful but the speed of the procedure made it alright. They look a lot cleaner although she did minimal shaping. Keepers!

Eyelash extensions. Maybe you think this sounds creepy but I'm the type of girl who likes full lashes but hates to put on mascara every day. Lash extensions are just extra lashes applied with surgical glue so they will stay on for 1-3 weeks. The woman gave me a "natural set with full outer corners." I hated laying there while there were chemicals near my eyes (should have thought through that one better) but there was a huge difference when I looked at myself afterwards. I now have long, winged lashes much darker than my natural color. I love the drama of them but I'm not convinced they look totally realistic. I keep getting double-takes from strangers on the subway wondering why I am giving them flirty eyes. I am not making eyes at you, Mr. Homeless Man, I just have naturally flirty eyes. The good thing is that it's pretty hard to see where they were applied so even if people guess they aren't real I don't look like a drag queen. The major downside is that they are heavy, a bit pokey, and give me a permanent dark haze in my vision. But they would be perfect if I was planning on impersonating Mila Kunis for a week. (Not that I look anything like her in the first place.)

brows + lashes

I know I sound really vain after trying all these new beauty tricks this weekend. I guess I was just trying to get it out of my system. After reading about all these fun things in Cleveland most of my life, I'm jumping on the opportunity to try them. Two of my experiments were a major success at a low price! And now I know I do not need fuller, longer eyelashes.


Dress code. This is the outfit I wore in Chelsea on Saturday. It was so nice that I only wore a leather jacket over it.

UO necklace / Madewell top / AE tank /
F21 skirt / H&M tights / TJ Maxx boots

That's all for now folks!

xoxo Kendra