The importance of well groomed eyebrows should never be underestimated.  After all, eyebrows frame our face and also has the power to transform it.  Yet there are still many of us out there, who will invest in facials and top of the line skincare and makeup, but then kind of forget about the brows…or worse yet go to an inexperienced aesthetician and get our brows completely hacked in five minutes after we have spent the last three months growing them in…ok I digress.

I was given a referral (from a pretty reputable source) of a place to get my brows done before a photoshoot and ended up having a good amount of my eyebrows waxed off in a few minutes and left with horribly thin and dramatically arched brows that I have to constantly fill in (which for someone who likes to spend 5 minutes or less on her daily makeup routine, is very annoying.)  Plus I cringed every time I looked in the mirror because I looked like I was constantly surprised or tired and older…sometimes all three at the same time.  Being that I had just moved to South Beach and knew absolutely no one, I had no idea of where I should go to get them fixed, if that was even possible nor would I have trusted another “referral.”  My only option was to continue filling them in and hope that since I was in the Sunshine State my eyebrows would grow in faster…because everything grows faster in the sunlight…right?

My brows did start growing in…to their natural shape and not the hyper arched scrawny line that was waxed on to my face.  While I was ecstatic (and still continue to be) about my brows growing in, they now looked a hot mess.  I needed a major brow overhaul.  Lucky for me a trip to my hometown of Minneapolis, MN for my friend’s wedding was in my near future so instead of taking my chances on an unknown salon/spa and have my brows defiled, I decided to wait until I was in Minneapolis to go to the only person who understood my brows and their needs (she was actually the first person to clean and shape my brows to perfection) and immediately after booking my Flight to MN, I booked at appointment at Blink For Beauty to see THE brow guru herself, Christina Snead.

Christina has been in the aesthetics and fashion industry for 12 years and is an absolute expert, you only have to glance at her brows to know that you will be in the best of hands. The first time I saw Christina was after a makeup artist shaved off most of my eyebrows and filled them in with brow powder to hide the deed (imagine my surprise after I got home and washed my face!)  I don’t know how she did it, but Christina saved me from looking like something out of Star Trek and I’ve never looked back since.  I was hoping that she would again be able to work whatever magic it is she does and save my brows for the second time.

The next morning after my flight to Minneapolis, I woke up and headed straight to Blink For Beauty (I would have gone right after my flight landed but the studio is not open at 11pm).  Upon walking through the door I immediately felt reassured and relaxed.  The space is absolutely breathtaking. It is modern and sleek yet very relaxing, warm and welcoming…much like Christina herself.  It’s always a great idea to get there a bit early to browse the great selection of jewelry, dresses and beauty products that Blink For Beauty carries, I especially love the wrap bracelets and products from Coola.

I didn’t even need to explain the torture that my brows underwent in Miami; Christina pointed out where too much had been waxed off  and explained to me what she would be doing to clean them up as well as to make sure they would grow back into their natural shape.  In twenty minutes my brows were transformed…as well as my entire face.  No longer did I look like an surprised, angry, tired Klingon, but my face somehow looked cleaner and more refreshed.  I swear her chair has magical powers because although she is removing hair from your face, she manages to make the process absolutely relaxing and painless.  I always get a bit sad when the service is over because I absolutely love being in the Blink For Beauty studio surrounded by calming music, relaxing scents, the nicest aestheticians I have ever met and the pretty great, but hard to find beauty products.  When I did manage to tear myself away from Blink For Beauty, I of course, had to leave with a bracelet…

In four weeks, when my brows are again ready for a tune up, my plan is to fly to Minneapolis and once again head straightaway to  Blink For Beauty.  I am convinced that paying for a plane ticket is a much better choice than walking around and having people speak some weird language to me because they honestly think I might be a Klingnon (thanks to my brows) and to be honest Blink For Beauty is definitely worth the plane ticket, after all they have transformed hair removal into an art form.  Now, if only I can convince founders Christina and Brook to start traveling and teaching their “art of hair removal” secrets to the rest of the nation…first stop of course would be Miami.

Gail Lewis

Gail is at times a model, most of the time a blogger, but always a beauty junkie.

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After getting my summer hair coloring at Salon L’etoile, those pesky UV rays had their way with me over the weeks that followed bringing out more of my highlights and lightening my hair considerably. When I went to NYC to attend Cocktails & Couture during fashion week 2 weeks ago, I decided it was time for the hair color switch to fall. I was looking to get back to my dark brown hair color and visited Salon A.K.S. on 5th Avenue to help me with my transformation. With the capable hands of hair colorist, Selma Aktas, and co-owner Alain Pinon working the scissors, I walked away a very happy customer.

I explained to Selma that I wanted my hair darker and she flipped my hair over looking right at the roots. She explained that she didn’t want to go darker than my original hair color and I agreed. I have to mention the sink for washing and conditioning because typically this is the most uncomfortable part of getting my hair done. You know when you lay uncomfortably into the sink? Well the lip of the sink somehow conforms to your neck, so there is no awkward arching or pressure on the back of your neck. I could simply do the one thing I like to do most—relax. 

In Selma’s words…”For fall, my goal was to give Shannon a rich, shiny look. I filled in Shannon’s hair so the blonde wouldn’t pop out. I also made the color deeper so it doesn’t fade out and looks shinier, more healthy. I used L’oreal Power Dose protein treatment to hydrate and make her hair stronger. This is a great post-summer product that helps restore hair from the damages of the sun.”

My hair color was definitely dark and I was happy with the shine. Selma is a pro at her job and I highly recommend her! Now onto the cut with Alain..who is so super nice by the way.

I explained to Alain that I was tired of my hair doing a flip at the bottom as it touched my shoulders. I said I wanted to look youthful but necessarily young (there’s a big difference!) To solve my dilemma he suggested that I cut my hair shorter than it currently was. I don’t care who you are, when you hear someone saying to cut your hair shortER, you kind of freak out. He explained that as my hair looked now, I was hiding my neck and that a shorter style would suit me better. My response was, “You can do what you want, just don’t make me look like a boy.” Looking at this picture, you can see on the white cover just how much length was taken off.

To style my hair, Alain’s assistant used Phyto Professional Glossing Cream and Phyto Professional Strong Sculpting Gel. And voila! A richer hair color, with a shorter style that suits both my age and face shape. I shouldn’t have stood in front of a window for the after shot–however if you go to the A Girl’s Gotta Spa! fan page and look in the Cocktails & Couture photo album there are some super pics of my hair.

Phyto products can be purchased directly on the Salon A.K.S. website and when you register, you can get product discounts and 10% off any service. They also have a spot on their blog where you can pose questions to Alain or Selma (or any of their experts), just click Ask AKS.

So what do you think? If you’ve been to Salon A.K.S. please share your experience in the comments!

Don’t forget that you can get 40% off on spa and salon gift certificates at for a participating place near you using discount code AGGS40 on www.icitycerts.com.

*Disclosure

Shannon Nelson

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If you are anything like me, then you enjoy going to the spa and salon. And if you are anything like me, you like to save money. Now you can do both at participating spas and salons via iCityCerts.com using an exclusive code for A Girl’s Gotta Spa! (sm) readers. (This is me doing the happy dance!)

You will now find the iCityCerts.com badge in my blog’s sidebar and on my Facebook fan page. Using discount code: AGGS40 you can now get 40% off certificates for participating spas and salons listed on the iCityCerts website.

And who are some of these spas and salons you ask? 

Well if you are New York: Susan Ciminelli Day Spa & Salon, Guerlain Spa, Completely Bare, Warren-Tricomi Salon and Valery Joseph Salon…just to name a few!

And for you Philadelphia, there are: Richel D’Ambra Spa, Laser Cosmetica and even Richard Nicholas (I met Rebecca at the Wella event, remember?)

Chicago or Northern California? Spa Chakra and more.

I think you get the picture.

So give them a look and save yourself some money: www.iCityCerts.com with code AGGS40

*Disclosure; see website for complete details.

Shannon Nelson

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The do’s and don’ts of dating…waiting for the phone to ring, the blackberry to buzz or the e-mail to come in. And what about the 3-day rule or as my friends and I like to term it, “standard boy time” (which is usually followed by standard boy answer)?  The movie “He’s Just Not That Into You” brings the trials and tribulations of relationships and finding a soul mate to the big screen…or if you are me, this is real life.

On February 6th, the day the movie hits theaters, Fabio Scalia Salons – in Brooklyn and in Manhattan’s Jeunesse ‘Spas For Life’ – will run a “He’ll Be Into You Now” special, offering complimentary blow-dries between 2pm – 5pm. White-hot stylist Fabio Scalia is eager to have women walking around with confidence, saying, “All women should feel beautiful, no matter who is or isn’t calling, emailing or texting!”

Fabio Scalia Salons are located at:

Jeunesse ‘Spas For Life’ – 1885 Broadway @ Lincoln Center and 155 Montague Street (Clinton and Henry Streets)

Go look beautiful ladies and make him realize what he’s missing!

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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To get super easy party hair in only a few steps, it is helpful to style your hair the day after shampooing. Freshly washed hair can often be too soft to create an updo that lasts. The day after your scalp has time to produce natural oils that will assist in the styling of these great looks by eliminating fly-aways and helping to secure the hair in place! Aussie Hair Stylist, Sarah Potempa, took the time to lend A Girl’s Gotta Spa! readers some tips to achieve the best hair styles for New Year’s Eve.

Loose Waves:
On naturally straight hair, this is a very sexy look. It works well with softer, sweet personalities to add excitement and movement to their look. Add a strong, but natural finish mousse, such as Aussie’s Opposites Attract Styling Mousse, to dry roots and loosely blow dry up. Separate hair and wrap 2” sections around the closed 1” iron like a candy cane. Always remember to wrap away from the face! This is how you get the most flattering wave; otherwise it looks like a banana curl. Run fingers through hair and separate.

Teased Do:
For a classy, sophisticated, but stylish ‘do, start by creating a center part. Tease in one direction and secure with Aussie’s Opposites Attract hairspray. Smooth over with boar bristle/nylon brush and twist ends and secure with bobby pins. Don’t be afraid of letting loose pieces fall and creating a messy twist in the back. This look is all about the clean center part on straight hair!

Rumpled Bun:
This look on naturally straight hair needs a boost! Add a strong, flexible mousse to dry hair—I like Aussie’s Opposites Attract Styling Mousse—especially at the roots. Blow dry straight up to add volume and texture (you don’t even need a brush!). To create the height on top and the smooth tight sides, you will need to create 2 ponytails. First pull the sides smooth and low into a ponytail. Then loosely tease the top (only in a downward motion) and secure into another ponytail. Twist hair from both ponytails together into messy bun and bobby pin in place.

All products mentioned can be found at your local drugstore or www.aussie.com.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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I absolutely adore great smelling hair. It is that underlying secret to feeling confident and sexy; when my hair looks great and smells great I tend to walk a little bit taller. During the fall/winter months hair tends to get a bit dry, so it is the perfect time to really hydrate with a leave in conditioner, but one that smells incredible like pumpkin? Is doubly nice for the Holidays.

Sexy Hair’s Pumpkin Potion, made with pumpkin enzymes, essential oils, green tea and ginger root, is a leave in conditioner that will not only keep your cuticles well moisturized, but will keep your hair soft and smelling quite delicious–less like food and more like something healthy and calorie-free.

Unlike some leave in conditioners, Sexy Hair’s Pumpkin Potion texture is thin and doesn’t feel heavy on your hair. It also didn’t leave any build up on my scalp, which is always something I am nervous about when using leave in conditioners.

Sexy Hair products are only found in salons, so head over to their salon finder to find a location nearest to you.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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While in New York this past week for MAC’s Hello Kitty preview, Origins holiday event and doing social media trainings for work, I was invited by Anthony Valente, co-owner of Xac Anthony Salon and Spa, to get my hair cut. Now being single again, I decided I needed a fresh look and totally welcomed the idea of being pampered by some fabulous men (flash back to Madonna’s Material Girl video.)

I really let my hair go lately because I couldn’t decide what to do with it. So as you can see in the before picture, my hair was really unbalanced. Oh and my hair stylist, Victor Ortega, looks really bad ass here, but let me tell you, he is the sweetest thing ever! I highly recommend him!

The condition of my hair was really porous and dry. I came to Victor with my hair all one length and of course, color treated (a girl needs to hide her grays!) I told Victor that I didn’t want to lose my length but wanted to have something stylish yet low maintenance (because 4 kids=no time.)

The Xac Anthony Salon team started out at the shampoo bowl by washing my hair with Be-Free Shampoo by Unite Eurotherapy which is great for drier, color treated hair. Then they applied Softa Treatment by Unite Eurotherapy to the ends of my hair where the troubled areas were. Victor salvaged a lot of the ends so only minimal trimming was needed by cutting very little off of it. Without compromising the length, Victor brought in movement and texture by cutting long layers throughout. Since I didn’t want too much product in my hair, Victor kept it simple and applied the one product that would do the trick, Lazer Straight by Unite Eurotherapy.

And voila! The ultimate result was a stylish hairstyle with very low maintenance.

Here’s some info about the products Victor used:

Be-Free Shampoo (formerly known as S-Free)- for fine color treated hair. Contains botanisil, it is found in between the skin and inside of a cucumber. Helps lock in color and reduce blow drying . Sulfate free and paraben free.

Softa Treatment- moisturizing conditioner treatment for dry ends. Instead of cutting off the dry ends of my hair they were able to save a few inches by applying a softa treatment to just the ends. Softa treatment is for all types of hair and 100% weightless and for weekly use. It softens and shines and ideal for those who use thermal tools.  Apply on troubled areas for 5-10 minutes for moderate dryness and a maximum of 20 minutes for severe dryness.

Lazer Straight- is light on the hair and helps control frizz and helps retain the body of the style longer. Defeats and controls curls, tangles and frizziness; straightens the most difficult hair and protects it from blow drying and humidity. For best results: blot excess water from hair, rub a small amount between your palms and work evenly through hair, then brush or use a wide tooth comb. Relax and style as you wish. Blow drying will increase the product’s performance.

Many thanks to Anthony, Victor and Xac for a fabulous afternoon at Xac Anthony Salon! If you are in New York, you definitely want to stop by and see them! You won’t regret it!

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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We all love the way our hair looks and feels after a fabulous cut, color and blowout by our favorite stylist. And now we can keep it that way in between salon visits with these tips from Elie Elie Salon, the prestigious, ultra-hip hair salon with locations in Tysons Corner Centerand Winchester, VA:

* Understand the water you use to wash your hair. Water high in iron can turn your hair brassy, while water high in chlorine will add a green cast to your locks, if you live in an area with an abundance of minerals in the water, your color may be greatly affected. If you take the time to evaluate the water in your area you can choose your shampoo and conditioner wisely.

* Know your shampoo tolerance. Shampooing daily can fade color and dry out strands. Try shampooing every two or three days and watch your hair gain a natural luster. Use cool water to wash out shampoo – as hot water can tangle strands and remove color – and always make sure to dilute highly concentrated shampoos, as they have a tendency to weigh down the hair.

* Keeping hair conditioned is a sure way to pamper hair between dates with the stylist. The best way to maintain the condition is to choose the right shampoos and conditioners for your hair type, an easy and quick way to learn what is right for your hair is to get a professional recommendation and then make sure to stick to the program.

* Make a brush investment. The combs and brushes you use are just as important as the products you choose. Wide tooth combs are ideal for combing through tangles and there is nothing better than beneficial Boar bristle brushes to maintain a gorgeous mane.

* Beat the heat. Drying hair on a hot setting does not dry hair faster and can damage your precious strands. Drying with cool air will not only dry your hair in the same amount of time but will also give your locks an extra kick of hint of shine.

You can learn more about Elie Elie Salon by visiting www.elieelie.com

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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Update: See the Redken Fall/Winter 2010-2011 Haircolor Trend Forecast

The winter season is quickly approaching and Redken’s annual haircolor collection brings consumers the season’s must-have haircolor. Taking inspiration directly from Fashion Week runways, Redken debuts a new collection – the NEW Spotlight Collection – infusing blondes, brunettes and redheads with multi-dimensional sophistication, seductive shine and soft reddish-brown tones with subtle hints of violet. Featuring six calibrated Mahogany Violet shades from Redken’s Color Fusion and Shades EQ haircolor brands, the NEW Spotlight Collection offers readers versatile, new fashion-focused shades for the winter season.

According to Tracey Cunningham, Redken’s Creative Consultant for Color, the new Spotlight Collection shades from Redken are on-trend for blonde, brunettes and redheads this winter season. Blondes will look for a chic champagne hue with hints of soft rose and violet tones similar to Nicole Richie this season. Brunettes won’t want to go too dark, they should look for a rich, sultry brown with soft violet reflects, think Amanda Peet. Redheads will shy away from bright red color and look for a luxurious, sophisticated cool red-brown tones, similar to Lindsay Lohan.

COLOR FUSION MAHOGANY GLAM
The three permanent Color Fusion Mahogany Violet shades impart a cool and sophisticated veil of plum tones over rich mahogany shades. Like all Color Fusion products, Color Fusion Mahogany Violet features Redken’s Colorbond Technology which includes High Tenacity Dyes that lock together inside the hair, Ceramide to repair the surface and seal the hair to protect the beauty of the color, Cationic Conditioners to nourish and smooth the hair and Coconut Oil to help form a protective barrier against water.

SHADES EQ MAHOGANY GLAM
Shades EQ Mahogany Glam demi-permanent shades infuse blondes and brunettes with soft reddish-brown tones with subtle hints of violet. Shades EQ’s no-lift, non-ammonia formula guarantees no lightening of hair’s natural pigment and prevents swelling and cuticle damage. Additionally, Shades EQ three Mahogany Glam formulas include acidic pH to ensure gentle processing for outstanding condition and shine; long lasting colorants to create vibrant haircolor that fades on tone; wheat Amino Acids (natural humectants) to lock in moisture and protect condition of hair; and silicone which improves shine and wet combability.

Tracey’s tip – for professional haircolor, visit a Redken Certified Haircolorist – you can rest assured that you’re receiving the highest caliber of haircolor expertise. Visit www.redkencolor.com to locate a Redken Certified Haircolorist in your area.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Which Redken Permanent Color Should I Use? Redken Creative Consultant, David Stanko Answers (agirlsgottaspa.com)
• Haircolorist Michael Angelo Offers 10 Tips To Pamper Your Color-Treated Hair (agirlsgottaspa.com)

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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