Hair in France... I wanna bring all of their Style HOME!

As promised I am back! (It’s Lauren again is what I mean) I have more French beauty styles to share with you from my honeymoon! I have already told you about the very glam French makeup trends I followed in Paris now let’s move on to hair!

Between strolling along the streets in Paris and boat rides along the Seine I noticed those Parisian Ladies have some gorgeous hair. It just looks effortless and truly chic. 

My goal was to NOT LOOK LIKE A TOURIST, blend in as much as possible obviously I had to try and copy their looks.

There were two looks that stood out to me to be true Parisian trends. The first is so simple, yet so effective. Easy to create but very beautiful and touchable! The ladies with their hair down had it soft and smooth (not frizzy) but very windblown and it didn’t look as though it had been curled or straightened. To get this look I let my hair dry naturally with tons of Moroccan Oil in it to keep it smooth (my hair is naturally quite large and frizzy) and a spraying of Glamour Queen to give volume. Once it was dry (the next morning) I took my Amika Iron with the 3 different sized curling wands (LOVE THIS IRON) and set it up with the largest size Iron. Let’s just say I am so glad I brought a power adapter to make this iron work in Paris cause I would have been a fuzzy mess without it! I touched up the funny looking pieces by wrapping them around the iron to smooth them out and immediately shook my hair out not leaving time for any curl to set. Sprinkled in some Dust it and gave my hair another shake and voila! I had soft windblown hair after just a few minutes!

The other trend I saw with hair over in Paris was a very high, very messy bun. I loved this look. It took two minutes in the morning and it reminded me of a messy, day version of my glamorous wedding hair!

I knew how to create this look from tips I had gotten from Emily over our time working together. Got to love having a Best Friend who can teach you amazing hair tricks! What I would do was spray my hair with Glamour Queen and sprinkle Dust It on the roots for volume! Then I would pull my hair up into I high ponytail on the top of my head. I would tease the hair in the ponytail and then just throw bobby pins in it randomly to secure it. It was fool proof, I couldn’t mess it up and I felt like I fit right in with those chic Parisian girls!

We were off to the French Rivera next! So make sure to read our blog next time to hear about the easy summer looks I created abroad!

My "Look" for the wedding!

I don't think I mentioned to all of you, the disaster that I had with my dress for Lauren's Wedding... but oh was it a disaster!

I had purchased this amazing dress (that I felt great in) at BCBG in Florida, while I was there in December.

It was a simple, but romantic, black gown. Being the 5 foot little person that I am, I knew I would have to have it hemmed. As the date started to creep closer and closer, I realized how nervous I was about having the dress hemmed because I don't know a reliable place here in Toronto. 

So I figured I would called the closest BCBG to me (Young and Bloor) and ask where they refer their clients to, for alterations. 

The manager of BCBG gave me the name and address to a place that she highly recommends and sends ALL of her clients to. So I felt like I couldn't go wrong...

You see where this is going, don't you?

Long story short, I had the dress pinned, and it looked amazing, but when I went to pick it up a week later...

I was shocked to find a butchered dress! 

With 2 weeks until the wedding, and me being the pickiest shopper EVER, I started to panic and it took EVERYTHING in my power not to cry, scream, and yell!

The guy at the alterations place told me there was nothing he could do to fix it and then stared at me blankly!

Luckily Lauren was there and spoke up! She asked "So, are you going to pay to replace the dress?"

He chuckled and said, "No!"

It was then that I ponied up and asked to speak with his manager. I got her on the phone and was told by her to go back to BCBG and buy a new dress, once I had the new dress I was supposed to bring the receipt back to them and they would send it off to head office, and she says "MAYBE, you MIGHT, be reimbursed for the new dress." 

MAYBE and MIGHT weren't good enough for me, these dresses are PRICEY!

So Lauren and I went over to BCBG to look at the dresses and see if there was even anything I liked! Lauren suggested that the first thing we do, is speak to the BCBG manager and tell her what the situation was!

She was SOOOOOOOO sweet and apologetic! In the end she decided to let me scavenge the store with 2 sales associates at my disposal to find a NEW dress with LITTLE time to spare - she told me "Not to worry about a thing" and that she would deal with ALL of it!

At the time I didn't know what this meant, but I let the sales people walk me around the store, and help me with sizes. Unfortunately there wasn't much left! It was prom season, as well as bridal season. There were only 4 floor length dresses for me to choose from and sizing was definitely and issue! 

The one I liked MOST was only available in a size 0 or a size 14, Eeeeks!

I got the size 0 on, *with the help of Lauren and 2 sales ladies, but it was on, and decided I would take it and just loose a little bit of weight (in 2 weeks!)

I went to the check out to see what the manager really meant by "NOT TO WORRY ABOUT A THING," and was pleasantly surprised to find that she REALLY meant that!

I walked out of BCBG with a new dress, and didn't even spend a penny!!!

AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

I have to say, I wasn't in love with the new dress the way I was with my origonal, but it would do and I was thankful for the amazing staff of BCBG!

I was careful with what I ate from that point until the wedding and was sure to work out as much as I could, because I didn't want to look like a sausage in my dress!

Of course the night before the wedding, I lost all of my will-power because of stress and ate a tub of ice-cream! Oh silly me!

Okay, so the focus of the day was obviously the BRIDE and her family, I was at their home in Newmarket, early in the morning to make them pretty and knew that there would probably be NO time for me to Doll up!

The night before I curled my hair, and the morning of, before heading to Newmarket I did my make-up!

Here's how it turned out!

Oh Amika and Osis, How I love you - I can do my hair the night before - sleep - and still look half decent! What would I do without you?

And the 3rd Look.... Amanda!

Amanda

The Last of The Brides Maids...

Not a blood relative, but she may as well be! 

Their Mom's are BFF's (they even look alike), grew up in each others homes and they share all of the same childhood memories!! 

She's known as the honourary sister!

She's a beautiful girl with a flawless smile, who general goes simple - less is more kind of girl!

... but her make-up for the day screamed GLAMOUR and her jewelry did too! 

So I figured, WHY NOT - let's to a Hollywood inspired Oscar-esque style!

I was warned that Amanda's hair doesn't hold a curl so well, so I figured lets play it safe and pin it ALL back, while still keeping it romantic and feminine.

My inspiration:

I put a DEEP side part in Amanda's hair and curled with my 1" barrel (Medium in the Amika Set). Used my infamous concoction of Osis products to produce volume, texture and HOLD. 

Glamour Queen . Dust It . Elastic . Freeze . Sessions

Here's how it turned out!

The Trick:

Make a LOOSE pony tail with all of the curled hair from the ears back - leaving the front sections of your hair loose! 

With bobby pins, secure the pony tail into a loose and messy bun! 

Starting on one side pull small sections of the loose hair from the front - towards the bun and secure into place with bobby pins!

Continue pinning on both sides... there's no RIGHT or WRONG here, just pin in a visually pleasing way!

Check in Next week to see how we achieved the Bride's Princess inspired "Look!"

Lauren's Little Sister - Her "LOOK" for the big day!

Kathleen

A.K.A. 

Beanie

This Natural Beauty brightens every room she enters with her vibrant smile and kind heart!

She very well, might be the sweetest person I've ever met!

Her only 2 requests on this big day were:

1. "Make me Look Pretty!"

2. Incorporate a gorgeous hair comb which she had purchased for the wedding!

I wanted to make sure that Kathleen looked young and fresh, to be true to her age! 

After all she is the baby sister! 

Kathleen was the first to get her make-up done by the TALENTED Joy, 

One of our Fav' Lift Beauty Girls!

She had chosen a FULL false lash that made her already BIG beautiful eyes POP! 

I figured, she had DRAMA on the eyes, so let's keep her hair down and sweet!

That's just what we did! 

Again using a smaller iron than I would normally (Smallest barrel in the Amika set), I curled 1 inch sections of her hair.

Using the same formula of Dust it, Glamour Queen, Elastic, Freeze and Sessions.

(We should ALL have these 5 products in our hair styling cavalry!!!)

I wanted Kathleen's hair to be fun and flirty, so instead of setting the curls into a PERFECT "set", I let each curl fall as I pulled the iron away from the head! 

I added texture to the curls by back combing the roots and separating the curls by running my fingers threw each one.

This lovely lady LOVES volume!

So after her whole head was curled I applied more Dust it and had her toss her head upside down and SHAKE HER HAIR ALL ABOUT!

WOAH Volume and texture, looked super hot and sexy, but we were looking for something a little sweeter!

I tamed it down a little by pulling one side back but still leaving some volume! 

I used her beautiful embellished hair comb so secure it!

I don't seem to have a picture that shows off the amazing hair piece! Sorry

Remember to get the look you have to wrap the curls AWAY from your face on the iron!

The Lift Beauty Girls can be a part of you special day too...

Wedding, Prom, Birthday, Sweet 16, Bat Mitzvah, you name it!

E-mails us for pricing: Liftcosmetics@gmail.com

Lauren's Maid of Honour - How to get her Look!

Alicia

Amazingly styled, confident, funny and naturally beautiful!

Alicia, Lauren's sister and Maid of Honour is a Fashion Stylist with one of the Top agencies in Toronto. She is constantly surrounded by fashion, glamour and the top make-up and hair artists in the city, at magazine shoots, runways shows and more...

I have had the pleasure of being Alicia's hair stylist for the past 3 years... but the pressure was on for this event! I had the challenge of working with 2 different hair textures on ONE head - Alicia's natural hair is collar bone length, but for the wedding, she wanted a little more length and fullness so we brought in some extensions! I was able to match the colour PERFECTLY, but it is next to impossible to mimic hair textures!

Alicia's natural hair holds a curl beautifully - but the extensions definitely didn't!

I have to say, it was pretty nerve wracking - knowing that Casa Loma didn't have air conditioning and the weather was calling for CRAZY humidity! My fear was the Alicia's natural hair would hold the style we chose but that the extensions would fall straight! Imagine how silly that would look! My anxiety got the best of me, through nightmares the week before! I wasn't just the stylist at this wedding, but also the BFF, reader, and guest -  the entire family/all attendees KNEW it was ME who did the hair! *I had to find a way to make this work while still giving Alicia the "Look" she desired!

Here's how I did it:

I set Alicia's hair in a VERY neat and tidy, traditional "curling iron set." 

I worked from the nape up,clipping the extensions in as I reached the desired locations. 

I was sure to use Glamour Queen and Dust It at the roots, Elastic at the mid-shafts and ends, and Freeze after the hair was curled.

Because I knew the extensions were less likely to hold a curl, I used a smaller curling barrel than I would normally to achieve the *LOOK we were going for!

On the extensions I used my 3/4" Iron and on Alicia's natural hair, I used my 1" Iron.

(Small and Medium Sized Barrels in the Amika Set)

When her entire head was in the SET, I sprayed all over with Freeze and the Sessions (Sessions = Osis' Hardest hold hair spray - AMAZING stuff) 

I kicked Alicia out of my chair and moved on to the other ladies. 

A couple of hours later and I had Alicia sitting in my chair again - it was time to take the set down and see how the curls looked!

Once all of the pins where out I brushed her hair heavily with a cushion brush.

The curls were still VERY strong, but we knew they would drop as soon as we stepped outside!

I sprayed her again with Sessions and her hair looked FABULOUS all night long! Here's the final look!

Classic, Timeless, and Elegant - Just Like Alicia herself!

Rule of Thumb for Hair

So, for the last week I have been pushing our event "Girls Night In at Lift" for the Canadian Cancer Society but now it's over! I wanted to say thanks for all of the help and support it was such a great success and a lot of fun! I will post pictures soon!

Now on to blogging and my regular tips and tricks...

I've been asked too many times to count, "How often should I be getting my hair trimmed?"

Most Hair Stylist will give you the generic answer of "Every 6-8 weeks!" They give this answer for 2 reasons; 
1. For maximum hair health the 6-8 week period will ensure CLEAN ends!
and 
2. Because it get's you back in their chair FREQUENTLY meaning more $$$ for them!

Here's the truth in it all:

The amount of time that you wait between cuts/trims depend on your hair style, your hair length and your hair type!

Let's start with Style: If your hair is extremely "styled," meaning bangs, heavy layering or asymmetrical than you will need to visit your stylist more regularly than someone who has a simple "traditional cut." 

Why you ask? 

Extra length on a very precise and artistic cut can alter the desired shape and design. You may notice that after just 3-4 weeks you feel your hair cut has "lost it's shape."

 On To Hair Length:

Short - Have you ever noticed that the men in your life generally get there hair cut 3 or 4 times the amount that you do? It isn't because their hair grows faster, it's because growth is far more noticeable on short hair than long! Those of you who have short hair, are rarely getting their hair cut to remove split ends, it's to maintain the shape of your style! People say short hair is the lowest maintenance, I totally disagree... I think it's the highest maintenance.

Length of time you should be going between cuts? hmmm, depends on your personal preferences.. as I mentioned you wont be cutting for hair health, so only you will know when your style has grown out! My short cut client's usually visit me every 4-6 weeks to maintain a flawless shape!

Medium - Medium length locks with a traditional cut can go the longest between trims! Why? Because when it grows out it just looks like a long version of your original cut, and your hair isn't so long that the ends split quickly. For you, I say wait as long as you want between cuts! When you desire a new style or your ends start to feel dry... visit your stylist!

Long - Us long locks ladies: 8 weeks should be your maximum wait period between cuts if you want your long hair to look full and healthy! Reason: Think about how old the hair at your ends is... YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS old! I would say my ends are about 6-7 years old. In those 6-7 years I have washed my hair too many times to count, blow dried it, curled it, straightened it, sat in the sun with it, swam with it SOOOOO many times! This repeat ware on the hair is very damaging. The longer your hair, the older your hair, the older your hair the more damaged your hair, the more damaged your hair the more split ends you get the more split ends - the more cuts you need!!!
*Long haired ladies always say "my hair stops growing after a certain length" THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! Here's the reason why it seems that way - Split ends break off the hair shaft, which makes the hair shorter. If you don't trim your hair, it will trim itself in a detrimental way and you will never notice growth because it's breaking off before you can see the difference! Hair breakage also results in an uneven, straggly, and fried look!

Last but not least, Hair Type:

Most Hair types react to the elements relatively the same. However if you have naturally dry hair or THIN hair, you must visit your stylist more frequently! Blame genetics for that!

Dry hair and thin hair, at whatever length will naturally deteriorate faster than other hair types. I suggest regular visits for a trim every 6 weeks for you ladies!

*Styling your hair with product and hot tools can also effect the length between when you need to revisit your stylist. Using heavy products with a high alcohol level will cause the hair to dry out and split = extra visits for trims. The same thing applies to using BAD hot tools without protecting the hair with GOOD products! To prevent damage from styling I suggest the following products:

Amika Irons

Buff (Styling cream and protector) by Osis 

Moroccanoil® Glimmer Shine Spray

Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel

She's known for her trademark suits, little black dresses, and creation of timeless designs that are still popular today. She became an adored style icon famous for her simple yet sophisticated outfits paired with classic accessories - multiple strands of pearls. As Chanel once said,“luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.”

 Thanks Chanel for making fashion comfortable yet classy - bu-bye corsets!

Cues from Coco

Fashion: Embrace comfort, clean lines and masculine flares. Pearls always make an outfit classy!

Make-Up: Emphasize your eyes with strong brows and heavy lashes! 

Over shaping the natural flow of your brow can make your eyes appear smaller and miss shaped. Try trimming your brow's rather than plucking too many hairs. 

If you can see bald spots in your brows fill them in gently. Avoid using a pencil, try using a light touch with a matching powder and liner brush. Quick, light stokes of powder appear much like hair!

Hair: A DEEP SIDE PART! I personally wouldn't wear Coco's hair style in today's world but it's easy to modernize her lock's look! Here's how...

Start with Dry Hair

Spray all over with Osis Glamour Queen

To Finish the Look and help it hold Spray all over with Osis Elastic!

It's a fantastic soft hold spray! 

P.S. I used my 3 Barrel Interchangeable AMIKA curling Iron to get this look! Love love love the versatility of that iron!

Who's your Fashion Icon?

Let me know,

Xo

Amika:Stylers My New BFF

Okay Ladies, Lift Beauty Boutique has been around for years now

But It isn't until now that we are selling HOT TOOLS!

Reason: I hadn't found a brand that I really fell IN LOVE with enough to share with my beloved clients!

2010 is the year of HOT TOOLS for the Lift Beauty Girls!

My suggestion: AMIKA-Stylers...

The post could go on forever if I gave you EVERY reason why I love these stylers, so instead, I give you the main points!


We'll start with the Amika Flat Irons:

• First of all they come in some super cute and totally fun prints and Colours!
• They have "Floating Plates" which prevent creasing on the hair, which means easy styling into STRAIGHT style, Wavey Style and CURLY style.
• They Have NANO-technology which helps your hair hold on to moisture and shine and as well removes pollutants and bacteria from your hair.
• The Amika Iron also has 100% ceramic plates rather than coated plates!
• They use Infrared technology too, which helps lock in moisture and keeps your colour looking fresh!

On To the Curling Irons (My personal Fav's)

• Okay Ladies, you want easy... I'll give you easy!! These wickedly hot tools are something I can't live without anymore! I have the 3p Set which comes with 3 different removable heads for different styling needs! A small, medium and large barrel come with this set which means you can get an infinite amount of different styles from this one purchase!
• The reason I suggest these to people who have a hard time styling there hair, is because the were made with the saying K.I.S.S (Keep it simple stupid) in mind! You will notice the irons don't have a "clip" or Marcel! Instead the iron comes with a heat resistant glove because all you have you to do, is WRAP your luscious locks around the barrel and HOLD!

**Okay, too much babbling, you have seen my hair done with these irons a number of different times but here's a recap:

*For More Info, Call us at 416-960-5438
These are special order items at the moment, so let us know what you want and we will bring it in JUST for you! Xo 

Also, visit http://www.loveamika.com/ For more info and videos on how to style!