Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask

After I finished my (literally huge tub) of moroccan oil leave in conditioner, I was on the market for a new one. Growing up to even now, many have the perception that asian hair is so smooth and silky. My hair, on the other hand is coarse and wavy. My hair is thin, but I have a lot of it and you add the frizziness to it - woof.. I really need those leave in masks LOL.

Eva NYC contacted me to try their Therapy Session Hair Mask. And I've been using it on the daily for the past couple of weeks and I've been loving it so much! Their Therapy Session Hair Mask has Keravis Protein and Argan Oil which deeply conditions, repairs and strengthens hair. It has a nice musky smell to it that after a while, still smells really beautiful. Occasionally after I'm walking about my day, I'll get a whiff of it and will be like oh yeah that's my hair mask!

How I use it: 
I put this product, which is a thick conditioner consistency (when you put the product upside down, it won't fall), in my hair after I washed my hair and left it in for 5-10 minutes as I washed the rest of my body. Then I when I washed it out - it was so smooth and soft.. and definitely free of knots. Although it didn't completely cure my frizziness (what can...?! lol!), I can definitely feel the difference in how smooth my hair looked after I blowdried it!

As you can see - the product, upside down on my finger does not drip off! 

This, similar to the Morroccan Oil leave in conditioner, is a huge (pretty!) tub of product. There is 16.9 fl. oz. so it'll definitely last you a while! It is also a great value at $14.99 (although on the evanyc website it's $18, so if you want to purchase, don't purchase from there! lol). Actually if you want to get the best bang for your buck, they sell it at Costco for 2/22.99!

What you get inside of the container

I know that this product can be purchased online on the evanyc website, at ulta, bed bath and beyond, or in-stores at old navy!

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Bridal Hair - Low Chignon

So many gals message me to ask me for inspiration photos for their wedding - and of course, top request is ALWAYS for the low chignon!!!!!

I'm going to share with you three of my FAVORITE low chignon looks I've done and the products I used to get the perfect look :) All three of these looks have braids incorporated in different ways. In the first, there are small braids to give a bit more texture with a more texture, intertwined looked. The second (unicorn hair is the BEST!) has a fishtail braid going down the side. And the third is a dutch braid. These give more of a bit of fun rather than the traditional textured chignon!

Products I ALWAYS use when I'm making these perfect chignons: 

1. Aveda Brilliant Damage Control Styling Spray - of course, I must start with a good thermal protectant. This one help to protect your hair against any combing or heat. 

2. Aveda Smooth Infusion Nourishing Styling Creme - this allows the hair to fight against humidity from the beginning! 

3. Aveda Air Control Light Hold Hair Spray - This is my ALL TIME favorite hairspray. I think I've gone through over 5 bottles already. It doesn't add any extra weight to your hair, doesn't make it "crunchy" but allows for great holding powder. this is the PERFECT finisher to allow your hair to stay in place without it looking heavy! (MUST HAVE!) 

4. Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil - This is a must have for anyone with coarse or dry hair. I use this before I begin pinning hair! 

5. Kérastase Carré Lissant Smoothing Sheets - I RECENTLY just found these.. and they are AMAZING! They look like dryer sheets but I use them at the end to tame any extra frizz, get rid of static or flyaways - this is a perfect on the go product. I now send my brides with some of these, especially if they are taking photos outdoors and I can't touch them up!  

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My New Haircut + Color by Aveda in FourteenJay!

My hair love - Aveda <3 <3 <3

When they offered to send me over to the fancy FourteenJay in Tribeca to get my hair cut and colored (especially when its with Aveda products..) ... how could I say no!?!?

Here is my ... horrendous 'before' pic LOL:
It needed saving - it needed to not look like straw on a hot day being sizzled. It needed to not look heavy as a cow.. lol


I've never had an experience quite like this -- and it was my first time getting my hair colored, so I was uber nervous! When I arrived, it was beautiful and bright. I was greeted by the sweet manager, Michelle, who directed me to my hair colorist.. MASTER colorist David and the beautiful hair cutter and stylist Heather.

Heather offered me a drink (they had tea, water, cappuccino, etc.) I opted for a water, but I took a pic of someone else's cappuccino LOL! And it even came with a cute little cookie! Thought it was such a cute touch.


Anyway.. then David sat down in the seat next to me and wanted to chat! lol. He asked me what I did, and wanted to kinda get to know me. Then he asked about my hair and what I wanted to do. I showed him a picture of basically... my hair. LOL. I told him I just wanted it to be fresher, a bit bouncier since it was feeling dry and heavy.. and since I've never dyed my hair before, that I just wanted a little bit of caramel-y brown colors, but only near the bottom (kinda balayage  -ish?!) because I can't handle if it were to grow out.

Then he and Heather conversed and decided together what we should do .. and off he went to go make my color! Now from that moment to when he was foiling my hair, I really had no clue what he was doing. He teased some bits, moved around some hair, painted it, foiled it. It was all so new to me - so I just let him do his thing.

After the process, I sat and took selfies for about 30 minutes. Then it was time to go wash my hair. David himself washed my hair as another gentleman massaged my hands. David even gave me a moisture masque (which I believe comes with your color service)

Then I was off to get my hair cut. It was so interesting, because Heather had me stand as she cut my hair. It was the first time anyone has ever done that before! However, she was right, she said its not accurate when I cut behind a chair, I want to make sure you get your hair to be the exact length you want! And then as we chatted away, she cut some layers - explaining her process as she went along. Then she introduced me to the thickening tonic which helped to make my hair look fuller and gave me tips on how to use my FAVORITEEEE air control hairspray to help give my crown some volume.


She then curled my hair.. and I literally felt like a new women! I love the way my hair ended up looking -- so healthy, fresh, voluminous and bouncy!!! So many people have complimented my hair and have had to do double takes to say, "wait, was your hair always that color!?" and then I went on a whole shpeal on my awesome experience at fourteenjay lol!

Thank you SO much FourteenJay and Aveda for this amazing experience! I am now obsessed with wanting to color my hair and I'm thankful I have the products to maintain it! Had SUCH a lovely time there chatting, getting to know you all and getting my hair to look alive again! Thanks especially to David, Heather and Michelle of FourteenJay and to Heather and Steph at Aveda! XO 

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Bridal Hair & Makeup Trial - Natural Look

Hi friends! I have another hair and makeup trial for you. Meredith reached out to me about a year a go asking for me to do her hair and makeup for her wedding. She's someone I went to Middle School and High School with, so it was so lovely and nostalgic to be able to see her again and catch up!

She doesn't wear makeup on a day to day basis, so she wanted something very natural and close to what she looks like on the regular. She did however tell me one thing she wanted to do was help some of the redness around her face. So I used one of my all time favorite redness products, bye-bye redness by it cosmetics! :) So all I really did was even out her skin tone, warm up her complexion a bit, give her a little more definition around the eye area and gave her a natural lip color. For her hair, she wanted a sleek look that was out of her face and neck with an inside out braid.

She has always been one of the sweetest, no fuss girls. and it totally showed, since I finished her trial in an hour! (generally it takes appx 3 hours)

Here's how she came out! :)

before :)

after!

just a hint of shimmer and definition on the eyes! 

her inside out braided hair look. I ended up make a small bun out of the ends since it wouldn't tuck in because her hair was a bit long.. but I love how it came out! 

Meredith, it was so great catching up and seeing you again after all these years! I can't wait for your big day! xoxo

Products used: 

Eyes: mac naked lunch, jouer amaretto, urban decay primer potion, benefit are they real mascara, mac black track liner 

Face: Itcosmetics bye-bye redness, ben nye foundation, nars creamy radiant concealer, makeup forever HD powder 

Cheeks: MUFE bronzer, jouer peach bouquet 

Lips: Mac Supreme Sheen in Ultra Darling, Jouer Lipgloss in Divine

Hair: SexyHair Soy Touchable Hairspray

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Bridal Hair Trial!

I'm so used to posting up trials of girls that I do, I totally forgot to post up pictures from my own bridal hair trial!!!! 

Some of you may know, I am opting to do my own makeup because I'm just so particular about the way my makeup looks. Even if everyone in the world thinks a certain look looks amazing on me, there is still a particular way I like to see my own makeup!! (so anal i know ha!) I know that my hair, although I can do it myself, can be a bit of a frustration on my wedding day.. so I knew I was going to get a hair stylist. 

Ever since before my sister's wedding, when my sister's friend got her hair done by this hairstylist.. about 4 years ago, I KNEW i wanted to book her. IMHO, she's one of the BEST! 

I booked Sachiko Yanese, who was originally trained in Tokyo and was a top hairstylist and makeup artist. Because she wanted to test her skills and she came on over to NYC and has been here for the past 15 years. I even had the honor of working side by side with her at on of my friend's weddings! Her upbeat and infectious personality, and positive attitude made this experience so easy and fun! 

--

Here was the inspiration photo. I really wanted something that was romantic, loose and curly. I didn't want it to be too 'bun'-ish so I could take my hair down later on in the day and so I could put lots of hair  accessories in my head! 

so sorry, i don't have the source for this, i just screenshot it!
if anyone knows, please let me know so i can source it! 

And here is how my hair turned out. Omg I am in love. My friend is making hair pins for me, so I didn't have them on hand, but I will be wearing the feather for the reception [weegardens, etsy] and that headband fascinator [off saks] for pictures! (I also have a little top hat thing that I totally forgot to bring) 

[Also remember at a hair trial, she doesn't really use hairspray so she can keep changing up the hairstyle as needed!]

closeup!

side view

back view

back view with the headband fascinator!

I loved how soft and free flowing my hair looked. I think it looks so romantical and perfect! I was so happy with the look! 

Because we had some extra time since I already was set on this hairstyle, I told her about our afterparty and how I wanted to look rockerchic haha! I also had this gorgeous headband that I wanted to try to use - so she had a ball bumpin' up my hair SO high and letting loose some curls! I loved this look, it was totally fun! She even gave me some extra pins and hair products to help me do my own hair for that night! 

If you are in the NY area and need your hair or makeup did, i would 10000% recommend using Sachiko. You can check out her website here :) 

And look for a vlog soon ;) 

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