hair

AND THE WINNER IS…

We’re excited to bring you the winner of our Pick Your Own TBD Tutorial and thank you to everyone who voted! The look you chose was LOOK 3! We’ve partnered with Vidal Sassoon Pro Series to create a step-by-step breakdown on how to get this look yourself and think you’ll love just how easy it is to do. This tutorial shows us how to get natural texture + a little volume without using a curling iron. Here’s how:

TOOLS:

 

  1. Start by washing your hair and only conditioning the ends lightly. On towel dried hair, spray Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Color Protect Spray from the middle to ends. This is an amazing light-weight conditioner that not only protects but also helps close the cuticle, creating more shine.
  2. Next up, pump a golf ball-sized amount of Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Boost & Lift Foaming Air Mousse into the palm of your hands.
  3. Massage it evenly throughout your roots. Really work it in to avoid ” flat spots” where you may have missed with product. If you spend a couple minutes getting it evenly distributed, you’ll get a better result with mousse!
  4. Now toss your hair all to one side and blow dry on high.
  5. Flip it to the other side and do the same. It’s okay to go back and forth. You want to get it about 90% dry, leaving just a little bit of moisture. NOTE: If you’re blowing out curly hair to get this look, blow it out all the way! 100% dry! Then see step 7!
  6. Last, flip completely upside down and make sure you dry the area by the nape of your neck.
  7. OPTIONAL: If you’ve blown out curly hair and it’s now 100% dry, spray a little bit of Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Repair & Finish Spray. This will restore a small amount of moisture and allow your hair to take the shape of the wave without causing the hair to curl back up.
  8. While your hair is still warm from blowdrying, wind all of it into a tight bun at the crown of your head (as you see in photo 8!) and secure it with pins. We prefer using hair pins (aka: U-pins) for this so they’re not too tight, but you can use bobbypins if you’re careful not to open them too wide. Avoid using ponytail holders as they can leave an unwanted crease. If you have shorter hair, you can make 2 buns by dividing the hair into two sections– one up top and one in back.
  9. Try and leave your hair in bun for at least 30 minutes. It needs time to cool in order to take the wave shape. This is great for those of you who do your hair at night because you can sleep on it and get an even better wave! Once the hair has cooled, remove the pins and lightly brush the ends if neccessary. Literally all we did in this photo was take it down after 30 minutes of cool down time, shake it out and brush the last 1 inch using a comb. If you want to, you can go over any unruly pieces with a large barrel curling iron or you can hit the ends with a flat iron for an edgier look.

Thank you to Vidal Sassoon Pro Series for collaborating with us on such a fun voting post. Good luck everyone and show us your waves on Instagram! Tag us @thebeautydept!

hair

TAKE YOUR PICK

Photos: Kristin Ess Post: Kristin Ess + Amy Nadine (Post sponsored by Vidal Sassoon Pro Series)

Fifty years ago, Vidal Sassoon believed that ‘every woman should have great hair’.  Before him, hairstyles were beautiful but often stiff, piled on top of the head + required a lot of maintenance. In celebration of such an icon in our industry, we’ve created three Sassoon-inspired looks for you to vote on! The look that gets the most votes will be broken down into a step-by-step TBD-style tutorial using Vidal Sassoon Pro-Series styling products. Voting ends at midnight PST on Thursday May 2nd. We can’t to see which look is your favorite!

Look 1- Sleek + Shiny: A tutorial on how to flat iron the right way. We’ll show you how to get sleek, straight, shiny hair using Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Crème Color Gloss, Heat Protectant Spray and a flat iron.

Look 2- Short + Soft: A tutorial on how to get various textures on short hair using Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Foaming Air Mousse. We’ll also give you the details on how to restore moisture to hair that feels dry from over-styling, coloring or bleaching by using Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Combing Crème for intense moisture.

Look 3- Natural Volume + Texture: This will be a tutorial on getting natural looking fullness and texture using Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Foaming Air Mousse, Repair & Finish Spray and your blow dryer. No curling iron required!

VOTE HERE!

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THE MINI FRENCH BRAID

Wait! Come back! Don’t be intimidated by this teeny tiny braid. It may look intricate and kind of difficult but if you can do a regular french braid, you can do this! It’s basically the same exact method as the french braid but you take tiny strands from around the face. We shot this in great detail, which is why there are so many steps, but it’s actually really easy and fast. Here we go…

photos + post: Kristin Ess

You’ll need a comb, a mini clear elastic (optional), a curling iron or wand, and a mirror where you can see the back of your head. READ MORE…

hair

WATER COLOR HYDRATING HAIR MASQUE

Just when you think the rainbow and pastel tint trend is coming to a close, someone comes out with something like this and you just can’t wait to get your hands on it. It’s pretty safe to say that most of us got our hair color fix from HAIR CHALKING last year. And though hair chalks are really fun, they can be a bit drying because they’re made from a pigmented powder. This year we’re about to flip the script and get our color on using conditioner. The concept is nothing new– as you may know we were obsessed with the color conditioners by Davines, but there was really only one shade that made a major splash and that was PINK.! Luckily, WATER COLOR HYDRATING HAIR MASQUE has come out with a gorgeous array of pretty pigmented conditioners. I’ve tried them on a couple of clients over the past week and have loved each one so far. We mixed some of them together (like the yellow and seafoam to make mint) and they turned out amazing. For my girls with super light ends, I’ve added a little regular conditioner into my hands to make a hue that’s more pastel than pop. They’ve lasted about 2-5 shampoos and the big bonus– they don’t rub off on your clothes!! They work better if you have some lighter pieces in your hair but I was happy to see that “Ocean” showed up on brunette hair as well. Overall, these are getting the TBD stamp of approval for fun with color this summer!

 

Photos: (top) Zanita Morgan for Fashion Gone Rogue , (bottom) Naomi Yang for Vogue Taiwan

hair

OUR FAVORITE BEAUTY SOURCES


photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

Over the past decades or so it seems like sources for beauty products (both pro and not-so-pro) have multiplied in a way that’s almost overwhelming. It’s hard to tell which spots have the goods and which ones just have a good facade. As professional hair + makeup artists we search high and low, online and offline, for the best products at all price points and we want to share our resources with you guys. Here we go!

(Click the name to be taken to the source!)

1. Favorite Nail Polish Sources:

  • Beauty.com – great range of polish brands in one spot. They always seem to have the ones that are hard to find.
  • American Apparel – plain + simple, they just have great color options.
  • Wilshire Beauty Supply – fave spot in LA for new trend releases when I want to see them in person. (They also have the best nail tools!)
  • Sephora - an obvious leader in the nail trends game.

2. Favorite Makeup Brush Sources:

  • Hakuhodu – some of the finest brushes in the world.
  • Cozette – Vegan! Love!
  • Make Up For Ever – available at Sephora.com, and Make Up For Ever Boutiques.

3. Favorite Bobby Pin Sources:

4. Best High-end, Middle-end + Affordable Products All In One Place:

  • ULTA- from Frederic Fakkai to Wella to Tresemme they have it all. It’s like hair, makeup, skin + nail heaven. They also stock a large range of Hot Tool curling irons which are our favorite. (BTW- We snag codes from Robot Oatmeal to get discounts + free shipping at Ulta!)

5. Best Fragrance Shop On Earth:

6. Pro Beauty Supplies (All great spots for hair + makeup artists specializing in TV/Film, or anyone who just wants to get in on the goods!):

7. Best Department Stores for Makeup: (We love big department stores because they let you try almost anything before you buy!)

  • Bergdorf’s – in-store + online.
  • Henri Bendel’s - in-store + online.
  • Bloomingdales - - in-store + online.
  • Nordstrom - in-store + online.
  • Macy’s – good source for Clairsonics + Brush sets, often on sale! In-store + online.
  • Neiman Marcus - in-store + online. Love their beauty replenishment service! If you run out of something (like foundation or powder) every month or two, you can set a date and they’ll automatically send you a new one!

8. Best Places To Shop Drug Store Brands:

  • Target - There’s nothing better for drugstore beauty, really. Have you guys checked out the new Target City’s that are popping up??? They. Are. Amazing! We also love that Target it expanding it’s natural lines like Burt’s Bees as well as their products for CURLY HAIRED GIRLS, like Mixed Chicks and Miss Jessies! HOORAY!!
  • CVS/Walgreens
  • Walmart
  • Drugstore.com (go to the drugstore without leaving the house.)

9. Best Place To Find Cool New Trends In Beauty:

  • We’re going with Sephora because they usually lock down the cool new stuff first and make it available to all of us, no matter where we live.
  • Also check out all of the Pro Beauty Supplies listed in #6.

10. Best Place For Hair Chalks:

11. Best Place To Find Hot Tools:

12. Nail Art Wheels (good for practicing your skills before doing them on yourself, and fun to build a collection of nail art wheels!)

13. Best Airbrush Makeup Machine:

14. Best Travel Products:

  • 3floz.com – they carry travel sizes of most of the brands we use and love! No more mess with filling bottles!

15. Best Nail Brands For New Trends:

  • Zoya – pixie dust + gold flakes!
  • Ciate – caviar nails, velvet nails, sequined manis!? Yes please.

Got a secret source you want to add? Please do so below! We want to hear them all, no matter where you live!