Posts Tagged ‘hair’

AND THE WINNER IS…

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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!

OUR FAVORITE BEAUTY SOURCES

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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!

ENCOURAGING YOUR WAVES

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photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

This quick tip is dedicated to all you gorgeous gals with “almost there but not quite” waves.  Tons of TBD readers have mentioned they have hair that’s perfectly wavy on the bottom but gets straight-ish on the top. Some have color damage and some just have 2 textures going on. Today we’re sharing our favorite method for bringing it all together! Sure, you could always use our BRAID METHOD, but sometimes you just want to wear your hair with your OWN natural wave! Plus, it’s fun to be able to work with what you’ve (almost) got so here we go!

You will need: Setting clips, tissue paper (I didn’t want to put tissue paper in the photo because it would have blocked too much of the pattern, but you can put a tiny piece of tissue under each clip to avoid creases!), setting spray (we love  John Frieda Curl Defining Spray ($6) and Ouidad Styling Mist ($16), light serum like Moroccan Oil Light (small $16.60).

  • Air dry your hair as you normally would. Try not to brush your hair after you get out of the shower!
  • Once it’s 85% dry, lightly mist the top layer with your setting spray.
  • Use your tissue paper and clips to set the waves in place. Try to match the pattern of your own natural waves below. It shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes to get these in place!
  • Let it sit for about 20 minutes while you get dressed/do your makeup. If you need to, use your blowdryer on low and give it a little heat help. Make sure you use a nozzle and that your dryer is pointed down toward the floor to avoid frizz.
  • Once you remove the clips, add a little bit of a light serum to your ends and a quick veil of light hold hairspray.

If your hair is super-straight on top, this might not work for you but it’s worth a shot! You may find that your top layer just needed a little more support!

A CHIGNON FOR A FASCINATOR

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photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

Fascinators are becoming more and more popular in the US. Many of our most fashionable friends are building small collections of gorgeous headpieces and that’s reason enough to do a tutorial on a hairstyle that will accomodate them. This is a fairly easy hairstyle to execute and doesn’t require a ton of coordination. In fact, that’s one of the things I love the most about fascinators- they look their best when paired with a simple hair style. Of course you’re not going to wear a fascinator to work, but it’s such a great addition to an outfit when attending any sort of formal party. Okay, here we go!

  1. You’ll need a couple of larger bobby pins and a thin rubberband.
  2. You’ll want a side part for this because the fascinator is going to sit on the side with less hair. Create a section from your ear up to the part as you see in photo 2. Clip all that hair out of the way and save it for the end.
  3. On the side with less hair, twist everything back and over your ear.
  4. Clip it in place using a claw clip.
  5. Lightly tease the rest of your hair. You want to do this so that the bun you’re about to make will be a little fuller. If you have super thick hair you’re welcome to skip this step.
  6. The hair shouldn’t be agressively teased. It should look like picture 6.
  7. Remove the clip and keep twisting in an upward motion. Twist it right into a bun shape and secure using the thin rubberband. Go ahead and insert one of the large bobby pins for security.
  8. Take the section you had clipped up out of the clip. Lightly twist that in an upward direction and wrap it around the bun. Secure it using your other large bobby pin. If you have thicker hair and you need more pins, go for it!
  9. Once everthing is secured, lightly pull at the bun if you want to make it a little bigger. If you like the size of it, you can skip this step.
  10. Spray all over using a firm holding hairspray.

Each fascinator is different. Some come with clips, some with headbands, some with combs, and some vintage ones come with nothing. Attach the fascinator on the side with less hair. I usually recommend attaching it just slightly below the part. You can obviously wear this chignon without a fascinator if you want. Would be great for bridesmaids or any special event for that matter!

Here are my favorite places to score gorgeous fascinators, other than the flea market.