hair colour

Christina Hendricks seems to be everywhere these days - did you know that she even has her own Barbie?!  That's when you know that you've made it! 

I feel a special kinship with Christina my fellow ginger with super pale skin.  The problem with being a redhead - it's especially hard to pull off a perfect, polished makeup look - wear too little and your features fade away, wear too much and it looks Halloweenish. 

Celebrity makeup artist Rachel Goodwin has great tips and tricks for redheads posted at Elle.com that you can find here: 
http://www.elle.com/Beauty/Hair/Celebrity-Beauty-Tips-Makeup-for-Redheads/(imageIndex)/0/(play)/false

Check out the photo gallery of other redheads of note - I'm in great company!  The rest of you will be so envious that you'll be running for the dye box!

In a bid to save a bit of money this month, I decided to give up my monthly visit to the hairdresser, and try out a home hair colourant instead. I've been colouring my hair various shades of red for about 10 years - the last time I coloured it myself, I used L'Oreal Feria. So I decided to stick with what I know and use Feria again, in the Pure Scarlet Power shade; an intense red that looked most similar to the hairdresser-given colour I usually have.

The application process is much the same as any at home colourant I've used; a colour gel is added to a developer and then given a good shake. Feria adds an additional "colour booster", which in this case was an intense red liquid. Once the colour was mixed, it was fairly easy to apply to the roots of my hair, as the bottle nozzle is rather fine, allowing you to get right into the roots.

I used two boxes of colour on my thick, bra strap length hair, and found that the two boxes worth of dye fully saturated my hair. The dye has the usual chemical smell, which I did my best to ignore for the 30 minute development time. It took a long time to rinse the colour out; I spent a good 20 minutes bent over the bath rinsing and washing my hair out with the shampoo provided. My hair was left feeling fairly dry and coarse, and a big dollop of intensive conditioner was needed to smooth it out again.

The colour I ended up with it not the colour on the box. It's much darker, verging on a dark plum shade which glows red in bright light. I'm expecting it to fade down to a more box-like colour in a week or so, but overall I'm disappointed at the darkness of the initial colour, given that my hair was light red when I started out.

Pros: easy to apply, plenty of shampoo provided in the box, great quality gloves, gives great shine
Cons: much darker colour than expected, drying

All in all, worth trying if you're looking for shiny colour with a bit of an edge - but don't expect it to be as bright as the box shade.

L'Oreal Feria home hair colour, £5.67 at Superdrug.

I was lucky enough to attend a party a couple of weeks ago to introduce L'Oréal's newest hair colour innovation - Sublime Mousse!  If you find home colouring to be a messy, time consuming and all-around unpleasant task then you are in for a treat with this new product!

Rather than the usual drippy liquid, this colour is applied as a foam so using it is as easy as putting some in your hand and applying it to your hair as you would your shampoo - all it takes is 4 minutes and you're done!  And because you don't have to worry about it dripping all over the place, you can go about your life while you wait for the colour to develop!  They actually did a live application demo at the party and it really was super quick with no mess.

After the demo, they brought out a bunch of models with various hair shades who had their hair coloured with the product earlier and their hair colours all looked very natural and shiny. 

 L'Oréal Sublime Mousse is available in the 12 below natural shades and retails for $11.99 - my only complaint is going to be that they need more red shades!

If there's anything better then spending a few hours at the salon being beautified, I can't think of what it might be! Two weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of hanging out in Yorkville at the Tony Chaar Salon and being one of the first to enjoy the fruits of the relaunch of Essensity Colour from Schwarzkopf Professional.  If you are a regular colour user who is so over the smell and burning you need to check it out - 0 smell, 0 pain, 0 ammonia and 100% grey coverage! Better still, it actually contains  90% naturally derived ingredients!

If you like the scientific crap, here it is: The uniqueness of ESSENSITY Colour is in its innovative patent-pending technology. Changing a natural hair colour to a different shade relies on the oxidative reaction of hydrogen peroxide on the natural melanin pigment. Rather than using ammonia to lift out the natural pigment to make room for the new one, ESSENSITY is powered by AMEA Technology. AMEA stands for the synergistic combination of two very gentle alkalizing agents: Aminomethylpropanol and Monoethanolamine. By combining these two gentle alkalizing agents, AMEA technology is able to breakdown the natural melansome layer, making the melanin pigments susceptible to hydrogen peroxide. Although the lifting power of AMEA is not as strong as ammonia, the lifting power is impressive and it's done in a gentle way, ensuring a vibrant colour every time. In addition, ESSENSITY colour delivers superb colour performance and leaves the hair shiny and in great condition.

So why have I waited 2 weeks to tell you all about it if it's that wonderful? Well, first I wanted to see how much it would fade before I decided how I really felt about it  - and red is the perfect test for this as it fades the quickest of all the colours!  After 2 weeks I am happy to say that while there is some fading - the tone is slightly lighter and the colour is not quite as vibrant as it was to begin with, it's still plenty red so I'm happy!  I also want to mention my lovely hairdresser for the day at Tony Chaar - Fouad - he gave me exactly the colour I asked for even improving on it a bit by adding a little violet to the mix.  Apparently when you add violet to red it will fade more brown then orange - who knew?! Fouad also gave me the cutest little cut - which I am fondly calling my hot Asian chick look - even if he did try to insist that I'm not edgy enough for the cut - that's what you know Fouad - I am too edgy(ish)!
Schwarzkopf also added some new products to the Essensity line:

Essensity Colour Shampoo - $16.25, Colour Conditioner - $17.25 and Leave-in Mask - $24.75 - are formulated to seal in colour vibrancy and to ensure a healthy and radiant shine.  They contain: Acai - know for providing a rich combination of vitamins, proteins, sugars and anti-inflammatory properties; and Fire Tulip - known for having anti-oxidant, astringent, soothing and anti-bacterial properties.

The stand out product for me is the:
Natural Shine Serum - $21.25 - a feather-light serum that gives a natural velvet shine to the hair surface.  Smoothes the hair while leaving it feeling naturally soft and touchable.  Tames and controls frizzy and flyaway hair without weighing down even the finest of hair and is formulated with natural UV-filters, which provide additional protection.  Contains: Sesame Oil - known for a high content of Vitamins A,B and E and Calcium.Both nourishing and smoothing, it contains a natural antioxidant system that can significantly reduce the rate of oxidation and increases longevity of the colour.  Also acts as an anti-humectant which prevents the hair from absorbing moisture from the atmosphere; and Linseed Oil - known for being a rich source of Vitamins A, E and F (an essential fatty acid) which helps improve the quality of hair.

The products are all 100% free from artificial fragrances, colorants, silicones, PEG's, paraffin/mineral oils and parabens.

You can check out the website to find a salon near you that carries the line:
http://www.schwarzkopf-professional.ca/  and if you're Toronto feel free to go see my friends at Tony Chaar Salon - 11 Hazelton Avenue, Unit 9, Toronto - 416-920-9965 - tell them the very edgy Lisamarie sent you!

Smashbox Lash Revival Treatment and Conditioner - $39 -treatment and conditioning duo for  for noticeably longer, thicker, fuller lashes in as little as 8 weeks.  Can also be used to thicken up sparse brows.  It's easy to use, once a day you glide the treatment along upper lash line only, once dry, generously apply conditioner to lashes.

Brow Tech Trio - $30 - a renovation of the classic Brow, now a trio instead of a duo - now containing a filling powder, defining powder and smoothing wax enabling customization to create the perfect shade.  In five shade combinations: taupe/soft brown, blonde, brunette, auburn and dark brown.  Apply the lighter shade of powder to fill in sparse areas and then use the darker shade to define.  Apply wax to groom brows and keep them in place all day.


göt2b Rockin' it line: Rockin' it Dry Shampoo - 122g - $7.99 - effectively removes oil from hair to instantly refresh your style without having to shampoo as well as offering hold and volume; Rockin' it Hairspray 258g - $7.99 - a flexible and weightless hairspray that is neither sticky or hard to achieve strong but flexible hold; and Rockin' it Gel - 175ml - $7.99 - for strong hold that is non-flaky to mold and shape all hair types.

Clarins Extra-Firming Body Lotion - 200ml - a melting lotion that delivers the ideal solution to loss of skin firmness due to changes in weight or pregnancy. The same benefits are also available as a Extra-Firming Body Cream - 200ml - $60 - in rich, comforting cream form.  Both work on density to boost the production of collagen fibres which help the skin to resist pressure and are responsible for skin density and tone.  Contain Centella and Bocoa extracts which boost the production of collagen fibres and Vu Sua which protects collagen and elastic fibres in skin from glycation, a natural process which results in fibres becoming stiff and rigid.  Skin is replenished and firm and body contours are streamlined and toned.

Clairol Natural Instincts Vibrant - $10.99 - the first Natural Instincts permanent hair colour range! Includes the Week 2 Colour Refresher - a treatment now included in every box of Natural Instincts that turns back the clock to give you the look of freshly coloured hair. - in 12 shades, the formula with antioxidants delivers healthy-looking hair colour and great colour results, providing 100% grey coverage for up to eight weeks. 
Maybelline Superstay 24 - $9.99 - this 2 step lip colour has a film forming technology and a solid structure that flexes with lips while being ultra-resistant that delivers 24 hour wear - in 4 colour families and 30 long-lasting shades to choose from.  I must admit that I'm not usually a big fan of long lasting lipsticks because I find them really drying and I end up applying the top coat a billion times a day just to counteract the effect.  This one feels a lot moister going on and doesn't dry and feel stiff like the other ones seemed to.  This one has great staying power, feels great on and it didn't take a brillo pad to get it off - just an oil based remover.  I'll be happy when they get this out of a display and into the regular products - it was impossible to see all the colours as it looked like a pack of rabid animals had ravaged the display!

Disclosure: This service was provided free of charge by Headmasters' PR.

This is me, and my hair in its au naturel state. It's not an incredibly inspiring start.



A couple of hours later, my hair had been transformed into this:


These buoyant waves are all thanks to the ministrations of stylist Darren at Headmasters in Hanover St., central London.

I was invited as part of a PR event to come along for a Valentine's blowdry last week. After meeting Darren and choosing one of Headmasters' off-the-peg 2010 blowdries as a starting point, I enjoyed a shampoo, condition and scalp massage. The salon has a bank of sinks set apart from the main work area, with luxurious reclining chairs and silver beaded curtains between each one. Very relaxing.

I was then escorted to one of the stations in the main body of the salon, which is a light and airy space spread over two floors. Darren applied styling products to lift and give texture to my hair, and then rough-dried it all over. Next, he divided the hair into sections and began blow-drying it in loose curls with a big ceramic radial brush.

It's great watching a seasoned professional at work - Darren, who has worked at HM for ten years, wielded the brush and dryer with incredible speed and skill. After that, he indulged my wish for more curls, using heated styling tongs to define the ends. Once that was done, he let the hair cool for a short while to allow the style to set, before "zhuzzhing" it with fingertips into a looser, more natural shape.

It was a lovely experience and I found Darren very thorough and his work of amazing quality. The atmosphere in the salon is professional but quite relaxed, and I didn't find it intimidating in the way that some salons can be. Obviously being there for a press event isn't the same as going for a regular appointment, but I hope this gives some indication of what you can expect when you visit Headmasters.

While at the salon I learned that Headmasters are offering a half-price sale on all hair colour treatments between now and March 12. To give you an idea of the prices;

* Vegetable Colour from £20
* Half Head Foils from £58
* Full Head Tissue Lights from £100

Full details of salon branches (there are 40 across the UK) are at Headmasters website or you can ring them on 08700 841 400 to find out where your local one is. I'm told that the half-price colour appointments book up quick, so call now if you're interested.

RoC Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler - 10ml - $49 - formulated with Hyaluronic Acid, it re-plumps the skin immediately and reduces the look of deep wrinkles by up to 40% in just four weeks. Ideal for targeting the appearance of deep wrinkles around the mouth, forehead and eyes.  It's packaged in an syringe-like pump so it's good for getting the product right where you need it if you can get past the somewhat creepy way it looks like a needle.  I tried it out on this annoying wrinkle I have been getting above my lip by sleeping on my stomach and it really does immediately give a filling effect that makes it disappear so I'm hooked!
RoC Complete Lift Lifting Face & Neck Roll-on - 50ml - $49 - clinically proven to provide instant and ongoing visible skin firming and lifting results in the areas most prone to sagging and provides a two mm lift in the look of skin around the jawline.  Improvements in the skin's lifted look can be seen in just two weeks.  I think the best part is the really big roll-on applicator which feels nice and cool on the skin and also makes it easy to apply it quickly!

Maybelline Fit Me Collection - a shade-aligned system of foundation, concealer, powder and blush meant to perfectly harmonize with your skin.  It is specially formulated to allow skin to breathe without clogging pores while providing a fresh, natural face.  The line consists of:
Fit Me Foundation - $10.49 - with a unique translucent base combined with ultra-lightweight refined pigments which allows the foundation to give an excellent replication of your skin's natural shade while providing a natural coverage.  In 18 shades. I'm happy to see it has a decent SPF of 18.
Fit Me Powder - $10.49 - a lightweight, blendable formula with a natural, non cakey finish to apply flawlessly and match every skin tone.  In 18 shades that correspond with the foundation shades.
Fit Me Concealer - $10.49 - conceals imperfections without hiding the skin's natural radiance.  In 6 shades.
Fit Me Blush - $10.49 - with a silky soft texture that blends easily for soft, fade-free natural colour that lasts. In 12 shades.
Fit Me Bronzer - $10.49 - same deal as the blush in 3 shades.
L'Oréal Root Rescue - $9.99 - 10 minutes to a root-less life!  It has 100% grey coverage, low ammonia gel formula, a quick precision applicator and comes in 12 shades: 3 Soft Black, 4 Dark Brown, 4R Dark Auburn, 5 Medium Brown, 5G Medium Golden Brown, 6 Light Brown, 6A Light Ash Brown, 6R Light Auburn, 6.5G Light Golden Brown, 7 Dark Blonde, 8 Medium Blonde and 9 Light Blonde

L'Oréal The Onesweep Eye Shadow - $13.99 - with an applicator that fits your eye shape it's meant to give you perfect application of 3 colours in one easy sweep.  Available in 8 combos:  Natural for blue, brown, green or all eyes and Playful for blue, brown, green and all eyes.
L'Oréal Double Extend Eye Illuminator - $14.99 - a lengthening mascara on one end and an illuminaing topcoat on the other.  Available in 4 colours:  Black Copper for blue eyes, Black Bronze for green eyes, Black Quartz for brown eyes and Black Crystal for all eyes.

Hair on the Avenue at 112 Avenue Road in Toronto was the location of an exciting Clairol product launch a few weeks ago.  If you are sick of messy hair colour that drips all over the place you will want to read on:

Introducing Clairol Nice 'n Easy Color Blend Foam - $9.99 - it's the Nice 'n Easy that you know and love but in a different formulation that eliminates the mess - instead of a liquid, this colouring is a mousse!

It's very easy to use, you just mix the two parts together the way you normally would and then shake the hell out of it, add the pump and you're ready to rock and roll.

The interesting thing about the application method is that rather then applying the liquid to your hair and then rubbing it in with your fingers, you actually squeeze the foam into your hand and apply it the way you would a hair mousse. This actually gives you more control because then you know exactly where it is going.  The best part, it really doesn't drip!  I tried it on the weekend and applied it while sitting on the couch in front of the tv with no mirror.  Not a single drop did I get on my velvet (yea, it was kind of a stupid idea in hindsight, this could have turned out bad) couch!  If you do it without a mirror I will caution you to make sure you swipe your finger along your hairline when you are done, I didn't and of course a whole bunch of the foam collected there giving me a nice dye line on my skin.  The other great thing is that there is so much more product volume because it's a mousse.  I still had 2/3 of a bottle left when I was finished.  My hair is fairly short but we were shown at the launch that the foam has 3 times the amount of volume of a normal hair dye - so if you normally have to buy two boxes of colour to cover your hair, you are going to save a lot of money!

The results were great, a nice rich colour which still showed my highlights and my hair felt soft and shiny afterwards.

What I don't like about it - well the smell, but I have yet to try an at-home permanent colour that doesn't stink, hopefully someone will fix that one soon!  And the conditioner - rather then one of the nice big squeeze tubes you usually get that is good for 4-5 uses, you get 2 packets.  1 to use when you colour and 1 to use a week later.

Look for it in your usual haunt come February - it will be available in 18 shades: 2 - Black, 4 - Dark Brown, 4RB - Dark Reddish Brown, 5 - Medium Brown, 5A - Medium Ash Brown, 5G - Medium Golden Brown, 5RB - Medium Reddish Brown, 6 - Light Brown, 6.5G - Lightest Golden Brown, 6A - Light Ash Brown, 6G - Light Golden Brown, 6R - Light Auburn, 7 - Dark Blonde, 8 - Medium Blonde, 8A - Medium Ash Blonde, 8C - Medium Champagne Blonde, 8G - Medium Golden Blonde, 9 - Light Blonde.

When I was recently asked to be a hair model in a contest for hairdressers, I was game, I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to my hair, I mean - it's just hair, it grows!

I was excited to find out that the contest was being run by INOA - the newish L'Oréal Professionnel haircolour to introduce their new red shades.  You may recall that in the summer, I had my hair done by the lovely Susan at Taz Hair Co. with INOA, but in a copper since that was the closest there was to red at the time.

It sounded easy, I didn't have to do anything but show up, have my hair coloured, cut and get my picture snapped.  That just goes to show what I know!

I showed up at Beauty Concept Salon and met Shirley and Maggie Wu who are so lovely and seemed to have a clear vision for what my hair was going to look like!  Three different red shades of INOA, a whole lot of foils and the best part, no smell later - I had this beautiful vibrant colour!

It was then cut, and something to keep in mind if someone ever asks you to be a hair model, the cuts for these photos are often a bit avant garde - my hair looks pretty normal in this picture but it's actually very asymmetrical and quite a lot longer on the other side so it's the kind of cut that really needs to be styled in order to look good, and since I'm more of a wash and go kind of girl, it's not the kind of cut that works with my everyday lifestyle.  After killing off the ozone layer with hairspray and having a full face of makeup applied it was picture time!  This is where I discovered that modeling is as hard as it looks on America's Next Top Model!

Of course you want to know if there's something in this for you - well along with the hairdressers contest is a voting contest - vote for a picture and you also get to enter the contest to win a year's worth of free INOA hair colour services!

To vote, go to: http://inoa.reminc.ca/transformations.php - if you want to vote for my picture, it would be most appreciated by Shirley and Maggie - just look for the above picture with their names below it and click on the picture and then push the "like" button at the bottom - just don't laugh at the before picture, it is awful on purpose! You can vote once a day - and enter the contest every time you vote.  Contest ends December 3rd.

If you want to visit Shirley or Maggie at Beauty Concept for your own revolutionary red (or other colour) you can find them in Mississauga or Markham - check it out at www.shirleybeautyconcept.com

In the meantime, I won't be quitting my day job to become a model!