ALL SANDBOX NEW

By now you should already know my love for Salon Nordine & Day Spa. From my on air hair makeover and then our Cosmo Biz Salon Magazine collaboration, I continually turn to Rachel Wetsel and Diana Rivera from Salon Nordine when I want a fresh look.

The salon held a blogger brunch last month at their Mosaic location with delicious and healthy food from True Foods Kitchen and complimentary services. I was treated to a blowout, pedicure, and brow shaping! It couldn't have come at a better time for me as I can't see my feet anymore and am lucky if do anything but air dry my hair.

If you haven't visited Salon Nordine, (why haven't you?!) I have the perfect opportunity for you to go see them and get a FREE BLOWOUT! Check out all the images from the blogger beauty brunch and then see details on how to win a blowout from Salon Nordine.



Salon Nordine & Day Spa - Blowout Giveaway

Looking for a salon in DC to get both your nails and hair styled? Check out One80 Salon's "Mani Blowout Bar", a simultaneous blowout and manicure experience.


One80 Salon in downtown DC treated me to complimentary service at their "Mani Blowout Bar" for my baby shower. It was the perfect solution to a time constrained morning. Each service, blowout and manicure, normally takes about 45 minutes, but the "Mani Blowout Bar" experience is a total of 45 minutes for both. Since my hair is thick, I was there for about an hour - still fast enough to make it back for my shower before noon.

Before being introduced to One80 Salon's "Mani Blowout Bar", I would have needed to make time to get a manicure the day before and then scheduled an appointment for my hair at a different location that morning. The "Mani Blowout Bar" at One80 Salon saves time and stress.

The cost for both services is $65 (if you want shellac polish, it's an additional $15). It's an excellent gift idea for family and friend and is a service I will definitely take advantage of again after my baby arrives - when time will be even more fleeting.

In addition to their hair services, One80 Salon also offers spa services, including signature facials, waxes, massages, and collagen eye treatments.

For more details on the "Mani Blowout Bar" visit One80 Salon at 1275 K Street NW, online at http://www.one80salon.com, or call them at (202) 842-9113.

Thank you so much to Alanea (hair), Marina (nails), and One80 Salon for pampering this mom-to-be! Both ladies did an excellent job and made me feel beautiful.

I'm excited to share that I'm in the December issue of Cosmo Biz Salon magazine! Cosmo Biz Salon is a trade magazine for beauty professionals with a circulation of about 10,000 nationwide. The magazine is mostly seen in beauty supply stores, major salons, and beauty schools. They reached out to me a back in October to see if I would be interested in being featured in a two page article, and I immediately thought it would be a great opportunity to collaborate again with my glam squad gals, Rachel Wetsel and Diana Rivera from Salon Nordine & Day Spa in Mosaic District. Together, we came up with two looks, day-time and night-time, with Diana and Rachel styling my hair and me styling the clothing. Here's what we came up with - I present...from Conference to Concert...


The day-time look is something I'd definitely wear to a meeting with a design client. Though now that I see it, I think the addition of black tights (maternity in my case) would be even better. I'm wearing a Brooks Brothers white button-up blouse under a fit-and-flare dress from Banana Republic. I added a plaid blazer from Zara, 'matador' tie, and black cape for some extra dimension and love how the look can change throughout the day as layers are removed. On my feet are booties from Dolce Vita.

To compliment the look Diana and Rachel gave me a sleek low ponytail that would keep hair out of my face as I'm writing\coding at my computer or showing a client that I'm 'a creative' that means business.


My hair is definitely the rockstar of the night-time look! With A LOT of teasing, hair product, and bobbie pins, Rachel and Diana gave me the coolest faux hawk with side braids and a clip-in piece of pink hair. I instantly felt like one of my style crushes - rocker mom, Gwen Stefani, and I also ain't no hollaback girl.

I'm wearing black faux leather leggings and black booties from Zara, a leather jacket, muscle tank, and sunglasses from H&M, and earrings and necklace from Hanuel (c/o).


What do you think? The night-time look was obviously my favorite, and I wish I could rock that faux hawk everyday!

See the full magazine article on page 58-59 of Cosmo Biz Salon. Thank you so much to Tabitha from Cosmo Biz Salon for providing these images (Diana took the first one) and to Hanuel for providing my jewelry.

SHOP THE LOOKS \\

I love getting blowouts, and I never thought to go to the Hair Cuttery for one. I was recently given the opportunity to give Hair Cuttery a try (c/o). Since the price list stated only $20 for a shampoo and blowdry and the DC location was convenient for me, I was very curious to see what the experience would be like.

\\ BEFORE \\

This is how my hair normally looks - straight with a little bit of bed head in the back (let's be honest). I asked my stylist for a shampoo and blowout with "beach waves". My stylist seemed a little unsure of what I was asking for so I pulled up a picture for her on my phone, and I felt we were both in agreement that she would give me "big curls". She let me know upfront that it would cost $35 total. That's more than I expected to pay but agreed since I was provided a $50 gift card to try out the service.

\\ AFTER \\

The whole appointment took about 45 minutes. While I don't think she gave me "beach waves", I didn't think the tight curls looked bad. They were pretty, and I received some compliments on my hair. The reason I was charged $15 more than I expected was because a flat iron was used to create the curls (an "iron set" is an extra $15). Would I return to Hair Cuttery for another blowout? Possibly...but I would try another location or stylist. My stylist was sweet and friendly but even with a picture example wasn't able to give me exactly what I wanted.

Have you ever tried Hair Cuttery for a blowout? What was your experience like?

Disclosure: I have received promotional consideration and a free salon service from Hair Cuttery

Since getting pregnant, my skin has been a mess, and I now break out all the time. What used to be an occasional blemish on my chin turned into 2-3 new zits/white heads every day, and they're not just on my chin. They're everywhere - my forehead, cheeks, scalp, body... (I apologize if I'm grossing you out, but I feel it's necessary to share this 'fun" side of pregnancy that no one shared with me.) I was in desperate need of a facial and luckily, got treated to one at La Jolie European Skin Care in Chevy Chase.


Since my skin problems were all new to me, I showed up at my appointment at La Jolie not knowing exactly what could\should be done for my skin in my condition (some products are off limits when you're pregnant). After consulting with the esthetician, Silva, she recommended that I get a form of the "Quick Fix Facial" using only products that would be gentle on my skin and considerate of my pregnancy. My treatment included aromatherapy (lavender, tea tree, chamomile), several masks that were delicately applied with a brush, and a surprising (and much needed) foot and neck massage. Afterwards, my skin felt completely cleansed and exfoliated. It was wonderful and just the kind of pampering I wanted.


After my treatment, Silva recommended that I take home Young & Pure Acne Drying Gel. She said to use it every night on spots where I could feel acne forming, and the product would dry out that spot. I've been using it since my facial and am so much happier with my skin. It also helped to hear Silva tell me that for every pimple I pick or touch, 3-4 more will form. I hear her voice in my head every time I get the urge to pick. My skin isn't perfect or near the condition it was before my pregnancy hormones kicked in, but I feel like it's finally manageable thanks to Silva's help and advice.


If you're looking for skincare services in the DC area, consider La Jolie European Skin Care.

I've been wanting to change my hair for some time now. It's not that there was anything wrong with my hair. Some days (like this one) I really loved having long hair, but most days, it was just too much work to keep untangled. I'm fickle. I needed a change - a BIG change - but I wasn't really sure what to do. I started showing everyone this picture of Korean model Soo Joo with platinum blonde hair (OB-sessed!) but knew this kind of hair would never make sense for me. It'd be way too high maintenance to keep it looking this way. As I've mentioned before, I'm not great with hair and need hair that is simple.

Just as I started to feel like what I wanted was impossible to achieve (hair that is colored, on-trend, and low maintenance), I was contacted by Salon Nordine & Day Spa to see if I would be interested in getting a hair makeover on live TV for a DC area show called Let's Talk Live! Two of their stylists, Diana Rivera and Rachel Wetsel, had just returned from a hair show in New Orleans full of ideas and techniques that they wanted to share - they just needed a willing model. At first I was nervous, not about changing my hair but about being on TV. Any time I hear the word TV or video my knees start to shake, but I knew this was too perfect of an opportunity to let slip away. So we met for a consultation to talk about what ideas they had, what ideas I had, and with the aid of Pinterest pictures, we made sure we were all on the same page.

The first step was the cut. My hair grows rather quickly, and so I wasn't nervous about cutting a big chunk off. Here's what I looked like right after the first big chop. I loved it too and felt like Mulan.



Next was color. Since my hair was dark, the process took some time. We decided on a mix of balayage and ombre. Balayage, I learned, is when the colorist "sweeps" vertically with a paint brush creating natural, sun kissed highlights. While ombre is gradual lightening of hair usually fading from a darker color near the roots to a lighter one at the ends. With ombre coloring, my roots are actually my natural hair color, allowing me to go at least 3 months before I need a touch up! After the first round of color, I felt like I wanted parts of my hair to be even lighter so I came back in for a quick touch-up, and we re-talked about the cut for Let's Talk Live.

While getting your hair colored at the salon in Fairfax, you can expect to feel very comfortable. They have plenty of wall outlets to charge your phone or laptop, and they even provide iPads to borrow if you forget to bring something.

On the day of the live segment, I was pretty nervous, but once we got on camera, I was less nervous than I thought I would be. In the first part of the segment I had to keep my head down and be careful not to move it as Diana was cutting my hair. In the second part of the segment, I wasn't really sure what camera I should be looking at, so I kept looking at the one that was straight in front of me. It was easy to keep looking at myself in that camera because I LOVED my hair so much! Ha!

Are you ready to see the before and after?! Drum roll please...



What do you think?!!!! My sweet friend Natalie says I look like Chrissy Teigen! I'll take a comparison to a Sports Illustrated model any day!

If you missed watching the Let's Talk Live segment, no worries because I have it right here:



Thank you SO MUCH to Heather Menis of Fifth & Main PR for connecting me up with Salon Nordine, to Rachel and Diana for being my dream glam squad for a few days, and to Salon Nordine & Day Spa for providing this video and treating me to an incredible hair experience. My expectations were exceeded every step of the way!

Are you looking to update your hair for Fall but not sure what to do? Call Salon Nordine & Day Spa for a consultation. You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.



Want to know more about what I wore on live TV? Sign up for liketoknow.it, like my Instagram image, and details will be sent directly to your inbox. Also, please bear with me as I wrap up some post that I took prior to getting my hair makeover.

P.S. I consulted my Dr. prior to getting my hair colored. If you are also pregnant and considering hair color, I would recommend that you talk to your Dr. first.

Back in May, my friend Natalie swept me away for fun trip to Brooklyn, NY. You may remember this picture of me getting my make-up done and thought, what's she up to? I'm giddy to finally share that Natalie invited me to be in a hair tutorial video with Garnier!! If you know me at all, you know hair styling is not something I'm great at. My hair is either semi-wet, straight & flat, or blown out by someone else. So I was really excited for this opportunity to learn a new look.


The roughed-up \ messy ponytail is such an easy hairstyle and looks good with everything in my closet. It's a great way to look and keep cool on a hot summer day, but I also see myself wearing this style into fall and winter when my hair becomes a static mess underneath. At least the mess would make more sense this way.

It's no secret that I can be \ feel shy at times so to have a director, a sound guy, camera guy, reps from Garnier, and 5+ other people watching my every move was incredibly nerve racking for me. I was so nervous that the make-up team had to put make-up on my chest because it was turning bright red. HA! Natalie, on the other hand, was such a natural in front of the camera. She's amazing. As uncomfortable as I was, I love pushing and challenging myself to do things a little over my comfort edge. The outcome was definitely worth it. Thanks so much for asking me to be a part of it, Natalie! xo

PS - This is the 2nd time Natalie and I have starred in a video together. Check out our first video here. Details on my look in the video here.

Last week, I was treated to a complimentary blowout at blo blow dry bar in Dupont. It was the perfect opportunity to get my hair done for a Memorial weekend full of family wedding events. If you've never been to blo for a blowout, here's the pampering you can expect...


First pick out your hairstyle from the blo hair menu while sipping on bottomless mimosas, champagne, water, or tea (there may be more options but it was kind of hard for me to pay attention after I heard mimosa). I also chose the "holly would" hair style.


Next you'll talk about what you want with your stylist aka blo boss. I stressed to my blo boss, Denise, that I needed my curls to last for at least two days and was open to any products or styling techniques she had to make that happen.

After the consult, you'll get shampoo'd. The shampoo bowls at blo are the most comfortable bowls I've ever placed my neck on (and my neck always hurts). I have some pictures of the shampoo area, but they were all "up the nose pictures" and well, no one wants to see that. One thing that stood out to me during the wash was that Denise switched to cool water when she rinsed the conditioner. The cool water helps to lock in moisture which protects your hair from heat.

Once you're shampoo'd, your blo boss then works her magic.


I'm not a huge fan of small talk, but Denise was very personable, sweet, and easy to talk to. Though if you're not in the mood to chat or just need to stay on top of your email, blo has free WiFi available and a place to charge your phone. There's also a hook at the station to hang your purse. Those small details are important to me.


Look at those curls and that volume!!! Most blow outs take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour but my thick hair took a little over an hour to style.



Thank you so much to blo Dupont and chief style boss, Denise, for helping my hair look beautiful all weekend! xo

Wearing Maybelline Color Elixir in Raspberry Rhapsody

Wearing Maybelline Color Elixir in Fushia Flourish

Wearing Maybelline Color Elixir in Signature Scarlet