Here's your Holiday Hair Inspo!

In time for the Holiday Party Season, I decided to give the Accessory Overload Trend a try! I first spotted this idea in Fall 2019 Runway looks, and fell in love. You probably have seen it on Instagram since a lot of the accessory/jewelry designers are jumping on board in a big way.

I really love the randomness of this trend and how you can mimic these vibes in various hair styles, with all different types of sparkly clips and fancy bobby pins. For my version here, I didn't even need to purchase anything new. You may recognize my various pieces (from ASOS and Riley Rose), because they have all been used in previous posts (Huge fan of repurposing, here)!

I decided to go with a Gold-Pearl-Sparkle theme so I gathered all of my accessories that met this requirement. Full Disclosure; I attempted this style two times to get it just the way I liked it. I began by using a very generous amount of dry shampoo and flexible hair spray all throughout my hair, and then I teased the roots of my hair throughout my whole head and especially at the crown. Then I smoothed my hair back (just with my hands) into a low pony. At this step, I made sure to not undo my teasing, but to also make sure that it wasn't showing through.

For the placement of pins, I used a second mirror to help arrange everything in a way that looked good to me. It helped to be patient with this step as I moved pieces around a bit until I loved it. Once everything was in place, I pinched and pulled small sections of hair between my fingers to create some looseness and variety in texture. It's important to do this step after the pins are placed, otherwise it's too difficult to secure them. I love how a little bit of messiness can offset the shiny accessories! Finally, I teased my entire pony tail and twisted and pinned it up into a messy low bun that slightly covers some of the lower pins.

If you want to know how I styled my bangs, please reference the previous blog post titled "How I Style a Long Curtain Fringe".

Happy Holiday Hair Styling!

How I Style a Long Curtain Fringe

About two months ago, I decided that I was tired of having really long boring hair (as I called it), and determined that it was time to change my style to more of a long shag with a curtain fringe. Since then, I've gotten several comments on my hair (positive ones), with a lot of women saying that they love my 70's vibes. Not complaining about that comparison!

I've also heard the compliments followed with, "I wish I could do that", or "I just wouldn't know how to style my hair if it was like that." Full disclosure; it's a tiny bit more maintenance than when I would style my boring long hair daily in beach waves (simply because I mastered wearing the same beach waves for 3 consecutive days without restyling)- but this isn't complicated. Here is my routine;

I use my favorite 1 1/4" curling iron (Bioionic brand) to first add loose curls away from the face to all of my hair. I no longer leave the ends straight like I did when going for beachy waves. With this larger iron- and therefore larger sections of hair, these curls take less time than beach waves. Only thing is, I typically need to touch this up daily. Then I grab my entire fringe (along with the longer bits on each side that reach my cheekbones) and curl it up and back as pictured above.

Then I roll the hair around a 1 1/2" velcro roller, pin it in place with a metal clip, and apply my favorite dry shampoo or texture spray generously. This will add volume and texture to the finished look. As an added bonus, this step keeps my hair off my face and makes the perfect opportunity to do my makeup while the roller sits there for 10 minutes.

Next, I remove the clip and slide the roller right out like this.

The fringe might look really weird at first, but I just run my fingers through it for a few moments until everything falls into place.

And now for the finished look...

It's worth mentioning that this technique is best for a curtain fringe that reaches at least to the middle of your eyes in its shortest, center length. Rolling a fringe back when it it too short, will make it flip outward in an odd way. I must say that I loved this fringe when I first had it cut while it was much shorter, just as much as through the outgrowth. Translation; if you are contemplating this style- you certainly won't need to be back in the salon all the time for bang trims!

Behind the Scenes as a Wedding Hairstylist

There's a question I get asked often. It gets phrased in different ways, but the idea is always the same and it goes something like this; "Whats the craziest thing that has ever happened in your line of work?"

September is the time of the year that I reflect back on the current wedding season and determine the changes I want to make in my business to improve and fine tune practices, so I feel that it is fitting that I try out something a little different in this month's blog. Today, I am sharing with you all the interesting little details that people usually want to know as well as the things I like would like people to know about. I hope you enjoy it!

Photo by Lilly Photo

Let's Start with Questions from Other People.

Q. What's the craziest thing that has ever happened?

A. I consider it a blessing that I don't have any catastrophes to tell you about! I think we owe it to reality tv that there's an expectation of major drama that wedding pros must deal with. Given that I want to candidly answer this question, I'd have to say it's a tie between the time a Bride realized that she forgot her gown at home (about a mile away) when we were an hour into getting ready, and the time that a Bride was about two hours late arriving to the getting ready location. In both cases, things worked out, major crises were averted, and our ladies made it to their ceremonies on time and fully dressed!

Q. Do you get a lot of Bridezillas?

A. I've definitely never had a Bridezilla. In fact, a couple of the artists who work on my team have recently told me that they love how fun our Brides are! I consider that a big win!

Photo by Schilling Photography

Q. Isn't it really stressful working with wedding parties?

A. Actually, I don't think so! Since I manage the whole experience from the first inquiry to the big day, I am able to make sure we head into the wedding day with a set plan of how everything is going to work out (right down to making sure that there's enough time to get dressed and take photos without having to rush out the door). Add to that the fact that we get to work with people on the happiest days of their lives, everyone is generally in an excellent mood!

Q. Do you ever have a Bride who asks for something that's impossible?

A. Occasionally, I will have a client select an inspiration photo of a woman who looks a lot different than them. This is totally normal because it easy to be drawn to a photo of a woman who has the exact kind of hair that we wish we had. It's my job as the professional to point out that the style will translate a bit differently for them and explain what they can expect. (Sometimes getting extensions, a cut, or highlights will do the trick). Ultimately, I aim to underpromise and over-deliver.

I know this isn't the direction someone expects me to go when they ask this question; but the closest thing to an impossible request is when someone asks me to provide hair styling and makeup for 7 people in a 2 hour timeframe.

Photo by Rachel Mae Photography

My best advice for other Wedding Hair and Makeup Artists is this;

Always look good. When you select this line of work, you are agreeing to be a part of highly photographed events ALL THE TIME. No Bride deserves to have her professional photos showcase a stylist in a sweatshirt with no makeup on placing her veil. I cringe at the thought! Plus, when you look good, you put your clients at ease because they know that they can trust you with their image.

Photo by Lidia Codrean

In closing, my best tip for Brides is this;

Please consider using a Wedding Planner, and if you don't want help with the general planning, I guarantee that you will still find immense value in a Day of Coordinator! Strictly from my point of view (as someone who is only with the Bride the first few hours of the day), I get to see the challenges come up that would be quickly resolved- or never happen in the first place with a coordinator. The biggest one is managing the flow of the entire day and making sure that enough time is allowed for you and your party to transition from one "activity" to the next.

Sadly, I have seen some things that were planned and paid for get cut out as the day progressed when there was not a professional to create the itinerary.

Your planner will allow you to live in the moment and enjoy your special day and in my opinion, that would be priceless. If you are still on the fence, you have nothing to lose in scheduling a consultation/phone call and allowing a professional to tell you what they can do for you!

Happy Wedding Planning,

Ann