Tag Archives: haircut

Like They Do It In The Factory

As a blogger, we are dared to try new things and new experiences because of the nature of what we do. I have discovered new restaurants, new shops and boutiques, we well as new hair salons through this blogging experience. I discovered Kelly Cardenas Salon because they contacted me to try out their new location in Hillcrest. After they consolidated locations and when my main stylist, Salvador, moved to Las Vegas, I decided to try out a new place through a recent contact in the blogging world. Aaron Lacy is a stylist at theFactory, located in Downtown San Diego. I swear it was Kismet when I walked in and Music For the Masses was playing in its entirety!

Immediately, I loved the industrial-style space of theFactory. It’s very clean, modern and stylish. Once I got settled into the chair, Aaron explained what he had planned for my haircut that day: a simple and sleek bob cut, my favorite hairstyle. Aaron suggested we take my hair back to basics, and took great care to even out any odd layers. Without a doubt, this cut was one of the most precise bobs I’ve ever had. It’s been about a month since I’ve gotten my hair cut, and it’s growing out beautifully!

Thank you Aaron for the amazing cut and the fantastic pictures!

theFactory is located at 1025 F Street, San Diego, CA 92101. Contact them at (619) 255-6338 to schedule an appointment and please be sure to ask for Aaron!

Outfit: Unknown brand jacket from Wysh Boutique; Mossimo sweater from Target; Free People jeans; Jeffrey Campbell shoes; “Mason” necklace c/o Kendra Scott; rings by Wendy Brandes and Suki Bijoux; Leather jacket pin by Bananna Bones (from Gypsy Warrior), “Space Punk” pin by Major Crimes Division & “It Wasn’t Just A Phase” pin by Punky Moms UK; “Ceremony” Matte Lip Veil by Cryptic Cosmetics

(FTC Disclosure: I was offered a service free of charge as a courtesy, but not necessarily for the purposes of a review. Although I did receive a service free of charge, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.)

(All photos of me were taken by Aaron Lacy. Post title: Lyrics from “Lie To Me” by Depeche Mode.)

Kelly Cardenas San Diego Celebrates 1 Year!

Happy 1 year anniversary to the Kelly Cardenas Salon in Hillcrest! Can you believe I’ve been going there for a little over a year (posts here and here)? I practically celebrated with them throughout the day by first getting my hair styled and colored earlier in the morning (by Salvador of course), then going their anniversary party that night.

Congratulations to everyone at Kelly Cardenas, and cheers to many more years to come!

My haircut and color from earlier that day. Back to purple!

(Wearing “Keiko” Bon Look prescription sunglasses; Forever 21 dress; Zara long bomber jacket; La Vidriola Cassette necklace)

With my hubby at the anniversary party

With the stylist who works all of his magic on my hair, Salvador!

I got to pose with Kelly himself!

The Kelly Cardenas staff, from all of their locations: San Diego, Carlsbad, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Chicago

My outfit for the evening: Lucy Paris jacket (bought second hand at Lost & Found for $20!); Forever 21 shirt; SOHO Apparel leggings; BCBGeneration shoes; Kate Spade bracelet and clutch; La Vidriola Cassette earrings; Lookmatic glasses

(Pictures 1, 3, 4 and 5 courtesy of the Kelly Cardenas Instagram and Facebook pages)

The Loft Hair Design & Skin Care Grand Opening

At the beginning of June, I had a whirlwind night of TWO events in one evening! The first was the “Night of Beauty” grand opening of The Loft Hair Design & Skin Care in Carlsbad (first posted about here). This award winning salon was located in Escondido, but relocated and reopened in a 3,700 square foot space in the La Costa Town Square shopping center. The salon is large, spacious and beautifully decorated. They offer a very large variety of services including a full hair care salon, skin & body care, massage therapy, spa packages, facial treatments, peels and microdermabrasions.

The night was fun and extremely interactive, with experiences spread throughout the salon. From what I saw, there was a DJ, Braid & Brow Bars, Sensory Experiences (head, neck & shoulder massage or hot hand towel treatment), a massage chair, a “Tattoo” Station (decorative), wet bar, food, coffee and even shopping! It was also nice to know that 10% of the product sales and all of the raffle ticket sales benefitted Dress for Success San Diego. I’ve included lots of photos from the evening, and I was glad to get pictures of the beautiful salon prior to the public showing because it got crowded very quickly! Congratulations to Heather & Shawna on the grand re-opening of The Loft Hair Design & Skin Care at their new location in Carlsbad, cheers!

“We’ve loved being in Escondido, but we’re excited for our growth into this blossoming area of Carlsbad,” said Shawna Cruise, founder of The Loft Hair Design & Skin Care. “Guests will find that our team has remained the same and still offers the amazing care we’ve always prided ourselves on – just now in a new, larger space that we can’t wait to reveal.”

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Co-owner Heather Wilder and founder Shawna Cruise

DJ Engage

Braid Bar; Sensory Experience; Brow Bar

My decorative tattoo for the night!

Delicious bites by Bushfire Grill & yummy mini-cupcakes by SusieCakes

A bar featuring Stone Brewing Co. & St. Petersburg Vodka

Cold Brew and hot coffee by one of my favorite coffee companies, Mostra Coffee!

Models wearing clothing from Boho Boutique

My VIP gift bag goodies! Thank you Colette of Contour PR + Social and The Loft Hair Design & Skin Care for inviting me!

A “Night of Beauty” Celebration on June 4, Hosted by The Loft Hair Design & Skin Care!

Next Thursday, The Loft Hair Design & Skin Care will be unveiling a new location at La Costa Town Square and hosting a “Night of Beauty” for their grand opening (please see all of the details and flier below).

I’ll be there, so come celebrate and say hi!

“To celebrate the salon’s opening, The Loft is inviting the public to a “Night of Beauty,” a Grand Opening bash on Thursday, June 4 between 6 and 9 p.m. The first 50 to arrive will receive swag bags stuffed with premium products and lifestyle gear, while all in attendance can enjoy complimentary cocktails and appetizers, raffle prizes, a live DJ and models, and beauty stations including a how-to selfie station, stress relieving treatments, Medi-Spa demonstrations, tutorials on summer’s hottest hair and makeup trends and more. Ten percent of product sales and all raffle ticket sales will benefit Dress for Success San Diego.”

There's Another Color Waiting On Me

I’m finally catching up on some past events I attended this year. In this post, I decided to include my most recent hair color treatments, since both involve the Kelly Cardenas Salon in Hillcrest. I got the fuchsia/purple color during the weekend of their grand opening celebration back in February. I took my hubby with me, and we had a great time. Kelly has great employees, and you can tell they all love working for him. The second color treatment I got this past weekend, and decided to go blue again. My stylist, Salvador, did an amazing job with creating depth, richness and texture in both the color and the cut of each style. I guess I’m never going back to just one color for a long time!

All pictures above were taken by me at the Kelly Cardenas Grand Opening party. The last picture courtesy of the Kelly Cardenas Salon Instagram account from this past weekend.

(Title of this post is a lyric from “Queen of California” by John Mayer.)

Color Theory: Hair by Kelly Cardenas Salon

Now that I’ve had my hair colored, I just can’t stop! Imagine the elation I felt to be contacted by the folks at Kelly Cardenas Salon to try out their newest location in Hillcrest. Tucked away on 5th Avenue, Kelly Cardenas Salon is quite the retreat. It’s a very clean, minimalist space with Kelly’s infamous dreads logo sprinkled throughout.

I was greeted by Roxy, who contacted me initially, and was immediately offered a beverage and a place to store my personal belongings before being guided to a room to change into a robe. The workspace is large with an industrial look, and is quite organized. The hair dryers drop from the ceiling, which really eliminates the feel of being tangled with other stylists. The “Color Bar” is where all of the pigmentation magic happens!

My favorite part of the salon was the room where the hair washing occurs, but I didn’t have an opportunity to take any pictures because there were clients being attended to at the time. It’s different from any other salon I’ve been to because usually the hair washing station is out in the open like the rest of the salon. At KCS, their hair washing station is enclosed in a separate room and darkened, with soothing music playing in the background. It takes that service to a higher and more zen level. It’s like going to your favorite massage parlor, but for your hair!

Salvador was my stylist for the day and he took such good care of me, asking me questions to ensure I get the color and cut I want, but gave me good guidance so that I understand what’s really best for me. He did such a wonderful job that I went back again to get my second color selection with him. I started with a subtle burgundy color for my first color change, then six weeks later I opted for a more vibrant purple.

From beginning to end, I felt completely taken care of, and didn’t have a worry in the world other than to enjoy the experience. Not only did I have a great cut and color, but I also felt more informed about how to best style my hair and how to keep the color lasting all the way up to my next appointment. Everyone was warm and kind, which made the atmosphere feel like I was with friends and family rather than just stylist and client, and the customer service was first class. I want to thank everyone at Kelly Cardenas Salon for one of the best salon experiences I have ever had!

From left to right: Ashley, Fernando, Roxy and Salvador.

The Bellus Academy Experience

We provide the Cosmetology, Esthetics, Nails and Massage industries with graduates who are a credit to their college, their employer and their profession. When we built our Academy, the goal was to design a college that provides the necessary space and professional atmosphere today’s students are looking for.

– From the Bellus Academy Poway Site

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of getting a cut and style, courtesy of Bellus Academy in Poway. It was such a great experience because I truly got to see how a full fledged working beauty academy operates. After posting about Bellus Academy, meeting current students, graduates, instructors and attending their events, it was nice to finally actually enter one of their campuses, which looks just like a working high-end salon. My stylist for the evening was April, and the only difference between a salon and the Academy was the occasional guidance of her instructors throughout the evening. I felt so confident in April’s abilities and skills, because she explained how much training is given prior to any encounter with an actual live customer. Additionally, I could see the attention given to each student by their instructor, regardless of the style of cut they were performing (I went from growing out my longer locks to a more Great Gatsby/pageboy inspired cut). I am so pleased with the way my hair turned out, because I can straighten it to give it a more modern flow, but I can also style it for a very retro look. Thank you Christina of Alternative Strategies for setting up my appointment, and thank you to April and her instructors at Bellus Academy Poway for a lovely experience!

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