Tag Archives: salon

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.)

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!

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.

Supernaturally Change Me

Before I start the process of putting up all of my catch-up posts on fashion shows and events I’ve attended in the last few weeks (up to and including Fashion Week San Diego), I wanted to post my experience with getting my hair colored (especially since all of my new pictures will include my new hair). I met Norman from the wonderfully named salon, Hair Drezzers on Fire, earlier this year at the Indulge event at Fashion Valley, where I also met up with my blogger buddy, Jennifer of Malcriada (post here). She had a quickie blow-out at the event, and eventually went in and had a few salon sessions with Norman. With Jen singing his praises and informing me of the color classes, I decided to have a go and see Norman for my own session. Believe it or not, this was my very first time having my hair colored, but I’ve always wanted to do it since I was a teen. I decided I would go to an extreme: I wanted my hair to be blue. Yes, you read that right, BLUE. My final color choice was inspired by a couple of pictures from Instagram, which was to have more of a blend of blue and purple. I also wanted the “dip dye/ombre” color technique, where I didn’t want all of the color to go to my roots, for easier maintenance.

I documented the process (below) in pictures, which was such a lovely experience. THIS is the hair I’ve always wanted! I am so happy with how it turned out and would do this again in a heartbeat. Thank you Norman from Hair Drezzers on Fire for my fantastic cut and color, and thank you Jennifer for letting me know about the sessions. I’ve received nothing but compliments from everywhere about the color, and have even been compared to Wyldstyle from The Lego Movie (I love her). Cheers!

The obligatory “before” shot!

The bleaching process.

Norman, drying out my temporarily blonde-tipped hair!

I’m blue (with my new Keiko sunglasses from BonLook in Roxy Noir)!

(Post title is a line from “Hairdresser on Fire” by Morrissey…of course!)

Nicely Polished

After my little spa day with my niece (“First Time At The Spa” entry), it got me thinking about nail polish colors. The color I had for my nails was chosen by my niece and called “Too good for you” (I can’t recall the brand). It was a sparkly electric light blue color that I would not normally choose. But because she knows I like the nearly black indigo blue colors for my toes, she picked out a brighter blue for my nails.

A memory that just sparked was the time my dad gave me nail polish and a nail drying lamp for Christmas one year. That was one of the most thoughtful gifts from him because he knew how much I loved to either go to a salon, or paint my own nails. He even told me then that he asked the lady at the counter in Robinsons May (before it was Macys) to help pick out a youthful color. He ended up with a burnt orange color that was beautiful in the bottle and on the nail. I will always remember that Christmas with fondness because I could just imagine my very Filipino father walking into that department with no clue what to get, just to ensure that he got me something I would like.

At first, I always got red nails. Then I moved into the coppers. I started to wear an iridescent color that was nearly a pearl color indoors, but out in the sun, it turned a mauve color. I wore that for a very long time.

Every now and again, I’ll go back to brighter colors, but I’m really just so drawn to very dark colors or simply black. Black nails can be incredibly sophisticated, but it allows me to bring out my inner goth.

I’ve always loved the colors by Opi, and my favorite is Russian Navy, which they have in their regular shine, but I just found out that they also a matte and a suede. It’s a deep indigo that looks nearly purple, but turns into this wonderful deep blue when in sunlight. There’s just enough sparkle to bring out a shine, no matter how dark the polish is.

Now that I’m writing this, I think I’ll go back to Happy Nails and have them repaint my nails the “Midnight Blue”, which is just a substitute for Russian Navy. I thank my niece for the break in routine during our spa day, but somethings are nice when they stay the same.

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this: