Hair Trial: The Real Thing

Hive. I've found her. The magic maker (aka hair stylist) who will make my hair look like the things of my inspiration pictures. I teetered between a bun, a side pony, half-up, or completely down and curly. But Candace Post from Hot Heads Salon walked off the see-saw and left me teetering no more. I'm heavily decided that I'll be doing a side bun. And I'm pretty positive you'll be convinced too.

Here's the before picture (my bangs seriously need a trim here):


Then she curled it, to give me volume on top (she succeeded, obviously). She put Velcro curlers in and set me under the drier. The last hair dresser teased my hair and used a curling iron.


Next she started made a side ponytail and began to twist my hair around itself.


And...Ta Da! She made a three-fold bun, meaning she wrapped three pieces of my hair in three different directions creating this woven knot. And, stuck my Muscari hair flowers in it.


Also, the hair on top (over the crown of my head) will be smoothed out on the big day.


This is how it looks from the side without the bun or flower. We all felt it needed a little texture or something to make it less plain. Candace wants to put a braid or a twist coming from down near my neck into the bun or possibly from the top of my head. I agree it needs something and I'm liking the idea of a braid.


Here are a few more pictures of it in better light.


My bangs will be shorter and not so heavy. Also, we talked about having the side bun for the ceremony and being able to pull out a few bobby pins to create a side pony for the ceremony. A few hours after my trial I pulled the bun down into a pony tail only to find a rat's nest of hair spray and crunchy, tangled, frizzy curls. So, I don't think I'll go that route.

But I love the side bun so much, I kind of want to keep it the whole night.

Did you have multiple hair trials with different stylists? What style are you wearing?

Wedding Weekend: Hair Trial

This past weekend, like most brides-to-be including Ms. Perfume, I utilized the three-day weekend to wedding plan. A six-hour drive put me up near Denver on Friday night, ready for an appointment-filled couple of days. First stop: hair trial.

My naturally-straight hair in the Bahamas

As you've seen in past pictures, I have stick-straight hair. Always have. There's nothing wrong with straight hair--I don't have to "tame my curls" or worry too much about frizz--but, I've also never seen myself with curls. I'm often fond of wedding 'dos with soft, romantic curls, but since I've never had 'em, I wonder if I could feel like myself even with a little wave. 

The minute I told my stylist, Tasha Valenti of The Look Beauty Salon in Denver, that I'd never had anything other than straight, she busted out the curling iron. I showed her my inspiration photos and off to work she went.

Tasha getting to work

Things to keep in mind: 1) I will have a fake flower as a hair accessory (more on that later), 2) Tasha kept saying, "This is just a trial. It will look much more shiny, clean, and polished on the actual day." And 3) All pictures below are by my awesome friend Melanie Lidman who sat through the whole wedding-planning weekend with me. And gave her two cents (and sarcasm) when needed.

Style 1:  Curly side ponytail with woven back

I really like it from the front but it feels a little young to me. 

Style 2: The Low, Centered Chignon

I felt like the bun was a little flat against my neck. I wanted volume! And, I've worn my hair in a low chignon for the couple of proms I went to. I'm wondering if it's time to branch out.

Style 3: The Side Bun

The point of this was to have the bun peep out from behind my head so it didn't just look like my hair was up from the front on the low chignon. As you can see from the first picture, it doesn't really do that. Hmmm...

Style 4: Messy, Low Side Ponytail

Tasha had started to pull it out before this last pic was taken which is why that one section looks particularly long. I personally like the curled ponytail and volume from Style One, but with a less young style. 

In the end, Tasha told me to look at more inspiration photos. Find one I love and she'll do the style. I trust that she can. I was surprised by how much I loved my hair down with curls. Maybe I'll let my bangs grow out and decide if I want them back closer to the wedding. And, in the meantime, I'll be keeping my eye on some celebrities for inspiration 'dos. 

Kate Bosworth

(source)

Lindsay Lohan

(source)

Tasha re-curled my hair just before I left so I could spend the day with curly hair. 

Who's hair is better?

So, hive, which style do you like best above? Any suggestions? I didn't thoroughly love any of them.