Hey, everyone! Hope you had a fabulous weekend. Last month, I went to have my hair done at Paul Edmonds. Yes, the salon where all the celebs get their hair cut, fancy right? It’s less than 3 minutes away from Harrods and is every bit the luxury and a little more. They have been based at the same address for over 25 years and serve a loyal clientele.
I had been planning to get my colour re-done for ages, so I was really excited to put a new hairstyle in action. Since we share everything here, I wanted to share and review my experience at The Brunette Bar with you.
You must be asking yourself, what is a Brunette Bar? I did too! L’Oréal Professionnel has created it’s very first French Girl Hair Brunette Bar; an in-salon service offering a completely bespoke approach to creating your ultimate brunette. Their services are designed to just add a few personalised new touches to your hair as well as to enhance and bring out the best in your colour. Allowing us, brunettes to have more options and achieve richer, darker tones while adding interest with new shades. This service is perfect for those who want to create dimension without making a drastic change.
The Brunette Menu uses techniques developed by Jack Howard at Paul Edmonds and in partnership with innovative colour tools from L’Oreal Professional to bring something modern and distinct to your gorgeous brown hair.
I first went for my skin allergy test to make sure I wouldn’t have any allergic reaction to the hair-dye which took 5 minutes. Those short minutes gave me the assurance that I would be in great hands. Having to pop into the salon for this quick appointment was a great way to get the idea of the type of service you’ll be getting. Not to mention that when you go for the real appointment you’ll feel at home.
My appointment was booked with Jack Howard (yes, the man who introduced Balayage to the UK) and he was so sweet to take the time to figure out exactly what I was after and made sure to make me aware of every single thing he was doing on my hair. I mean, I did not have any doubt that he knew what he was doing – Jack comes highly recommended by the likes of Vogue, Tatler, Harpers & myself of course! After discussing for a few minutes we agreed to go for a mix of the Brunette A Porter and Babylight Brunette.
BRUNETTE A PORTER
The idea: Taking inspiration from the undone nonchalance of the photo ready Parisian front row, this technique involves blurring and perfecting deep brown hair with a soft veil of luxurious colour for ready to wear hair. The traditional foil hair colouring technique is blended with balayage (painting colour free-hand) to bring the best of traditional and modern colouring techniques in one treatment. It’s as if you’re living life with your own in-built Instagram filter, ensuring your hair radiates brunette perfection 24/7.
Best for: Longer hair; mid to darker brunettes; those looking for deep shine
The technique: Foils are used in this for more precise colour placement complemented with a touch of balayage to bring a more modern, undone approach to colour. Blending the two means double the colour variations: the depth of foils and the bespoke beauty of balayage.
BABYLIGHT BRUNETTE
The idea: Effortlessly cool and timelessly youthful, this technique scatters subtle beams of light a quarter to a half-shade lighter around the face and seamlessly blended by the touch of the colourist to give a youthful, sun-kissed take on the French girl look.
Best for: Works well on hair with a little undone texture, like a choppy bob or long, sixties-style layers. Just add fluttery lashes.
The technique: Micro-balayage. Using ultra-fine brushes, it involves super-fine colour placement to add the slightest scattering of light. No obvious lines; just a beautiful effect of the sun-kissed strands.
Tick-Tock: I had to wait 20 minutes for the colour to kick in, so I took the time to analyse the atmosphere in detail. The salon has a lovely decor and exhales style and luxury. The staff is very welcoming and within a few minutes, you kinda feel like you’ve been doing your hair there for years. They are so dedicated to the clients’ comfort that they even have massaging chairs while you wash your hair (give me a break, I don’t see this everyday ha-ha). Following a wonderful head massage by Matilda, I was introduced to Alfie who blow-dried my hair.
After-care – you can keep your color-treated hair looking shiny and vibrant, here are the products I use to maintain my new colour:
Since dying my hair, I have started using the L’Oréal Professionnel Mythic line as well as two products from the Expert line.
MYTHIC OIL Shampoo & Conditioner For Normal To Fine Hair – first things first: this line has the most divine scent ever! The formula is gentle but effective and leaves my hair soft and silky.What more could we ask for?
MYTHIC OIL Oil For Colored Hair– The scent is fantastic as well. Brings shine and softness without making your hair heavy or oily.
MYTHIC OIL Masque For Normal To Fine Hair– has a gentle scent and has a lovely moisturizing effect on my hair.
MYTHIC OIL Crème Universelle – can be used at any point of washing for either a pre-shampoo treatment, a conditioning detangler or a protective blow dry cream. I apply it before shampooing, why? “Conditioning before you shampoo is great for adding nourishment to fine hair without weighing it down,” says Nina Dimachki, artistic director for Kérastase. “It also promotes a longer lasting blowdry and primes the hair before cleansing, allowing shampoo to distribute easier and more evenly.”
MYTHIC OIL Brume Sublimatrice – is a dry conditioning spray filled with moisture and shine, it has a lovely blend of orange and sunflower oil for illuminating the hair and adding softness. Always leaves my hair feeling clean and hydrated.
Vitamino Colour A OX CC Cream for Brunettes – this product REALLY works! It has deep violet pigments and gets rid of those yellow tones.
Vitamino Colour A OX Color 10 in 1 – I apply before blow-drying my hair and it injects radiance and shine straight-away. It also helps reduce the appearance of split ends and protects against the look of frizz. It also had a lovely scent to it.
Final result: the colour looked modern and radiant – the true definition of the ultimate French girl hair. Polished, sophisticated but always laid-back and flexible. Jack enhanced my hair colour in the same creative and fashion-inspired way as he would with blondes and it felt so unique to me. I can be very picky and hard to please, but I left the hair salon very happy. My hair left fresh, healthy and fabulous – huge thumbs up from me!
What do you guys think of my new hair colour? Let me know in the comments.
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