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| This whole story in pictures for TL;DR |
So, Thursday, Target. My wonderful husband who loves me, and cares for me, after being stuck looking at different black boxed hair colors with me for what seemed like an eternity to him asked me, if I could have any color in the world, what would that be? I looked, and there was a pastel lavender. In the back of my mind, I knew I wasn't going to be able to lift my level 2 hair to a level 10 but he believes in me and that's sorta of important.
"That".
And so with bravery mode switched on, and trying to rock my radical self-expression (which is one thing I struggle with at Burns), I grabbed the required 2 boxes of Feria dye that was supposed to make this possible. The Féria® Absolute Platinums Hair Color, Extreme Platinum and Féria® Smokey Pastels Hair Coloring Cream, and it was going to be 14 days of being my best self and sacrificing for beautiful smokey lavender color.
Just for reference, my hair color, that day at Taco Bell
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Before. Resting bitch face.
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I opened the bleaching kit and it had a packet of bleaching powder and then a toner color in the formula, so I was like "Okay, this might work." So I did my ends, and it was a dry formula, so I should have known this was going to be a struggle but I persevered. I left the bleach on my ends for the 30 minutes (with warnings that I was ABSOLUTELY NOT TO GO OVER THAT) and then on my roots for the requisite 30 minutes with the warning THAT I COULD NOT GO OVER THAT! NO HEAT! NO DRYER NO PLASTIC CAP) Not going to lie, when I saw that my ends were not platinum, I got the roots and Mark helped me wrap my hair in saran wrap, covered it with a towel and used the blowdryer, but it was no use.I had banding, the color was not platinum and it was just a mess. I should have known the formula wasn't strong enough when I felt no tingle on my scalp. I still in fact, was trying to go from a Level 2 fine, straight non heat treated virgin hair to a Level 10 which, in retrospect, was an absolutely stupid idea. Did I mention this was a bad idea? I hadn't been to beauty school in 16 years, and I hated doing color back then. I really loved the esthetician coursework the most.
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| There is no platinum here, just brassy badness. |
After the "what color is this even, gaaaaaaah this is so freaking weird" shock, and the bleaching the holy **** out of my lovely tresses that I should not have abused, because they were soft and shiny... my hair felt like straw. Awful to the awful. There were tears, there was cursing. I had a treatment called the Briogeo Don't Depair, Repair hair mask and I used it after destroying my cuticle and my hair was SLEEK, shiny and totally back to my original texture.
(My colorist/stylist/awesome savior of the tresses, Tia even complimented me on how my hair didn't feel or look wrecked and it worked well with my stylist re chemically treating my hair) It does not feel dry, it does not snap when I brush it, it's just like I never did a thing.
So after a night of sleeping off my foolishness, I booked an appointment online to the Salon. I showed up at 10 am, I was greeted by 2 kind women . Once at the when I came in and another back in the salon, who helped me find the manager (I get confused easily when standing) and prestige cosmetics manager (I believe it's Hillary) helped me from there. I was in tears over my own error in attempting to do my own color at home. She comforted me and offered me water and even a donut! Unfortunately, with the online booking system had an issue... but she was determined to make it work. She made a few calls, and Tia came in early to help me. I had seen her previously and I was excited that she was going to be able to fix my hair.
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| Secret Agent Woman undercover blonde |
Ulta on
Marketplace and First in Cedar Rapids, IA Store 221. So going in, I was there with my walker, a huge hat and sunglasses because I had done a such a terrible awful thing to my hair.
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| Oh the banding such banding!! |
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| Figuring out how to fix the top.. went darker, totally. |
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| My before peekaboo galactic blue |
There is NO DOUBT that Tia is an amazing alchemist, colorist, and stylist. She knew exactly what to offer for my skin tone and also helped me add a little joy to my life by mixing up some neon blue, vibrant blue and I believe another color to help them as a gradient to put as a peekaboo underneath. She offered me water, was very accommodating with my mobility needs and explained the entire processes as she was going along.
She even shaped my current hairstyle to have my bangs frame my face, perfectly. She was professional AND warm. I don't know how you would do this, but I think that promoting her abilities with Pravana would do wonders for that Ulta. They really ought to think about an actual promotion, she was double slinging gorgeous colors. It was like magic.
After my hair service was done (and holy cow, that was a lot shorter than I thought it would be) she invited me to rest and drink more water and talked with me about cosmetics, lipstick formations, highlights (for face) and eyeshadow palettes. She also helped me to decide between 2 gorgeous palettes. And so after talking with her and Anna I swatched them both.
Anna from the Dermalogica helped me when I was talking to her about skincare. I am on medications that make me photosensitive and I naturally have rosacea. She showed me a cooling mist that reduced my redness, and absolutely knew her stuff. She knew that I wasn't going to be able to handle microdermabrasion and believe me, that's rare for skin care professionals to know. I've gotten horrible advice and facials in the past for my skin. She showed me the products and explained the active ingredients to me, and I WILL be booking a facial with her soon.
I asked Anna about the Urban Decay Class that was coming up on the 29th, and she answered me then sent the prestige manager back over to me to explain it all to me. While I am still on the fence, I DID go over to the Urban Decay section to see if there is 80 dollars worth of UD product that I want, and it's on my daughter's birthday, so I am not sure it'd be fair to do it without her, and she's going to be driving that day to STL, so there's no way she'd make it with me. But I am still considering it. (grins)
Laura over in Bare Minerals was an absolute gem! I had gone over to the cosmetics section as I was resting and waiting for my vasopressors to kick in (I needed to take another round of meds, considering how long I had been there) and I was swatching the tarte Grav3yard girl palette and Tia's suggestion for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette and was telling me how well they worked for me. She was very knowledgeable about the formation even though it wasn't her line.
And last but not least, was the very helpful Amy (I believe), who had helped me throughout the day with little questions that I had, and was very kind and patient with me while I fumbled through my credit cards trying to remember how to use the card readers (confusion upon standing, and loss of coordination with the blood flow reducing in my brain).
I was helped, I felt empowered and in a safe place for my beauty needs. This store is INCREDIBLE and did not treat me poorly due to my issues. I spent HOURS in the store and salon and I felt nothing but warmth, concern, and courtesy, Hillary was even worried that I hadn't eaten when I was checking out, I went and got food afterward because of her reminder. This store should be lauded.
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