Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Runway image of Marc Bouwer’s red gown, courtesy of Mercedes Benz USA
Last September, Aveda went backstage to create the lead makeup looks for Marc Bouwer, Evisu and Designers for Darfur. These three head-turning looks dominated the runways for skin, eyes and lips. We're especially partial to the creamy, flawless complexions and daring, metallic eyes at Marc Bouwer.
Said Rudy Miles, Global Makeup Artist and Educator for Aveda of the looks,
“A red lip on a naked face is such a sexy statement,” “It’s simple and elegant—easy glam. Aveda Petal Essence Eye Definer adds depth to the eye, heightening this effect.”
Those moments of backstage buzz sold us on Aveda. Admittedly, we’ve been sold by backstage hair and makeup buzz before, but what REALLY sold us was the company's well-known eco tendencies. Eco's an issue that’s moved from the backburner to one of great interest to the fashion industry this year but Aveda's was on to it way before then.
We finally got to the Shine Salon 4 months later, one of Aveda’s nationwide Concept Salons, located in Ridgefield, CT
OUR MISSION: to see if the Aveda colorists could bring our overly dyed hair [a splotchy mélange of browns and reds] back to our natural dark brown without inflicting any more damage to our already tired hair and scalp.
If time permitted, we hoped to also leave with a new shade of lipstick to suit our new complexion. We say “new complexion” because changing your hair color can alter the appearance of your skin tone, for better, or worse.
THE APPOINTMENT: We indulged in a bit of secret shopper behavior, booking the color appointment as a civilian, not as press, as we do 90% of the time we go in to have something done.
Everyone on staff at an Aveda concept salon must undergo hours of training at the Aveda Institute before being allowed to work on clients. Aveda stylists don’t “specialize” they do both color and cuts. Our stylist, Amanda Hine, examined our multicolored mop and determined from our 1/4-inch re-growth that we were a level 3N, not the 5N we had thought we were.
WHAT WE LOVED:
1. No snap decisions.
Amanda took her time looking through ALL our hair before applying the color
2. No client vs. stylist tug of war.
She didn’t try to talk us out of our plan of going back to our natural color and of growing it out.
3. The product didn’t stink or sting,
Aveda dyes are 97% natural [those who are going lighter take note that there’s a bit more chemical in those formulations].
4. Complimentary neck rubs administered by the very low-key male masseuse, Michael, who also tipped us of on a genius massage tool, “the original theracane” he promised would break up the most stubborn knots we get after hours hunched over our laptop. [Available on eBay for approximately $30]
5. The result! Our hair came out just as we’d envisioned it – glossy, rich and healthy looking, the shade Jacqueline Smith’s so famously was during “Charlie’s Angels” way back in the seventies.
6. The no-pressure vibe.
At no time did anyone hover or exhort us to buy any products, which made us much more likely to make a purchase. WE like to feel as if it’s our idea to make a purchase, not a force. We'll be buying the Aveda Color Conserve shampoo and conditioner Amanda used to maintain our color.
Found: the perfect shade of nude
As the color and blow-out took just under an hour, we made a pit stop at the makeup counter in the front of the salon.
We showed Cameron Lynch, the esthetician/makeup artist on duty the cover of January W of Hilary Swank, wearing a delicate nudelip color. Cameron was by the way, a great advertisement for the Aveda look; she sported the fresh-faced no-makeup look popularized by designer Vera Wang.
We left with the perfect color, “zingber” 811 spf15.
THE TAB: $65 for one-step color, $14 for lip color
HOW LONG IT TOOK: Start to finish, 1 hour and 20 minutes
OUR RATING: ***** out of a possible 5.
Shine Salon Spa, 392 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
Tel: 203-438-5000
www.shine-salon.com
www.aveda.com