{No. 33} HAIR INSPIRATION :: MY NEW OMBRE HAIR

I feel compelled to point out that I am very, VERY scared of hair salons. It's not that I've had a particularly bad experience, but more so that I've had one woman cut, color and style my hair my entire life - my mom.

But sometimes, a girl needs a change. And in this situation, it was far less expensive to trust my locks to a local professional than spend six hundred bucks to hop a plane to Hawaii for a trim.

So, with high hopes and long-forgotten tresses in need of a little TLC, I made my way over to Esoterica Studios for a consultation with Jackie, who just happens to be *awesome*.

Right away I knew this was the place to be. Not only did it have a relaxed vibe that immediately put me at ease, all the staff was genuine and friendly, the venue was uniquely decorated (it occasionally doubles as a lounge at night - how cool is that!?), and I loved the cement floors and music choice (alternative rock and indie).

Once I got seated in my chair and comfortable with Jackie, we started talking about what kind of look I was going for. I knew I wanted a cut like this:

Eva Longoria, 2009

I also knew that I wanted to color it ombre style - that is, graded highlights from dark (about three inches of my natural color) to a blondish color at the ends. Here was my inspiration:

I particularly liked the coloring of Shenae Grimes' locks here:

So, after asking several clarification questions (i.e., how blonde I wanted it, how heavy the coloring, bangs or no bangs, etc.) expert Jackie started on the transformation process. And lucky for you, I used my handy-dandy iPhone to document the process!

This is how I started out - lackluster, boring brown hair - it definitely needed a change!

To give my hair the color lift it needed, Jackie started out by using foils to strategically place the bleach. Please ignore the unsightly under eye circles. And the wrinkles, for that matter.

Me in the chair, patiently waiting for Jackie to finish my foils.

Almost done!

I get a first peek at the color when Jackie finishes adding the toner.

P.S. Can I mention how much I LOVE Sebastian's Color Ignite shampoo and conditioner? It smells absolutely delightful. No kidding. Plus, the conditioner is the texture of whipped cream. I'm serious. You can see some of it in Jackie's hands in the above picture. I tell ya, I'm getting this stuff as soon it hits the shelves. Which may not be for another six months. Can you say teaser? Esoterica Studios is one of six Sebastian flagship salons in Texas, and one of a handful in the nation, which means they get to test out the products before they're even available. Um, LOVE. Why didn't I become a hair stylist?

After a blowout and some styling tips (more on that later), Jackie left me feeling sassy and fun with my new hair color and cut!

Hoping to prolong my blowout, this morning I opted for second day hair and tried to recreate the curls that Jackie gave me yesterday.

SOOOO...What do you think? Do you like how I went from...

Do tell!! Honestly, I'm really loving it. The only part I'm not sure about is the bangs. I think it's mostly because I haven't had any bangs in awhile, but I find myself thinking of Peg, the dog that sings "He's a Tramp" (Peggy Lee) from Lady in the Tramp when I look in the mirror...

(Here is the link to the He's a Tramp video from Lady and the Tramp, if you can't see the video)

What do you think? Do you see a similarity? :)

(This is my Peg face)

{All celebrity images from Daily Makeover. Salon images by my iPhone 4}