The Hairspray Diaries

Filtered through the lens of a NYC Freelance Hair Artist.

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Girl, We Couldnt Get Much Higher: NYLON Feb 2016

Girl, We Couldnt Get Much Higher: NYLON Feb 2016

You know that it would be untrue You know that I would  a liar If I was to say to you That hair couldnt much higher. Ok, Ok sue me. Had to do it. You should know by now that I missed my calling as a supreme lyricist. Instead, Im a hair twirler who inserts music into every possible aspect of my life. Here, we have an editorial I did for this month’s issue of NYLON featuring an all pink suit story…

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You know that it would be untrue

You know that I would  a liar

If I was to say to you

That hair couldnt much higher.

Ok, Ok sue me. Had to do it. You should know by now that I missed my calling as a supreme lyricist. Instead, Im a hair twirler who inserts music into every possible aspect of my life. Here, we have an editorial I did for this month's issue of NYLON featuring an all pink suit story on a red headed hottie.

AnneLise is perfect. Period. She's French. I meeeean.....like, duh. Her hair would make the bitch from Brave jealous. She does amazing artwork and she has a great sense of humor. I just cant. So I wont.

Gianpaulo was on the makeup beat and I always love working with him because he reminds me of all the chic and fabulous things that I will never be in life. J. Errico was styling which meant that there was a lot things I wanted to try on but I was wise enough to keep my mouth shut. Jimmy Fontaine shot the story and he works swift and smoothe, which is my favorite combo in life. Miss Pop was on nail duty and you know how much I love that one. I can never have too much Pop in my life.

Anne's hair has a brain of its own, with lots of different textures throughout it. I had options: make it all one beautiful curl casserole or keep it funky. So, really, had no options. I'mma always opt to keep it funky. I kept the majority of what she had going on and upped some of the curls around the hairline and back then picked it all out.

et voila.

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New York Fashion Week is finally over.  This was my best one yet but I am happy its over. 

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aka the latest edition of how Amika is making it hard out here for a (hair) pimp.

So the girls at Amika came up with this style extending spray called The Shield and I recently got my hands on a can of it. At first I was all, great this is like Chew 5 gum for blow outs. Not that I have sooo many blowout clients but I speak on behalf of the hairstylist nation when I say "SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!!!". Just kidding. Its late. My insomniac humor borders cheesy as fuck. But back to the point.

'The Shield' is letting the kids go a bit longer between blowouts. We should all be thankful really. Or at least our biceps should be. The Shield is, in my head, a peculiar mix of a dry shampoo and holding spray. This could TOTALLY be wrong, but thats the only way I could make myself understand how it did what it did. Liiiike, you can totes get two...well, one and a half MOST DEF, blowouts using this stuff!

I put The Shield to werrrk on Sydney  recently while shooting with Melina Tavares and Maria Ortega. Sydney's hair was pretty clean and had a bit of body. I intentionally did the least amount of leg work necessary to really test this 2 for 1 theory. So this is how it all went down.

First, I sprayed The Shield sparsely throughout the roots of Sydney's hair.  I figured that would soak up any oil that may have thought it stood a chance. I, personally, like to dry in hair products so I took my baby blower and hit the scalp a little too. But this is just frou frou fashion shit. You can skip it, I suppose. I then prepared large sections of hair by spraying VERY LIGHTLY through the ends of the hair before the next step.

Next, I took an iron (I used my Amika flat iron but a wand works too) and wrapped large panels of hair around it in alternating swift movements. Its important to keep whatever hot tool you choose moving up and down the hair. This kills stupid curls or ringlets from forming and instead allow for more of a wave/body.

At the very end, I just ran my fingers through Sydney's hair and let her toss it about. The holding agent in The Shield helped with definition and texture. And from there I was sold!

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2 Of U: How to Get BOGO BlowOuts Forever ft. Amika

2 Of U: How to Get BOGO BlowOuts Forever ft. Amika

aka the latest edition of how Amika is making it hard out here for a (hair) pimp. So the girls at Amika came up with this style extending spray called The Shield and I recently got my hands on a can of it. At first I was all, great this is like Chew 5 gum for blow outs. Not that I have sooo many blowout clients but I speak on behalf of the hairstylist nation when I say “SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!!!”.…

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i fell asleep beneathe the flowers: Oyster Magazine Gucci story

i fell asleep beneathe the flowers: Oyster Magazine Gucci story

Well, the weather outside is finally frightful. And this shoot was only done, like, last month. ‘Twas a cold day but the way we put our thang down, flipped it and reversed it… Yea. I was happy to get some new work out for Oyster magazine this week. I did this one with photographer boo Amber Mahoney. She’s so fucking fetch. This editorial was giving us full on Gucci shows. I kept the model Allie’s…

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Well, the weather outside is finally frightful. And this shoot was only done, like, last month. 'Twas a cold day but the way we put our thang down, flipped it and reversed it...

Yea.

I was happy to get some new work out for Oyster magazine this week. I did this one with photographer boo Amber Mahoney. She's so fucking fetch. This editorial was giving us full on Gucci shows. I kept the model Allie's hair in a really brushable state with a drop of added texture. A tuck behind the ear here and there kept the looks natural and subdued.

On this shoot we randomly saw this gorgeous old school whip and of course everyone wanted to take pictures with it. Of course, also, the owner of the vehicle happened to catch us. Normally, this kind of thing gives me anxiety. I'm like preparing for this authentic 80's punk Brooklynite dude to rip us new assholes. He didn't. He was flattered. I was in love. With his wardrobe. And his accent. He let all six of  us girls take snaps of him and his car until we grew tired.

Brooklyn is so good.

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Portrait of Cassandra McLennon

Portrait of Cassandra McLennon

  Since appaently Black Girl Magic is the new wave (I personally believe Black girls have always been quite magical), I felt it was good way to get back into my blogging groove with this beauty. I was brought on a job to do hair for personal portraits of Cassandra McLennon, lingerie designer and dark queen and I fell in love with her badassness. For her look, I gave her blueblack stupid long hair…

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Its reallyfuckingweird to be chilling with your friends listening to an artist and then working with them shortly after. Right? This is totally not normal, right?

Well. It happened to me recently. My fashion guru Kyle Luu had me checking out Tinashe's catalogue one minute during a chill sesh and the next minute I was booked to do her hair for an editorial for Nylon.  Also note, Kyle later got booked to style her for another dope mag. Trippy.

So I was nervous about the gig as I always am but I was more nervous about working with the stylist on the job actually. Shiona Turini is this cool fashion girl that I'd been following on IG forever because I loved her style. I had also heard from people that she wasn't so nice, hence the apprehension. Dude, she was mad chill. Thats why I find it quite silly to judge someone based on another persons experience with them. But we're all human here, ya know?

On this shoot I also worked with Angel Williams who is another major manicurist that I love. We talked textured hair extensions for like the entirety of the shoot. She later got her some and they looked fab. Olivia Bee shot Tinashe at Acme Studios in BK. If you don't remember anything else I say here, remember that you need to visit Acme Studios at some point. Its a magical, creepy, intriguing place to be. I met makeup artist Gianpaolo Ceciliato for the first time on this shoot. He also worked on the Paper magazine #Horror shoot I posted recently too. He is a dream times ten. So so chic and sweet.

The team wanted to give Tinashe a laid back glam look so I straightened her wavy tresses with my Corioliss K2 Iron (that I am still so obsessed with) and loaded up bae with Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. Simple shit. I loved the way Olivia shot her and am really happy to have been a part of this one.

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If you dare put me, Lindsey Williams and Miss Pop all on the same damn job I cannot guarantee any real work will be done.

Just kidding. But I love working with these girls. I never laugh as hard or as often as I do on the job as I do when Im with Miss Pop. And Lindsey is like the human equivalent of Hello Kitty- just cute and sweet for no fuckin reason. Both girls have lots of sass, which I love and they both love me, which I also love. I'm sure I just shat all over the rules of punctuation there but its my blog and I'll incorrectly punctuate if I wanna.

Ok. Let me focus here.

So.

The three of us trekked to 'Where-the-fuck' Brooklyn to shoot Gus Birney with Eric T White for Nylon's December issue. Eric's studio was pretty cool. But I also happen to have a weird studio fetish. Like, I'd totes illegally live in one. But only if I were a man and didn't require a real legit bathroom. Totally unrelated. Sorry.

Liz Rundbaken brought loads of Chanel goodies and more for this flora themed shoot. I went for a slightly coked out grunge prep princess vibe with the hair. Love platinum blondes. Why blonde and cocaine go hand in hand in my mind is probably another reason I need to see a therapist. Halfway through the looks I thought Gus was looking more Blair Waldorf than Courtney Love so I pulled her hair up for variation. Dude. Out of nowhere she morphed into Gwen Stefani. Like dead ringer. I lived. So happy with this one!

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You already know how much I love me some music. Discovering new artists is always a fun thing but the story of how you got to that new track , artist or sub genre is usually next level dopeness in and of itself. Obviously I have a story to tell you so go on and get comfy.

Fellow D-town representative and hair elite in the making Ro Morgan hit me up a few weeks ago to see if I was free to work with this up and coming performer, Candice Hoyes. I was, and before I knew it Sunday had rolled around and I was heading to Dumbo to shoot some promotional material for Candice with photographer Jessie Obialor.

Candice had forwarded a few hair references that included one of my life's muses: Solange. I was dumb stoked to get into it. Candice rolled up with her hair already set in tiny ringlets. Thank the lordt, because we were shooting on location with zero access to electricity for me to plug in my tiny  marcels. I used a series of paddle and boar brushes, clips and texturizing hair spray to shape Candice's hair into Diana Ross/Hadley St. Dreams realness.

Dude, it was quite nippy this day but Candice handled it like a champ and we honestly had a blast. I can't tell people enough that theres nothing like an all girls team on a photoshoot. Fuckin good vibes, yo.

Anywho.

In the midst of waiting for the images to be released from our shoot, Candice invited me to one of her performances and there was no way I was going to miss it. She'd warned me on the shoot that I'd be surprised by the kind of music she did and I so was.

I should've known I wasn't in Kansas anymore when she invited me to The  Piano Room in the West Village to see her perform with her band. Tucked into the lower level of 14 Christopher St this spot is really cute. I was going to invite this dude I thought was really cool but I forgot and he's now an idiot. That was not an integral part of this story but clearly I needed to get that off my chest. Candice hit the scene right on time. And I mean that literally and figuratively.

She covered an impressive selection of work from her album, On a Turquois Cloud. Everything from Duke Ellington to Sade was on the audio menu. I was so here for it. Think classic jazz singer with a few opera moments mixed in. Then just add swag. Obviously I bought a copy of her album that same night and its been the antithesis to all the Trina I've been listening to since the boy jumped stupid. On a Turquois Cloud is for your cold winter nite merlot and classic movie chic shit. If you don't get that description you need to just go take a listen right now. This is just one of the many reasons why I have no complaints. My job is literally to go meet inspiring women who introduce me to new things and help me further develop into an amazing woman myself.  Yassssssss.

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On October 31st, 2015 I found myself in a nightmarish situation. I was booked to do a few actresses for Paper magazine's Fandemonium issue. These actresses were to be featured in a horror movie themed editorial in support of the #Horror film. It was amazing. There were a bunch of actresses that were apart of this shoot and I was lucky enough to be hired to do THREE of them. Other actresses had different hair and makeup people. That alone was pretty cool. Savannah White was styling the shoot and she happened to be on that first Nylon shoot I did way back in 2014. We'd stayed connected via Instagram and when I showed up to the job and saw her there I knew my day would be popping as long as I was spending it with her.  I had received very little info about the shoot so I was like a headless chicken for the first hour or so. Once I got the rundown of exactly who I would be doing, I was able to mellow out a bit. Just kidding. I found out the names of the actresses I was going to be working with as well as the character they'd be portraying during their individual portrait at the same time. Great. So I had to work out a plan as to how I could give Taryn a wet hair look without giving her pneumonia AND simultaneously turn Stella's extra long straight hair into a shoulder length curled do plus figure out which variation of Catherine Deneuve Natasha wanted to play on.

Lord Beyonce, it was rough.

The spirit of Halloween was definitely at Dune Studios on this day because somehow we killed. Taryn was a wet dream. Stella werked her face off. Natasha was so bang on. I could go on for days about this one but I won't. My hands hurt and the pictures speak for themselves here. I will say that this shoot was cray and I cannot believe I was apart of it. I wanted to buy like 10 copies of this issue but the newsstand boy informed me they were $10 a pop so I said, 'Chiiiill'.

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This is easily one of my favorite works to date.

Duh, I love the images but there was is so much more goodness associated with this shoot. Obviously the model, Leomie Anderson, had the most to do with said goodness. She's gorge as fuck. She's hilarious. Her sneaker game is better than you and your street wear fuckboy friends' combined. She blogs too (CrackedChinaCup). And the icing on the cake is that she is also a Victoria Secret Angel. As in, she walked that legendary runway for this years show.

The rest of the team was eh. Just kidding. I worked with fashion stylist Memsor, which was so so so so so epic for me. Mark Edio was on makeup which was also epic because I actually was his assistant last year so it was dope to be working side by side with him. Sacha Maric was  the photographer and it was my first time working with him. I LOVE how he operates his set. We had a blast all day.

I was stoked that when I mentioned I didn't want to add extensions to Leomie's hair, the team was down. I feel like mainstream magazines always want to give black girls the same damn hair. I love that Nylon is so NOT about that life. We did a top knot with a lot of frays using my Corioliss tools.

Ah. I'm getting excited all over again!

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I know I said I wasn't going to do a corny ass 'year in review' kind of post but be warned I'm getting really close to doing just that right now. I have published work in three national top tier fashion magazines on stands/in stores right now. I did the work, I knew it was coming but holding them all in my hand at the same time was unfuckinreal. Especially because they are all publications that I truly respect and admire.

When I got my copies I practically slept with the issues under my pillow. Thats how emo I was about it. I'd planned on sharing the work (here and on social media) but I wasn't going to share my excitement or proudness (is that a word?) behind it. Why? Because I never want to come off as douchy and I never want to lead anyone to believe I think that I'm a big deal. But isn't that such a stereotypical way for a woman to look at things?  Like, I don't want to publicly celebrate my accomplishments out of fear of looking like a supreme asshole. OR out of fear that Im going to jinx myself and send my career into a downward spiral. Ah, the joys of being a Capricorn.

But then I was like, 'Dude. This is rare as fuck. You may not ever experience this moment again in your life. Enjoy it. Appreciate it. Scream it from the gotdamn rooftops. Be proud of yourself AND unapologetic about it. Anyone who would take that as you being a self centered douche bag is an idiot. You guys know my story. Im not some well connected, ass kissing, immaculately curated hot fashion person. But I am a bad ass motherfucker in my own right.

If you see the new issues of Nylon (Jan), Paper (Dec) or Cosmo (Dec) pick it up and holler at a player.

;)

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I got a pleasant surprise in the mail recently from the good folks at Amika - a new tool. You may or may not know this but I am something like a beauty hoarder. My mind does not compute 'enough' when it comes to beauty products. I probably have just as much makeup as legit makeup artists which isn't a big deal except for the fact that I literally only wear jet black eyeliner religiously. The box of peacock feather false lashes I have are living a very boring life in my beauty closet next right next to my entire collection of OCC loose powder pigments.

Ok, hol' up.

I'm pushing it when I say 'beauty closet'. More like 'beauty shelf', boo. In my previous life I was a drag queen, for sure. I still am, just on the insides though.

Anyways. About this new tool.  I crack open the box and find the 'Movos', a wireless flatiron. I shrieked. I danced. I may have even kissed the pretty box. But then it hit me.

After admiring its pretty construction, its purpose finally sunk into my thick skull. This thing is actually designed to ruin my life. This is a damn gift from Satan!

Not following me?

Dude. As a freelance hair stylist, you are often asked to do hair under  some of thee most 'what the fuck' circumstances. In some of the most 'what the fuck' environments. And when you're a person who's always up for a challenge, you find yourself being left only to say 'what the fuck' a whole fucking lot. One of the most annoying situations to do hair in, for me personally, is outdoors/on location. Why? Because chances are, there's no freaking electrical outlet in the alley some artsy fartsy photographer decided to shoot in. And that same photographer may not have factored that into the equation when they decided they wanted the model to have a hair look that requires some damn heat styling.

Oy vey, bruh. Now Im expected to be a magician...

So here comes Amika. Making a tool that eliminates that debacle. Now we editorial hair Houdini's have a back up plan for these kind of less than well planned jobs. But thank Beyonce the charge on the wireless tool lasts less than a half hour. Thats just enough time to make something happen but not enough time for the team to request turning a Team Natural model into Naomi Campbell. Whew.

I guess the Movos aint so bad after all.

:)

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I permanently live in a state of hair schizophrenia. Deciding what to do with my hair next is usually a toss up between two totally different looks. Last week I wanted a half braided, half weaved Zoe Kravitz situation. This week I'm really loving having my own natural hair curled like Im en route to church. But I also just got this bomb.com Naomi Campbell wig that is just glorious...

Enough about my problems.

I'm sharing this shoot I did a superfuckinglong time ago that I didn't give enough social media love to. Interesting though, the Instagram was really into. Thanks to MUA Maria Ortega, OCC and Beautylish reposted the palm tree pony and the image went fake viral. Ok, sorry Im talking to you like you live in my head right now but its 1 AM and I've literally been on my computer working since like 1 pm.

Mama needs a breather.

Just kidding. Thats how I ended up so bloody behind to begin with.

Oh Lordt. Let me get back into this here work.

Models Lauren and Carolla let me go off the deep end here with these looks and they did not give me a single look of "what the fuck" the entire time. Thats like, TOTES, disarming. Sometimes I wanna get all weird but then Im like, 'Nah, they're not gonna get it/ they think I'm ugly/ why am I here'? When the model doesn't really give a shit and just wants to go back to bed Im like "Yahhhhhhsss". Kidding. These girls were great.

So back to hair schizophrenia and whatnot. Got a few different looks you wanna play around with? Why choose? Do them all, boo. Who gon' check you, boo? Thats kind of what I did with these unfortunate babies.

Lauren got a play on texture while Carolla got looks that played with shape. Both girls got mean makeup mugs. I really found it hard to pick which looks I liked best. There was another model on this shoot as well. She was gorgeous and had a badass buzz cut.  Needless to say, she was more of a makeup look. Which is why she's not present in this post.

So yeah. Im pooped. You've talked me to death.

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Chances are you don't take field trips to arcades in Queens at your job. 

For the ‘High Score’ editorial in November’s Nylon, I created a very wavy texture for the model, Eden, using my Corioliss C3 flat iron. The wave creation didn't take long and the results lasted all damn day.  

We shot a bunch of jacketed looks which allowed me to do some high ponytails for once in a while. Im all about a high pony moment!