There’s even a vlog at the bottom of this post where you can see the hair makeover as it’s happening & yes I will be giving one of you lucky duckies the chance to win your own #HairIsFashion Makeover.
I’ve wanted to experiment with ‘unnatural’ hair color (like pink, blue, bright red) ever since I was about twelve, obviously then I wasn’t allowed to do so, and it’s always been a ‘bucket list thing’ but I just never got around to it.So a few weeks ago I got the chance to get a #HairIsFashion hair makeover at Lakmé Salon with their new Show Stopping Hair Collection for Autumn Winter 2014 & just looking at the catalogue made me very excited so I quickly booked my appointment.
When I reached the salon, I was introduced to my stylist, Shefali Balsara who is a Senior Stylist there. I cannot speak highly enough about this lovely lady. I’ve had a lot of haircuts in my lifetime, & I’ve spent anywhere between ₹100 – ₹2,000 on haircuts & I’ve learnt a lot of things, firstly it is that a fancy price salon chain or hefty price tag doesn’t always get you a good haircut. I’ve been to style directors at good salons who have been judgemental & pushy & forced me into doing something that I wasn’t comfortable with. I know what you’re thinking, ‘they didn’t hold a gun to your head’ but when you put yourself in a hairstylists chairs, you’re in a vulnerable spot & you’re pretty much at their mercy. And why am I brining up all this stuff now, you ask? Well because for once, this experience was in complete contrast of it. Shefali was smart, cheery & respectful. She didn’t try to force anythhing on me, listened to what I had to say & offered her inputs wherever pertinent. I can’t speak about the other stylists there, but I recommend Shefali completely!
The first part of my appointment was the consultation. The Show Stopping Hair Collection for Autumn Winter 2014 is a set of edgy, bold cuts & colors (see the whole catalog embedded above). You can get exactly what you see in the catalog or of course tailor your hairstyle to suit your choice & requirements. 
I loved the Auburn Blend as it is but my hair is obviously too short for that exact look. I also liked bits of the Phoenix Contrast, i.e. how the color was placed but wasn’t a fan of the brassy copper used, it wouldn’t look good with my skin tone. Besides I had my heart set on red. 
Finally we came up with something that I was happy with. I wanted a bob (because it’s quite easy for me to blowdry & I’ve had a bob in some form or the other for the last year). However, at my last haircut (see the ‘before’ picture at the top of this post) when I said bob he just gave me this really straight haircut with some tapering from the back to the front (like most bobs). Otherwise, all the hair was the same length. That sort of thing may work with thin, caucasian hair but it doesn’t work with my thick / voluminous / frizzy Indian hair, it resulted in my having triangle hair where the top sat flat on my scalp (no root volume!) & the rest tapered down to form a triangle. Ugh. So I asked Shefali to give me a bob while taking off some of the extra volume & weight around the side & to give me a sideswept fringe as I need something to cover up my large forehead but I didn’t want to commitment of a full fringe. Generally we kept the length but of course everything was trimmed to deal with pesky dry ends.
Color wise, we decided to go with a reddish-violet global color with some very vibrant peek-a-boo red streaks that start around my left ear & go till the back of my head on the left side, I thought it would look nice just blowdried or even tied into a pony tail.Shefali started with applying the bleach (on unwashed hair in my case) as the very vibrant red bits would need pre-lightening & afterwards she applied the global color, of course I captured that in my vlog because I looked like a scary tinfoiled alien at that point. She then took me for a wash, applied the bright red & then rinsed it off too. I know they used Schwarzkopf Inoa Colors on me, I’m not sure of shade names sadly. 🙁
After the wash my hair was cut. After my hair was blow dried completely, she cut it some more. Cutting dry hair sounds like a scary concept but of course she knew what she was doing, she just gave some shape & added texture, apparently it’s a signature thing they do at Lakmé Absolute Salon, with every stylist having a slightly different signature.
The End Result : I really couldn’t stop smiling!
Overall I had a wonderful experience at Lakmé Absolute Salon getting my #HairIsFashion makeover, I’d even go so far as to say it was the best hair experience of my life until now, & I do not use superlative terms like ‘best’ lightly. Never underestimate the role good hair can play in your entire look, I feel like a whole different person!
And here’s the vlog of my hair makeover (with a little bit of a cool YouTube party I attended after).
And now I know what you’re waiting for, the rules of the contest!
Thanks to Lakmé Salon one of you gets to win your own #HairIsFashion Makeover. I’m running the contest over on YouTube (you have to enter through this video) but I’m reprinting the rules here for convenience.
Step 1. Like this Video (Thumbs Up!) & Subscribe to my Channel: http://magali.co/subonyoutube (COMPULSORY)
Step 2. Leave a comment on this video telling me why you think #HairIsFashion! (COMPULSORY)
Step 3. Tweet me why you think #HairIsFashion. Don’t forget to include the hashtag & tag @magali_c & @LakmeSalon! (OPTIONAL, maximum two tweets)
Last date to enter is 10th January. One winner will be picked & announced here & on twitter on 11th January. Good luck!
Contest open to Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata only.
So what do you think of my look? And what are you waiting for, head on over to the video to win a makeover for yourself, good luck!
love,
Magali
