I'll Be Moving On

I have a long and sordid history of getting into relationships with the wrong kind of people.

In high school I never wanted these kinds of relationships, and thought I was an independent woman and could take care of myself. With time and wisdom, however, I realized that there are things a gal can't do on her own no matter how independent she is.

Like, say, achieve the perfect highlights.

So yes in late high school I made the leap from DIY color kits and experiments with Sun In (ok and in one ill fated incident, with a friend's Jolen facial bleach) and got myself a hairdresser other than whoever happened to be on duty at Supercuts. It was a lovely little salon in downtown Braintree whose name escapes me but was a favorite amongst the blue haired old lady set which is why our relationship did not last long. But I did learn about the beauty that is a layered cut, especially when you have Hair For Days.

I dabbled with a few other salons in Braintree, especially after an unfortunate OH HAI! DYING YOUR HAIR BRIGHT DAMN RED AT HOME IS A GOOD IDEA incident. And while they all had their good points, I could not commit.

In college, I frequented Dellaria in downtown Boston for a few semesters. I liked that their blowouts were only $20 so I would treat myself to one once a week on Friday mornings before class. They also did a pretty decent job with highlights - who knew that getting highlights did not ALWAYS necessitate using a cap and a little scalp-picker/comb? It was quite illuminating! But as time wore on the allure of downtown Boston faded and I began going to the Dellaria in Braintree at the mall. Here I met a stylist I would be with for a while. . She had a way with color and to this day still gave me the best cut I have ever received. I literally brought in a picture of SJP and was like "please make my hair look like that" did it and I was in love and it grew out BEAUTIFULLY! Then she decided having babies was more important than doing hair (how dare she!) and I never saw her again.

Snif snif.

I tried to go to a coworker of hers who she recommended but we had a difference of opinion. The difference being I said I did not want eggplant colored hair and she decided that I did.

Sigh.

Around this time, my bff Andy started working at a LOVELY salon on Newbury Street and so I followed him there and for about two years, as I have expounded about on this blog many times, had a fabulous hairdresser and fabulous hair and could not have enough good things to say about them. I still don't.

The thing about me is? I am cheap. Well no,cheap has a nasty connotation so let us say I am budget-minded at times. And this salon was always pretty reasonable for a Newbury Street salon but when a letter arrived stating they would be raising the prices on all of their services, I did some calculations and arrived at the decision that it might be best to test other waters. I mean fabulous hair can be achieved at other places. And it had been a while since I went to a salon in the actual town I live in (which is chock a block with salons) so why not?

I did some research and asked around at work and after hearing the same great things about the same place, I arrived at the front desk of Aura Salon in Quincy last night, ready for a cut, partial foil and blow out. My stylist K, was super friendly and sweet and we chatted about what I wanted, where I was coming from, etc and then dove in.....and did a FABULOUS job. My highlights are exactly what I wanted and the cut is perfection. At the beginning of the appointment I half apologized for the behemoth that is my hair, and she scoffed "My hair looks exactly like yours when I don't straighten it". Hello! No one can do curly hair like a curly haired girl, am I right? I was very pleased with how it turned out, she at no point made me feel rushed and I appreciated that she didn't have 3 other clients and could focus exclusively on me. She also gave me free samples of the products she used on me so I can try them out myself at home before buying. Love it. Oh and the price? About $100 for all of this.

!!!!!!!

At that price I can definitely go once a month and it's conveniently enough located so I can pop in on a whim and get a blow out if I so desire. Score!


(obligatory sh*tty camera phone pic)

I finished off the night at a local restaurant/bar with some friends and I have to say, martinis taste a little better when you've just had a fabulous hair cut.