Forever 27

 Let us take a moment of silence for the late Amy Winehouse and other members of the unfortunate Forever 27 Club. Then, discuss how amazing they were. Each led a new generation in style, music and mind set. People so iconic that when their names are mentioned, we can picture them exactly.

Love Janis. She is still the epitome of 1970s hippie blues/rock. Janis Joplin's care free, day three, just rolled out of bed after a night of drinking hair is still popular today. Bumble and Bumble's Texture gives just the same effect, no drinking required. 

For men in the 70s, it was all about Jimi Hendrix. The guitarist extraordinaire has shown naturally curly haired guys to just let go and grow with his ultra cool loose afro. Adrian Grenier (Entourage) and Isaac Bolivar (Happy Body, Slow Brain) have certainly (possibly subconsciously) kept him in mind when styling their hair.

 Any male human alive in the 1990s (my boyfriend included) can tell you about Kurt Cobain. Pair sun kissed, unwashed hair with the flannel shirt you didn't have the patience to fold and you have rockstar gold. Oh, don't forget the half laced Doc Martens. Those are key.

People have forgotten what real beehives actually look like thanks to latest member of the club. With hair as big as her voice, Amy Winehouse brought us back to the 1950s and 60s. I don't know if I would rock hair quite as big as hers, but I wouldn't mind being able to sing like her!

Just because

How wild is this?

Back to Natural...sort of.

 Looks like summer's hottest blondes are switching it up on us! Emma Stone and Drew Barrymore both have gone back to a copper-red tone.
 Emma Stone surprised us all at the premier for her new movie, Crazy Stupid Love with her new do. I for one thought Ms. Stone looked fantastic as a blonde but am happy to see her back to her more natural color.
 I have mixed feelings about Drew. She looks great as a red head, but she is my ideal of a California hippie chick with bed head blonde locks. Luckily for me, she keeps the hippie image alive at the launch for nutritionist Kimberly Snyder's new book, The Beauty Detox Solution.  

Not Your Average School Girl

I imagine that most women would cringe if asked to wear their hair braided. The image of a cute little school girl bouncing along with two braids down her back comes to mind. Fortunately, fashion runways and celebrities everywhere are changing that stereotype and making braids one of this season's hottest looks.

Rihanna rocks a "fish tail" braid. These typically start lower on the nape and only require two sections. just fold one side over the other until you're at the bottom! 

I would say Whitney Port is the queen of the trend, wearing braids in most pictures I have seen. In this one, she has a reverse french braid. If this seems too complicated, try the normal french braid. Start with 3 small sections at the top. Then, as you fold the hair downward, grab a bit more hair to place in each section.  You can finish the braid and leave all your hair down, or put it up into a loose bun! 

Here is the "waterfall". It was a bit complicated for even me to figure out. But the renaissance team put their heads together and made it happen! It's the normal fold of a french braid, but you split the third fold in half, then keep going! 

Our last braid (but certainly not the least) is this beautiful, twisted up style braid. The Kerestase team did a tighter version for the Behnaz Sarafpour Spring 2011 women's wear show. This may be one for your stylist, but I have seen a girl do it on herself while in line at Target (just saying, it can be done at home.) It is a classic french fold, just pull the top sections tighter when at a turn! 

 Braids can be a bit tricky, but with practice and patience are a great alternative to throwing your hair back in a pony tail. 

Stylist Spotlight!

Lori Hurley
Where are you from? San Francisco

How long have you been doing hair? 10 years

How long have you been at Renaissance? 6 years

What is your best hair moment?  When I was young I got my hair done for a dance and didn't like it. I went home, took it down and re did it myself. It looked so much better! I knew I was going to be a stylist. 

If you could do anyone's hair, who's would it be? Tim Lincecum or Brian Wilson. I would give them a new signature hair cut, they'll win the world series again and I'll be famous!

What do you enjoy doing in life (besides hair)? Hanging out with my friends and family.

What do you to treat yourself? Massages and mani/pedis

If you died and could come back as any person or thing who/what would it be? A Kerestase product for Oprah!

What is your greatest achievement in life so far? Being a great aunt to my nephews and niece. 

Where is your dream vacation? It's not where but, what. I say a lifetime vacation!

What is your best quality? I'm very truthful

What is your motto? Live, laugh, love.
What keeps you inspired? Working with so many different people.

Hot and Cold

Alright all, it's the middle of summer and it's time to get that sun kissed color refreshed! This summer is all about pop, whether it's a cool blonde or fiery red.





Emma Stone is newly blonde. To keep your blonde looking dimensional, pair cool high lights with a slightly warmer base color.

You don't have to be a "natural" redhead to get the fun copper tone (no pun intended). Reds at any level can get this pretty penny shade!















Brunettes are tough cookies who mean serious business, even when the rest of us are on vacation. We all know how hard it is to fight red when all we want is a chocolate brown! 






The ULTIMATE summer trend is Ombre or Balliage. This is a fade from your natural (or not) color to lighter tips. It's done best when the roots and ends are within two or three shades of each other, otherwise it can look a bit disconnected and like you just haven't had your hair done in a while!

Keep in mind, when switching up your hair color routine, try switching up your make up as well! More often than not, the two go hand in hand. A lot of women think they can't pull off a certain hair color when really they can, it's just a matter of changing your eye shadow to coordinate!