A GOOD BRUSH IS HARD TO FIND

As I have established in my earlier posts, I love a good field trip and I am hard pressed to turn down anything that has to do with hair. Especially if it involves a great salon.

Well my two worlds could not have more comfortably collided last week when my good friend Lori invited me to join her for her haircut at of all places Cristophe of Beverly Hills, a gorgeous salon on Beverly Drive that is practically an institution. She was going to indulge in a great haircut and having never been, I wasn’t going to miss it. 

Cristophe is quite the modern scene: a long alleyway of a salon with two floors and over 20 fashionable stylists everywhere. Lori had been referred to Joan (pronounced Ju-aan, French for John), below, by a friend. A lovely Frenchman who took his time layering Lori’s long locks, Joan played with her hair in a way that only a Frenchman can. Blending, lifting, caressing the lengths of her hair around her neck and shoulders. The results were stunning! One of the best long layered cuts I have seen.

I made many discoveries that day at Cristophe. Joan being one of them. I took his card and may just return for a cut, even though the price is not very "160gotitfor12." But what I was most excited about were the brushes Joan used. These were fabulous round, Japanese, hand-carved, wooden-handled brushes with a ceramic core and plastic bristles, the likes of which I had never seen. 

The Y.S. Park Crazy Hot Iron Ion Brush 38H7 is antistatic, antibacterial and deodorizing with heat-resistant bristles. They come in a variety of sizes to suit all of your blowdrying needs. And faster drying means less heat damage. While blowdrying, the brushes' red aluminum barrel becomes the same temperature as the hot air from your hair dryer and the barrels' wooden inner layer serves as a heat insulator. This creates a sort of thermal storage, giving the brush properties of an electric iron. These brushes are nothing short of a dream come true for me.

Joan let me try a couple, and they were magic. He actually used the smallest size brush on Lori's long hair, which was surprising. I usually use a two-inch barrel brush on my short hair.

Now I don’t know about you, but the right round brush can make or break a good blow dry. And since I am normally at the mercy of my own, blow dry that is, a good brush is not only essential it is critical.

These brushes aren't necessarily cheap, but the value and the savings they bring are priceless. I was so inspired that I made my way home and I placed my order. Then I cut my own hair. Sorry, Joan.

Field Trippin’ At Warby Parker

                                                       

I have always loved a field trip. I am the first mom to sign up for anything my son or daughter goes on. The Getty—I’m there. The zoo—I wanna go too. A good field trip can always offer up some inspiration.

In second grade I had just flown up from a Brownie to a Girl Scout. At last I had my wings. And the first item on the troop’s agenda was a field trip to Jays potato chip factory in downtown Milwaukee. I remember the big open warehouse space, the metal staircases everywhere, the workers with their pale blue uniforms, plastic gloves and hats. I remember the sound of the conveyor belts and the fresh aroma of hot, crisp potato chips rolling down them.

At the end of the tour we all walked out with a big warm white box with Jays written in blue across the front filled with bags of freshly made chips. The purpose of trip was to show us how potato chips were made so we could earn our research badge. But I also think they were secretly recruiting future factory workers. Hey, a job opportunity is a job opportunity, but I had no intention of working in a factory. Becoming a junk food tycoon? Maybe. Creating my own line of snack foods?! Dreamy!

Riding home on the bus proudly holding my warm box of Jays I knew I was changed by that trip. My perspective on the world was expanded and my future just a bit brighter. Well maybe I can be idealistic. But that’s the power of a field trip, and I do believe I was changed by that potato chip factory.

Perhaps the boys who brainstormed Warby Parker were fortunate enough to peer inside the workings of a factory in their youth! Or not. But these are four smart guys. Graduates of Wharton, they created a business model that is hip, accessible and affordable. Warby Parker is named after two of Jack Kerouac’s earliest characters, Warby Pepper and Zagg Parker, uncovered in his personal journals.

Warby Parker is eyewear with a purpose. Buy a pair, give a pair (to someone in need), the frames and prescription lenses are $95, no matter how you slice it.

On a recent trip to the pop-up store in New York City’s Meat Packing district, I was delighted with the design of the store and the aesthetic of the brand.

              
Back in LA on a recent field trip, I discovered the store-in-store behind the boutique Confederacy in Los Feliz and was equally pleased. Many of the stores offer a complimentary photo booth to shed some fun perspective on your choices, and the online virtual gallery is extremely accurate. To get $5 off any Warby Parker glasses, physically go to the Confederacy to receive the code to use in store or online.

These folks are very accommodating and want you to be satisfied. My daughter Wyni’s purchase arrived and she wasn’t pleased with the frame color and they were more than happy to exchange.
I wanted to feature a few pairs on real faces, so here you go.

           Zeut in the Zagg and Wyni in the Preston 

    Danny in the Crosby, Cortes in the Sinclair and I am wearing the Willoughby fade 

                 Frances wearing the Winston

I’m choosing my pair this week. Let me know what you find!