by Aude
See that Swedish looking girl up there? That’s me. But no, I haven’t always been that blonde. Actually, wasn’t until just a few weeks ago.
See that Swedish looking girl up there? That’s me. But no, I haven’t always been that blonde. Actually, wasn’t until just a few weeks ago.
Here, I am with my natural blond. Quite a change, right? And you know what, this is a change I’ve been embracing and loving!
So back to a few weeks ago when I still had my quite dark natural looking blonde. I actually been wanting to go for something less natural and more fashionable, more noticeable for a few months but didn’t dare to do it for several reason. The main one being that I am one of those girls who have a hate/love relationship w/ hairdressers. I mean, I love the idea of going to the hairdresser. Always quite excited about it but most of the time leaving the place heavily disappointed. How it is possible than even when I come with inspiration photos (sometimes like a dozen of them) and a very clear idea of what I want, the result is nothing like I was expecting? I’ve been lucky that even if the result is usually not what I wanted, it has never been bad. But still, highlights or colour and a nice cut at a nice place isn’t cheap. So why am I always paying for something that is not what I wanted? And why do I always say “yes it’s nice” when they ask me if I like it when I actually feel like crying of disappointment? Am I the only one like that?
In March, after few months of being like “today is the day, I’m going polar blond” and then just a few minutes after “it’s never gonna work, they are not gonna give me what I want, it’s not even worth trying” and “what are people gonna think? And what if it doesn’t look good on me?” I finally booked myself an appointment at a well-known salon in town all excited to finally get my Swedish blonde. I spent literally 5h there just to hear at the end “I just love this colour on you. It looks so natural. Like you haven’t done anything to your hair and blame it all on the sun for those natural highlights”. What the f***k .... I don’t want natural! I want something drastic! I want a blonde that is almost white. I’ve shown you 10 pictures and I am 100% positive that none of them was featuring natural highlights! Ok, I’m over-reacting because it wasn’t that bad. It was indeed a beautiful natural blonde with nice golden touches (and I have actually recommended this salon to several friends who were looking for a place where to get natural highlights) but just absolutely not what I’ve been asking for. Am I ever gonna find someone who actually listen to what I want and is capable of giving it to me?
This summer, I decided to give it another go. Really wanted my polar blonde as I thought it would go perfectly with a summer tan. But where to go?
Decided to try Emmanuel f.
So back to a few weeks ago when I still had my quite dark natural looking blonde. I actually been wanting to go for something less natural and more fashionable, more noticeable for a few months but didn’t dare to do it for several reason. The main one being that I am one of those girls who have a hate/love relationship w/ hairdressers. I mean, I love the idea of going to the hairdresser. Always quite excited about it but most of the time leaving the place heavily disappointed. How it is possible than even when I come with inspiration photos (sometimes like a dozen of them) and a very clear idea of what I want, the result is nothing like I was expecting? I’ve been lucky that even if the result is usually not what I wanted, it has never been bad. But still, highlights or colour and a nice cut at a nice place isn’t cheap. So why am I always paying for something that is not what I wanted? And why do I always say “yes it’s nice” when they ask me if I like it when I actually feel like crying of disappointment? Am I the only one like that?
In March, after few months of being like “today is the day, I’m going polar blond” and then just a few minutes after “it’s never gonna work, they are not gonna give me what I want, it’s not even worth trying” and “what are people gonna think? And what if it doesn’t look good on me?” I finally booked myself an appointment at a well-known salon in town all excited to finally get my Swedish blonde. I spent literally 5h there just to hear at the end “I just love this colour on you. It looks so natural. Like you haven’t done anything to your hair and blame it all on the sun for those natural highlights”. What the f***k .... I don’t want natural! I want something drastic! I want a blonde that is almost white. I’ve shown you 10 pictures and I am 100% positive that none of them was featuring natural highlights! Ok, I’m over-reacting because it wasn’t that bad. It was indeed a beautiful natural blonde with nice golden touches (and I have actually recommended this salon to several friends who were looking for a place where to get natural highlights) but just absolutely not what I’ve been asking for. Am I ever gonna find someone who actually listen to what I want and is capable of giving it to me?
This summer, I decided to give it another go. Really wanted my polar blonde as I thought it would go perfectly with a summer tan. But where to go?
Decided to try Emmanuel f.
Why so?
First of all, the salon is quite renowned among expat people. Then, and most importantly, they use natural, organic and eco-friendly products. I thought taking care of my well-being while helping protecting the planet wouldn’t be a bad idea plus it is not like I’ve had a successful experience with traditional products.
Plus, I loved my first contact with them. I share few photos and their first answer wasn’t like “sure, we can do that” but “ok, let me double check that based on your current colour, we can get you your dream colour”. Because after all, that might have been the reason why it wasn’t working with the other salons. Maybe what I wanted was just no doable on me, but no-one has ever told me.
Well lucky me, the feedback was positive. Seems like they were confident they could give me my polar blonde.
So here I am, seating at their salon. All taking care of by Tika, Creative Stylist.Trying not to have to high expectations in order not to be disappointed and already preparing myself to leave the salon with a natural blonde, as usual.
Well, at least, I’m having a good time. Reading magazines, drinking tea and enjoying discussing with Tika. Not even noticing that I’ve been here for already more than 2h and that she is still working on applying the organic colour hair by hair. Whoa, such a meticulous work. First time I’m being given such a precise treatment. Starting to feel quite confident that this time is going to be different. I have actually spent a few more hours in the salon, particularly enjoying my time in the shampoo room: a black room with LED lighting covered ceiling making it look like a starry night sky and relaxing music.
First of all, the salon is quite renowned among expat people. Then, and most importantly, they use natural, organic and eco-friendly products. I thought taking care of my well-being while helping protecting the planet wouldn’t be a bad idea plus it is not like I’ve had a successful experience with traditional products.
Plus, I loved my first contact with them. I share few photos and their first answer wasn’t like “sure, we can do that” but “ok, let me double check that based on your current colour, we can get you your dream colour”. Because after all, that might have been the reason why it wasn’t working with the other salons. Maybe what I wanted was just no doable on me, but no-one has ever told me.
Well lucky me, the feedback was positive. Seems like they were confident they could give me my polar blonde.
So here I am, seating at their salon. All taking care of by Tika, Creative Stylist.Trying not to have to high expectations in order not to be disappointed and already preparing myself to leave the salon with a natural blonde, as usual.
Well, at least, I’m having a good time. Reading magazines, drinking tea and enjoying discussing with Tika. Not even noticing that I’ve been here for already more than 2h and that she is still working on applying the organic colour hair by hair. Whoa, such a meticulous work. First time I’m being given such a precise treatment. Starting to feel quite confident that this time is going to be different. I have actually spent a few more hours in the salon, particularly enjoying my time in the shampoo room: a black room with LED lighting covered ceiling making it look like a starry night sky and relaxing music.
The result? You’ve seen the picture on top of this article. Everything I’ve been wanting and no-one else has, so far, been able to give me!
A month later, I still feel very happy with this colour. I’ve been warned by Tika that since it was organic it wouldn’t last as long as a chemical one. Well, I’m actually just coming back from two weeks spent under the sun with salt and sand in my hair and 1. My perfect colour is still there 2. My hair looks healthy and isn’t damaged at all.
Feel like I had to know more about Emmanuel and the story behind his salon now that I’ve decided to make this one my fav (and so far, the only one I love) salon in town! So decided to ask him how, being French born, he ended-up here in Hong Kong running is Hair Salon, Spa, Boutique using eco-friendly and organic products:
A month later, I still feel very happy with this colour. I’ve been warned by Tika that since it was organic it wouldn’t last as long as a chemical one. Well, I’m actually just coming back from two weeks spent under the sun with salt and sand in my hair and 1. My perfect colour is still there 2. My hair looks healthy and isn’t damaged at all.
Feel like I had to know more about Emmanuel and the story behind his salon now that I’ve decided to make this one my fav (and so far, the only one I love) salon in town! So decided to ask him how, being French born, he ended-up here in Hong Kong running is Hair Salon, Spa, Boutique using eco-friendly and organic products:
“It all started 35 years ago. I’ve been passionate about my job since day one and have always wanted to create the best possible hair and beauty experience for my clients. When I turned 30, I was diagnosed with cancer. Which put me on a long journey of learning how to care more about myself and putting my health first. Which took me to wanting to take care of the health of my family, my friends and my clients. This is when the idea of having an healthier hair concept started growing. They say that if it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger. Well something like that. I say that love, passion, courage, perseverance, faith, dreams and a good dose of luck has brought me success and happiness.”
Emmanuel f.
U/G
The Pemberton
22-26 Bonham Strand
Sheung Wan
Emmanuel f.
U/G
The Pemberton
22-26 Bonham Strand
Sheung Wan