Best Cut and Colour in NYC!

So I'm still trying to play catch up with all my New York posts that I want to do, so I'll continue on the theme of beauty after my last post on NYC's best facialist which hopefully you guys found helpful. I'll move on to the best stylist for cut and colour in NY. You may remember my post from last year where I'd talked about my visit to Frederic Fekkai for my regular cut/colour routine. I'd been visiting Mia for.. well, forever, and Jeffrey for a few years as well. They're both amazing and I absolutely love them! Since I was to be in the city for 2 months this year, I decided to get my hair done right when I came and right before I left. I went in for a cut (unfortunately Mia wasn't in town so they suggested someone who had trained under her.. I believe the girl's name was Nicole) and a few days later, went back in for my colour. While I was in NY though, I was reading through one of my favourite beauty blogs that I've mentioned before, Into The Gloss and somebody there mentioned that they get their colour and cut done by a guy called Harry Josh, who apparently is also the only person Gisele Bundchen ever trusts with her hair. So I'm thinking, yes I absolutely LOVE the guys at Fekkai and have sworn my allegiance to them for years now, but after all, this is GISELLE we're talking about! Who doesn't want to replicate those perfect, flowy, gorgeous waves she has?! I did some research on him and he genuinely seemed to be very, very good with both cut and colour, and hadn't just gotten lucky with one celeb client. Ok so before you think, we know who she went to, let's stop reading here, the story isn't over yet. I emailed his assistant a few weeks before I left to book with him, and just as I thought he might be, he was completely booked out till after I left for Dubai. Luckily for me, his assistant Blake was not only super prompt at responding but was super nice and asked if I wanted him to give me the names of people Harry recommends to clients he isn't able to see himself. Since I'd decided to stray from my usual course anyway, I requested him for the names and booked myself in for colour with Amy Huson and for a cut with Ryan Cotton at the Marie Robinson Salon in NYC.
Let me pause here and tell you guys that before booking yourself in with ANY celebrity hair or skin person, I can't stress how important it is for you to do research on them and see that YOU gel well with their style. John Sahag is a very celebrity hair stylist in NYC who is known for his dry, choppy razor cut look that's very "in" but not very "me". Rita Hazan is also a colourist who is touted as being the best in NY and does Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Simpson amongst other celebrities. I've seen her work and I think if I wanted super light chunky highlights in my hair that start from the root of my head, I'd get it done from any Lebanese hairstylist in Dubai for one tenth the price.
Also if the stylist is based in the US, you probably will have places where you can check on reviews on the temperament of the stylist which is just as important as their styling abilities, if not more. If the person is known for having a bad attitude and not bothering with their non-celeb clients, trust me, they'll do a botch up job and you won't be happy. So anyhow, I did the necessary googling on Amy and Ryan before booking with them and was happy with what I read.

Amy Huson

 I was more worried with the colour than the cut as I knew I wanted to keep my hair long, and wanted a few natural looking highlights towards the ends of my hair rather than the root. Amy understand what I wanted and was really very good at giving me the colour I wanted. Technique-wise she was just as good as Jeffrey from Fekkai, whom I still think is AMAZING, but what made me like her that slight bit more was her ability to not only incorporate what I wanted now, but understand that I would have issues keeping up a high maintenance colour later and work around it and the colour she gave me was exactly what I wanted. Before I left the salon, she handed me a piece of paper with the colour that I should request back in Dubai to get my roots done, as well as the type of toner I should request the colourist here to use so as to not make my chocolate highlights go reddish. Again, I really appreciated the attention to detail and about her caring how the colour didn't only look as I walked out of the salon, but how it wore in the future.

Ryan Cotton

Since I'd had a cut only a month and a half prior and a really good one that too, I wasn't really going in expecting Ryan to transform my look.. I was more curious and figured since I was there, I might as well get a trim. Surprisingly enough, it was the cut I received that absolutely blew me away! I went in requesting not too many layers as I hated scraggly ends, not too much taken off as I was trying to grow my hair, not too much happening in the front as a short fringe would completely frizz out.. I'm amazed he wanted to cut my hair after that at all. But cut, he did. Not only do I now have one of the best cuts I've ever received in my life, it's easy to maintain and looks great either straight or with a few waves in it. He gave me a few slight layers just around my face to frame it, which thanks to the colour I got from Amy, lights up when my hair touches light. Again, I don't like obvious streaks in the hair neither can most people really tell I've done too much to it, although I've gotten quite a few compliments on my cut and/or my hair since I've been back. My middle sister even went to the extent of saying I should send send over a present to Ryan for my cut since it was was so fabulous! Since she herself frequents the chair of uberstylist Rossano Ferretti, she'd know a thing or two about recognizing a good cut if she saw it, so that in itself was a great compliment to receive.
I really couldn't be happier with my hair right now and I cannot recommend them both enough! Which obviously leaves me with a dilemma of seeing Harry Josh the next time I'm in New York. Till then, the duo of Amy Huson and Ryan Cotton remain my picks for the go-to people for the best colour and cut in NYC!

A pic I took after my salon visit. My hair looks MUCH lighter here since it has direct light hitting it in the bathroom!

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For more information about Amy, click here
For more information about Ryan, click here and here

Best Facial in NYC: Mamie's Skin Care

When you have problematic and sensitive skin like I do, it's always a task to find a good facialist who can give your face a thorough cleansing and not make you break out while you're at it. And since NYC has some of the best spas in the world, I always try to get a good facial while I'm there. I was a huge fan of the Triple Oxygen Facial at the Bliss Spa in New York.. in fact, I was a huge fan of the spa in general and all their treatments. Last year when I visited though, I noticed that the spa desperately needed a facelift and that had gone too commercial and mainstream. The facial as well left my skin looking red and blotchy and I decided to do some research about finding a new and better place the next time I visited. Turns out I didn't have to, as my best friend Payal found Mamie for me!

Sorry about the random title showing up.. it's the only larger picture of her I could find!

Payal has sensitive skin just like I do, and found Mamie after doing a bit of research and went to her for a facial, not really expecting too much. Turns out, she was blown away by not only the treatment, but the attention and advice she received, and I don't know if I mentioned it in my birthday post from Paris but Payal wanted for a facial with Mamie to be part of my birthday present too- that's how much she loved her new discovery! I did some independent research on my own and was quite impressed with what I read about her. She obviously had gathered a lot of press because of all the celebrities she frequently treated, but I also appreciated that random people had posted reviews about her and how incredible and thorough she was on their skin and how warm and inviting she was in person, which made me really look forward to checking her out.
I finally made my way to her a few weeks before I was to leave NYC as I wanted to have nice glowing skin before I headed back to Dubai. Her center is tucked away in a building a few blocks away from where I was, and I was quite surprised to see how homely the atmosphere was. The place is tiny and the waiting area is lined with pictures of her clients... not celebrity mugshots and signed autographs,  but wedding pictures and random photographs of people of whom some you recognize and some you don't. Mamie herself couldn't have been more lovely and while I expected to be sleeping through my facial, I was so happy to have her chatty, giving me skin care tips and advice, dispelling skin myths as well as a bit of Hollywood gossip thrown in. The facial lasted much longer than I expected, and she poked and prodded and squeezed and pampered every bit of my face, and then to cool the redness down, actually wheeled in a tank of oxygen herself to use it at the end to calm my skin down. Not only did I walk out of there with glowing, dewy skin, but I had a face with no redness in it AT ALL... which for a person with rosacea is very rare even on a good day!
While I knew I was in love while I walked out of her clinic that day, what I really loved is her passion and sincerity for her work. She does not push her products on you at all, and will recommend stuff only if you ask her to. A lot of the skincare she also recommended she didn't even sell, and for example, she told me to treat the dry skin on my body using pharmacy bought Eurcerin. I needed to pick up a serum that they didn't have in stock the day I went in for my facial, and a few days before I left New York, I went back in to pick it up. I had a few questions about whether it would clog my skin, etc, and since Mamie was free at that time, she came out to personally answer my queries. She noticed a few breakouts on my chin and asked if I had time and took me in to have a look, after which she gave me a mini facial clearing out all the clogged pores. Almost 45 minutes later I emerged with my skin glowing and I was super happy and headed over to the receptionist to pay for the treatment. The lady looked at me confused and said it was for free.. it was only when I refused to leave without paying something did she go in and talk to Mamie and charged me a nominal fee. And no, she didn't know I was a blogger or would be doing any sort of review on her.. she just wanted to help some random girl from Dubai who was visiting New York whom she probably assumes she'll never see again.
If you are in New York or ever going to visit and want to get a great facial while you're there, I literally cannot recommend Mamie enough. I think she truly is one of the best in the world, and it really is no wonder that celebs like Sophie Dahl have in many an interview sworn by Mamie and credit her with their porcelain complexions!

Pictures and press of Mamie with some of her celebrity clients. Taken from Mamie's website found here

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Kiehls launches new products!

I absolutely LOVE trying new skincare and body care products and for YEARS now Kiehls has been one of my favourite brands. I used to use a lot of their haircare products while at college, and even though they were quite expensive to splurge on on a limited student's budget, I still used to make sure to save up to buy a lot of my staple favourites. Ok so it's been a few years since I graduated (ok quite a few years!) and I still stayed loyal to quite a few of the Kiehls products and would make it a point to stock up on them every time I went to the US. My mother is another fan of their stuff and used to make me buy some of her favourites while I was away too. You can imagine my thrill when a few years back (I think it's around 2?) Kiehls started to stock in Dubai. You can imagine my SUPER thrill when I received a little goodie bag from them a few days back with samples of two of their new products for me to try! Ok so I've received a few goodies from my friends in the electronics world (Sony Ericsson being one of the most generous with their gifts to them- thank you guys for that!!) but I was so thrilled to get samples of skin products as I absolutely love love LOVE shopping for them and trying out new things in that segment as well as make up. Anyhow, I thought I'd do a small feature on their two new launches as well as let you know more about the other stuff of theirs I'm obsessed with.

The new products they've come out with are the Ultra Facial Oil Free Lotion as well as the Ultra Facial Gel Cream (pictured above). The two are perfect to be used in Dubai's hot summer as wearing regular cream can sometimes become way too greasy and cause you to have breakouts and your make up to slip right off your face. They have two other products out in the same range that are the Oil free cleanser and Oil free toner which they haven't sent me, but I'm sure are great as well. To be honest, I haven't tried the products yet as I have recently picked up some new products at Biolite  after a facial I got there (I'll get around to doing a review of them soon too!) and I want to finish those before opening up any new products. I also used to use the regular Ultra Facial Cream which is one of their best sellers and I used to absolutely love it, till I started to be a victim of adult acne and had to switch to oil free products, so I can't wait to try these!
If you're curious about Kiehls as a brand, here are some of my favourites that you might want to try-

Creme with Silk Groom- This has been the one hair product that I've been using since college. It is a favourite with celebs and product junkies and is an absolute must have! It is directed to be used before styling, but I use it after as well to add some luster and shine to my hair, especially when it's looking dry and frazzled.

Lip Balm #1- There is a reason why a product like a lip balm that is available for very cheap prices at a supermarket or pharmacy remains one of the top sellers at Kiehls. It is superbly moisturizing and actually applies into the lips rather than a lot that just tend to layer a coating on the lips if you know what I mean. I used to buy tons of these from the US and bring them back. Kiehls also was one of the first to have a rose tinted lip balm that I absolutely LOVED. I use the Mac ones now but if you love the feel of their lip balm you must try their tinted one too!

Cucumber Herbal Alcohol Free Toner- I have extremely sensitive skin and while I don't like using a toner every day, I like keeping this on hand for days I do want to use one. While I usually use a La Mer cleanser, I love this non-irritating Kiehls toner.

Creme de Corps- This used to be my mother's absolute favourite as she likes her creams to be massaged into her skin. She used to make me buy loads of these for her, but I just ran into her bathroom to check as I know she switched products and she now has a ginormous bottle of the Instant Satin Soft Body Rub Moisturizer. I know the product has been discontinued so I don't know what she's going to after she gets done with this. Creme de Corps has a light-weight version as well so maybe she'll go for that?

I have 3 products from the "Superbly Restorative Argan Oil" collection- I have the dry oil, the skin salve as well as the body cream. I SWEAR by all 3 as I have really really dry skin and need all the moisture I can get. The dry oil is great on legs when you want a bit of moisture but are running out of the house and don't have time to use cream and wait for it to absorb, etc. The skin salve I use on particularly dry areas that need some TLC and the skin cream is for when I have time to moisturize all over. I just saw on their website that they have a Body Cleansing Oil which I think I'm going to have to try! I also noticed that the body oil I use now comes in two sizes... It used to irritate me to run out of the damn thing so soon with the smaller bottles.

I know I've tried a whole bunch of their other products that I can't really think of right now, but these are ones that I currently own and hence have gone back for repeat purchases. If you do want me to do a review of the oil-free products I was sent, let me know and I'll pop them open and give them a try before I leave for the summer (which is incidentally in a few days!)

Thank you Kiehls for sending them to me, and if any other brands want to send me products to review or feature, do let me know! (Mac.. are you listening???)
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NEW Bootiful Corner- Featuring Ayesha Depala

I recently was reading this absolutely FABULOUS blog that I'm in love with called Into the Gloss which gave amazing beauty and make up tips from the most fashionable people in the US, often giving their readers a peak into their make up cases and vanity tables to showcase the products they used. If you're a make up and product junkie, you'll soon get SUPER hooked onto the blog and just won't be able to get enough! It got me wondering about a new segment for my blog though, and about people I know whom I'd personally love to receive tips from about their face products or favourite make up brands, or even to get a sneak peak into their little black book to find out who does their hair colour or gives them that perfect haircut. The most obvious person for me to feature for my first post was the gorgeous Ayesha Depala. I'd gush about her and explain why, but really after looking at this picture is there really any need?? I didn't think so.
Yes she is a fashion designer and yes she's always so well dressed and put together, but you can't deny that had she not had that flawless olive skin and impossibly high cheekbones to match, she wouldn't be the perfect model for her own clothes as she is today!
I asked Ayesha to share her beauty secrets with me which she most readily did and mentioned that she herself is quite the product junkie and loves trying out different brands, so I'm sure she's gone through quite a few to reach the final list as it stands today. Thanks Ayesha for sharing with me and my readers!

What are the bath/shower products that you use- 

Bath- La mer The body refiner, Molton brown body Naranji body wash and hand wash,clarisonic face brush,Jo Malone red roses Bath Oil.

Kiehls  creme De corps Body moisturiser and  creme De la The body moisturiser.

What is your daily beauty routine- brand of cleanser/toner/moisturizer or any home made remedies... What are your fave scents!

Cleanser-dermalogica microfoliant,Kiehls deep action exfoliating cleanser,Kiehls vit C serum,Creme de la mer moisturiser.

Creme De La Mer the concentrate,Obagi system for when my skin is need of TLC.Shu Umeura make up remover face oil.

Perfume- Van cleef- Gardenia Petale , Carnal flower and Lys Mediteranee both From Frederic Malle.I love Jasmine and Tuberose but these three are my all time favourites.

 

What does your daily make up routine entail? 

Lancome Teint Miracle foundation.Bobbi Brown concealor.Gueirlan bronzer,Bobbi Shimmer brick,

 

Favourite Hair Products!

Hair- Shampoo- Kerastase Oleo Relax shampoo and conditioner ,Sebastian potion 9,Sebastian Trillaint and Halo Mist for shine.

Give us a peak into your Little Black book please!

Cut- Robert at  Media Rotana  ,Colour Maria Dowling,Facials at La Mer Bloomingdales and Dermalogica clensing facial at sisters,Hot stone massage at Sensasia.Bikram Yoga at Club Stretch.

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Hope you guys found this new segment useful.. Do let me know if you have any questions (for Ayesha or me) or have any comments.

Also if you haven't already, do check out Ayesha's hubby's blog for all things fashionable at Red Velvet Nation

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