Spring into the season with a new hair style

I stole this article off www.sheknows.com because it's informative and Jessica, Jen, Lori and I all go to The Beauty Parlour to get our locks in tip top shape.

Visit the salon at www.hobokenbeautyparlour.com and www.myspace.com/thebeautyparlour
and if you're in the area, get your butt in their chairs! Seriously, everyone will complement your hair.

Added bonus-- there's a DJ booth so fear not, the guido stations will NOT be played!

*joelle, who suggests you ask for her man Michael and tip him well because then he can take her out to dinner. ;)






Is your hair all frizzed out this winter? Do you want to know what's new in hair color and styles for Spring? We went right to the experts to get all the answers. Christopher and Maira Padula, co-owners of The Beauty Parlour in Hoboken, NJ, took time out to share these haircare tips and trends with SheKnows readers. Christopher has vast experience working runway shows, including Oscar De La Renta, Yohji Yamamoto, Michael Kors and Diane Von Furstenburg. Maira Padula has extensive and color training from the likes of Wella, Paul Mitchell, L'Oreal, Farouk, and Redken.



Frizzy Hair: The BEST solution is learning how to control frizz is to learn how to give yourself a thorough and proper blow-dry. Hair becomes frizzy when it’s not completely dry at the start. That said ... if your hair is looking dry and frizzy because of the weather (or all that static coming from your favorite cashmere sweater) there are good products to help smooth it down. For a quick fix, use a weightless styling crème like L'oreal Texture Expert "Smooth Essence." This should be every girl’s best friend. While I like this product though, any clean and light product that does not disrupt your style or weigh it down should be sufficient to control fly aways and static. – Chris Padula

Spring Hair Color: This season, it is all about showing off gorgeous hair with a bright and noticeable color. Bold and rich hair is going to be a bigger hit this Spring than natural and subtle colors, so it is a great time to have some fun and try something new and exotic. Nature seldom gives us better rich color than a bottle, so for those looking to experiment with hair color, now is a good time to get started. Complement your new look by letting the color do all the talking. Move away from abrupt heavy styles, a la the Katie Holmes bob, and move toward something a bit lighter, looser ... and more care free. – Maira Padula

Short Hair: The most important thing to do when contemplating a short hairdo is to go to a stylist that you trust completely. There are too many stylists out there do not understand how to do a great, feminine-looking short cut. You should ask questions to find out if the stylist understands bone structure (not everyone can pull of a Mia Farrow) and that that the closer they cut to the hairline, the more "boyish" it will look. We suggest leaving a short cut with something around the edges to play with, flip out, curl under and add some texture.

If it is already too late, you can make your short cut look more feminine by curling it a little with soft curls or waves. If you try to straighten it too much, it will clamp to your head and you look like a politician ... a male one. Just use a little pomade and let the texture do the work. – Chris and Maira Padula

Flirty Waves: After doing hair for fourteen years I realize most woman want to look and feel great, but don't want to let their date think that they went TOO out of your way for him. Here are my suggestions for bouncy, flirty, easy date hair. Avoid the severe "blow it straight and iron it" process and try something new.

Here's how: Invest in some medium sized velcro rollers, some long metal rollers, and a great volumizer (I recommend the Loreal Serie Expert "Volume Extreme" Spray). After you get out of the shower, towel dry your hair as much as possible so you do not dilute the product. Spray a few sections of your crown at the root with the volumizer for body and then just dust the ends with the same product to attain some control.

Then, with a blow dryer, roughly dry your all of your hair, concentrating on the roots. When your hair is about 95-98% dry, put in the rollers. You don't have to get too precise with how you place them ... if you have a good cut, the shape will do the hard work for you. Once the rollers are in place, dry your hair that last little bit while it is on the rollers. It is very important to let your hair cool on the rollers (This is a great time to do your make up!). With minimum fuss, your hair should have some nice bouncy, flirty waves when you take it down. Give it a shake and your ready to go!" – Chris Padula

With more than 14 years of salon experience, Chris Padula has serviced salons in New York City, including Gil Gamlieli, Brad Johns, Prive, Laicalle and Joseph Martin. Furthermore, Christopher has styled magazine write-ups, television preparation and the Mariah Carey "Fantasy" video. Maira Padula is one of the best colorists in the area. Formerly of renowned Mad One Jacks in Hoboken, Maira has more than 10 years of salon coloring experience. If you are in the Hoboken area, make at an appointment at The Beauty Parlour.

You're a filthy, drunk Hoboken

So today I made a field trip to Hoboken to go to the Beauty Parlour for a haircut and glaze (I like the word "glaze" because it makes me think of donuts, and I really like donuts) and to see The Gay Blades play at Maxwell's with Readymade Breakup, Hero Pattern, and some soft rock band (their words, dude). This blog was originally going to be about that, but then I drove home.

Through my first ever DWI checkpoint.

Having never consumed a drop of alcohol in my life, I wasn't expecting any problems, but they came, and they came in bulk. My first issue was with simply pulling up to the stop area. The cop's foot was on the line, so I stopped short of it, which, through some masochistic tendency that I don't care to dwell on, the officer disliked.

Then he proceeded to ask me what in the world I was doing in Hoboken. I told him, "I went to see the bands playing at Maxwell's."
He asked if they were any good.
"Three out of four were wonderful. One out of four was mediocre at best."

He kept scowling with skepticism, and at this point, I didn't know what to do. So I asked him plaintively and politely, "Sir, is there anything further I have to do here?" I thought since he wasn't letting me pass, he was going to ask me to walk in a straight line. This terrified me, because my billboard-sized birthin' hips don't allow that to happen, alcohol or no; in addition, my inch worm of an attention span would probably prohibit me from reciting the alphabet backwards without long pauses to look at shiny things.

The officer then handed me a drunk driving pamphlet and told me to read it and be on my way. I told him I wouldn't read it til I got home so I could keep my [lash-batting] eyes on the road. He glared at me. I rolled off.

The moral of the story is, don't drink and drive so I won't have to go through shit like this. I don't have the patience to argue with the poh-leese at 2 AM.


*By Jess, who was instructed to blog about the show by the newly bearded Jason Kundrath, but wound up getting offtopic

Rooney & The Rewinds (say that five times fast)

I had the pleasure of a guest list spot at Rooney's show in Hoboken at Maxwell's, their first Jersey appearance in three years. Friendly, energetic, and interactive, they played a variety of new and old material and engaged the over-sold out crowd in their Beach Boys-with-a-twist style singalongs. I strongly encourage you all to get their new album when it drops next month, because everything they played from it was just as good, if not better, than their self-titled debut. I loved their set so much that I spent the entire length of it recording it on my friend's voicemail for us to relive later on.

Another fun part of the evening was the sole opening act, The Rewinds, who were just as catchy and fun and infectious as their headliners. Discovered and handpicked by Rooney through the ubiquitous MySpace, the Birmingham, Alabama natives will probably be headliners soon, if not for their killer songs, then for their neat merch--they have ribcage shirts (similar to Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, who is one of my heroes) and--get this--a Rewinds gumball machine. It's clear that they're going places, and hopefully one of those places is a return to Jersey. We like them here.


*By Jess, who feels like she's hogging this blog space and got a killer haircut at the Hoboken Beauty Parlour this weekend.