Samuel Cole Salon = It's not a haircut, it's a lifestyle.
Driving up Six Forks Road, I was nervous. In my head, I was
thinking that this might be a major mistake, and berating myself for being one
of those people who enter every contest that sounds remotely interesting. It
was a facebook post from Raleigh Moms Blog that offered a free cut and color
from Samuel Cole Salon. You just needed to post why you should be the mom who
needed it. So I (jokingly but it was serious) posted “Because my hair hasn’t
been out of a ponytail in two months”. True story. For the most part it had
been the more professional low pony, or sometimes a low bun for work (I’m sure
there’s a librarian joke in there somewhere), and then at home a higher
ponytail. I actually would occasionally
read articles about the variety of ponytails you could wear.
So when
Jill Kornegay sent me an urgent message about winning this particular contest,
I read it about 3 times. My first
thought was that I almost never win anything. I did win this awesome school
bingo in 5th grade. So this was kind of a shock. I responded with
“No! I didn’t see that I won! But I’m excited!”
This was a truth and lie sort of statement. I was excited, but at the
same time faced with the reality of both pulling my hair out of a ponytail and
getting it highlighted were daunting tasks, to say the least. I received the
details from Jill, which were essentially to call Samuel Cole Salon and get set
up. Below are the details:
PRIZE
DETAILS: After consultation with KatieM, winner can decide between any of the
following color services:
Color
Retouch $82 or Balayage (Hair Painting) $182
Glaze
$82 (recommended to add shine regardless of which color service is selected)
Shampoo
Cut and Blowdry $72
Grand
Total $418 (Value) + $60 in Products of their choice
I can say without hesitation that I have never had $400
worth of anything done to my head before. Plus or minus? Not sure. When I
called, the front desk was great. They seemed excited to be able to schedule me
with a relatively new stylist to the salon, assured me she was amazing and were
enthusiastic.
I arrived
hot (it was more than 90 degrees and I had been working in the library for
several hours), and just on time, literally!
But instead of staring me down, or making a remark, they were all
“Oooh, are you
the Raleigh Moms Blog winner?”
“Do you
want to see our drink menu?”
Menu,
friends. Menu. You want to see me happy?
Offer me coffee and the new issue of Vogue
with Nicole Kidman. AND…let me drink the coffee while it’s still hot. The combination is perfection. I would have
happily just sat there and read and drunk coffee. But there was more coming.
Like this really adorable stylist who, instead of just throwing me in a chair
and messing with my head, sits me down and starts talking to me about my life.
What I do, why I’m there, what I imagine my hair could be. I think that
stylists are equipped to be psychologists on the side. She listens to me go on and on (because I
know the antics of a two year old are the highlight of anyone’s day, yes?) and
then says she has an idea and begins showing me images of how my hair could be.
She is warm and encouraging and believes she can bring it back. So I make one
of the hardest decisions of my life. I say, “You know what? I trust you. You
can do whatever you like.” Then I sit
back in the chair with my coffee and Vogue
and get to work on catching up on the important stuff. Like what people
with absurd amounts of money are going to be wearing in New York this fall, and
is Nicole Kidman’s marriage still going well?
In case you’re interested, rich people will be dressing like Mad Men
with a touch of color this fall, and Nicole Kidman is currently living on a
farm in Sydney when she isn’t working.
While I’m
hanging out, drinking a French Vanilla Latte, Katie is hard at work behind the
bar mixing and mashing a variety of colors in so many little dishes for me. She
tells me she’s going to pull out the color my hair had at age 12. I had really
pretty hair at age 12, so I’m super excited. She foils my entire head, and then
I am left to hang out again. Looking
around the salon, I realize what I am also really loving is that it isn’t
“salon-y”. Sure, there are typical salon chairs, a washing station, color
station, etc, but the ceilings are high and there are so many windows, you feel
like you could be in a lounge. The air doesn’t smell strongly of chemicals and
everyone in the chairs looks…happy. Hands down, this was the best salon
experience of my life.
When Katie
comes to get me a little while later, she tells me that she uses Oribe
(pronounced Or-bay) and Wella products- vegan, never tested on animals, and
free of chemicals that have been recently linked to cancer. Then she reminds me
that not only am I getting this amazing cut and color, but I am also due
products. I try to play it cool, like I’m always getting free shampoo, but
break into the same smile I had in tenth grade when my braces finally came off.
Katie recommends a shampoo, conditioner
and gloss that I pay for because my hair looks that good.
One deal
that Katie and I made was for me to wear my hair down every day for a week, and
to really practice working with it to see how to make it both beautiful and
every-day manageable. Well, I am in week 3, and not only is it still down most
of the time, I am still getting compliments on it. Win, win, win.
*Make an appointment
with KatieM at Samuel Cole Salon, mention me as your referral, and receive $20 off
your first hair cut and/or color!
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