Pam has completed her shopping, and now it’s time for hairstylist Nick Arrojo to work his magic on Pam’s curly mane:
“Hi Pam, how are you?” Nick asked as he stood behind Pam, who was sitting in a barber’s chair.
“Good, thanks,” Pam smiled politely.
“So I notice you have this clip in your hair…” he observed, motioning to the clip that kept Pam’s hair back.
Pam squirmed in her seat, “Yeah… well, my hair’s pretty curly, and it sometimes can get a little out of control, so it’s just easier to keep it pulled back.”
“So would you maybe like to regain a little bit of the control back?”
“Yeah, that’d be nice.”
Nick nodded in understanding, “Okay, well how about I give you a style that’s much more manageable, and that is still easy to do in the morning? How does that sound?”
“Sounds great,” Pam smiled brightly.
“Alright,” Nick said hesitantly, “But, that means that I think it’s time to throw this clip away. May I?”
Pam bit her lip and eventually gave a reluctant nod, “Okay. Go ahead.”
Nick took out the clip and handed it to Pam, and then brushed her hair forward to get a better feel for what he was working with. “Okay Pam, we’re first going to even out the color here, cause it looks like you have some highlights that don’t look exactly natural. So we’re going to color you all over and give you a little more of a copper tint.”
“Okay…”
“Then, I think what I’d like to do is give you layers, so you don’t have as much to have to work with and your curls stay under control. And after that, I can show you a few techniques to help you make your hairstyle more refined and tailored.”
“Cool,” Pam agreed.
…
“So this copper is going to bring out some of the natural hues that are in your hair already,” Nick explained as he mixed and applied the color to Pam’s hair.
Pam asked nervously, “How dark is it going to be?”
“Oh not dark at all,” Nick put her mind at ease. “It’s going to be more auburn than anything, sort of a light reddish-brown. It will work really well with your skin tone.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Now it’s 30 minutes,” he told her, finishing up with the color, “then we’ll take you to the backwash and get you back here for the cut.”
… … …
(Nick and Pam are back at the barber’s chair with Pam’s hair in a towel.)
“The color is all done,” Nick told her, “and you can see that the copper tint is already there a little bit while your hair’s still wet, but after it’s cut and dried, it’s going to really come to life.”
“I can’t wait,” Pam told him, admiring her new hair color in the mirror.
“So, I’m gonna layer your hair, make it feel a lot lighter without losing any of the length,” he explained as he began to cut her hair with a razor. “And the goal here is really to give you a cut that really looks luxurious, soft, feminine, sexy, and still very easy to manage and maintain.”
“That’s a lot to accomplish,” Pam commented.
Nick gave her a friendly smile as he continued to shape her hairstyle, “I think it’s very doable.”
…
“The cut’s done. So now we’re going to use two products in your hair,” Nick explained. “One is a volumizer, which you need just a few pumps of, and the other is a curl cream… and you always put the product in through the roots first and then through the back.”
Nick worked the products through Pam’s hair and then held up a hairdryer. Pam laughed, “I don’t think I’ve used a hairdryer in a really long time.”
“You haven’t?”
“No, I just let it air dry.”
Nick put an attachment on the end of the hairdryer, “Well that’s about to change, because in order to really give your hair the shape we’re looking for, we’re going to use this diffuser. It really defines the curls. But first…”
“What…?” Pam asked hesitantly.
“We’re going to turn you around so you don’t see until we’re all finished,” he smirked, turning the chair away from the mirror.
…
“Are you ready to see your new and improved curls?” Nick asked a very excited Pam.
“Definitely,” Pam practically squealed.
“Okay, here we go…” Nick said, slowly turning the chair around. Pam gasped at what she saw in the mirror; sure enough, the curls that she had always wanted were suddenly there. Nick laughed, watching how astonished she was, and told her, “You can touch it, it’s your real hair.”
Pam chuckled to herself, embarrassed, “This is really… wow. I really love it.”
“Well I’m glad,” Nick smiled. “Now let me show you, if you want more of a tailored look, you take this curling iron here, and just curl one-inch sections of your hair all around your head.”
“This is great,” Pam told him as she watched him work, “Because I never knew how to do this, but I always wanted to do it.”
Nick chuckled, “Well that’s what I’m here to show you.”
…
“So now you have very defined, polished curls,” Nick told Pam as she played with the curls lightly in the chair, a huge smile on her face. “And you can wear it either way depending on if you need to just wash and wear, or if you have a little more time to spend on it.”
“Thank you so much, Nick,” Pam said, getting up from the chair to give him a hug. “This is really great.”
“Well enjoy it,” he told her as they hugged, “and enjoy the rest of your journey.”
… … …
Carmindy arrives at the studio to complete Pam’s transformation:
“Hi Pam,” Carmindy waved as she stepped into the studio. “Your hair looks lovely.”
“Thank you,” Pam giggled.
“So tell me a little bit about your normal makeup routine,” she asked as she studied Pam’s face.
Pam bit her lip, “Um… nothing? Maybe… some lip-gloss? Mascara if I’m really feeling…”
“Adventurous?”
“Yeah.”
“So you’re a quick, get-up-and-go kind of girl, you don’t wear a lot,” Carmindy deduced.
“Right.”
“What do you think is your best feature?”
Pam thought for a long moment, “Um…”
“Can I tell you what I see?” Carmindy offered, to which she received a nod and a smile from Pam. “I see a beautiful pair of hazel eyes, and I see an electric smile. And I think that today we should try to play up those two features while still keeping things quick and easy to do, and also keeping it subtle. We don’t need to go over the top because you have such a beautiful face already. So are you ready to learn and follow along?”
“Okay,” Pam replied, unable to keep from blushing.
…
“So first,” Carmidy explained, “we’re going to even out your skin tone. And you have such beautiful alabaster skin already that we want a very light foundation. We’re using a spray foundation that we just spray on the makeup pad and rub on to even everything out.”
“Oh wow,” Pam admired herself in the mirror. “My skin looks great!”
“See? That’s all it takes. And next, it’s time for eyes. We’re going to use a color palate of browns and plums to keep it very natural. Now this cream color you’ll want to apply just under the brow and in the tear duct.”
“I’ve never seen that trick before,” Pam told her.
“Well, it’s really all about making your eyes appear wider, and so when we bring light colors to these strategic places around your eye, they catch the light and really open your eyes up.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So now, we’re going to use this brown liner to make your eyes very defined and make them stand out. You smudge it right into the lash line… and then, we’re using this beautiful plum color, which contrasts nicely with your eyes, and we’re sweeping it across the lid of the eye… Okay, let’s put some mascara on you, and then that is it for your eyes.”
Pam batted her lashes a few times for fun, “They look really nice. I see what you’re talking about with the light colors opening up the eye.”
“Would I steer you wrong?” Carmindy asked jokingly. “Now we’re just going to finish you up with this lovely rose color on the apples of your cheeks… and a lip-gloss with a high pigment that acts like a lipstick and lip-gloss in one. It’s all you’ll ever need… And look at you! You’re gorgeous!”
“Oh my gosh,” Pam gasped in amazement, turning her head to see all the angles of her face.
“That is all you, dear,” Carmindy reassured her with a proud smile. “Do you like it?”
“Oh, absolutely I do,” Pam beamed. “It’s really amazing to think of how little I needed to do to make such a big impact on the way I look and the way I feel...”
“Well we’re happy to help,” Carmindy told Pam as she gave her a hug. “Good luck to you sweetie.”
“Thank you so much Carmindy.”
… … …
“I’m really happy about wearing my hair down,” Pam told the interviewer. “I always felt like I was kind of copping out by wearing it back all the time, but it didn’t really matter too much because I wasn’t concerned with how I looked: my clothing or my hair or… anything, really. But now, with all the new clothes and now that Nick showed me how to do my hair and Carmindy showed me how to do my makeup, I’m definitely going to keep it up. It’s the change I was looking for…” Pam hesitated for a moment before shrugging lightly and admitting with a smirk, “And I know that a couple other people in my life will like it too.”
… … …
Next, Pam’s new style light’s up the What Not To Wear studio, and the Electric City:
“She’s always been beautiful, but now you can really see that she knows it.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
I know everyone's been excited for hair and makeup, so I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! Special thanks to Little Comment, just because I can. :P Please read, review, and enjoy!
P.S. Anyone catch the WNTW marathon this past weekend? I couldn't get enough of it!!!
P.S. Anyone catch the WNTW marathon this past weekend? I couldn't get enough of it!!!
Chapter End Notes:
Photos!!
Pam's hair, the natural way.
Curls done with a curling iron.
Lovely makeup, and a nice, happy medium on the hair too.
Blanca requested a before picture, and I thought this was a good idea:
I don't know why she's so happy, her hair's a hot mess.
The big reveal is next, so stay tuned!
