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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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FEATURES
PrettyCity Hosts Event at Local Salon Chihuahua Cary Grant, and gift bags were reserved for the first 100 registered guests. ore than 100 women eager The swag bag of beauty to try new beauty products goodies was much better and services crowded Glendale’s than expected, with full-sized A La Mode Hair Salon for an “Oh products instead of samples, La La” beauty bash sponsored by and geared more towards skin PrettyCity.com on Aug.16. treatments than make-up. My “We all have a full roster of bag included Softlips pure acai clients,” explained Lilit, a blonde berry organic lip conditioner stylist wearing the requisite black (.07 oz), Nelsons’ Pure & Clear cocktail dress worn by all of A La Purifying Cleansing Wash (4.2 Mode’s beauty technicians and oz) formulated for the relief of an incredible pair of red high- acne, pimples and blemishes, heeled gravity-defying sandals which is dermatologically tested, with bows on the toes, “but this fragrance and paraben-free, and event has brought in a bunch of the Brand New Day Treatment people who might not have had us Masque from One Love Organics on their radar.” which can be used straight from A La Mode Hair Salon is a the package as an exfoliating chic, modern beauty salon on the scrub or mixed with natural upper floor of an office building ingredients like honey or yogurt on West Glenoaks Boulevard. as a treatment mask. It offers a P r e t t y C i t y. wide range com, “an of services o n l i n e Women can from hair to resource for body wraps. more all things The promised beauty,” “evening of was founded when they pampering” by Carolyn was just that – in about how Brundage attendees could 2001 with the choose from belief that, they a variety of “Women can complimentary —Carolyn Brundage achieve more s e r v i c e s when they including feel great make-up applications, eyebrow about how they look and being or lip waxing and hair styling. your prettiest self is something to Appetizers and wine greeted be proud of.” But it isn’t all about the guests, as did nattily dressed looks.
By Jane Pojawa
EL VAQUERO PRODUCTION MANAGER
M
“ achieve feel great look”
WELCOME TO PRETTY CITY: Stylists Maria, from left; Lilit; Jasmine, Lilit’s assistant; Alina Sarkissian,
owner of Glendale’s A La Mode Hair Salon; Suzy; Arsineh and Monique, salon manager and Alina’s assistant welcome new clients to their VIPretty event.
Some consumer reports estimate that American women spend about $15 billion dollars annually on beauty and wellness products. “Beauty at any cost: The Consequences of America’s Beauty Obsession on Women and Girls,” a 2008 publication of the YWCA, reports a nearly 20 percent discrepancy in pay scale between women who are deemed unattractive and very attractive. PrettyCity aims to help women get their money’s worth by avoiding rip-offs: rude service, treatments that don’t work, products that don’t measure up to their advertising. They offer VIPretty events like the one at A La Mode to introduce women to local salons and stylists and coupons and freebies on the PrettyCity. com website to promote new products. “We only represent the best spas, and LOOKING GOOD: El Vaquero editor-in-chief Jessica Bourse gets a lesson in evening make-up salons medspas,” from Arsineh. A La Mode has two make up artists on staff. Diana, not pictured, is also available for special occasion cosmetics. said Audrey
Caan. Medspas offer medicalaesthetic services ranging from chemical peels and botox to breast augmentation and facelifts. Caan is a whirlwind of activity, pouring wine, greeting guests and scheduling complimentary salon services. “Our clients expect quality,” she continued. Caan brings an extensive background in marketing in the entertainment industry to her role as PrettyCity’s Los Angeles account executive. Salons like A La Mode can use PrettyCity’s services to attract a targeted clientele, while computer-savvy clients enjoy a comprehensive database of the country’s top spas, salons, and medspas and includes editorial reviews, reader reviews for both services and products plus service discounts, coupons, free samples, beauty trend stories and more. Registration is free. In other words, the internet has opened up an entirely new era of try-before-you-buy shopping opportunities. Salons can market themselves to clients, who might never have been reached through their brick-and-mortar location or print advertising, and consumers have access to products they never would have found at their drugstore or cosmetics counter. Bad news travels faster than ever before, but so do positive reviews and recommendations. Salon services are not traditionally thought of as part of the global marketplace, but this is changing
as more working women turn to their computers to make informed decisions as consumers. Back at the “Oh La La” beauty bash, Lilit, whose company Charmed Hair specializes in bridal styling, has deftly snipped some long layers into my hair and is demonstrating the use of a flat iron for curling. “Like Farrah Fawcett, but updated,” she laughs. “Do you like it?” I do, although I’m doubtful that this is something that I should try without a spotter. Two chairs over, Jessica Bourse, El Vaquero’s editor-inchief, is receiving a make-up lesson in dramatic eyeshadow. The effect is pleasing, but more for a special occasion than daily grooming, and that’s really the point. Makeovers are supposed to get you to try something new, not to reinforce what you’re already doing. These demonstrations show what’s possible on a little lift for an evening out. Jane Pojawa can be reached at JPOJAWA857@student.glendale.edu
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