It&ly <3s Hollywood

Hello from Las Vegas! It's super sunny here and the hair is hot, hot, hot! I'm here for It&ly Hairfashion's "It&ly Loves Hollywood" event, along with two full days of cut, color and style education--so far, so good!

The day began with a lovely lunch with the Megan and Alicia from NaturallyCurly.com, love those girls! All three of us rocked our curls all day and really enjoyed catching up and chatting about textured hair trends, how the industry is changing, and some fun techniques to mix different textures of hair to create versatile looks.


Then, I headed to the Hard Rock Hotel's Body English Nightclub for the chance to interview some of the most incredible hairdressers I've met!

First I spoke to Betsy Reyes, who used to work for MTV and then moved to Gossip Girl--cool! She was in the middle of styling hair for tonight's show, so I didn't get the chance to take a picture with her : ( Tonight, though, for sure!

I got the chance to meet Bonnie Clevering, who has done the hair for some of the world's most famous people, everyone from Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley (ahhhh!) to Kristen Stewart, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. This woman is AMAZING. Bonnie was telling me about a film she just finished with Edward Norton, Leaves of Grass, where Norton plays twins. Bonnie was challenged with the task to make Norton look like two different people, yet are similar enough to come off as twins. Very cool!



Bonnie is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where she actually votes on which films should win Oscars! Very cool!

Then, I met Barbara Lorenz. Barbara has worked in many facets of the beauty industry from commercial and print campaigns to music videos, premieres, Academy Award and Golden Globe Award ceremonies. She's won award after award and is definitely someone you should know! She was telling me a very cool story about how she did the hair for the TV show Charlie's Angels, and then did the movie Charlie's Angels decades later. Very, very interesting to talk to her. In terms of her success and her big break? "Let me tell you something... it's all luck. Right place, right time."



Barbara and I were laughing about some of the divas she's styled... she spent 6 months in Mexico doing the hair for one of the movie industry's biggest male divos... yet it's definitely paid off. She's been nominated for an Academy Award, won the Hollywood Make-Up Artists and Hairstylists Award, Emmy nominations and MVPA Music Video Awards. It was such a pleasure to meet her!

I also got the chance to sit down with Kimi Messina, one of the stylists from Dancing With the Stars. Love her! She's so much fun to talk to! She was telling me a little bit about a "day in the life of..." and she's certainly got quite the schedule! In the beginning of the show, before contestants start getting voted off, the day starts at 7 in the morning--and goes all the way until 5 at night. WOW! That's a lot of hair! Once people start getting voted off, later in the season, the days aren't quite as long. What hurts the most at the end of the day? "My feet! I'm standing so much and running back and forth, chasing everyone down making sure everyone's where they're supposed to be."



Kenneth Walker. My oh my. His career is just amazing. I am astounded at the amount of work he's done that's just been so incredible. After graduating beauty school, he opened his very own salon just two years later. TWO YEARS LATER! Wow! "It was overwhelming, it was definitely a challenge." His career is truly remarkable. Not only has he done the hair for Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington he also has done Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, films with Tyler Perry and countless other celebs. When he and I were talking about his career, you could literally FEEL the passion for the industry coming out from his words. "I am so in love with this industry," he says. And the industry loves him back.



Then I got to interview Daniel Ruidant, you may recognize his name because of his son, or his father or even his grandfather--that's right, FOUR generations of hairdressers. That is so inspirational! Daniel was born in Belgium and has the unique distinction of being the youngest World Champion Hairstylist in the history of the World Olympics. He was has been a trainer, coach and judge of the National/International World Olympic Championships for 25 years. I loved getting to meet him! We talked a bit about how hair, like fashion, constantly evolves. Trends from the 60s, 70s and 80s are back, but with a twist. Throughout his career, he's traveled to cities all over the world and has realized the huge connection that fashion plays with hair. It's no wonder his son just got done with New York's Fashion Week!



Then, I met up with Janice and Jessica McCafferty--who both just got their hair done by some of It&ly's amazing team. Check em out!



I'm so excited about tonight--there's a big It&ly Hairfashion show, Daniel Keane, National Team Member for It&ly Hairfashion, was telling me all about it. It's going to celebrate and honor Hollywood hair--iconic looks, period hair and beautiful styles--and I can't wait to see it all come together! Stay tuned for more blogs!