In celebration of their 130 years of hair color innovation, the Wella Professionals Discovery Tour set up camp at the Old Orchard Mall this weekend in Skokie, IL. The event provided women across the country inside access to professional colorists who demystified salon color brands, educated and inspired women to discover their best hair color. The experts on location offered free, personal recommendations as well as discounts to participating Wella salons.

A DJ stands on the Wella red carpet, at the entrance of the tent
Back of the Wella Professionals' tent

When I arrived at the Wella Professionals' color consultation tent on Saturday (also on Sunday too) the sun was just peaking through the clouds and the mall was packed with passerby. After finding my destination, I joined the steady stream of people walking on the Wella red carpet towards their free color consultations. Everything from the DJ playing some tunes in the background, to the friendly faces of the Wella colorists made this a very inviting and attractive event.

                           Guests could book an appointment at a Wella salon after their color consultation.

To get a free color consultation, guests were first escorted to a sign-up area and then to Wella's "Inspiration Station," where they could look through magazines and ask color questions to Wella educators. They were told to fill out some brief questions on a consultation sheet, and then they would get their "before" picture taken. If they chose to upload their photo to Wella's or their own Facebook page, and then hit the "Like" button, they would get a chance to win a $200.00 gift certificate! Throughout the two days of the event, Wella gave away six $200.00 prizes!


External Relations Manager for P&G Salon Professional. "First to educate consumers that professional hair color is better, and second, to drive consumers to Wella salons."

When it came to be my turn for a color consultation, I met with Wella Colorist, Liza Taccona, from Shear Elegance Salon & Spa in Northbrook, IL. We discussed what kind of hair color I was used to, the look I wanted to achieve, if I wanted to do something subtle or dramatic…etc. Laptops were situated outside of the Inspiration Station so that
       clients could upload their "before" shots onto Facebook.

To help decide on a color for highlights, she whipped out this giant color wheel of all the Wella color shades. "Since it's summertime, people have been asking for reds, coppers and caramels, basically warmer colors," she says. "Even though we get some occasional platinum blonde requests, people today are preferring the more natural look." By working at an event like this, Taccona was able to pass out brochures from her salon and better network with clients.

Guests of all ages came in to get a color consult
Wella colorist Liza Taccona helps a guest with their color consultation. The guest ended up being the first to win a $200 gift certificate!

"My favorite part about the event was educating women about hair color," says Wella Educator, Nicole Revish. "Some women only come to a salon when they have a mishap-when really, getting a professional hair color consultation can save you money. At this event, I am trying hard to get women to try the Wella brand."

A Wella colorist helps a guest pick out which color shade would be best for her, based on her skin tone and preferences.

According to Liz Ginter, Wella tour manager, the event was definitely a success. "We have so far had the event at numerous retail locations, where people are more in the mood to browse. People in these settings are more willing to stop by for 15 minutes," she says. "Old Orchard was a great area to set up our tent, there's lots of people everywhere."

The Wella Professionals Color Discovery Tour has already visited New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Miami. After their visit in Chicago their next stops are Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. "This event has helped us bring out the Wella name to the public a little more," says Wella Educator, David Nieves. "There are so many people who don't know what brand of color is going in their hair. At this event we hope to educate others on how to enhance their features by using Wella."

So how many consultations were there in all? 227 on Saturday and 272 on Sunday!
For more information about Wella Professionals visit www.wellausa.com.

 Wella Educator, David Nieves holds up a range of Wella color swatches!