At Ditto & Co we worked with Sandra Brick to help her reinvent her style. Sandra was a fantastic client from beginning to end! The full details of her make-over will be shared over time, but for now, we want to hear from you!
Please comment on your favorite ‘after’ photo! From the four that are listed, please choose top left, top right, bottom left or bottom right! We’ll share the results at the end of July!!
Sandra Brick "Before"
Our fabulous makeover model, Sandra Brick, took another step in the makeover process by seeking out a new style for her hair. Hair is one of the most important features – so I took Sandra to my favorite hair stylist, Natalie Pinault of Salon Intrigue.
D&C: What did you do to help tame Sandra’s hair?
Natalie: Product is such a crucial part of helping Sandra’s hair to look natural and shiny. With curly hair you have to put the product in really wet hair to ensure that it covers the entire shaft of the hair, that is what gives you frizz free curls!
D&C: What will you do the next time you cut Sandra’s hair?
Natalie: Well, now that the foundation cut is in the hair we will talk about what worked great and what shuld be changed from the last cut. Depending on how long it’s been since her last cut, usually just an inch needs to come off and definitely teturizing the curls and taking weight out.
D&C: What mistakes do you often see with people’s hair?
Natalie: The mistakes I usually see with curly hair people is that they don’t use product at all and if there’s any type of hair that needs product it’s curly hair! Also, people comb through their curls and that only leaves them frizzy.
D&C: What should people ask a new hair stylist?
Natalie: I would ask the stylis if they like cutting and styling curly hair because if not, then definitely go to someone who specializes in it. It’s a very different type of cutting that is involved with cutting curly hair and not everyone is good at it.
D&C: How often should a cut be maintained?
Natalie: Every 6-8 weeks to maintain a fresh cut.
D&C: Do hair products really matter?
Natalie: They are such an important part to either the foundation of the style, meaning you put the product in wet hair and style or to the finishing and polishing after you’re done styling. It’s crucial.
D&C: Do you have favorite hair products?
Natalie: I really like Aveda. So some of my favorites are the Volumizing Tonic, Smoothing Fluid and Air Control hair spray!!
D&C: How can people find you?
Natalie: They can contact Salon Intrigue for appointments 952-922-0588 or email me at Npinault9@gmail.com
Thanks Natalie!
What hair products do you love? Let us know!!!!
Sandra's new hair cut - love the curls!
Christina of BLINK consults with Sandra about an eyebrow strategy
Sandra's brows 'before'
Sandra's 'after' eyebrows
As and image consultant and style advisor I often talk to my clients about their facial features – especially their eyebrows! I caught up with Christina of Blink to ask her about brows – who knew there was so much to know!! Sandra had great brows to begin with and Christine just made them even better!
D&C: Why are brows important for our face?
Christina: Brows are important because they frame the face. There is an ideal brow for all different face shapes. This is an area where you shouldn’t follow trends…find a shape that balances, enhances and compliments your other features. Brows can make a person look younger, more awake and polished or older, tired and unruly. It’s important to find what looks best on you. Brows have a huge impact. Good and bad.
D&C: What are/is the most common mistake(s) that people make with their brows?
Christina: There a few common mistakes that are made…. Either brows get too far apart, too thin or too arched. It’s taught often that the brow should start at the corner of the eye, but that is not the case for everyone. Depending upon how far apart your eyes are, some women should start at the bridge of the nose… not the corner of the eyes.
For some reason, it is thought that the thinner the brow, the more arch can be achieved but it can actually give a more rounded effect or can even straighten the arch. If a brow is too arched, a person can look surprised or can make a long face look longer.
I always remind clients that brow shaping is an art… no two people are going to do it the exact same way. So you need to find someone that understands your needs and has the skills that work for you. It’s kind of like finding a hairstylist that works great with your hair.
D&C: How often should they be maintained?
Christina: Ideally, it’s nice to get the brows cleaned up every 4-6 weeks. Depending upon a person’s brow growth and self-maintenance, some people come in every 3 weeks. When maintaining them at home, a person could come in every 8-10 weeks.
D&C: I’ve heard of ‘threading’ – but what is it?
Christina: Threading is a centuries old method of hair removal with origins in India, Arabia and South Asia. At blink we use special thread which is twisted and pulled along the area of unwanted hair. The thread lassos and lifts each hair follicle directly from the root. Threading is 100% natural which allows skin irritation to be kept to a minimum.
D&C: Why do you offer both Threading and waxing?
Christina: I think it’s always great to have options and because everyone’s skin is so different, it’s nice to be able to customize different hair removal techniques to accommodate everyone.
D&C: Do men need help with brows as well?
Christina: Yes… Men should have brow grooming… a combination of trimming, cleaning up sparse hair & getting rid of any uni-brows. I think it’s important that men look polished & not too shaped… so that there are no distractions.
D&C: If someone doesn’t live in Minneapolis and wants to find a good brow person what should they do to find one?
Christina: I would suggest looking at local client review sites. Another great way is to be on the lookout for people with great brows, then ask where they get it done. There’s nothing like the good ‘ol word of mouth referrals!
D&C: If someone DOES live in the Minneapolis area, how do they find you?
Christina: Our BLINK studio is at 700 Washington Avenue North, #215. It’s easy to schedule an appointment through our website www.blinkforbeauty.com
We can also be reached at 612.385.7000
Sandra’s Fit & Style Analysis
Our 2nd step in Sandra’s makeover is one of THE most important—proper fit! As a Ditto & Co image consulting client, Sandra receives her own Fit and Style Assessment that has 98 pages of great information to help her look great! The philosophy behind the assessment is this: you can wear your best colors, but the best color in the world won’t look good if your clothes make you look shorter or heavier than you really are.
How do we figure out fit for clients? Measure, measure, measure!
In order to help Sandra with proper fit, I’ll need to know her…
Sandra’s Fit & Style Assessment
I won’t bore you with all of the nitty gritty details, but I will tell you that I measured 10 areas on Sandra’s body, in addition to the list above. Guess what Sandra is? She’s a balanced triangle! Who knew!
A triangle body shape
What’s a balanced triangle?
Sandra has a ‘balanced’ body, meaning that her hip line is pretty close to dividing her in half. Sandra’s in good company—did you know that the most common body shape for women is a triangle? Yep, we women have those baby-bearing hips that make us a bit larger on the bottom than we are on the top.
Dressing a Triangle
It sounds a bit ridiculous calling Sandra a triangle, but that’s nerdy image-speak for you! What we want to do with Sandra is de-emphasize her hip area and create an image of balanced proportions. So, we want to make her a bit broader on top and accentuate her waist. To do this I’m suggesting to Sandra that she wear her tops, sweaters and jackets a bit longer than the widest part of her hips and as long as her first knuckle joint when her arms are at her side. This longer length will help to camouflage her hips. I’ll also suggest that she do ‘color blocking’. I’ll save that subject for another post.
Check back soon to see some of Sandra’s ‘Great’ Fits that she should look for when shopping…..next post!!
Please let me introduce you to the wonderful, Ms. Sandra Brick. Sandra is a mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend. I’m sure I’m leaving something out, but like most of us, she is a hardworking and fun loving. She is probably more creative than most of us, yet is lacking one thing. Her own sense of style.
Sandra and I have embarked on a makeover journey together. As Sandra’s image consultant, my goal for this transformation is not to change who she is, but to help the world see that her beauty on the outside can match the fantastic beauty that she has on the inside. This journey will take place over the next several weeks and we’ve decided to photograph and blog along the way.
Please join us as we begin the journey.
Sandra Brick in a nutshell: I could go on and on and on about Sandra, but I’ve promised to keep my blogs short, so I’ll summarize for you. Sandra is an artist – she makes beautiful scarves amongst many other things. One of her many volunteer roles is working at the Textile Center. Sandra is also doing an internship at SagePresence. While volunteering and interning is nice, Sandra would like to find a full time position as a trainer. I’ve seen her speak, and she has already given me ideas on how to make my presentations more effective – so I know she would be a fantastic addition to any team focused on improving their training. If you’re interested in talking to Sandra about a position, she can be reached at (612) 581-2869 or Sandra.Brick@gmail.com
Why is Sandra transforming? Well, I asked Sandra why she’d like to work with an image consultant, and she said she’s been wearing the same style for dozens of years…so it’s time to step it up! She wants an updated professional look – and that’s exactly what we’re going to give her.
Steps in Transformation
Ditto & Co will be helping Sandra from head to toe. Everything from custom color analysis, to fit & style analysis, a closet/wardrobe audit, shopping for that perfect interview attire, hair, make-up, brows, eyeglasses – you name it! We’re doin’ it! I’m so excited to see the final outcome, but first things first.
Step One – Custom Color Analysis. Sandra arrived at my office last week excited to get started. Our first step in the process was to determine the best color for her clothing. Her inherent best colors are based on her four ‘body colors’. Body colors include eye color, skin tone, reds in her skin, and hair color.
From a palette of more than 1,500 colors, Gretchen Ditto identifies the best tones based on Sandra's skin, eyes and hair color.
Once her body colors were determined we went through 1500 colors to determine the ones that made her shine. We looked for colors that made her eyes sparkle and that complemented her skin tone. With the right colors she’ll be able to wear very little make up and will still look fantastic. She’ll also have an easier time picking out the right color of lipstick and blush – because it will now match the reds in her skin.
After two hours of testing colors, we’ve come up with her color palette. It’s beautiful! I’ve sent the order off to one of my vendors in Denver who will now glue all of her color patches to a color fan, and will then send it to Sandra.
Sandra’s biggest challenge. Hair!
Simplicity is important to Sandra. But look at her hair! She has a lovely head of curls. But believe me, from one curly girl to another, simplicity and curls aren’t always easy to match up! I’ll be working with a hair stylist to determine her best cut – and hopefully we won’t have to color it so that maintenance is easy and inexpensive. A perfect cut for Sandra includes one that is low maintenance – so we’ve got our work cut out for us!
Next Steps:
Stay tuned as the transformation continues. Our next image consulting appointment will include reviewing Sandra’s Fit & Style analysis that will help us understand what body type she is (hourglass, triangle, rectangle, round). Based on her body type, bone size, shoulder type and face shape we’ll determine what cuts of clothing looks best on her! Such fun!
