I had the absolute pleasure of participating in the Naturally Curly photo shoot on Sunday, September 25th. For those of you who may not know what Naturally Curly is, I suggest you keep reading. They are the flagship brand of TexturaMedia, Inc and a social media & informative power house for curly girls around the world. They have the information YOU are seeking, for every curl type and every level of natural from transitioning, to newly natural and veterans alike. This was the FIRST place I looked to for help upon deciding that I wanted to be a healthy natural. Recently they celebrated their 13th year in existence and I’m positive there are curlies worldwide exalting a collaborative “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”
I digress…back to the PHOTO SHOOT!!
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| Pre photo shoot hair 9/24/11 |
They posted on their Facebook page about the upcoming photo shoot and that they were looking for curly haired folks to be part of a photo shoot for the website. I promptly submitted several photos of my hair in random styles and low and behold they picked me…THEY PICKED ME!! Oh the joy I felt, the elation, the excitement…needless to say I was overwhelmed. Although I did not know what to expect, I was ready to get involved. I spread the word to some of my friends, and Ms. Ericka of Dope Crochet was also selected to be in the photo shoot as well! Seems like the week leading up to the photo shoot everything went sideways – I washed part of my hair before the water went out for the rest of the day (IKR!?!) Then I couldn’t find anything to wear so I had to run out and buy something (yes, I have clothes in my closet but wasn’t feeling anything) I stayed out Friday til late, had to work on Saturday and STILL had to drive to Austin. Luckily the twist style I tried (thanks Naptural85!!) worked like a charm to create a separated, well defined twist out with minimal frizz. I popped some perm rods in the ends Friday night and had a haute, soft, luscious modified Curly Nikki twist & curl... Hair was on point!!
Saturday night when I got to Austin I hung out with my family til almost 10, knowing what I had to do the next day. Don’t act like I’m the only one who does this…I can’t help it sometimes *shrug* Sunday morning comes and I’m frantic…shouldn’t have been but it’s what I do best (procrastination) I needed to polish my nails, run to Walmart, take my twists down, iron…etc, y’all get the idea. I managed to get everything together and make it to the shoot on time (HALLELUJAH!) BOY, I was not expecting everything that was awaiting me. There were hair stylists and makeup artists, and staffers, and models abound. Not to mention the salon was fantastic!!
Let me take a moment to describe the salon…opulent, spacious and inviting. The ambiance was so on point, I don’t think I’ve ever been into a salon that nice. You could really tell that Ron King took his time to make every single aspect of his salon as perfect as it could be. The stylists’ stations were spacious with great lighting and comfortable chairs. The details at every turn were super cool, from the blue chandelier that greeted you upon entry, to the wall that looked like glass flowers, and the sink and faucet in bathroom? Amazing is NOT the word.
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| The Ron King Salon...simply beautiful! |
WHAT ABOUT THE SHOOT LISA!!!
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| Post hair (Kira) & makeup (Nisa) |
I know, I know, I have to set y’all up for the moment!! First I had my makeup done by the wonderful Nisa. She really gave me a natural look, and enhanced what I already had. She fixed me up effortlessly, gave me some shimmer with gold eye shadow (totally my style!). Next I landed in the chair of the fabulous Kira of The Hair Clinic. She was so pretty!! And she totally handled my hair with the utmost of care. Y’all know it’s been close to 5 years since the last time I left my hair in a stylists hands…I would definitely let her in my head. And on a side note, she said I did a good job with my ends *shimmy* My hair was pretty well defined, and I’m not quite sure what she added but after getting out of her chair my hair was a more sleek. She did suggest a product that I’m probably going to try, Nairobi foam wrap. I looked it up online, the reviews are great, and she said it would work well for twists/twisting out because it leaves the hair soft but with hold. After she hooked me up I went to Rudy to take some headshots and 360 of my hair. Now that was kinda neat, he was great at giving direction, then they did a “curl” picture at the end by snapping a picture of a great curl to show the pattern. The only thing I didn’t get to do was a “stretch” picture to show the length of my hair…it is pretty deceptive lol!
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| Pre-shoot mimosa (yes, I did get some on my shirt!) |
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| Thanks to my new friend Marie for taking pics during my session :) |
Next I changed into my dress and I was the hair model for the TWIST OUT VIDEO!!! How freaking awesome was that?!? I had no idea it could get any better than it already was. I would’ve been content with some headshots lol! This was so exciting and nerve wrecking, and I know it was for Kira…she was having to speak about how to evolve a twist out, to make it last longer, and to get the most out of the hairstyle. I know all about that since it’s my staple style. I rock my twists for close to a week sometimes, then a twist out for another 4 or 5 and depending on if I’m feeling lazy or not, the front gets pinned back and I can get a full 2 weeks out of my style. The video was actually pretty neat and I’m kicking myself that A) I didn’t have anyone taking pictures of me during, and B) that I completely forgot I had my little camcorder until AFTER we left the shoot. Anywho, Kira worked a couple of hot styles out of my hair and I was like “What what!!” I was genuinely impressed! The first ‘do was the front pinned back (and yes, I went out and bought some hair pins so I can TRY to recreate the look…can’t wait til the video comes out so I can actually see what she did!) and the second look was the back pulled up with the front left out…sexy!! And I am so glad I had a few products in my stash…we didn’t actually use anything, just giving a narrative of how to achieve each look and a general idea of what kind of product can be used. I just so happened to have my Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia and my Darcy’s Botanicals Coconut & Hibiscus Conditioning Oil on hand so I managed to get those in the video (hopefully they stay!) That was too fun!! Can’t wait to see it all finished and edited!
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| Fluffed up :) |
Next were the editorial shots…uh huh!! They actually wanted my hair bigger…and when I mean big there were ladies walking around with hair to their shoulders and beyond! Mine ended up being a higher, more 70s glam kinda fro, a bit piecy with my hair in my face. Very hot! It took a little bit of time to get to Amber Vickery (she’s SO awesome and SO cool and SO much fun!) so I enjoyed lunch, another mimosa, and some chit chat time with Michelle, the co-founder and president of Naturally Curly. I wish I would’ve been more prepared but I’ll share what she said from my brief impromptu interview lol!
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| Me and Michelle, President & Co-Founder of Naturally Curly |
When I finally got to Amber I think I was beyond excited, if I had on pants I would’ve burst the seams! It was crazy windy outside, and I think we were close to 104 degrees (yea I know, what a combination…only in Texas!) but somehow I didn’t feel much of any of that once we started shooting. I had an umbrella and a floppy sun hat as props, and the gorgeous downtown Austin as a backdrop. The umbrella was fighting me but I think I ended up kicking its butt!! Then…the floppy hat…oh my goodness! My hair, in all its glory did NOT want it, but I made it work. The wind tried to knock it off but I held it strong and ended up getting some great shots! I’ve never done a professional photo shoot before, but I tell you that Amber was great to work with, she made me feel really comfortable when I was trying not to laugh at the wind’s attempt to steal the goods…she’s truly a professional and great at her job!
I couldn’t tell you how long we were outside, maybe 15-20 minutes or so, but it felt so quick…they say time flies when you’re having fun! Once we got back inside the salon we actually got to take more photos with Rudy!! It just kept getting better and better…I got to cheer some of my new friends on with their shoots then it was my turn again. This time I got to be a techno gal, posing with my Evo, and iPad, and a Mac book (cool right?!?) I got a crack at the umbrella again and that was really cool to work with since there weren’t gale force winds contend with lol! AND they brought out the “diva” wind…aka the fan…talk about feeling like a real model. We got to dance and take some pretty candid photos, so what better way to round out the photo shoot. At the end of the event, we were given "swag" goodies bags filled with some of the best products for natural and/or curly haired gals.
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| Posing with the iPad |
The after-the-shoot party took place at Taco Cabana/Tiff’s Treat...yummy! I couldn’t have asked for a better first ever photo shoot. The entire Naturally Curly staff made this into a once-in-a-lifetime experience, maybe I’ll get to do something like this again in the future, but it’s going to be extremely hard to top this. I’m sorry if I carried on, but I just want to try and convey the excitement of the day. I’ll put the rest of the pictures in a slide show so I don’t take up too much more room lol!
Lisa Michelle ;)
