Recently I had the opportunity to review Element Aveda Concept in Subiaco. I love featuring Perth businesses and this one definitely deserves to be written about! My fantastic hairdresser Bree booked me in for a cut and colour and makeup treatment, so I prepared myself to be very spoiled indeed.
For the uninitiated,
Aveda is a hair and skincare brand that uses sustainable, plant-based products. They use 100% wind power at their factories and responsible packaging, with 80% post-consumer recycled materials used. I've never been hugely influenced by claims like this before but it is pretty impressive how far they've gone to improve their product in such an environmentally friendly way.
Anyway, back to the salon. My first impression of Element Aveda Concept is how bright and busy the salon is. At the place I usually go to get my hair cut, there's only room for one client at a time, so it was a bit of a shock to see SO MANY people bustling around and chattering excitedly!
Pretty much as soon as I got there I was introduced to Reece, who took me to my chair, made me a coffee (my white-wine afflicted head very much appreciated this) and gave me a shoulder massage using Aveda's Blue Oil, which has chamomile and peppermint to give it this minty, tingling sensation. Now, about the massage. I am someone for whom massages are very important. Boyfriends and friends are sick of me whining about how knotted my neck and shoulders are (very often) and they're well used to cringing whenever I crack my neck (very very often). If you read
the reviews on Blue Oil then you might get an idea of how good the product is, and I pretty much blissed out for ten minutes while I got the massage - which is complimentary, may I add.
After Bree got my hair ready for some cuttin', we talked about what we would do. It wasn't that long since I got my hair done, but the fringe was already growing out a bit wonkily and there was STILL a greeny tinge to my lower layers, leftover from my blue hair. Thankfully Bree loves my fringe as much as I do - in fact, she told me that one of the big hair trends at the moment is to have a really bold, statement fringe or to have them grown out. So, she decided to make it a bit more messy and shaggy, and have the fringe start from the very back of the head so I didn't have to worry about my part; so it's very Penny Lane in Almost Famous, 70s bohemian gypsy child inspired. Here's a picture from halfway through:
Next it was on to the colour. Since I've decided I want to keep my hair dark for a while to get it back to some semblance of healthy, Bree decided to do this really subtle ombre effect. "The word balayage is banned in here," she announced, saying that while it's admittedly a cool hairstyle, she thinks that there are much bigger things happening in colour at the moment and that balayage has been done TO DEATH in Perth. So here are some photos of how she coloured my hair:
It's a really dark, almost black on the top (which you can probably see from yesterday's outfit photos), then goes to a nice velvety brown and a lighter colour on the ends. I think the mix of colours is really pretty and kind of lightens up my face. Bree also cut some choppier layers into my hair, which means that it takes away the emphasis from my cheekbones a bit and makes it easier and effortless to style in the mornings - which I'm always a fan of.
I forgot to mention that while all this hair cutting and colouring is going on, Element Aveda offers ANOTHER complimentary massage, this time focusing on the hands, exfoliating them and making them like they've never done any work in your life. Even my boyfriend noticed (admittedly after I shoved my hand in his face and yelled HAY LOOK HOW SOFT MY HANDS ARE AREN'T THEY GREAT FEEL THEM). The Aveda Hand Relief (hee hee) products left my hands feeling a tiny bit greasy but my hands still feel lovely and soft a few days later.
The lovely Reece did my blowdry and makeup as well. He curled my hair into a kind of pin-up, retro look that made me feel a little bit like a Vargas girl, I loved it. For my makeup, instead of going for what he said was the "expected" retro look of winged eyeliner and deep red lips, he went for a kind of '30s look with this absolutely gorgeous eye makeup (if I were more of a beauty writer I would write it up, unfortunately pictures will have to suffice for now!) and a lip colour that was a bit more plum toned than just straight out red (unfortunately that pretty much came off when I devoured a burger on my way home). I am so obsessed with the eye makeup, I'm going to try and recreate it on my next night out!
So, my final thoughts on Element Aveda Concept. The whole team is really professional and obviously passionate about what they do, but this isn't some stuffy hair studio where people would be intimidated to go. I only got my hair cut a few days ago so I'm not totally sure about the difference that the Aveda products have made to my hair, but I'll report back and let you know! I would recommend getting a consultation first (with Bree if you can - she really knows what she's talking about and is amazing at making her clients feel so comfortable) and then spending the whole day there - it's not really a place where you pop in for a quick haircut, it's a place where you go to get properly pampered (I was there from 11.30 until about 4). And also make sure you try the organic tea because it is amazing and I would have smuggled some out if I could. But I digress.
You can find Element Aveda Concept at 17 Rokeby Rd in Subiaco. Call them on (08) 9382 3004 or book online at
www.elementac.com.au. Cuts start at $77.
Thanks so much to the Element Aveda Concept team for putting up with me and my camera for the day!
x
{Disclosure: I did not pay for my services at Element Aveda Concept but was offered them in exchange for a fair and honest review. Read my Advertising Policy for more information on my reviews.}
p.s How cute are Bree and Reece?! I couldn't resist snapping some street style pictures of them... this is a fashion blog, after all.
