I’m not great at the whole beauty thing.
I admire girls who stay in to wash their hair & leave whole afternoons free to pamper & paint themselves.But I’m not one of them.
I tend to leave it until I absolutely have to, then drag myself to the salon for a complete overhaul.
There’s also only one woman in the whole world who I’ll let cut my hair.
Melanie.
I started going to her when I was 11. I had a short little pixie haircut and I was very particular about it. Since then I’ve seen maybe 2 or 3 other hairdressers, all of whom have left me in tears whispering “It’s only hair, it’ll grow, it’ll grow” to myself.
Now, when I was 11 it was easy. My mum would pop me in the back of the car with the dogs & we’d trundle down the road to Bath. Mel worked at Toni & Guy back then. Mum & I would go in, each have our hair cut and wonder around the sandstone streets, shopping and stopping for bites to eat and huge frothy coffees.
Now I live in London, it’s a little trickier.It’s a 2 hour train journey down to Mel’s salon, but totally worth it. I grab a fresh new book at the station, arm fulls of nibbles & make my way back to the country.
But can you blame me when it looks like this?
She designed and built the place herself (a project I loved following on her blog “Happiest in Hunters“). Reclaimed, recycled and organic goodies cover every surface. The perfect mix of rustic & lux.
I had the works. Waxing, threading, mani, pedi & my locks chopped. Paint-wise, I opted for Essie “Mint Candy Apple” to match my kicks!
Hair aftermath…
My favourite bit was actually totally unexpected. Sarah the lovely brow lady coaxed me into having my sluggish eyebrows threaded & tinted darker. She said I needed ‘Snow White eyebrows’. I raised one of my slugs in amusement, but agreed. After a few minutes of torture (Iloathe being plucked) I was done, and ready to concede… I did indeed have Snow White eyebrows. See?
Y’all ask me for my hair tips nearly every day, so here’s my tip to top the list: Find a great hairdresser. Mel’s my favourite and I highly recommend her to all of my friends. She has two salons, one in Bath & a new one in Frome . None in London… yet, but I’ll keep trying to persuade her, so watch this space! .
