Balmain | Beauty and the Brain

As a beauty professional I have been lucky enough to travel all over the United States and some parts of Canada. If time allows, I try to book a service in the best salon I can find in that particular city. I feel it is important as a service provider to experience what my clients experience. Being the client equips me with a different perspective and allows me to provide the most memorable salon visit. I love serving my clients! They deserve my absolute best 100% of the time!

My most recent trip was to Paris. This was my first time overseas and I truly had no idea what to expect. I had about 6 weeks to learn French which resulted in Bonjour, Bonsoir, and Merci Beaucoup. Due to my lack of the spoken language I became mute when meeting my cab driver. I literally forgot English and just used hand gestures. I’m sure I gave him a good laugh. Despite my poor French all of the Parisians I met were extremely kind and helpful! Thank god!

With the help of my amazing travel agency, “Limitless Planet” I was booked for a blowout & meeting with the owner at “L’ Appartement De Christophe-Nicolas Biot Trandline” before arriving in France.

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The discovery of the salon occurred while scrolling through Instagram. Immediately I was drawn to the beauty of the salon’s architecture and vintage design. I could not wait to meet the person responsible for this inspiring space!

Upon my arrival I was greeted by a lovely woman by the name of Roxana. After taking my coat she guided me to a beautiful office where Christophe was working behind the scenes of his highly successful salon. It didn’t take long for Christophe to realize I only spoke English. I immediately felt terrible that I couldn’t communicate. Christophe was very polite about it and simply requested that Roxana be available to translate.

Although an ocean and a language separate us, I was pleased to discover Christophe and I shared many of the same beliefs when it came to the beauty industry. The salon was designed as an art gallery home to hairstylists, colorists, estheticians, massage therapists, dermatologists and even Tibetan masseurs. They cater to everyone from the average Parisian to celebrities. In such a beautiful space I wondered what the requirements would be to be a part of the Trandline team. His answer was simple and perfect in every way. To be a part of the Trandline team one must be a hard worker, this is someone who is not concerned with how early or how late they will be working. One must also bleed creativity and passion because without these traits the finished result would just be mediocre. So for all the emerging stylists out there reading this, never think you don’t have the “experience” to work in a salon as high end as this. It simply takes hardwork, passion, and ambition to make the cut. Everyone starts somewhere.

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After our conversation Roxana took me on a tour of the salon and spa. She even shared their private styling room where Kim Kardashian had her hair styled the day before. The private styling room also had a private entrance for those high profile clients. I think my favorite feature of the entire salon was the variety of shampoo bowls. One style rotated up to the styling chair while the others were attached to reclining massage chairs.

Before handing me off to Vanessa who would be shampooing me, Roxana went through a series of questions on an iPad that would help determine the right products for my shampoo experience. This form of consultation is done with each client before any hair service.

Now, about the shampoo experience…it was perfect. I melted into a reclining shampoo chair until I was literally laying down. Vanessa manipulated my scalp working away every last bit of tension I had. This is where things got even better. While my conditioner was on she applied a damp hot towel around my hairline and at the base of my neck. I felt so pampered!

For my blow out or shampoo and brushing as the French call it, I was seated in front of a gigantic floor length mirror next to a gorgeous window overlooking the city street below. The natural light flooding in made me relaxed and thankful to be there in that very moment. Moise was my stylist. He was sophisticated, confident, and tailored. He was patient with my lack of French phrases as well. Due to the language barrier I did what all girls do, pulled out my Pinterest hair board! When I shared the image with him I could tell he loved it and we were good to go. It was so nice to sit back and let someone else take care of me for once! Moise used a ceramic round brush to wave my hair and finished with a bit of hair spray to froth it up. It was exactly what I wanted!

Of course I didn’t leave empty handed! On my way out I had the chance to play with the Terry makeup line. I love makeup lines that are actually created by makeup artists. They just get it. I picked up a eye primer, concealer, and lip cream all infused with my favorite plumping ingredient, Hyaluronic Acid.

Viola! The finished result of my first Parisian Hair Salon experience.