The House of Rush

New Year, new you? I would never be so dramatic, but it's nice to update your look a little every now and then. So I was excited when I was given the opportunity to review the newly opened House of Rush in the heart of bustling Picadilly. With it's ultra glamorous decor, and a team of top stylists it makes a great flagship for the RUSH chain of salons.

With a list of treatments that ranges from the usual cut and colour through to eyelash extensions, facials, massages, waxing, tan and even permanent hair reductions I was spoilled for choice. However, when I think of Rush I think of hair, so I decided on a half head of highlights to give my hair a new lease of life.

 The before:

My lovely stylist Amanda met me on arrival and gave me a full consultation about the look that I wanted to achieve. After dying my hair a deeper red/ brown earlier in the week I felt that my hair colour was looking a bit flat, and wanted to add some vibrancy and shine. What I was hoping for was to have a variety of tones throughout my hair and achieve a look that would make someone say "oh, your hair looks nice" rather than "oh, you've had highlights".

I have to admit that I was a little worried about getting highlights as often red can turn into streaky orange/ brassy sections if bleached or stripped. So instead I was delighted that Amanda chose to add slightly lighter, more vibrant red highlights throughout my hair, which would catch the light and add dimension and shine, rather than bleaching or lifting my existing colour. The highlights themselves were placed just under the line of my natural parting, so that they looked more natural.

As many of us find the hairdressers can sometimes be a bit of a stressful experience I have to point out that I felt very relaxed during my colour. Amanda was absolutely lovely, extremely friendly, bubbly and thoughtful. It was an absolute pleasure to meet someone who was genuinely excited and enjoyed their job! The mood at the salon was also very calm and it was refreshing to see that due to the longer time slots allocated for each appointment care and time was taken over my hair, unlike at other salons where I have previously felt rushed out of the door, or handed over to a junior because my stylist had run out of time.

So here is my after shot, though unfortunately this was taken after I had come back from dinner (in the drizzle) so my hair had lost some of its volume and bounce.

As you can see the change is very subtle, but the freehand placement of the highlights adds some lovely tonal variation to my hair, without making it look 'stripy' or unnatural. I absolutely loved the final results and will definitely be going back to the House of Rush and particularly Amanda, who was absolutely wonderful!

Have you been to the House of Rush? I'm so excited to have found a salon that is a one stop shop for all my beauty needs and can't wait to try some of the other treatments they have available! xxx

Just a trim please...

It has been far too long since I had my hair cut and last week I decided that it was about time to tame the beast. Without hesitation I called up a few salons and booked the first one that had a Friday evening vacancy, which happened to be RUSH on Earl's Court road. To say I was a little apprehensive would definitely be an understatement as my previous experience at RUSH over a year ago was not a pleasant one (too many inches lost and mullet like layers gained). I made sure the appointment was with a different stylist and tried to keep an open mind...

Please excuse the fuzzy photo above, but I thought it would be worthy of documenting the curly mess that was my hair ;).

My lovey stylist Tye was very understanding of what I wanted - 'just a trim', some shapely layers and a little side fringe to add volume. She was absolutely brilliant at made me feel at ease, assuring me she wasn't going to get snip snip happy behind my back, which happens all too often... I'm sure those of you who have long hair can sympathise lol.

As I have mountains of hair it's often tempting to thin it out and make it choppy, but as my hair is naturally curly this quickly turns into quite the frizzy disaster when left to air dry, especially in the Summer. Luckily Tye knew how to cut curly hair and blended everything together with an expert hand.

The finished result was perfect and I'm very pleased with it. I know that RUSH have quite an aggressive marketing scheme on Groupon, their own website, plus a 20% student discount. My friends' experiences have been somewhat hit and miss so I can't vouch for the chain, but I can honestly recommend the lovely Tye if you are ever in the Earl's Court area.

Let me know what you think of the new do ;). xxx