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Anastasia’s Beverly Hills salon was one of the stops on the Total Beauty Tour and was amazing.  The open layout of the salon is very nice and bright with a stunning array of celebrity clients on the walls.  Clients are consulted and brows are groomed in the main room.  I was suprised to see there are a lot of other services offered from body waxing to facials, you could have all your needs met in one place. 

As a treat we got to watch Anastasia’s brow shaping work first hand. Annie from BellaSugar was chosen for an on the spot brow fix and in a few minutes changed her already beauty-full expression. 

I could not leave without a consult so I basically begged for help and it was granted!  If you had asked me before the consult, I would have said I had bushy brows but after talking to the brow authority I know I have too big a space between them and they are too thin.  How do you like that?  I’m thinking that my subconcious fear of uni-brow has blinded me to the waxers taking off to much in the middle - but no more, I’m going to pay much better attention now.

you learn something new everyday they say

This is a time I wish I had a flair for the artistic so I could draw a diagram, or that I could explain succinctly what Anastasia explained to us so eloquently.  There are two types of eyebrow hair.  Top eyebrow hair grows straight and down, bottom eyebrow hair grows up.  The key to getting a good arch and look is getting some of both of those hairs in your eyebrow so that your brows will stay nice and contained.  It really doesn’t matter the method you use to get the hair off according to Anastasia, tweeze, wax or thread.  And enough of the old advice about not taking off the top hair, it’s so wrong and outdated.  The most essential thing is to get the right combination of upper and lower eyebrow hairs. 

If you can ever make it in to Anastasia’s salon I highly recommend it.  If possilbe grow out your brows so they can really define your arch from scratch.  The price is $80 w/Anastasia herself which is a lot but VERY reasonable considering the demand.  She could charge much more and the rich would pay but she’s keeping the service at a reasonable price point for us average folk in need of a special memory.  The cost is $50 w/an eyebrow specialist.

Check out the Anastasia Salons on the bottom left there are links to International Locations and Find a Store to find someone trained in the technique near you. And if you prefer a DIY approach, I will have product reviews on kits you can use from the convenience of your own home.

My biggest thanks go out to Elke Von Freudenberg of the Beauty Blog Network.  She showed me and Teri of Splendicity and Beautiful Makeup Search and Aging Fabulous a good time all around LA!  We were all over the city and surf, had a delicious deli meal @ the charming Canter’s Deli.  We got to see a lot of the sites that were on my list with lots of insider information from Elke.  It was amazing, I wrote a list of all the sites but of course it is playing hide and seek!  I can tell you the highlight was Grumman’s Chinese Theater and Santa Monica Beach.  My favorite I Love Lucy episode takes place right outside the theater and I’ve always wanted to see it first hand and now Elke has made that come true!  I’m holding a pajama party in her honour at the next get together seriously!

On the first day of the first Total Beauty Summit, the hosts gave to us, a fab beauty tour around LA!  It was uh-mazing!  

We started off at Kate Somerville’s newly re-vamped spaces.  I can’t imagine a more beautiful or restful environment.  You’ve got to see the white room, it is the most stunning room I’ve ever seen in my life, lots of white layers with touches of the sea all around and a restful fireplace.

The second stop was L’Oreal’s store in the Beverly Center, the space is fun and lively designed with several semi-circular sections.  The outside of the sections is the buying space, if you know what you’re looking for you can graze and shop in those sections.  If you’re looking to test and try on product then head to the middle, there you’ll find trained professionals that will help you pick products or you can just play with all the makeup.

Surreal is the only word that can explain our next stop, Anastasia’s Beverly Hills Salon WITH a meet and greet with Anastasia herself! One lucky blogger even got her brows done!  Right before we left, I asked Anastasia a question and lucked out with a quick consult and repair on my brows which was so helpful.  I have let my brow waxer, take too much off the middle over the years, funny what a fresh set of eyes can see, lucky for me, my brows grow like crazy, so I’ll be able to repair in a few weeks.

The last stop was @ the Murad spa which had the most impressive crew to welcome us.  Dr. Murad is always innovative, scouring the world for ingredients that have never been used in packaged cosmetics.  Since the Dr. was travelling, I seized the opportunity to ask his son, Jeff a question near and dear to my heart.  Would Murad ensure the ingredients they used were obtained through Fair Trade?  I’m very happy to report that he not only knew about Fair Trade, he’s taken active steps towards the goal so I hope we’ll hear some great news soon! 

All in all it was the most exciting day ever!  It will last me through many long nights of blogging alone in the cold! There’s lots more coming up from LA once I find my camera cord! ARGGGH!!!

Don’t miss it!  it’s not too late to attend the Totalmente Latina tour in Miami on 4/26/2008.  “ the four-city festival is a moment in time in each city to celebrate the beauty of Latin women, her role in her family and her community. Totalmente Latina Tour is loaded with free makeovers, facials and massages; live entertainment performances and give-aways; as well as healthy-family inspired education that combines to make it a little easier to juggle family, health and beauty every day. “  For more information on the Totalmente Latina tour.