My name is Kamala and I'm the West Coast Editor for American Salon Magazine. Join me for a series of fun and exciting beauty adventures out here in sunny Southern California!
I was recently invited to attend the West Coast stop of the 2015 Affinage USA Road Show featuring Affinage Global Ambassador and multi-award winning hairdresser Tracey Devine Smith. The extremely talented Smith is a four-time winner of Scottish Hairdresser of the Year, she won the Men’s Hairdresser of the Year Accolade in 2012, and she was named the Fellowship Hairdresser of the Year in 2013.
I showed up at the Encore Theatre to catch Smith’s second stop during her weeklong educational USA road show, where she debuted the Affinage 2015 Spring and Summer Color Collections, as well as the latest trends and styles in color and cutting techniques along with new products from the brand.
Smith and the Affinage education team beautifully featured Infiniti Permanent Hair Color along with b:RED, Colour Dynamics, Hotshotz and Blonde, highlighting the Opulence collection of haircolor shades in Cool ArcticBreeze, Golden Wheat, Apricot Blush, Strawberry Blonde, Autumn Rust, Cool Ruby, Velvet Rose, and Cool Crimson. She also used Affinage Meche’s for panels of color and inspired artistry; a pixel technique allowed her to see through the clear panels using the “dib dab” technique of placing color in desired areas for a one-of-a-kind array of pixelated colors in the hair
Models were cut and styled with Affinage products including Glazer to close down the cuticle before cutting, Salt Spray for volume and texture, Root Booster for volume from the root and Power Hairspray for soft to firm finishing hold to any style.
“This collection has a slightly tribal feel with edges of fashion,” Smith said. “Playing with reflective light to encapsulate the hair shine and shape, giving a truly soft edge to an editorial shoot. Color was used to encapsulate the collection in a minimal fashion choosing mainly global shades with emphasis on shine lines and tone. It has a gentle but strong feel and also has some ‘I want that hair’ hero images.”
Check out the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at Smith in action for the Affinage Spring/Summer Collection 2015 photo shoot.
About: After graduating from the University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, West Coast Editor Kamala Kirk wrote for TotalBeauty.com and worked in the production offices for the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Prior to joining American Salon, she was the Editor for E! Shows Online at NBC Universal, creating editorial content for popular shows such as House of DVF, Keeping Up With the Kardashians and The Royals.