Her Majesty’s Pleasure

A New Look for an Amazing New Year

January 6, 2017October 5, 2017 by Alyssa Garrison

Almost everyone I’ve spoken to agrees 2016 was a garbage year, and I’m honestly so excited to kick off a fresh new set of 365 days. True, it’s been the New Year for a few days now, but since I decided to get a head start on my life makeover (which you can read about here) I decided to take a little break before getting into the superficial stuff. Like hair.

A new year almost always means a new look for me, so I started with my hair. As I mentioned, I’m taking a break from bleaching, but that doesn’t mean I can’t keep having fun with my locks! I headed back to Jaymi at Good Day Hairshop for a whole wack of highlights and dreamy golden colour to prep for my adventures in LA. Outfit-wise I scooped up the COOLEST Sunday Somewhere sunglasses from the new Her Majesty’s Pleasure Boutique, the perfect forest green jumbo tote from The Stowe and some incredible new essentials from Revolve (yes, a sparkly blush dress with stars was an essential!)

I’ve also been big into building up my tattoo collection over the past month, thanks to the help of the oh so talented Alex Royce Tattoo. This guy seriously makes stick n’ pokes so painless you could take a nap, and I can’t stop going back! In the span of two weeks I got an orca whale (my all-time favourite animal), a gem, and a pearl in an oyster. I couldn’t love them more.

And finally, speaking of love and tattoos, have you noticed my brows lately?! I had the absolute pleasure of connecting with Nicole of BrowsxBianca, and after two appointments she had microbladed me to my best brow dreams. I’m not going to lie – it HURT, like a lot, but not having to draw in my brows every day has been well worth two hours of discomfort, and I couldn’t be happier with the improvement.

Interested in trying microblading but always thought it was too expensive? Nicole and I have a little surprise for you guys! Simply mention you heard about her from me and you’ll get 25% OFF from now until February 15th! How’s that for a great kick off to 2017 and say goodbye to 2016?

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Dress Up Party Time

A Styled Bridal Shoot at Her Majesty’s Pleasure

June 24, 2016June 24, 2016 by Alyssa Garrison

I am the most wedding-crazy of all wedding-crazy humans, and I’ve been patiently waiting for my friends to start tying the knot so I can get immersed in all the fun! When my good friend Paige announced her engagement awhile back I knew my time had finally come. I immediately started dreaming up fun ways to celebrate, and a couple months ago I landed on the idea of throwing her a mini styled party/photoshoot with my favourite beauty bar, Her Majesty’s Pleasure.

I’d seen beautiful private events being hosted at HMP time and time again, and it always looks like such a fun and elegant way to get together, get pampered and celebrate. Complete with delicious catering from Colette Grand Café, buckets of bubbly, and the best nail art in the city, it was only a matter of time before I slotted myself in for one of their events packages.

Shot by the oh-so-talented Scarlet O’Neill (also a bride to be!), this project was such a fun way to stretch my bridal styling muscles, and to treat Paige to a bit of pampering to celebrate her upcoming special day. In my mind those moments spent giggling with your girls are a crucial part of the wedding buildup, and why not have that over manicures and flower-topped cocktails right?

Photos by Scarlet O’Neill
Styling, florals, and direction by Alyssa Garrison
Treats provided by Colette Grand Café
Jam Favours by Kitten and the Bear
Location provided by Her Majesty’s Pleasure
A special thanks to our models, and the bride-to-be of course!
Paige Boersma, Alex Perlin, Amanda Lynn Hatch, and Emily Coutts.

Oh so Pretty

My Weekend #HairDare

April 6, 2016April 6, 2016 by Alyssa Garrison

I’m no stranger to messing around with my hair- its been bleached, toned, and dyed almost every pastel colour you can dream up over the past 6 years, and I’m not planning on putting a stop to the strain anytime soon.

When Dove contacted me to get wild and try a weekend #HairDare I honestly didn’t know what I could do to my hair that I hadn’t already done. I’m really lucky to have strong hair that puts up with just about anything pretty well, but after all this time subjecting it to intense chemicals, the breakage is undeniable, so I try to avoid hot tools and teasing as much as I possibly can.

Luckily, Dove sent me their new Regenerative Nourishment collection so that I could take part in the Hair Dare! Loaded with Red Algae and Keratin NutriComplex, this 3-piece collection is the perfect way to nourish and repair damaged hair, and with the products added to my beauty lineup I felt confident to try something I would never usually put my delicate mane through: I took my hair to new heights!

I’ve always loved the teased 1950’s beauty queen look, so it was pretty exciting to finally have a reason to put my inspiration into action. I headed to Her Majesty’s Pleasure’s decadent blowout bar, and after a seemingly endless session of washes, blowdries, curling irons, brushing and some VERY heavy all-over teasing, I finally had the vintage-inspired locks of my dreams.

Of course my hair was NOT in a good state by the time I got into the shower the next morning. Matted bits were sandwiched between layers of hairspray, and the humidity from the rain the evening before had caused a whole new level of frizz.

With the help of my new Dove lineup, I had my hair back to normal with one wash, a deep condition, and a light layer of their new serum-in-oil treatment. Shiny, smooth, and good as new, my hair was ready for a whole new hair dare before Monday had even rolled around. Thanks to Dove’s Regenerative Nourishment range, I’m no longer terrified of taking hair risks!

This post was sponsored by Dove Canada, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com