One of my favourite beauty salons – no, actually, one of my favourite places – in the world is Dollie Mixtures in Hitchin. Run by sisters Sarah and Hayley, it’s all about vintage inspired loveliness (just look at the decor – the photos, the chaise longue!) but just as important is their emphasis on body positivity. Whatever your size, shape, height, the girls make you feel like you’re the most stunning person to ever walk up the stairs, and whenever I head down the A1 and head through the pink door, it’s like going to a friend’s house for a cup of tea and a gossip, except with added pampering and more.
I always said that if I ever got married, Sarah and Hayley would be the girls I’d want doing the hair and make up. So, as soon as The Boy asked (I’m not sure we’d even left Canterbury), I asked the girls if they’d do the honours. In excellent news, they said yes.
This weekend, I went along for my hair and make up trial. I’d heard horror stories about how wrong these trials can go from friends (“When the make up artist did my make up, it was so horrible I decided to do it myself!”, “I looked nothing like myself!”, “I didn’t realise I was getting married in the 1980s!” etc, etc), but I had an absolute blast, and loved the finished look.
I turned up with my trusty Rosadior box of prettiness tucked under my arm, and showed Sarah a variety of photos that I quite liked the look of, none of which looked remotely similar. Luckily, she gets me. First, she put my hair up into pincurls, using tongs and clips (while praising my hair for being a dream to work with – as someone who has pin curled my hair before, I can confirm it’s not – see what I mean about them being lovely?), before a few, obligatory photos were taken for me to send to a few people (I’d been shockingly unorganised and forgotten to invite my mum and sister along until it was far too late. By which, I mean yesterday morning).
Next, I moved into the director’s chair so Hayley could do my make up, while Sarah started brushing out the pin curls. My skin was prepped, blended, primed and primped, and I even managed to get in some people-watching in between radio singalongs, discussions about pugs vs shar peis vs shih tzus, a lesson in juicing and an analysis house prices in Hitchin vs St.Neots (I do love an eclectic conversation).
If yesterday is anything to go by, I think my wedding hair and make up is going to be a really good balance between my everyday look, my special occasion look, and my brand-new, “Holy crap, I’m about to marry my favourite person in the world”, look.
I did show The Boy when I got home, which I know some people might think is odd, but there were a few reasons behind this:
- I wasn’t wearing my hairpiece or veil, neither of which he’s seen, so it looked different to how it will look on the day
- The wind had played merry hell with my fringe, so my hair definitely didn’t look like it will on the day
- If he really hated the general look, I’d probably need to arrange another visit to Dollie Mixtures. I’m pleased to confirm that he loved it.
Spoiler: here’s what I looked like when they’d finished with me…
…well, it wouldn’t do to give away everything now, would it?
Something Definitely Happened 