I suddenly found myself in the mood to make a significant change to my personal style one Saturday…read moreafternoon, but most salons were already closed or booked solid. Seeing that Appearances was still open, I gave them a call. They could fit me in with a stylist in an hour! I knew they had a reputation for being modern, stylish, friendly, professional, and reasonably priced, but I had very disappointing results in the past with similarly-reputed salons. I'm thrilled to say that the salon was exactly as described! I've never written a review before, but after this experience, I felt it'd be unfair not to.
My stylist was Kara F., whom I'd never met before. She did all the things that I'd wanted past stylists to do, but had never gotten: she was genuine. Genuinely friendly, genuinely interested what I told her I wanted from the change (versatility, the style itself, shorter styling times, did I mention versatility?), genuinely dedicated to providing a quality cut and practical advice, genuinely willing to take the time to render the cut and a REAL styling lesson (NOT the usual handful of offhand comments while the stylist blows through their salon magic), and genuinely skilled. She insisted we talk about what I wanted for longer than the three minutes of cursory half-attention that most stylists give (and actually listening!), looking at the pictures I'd gathered, and addressing my concerns regarding the new style. She took pains to make sure I understood what products she was using and why, as well as what steps it took to achieve my salon results at home with a minimum of product and time commitment on my part. My simple haircut-only appointment was an hour before close, and they were closed well before I left. I didn't realize that until I got home, as I was in no way rushed out the door. The experience was so relaxed (in a tension-free way, not a sleepy way), informative, and lively that I had lost track of the time.
I'd been worried about whether the new style would work with my fine, damaged hair texture, as well as it being shorter than I was used to, but it looks PHENOMENAL.
Also, I bought some product (20% off for new customers!), but I believe the cut itself was only $35 or so! I've never been loyal to a salon or stylist before, but I can't imagine going elsewhere now.