Location: The salon itself is really nicely decorated and airy. My wedding took place on a day that they were closed, so I had to pay a $150 fee to have it opened on a day when they're not normally opened. This fee was the initial reason that I didn't want to book with them because it felt like another wedding surcharge, and I hate feeling ripped off. However, it was nice to have the entire salon to ourselves, and it added to the fun atmosphere of getting ready.
Nails: My nails were the best part of my experience. Brittany did a great job recreating a reverse french gel job (by hand!) that lasted a full three weeks. The spa pedicure was great, and very relaxing. It wasn't clearly communicated that I had chosen a gel nail polish for my toes and that there would be an extra fee. I was also charged extra for nail art and gel, which wasn't a big deal, but it would have been better if it was clearly communicated to me. I also didn't receive a spa manicure although I was still charged for one, and the owner told me it was because we were late, even though the salon workers encouraged me to take my time to have a lunch break with my friends. If I knew I was choosing between a spa manicure that I was paying for no matter what, and a lunch break, I would have saved the chicken salad for later. Overall though, I was happy with the nail services I received.
Hair: I took a risk by not booking a trial. Part of this is because they charge the same amount of money for a trial as for the actual event services, which would have added several hundred dollars to the already $500 I was paying for wedding day services. I was also flying in from out of state and the schedule of the weekend didn't really allow time to get a trial, so I took a calculated risk for the sake of spending more time with our guests. I was very careful about choosing an updo that was easily replicated, and chose several photos that were sent ahead of time. The photos I sent showed volume at the roots with hand-formed curls gathered at the nape of the neck to form a large bun, usually done with a sponge to provide some stability/shape. Instead, the majority of the volume of the updo was a bouffant at the crown with curling iron curls that were bobby pinned to the nape and flat, like a bad prom updo. I didn't think much of it when the stylist was pinning my curls because I had very long hair, so I thought that she was able to get the volume without the sponge. It wasn't until afterwards that I realized what she did. By this point, we were running late, so there wasn't enough time to start over from the beginning. I was going for something modern yet classic, and ended up with something that was classic bordering on old-fashioned.
Make-up: I bought a brand new bottle of Giorgio Armani foundation to the salon and my own lip color because I was looking for a specific color of pinky-raspberry and trialed several products to get the right one. The MUA was the same woman who did my hair, and when it came time to do my makeup, she whipped out a tiny travel make-up bag of supplies, which was surprising for a MUA. She did not use any facial primer, only eyelid primer. No highlighter. Very light blush. Flat, barely visible, one-dimensional eyeshadow. To fill my brows, she used a warm, brown pencil to fill my brows so there are some photos where my brows look super brown against my cool coloring, dark hair, and black eyeliner. I had to remind her to use a lip primer for a wedding, so she filled my lips with a pencil that was too red for my lip color. My eyeshadow and blush are barely perceptible in photographs. The make-up application I received was not at a professional level. The MUA needs more experience before she should be offering bridal make-up services. The cherry on top of the sundae is that the MUA mixed the giorgio silk foundation in with her make-up supplies so that I left the salon without it. I didn't realize it until the next day when we were getting ready for the day after photoshoot, and it was a holiday, so the salon was closed when we called. I'm pretty sure it was an honest mistake, but she never mailed it to me when requested, and it was a $70 bottle of makeup that was only used once prior.
The biggest sticking point with me is that the level of skill for the hair and make-up did not justify the cost for those services. Rita, the salon owner, was nice enough to give me a cost adjustment, but I still ended up spending almost $500. I wrote this overly long, detailed review for the sake of any other brides out there who are trying to decide what to do for their Hawkesdene wedding. If you are coming from a bigger city, or are into make-up/glam/fashion, you will probably find that the salon will not meet your expectations. read more
