Cakewrecks!

This blog is purely a shout out! I came across a hilarious blog a few weeks ago and I felt compelled to share. It's called Cakewrecks, and as the name suggests, it is a blog about some of the hilarious, awkward, misspelled, ugly and just plain bizarre cakes that have been professionally created. Then people send in pics, and voila! A hilarious blog is born!

I know a thing or two about professional baking. A few years ago, after working in the same day spa for 6 years and being completely burned out, I thought that I might try my hand at being a wedding cake decorator. In fact, I met my husband at a "Cakes for Catering" week long class in Chicago! In fact, those pictures I selflessly posted are of a birthday cake I made during the class and of ME graduating, looking bleak, next to that pineapple topped monstrosity that we created. Well, suffice it to say, after I did two wedding cakes professionally, I realized that baking wedding cakes for pay was NOT fun and it was VERY stressful. End of career.

But, I still love baking, I still love cake, and I think that Cakewrecks is the funniest blog I have come across! Plus, I know what it feels like to turn out a cake wreck. Seriously.

It's time to get Serious at Urban Waxx!

YAY! I cannot even tell you how excited we all are about our Serious Serum! Yes, we have actually been selling Serious Serum for 2 months now, however, we just got our brand new, super sexy bottles! I ADORE them! They were designed by resident creative genius, Liam Flaherty. You may remember his name; he also designed our business cards, my logo, the graphic on the front door, the walls, etc. Anyway, he designed the chic airless pump bottles. But the serum inside is PURE magic!

I have always struggled with ingrown hairs, both on my own body and on my client's. We tried numerous serums at Urban Waxx, and there weren't any that I found to be, well, serious enough! So, I finally decided to bottle our own! It's an amazing blend of 10% glycolic acids. It's facial grade, so you can use it on your face to exfoliate and smooth fine lines, on your arms to get rid of keratosis pilaris (aka: chicken skin) but the most wonderful use is anywhere that you wax!

It works! Seriously!

Urban Waxx gets the Cutest Baby Stuff Ever: Royal Hiney!

So, I have a baby. Her name is Stella. She is amazing. Have I mentioned her before? All right, all right, I'm being slightly sarcastic. Stella has been the material for many of my blog entries, as well as the catalyst for Urban Waxx's very existence. Yes, that's correct. I started working in a one room studio in February of 2007. By the summer, business was cranking along and I was working 10-12 hours a day. It was great! Cody and I chatted about having a baby. I thought (because I am in control of everything...including ovulation...umm, ya right!) that we would start trying in June and I would probably be pregnant around December, which would give me until the following summer to open a bigger location for Urban Waxx. I mean, I couldn't very well ask my clients to NOT wax for 3 months while I took maternity leave. But, as a friend just said to me the other day: "Man plans and God laughs," which I thought was an interesting way of saying: HA HA HA! I was pregnant after the first month, which greatly accelerated our plans for Urban Waxx, which was opened in October 2007 instead, and the rest is history.

So, what does this have to do with price of tea in China? (side note:that is a total my Mom expression. That's for you, Rita!) Well, now Stella also shapes the way I order things for Urban Waxx as well. A few years ago I probably would not have been very interested in baby goodies, but now, I can't get enough.

Enter the fabulous and adorably packaged Royal Hiney baby line. Love. It. I saw it at the Las Vegas show and was instantly smitten with the glorious packaging and quirky drawings on the labels. After looking past the cute names like God Save the Queen stretch mark cream, Cheeky Monkey Teething Gel, or my favorite: Royal Crackle Spackle, I found the products are naturally based, hypoallergenic, and absolutely wonderful for your little royal highness! Then I put it to the ultimate test: I used it on Stella! I am happy to report that she smells delish and her hiney is rash free!

Perfect for Mamas and Mamas to be!

Welcome to Urban Waxx, now gimme a Brazilian!

I think it's pretty funny that part of my training process with new waxers is that they have to give me a Brazilian wax. I always wonder, as I'm laying on the table, what other jobs require you to see your boss naked. Not too many, I imagine. 
Clients always ask me, "Well who waxes you?" and I always joke and tell them that I go somewhere else. Come on! Of course I get waxed at Urban Waxx! First of all, we are the best wax around. I firmly believe that! But second of all, how could I possibly feel comfortable letting my clients get waxed by a waxer that I have never been waxed by? Oh no! No, I routinely get my Brazilians, and I am always so excited to be reassured that all of the girls blow my mind with how great they are!

I bring this up because yesterday I received a Brazilian from our newest addition, Gina. She is absolutely charming and adorable, and I knew during her training that she was a very talented waxer. So I wasn't nervous at all. However, as strange as it may seem: I am a HUGE baby when it comes to getting waxed! My pain tolerance is about a 2 on a scale of 1-10. I whine. I fidget. I constantly look at the area being waxed to see how much longer have. I sweat. I complain. Yup, I am pretty much our idea of a "nightmare client." So, I always tell the gals that I am the worst case scenario. I think that they assume that I am doing it to test them, but really, I am just pretty wimpy.

Yesterday I tried our new numbing serum, Numb-IT. It was pretty amazing. It definitely numbed my nether regions and helped with the Brazilian. And, as I expected, Gina was quick and efficient and in no time I was hair free and on my way. I still think it's funny that my entire staff has seen my privates, but I guess when you are in the business of Brazilians, it comes with the territory!

Happy Father's Day!

Last year I was pretty bummed on Father's Day. It was the first one since my Dad had passed away, and I was feeling a little melancholy. This year, well, I'm still thinking about my Dad, of course. But I am also focusing on what a GREAT Dad my husband Cody is.
There is something so incredibly pivotal in a young girl's life about having an amazing relationship with her father. A good father shapes every choice that women make as they grow up, especially when it comes to choosing a potential mate. Good father's offer validation to girls, and that is something that is so important: to feel loved and respected and validated unconditionally.
I often am amazed by how Cody has transformed from a man, a good man, to a great father. He is a gentle giant, and to see him cuddling a 24 lb toddler in head to toe pink, to hear him sing to her, to see him quietly focused on matching her wee tank top with her tiny socks, well, it melts my heart. He is fiercely devoted to her and our family, and I feel blessed and lucky to have him in our lives. He supported me when I first talked about opening Urban Waxx, and he has never doubted me or us for a hot second. I don't say it enough: thank you, Cody. You have given me so many precious gifts, especially Little Miss Stella! <3>

New prints and magnets from Pinup Brenda at Urban Waxx!

Love, love, LOVE all of our art at Urban Waxx done by local artist Brenda Dunn. We have her on her walls and her retro pinup prints are absolutely breathtaking. And now you can have her on your walls, too!

She just dropped off a dazzling collection of 8 by 10 inch prints that retail for only $10! Perfect for framing or just putting on your walls as they are! She also supplied Urban Waxx with the sassiest collection of magnets that I have ever seen! I love magnets, and I love Pinups, so clearly it was a match made in Heaven! And a only $6 a pop...wow!

A note about the Urban Waxx Maintenance.

One topic that I would like to chat about is the way Urban Waxx prices our most popular service: the Brazilian wax. Our policy at Urban Waxx is that a client that is new to us pays $70 for a first time Brazilian wax, with us. After the initial wax, if the client reschedules the Brazilian within 6 weeks, she will always pay $50, for a maintenance price. What happens if a client only comes in every 9 weeks, 3 months, once a year? Well, then she will always be considered a Brazilian, and be charged $70. But, the majority of our clients get off of the table after the first wax and swear they will NEVER shave again, and we see them every month or so and they always pay $50.

I chose to price our Brazilian this way for several reasons. 

• Having a Brazilian every 4-6 weeks makes it a TON easier on the client. It is much less painful, there is less hair growth, and your waxing gets on the same cycle as your hair growth, which is about a 4 week cycle.
  
• Waxing a client every 4-6 weeks is a lot easier for us, as well! Let's be honest, waxing a retro 70's bush every time requires a lot of wax and a fair amount of elbow grease! Although we are waxers and in the business of inflicting a certain amount of pain, we don't want to make our clients uncomfortable! We want them to hop off the table and exclaim "That was awesome!"
• Having a maintenance program gives our clients incentive to return to Urban Waxx, on a regular basis, to have their Brazilians.

When I first started pricing our services at Urban Waxx, I looked at all of the salons and spas in the area that did waxing. I also took into account that we use the absolute highest quality wax and waxing products that are available. I tried to price our services so that they are fair to our clients and to us. Choosing to provide a maintenance price to our clients that come monthly is like a little thank you for them each time they get a Brazilian. 

Of course, I understand that sometimes our clients are facing economic hardships. In my opinion, waxing is a necessity, not a luxury. However, I understand that not everyone feels that same way. To be fair, our motto is "The BEST wax you'll ever have," not "The CHEAPEST wax you'll ever have." There are places that are less expensive than Urban Waxx, of course. There are also places that are much more expensive than Urban Waxx. I invite you to see all of your options and find what is the best fit for you. I think Urban Waxx is flat out the best, but I'll admit: I'm a tad bit biased! ;)

I am confident that we are the best wax you'll ever have. Seriously!

Urban Waxx at the Las Vegas Esthetics Convention!

Well, we had quite the weekend! On Friday Mindy, Adriana, Beth and I flew to Las Vegas for the 2009 Esthetics and Spa Convention. After a day at the pool (I swear we were talking about work), we headed to the gigantic Hilton Convention Center where we were greeted by 600 vendors! Overwhelming? You bet! But we did see some cool new techniques and come home with some pretty great retail!

One of the things that Urban Waxx is now carrying is a terrific numbing serum called, aptly, Numb-IT. While other serums we have tried in the past have only contained 2% Lidocaine, Numb-IT has 5%! And trust me, it really works! Mindy and I put it on our upper lips to test it out and we were still dribbling our lattes an hour later! So imagine how great it would be for a pre Brazilian numbing agent! Check it out on display at Urban Waxx!

It was a great weekend...full of lots of informational classes and demos, product overload, and a little fun to boot! I got a chance to run into celebrity chef Todd English at his restaurant Olives at the Bellagio, we all got a chance to see Adriana in a few hot little outfits and looking amazing, we learned that Beth is a bit of a gambler (penny slots are her forte) and Mindy got to see a few male Brazilian classes, and be assured that her technique is pretty darned amazing!

Come in and check out our new products! 

Adorable accessories from Handle With Style!

Oh my goodness! We just got the cutest new accessories in from a fabulous designer, Pamela Aasen. She make the most cheerful headbands (reversible and one size fits all), perfect pouches, and the cutest key accessories! She makes each piece by hand so they are all one of a kind, and they have the sunniest patterns this side of Miami! 

Perfect for those gloomy Portland days!

Urban Waxx at Ladies Night at McFadden's

On Saturday night, Mindy, Gina and I sashayed on down to McFadden's for their Ladies Night. For the month of June, local businesses are hosting a Ladies event from 8-10. There were vendors like Lush, Cupcake Jones, Kiehl's, and Pink and White Nail Salon. Plus, there were a ton of ladies! 

We were there to represent! Gina, the adorable newest addition to our waxing team, was handing out coupons to promote herself, while Mindy and I were there to chat about waxing. As always, we had a great time out and abut, and it was wonderful to see gals who already visit Urban Waxx, and love us!

Thanks for the support Portland Ladies! 

Brooke's Bridal Shower!

Well, I just love a surprise. There is nothing I like more on a lazy, 90 degree Sunday, then getting the Urban Waxx ladies together for a little happy hour, complete with a surprise. In this case, we surprised our own Brooke Totman, who is getting hitched in Cabo San Lucas on August 11. Of course, since it is in Mexico, and during our busiest Brazilian season of the year, most of us will be in attendance. But we still had to let Brooke now how much we love her and we are so happy for her and her cutie fiance, Dave.

It was a great time! We all had some food, come fancy cocktails, and then we gave her the goodies! She was completely taken aback and there were even some tears shed (always the sign of a good party!)

Congratulations Brookie!