Elite Beauty Master

Looking to get glammed up before a special event or your next date night. The latest trend of quick blow-out salons has taken the city by storm. Atlanta is now home to several amazing blow dry bars. They will have you in an out of the salon in under an hour for an average price of $40. Check out this guide on the best places to get your hair blown out in Atlanta. Drybar A national blow-dry salon with a location in the trendy West Paces neighborhood of Atlanta. The Dry bar is one of Atlanta’s first blow dry salons. Their motto is “no cuts, no color, just blow outs” for the price of $40. While getting your hair done you can enjoy sipping on a glass of champagne while watching your favorite chick flick. Glowdry One of Atlanta’s newest beauty bars, Glowdry is the essential one stop shop for a night out on the town. This salon has hair stylists and makeup artists on staff to give you a head to toe makeover. Located on Roswell road in Buckhead this location is convenient to people traveling from all over the city. Prices for this salon start at $35. Heat Lounge If you live outside the city and don’t want to travel in town to get a great blowout, head north to Dunwoody to get your hair blown out at the Heat Lounge. The Heat Lounge offers makeup and hair services. While you're sipping on your freshly brewed complimentary cup of coffee, you could be getting your hair and eyelashes done at the same time. The salon also does facials and makeup applications in house. Godiva Salon Home of the top hair stylists in Atlanta, Godiva Salon offers affordable blowouts in addition to cuts and coloring. The Godiva Salon opened in 1981 and has been a tastemaker in the beauty industry for decades. Godiva Salon is located in the heart of Buckhead on Peachtree Street. Blow-dry services start at $35

When one moves to a new city, finding a new stylist is one of the most difficult and daunting tasks for many women. It can take years to find someone who truly understands you hair and shares your same vision in the cut, color and styling department. Lucky for Atlanta ladies (and men!), though, Vivid hair salon is a reliable and safe go-to. Their stylists are educated, up-to-date and trendy. No matter what look you’re going for, you’re sure to be pleased with the results. I caught up with one of Vivid’s talented stylists, Grace, and got the scoop on Vivid, common hair mistakes and more. What is your favorite thing about working at Vivid? My clients! I learn so much from them. My clients have become friends that I cherish. How is Vivid different from other salons? Vivid is a very modern but traditional neighborhood salon. The wooden floors and the brick and stone walls give it a very cozy and inviting feel. What made you want to be a stylist? I was always fascinated with color and shapes. Growing up I did a lot of different things to my hair and thought, why not learn and do it professionally? I wanted to have fun and enjoy my work. What is your favorite thing about being a stylist? I have a lot of fun with it. Being a stylist is exciting and keeps me on my toes for new trends and styles. I love sharing my knowledge and teaching my clients about how to treat their hair. Being given the ability to help find someone's confidence is such an honor! What is your favorite style to cut? What about color? Right now my favorite style to cut is different degrees of angled bobs and adding a lot of texture and layers in my cuts. For color, I'm obsessed with deep and dark roots with bright highlights around the face. What was your proudest moment as a stylist? My proudest moment would have to be when I was invited to be a part of New York Fashion Week Spring 2011. That was an awesome experience. What product line do you recommend? I love Pureology. It's a 100% vegan and sulfate free. It smells great and feels amazing on your hair. I like chi blow dryers and flat irons. They glide so easily on your hair and last a long time. What are the biggest and most common mistakes people make with their hair? Not getting regular trims. Even when growing out your hair you must get your regular trims to keep it healthy. Also, box dying your hair. Color doesn't lift color so once you do it, it becomes a color correction in the salon! So eventually it will cost you more money! Any final tips or tricks? Random trick: When hair is standing up from static, rub a laundry dryer sheet on your hair. It takes the static right out! Grace was my savior when I decided to cut over ten inches off of my hair to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. My ‘after’ look had me feeling like a celebrity (namely, Olivia Palermo and Ashley Benson, whose photos I brought in as an example – I mean, the cut was literally identical!). I highly recommend booking a spot with this talented lady. Plus, all new customers get a welcome packet complete with money-saving coupons. To book your appointment at Vivid Salon, call (404) 685-3557 or visit them at 1401 N. Highland Avenue NE.

Everyone in Atlanta knows about the touring Broadway productions that roll through the Fox Theatre, or the stunning large-scale shows that transform the Tony Award-winning Alliance. But not everyone takes the time to check out the smaller, independent theater companies doing wonderful work in and around the city. For a fraction of the cost of the bigger venues, one can catch edgier productions or local classics at many of these spaces. Here are some of the city’s best. Located in West Downtown’s King Plow Arts Center, on the grounds of a former plow factory, Actor’s Express is one of the more contemporary theater venues in Atlanta. From modern classics like Six Degrees of Separation to steamier fare like Venus in Fur, this tiny black box theater offers provocative, exciting productions for discerning theatergoers. And with plenty of restaurants nearby, it’s easy to make a relatively inexpensive evening into something fun and different. OnStage Atlanta is a more family-friendly company, with recent shows including CLUE: The Musical, Seussical Jr. (featuring local child performers), and The Drowsy Chaperone. Sure, the theater space is downright tiny, but that just makes patrons feel like they’re a part of the production, particularly with interactive shows like Chaperone. OnStage Atlanta is also a great way to introduce children to the theater, since they may be intimidated by more formal venues. On the avant garde side of Atlanta’s theater world, you’ll find Pinch ‘N’ Ouch Theatre. The troupe performs in a church on Ponce de Leon Avenue and focuses on bringing newer, artistically daring staged pieces to the city. Recent productions have included works by current off-Broadway darling Annie Baker and alt-theater renegade Neil LaBute, as well as passion projects written by local playwrights. These shows are often not for the faint of heart or morally queasy, and they attract a younger demographic than at other theatres – and occasionally there may be as many people in a show’s ensemble as in the audience itself – but there’s no denying Pinch ‘N’ Ouch’s dedication to Atlanta’s thriving theater scene. Whether you are interested in a stimulating and challenging evening of theater, or you just want to take the kids to something fun, Atlanta’s local circuit of independent theaters offers plenty of year-round options.