The Paris Parker Photoshoot: An Inside Look

Best Hair Salon New Orleans Known As Paris Parker Has A Legendary Photoshoot

When most of us think of photoshoots, we think of that 30 second video montage. You know the one: flashing lights, pouting model, perfectly-timed gusts of wind, an army of PR masterminds scurrying around with barely-masked urgency.

Well, in our experience, the reality of photoshoots isn’t quite like that. For one thing, the wind rarely cooperates. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. (Sometimes they go better.) And regardless, we tend to do more smiling than stressing. So today, we thought we’d take you behind the scenes of two recent photoshoots with the best hair salon New Orleans pros to show you just how much love and care goes into every shot.

PARIS PARKER FALL LOOKBOOK

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

The Style: Easy & Effortless

The aesthetic for our fall lookbook was all about the girl next door—that is, if you happen to live in the French Quarter. “We wanted the quintessential New Orleans girl—fresh, natural looking and purposefully unpolished,” says Andi Eaton, who acted as the shoot’s wardrobe stylist and co-creative director (along with Chris Guidry, hair design education director for Paris Parker). With that in mind, we kept the wardrobe choices fresh, monochromatic, and functional—“things you would throw on to run around the city all day.”

As fate would have it, that’s exactly what we ended up doing when an impromptu second-line parade rolled by. “We jogged behind them to get photos of Ray dancing, and we thought, ‘This is perfect. She did exactly what we want a real girl to do.’” As any true New Orleanian can tell you, when life hands you a parade—you follow it.

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

The Hair: A New Kind of Texture

The shoot’s no-fuss vibes were reflected in the hairstyling, too. “We wanted the hair to feel as effortless as possible.” says Paul Eastin, creative director at Paris Parker Baton Rouge, who styled the hair. “Even in the fashion itself, there seemed to be a looseness and kind of volume, so we wanted the hair to have that same kind of feel. We didn’t want it to be flat.”

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

The need for laid-back hair with lots of natural texture provided the perfect opportunity for us to roll out a groundbreaking new technique called an American Wave perm set—the temporary version of a much-needed update to the classic perm.

80s throwback this is not. “It’s a new waving system: a way of wrapping the hair that creates softness and natural texture to the hair,” says Chris Guidry. “Results last eight months, and then the hair goes back to its original texture. It’s a chemical service—a three hour process—but we were able to achieve that same look in 45 minutes [on the model] with the set. It’s really neat.”

Paul created complementary texture on the other two models with a spiral set and imprecise curling iron work, the end result of which was more beachy wave than perfect ringlet. (Perfectly coiffed hair and New Orleans just don’t mix, y’all.)

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

Source: Ollie Alexander, Paris Parker Fall Lookbook, hair by Paul Eastin and Chris Guidry, makeup by Sasha Ahart, styling by Andi Eaton

The Makeup: Bold Pops of Color

If the hair and clothing spoke to New Orleans’ ease, the makeup spoke to its colorful spirit. Makeup artist Sasha Ahart opted to infuse some brightly hued contrast to the otherwise monochromatic shoot with eye makeup in tones of fuchsia, purple, and burnt orange. “The neutral clothing was an advantage for me because it allowed me to play with color on the models’ faces,” confirms Sasha. The Best Hair Salon New Orleans offers the best skin products and beauty items in store. Come out and visit us today.

GAMBIT FASHION EDITORIAL:

Mohawks for Everyone

Source: Gambit Weekly, hair by Tatum Neill, makeup by Midori Tajiri-Byrd, styling by ALG Style, photo by Greg Miles, model Bianca Finch

Source: Gambit Weekly, hair by Tatum Neill, makeup by Midori Tajiri-Byrd, styling by ALG Style, photo by Greg Miles, model Bianca Finch

Realizing our own vision is one thing. Realizing someone else’s vision is a different challenge entirely. Luckily, as hairstylists, we not only have plenty of practice—it’s also one of our favorite things to do.

In October, we got to help make one of our favorite local publication’s visions a reality when we styled hair for Gambit’s fashion editorial. Shot in a weathered Neo-Grec mansion, it featured rich fall textures like velvet, suede and faux fur, alongside glam, metallic, David Bowie-inspired eye makeup. Given the setting and aesthetic, we couldn’t agree more with the Gambit artistic director’s hairstyling goals: fauxhawks, anyone? The Best Hair Salon New Orleans is here to inspire you to channel your inner model.

For lead stylist and Paris Parker senior hair design specialist Tatum Neill, this was a particularly exciting challenge—simply because the two models had such different hair types. (Spoiler alert: we figured it out, and now we think everyone should try a fauxhawk at some point. Including you.)

“It’s really important to focus on what is in front of you, because every model is different,” Tatum says. “Bianca has long, thick hair, so my big concern was to compress the hair. I did about five ponytails in a center channel, like a mohawk, and then just twisted her hair, pinned it and assessed it until I created a mohawk.”

For Shairda’s natural, textured hair, Tatum took a different approach to the mohawk. He brought in stylist Elizabeth Parker to braid the sides of the hair, leaving the rest free. “Elizabeth is great with braiding,” Tatum said. “I had her do braiding on the sides of the head, and basically pinned [the hair] in to make it look more firm.” Voilà—instant fauxhawk, like you’ve never seen it before.

Source: Gambit Weekly, hair by Tatum Neill, makeup by Midori Tajiri-Byrd, styling by ALG Style, photo by Greg Miles, model Shairda Brown

Source: Gambit Weekly, hair by Tatum Neill, makeup by Midori Tajiri-Byrd, styling by ALG Style, photo by Greg Miles, model Shairda Brown

We’ll be the first to admit that we were smitten with the results—and absolutely flattered to see the stunning images land on the cover of the magazine and WWL-TV’s morning show.

“It was a fun day and I’m glad the shoot went well,” Tatum says. “Midori’s makeup pulled everything together; the models, photographer and location were great, everyone on the team was professional, the cover went awesome–it was a great experience and process.”

Whether we’re on location or in the salon, creating amazing hair and unforgettable faces is our fashion. Thanks for reading along—and for being our partners in this awesome journey. For more related content be sure to check out the Best Hair Salon New Orleans blog.

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