How-To Blowout Giveaway!

There really is so much more to blowdrying hair than simply getting it dry, especially when you're working with hair that is textured and voluminous. It's an art, and stylist, salon owner, and beauty blogger Tequila Fletcher is an artist. Don't believe the rumors, a well done blowout looks good on any hair type. Naturally curly and coiled hair can be made sleek without sacrificing body and bounce, while straight stands can be lifted an volumized. To prove it, Tequila is sharing with us her step-by-step pro tips for getting a perfect blowout for two very different hair types: natural + relaxed. Her tools of choice? amika of course, the Power Cloud Repair + Smooth Dryer, Straight Up Smoothing Balm, Oil Treatment, and Touchable Hairspray... and we're giving them away!

1) Start off with clean and conditioned hair.
2) Section hair into four sections.
3) Apply amika Straight Up Smoothing Balm to hair from root to ends. (Only apply a small amount of product. Too much product will make your hair greasy and weigh it down.)
4) Set your amika Power Cloud Repair + Smooth Dryer on a low/medium warm setting and proceed to dry the hair until 80% dry.

5) Clip all but one section of your hair.
6) Set your dryer to a higher and warmer setting and proceed to continue drying your hair using a medium round or paddle brush. Smooth the hair by sectioning small sections until done.
7) FLAT IRON TIME (do if you need to at this point). For those of you with natural hair, please make sure you are using a flat iron that heats up to 400º. For those of you with relaxed please make sure your not using heat higher than 300º. Smooth out your hair until finished.
8) Finish your hair using by using a few drops of amika Oil Treatment (if desired) and use the amika Touchable Hair spray set your perfect results.

How-To Blowout Giveaway!

Now that you've learned the steps to getting an amazing blowout, we're giving you the chance to win all of the amika tools + products you'll need to make it happen! Enter for a chance to win the ultimate blowout set that includes: the amika Power Cloud Repair + Smooth Dryer, the amika Straight Up Smoothing Balm, the amika Oil Treatment, and the amika Touchable Hairspray. We'll be choosing 5 lucky winners, 2 from Facebook, 2 from Instagram, and 1 from the entry form below. Contest runs Aug. 8-15th. (Open to US only. Prizes are non-refundable, and subject to change based on availability.) 

• For Facebook: LIKE+SHARE this post.
• For Instagram: Follow @love_ amika and @tequilaglamtresshair and repost this picture with #howtoblowout
• Follow the entry rules below. The more ways you enter, the more chances you have to win.

GOOD LUCK everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Night After Hair" Styled by Mireille Bertrand

amika Educator, stylists Mireille Bertrand, was working her hair magic recently. As you can see, when rocked properly, soft bouncy curls can be edgy and bold! Loving this look? Mireille's giving us the details on how to get it using amika tools + products:

To begin, prepare your hair with the Obliphica Oil Treatment. A few drops into the palm of your hand lightly distribute throughout the hair will eliminate frizz and will be improving shine. Using the 3P Triple Barrel Curler – and working only the mid-length and ends of the hair – create a rounded, diffused texture. Vary your placement of the barrel always taking a 2 inch section so the end result doesn’t appear too even.  The interchangeable barrel curler allows you to choose a large and medium size barrel for more creativity.  Allow the hair to cool and work you hands through in order to create a modern texture that will last.

Photographer: Jolie Kinga

Model from Next Agency

Pro Tip

ProTip: Adding layers to your hair can instantly slim your face, the added texture creates movement and emphasizes your bone structure.

Get this looks this look using these products from amika:
Blow Up Spray before you blow dry for extra volume.
Perk Up Dry Shampoo for added texture. 
Touchable Hairspray for hold. 

Pro Tip

ProTip: Kinks, curls, and waves thrive best with hair care regimens are hydration focused. Water improves the hair’s elasticity, while reducing breakage and enhancing curl definition! 

Suggested products for our curly-haired followers include:
Hydrating Conditioner for daily use
Nourishing Hair Mask for weekly maintenance 
Curl Defining Cream for styling

amika Tourmaline Curling Wand on "A Whimsy Heart"

The amika 25mm Tourmaline Curling Wand was featured on the blog, A Whimsy Heart! 

"I'm quite impressed with this curler and really like the loose curls that it makes. It also feels smooth and soft after it's been curled." These blog-worthy results are all thanks to the innovative hair technology that goes into all of our amika styling tools. Our Tourmaline Curling Wands specifically, are a composite of tourmaline and ceramic materials. Tourmaline is a natural source of negative ions, and emits far infrared heat that is evenly distribute via the ceramic components of the styler. This fusion of materials is what protects your hair from heat damage and leaves it feeling smooth and silky!

amika Curling Wands and other styling tools are all available at shop.loveamika.com

Rita Ora is all Red at the 2012 EMAs

The 2012 MTV European Music Awards took place last night in Frankfurt, Germany. Like any award show it was quite the start studded event, but one celeb that really stole the spotlight had to be the lovely Rita Ora. Admittedly we might be slightly obsessed with her style at the moment, you'll find her on our Tumblr and Pinterest. We're plenty used to seeing Rita in her signature red lip bleach blonde curl combo, but last night she took red to a whole other level! Rita rocked not one, not two, but THREE extremely daring red lace ensembles. Are you loving her look, or did it just leave you seeing red ;)

Get "Your Body" like Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera almost made me late for work this morning! All be it not on purpose, of course :) I just couldn't tear myself away from the TV screen when the video for her new song "Your Body" was playing. Christina's "knocking-off" men in this video and looking fabulous while doing it! There's been a bit of buzz around Christina's hair ever since she took a dip in the dye a couple of months ago, but her colorful twists on retro curls and killer braids put this video on a whole other level! So this early morning burst of hair inspiration got us thinking... Hey, we can do that!

Christina's definitely got plenty of body going on in this video ;) her voluminous curly bob is one of our favorite looks. The only things that's tricky about recreating these curls, as you may have noticed, is that they're not all the same size. It makes sense when you think about it, the curls on the top of her head are bigger to add more volume, but become tighter and more defined toward the ends of her hair. We've got the necessary tools in our arsenal for this technique!

Get The Look: 

If you want the full on look, lavender color and all, we've got plenty of tips on hair color in our "Getting Colorific" post. Otherwise always start by applying a Heat Defense Serum. A good spritz of  Blow-Up Spray will add volume and texture. For creating the "big to small curls" the 5P Interchangeable Barrel Curler makes it easy to get curls from 19-32mm, with just one tool! Use a larger barrel at the top of the head, then create more defined curls towards the ends using a smaller barrel. 

Hint: 

If your hair is longer than bob length, try a "fob" (faux-bob). Add some tight curls to the lower back portion of your hair, then pin up the excess length to create the illusion of shorter hair. The hidden curls add volume. 

Watch Christina's video for "Your Body" and tell us which of her amazing hairstyles you're dying to try! 


(images, in descending order, via:) wetpaint.com, djmastersworldwide.com