 Hello, hello. Good morning and welcome to vlogmas day one. I didn't know if I was gonna do this or not, but here we are. By the time this video is going up, I would have just posted a hair tutorial yesterday. So in case you missed it after you finish this vlog, make sure you go back and watch that. But I decided throughout December leading up to Christmas, I am gonna post a video every single day. Or at least try to and I'm gonna alternate. So every other day is gonna be a vlog and then every day in between is going to be some type of hair tutorial or hair related video. So I'm excited. It's gonna be a fun challenge, but I think it'll be doable. Normally, by the way, if you're new, hi, my name's Sam. I'm a hairstylist. So normally, this time of year is the busiest time in the salon, hands down, and it can get very stressful. But this year's just been different and that's how it is for everyone at the salon where I work. And it seems like a lot of other hairdressers in other parts of the country that I follow on Instagram are kind of experiencing a lull as well. I think it's just like the way the economy is. So I figure since I'm not super busy at the salon, I think I should be able to do this. But it's currently Tuesday morning, yes. It's like Monday in the hair world because most salons are closed Sundays and Mondays. So Tuesday's like our first workday of the week. I'm going into the salon today. I just have one client. Saturdays are usually like my consistent busy days and then during the week, I just kind of like open up my schedule whenever there's an available spot because the salon that I'm at is very full at the moment. So there's not really enough stations to go around. So if I see that somebody's not going to be there, I will snag that spot and book a client for myself. So today, I only had enough time to do one person. So it's a new client. She's coming in for a highlight haircut. So I'm excited. I love meeting new clients because you just never know what you're going to get. And it's an opportunity to build a relationship and hopefully turn them into a returning client. So we will see how that goes. I will share the before and afters with you. So this client wanted her blonde refreshed, but she wanted to keep it very blended and low maintenance because she said that she really only likes to get her hair done maybe twice a year. So I just did really fine, tizzy lights throughout her hair and I really made sure not to over highlight. I actually just left a lot of her hair out because we wanted to keep that depth and dimension. Then for her all over toner, I did equal parts, 10 GI and 10N from Redken JZQ. No root shadow or anything required. We also did a haircut and added some curtain bangs and that was her finish. My client was amazing. Like dream come true. Her hair was super easy and she was just so sweet and like just one of those clients that like conversation flowed really easily and she was great. The only thing that kind of sucks is she's from here and her family still lives here, but she recently moved to Texas. So she was just here visiting and I mean she said she doesn't really get her hair done more than like once or twice a year anyway, but I'm hoping I'll be her go-to girl from now on because I feel like we hit it off and she loved her hair so much, but I'm so excited. Oh my God, I did not expect this to arrive so soon. So I'm sure you guys have all heard of the aura ring before. It's like super popular now. It's kind of like a Fitbit or like, you know, a smart watch, but it's a ring. Ooh, perfect fit. It just like looks more sleek. Like it just looks like a piece of jewelry rather than wearing like a big sporty bulky kind of thing around your wrist. But it is supposed to do basically the same kind of thing. Like it'll track your sleep, track your steps. A bunch of like wellness things and my friend has one and she loves it. And then the brand Ultra Human reached out to me and they make a ring that is very similar to the aura ring. They asked if they could send me one and I was like, um, yes, please. Okay, so I have to download the app and like get it all set up and put it to charge and whatnot. So I'm going to do that and then I'll update you guys later, but I'm so excited. I've been really curious to get one of these. I will check in later. It's several hours later. It is eight o'clock now. My ring is all charged up, but it needs a few days to like calibrate and get a baseline before it starts to tell me everything, I guess. So I'll update you guys like throughout Vlogmas over, you know, the next month or so and let you know how I'm liking it. But I mean, it's really comfortable. I've had it on for the last couple of hours now, but I just finished recording the podcast and we made holiday cocktails. It's me and my best friend Julia. I will have a link in the description if you want to check it out and you don't already listen. It's called Girls Who Get It podcast, but this was our like final episode for the year and we're taking a little bit of a break for December. So we did like a little holiday New Year's Eve themed episode. We made some holiday drinks. So this was a peppermint espresso martini and I did a crushed candy cane rim. It was really good, but I feel like now my face is like very flushed. I need to get food in my system. And actually by the time this vlog is up, that episode will already be out. So you can watch it on YouTube or listen to it on Apple podcasts or Spotify. But anyway, I'm just gonna clean all of this up and heat up some dinner. Luckily, I cooked last night so I can just microwave. I made rice with ground turkey and broccoli. I got a lot of editing done earlier, two entire videos completely done, which is exciting. So yeah, I will see you in the morning. Good afternoon. It's the next day. I have to tell you guys, if you saw, I think it was like maybe two vlogs ago. Sometime recently I got the IGK charcoal detox dry shampoo and it was my first time trying it. And I have a couple of like dry shampoo favorites that I always tend to repurchase and kind of cycle through. So I was like trying to branch out. I wasn't expecting it to like blow me away or be like that different, but I have to tell you. I am so impressed with this and it is a little bit more pricey than what I usually get, but I think it's worth it. So today's Wednesday. I last washed my hair Saturday morning and then I put dry shampoo in it Monday and I haven't reapplied it or done anything to my hair since. And I feel like it looks good. Like normally by this point, I would be having to apply more dry shampoo, put it up in a bun or wash it, but I feel like it still looks and feels clean. Like it doesn't feel oily at all. It just feels soft and good. So that's my update on that. Highly recommend if you're looking for a good dry shampoo, but I was getting ready to head to the salon and I got my scent bird order. So I want to wear one of my new fragrances and scent bird is sponsoring this portion of the vlog. Thank you so much to them. If you're unfamiliar with scent bird, it's a fragrance subscription that allows you to try new designer fragrances every month for $17. They have perfumes, colognes, and a bunch of unisex options. Some of their fragrances for like the full size bottle cost over $150, some even in like the two and $300 range. So it's a cool way to try some more luxury expensive fragrances without having to pay an arm and a leg. So this is what the bottles look like with each bottle. You get a 30 day supply of fragrance. So that's what it looks like. And then they have these cases, which are magnetic. It's very easy to lock and then unlock when you're ready to spray. So if you want to like throw this in your purse or something, you don't have to worry about any of the perfume spilling out. And you guys know me. I've mentioned this before. I like to always have fragrance on the go. Like I'll keep small little perfumes or body sprays in my car and I like to keep backups in my purse that way. No matter where I am, if I'm on the go, I can always make sure that I'm going to smell good. So these little scent bird bottles are great for that. They're also great for travel. So I got four different fragrances and I love that they give you a card with each fragrance that shows you what the full size bottle looks like. And then on the back, you can see all of the notes and ingredients. So what I like to do is when I get my fragrance, I will spray it onto the card. That way I can give it like a little bit of a test first before I actually spray it all over me. So this first one is Paper Plus by Commodity. Oh, that smells really good. It has cedarwood, bediver, sandalwood. So it's just like a really nice warm scent. Then I also have Boho Boko Red Wine Brown Sugar. This one has dried fruits, red wine, cedarwood, leather and brown sugar. This one gives me like a unisex kind of vibe. It's warm but like really sexy and I definitely can smell the wine. Then we have The Perfume Story by Ozzy Amber Molecule which is amber, sandalwood and musks. Can you tell that I just really like warm scents? Oh, that one smells good. It's like very sexy but clean. And then lastly I have Versace Crystal Noir which is ginger, gardenia, amber, sandalwood and musk. Oh, that smells so good. It's more unique. It's like warm but a little bit brighter. And it has that little bit of floral. I think this one and the paper plus are my favorites. Today I got to go with the Versace though because I like can't stop smelling it. It smells so good. So if you guys want to try out Sanford for yourself you can scan this QR code or click the link in my description and be sure to use my code SVA for 55% off your first month. That's only about $8 for your first month. So definitely check them out. It could also make a really good gift too. Like this is the perfect little stocking stuffer. Thank you so much Sanford for working with me again. I really am obsessed with that Versace. Anyway, I'm just gonna put on a little bit of this like under eye color corrector from Pixie. She's so bright in these under eyes up a little bit because they're looking really dark. But I'm working the front desk tonight and before my shift I am getting another massage. I got a massage this past Friday. I went to my co-worker Heather and she did a deep tissue just on my back and shoulders because I've just been having shoulder and neck pain and a lot of stiffness. I think I need to switch my pillow honestly because I usually feel okay throughout the day but at night lately I've just been waking up and tossing and turning and my neck will be killing me and then in the morning it feels super stiff. So I think my pillow is the problem. But yeah, she gave me a massage a few days ago and I felt significantly better afterwards but now just like one spot is still bothering me. So I asked if she could just do like a 30 minute quick massage and literally just focus on this one area. So I'm not gonna put a bunch of makeup on because it's just gonna probably get all messed up during the massage anyway. By the way, this is the Thrive Cosmetics Mascara. I've been using this one for months. It's like the liquid lash extensions. So just like a light coat of that and a little bit of clear brow gel. The Got To Be Brow Gel by Swartz Coff. I got my brows laminated and tinted a couple weeks ago and I am loving them. And it's just been so easy to do my brows and that's it. I'm gonna put a little bit of like lip balm on but that's it. So yeah, getting my massage and then working the front desk until closing tonight. It looks like it's gonna be kind of a late night. So I'm gonna see how long I end up being there for. I don't mind working closing shifts because then it allows me to have all of the morning and early afternoon to get other work done or run errands, you know, whatever I need to do. And I also don't have to wake up super early, which is nice. But I hate getting home really late, especially now that it gets dark so much earlier because by the time I get home at like 8.30, 9 o'clock, it literally feels like it's midnight by that point. But I'm not gonna be doing the front desk anymore after next week. After tonight, I'm only gonna have three more front desk shifts and then that'll be it. I'm gonna gradually start taking clients more and more, which is exciting. I don't know, this past year I really fell back in love with it and I just feel excited about doing hair and excited about growing my clientele and just all of the other possibilities career-wise for me. I'll of course share more. I'm always gonna keep you guys updated on my life and especially when it comes to career stuff. Oh, I also wanted to share an update on the ultrahuman ring because I left it on all night and I was checking the app this morning and it says that it can take I think seven to 14 days for it to establish a baseline before it can really tell you a lot of detailed information. But it did tell me how long I slept for and what my sleep index was. My heart rate, my skin temperature, my resting heart rate when I was sleeping and all that kind of stuff. Oh, and I just noticed this now. We detected a short nap 10.04 a.m. for 20 minutes. No, I was on my computer editing a video. But yeah, you can track your menstrual cycle. So it says I'm in my follicular phase. As estrogen levels rise in the follicular phase, you might find it easier to push harder and longer in your workouts. And my sleep index was a 92. I slept for nine hours and 12 minutes. My average heart rate while I was sleeping was 59. And it says I got optimal sleep volume. I'm curious to see how much movement I do while I'm at work and what my average movement index will be like over the span of an entire week. There's a lot of information that it gives you and a lot that you can do with this, which is so cool. So I'm going to keep messing with it. And once it establishes the baseline and all that, I'm sure I'll be able to get even more information and play with even more features. That's all of the updates. I need to leave in the next few minutes. I'll try to get some clips while I'm at work. I don't know how chaotic it's going to be, so we'll see. But I'll see you when I get home. Several hours later, I just got home. I'm exhausted and it's so cold outside. So it feels good to be home. I just took Benny out one last time. So now I can change into comfy clothes and just chill. My massage went well. The issue seems to stem from sleeping. So I'm gonna swap out my pillow because my pillows are like very flat and they're already like two years old at this point. And I have these like nice pillows from Lull that are like my extra ones that I give like guess when they say over. So I think I'm gonna swap to this and sleep with this pillow tonight and I'm gonna see if it helps my neck any. I think it should because this is the pillow that I was using and it's like it's very flat. But I need your help. I want your feedback. So we have our salon Christmas party coming up in a couple days and I haven't decided what I want to wear to it yet. So I have a couple things in mind. I want to try them on and see how I feel and you guys can tell me in the comments which one you think I should wear. I have three different options and they're all like a different vibe. Okay so this is the first option. It has the puff sleeves and it's just like a cutesy kind of dress. I know the lighting isn't great in here but this is what it looks like knee length and I was thinking that I could wear boots with this maybe. So yeah that's option number one. This is option number two. I love this dress. I would wear shapewear underneath it obviously and like you know be a little more cinched. But this just screams holiday and like special occasion. I feel like it kind of gives more New Year's vibes than Christmas party but I don't think I'm going to any New Year's parties. So I feel like this would be kind of my opportunity to wear it. So I don't know that's option number two. And then this is option number three which I really like this dress a lot too. This is how this one looks. Again I would wear shapewear underneath it. I think this could be cute with my hair like pin straight and then just tucked behind my ears. I don't know. I'm going to dig through my closet and see what other things I have that might work. I don't have specifically like Christmasy outfits. Like I don't have anything red or green but we're going downtown to an Italian restaurant and then after that we're just hitting all the downtown bars and stuff. So I want to be cute and comfortable but like still dressy. But comment down below and let me know out of those three dresses I might end up going with something completely different but out of those three that I showed you which do you like best? Which would you pick? Okay I'm back in my comfy clothes through Gilmore Girls On. I'm still just binging that. It's just my cover show and it's just been the perfect thing to throw on in the background while I'm doing other things. Oh this lighting is so good. So yeah I'm going to watch that. Finish up a little bit of editing and then wash my face to go to bed. But I'm going to wrap up this vlog here. Don't forget to check my description for the link and discount code to sent bird. Don't forget to comment and let me know which dress you think I should wear to the Christmas party. And also what I've always done in the past for Vlogmas is at the end of each vlog I'll answer a question or two from the comments of the previous video so if you have a question that you want me to answer in the next vlog in two days from now leave that down below. That way you know we can just kind of do like fun Q&As throughout Vlogmas and just makes it fun and a little more interactive. So leave me any questions you have and I will see, well you'll see me tomorrow and then I'll be back with another vlog in two days. So bye.