CW Star Contest Makeover Day: My J.Bentley Studio and Spa Experience

[Vote for me to be the next CW Star by watching my short video. One view=one vote! Voting ends 11/6!] 

So how do I look?

Terrible? Good because that’s my *before* picture.

Yesterday, all 10 of the CW Star Finalists got a makeover at J. Bentley Studio & Spa. The studio & spa is an up-scale hair salon and day spa offering full service day spa, hair care, fashion, and salon/professional retail products. They offer free Wi-Fi, free espresso coffee drinks, and free babysitting. J.Bentley is a sponsor of the CW and the lucky winners will get hair and spa services there on a regular basis!

As a preview for this cool aspect of the CW Star job, each finalist was given a “look”. Mine was “Bold Beauty” inspired by Estelle, Mila Kunis and Mary J Blige.

I was nervous before the makeover day, but then relaxed when I remembered that these were professional stylists and therefore they’re in business to make people look good.

Then I was just nervous because it’s part of the competition and I live in a perpetual state of nervousness until they announce the winners.

The first thing I noticed upon entering J. Bentley was how huge and gorgeous the salon is. The pictures (from their website) are beautiful but don’t even do it justice! The salon is a whopping 6,000 square feet with 18 styling stations, 6 treatment rooms, and 8 manicure/pedicure stations. It’s definitely a five-star studio and spa. 

Yesterday was Sunday, so the salon was closed to everyone except the CW Star finalists. Taira was in charge of our makeovers and she explained everything to me when I got there. The day was impeccably organized. Each finalist had a spreadsheet detailing the services and a packet describing the “look” along with pictures. I immediately felt comfortable knowing we were in good hands.

While waiting for my initial consultation and meeting with my stylist, I checked out the breakfast they provided for us.

There was so much food for us, I didn’t know what to choose! I haven’t had a danish in forever, but after eating the fruit danish that morning, I don’t know why I ever stopped eating them! It was so tasty!

After I ate my plate full of grapes, strawberries and a danish, it was time to do my pre-show pictures and video!

Where we shot our before and after videos!

Before the CW announces the CW Stars in November (me! me! me! haha) they will have a thirty minute show about the contest. During the show, they will show footage from the makeover day. Also, we will each have a one minute video online showing our makeover. So, the CW cameramen were there shooting everything the entire day. I’m excited to see how it turns out.

After shooting the before pics and video, it was time to meet with my stylist!

Mary Beth was amazing. She was so nice, pretty and professional. She made me feel at ease by talking to me about what she was going to do with my hair. (As a sidenote: Her voice sounds just like Kourtney Kardashian and Kourtney is my fave Kardashian, so I thought that was cool.) Mary Beth and I talked to about hair, her career and we even talked about celebrity gossip! I had a fun day with her. Annnnd she’s pregnant! She’s the cutest little pregnant lady ever! She’s so tiny, I didn’t even notice her belly until another stylist pointed it out.

I washed my hair the day before to give the stylist a clean head of hair to work with.

Mary Beth started applying the “panels”. Later, when I was explaining to someone what I was getting done to my hair I kept calling them “slides”. I knew it had something to do with curtains! Haha. She told me the technical name of the color she used, but I only remember her jokingly comparing the deep red color to “Cherry Coke”.

Do you see the monitor behind my head? The salon is super high-tech and there are monitors at each styling station for the customers to check their email, look up a style or, tweet their look or anything else the customer may need to do! How awesome and innovative is that?

After she was done putting in the color, Kelly waxed my eyebrows.

The room Kelly did my eyebrows in was so nice! I sat in a lounge chair that leaned all the way back and folded near the knees. There was a huge light like in a dentists office. Very cool and very comfortable. I get my eyebrows waxed/plucked all the time and it always hurts. With Kelly, I barely felt a thing.

After she was finished, it was time to take off the foil and get my hair washed and conditioned.

Deep conditioning time!

You can see the color!

Taira gave Mary Beth a short lunch break and blowdryed my hair. The camaraderie between the stylists was impressive. They all worked together and really seemed to like each other and the salon.

When Mary Beth finished grabbing a quick bite to eat, she flat ironed and trimmed my hair.

After my hair was all sleek and shiny with the red panels shining, it was time for makeup!

JJ was my makeup artist. She recreated Mila Kunis’s natural, bronzed look for me and she gave me some tips on how I can apply makeup at home. JJ was so down-to-earth and informative. I asked her, “can you come to my house and do my makeup every day?”

When she finished, Mary Beth touched up my hair and added some curl on the ends.

So mad this picture came out blurry! But you can see the red panels 🙂

After the finishing touches, it was time to take “after” pictures. I didn’t get a pic of myself doing that, but here’s a picture of my friend (and future costar?) Cameron getting his pictures taken.

The photo shoot was really fun. I can’t wait to see which one they choose to display.

After the photo shoot, I shot my “after” video. I definitely felt a lot better shooting this one than my  “before” video because, unlike the before shoot, I knew I looked great!

I had a magnificent time at J.Bentley Studio and Spa. I met John Paton, the owner and he was awesome. He doesn’t do hair himself, but he loves the business and is in the salon most every day. The place is truly incredible and they are extremely customer service oriented. They even offer clients free babysitting on Tuesday evenings! The salon hosts bridal showers and is the perfect place for a Girl’s Day at the Spa. It’s in Powell, but even if you live far away, it’s worth the drive. If you’re looking for a new salon, you have to check out J. Bentley (and tell them I sent you!).

J.J. and Mary Beth! My J. Bentley Glam Squad 🙂 Thanks ladies!!

This CW Star contest has been fantastic and the makeover day was super fun. It was a little nerve wracking to meet all of the “competition” yesterday, and I can definitely see why each person made the top 10. The judges have a difficult task ahead of them narrowing us down to just two winners. I really, really, really hope I’m one of them! I’m so close now I can taste it!

So what’s next? Tomorrow is the celebrity judge’s panel. We’ll be interviewed (GRILLED!) by three or four media professionals. Tomorrow, we also have to shoot a memorized promo plus record the 60-second video plea for votes that I’m going to need everyone to watch over and over and over again to help me win. I’m soooooo nervous about tomorrow, but I know it will be great! I’ll keep you posted 🙂

Watch my transformation here! What do you think of my “Bold Beauty” look?