I arrive at Cutting Loose Salon wearing no makeup and exhausted from lack of sleep in preparation of the 2012 Sarasota Film Festival Opening Night with my bottle blonde hair and a smile. I am treated to a 20 minute express facial that is so relaxing that I feel tension escaping my pores along with other impurities.

My stylist Sam is fresh from a year spent in Germany training in various salons and perfecting her craft. She truly sees this as an art form and she is passionate about cutting and coloring hair and helping people to look their best. We talk in the Color Café and I tell her that I am in her hands. I am fully  expecting to hear that she is going to give me bangs and dye my hair brown which seems to be what every stylist that I’ve been to wants to do when given Carte Blanche. Sam surprises me by agreeing that I don’t need bangs and saying that she’s going to allow me to stay blonde as long as I promise not to color it myself in the future. Done and Done. Since it is a work day I am thrilled to find myself in the Color Café seated at a table with my laptop, a cup of coffee, and complimentary wifi. I take full advantage of this unexpected boon and feverishly answer emails as Sam sets to work on my transformation

After Sam finishes cutting and coloring my hair she gives it a Farrah-style blow-out in a nod to the Red Carpet Event that I will be attending for the Opening Night festivities of the 2012 Sarasota Film Festival. Cutting Loose is a full service salon and I decide to avail myself of some professional makeup application to go with my beautiful new hair. The makeup artist uses Face Stockholm products and in almost no time she announces that I am ready and the big reveal is certainly worth the wait!

(This article originally appeared in This Week In Sarasota)