I had many awesome adventures while I was in New York, but one of the best (and most unexpected) was the gift of having my hair highlighted at Eva Scrivo Salon.

Although I was blond as a child, some serious experimentation with henna in college now means that maintaining the color of my youth requires professional help.  At one point I went platinum blond, which was fun, and made me feel like a rock star, but the upkeep required was more than I could afford.

Still, I’ve remained on the blond train. I’m lucky enough that I can get streaked every eight or even ten weeks without looking too scary. I don’t know where I was in my coloring cycle when Eva offered me a service on the house, but I jumped at the chance.

I arrived at the salon after an informational interview and lunch with a friend who is a literary agent. My friend and I ate lovely Italian food and talked about life and books, including my own book, which I’m trying to get published. So I was in a hopeful mood when I met the hair team that would go on to transform my mane from mousy to money:

Aren’t they pretty? I thought so. I was happy to put myself into their capable hands. Mira, who was spear-heading Operation Goldilocks, told me that the plan was to try and make me look a little more sun-kissed. She explained that what distinguishes the highlights at Eva Scrivo from other places is the shape of the highlight itself: they use a V-shape, which prevents you from getting that stripey look. The V obscures the harsh line of demarcation. Mira also told me that you should brush your hair before you shampoo because it spreads natural nutrients to the ends. Brushing massages the scalp, increases circulation, and loosens build-up. Apparently it’s a natural mask for your hair. Who knew? Well, now you do.

Here’s where we began:

After taking the “before” photos, Mira got down to work. Lumi shadowed her and checked in with me regularly to see if I needed anything. The highlighting process was pretty interesting: the color was placed on a something that looked like a wooden palette, and Mira painstakingly painted my hair strand by strand, sort of like Monet in his beloved garden at Giverny. The pieces were then wrapped in plastic instead of in foils:

Washing my hair was a two-step process: lukewarm water first, to seal in the conditioner, and then cold, to seal in shine. When I asked how cold the water needed to be in order to be effective, and Mira said, “As cold as you can take.” All right then.

While having my hair washed, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow fashion blogger Abby Marsh, who is adorable and has a fun blog, called A Gal’s Right to Style. Check it out here.

Products used were: L’Oreal Luo-Post After Color Shampoo, Kerastase Express Treatment Vita Ciment, and Kerastase Nectar Thermique.

Here’s how I turned out:

Do blonds have more fun? Stay tuned.