D.C. Got a DryBar...FINALLY!

{The Menu at DryBar's Georgetown location}

Unlike Kyle Richards' face, no matter how many times I talk about hair, it never gets old. I told you about my difficulties getting a decent blowout at the salon (alongside how I do my blowouts myself); I told you when I finally found a colorist who I couldn't live without who also managed to tame my wild mane; and I even told you about the time when I found an amazing knock off DryBar in Houston.  

So you bet your ass we're gonna do this all over again for the launch of the original DryBar's two newest D.C. locations!!!!

Like any business worthy of being on the receiving end of my money, a huge part of the appeal is DryBar's branding. The shop is decorated with bright punches of their signature yellow, including the table by the front door, the blow dryer chandelier...:

...the DryBar motto painted above the reception desk...

...and in honor of their D.C. based opening, they even had custom cupcakes made by Georgetown Cupcake:

But the branding alone isn't enough to create customer loyalty--at some point, the quality of the service factors into the equation. The equation of PRETTY!!!!!

I showed up for my 11:15 AM appointment about 5 minutes early--I was anxious to leave enough time to find parking, but it turns out they have ample FREE parking in the back of the salon (a huge perk if you've spent any time in the D.C. metro area!). I waited only about 60 seconds before my stylist for the day, Brandi, came out to greet me. I looked through the, um, look book and settled on the Mai Tai (loose, beachy waves}. When I came back from getting my hair washed in the sun-filled shampoo room, a mimosa awaited my return. 

I learned that Brandi was relatively new to the area, having only relocated from, you guessed it, Texas a couple months earlier. Dammit, Texan women really know how to do hair!! Brandi was efficient, but not rushed. She used two types of round brushes on my hair (a small barrel and a medium barrel) and finished the look by adding just a few curls with a curling iron. I was probably in the chair a total of 35 minutes...not bad, considering it takes me about 45 minutes to do it myself. When she turned me around to see the finished product, I felt beautiful! My hair was shiny, smooth, bouncy, and with just a sprinkling of waves in all the right places! Of course, it didn't hurt that Brandi and the other stylists affirmed the way I felt. This is what I love about hair salons--free compliments!!!!

As I was paying, Alli Web, founder and president of DryBar walked into the salon, sporting an incredible leather jacket and head full of perfect hair. I mean, OBVIOUSLY! I nearly died on the spot when she told me how beautiful my hair was. I let her know that I had tweeted/Instagrammed about how excited I was about my appointment that morning. Imagine my surprise when she told me she had seen my tweet and that I was "so cute"! If by "so cute" you mean "huge stalker," then yes, yes I am. As you all know, I have zero shame, so I seized the opportunity to get a picture with her, adding to my pile of photographed celebrity encounters:

She's absolutely adorable, isn't she???

As I spoke with her about how life-changing DryBar would be for me and countless other Washingtonian women, she told me that she was amazed by the opening weekend and that it had, in fact, been one of their most successful openings ever. Do you hear that Blushington???

Anyway, while I was chatting with Alli, the reporter and photographer from the Washington Post arrived. Now that we're practically BFF's, Alli insisted the reporter speak with me about my experience. So I did that, and also had my picture taken by this guy and his ridiculous 8-photos-a-second camera:

What I'm saying is, you'll probably see me in the Washington Post this week.

DryBar should probably be called Dreambar, since it's literally what dreams are made of. I'm giving serious thought to quitting my day job and becoming a stylist now. Or maybe I'll just join their marketing team so I can do fun things like this gal drawing their yellow hair dryer logo in chalk on the sidewalk outside the salon...:

 ...or drive around Buttercup, the giant blow dryer on wheels that blows REAL air!

...or maybe I'll just try to get a job as their live-in hair model so I can just take more pictures like this of myself:

Ain't nothing wrong with a dressing-room-mirror-self-portrait, mmmkay??

Would it be weird to say I think I'm actually sleeping better knowing that DryBar has finally landed in D.C.? Because I AM!!!!!!

Has anyone else in the D.C. area been to DryBar yet?? What did you think??

DryBar Georgetown
1825 Wisconsin Avenue
Washington, DC 20007
202.609.8644

Getting Drunk on Hair at The Blow Dry Bar

Once upon a time, my blog was about one thing and one thing only: cupcakes. You thought I was going to say being really, really good looking, didn't you? That's just what it's about now. But when this here blog was simply about precious cupcakes, I wrote a girl-crush post about Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere, in which I questioned whether I should expand my blog's focus (Spoiler Alert: I did).

In that post, I specifically mentioned Emily's trip to a blow out-only hair salon. That was almost two years ago, and I've been dreaming about it ever since, so when I discovered Houston had their own version called the Blow Dry Bar, I practically peed myself from delight!

After convincing my mom it would be $35 well spent ($45 in her case, since she has so much hair), we booked our appointments for my trip back home last week.

The place is fresh and feminine, accented with Tiffany blue accessories and chandeliers.

Of course, no self respecting "bar" would be without their coasters...

 ...or menu options:

 I went with On the Rocks.

Here I am before, looking pretty damn good:

 ...but here I am after, looking even better (which I wouldn't have thought possible):

I've said before how it's always been really difficult for me to find someone who can blow dry my unruly hair as well as me, but I was pretty impressed with my hairtender? at the Blow Dry Bar. She used several large round brushes and finished off the look with a 1 inch barrel curling iron to create the soft, loose waves in my hair. I left feeling pretty good about the whole experience and more frustrated than ever that D.C. still doesn't have one of these. Like, how is that even possible???

So, anyone else ever been to a blow dry bar? How did you like it? Which style did you choose??