Last week, I was invited by Gene Juarez Salons & Spas to their GJ Happy Hour at the Downtown Seattle location. Gene Juarez designed these happy hours a few years ago as a fun ladies' night concept, with mini-treatments, bubbly, yummy goodies to eat and the like. Each salon location now hosts at least a couple of these happy hours a year. 

This was my first time at one and I'm told the flow of the event has evolved a bit to be a little more flowing (versus being shuffled from station to station) and now includes a fancy Facebook Beautification Project photo shoot at the end! Needless to say, it was fun being worked on by some of the best in the Seattle beauty industry.

My stylist, Leonardo, leads Gene Juarez's Team Artistic, which does the hair for almost every photo shoot and fashion industry event in the city (and more.) Leonardo worked some serious magic on my hair, giving it volume like I've never had before!

I then had the honor of sitting in Tracy Marie's chair for makeup and nails. Tracy is Gene Juarez's Makeup Education Director, a.k.a. the makeup artist that teaches all of the other artists! A seasoned pro in the makeup industry, Tracy didn't just do my makeup and tell me what product she was using. She went into more detail about why she chose the look that she did for me than any other makeup artist I've ever worked with. She went way beyond face shape and skin type, asking me a ton of questions about my lifestyle, my personal style and my attitudes toward makeup. Tracy then created a look with Gene Juarez's Flash Face concept (read: quick & easy) that played with some of the season's hottest colors while keeping the overall effect minimal. Thanks to her, I found out how to best highlight my features, tame my combination skin, and that I should spend more time with cool-toned makeup for pops of color.

I probably spent way more time than usual with Tracy, but I was so inspired by her clear passion for educating others about her passion. So great to have a new friend from this happy hour!

Special thanks to Alyson, recently departed as Gene Juarez's marketing coordinator and fellow blogger at Crushing on Clothes, for inviting me to attend!

She takes the best laughing pictures! I don't look that cute laughing!

I'm ready for my Facebook Beautification Project photos!

The best things about this happy hour were the makeup tips I'm able to use every day now, and the fact that my hair held up for a couple of days after the event! Waves for days!

Thanks Gene Juarez!

To find out about the next Gene Juarez Happy Hour in the Puget Sound region, sign up for their email list at GeneJuarez.com.