Purse adoption results!

With thanks to many of our generous clients, we had a really fun time with the purse adoption!


A form of recycling...getting rid of the old, bringing in the new..slightly used..I like it!



We had great success, raised $180 for Environmental advocates! So great, next year, we may repeat our purse adoption:)




Thanks for all your help the month of April! The earth and us, appreciate it!

I have a new addiction...

My skin gives me problems in the winter...dry patches above my eyes, dry patches on both sides of my nose, dry flaky spots where dimples should be...pretty much, I'm a mess in the winter! I try everything and if I do it for a while it goes away, I mean if I apply things religiously...BUT that is something I struggle with - routine...I do it for a week, then I get bored and forget. I just about gave up and was living with it, when we had our Baremineral rep in for our fun Baremineral party. She was going over products and came upon this one - Purely nourishing facial moisturizer - it's for all skin types and she said it would be a quick fix - that she knew it would work for my "issues". I finally took it home 3 days ago, and after the first day, it was already better, the second day it was as if there were no problems, the 3rd day I almost didn't even bother putting anything on, but I can't resist the smell so I put it on. I'll admit it now, I'm addicted!

The difference between that and the other things I have tried, including cortisone, was that when I put the other things on, I felt burning and while it was on the face I didn't have the flaking, but as soon as the morning came or it wore off, I had flaky and red spots. The morning after I used the Raremineral moisturizer I noticed a huge improvement. I think I found something I will stick with from now on, no more moisturizer hopping for me!

RareMinerals™ Purely Nourishing Facial Moisturizer
What it is:
A hydrator infused with active mineral electrolytes that perfect moisture balance for firmer, softer, brighter, plumper skin that looks and acts younger.

What it does:
Bare Escentuals RareMinerals™ Purely Nourishing Facial Moisturizer is clinically proven to optimize your skin's ability to absorb and retain moisture for plumper, firmer, brighter, and healthier-looking skin. The patent-pending, 100% pure RareMinerals Complex uses its unique electrolyte delivery system in combination with an exotic Resurrection Plant Extract to deeply nourish and hydrate skin. Also, the rich, yet lightweight texture provides an optimal level of moisture, minus the greasy, heavy feel.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Petro-chemicals
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Phthalates

What else you need to know:
This product is free from GMOs, PPGs, MEAs, DEAs, TEAs, formaldehyde donors, and triclosan and is not tested on animals.

They said..."Sam, more blonde!!"

Summer is coming, and the request for more blonde is here! Samantha did these to blondies and what a great job she did!

Michele Zeppieri's Before and After!

Michele's client came in as a red head.

She wanted to get away from the red and add depth to her hair with a stunning new cut.

Michele went to work and did a beautiful job! The sharp bob cut adds the depth her client wanted and is also an easy way to freshen up a look!

Beautiful highlights!

Very chic results Michele!

Blue men and women at Bijou!

To celebrate Earth month at Bijou. Aveda gave us cute little blue men to sell, guests have gotten very creative with how they have made their blue men and women!


My youngest son's class all brought in change to buy their very own blue boys and girls, you can see them here! Thanks room 213, you guys are the best little earth month kids I know!

Baremineral Party - such a fun night!

Here is Maria, our BareMineral rep, she was kind enough to come and give us more educational tips! Along with introducing us to some new products, SO exciting, what is being released is good stuff!

Everyone was hard at work, all the Bijou girls and all our guests had a great time!


Jennifer, learned about "eyes", from our expert, Samantha!
Courtney and Linda both gave complimentary mini facials to prep the skin. Such a treat!

Brazillian keratin complex at Bijou in Skaneateles

Here is a Brazillian Keratin before picture...her hair - straightened with a flat iron, doesn't hold very well, it although straight from the flat iron, still looks full and frizzy. Scroll down to see the effect it has after the treatment. From the reviews of clients, it is said that it's much much easier to straighten and it stays straighter!
Here you can really see the difference!


Pretty smooth results, but the benefit is that (unlike with Japanese straightening treatments) there is no outgrowth, the treatment just fades away, making your hair go back to "normal".

Bake Sale, last two Saturdays!

We've had such great success earning dollars for the Environmental Advocates of NY in honor of Earth month! Largely in part to this little cutey! Chloe who aspires to be a Chocolatiere (ooh cannot wait!) has been lending a hand and manning the table! A sweet selling sweets!

Chiara, who also painted our relaxation room, made this perfect sign and Shelly made lovely little tags to use! AND all our wonderful friends of Bijou have made goodies over and over and bought goodies over and over...Even Mark of Doug's fish fry came over and bought 30 packages of cookies for his employee's! What a great neighbor! Bill of Johnny Angel's has let us borrow his table for these Saturday's and for that we are grateful!

Any little bit helps, especially when lots of people do "little bits"!

Thanks from us all at Bijou!

Bijou is a salon of distinction and Stacey is a Betty!

Tonight was surreal...First we had a very successful party for Baremineral, educated lots and lots of people about mineral make up, we did lots of "make-unders" and had so many laughs, actually side splitting laughs!

So in the middle of it, I get a phone call, it was someone with very bad laryngitis, I had a hard time understanding the person, I heard..."Stacey..in the salon....pictures"...so I said, "Oh yeah..." because I take pictures of people in the salon all the time for the blog. So in my head I'm running over all the Stacey's over the past couple of days..Then I hear...."Magazine....Salon of Distinction.....contest you entered"...At that point I stopped my brain and focused on the words she was trying to say...I think I must have had her repeat it quite a few times, I mean before I started screaming, I wanted to be sure..(I'm sure I've embarrassed myself at least once or twice in life, celebrating prematurely) So finally I realized...Bijou placed in the Salon of the year contest!

Like I said...surreal! The editor in Chief herself was calling to tell me. This is when I know, things are still right in the world! And not everyone in the world is a Willemena Slater or a Miranda Priestly (Devil wear's Prada)...let me explain:)


I love to watch Ugly Betty, the tv show, I always wondered if editor in chiefs were more like Willemena or like Betty? I have mostly assumed them to be like Willy, but not Salon Today's Editor in Chief, here I am little tiny salon in Skaneateles, I write her once and she writes me back, not just once, but several times. Then when our salon placed, she calls...me..at the salon...yep, I already pinched myself, it really did happen!

Stacey is a Betty...There should be more people like her! Thank you again Stacey!

I will share with you the email I received when I got home:


I wanted to call you personally to tell you about your SALONS OF THE YEAR win since we corresponded so much earlier this year, but as you can tell I have complete laryngitis today. I'll have to call you again soon so you can hear my real voice!

BTW, we did end up having quite a healthy number of entries, well over 100 of whom met qualifications. The magazine will feature the SOTY, the three runners up and 16 Salons of Distinction, one of which is Bijou. All the judges were impressed with the inspiring boutique you've created -- as you state it's a gem of a salon.

Although I let my associate editor make most of the calls today, I wanted to call you personally. Sorry again it was so hard to hear me!!!

Talk soon,
Stacey Soble Editor in Chief
SALON TODAY

The big ticket item for the Bake Sale on Saturday!

Joelle from the wonderful Joelle's bistro made this for our bake sale! It's an amazing topsey turvey willy wonka cake!!!! All created by Joelle herself! In case you are one of the FEW people who have never made it there...don't deprive yourself any longer! Go there!

And if this cake entices you, come to our bake sale, Chloe and Henry will be waiting at the table to sell you goodies! All proceeds going to Environmental advocates of New York!

Cool things happen when you are featured in a magazine!

Really cool things! How come no one ever mentioned that? I got a call the other day from someone named Tev, he said he was the president for Bumble and Bumble, before they were bought out by Estee Lauder...(So of course while I was talking to him, I was also googling him..okay that may sound weird;) I found him right away and even impressed him with my mad psychic abilities..but then since I'm such a dork, I told him exactly what I did...no mystery with me;)

So he asked me if I would like to try his product line that he has now, it's very exclusive, seems interesting..Here is the website! So I will receive this, see if I like it, I don't have any more space (of course I was very honest with him about that) but that if he wanted I would in fact try it (and of course I'll review it..how fun, a product I wouldn't normally buy for myself, I kinda like this!!) and who knows what could happen in the future! Oh and the best yet, the guy was a native of upstate New York, near Woodstock, NY! So I just want to say Thank you again to Nails magazine and American Salon for featuring Bijou, not only was it such an honor, we've gotten plenty of fun calls from it.

Please pass it on!!

Small businesses grow by other people passing it on! That's me, I love to try to do anything I can to help other small businesses grow. You want to know what's going on in town, what's new...ask your hairdresser! We'll tell you! We all tell everyone all about Joelle's french bistro - divine! About Kabuki - delish! About Blue Danube - yum! And trust me, when Morro's opens (can't wait, I hear they will be serving dinner until midnight..i hope i didn't just dream that part:), we'll all be talking about it - They'll be serving lunch, so watch out - we'll taste everything for you:)

Some things pass me by, like for instance, I found this accidentally, and if it were not almost midnight, I might drive out there! It's called Paradise market, sounds foreign huh? OR far away at the least..NOPE, it's on Erie Blvd in Syracuse! I was just visiting Syracuse the other day, making a visit to THE worst Lawyer ever! (I can definitely tell you WHO NOT TO GO TO in the divorce lawyer department, just ask!) I should have visited it, sounds divine, fresh veggie vendors, crafter's and other artisans. Sounds promising, and reminds me of my favorite marche' in montreal! Finally good things are coming to Syracuse!

Cayuga County BOCES sent us some interns..

How to Run A Successful Salon 101

Lucky Us!

We were picked by the Cayuga County BOCES to host two interns for the past two Thursdays.
What fun it was to share with these two the in's and out's of just how much it takes to run a salon...from sweeping and counting towels to cuts, colors and the importance of good customer service.

Thanks for all your help ladies and best of luck in all your future endeavors!!

Samantha Mattice-Mahoney does gorgeous work!

This is how it's done right with highlighting dark natural brown (almost black) hair!

Sam did a complete fun and beautiful transformation on her client, using 2 levels of lightner! Fabulous!!