Erika with a K

The greatest feeling is when a first time, second time or 100th time client loves my work as much as I do. This shared love of my work is most obviously shown through returning clients and referrals; and there is no greater referral than a referral to a close friend or family member. I met Stephanie over this Summer and we immediately clicked! She wanted highlights, her roots colored and a cut. I absolutely loved the final product and so did the men in her life (her husband and son). Soon after her husband and son came in to get hair cuts. The entire family is amazing but I didn't really expect much else than an awesome family! We've since gone even lighter with Stephanie's high lights just in time for her vacation! Here are some picture's I've taken (with permission) off Stephanie's facebook page that I absolutely love! I hope you enjoyed this post and/or found it useful! To continue to show support for me and my effor...

 Last month I had back to back weddings for friends and family. Not only was I attending the weddings but I also had the honor to be a part of one of the special days by doing the hair and makeup for the maid of honor, a bridesmaid and the aunt of the bride. Sometimes wedding parties scatter and find their own accommodations for hair and makeup. Often times people are just comfortable using stylists they've used in the past. Believe me, I get it. Weddings are not the time to live or think outside the box. As I always tell my brides, if you're not comfortable wearing your hair down, your wedding day is not the time to do it. And if you're not comfortable wearing it up, again your wedding day is not the time. Your wedding day is not the time to be someone you're not comfortable being. It's a time to be the best version of yourself, in the beauty department at least. In my opinion, same goes for your stylist. If you have a stylist you're comfortable with, do a tri...

From box color to fabulous color, a perfect example of a #TransformationTuesday done right! There are is so much to tell about this hair transformation, so I am going to jump right in! I took this home box colored hair of brown, red and bleached blonde, to a beautiful soft ombre. Instead of giving the step by step of each thing I did (let's leave that kind of work to the professionals) here is a break down of any word that might sound like salon jargon so you can have a better understanding of what you might want or what to ask for at a hair salon. What is a color correction? In the most general way, while understanding every single hair situation is different, a color correction is (again in general) taking a very dark color and making it very light or vice versa. It's basically completely changing the current color during multiple visits or during one very long appointment. It is important to be honest with you colorist during the time of consultation about...

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to do hair and makeup for a women I went to high school with. She wanted her hair and makeup done for a wedding she was attending. Since she wasn't in the wedding party, she was looking to have her hair and makeup done- without drawing too much attention to herself. What can I say? It's hard to not draw attention to yourself when you look this good! I absolutely love this silly picture and of course it was great to catch up with an old classmate! 10 years sure flies by. I hope you enjoyed this post and/or found it useful! To continue to show support for me and my efforts, check out my cruelty-free, woman-owned small business, made in the USA!  https://www.roxdollcosmetics.com/ It's the hair, scalp, and skincare you DESERVE!

TBT to the days I used to do the hair and makeup for all Empire City Casino mailers, calenders, print work and website images! TBT to the begining years of working on photoshoots. I love what I do! I have had some amazing opportunities in my career. I've met some amazingly talented people and made some great friends along the way. Never lose sight of where you are going and never forget where you have been. #LifeIsGood xo Erika https://youtube.com/c/erikawithak Continue to show support for me by checking out my cruelty-free, woman-owned small business, made in the USA!  https://www.roxdollcosmetics.com/

Many people wonder about the life of their makeup. If you are anything like me you have a real expiration phobia (I don't know if that is really a 'thing' but for me it is.) I check expiration dates on EVERYTHING and won't go near things that are even coming close to expiration. So obviously my makeup products aren't any different. To find out when products expire is easy, most products have an expiration on the bottom, it will look like this:  That number represents the amount of months you have, once you open the product, until it expires. In this case, 12 months. Unopened, well-formulated cosmetics can remain stable for a few years if kept at room temperature. But once air hits the formula, certain ingredients start to oxidize and degrade. If you can't find the expiration on your makeup products, here's an outline of when makeup should be tossed, once you open it. Face makeup: Six months for liquids, two years for powders. Mascara...