Pink's Monthly Style Takeover

Lauren Weaver is a lover of history.and adventure. This vivacious red head has seen and done things in her 21 years than many of us only dream about. I am in awe of her courage, strength, and fortitude to accomplish such things and do them on her own. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The Village Spa, located in Bluffton, is sophisticated, quaint and charming with an incredibly warm staff that exudes a "girlfriend" vibe from the moment one walks through the door. Valerie Leighty, one of our fabulous stylists for the day, took Lauren to the shampooing station and got to work sudsing her up for her new "do." Next, she led Lauren to her station and they talked about what look Lauren wanted for her big day-as she would be graduating college the following Saturday!

Valerie started the process by waxing Lauren's admittedly unruly eyebrows. She used Cirepil, a wax that requires no muslin and attaches to the hair and not the skin, thus a much gentler wax. Then, it was haircut time. She masterfully cut about four inches off to increase Lauren's natural wave and body by reducing the length. Carrie Smoot, our second stylist and makeup artist, (and Valerie's daughter) explained, "Length causes the hair to be weighed down." Collectively, they agreed that Lauren's hair color was too striking to dye, so this step was skipped, as merely cutting the weight off the bottom, would make the hair look healthier and brighter.

"I usually shower at night. It's easier for my hair to dry while I'm sleeping because it takes forever! I'm really very low maintenance. If I'm going somewhere special or a lot of places, I'll do my makeup. Even then it's basic: eye shadow, cover up, and mascara." Lauren stated. "If I'm going to class, then work, I don't have any inclination to do all of that." Next, Valerie blew out Lauren's hair while simultaneously Carrie applied her makeup. During this time, I get a glimpse into this determined young woman's goals and adventures.

Lauren graduated from University of South Carolina with a BA in history on May 11th and is going back to get her Masters in Education. She wants to be a high school history teacher. Why high school? "I like the older aged kids because we can have better, more in depth discussions", Lauren explained. "I like ancient history, like Egyptian, Greek, and Roman history and also World War II history. I like the complexity. There are so many perspectives. I like history because it's all stories that have actually happened, to real people, and you don't have to focus on grammar and tone like you do for the stories in English classes." She then told me about how she studied abroad for five months in England, and spent the sixth month traveling Europe! "It was an incredible experience. I think my favorite place was Germany. Berlin was very relaxed in contrast to countries like London, Paris and Rome, which were so busy. I also really liked Munich. I stayed with an older couple there and they personally showed me around. Ireland was beautiful, too," Lauren smiled reminiscing. "There were so many different types of land-green rolling hills, mountains covered in heather and the Cliffs of Moher."

Carrie applied makeup creating Lauren's naturally sophisticated look by applying foundation, powder and a color palate of pinks, corals, and light browns to bring out Lauren's beautiful features. "You're very classic." Carrie told Lauren. "That's a good thing!" She continued, "I concentrated on her big, beautiful eyes. She has great lashes. If you go dark with the eyes, you need to keep the lips neutral. It's one or the other."  A few flirty curls and a little hairspray later, Lauren looked as though she just stepped out of a vintage film...and history was made.

We then made our way to Doncaster at Pineland Station, where Lauren donned a mint green eyelet shift silhouette dress (matching jacket not shown) that made her fiery red locks burst onto the scene. A coral necklace was paired with the dress to bring out the hues used on her lips, cheeks and eyes. Interesting fact: these necklaces are handcrafted by recycled materials by a group of women in Rwanda to enable them to buy food, clothes and health insurance for their families.

FUN FACTS ABOUT LAUREN:

What else do you like about history? I love inventions. The best invention would be the computer (laughs) or Guttenberg's printing press.
What kinds of food did you eat while traveling abroad? In England, the fish and chips were good, and in Ireland the lamb stew was great. Lamb is so expensive here, but there...it's everywhere. In Scotland, I tasted haggas (twice). I pretty much lived off of Belgium waffles or fries.

What was your scariest experience? When I travel, I keep all my important papers together in a folder. I had to take my paperwork out of my bag to show the customs agent. Well, about 30 minutes later, sitting in a coffee shop waiting for the people who were to pick me up, I started looking through my stuff and realized my folder was gone! I tried to go back through but a security guard stopped me and said he'd look for it. Luckily, he found it for me!

What was your best experience? I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz and the Oskar Schindler Factory in Krakow. When I was at Auschwitz, I met a survivor who was on the first train. He was speaking to our tour group and had a translator because he was speaking Polish. It was very intense.