A piece of France
France is always associated with freedom (a theme explored in Victor Hugo’s Les
Miserables and its musical reincarnation), fashion (Paris and its Fashion Week) and film (the Lumiére brothers, Auguste and Louis, and the Cannes Film Festival).
And a piece — and a place — of France is found in (where else?) La Provence, a beauty haven located at the Central Square Mall of BGC.
“It is a French concept for hair and beauty and café, of course,” said Mehdi Moussaoui, the salon’s creative director and co-founder. “It’s a one-stop shop where you can stay for long to have your hair (done) and beauty (services), grab some French food and enjoy the time (you have) here.” Yes, the ambiance reminds one of a countryside life complete with landscapes of sunflowers and lavender (purple flowers), plus the vibrant, colorful markets. The soothing feelings reflect in its interiors.
“It’s French style,” said Mehdi. “As you can see, even the lighting is not so strong. What we want is (for) the clients to feel (at) home. (The experience is) not like ‘I’m (going) to a salon. It’s (more) like I’m (going) home.”
The French style-inspired salon offers a frequenter or a walk-in the ultimate pampering, shared Kris Garcia, another co-founder of La Provence. The modern salon-beauty café experience begins by gifting one’s self with a new haircut (the price points start at P500 and P400 for women and men, respectively) and a new color (at the salon’s Wella Color Bar, where colors are mixed right in front of the client). Next area to hop is Le Nails, where one is presented an array of nail polishes (Gel, organic and Regular). Then, one can try services such as facial, threading, waxing and semi-permanent make-up. La Provence also has VIP rooms if one wishes for some privacy, and does home service. It is also a perfect venue for intimate parties and meetings for it houses Café at La Provence that is serving crepes, panini, croissants, smoothies and drinks to satisfy hunger and to quench thirst. What’s also interesting about this flagship salon of Wella is, it’s near the cinemas. So after some pampering, one can have a movie date with family and friends.
“It’s my life,” said Mehdi of his profession, which has afforded him to work with designers Leo Almodal, Michael Cinco, John Herrera and Ezra Santos; fashion houses Cha- nel and Dior; and top models like Naomi Campbell. “For 30 years, (I’ve been doing) hair (styling).” As an artist, he creates his own trends and taps Philippine models as his muses. Since hair is one’s crowning glory, it is important for Mehdi to know the client’s skin tone, looks, hair (quality) type and profession (lifestyle). It also matters for the creative director to show how a hairstyle is done to customers so they can maintain and recreate it at home.
Recently, the La Provence team of hairstylists and colorists participated in the Philippines Trend Vision 2018 awards. As a team, Mehdi encouraged everyone to join. Joining him on this hair endeavor were George Diaz, Yvette Braga, Eliazer Pastor and Kin Satorre. They showcased their skills and creativity that secured all of them finalist spots. George took part in the Color Vision category, while Mehdi, Yvette, Eliazer and Kin competed in the Creative Vision. With her tribal-inspired entry, Yvette won the Gold Award and will go to Lisbon, Portugal for the international edition of Trend Vision 2018.
“The Creative Vision was more on inspirational, meaning (your work could be) avant garde (like the use of) extreme colors (or playing) with colors,” said Yvette. “My inspiration was a female tribal warrior since I was the sole female participant in the competition.” This concept fits the Trend Vision’s theme on diversity and equality. The female tribal warrior speaks of the narrative of her foray or journey into the men’s world, said Yvette. For his initial entry, she used red, orange and yellow as “fiery shades but each color represents myself and my (attitude) towards my work,” she recalled. “Red represents my extreme passion, which is my personal touch. Orange is my freedom of expression, (while) yellow is my happiness about my creation.” During the finale, Yvette decided to present a braided hairstyle with red and orange, the colors that complemented her model’s morena skin. Braiding, a hairstyle she is very comfortable doing, was a peek into our ancestors’ life, where braiding (which varied from tribe to tribe) spoke of their social status.
(For appointments and bookings, call or text +63-2-8240699 and +63-917-8083425.)