Located in Santa Monica, the inside of the Art Luna Salon looks and feels like a seaside bungalow while its back garden doubles as a nursery filled with a cornucopia of floral beauty. The ambiance was a vision of "serenity now" and I instantaneously dived into total relaxation mode.
I immediately connected with Shannon as she exudes an aura of laid back warmth, perhaps due to the fact that although she's now a beach resident (Venice), she grew up in a small farm town in Michigan. Within minutes of listening to my hair hopes, she was able to map out the color adventure we'd be embarking to achieve those results. When assessing my color expectations, she was realistic and honest, telling me (and letting me down gently) that due to the coarseness and darkness of my hair nature, it would be difficult and damaging to achieve a light ashy brown color without shades of orange shining through. Instead, our game plan was to play down the orange by darkening the roots to a dark brown and adding a beige toner to further neutralize the warm tones.
For the next three hours, we talked about current hair trends (the long haired beachy look is not going anywhere, the LA dating scene (not great), our mutual love of Korean and Chinese food, and her beauty blog, which explores and celebrates the strength of inner beauty and spirituality. It's refreshing to meet a grounded beauty professional in an industry that constantly stresses and obsesses over exterior aesthetics.
I had such a great chat session with Shannon. Time flew by and before I knew it, the big reveal had come!
To book an appointment with Shannon Kim, contact her at shannonkimhair@gmail.com or call the Art Luna Salon at 310.450.7168. She also offers beauty concierge services, bringing the salon to you for all of life's major beauty events!
