Too busy to get to a salon? Then get the salon to come to you!

Once you have children, fitting in a trip to the salon or beautician can be epic.

Over the years, I’ve had to skip, cancel or reschedule loads of appointments due to sick kids, late husbands and hungry babies (especially in the early days of breastfeeding when they’re wanting to be fed every 3 to 4 hours – which is about as long as a cut, colour and head-massage takes in a salon).

So it can be easy to let things slide a bit. Haircuts and hair removal can become less frequent, a trip to the tanner is tossed, and those gossip sessions with your favourite nail technician become a thing of the past.

Enter the mobile salon.

Increasingly, clever business people are recognising that it’s not easy or convenient for women to travel to a salon. So they’re offering their services in the comfort of a client’s own home instead.

Here are three awesome examples of services like this that I’ve used recently. They all managed to transform how I looked, without me lifting a finger, or setting foot out my front door.

1. Wash my hair in my sink?

One of my favourite unexpected discoveries after I had a baby was that there were hairdressers that’ll actually come to your place to give you a fabulous cut & colour.

My hairdresser, Gary Starr, would walk in, drop-cloth and scissor-set in hand, and set himself up so he could work his wizardry while the baby slept (or cried, depending on the time of day and the state of his reflux). He’d wash my hair in a portable wash-basin, and even throw in a head-massage now and then if I plied him with enough choccie biscuits. So easy!

Gary’s zooming around Sydney’s Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, and Lower North Shore. But a word of warning, don’t get him talking about David Bowie 😉

Gary Starr Freelance Hairdresser: 0411 478 367

Know a great mobile hairdresser in your area? Share the love and let us know in the Comments section below.

2. Mobile makeover.

Don’t know about you, but I’m really hopeless at getting ready on time when the kids are around – I confessed all here, in a moment of online over-sharing… And because they’re around all the time, I’m pretty much late all the time – especially if I’m going out somewhere special and want to make more of an effort with my hair and makeup.

So when I planned to attend a sunset party to raise money for the Sydney Children’s Hospital, I wanted to make sure I was actually there in time to see the sunset. Kinda defeats the purpose otherwise, right?!

Enter the mobile makeup artist.

Jessica Berg is an internationally experienced hair and makeup artist, whose incredible talents are on-par with the fairy godmother in Cinderella.

Me before and after Jessica waved her magic wand!

Jessica now lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, but her experience stems from a successful career as an international model (Chanel, Dior, Vuitton, oh my!) parlayed into over 15 years of making her clients look all kinds of awesome. And once you get over her own incredible beauty (did I mention Valentino in her list of modelling credits?!), she’ll use her amazing skills to bring out yours.

Plus, as she was carefully and expertly applying makeup from her well organised kit, she was happy to share with me exactly what she was doing and the products she was using, so I learnt some fantastic tips along the way.

But here’s a tip from me: put on the outfit you’ll be wearing for your special occasion before the makeup artist arrives. That way, she can ensure your hair and makeup enhance your garment. My dress had a slightly ’20s flapper element to it, and Jessica complemented this by turning my shoulder-length hair into a curled bob – which would never have occurred to me!

Jessica’s a mum too, so she’s not scared off by a house filled with loud, obnoxious, child-generated noises. She even remained unphased when my little one tried to take off with her YSL Touche Eclat #2 (a makeup essential if ever there was one, ladies!).

Jessica does hair and makeup in your home for as little as $150, plus a small travel fee if it’s out of the area. Contact Jessica Berg via her website.

Imagine by Jessica Berg. Click here for all Jessica’s contact details.

Do you know a great mobile makeup artist in your area? Share the love and let us know in the Comments section below.

3. Tanning in my kitchen.

Until recently, I’d only had a spray tan once, and it involved driving ten minutes to a c-c-c-cold room in a salon, getting totally starkers to be sprayed, and then dodging raindrops as I sprinted to the car in my loose clothing lest the tan got smudged. That was 7 years ago and I swore I’d never do it again. That is, until I interviewed famous Australian fashion designer Peter Morrissey. He touted the benefits of a good bronzing, and hooked me up with his tanner, Amanda. Not only does this girl do a wicked tan, she does it in your kitchen.

Actually, she’ll do it wherever you like in your home, and the entire process takes less than 15 minutes.

She waltzed into our house with a smile, set up her pop-up spray tent, managed to keep a straight face when she saw me naked, and sprayed away. Afterwards, I was left to swan around home in the nude for as long as I pleased, letting the tan work its magic. Then ‘Hey Presto!’ my bod was a natural bronzed colour, I looked a couple of pounds lighter, and I’d not even stepped foot out the front door!

And wouldn’t you know it, later that night my tan and I ran into Peter Morrissey at a charity event for the Sydney Children’s Hospital, where over $100k was raised! Whoo hoo on all accounts!