January 21, 2015

NOA – A ritzy new hair and beauty Salon

A new business on the Bali scene with a definite Wow factor attached, a large contemporary stylish space in muted shades, well organized with the all important emphasis on hygiene.

This is a new salon where you can experience all the usual treatments (cut, color, perm, a wash & blow-dry + all nail treatments) but somehow all these come with a point of difference, with a definite stylish fashion flair!

The photo image (left to right) Eric Guth the owner of the House of IOCO and NOA hair and beauty salon. Yoni the Manager & hairdresser, Lia a colorist & make-up artist, Jessika a hair stylist, Marta the nail technician and Bram another hairdresser.

NOA staff hail from Surabya in Java, a city full of all types of salons and renowned for it’s excellent training for the hair, beauty & spa industries.

The main entrance to NOA Salon is to the left side of the House of IOCO situated on Sunset Road, you can also enter via the main entrance of IOCO which is shared with Heliconia for flowers.

Yoni is the Manager of NOA and gave me a thorough run down on the hair menu on offer. Firstly, perming which has really changed in technique compared to days long gone! The type of hair this works on extremely well is thick straight hair, where pieces of hair are rolled around an assortment of rollers (depending on the size of waves you want in your hair) where a fine cable is attached to the end of each roller, these cables are many and all attached to the main power area of an imported machine called the Bacio, a revolutionary perming system from Japan. Your hair is actually curled like when you use an electric wand but way more sophisticated, professional and lasts way longer!) no chemicals are used but can take one – two hours for a full head of thick hair (depending on the amount of curl you want) If it’s big bouncy curls or romantic waves you wish for, the end results are movie star fabulous!

Next is color, one of the most popular techniques for hair color is ‘the ombre look’. This means they only color the ends of your hair or perhaps start the color half way down the length of your hair (can be applied in either one or two colors) The lovely Jessica who is on an internship at NOA from Jakarta and currently loving her new glam ‘ombre looks’. You can experience the usual high lights, low lights & 3D dimensional color (several colors & works extra well on darker hair) hair products are Goldwell, L’oreal, Keratase and Shiseido.

Cutting is what Yoni particularly enjoys and tells me he and his staff check out what trends are happening from overseas fashion runway shows & what is highlighted in the glossy magazines. A good cut is super important ‘cos if the cut is right your hair will fall naturally into place and frame the face. Vidal Sassoon and Pivot-Point are two European methods of cutting that inspire Yoni.

And if you didn’t know ‘bangs’ or ‘a fringe’ is back on-point for this summer season…
He was also telling me about the popular cuts for men these days, like the Undercut, the Spike cut and the super popular Korean haircut! Also, what is still a huge trend for men is the beard & moustache, so the trimming of mens facial hair is definitely important, even in Bali!

And then, there’s Marta the lovely nail therapist who excels in luxurious manicures & pedicures, reflexology (using coconut oil) and nail spas – meaning, hands/arms & feet/legs which take on a scrub, oil massage and mask, you surely must come floating out on air! Natural products are used from Utama Spice & Body Shop and for nail polish there’s OPI and Gelish from the USA (like a Shellac) but much kinder to the natural nail.

Lia is Balinese, an important member of the team, a colorist & make-up artist and if you have a special date coming up why not consider a treat or a ‘new make-up look’ for this year! It’s always interesting to see the way a professional make-up artist sees you!

And, while you are enjoying the relaxing ambience of NOA, do take a cup of expresso, green or lemon tea, aqua or try Malaysian tea called teh-tarik (like Indian tea) for a cup of something different!

// NOA Hair and Beauty Salon – Sunset Road, No 88, Seminyak
T: +62 8224 7355 005 Facebook: noa hairandbeautysalon

Bungalow – Home and Café
Bungalow Home and Café is situated on the busy road, Jl Pantai Berawa, No 35A, Canggu. (coming from the Batu Belig/ Seminyak direction, pass the Canggu Club, continue past the left turn and soon after, you will spot Bungalow on the right side with a small carpark in front) Only two years old their growth has been dramatic… Bungalow originally commenced as a Homewares store with small café included, now it’s a major Café for the area with a smaller amount of home product (like candles/books etc) around the perimeter of the space.
So, where has all the fabulous colorful home products gone? Well, the owners (with 20 years experience in homewares & cafes) purchased some space right across the road & down a small walkway (simply follow the signs!) Here lies the most charming Balinese cottage that has been transformed into their major Homewares store plus an industrial kitchen for their Café (80% of their business is vegetarian and they also make/serve gluten free product).

The Bungalow Gallery, as the cottage is referred too, is headed up by BBKing the owners most adorable standard poodle, who has become the company icon.
There is a decidedly ethnic influence within the Gallery, a mix of colorful items from Bali & around South East Asia. There is a wall of decorative crosses, lanterns & candleholders, a massive range of pineapples, candles from Natural Light Candle Company (Bungalow is the only stockist apart from the candle company factory/showroom in Sanur).

Then, there are the absolutely glorious cushions, for you or as a gift. Note, the beauteous Balinese head image as above, this has been printed on the front of a cushion! Screen printed, hand painted, block printed, hand dyed, chevron patterned crochet, all colors, mostly cotton or a mix of cotton/linen with trims, edging & stitched with mini pompoms.
Love the crochet throws; some made up of zillions of colorful squares or the creamy dreamy look complete with tassels for bedrooms, plus a selection of Indian bedcovers.

The best aspect is that the owners support local cottage industries that handcraft many of these items on sale at the Gallery – which is most pleasing to hear!

// Bungalow Café and Gallery – Jl Pantai Berawa, No 35A, Canggu.
T Café: + 62 361 844 6567 T Gallery: +62 361 8499 561 E: info@bungalowlivingbali.com
W: bungalowlivingbali.com Facebook: bungalowlivingbali

So, you want to buy a new Computer?
NYAMA BALI SOHO

It’s the Apple products I am referring to in this article, however it applies to any other brand of computer as well.

So, if you want to know about a really genuine person who will service your Apple products i.e. either to fix a damaged Apple laptop or perhaps to purchase a new iMac Desktop, Laptop, iPhone & iPad plus re-configure your new computer with your back-up files from your former computer, then this is the guy to call for an appointment. Alex of NYAMA BALI is a computer support whizz, speaks excellent English and will explain ‘it all’ in easy to understand language for non-technicals like many of us…

In some retail places staff are very happy to sell you a new computer machine without mentioning all the little extras that you need to buy. So, if you invest in an iMac Desktop did you know you will need to purchase a large Battery, a Stabilizer (highly important due to power fluctuations & possible power cuts) an external DVD drive (to play CD’s or DVD’s) Then, there’s the issue of re-loading your former files to your new computer system, as well Alex will synchronize your new product with all your other Apple products, i.e. Laptop, iPhone and iPad.

Having Alex available certainly makes life easier for all those computer issues that pop up from time to time. However, just a note, he doesn’t fix internet issues that you may have, that’s up to your internet provider to do so…. Alex is the ‘go to fix it guy’ that will make life so much easier for you andy your computer issues.

// NYAMA BALI SOHO – Jl Waringan No 1A Banjar Tuban Griya, Kuta, Denpasar
For all on call site service call +62 818 548 095 E: info@nyamabali.com

retailtherapym@yahoo.com.au www.retailtherapybali.com