The May Edit
Natalie Gordon Dunton | Owner, Pro Makeup Artist
It’s May, and if you’ve been following along recently, you know how much we’ve been looking forward to this month, and to the launch of the second Avenue 42 location on Patterson Avenue. As we’re cleaning up from a launch party for the books, we are so excited to finally get down to business and welcome our beautiful clients to the new West End spot. And while you will still see many of the same faces and receive the same exceptional service, we’re shaking a few things up as well. Case in point: our new extensions bar.
We are bringing top quality, hand-tied hair extensions to our new location, a service not only brand new to Avenue 42, but also new to the Richmond area as a whole. And in true Avenue 42 spirit, we are bringing you the best, most luxurious hair extensions on the market—the Avenue 42 kind. Yes, you read that right! We’ve developed our own line of extensions, named after women who’ve made an impact in my life, and I can’t wait for you all to experience this hair for yourselves! One of the babes we’ve named a weft after, Caroline Kalentzos, is our May Cover Girl, as well as one of the very first clients at our new location. Caroline is a leading voice in the Richmond beauty industry, and we can’t wait to tell you all about her and how she helps women-run beauty businesses like Ave42.
Apart from our brand new Patterson location, we are excited about May because it means we are that much closer to summer and all of our favorite warm-weather beauty trends. We’re welcoming in the new season with two of our favorite looks: beachy blond bubble braids and sun-kissed, glowy makeup with a trendy siren eye. Whether you want to keep your beauty routine easy and natural this summer, or turn your makeup up a notch for all of the summer nights out with the girls, this season has all of the best beauty trends we can’t wait to wear.
Happy summer! We can’t wait to see you at our new spot soon!
Our May Cover Girl is the one and only Boss Doll, Caroline Kalentzos. If you don’t already know, she is the CEO and Founder of POSH PR, a full-service public relations agency that helps Dolls Doing Business like me achieve all of their business goals and live their Champagne lives. She is also a long-time extensions queen, so we were beyond excited when we found out she would be the first guest at our new location and extension bar on Patterson Avenue. We can’t wait to break in our new spot and bring the highest quality hand-tied extensions to Richmond with Caroline and her Dolls right our side.
Before Caroline was Head Boss Doll, she was a national sales manager for a medical and pharmaceutical company. After she got sales down to a science, she left her six-figure salary to could help female entrepreneurs thrive in businesses and live their dream lives. That’s why she built POSH PR, a Barbie-inspired, pink-fueled, women-operated and women-empowering company. Caroline is truly a force of nature—she’s built many successful businesses from the ground up, helped many more businesses reach new heights and revenue figures, secured high-profile placements and celebrity endorsements for her clients, and been a great friend through it all.
And if you haven’t seen the iconic flower wall or the pink, studded, Valentino-inspired front doors at Caroline’s office, lovingly referred to as The Doll HQ, on Instagram, you’re missing out. Caroline built her office as a content playground and photoshoot studio for her clients, and it’s one of the most Instagram-able places around. Above the dream house that is the POSH PR office, Caroline lives with her husband, her almost-one-year-old, Christos, her two dogs, and many, many designer handbags and shoes. You can follow her at @thecarolinedoll for your daily dose of pink, and at @poshpr to keep up with all of her business tips and wins.
Leslie Yevak
Shawna Bilton
Theresa Bartlett
Anne Garland
Cristina Gonzalez
Emily Benedict
Kelly Bevan
Stephanie Porras
Kaeler Braine
Nicole Palat
Kate Marcello
Rachel Calvert
Courtney Colon
Julianne Jekonski
Iqra Kapadia
Kara Stutzman
Ashton Murray
Olivia Taylor
Jenny Ballard
Melika Rahmani
Jessica Baccomo
Kristi Kim
Molly Newcomb
Alyssa Mazzarini
Ann-Michelle Faulkner
Jessica Jukkala
Devon Brandt
Kate Byron
Meet Ka’lah
Introducing the newest addition to our Ave42 bridal team: Ka’lah of Kay Conceals
This May, we are featuring our newest addition to the Ave42 bridal team as our Artist of the Month: Miss Kay Conceals. Ka’lah is a professional makeup artist, as well as a licensed esthetician, who creates stunning makeup looks for her clients and helps keep the skin underneath healthy, too. Kay has already wowed us (and the bridal party, of course) at several Ave42 weddings with her signature soft glam looks. Kay started off her Ave42 career strong by taking charge of glam for our Ave42 extension class and photoshoot—talk about a great first day! When Kay is not creating the most gorgeous soft glam for her clients, she is educating her followers on makeup artistry and content creation for beauty professionals on her social media. Check out her latest work and her best MUA tips at @kayconceals.
R + CO Bleu
The Cult Classic Flexible Hairspray that will instantly turn you in a fan.
If this luxe hairspray from R + Co Bleu is a cult classic, then consider us a superfan. Especially with the infamous Richmond summer humidity looming just a few weeks away. Just because it feels like 103 degrees outside, doesn’t mean you can’t turn the heat factor up with your hairstyle. Not when you have this Hollywood-worthy hairspray. With a formula that dries quickly so it can lock your favorite style in and lock humidity and frizz out, The Cult Classic Flexible Hairspray makes your hair feel just as good as it looks, even in that mid-July downtown heat. We know the very last thing you want in the dead of the summer is extra weight in your hair—or that signature dance-recital, helmet-head look hairsprays are infamous for—so R + Co made their formula extra light and airy. Try it out for extra volume, or spritz a light layer on the days you put a little extra effort in to your look. Pro tip: this product is the perfect way to polish off our hairstyle of the month—read below!
Our Favorite Makeup Look of the Month
If you’ve opened TikTok or Instagram within the last few months, you’ve definitely heard all about “siren eyes.” One of the biggest makeup trends that originated from social media and a favorite among influencers, celebrities, and brides everywhere, these charming, elongated eyes are here to stay this summer, though they may be softer and more subtle than their fall and winter counterparts. Kay, the newest addition to the Ave42 bridal team, slayed this nuptial look with a subtle, lifted siren eye and a flawless, bronzed complexion. We can’t get over how sharp, clean, and lifted Kay’s eyeshadow look turned out. Forget being a mermaid this summer—let your inner siren out.
Hairstyles To Watch This Month
If you’re anything like us, you are probably rushing to get your name on the books for that perfect perfect beachy blonde before it’s officially summer. Blonding and teasylight expert Jessica Amaya made all of our blonde day dreams come true with this seasonal color refresh and flirty bubble braid. A fun take on the more traditional half-up, half-down style we love so much, a braided bubble braid gives this classic formal style a much more easy-going, summer-appropriate feel. Pro tip: use a gentle hairspray to set the look in place and keep summer frizz at bay.
Thanks #ave42babes!
We’ll see you next month!
Any questions? Send us an email!