drybar, Blow and blowla
You don’t have to remind us that L.A. is full of hot air! But the warming trend has been on the rise recently, starting with last year’s arrival of New York salon Blow at Loews Santa Monica’s Ocean Spa & Fitness. Our first encounter at Blow was at the Lexington Avenue location during fashion week last fall. They already had us at “blow,” but we were even more delighted when we discovered that although we paid a down-and-dirty price of $45, our service was anything but. So we were thrilled when they came to L.A., but perplexed that they would choose the resort as their first entry into the L.A. market.
It was only a matter of time before someone else wised up, moved the concept a bit further inland, and responded to the desperate pleas of women protesting $60 blow outs. Enter Drybar in Brentwood (www.thedrybar.com), another brilliantly executed blow dry-only salon, with 5 different styles to choose from and a mind-blowing price of $35, wash included! The Brentwood location debuted earlier this year, and a Studio City location is currently in the works.
And soon we will have Blowla — absolutely, positively, 100 percent, no relation to New York’s Blow other than well, the name, and well, the concept. Ah details, schmetails. Perfectly positioned on Bedford in Beverly Hills, right next to the always-bustling Beverly Hills Nail Design, across from brow guru Anastasia and smack dab in the middle of the gauntlet of paparazzi who camp out there daily waiting for a Kardashian or a Lohan to waltz by, Blowla will add a welcome synergy of beauty destinations to the street, which has seen a lot of retail turnover the past couple of years.
The salon, which opens at the end of this month, will charge $35 for blowdrys and open 7 days a week. Owner Gretty Hasson, a 90210 native and grad of Beverly Hills High, is hoping that her prime location will be a big boost to business. She is also banking on her years working for one of the largest music management firms in L.A. as her secret weapon in customer service.
“We will accommodate special requests and coordinate other services for clients if they want them,” said Hasson. “I’m from Beverly Hills and this was really lacking here.”
One thing that’s not lacking is similarity between the execution of the concepts. If imitation is, indeed, the sincerest form of flattery, Blowla definitely takes flattery right to the edge. Not to worry, though: Its upside down hair dryer on their logo is orange, not yellow like Drybar’s; And their dryer points to the right, where Drybar’s hangs left. (Every upside down dryer has a natural curve, you know.) Drybar’s tagline: “No cuts. No color. Just blowouts. Only $35.” Drybar’s tagline listed on its Facebook site: “We don’t color, we don’t cut, We just BLOW for only $35.”
But with only a handful of blow dry bars in the L.A. area right now, we think there’s room to support at least another 250 more. Can anyone say Pinkberry, Kiwiberri, Berri Good?
