A Long & Winding Hair Bun Road

Today was hair insanity. The HairBoutique.com weekly newsletter (NL) was due to go to press but HB's graphic artist was dragging due to a recent tangle with the stomach flu. He assured me he was fine and didn't want to leave work but he was definitely not up to his normal perky self. I offered him a deal....finish the graphics for the NL and then he could go home early.

He was down with that idea and set to work on merging three images of Paris - The Hottie & The Nottie - Hilton. Why Paris? She was declared bun worthy by the team and the topic of the latest NL was Hot Buns. Hair buns of course but definitely hot ones. No wimpy buns allowed.

After searching through all the possible photo options the NL Team voted for Paris over other potential celebrity bun wearers including Hayden (Hereos) and Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy). I actually liked Christina Ricci's latest bun incarnation but the HB NL team voted her out. Katherine, a HB fav didn't make the bun cut either.

A discussion over Paris and her current image resulted in her winning. Not to mention the fact she really did have a great Red Carpet bun. Even better, when Paris was in Dallas recently to promote her new movie the fans adored her. So did the radio DJs. In fact, in one interview, she was asked by a Dallas DJ what animal she would be if she were an animal and she said "a kitten". Whether she is really as nice as she seems, she certainly charmed the Dallas fans. Kudos to her for that.

While the HB graphics artist worked to merge Paris together the rest of the team worked on picking out bun making tools and hair accessories. Yeah, that may sound easy but when you have literally thousands of hair related tools and accessories it's not so easy.

The Camilla bun holders quickly popped up to the top of the tools list. Then the problem was which one to pick. One of the team members voted for the Camilla spider bun because of its ornate top. Another NL team member wanted a more classic design and it was agreed to go with CP21 because it is simple but elegant.

The team sat in the conference room with their notebooks and sent links back and forth showing off their votes for products and tools. At one point another team member pushed in a rolling cart filled to overflowing with boxes of brand new Conair brushes that were going to be given away as the Free gift with NL Coupon purchase.

Another team member brought in cool sample packs of three different John Frieda products. The debate was on....should the free gift include Phyto or John Frieda samples or both? Finally it was agreed to pair the Conair bun making brush with the John Frieda.

It seemed like everyone was flying around at 190 miles an hour. As the NL took shape someone would shoot me an in-progress file and I would give it a thumbs up or down.

I knew it was coming but I was hoping I was wrong. Sure enough Edith - the HB NL project leader - came to my office and asked if I could "whip out" a Basic Buns article. And yes, they needed it five minutes ago. Argh. I agreed to do it knowing full well I had zero time left to get it finished. To sweeten the pot Edith told me I could pick any celebs I wanted to feature in the article. AHA...I was going to go back and get those photos of Hayden and her Golden Globes bun. I could also pop in Christina Ricci's chignon.

After finding the photos of the celebs I wanted to feature I had three meetings in a row. When I left my office the HB building was empty and I was still in the progress of writing the Basic Buns article. My biggest problem? I can't just dash off a few short paragraphs. I worry that somewhere out there in Web land someone will be trying to create a bun and have untold challenges. I try to think of everything for my step by step articles.

Finally I threw my notebook into my case and went home where I continued to edit and rewrite the Basic Buns piece. Yeah, I know, it is only a matter of time before the Web Content Pirates steal it for their own content, but I have to live with myself. I have to do the best job I can so I can sleep at night knowing that I did my best for the promotion of beautiful hair buns.