Jersey City Business: Blo Jersey City & UniK Wax Jersey City

Photo courtesy @blojerseycity on Instagram

I'm not great at keeping up with all the grooming that typically goes into being a girl. I'm good at the minimum, like I can make myself look presentable, but I've never been the girl with perfectly coifed hair or who is perfectly hairless all the time. This weeks featured businesses inspired me a bit though. Located right next to each other, Blo Jersey City and UniK Wax Jersey City are so close they actually share an entryway, and make the grooming process easy.

Blo JC is perfectly pink and white, clean and fun. There are products all over, a couple of hair washing sinks and a makeup counter. I think it's safe to say that most Hudson County women have been to a blow dry bar. We know that they only offer washing and styling (blow outs, up dos, and braids) and we know you can book group visits (whether a bachelorette/ bridal party or girls night). So what's different about Blo? Well, they also offer makeup services for starters. And they will go to your home for all of these services as well.

I get to sit down with Gigi, Chief Style Boss, and start the actual process, which starts with picking out a style. I never really know what to pick here so I just ask for lots of volume and a few curls, and Gigi points me towards the Hollywould. Then it's my favorite part fo the process: the wash and massage. After a thorough rinsing we head over to Gigi's chair where the blowout begins. Despite my long, thick hair, Gigi manages to finish the whole process in about 45 minutes, and it looks AMAZING. Convenience, peace of mind (not worrying about my hair for days) and speed. 

Photo courtesy @unikwaxstudios Instagram

Next up we head right next door to UniK Wax. Again, we've all been to a version of these wax centers, and maybe even been to one of the older UniK Wax models. This revamp is particularly interesting, as I see so many improvements. Firstly, the actual visual image is different-- the colors and textures of the inside of the store reflect the all natural feel they're going for. The service menu is HUGE, and complete with diagrams so that whatever your need is, they have identified it and priced it. But my favorite part is that as soon as you walk into the Wax Center, there's a little room to the left called "The Lab". In this room, there's a person who measures, pours and heats the exact amount of wax needed for your service(s), to eliminate that pesky double dipping wax issue. 

As they usually do, my eyebrows need a little cleaning up, so I volunteer them as our tester. I'm taken in the back, past the lab and front desk, to an area where they have a vanity counter with three chairs. Such a great idea! Why need to go into a little room, if I'm having such a small, not private area waxed? The rooms are still very much alive and well for those having some more intimate body parts done. While getting ready for this part of our shoot, about 3 different people tell me about the wax and how it's "painless", elastic, and only hardens to the hair. They tell me the owners story about her daughter being allergic to wax and all the pain she went through, but wax is wax right? And I've been having my eyebrows waxed for years, so nothing can really phase me. One swipe of the wax and a pull, and I get it. It is different, and I guess you can really call it painless.

Blo Jersey City and UniK Wax Jersey are the perfectly placed one-two punch for a lot of the beauty services we all use pretty regularly. For more information on Blo Jersey City you can check out their website here and Instagram here. For UniK Wax Jersey City you can check out their Facebook page here and Instagram here. And don't forget you have until tomorrow, October 12th at noon to enter our giveaway where you can win 1 blowout at Blo and a $40 UniK gift certificate for the waxing services of your choosing!

Local Music: The Sounds of Union City

Photo from share.america.gov

BY MATTHEW HEARON-SMITH

Working as a music supervisor in television and film, sometimes people assume I know everything there is to know about music. It's flattering, but it's nowhere near the truth. Not even close. The history and depth of this cultural art form is literally limitless - rooted in individual and shared experience, a specific time and a particular place. To make up ground on this impossible task, I've learned to be a great listener, a meticulous notetaker, and to soak in as much as I can learn from each new experience. 

My new life in Hudson County has been no different. As a guy that most people would call 'really, really white', my family's new home in Union City has opened my eyes to so many new sights and sounds. I've learned some things too - that Cubans like their coffee really really strong, or that every well-dressed man needs a good guayabera. I've also become a big admirer of the music that floats through the shared outdoor spaces in my new neighborhood - whether from the backyard cookouts of the Ecuadorian family on the corner, or from the old Cuban Jazz records streaming out the kitchen window of the Grandmother across the street. I can even appreciate the reggaeton and Puerto Rican hip hop vibrating through the cars of the kids revving their engines on my block. These sounds are so new to me, so refreshing and so exhilarating. 

To document my musical experiences here in Hudson County, I've compiled a playlist of some of my favorite tracks that I've overheard on Summer evenings, from backyard parties or in the corner bodega. The sounds are as diverse and unique as Union City itself - and are a small glimpse into the depth and history of this amazing little town. 

A playlist featuring José Luis Rodríguez, J Balvin, Buena Vista Social Club, and others

Matthew Hearon-Smith is a Union City based Music Supervisor currently working on Film, TV and Ads. He is a three-time Guild of Music Supervisors Awards nominee, a Hollywood Music In Media Awards nominee and winner of "Best Use of Music in a Film" at the 22nd Chlotrudis Awards. His specialties include music curation, licensing and clearances, creative placement and deliverables management.

You can follow Matt on Twitter here.

Jersey City Business: Lourdes of the Vine

It seems to me there's a wine drinkers spectrum-- on one end you have the people that drink wines like Yellow Tail and Barefoot because wine tastes good, and on the other end you have people like Sommeliers and Paul Giammatti in "Sideways" that need to know every single last detail about wine. I fall somewhere in the middle. Will I drink Cupcake? HELL YEA. But I actually enjoy wine. I enjoy the taste, the bonding that comes with talking about wine, and that feeling of accomplishment when you find a great bottle that perfectly pairs with a beautiful meal you've made. 

Enter Lourdes of the Vine, aka Lourdes Arena, a Jersey City based wine educator who also buys for places and people. A New Jersey native, Lourdes previously managed and purchased for the Jersey City wine boutique, Madam Claude Wine. When we had our preliminary conversation I was automatically into this feature. I love any opportunity to talk and drink wine, and Lourdes is just plain fun to chat with! She's made an entire career out of hosting wine events at restaurants, stores and even private parties. 

We immediately decide to take the opportunity to break down some of the intimidating aspects of wine: buying it and tasting it. She suggests we film at Madame Claude Wine, and as soon as I walk in, I understand why. The shop is so cute! Firstly, it's just plain pretty inside, the wines are separated by country, and in some case region, and they sell other fun things like Ricard glasses and cured meats. 

So what knowledge can Lourdes offer people who are overwhelmed by walking into a wine store? A lot. She breaks down some basic rules for buying:

Rule One: Shop at a good store. Find somewhere that isn't huge but still offers a large variety. Wines should be organized by place. Make sure the store is a nice cool temperature. Have you ever had hot wine? Yuck. Gross. (This is where Madame Claude Wines comes in, guys.) 

Rule Two: Determine your price point. I really like to be in the under $10 area for an any day bottle, but can be persuaded to enter the under $15 area for the right accompaniment to a good meal. 

Rule Three: What're you having the bottle with? Are you making Ina Garten's beautiful roast chicken recipe? Maybe you're having a cheese and charcuterie board? At a great wine shop you'll often find notes about the wine and what it pairs well with. Sometimes the back label of the wine will have tasting notes and flat out tell you what you should pair it with. And if the store is lacking all of these options, ASK FOR HELP! Any good wine store has clerks that know wine, and that's what they're there for. Don't be intimidated to ask for help-- this is why you went to this store!

Bonus Tip: Keep track of the wines you like. There are apps out there (duh, but honestly I didn't think of it until Lourdes mentioned it) to keep track of what you enjoy. You can take pictures, keep tasting notes, and even MENTION THE IMPORTER ON THE BACK LABEL. You may find that you like multiple bottles by the same importer. And guess what? There's someone who works for that importer that tastes all the bottles, so it may turn out you have the same preferences as that person!

Now we get to the tasting. Lourdes suggests we do a blind tasting to make it the ultimate drinking game. Plus, this is what the woman does for a living! She explains that tasting wine isn't just about taking a swig. To get a full feel and idea, you should use your other senses like sight and smell. I close my eyes and Lourdes goes to pick a wine. She puts it in a brown bag, hiding the label, and pours it. We then proceed with the tasting process:

Step One: Look. This is done best against a white backdrop like a sheet of paper. To properly determine the color, tilt the wine over the piece of paper. What's the color you see? We were having a red, and this particular one looked like Garnet. You may be thinking red is red, and white is white, but not quite. There are varying shadeStep Two: Smell. Swirl that bad boy around, stick your nose in the glass and take a nice big sniff. This particular bottle smelt like cranberries, but you can smell all kinds of things like floral scents, vegetables and even wood and dirt. 

Step Three: Taste. The moment you've been waiting for, but don't just gulp it any old way. You'll want to suck in the wine, making sure to take in a lot of air. Swish it alllllll around your mouth, and let it coat every surface in there. What do you taste? Does it burn a little? All these things play a part in tasting and learning. 

In this instance we were playing a tasting game, and although Lourdes 100% led me in figuring out what I was drinking, I learned it was Sauraus Pinot Noir from Argentina. I was supposed to determine what kind of wine and where it's from based on all of these details, but Lourdes would tell you that taking note of all of these details are important in learning what you like and don't like.

I enjoyed my time with Lourdes so much I ended our shoot with a "can we be friends IRL?", and a "you should come over for dinner one night", which is exactly what you want from someone you're going to have in your home at parties! For more information on Lourdes check out her website here and her Instagram here. And don't forget to check out Madame Claude Wines here.