Lipstick & Bullets

I have been going to Lipstick & Bullets for over a year now.
I wanted to write a review because I've had such a positive experience at this salon, both with Bea and with my regular stylist, Destinee.

I have incredibly curly hair. It takes a lot of courage for me to even step into a salon and get a haircut, and after years of going through horrible cuts where the stylist would take off too much hair, or insist on blow drying, I finally found a salon that takes care of my curls and listens to me.

Destinee is the sweetest stylist, always in a great mood and always takes her time while cutting my hair. She also colors my hair every few weeks. The few times I've made specific requests because of a special event etc, she has always double checked that she's understood what I requested. I always walk out of the salon feeling great and looking great.

For curly girls and straight haired girls, I highly recommend this wonderful salon. I think all the stylists are great, but I highly recommend Destinee, because of her skill level and awesome attitude.

This is a unique salon in San Jose. One that deserves more attention!

I would not go there if I was you. Unprofessional and malicious owner will harass you if you write a true and accurate review. Be warned that this place is DARK. They dont know how to do asian hair. My experience was a nightmare from hell. Copper hair with 4 inch black roots 6 days before wedding. I kid you not. Went to 3 salons to get a second and third opinion. All were horrified by the color result and thought I had tried to dye it myself.

Never trust this place for important events or special occasions. Theowner there will bury you alive & fabricate lies and twist the truth to cause drama and trouble for you if you dont like the results and will fight you tooth and nail so they wont have to pay for correcting their mistakes.

Staff is not skilled in coloring hair. Dark brown comes out jet black...light brown= brassy orange. Never again never again..Good God this was a painful and expensive huge mistake. You get what you pay for...never skimp when you go to a salon. Pay more for professionalism.

A bad review is an opportunity to improve and perfect yourself not a personal attack.

The 2 stylists they were down to earth hardworking people. Coffee girl was super sweet always made you feel taken care of. Watching movies was a nice way to pass time. A lot of potential to be the best if they worked on professionalism and not taking critcism so personally.

I've been wanting to find a local place to get a haircut after being fed up with The Academy for Salon Professionals and not wanting to always take such a long drive to Rudy's Salon in Fremont. Found this place because I saw that they had an offer on trubates.com for $49 for a haircut and partial highlights. I figured I could also use a bit of a touch up on my hair color as well so I gave it a try. ALSO when you go in that day using Trubates, all other services are also 50% off!

NOTE: When you try to look for this place off E Santa Clara St that the parking lot is BEHIND the salon. If you're coming from 8th street, drive past 9th, make a right on 10th, make an immediate right turn again, and turn right when you see a Western Union banner in that small parking lot.

I had an appointment with Kim and she was super sweet and friendly. I was offered tea or water first and she got to work on my hair. She did my highlights first and during that process, she put on Sex & the City II for me to watch :) Kim was careful about everything she did which unfortunately took a bit longer than I had anticipated. I asked if I could come back the next day since I was on a tight schedule and she happily obliged which I was super grateful for. My haircut turned out decent and my side bangs weren't too short.

This salon may seem a bit rough around the edges at first but it's really worth giving a try as they are new and can be very accommodating! I would say the only downside was the lengthy process but I am willing to look past that considering the little I paid and how sweet everyone at this salon is.

Today was the first time I've ever tried L&B, thanks to an awesome deal listed on Trubates ($99 for $295 keratin smoothing treatment, cut, and style: http://www.trubates.com/san-jose-ca/offer/11575/99-for-295-keratin-smoothing-treatment-cut-style/). After weighing L&B's Yelp reviews and coupon value against other salons offering similar deals, I concluded that L&B was my best bet.

Typically, I go to salons that specialize in Asian hair, but the smoothing treatment process is the same across the board, no matter what kind of hair you have, so I felt confident that the probability of something going wrong would be very low. One thing to note about the treatment is that for people who have naturally straight or slightly wavy hair (like mine), the result is meant to be super-shiny, smooth, and slick. Whereas for those with more curly or frizzy hair, the treatment only serves to relax it further (instead of making it stick-straight).

I scheduled my appointment for 4:15 PM, since the salon closes at 7 PM on Fridays and I was told over the phone that the process would take about 3 hours. However, I got out of work later than expected and hit traffic, so I called ahead and said I'd be late. Melissa picked up the phone and didn't sound too pleased about it, but let me know it was still okay to come in.

First impression of the salon: wonderful! Despite the small location, L&B utilizes it very well. It looks larger on the inside than it does from the outside, and it has a very cozy and down-to-earth feel to it. It isn't pristine and white and bare like a lot of high-end salons, but it's very clean and vibrant. Stacks of magazines and hair products line the walls, and there's a coffee machine running -- clients are always asked if they want something to drink upon arrival. I needed a coffee so badly after enduring traffic, so the offer was like a godsend to me. In addition, there's a large screen TV that you can watch as you sit, and the stylists offer to change whatever's showing if you don't like it.

Okay, the nitty-gritty details of the keratin smoothing treatment, which actually took fewer than 3 hours (which was good for me because I had to get back to the office): step 1) basic wash & rinse; step 2) application of the keratin solution (white, gooey paste), which takes about 15 minutes; step 3) rinse & condition; step 4) application of the bonding agent, which also takes about 15 minutes; step 5) rinse; step 6) a couple spritzes of a cationic hydrating spray before blow-drying; step 7) a couple spritzes of the Pravana thermal bonding agent before flat-ironing; step 8) haircut (minor trim & low-layering for me) before final flat-ironing. Result? Insanely smooth and silky hair! The keratin takes about 48 hours to really set in, so don't wet, clip, or tie your hair in the meantime.

My stylist, Kim, did a great job of explaining the process and listening to what I wanted, even though Asian hair isn't her strong suit. She wasn't very talkative, which she apologized for because she had a long day, but I didn't mind. She will occasionally talk to other staff members and clients, and pick up her cell phone while doing your hair, so if that's something that bothers you, just let her know beforehand. All the staff members at L&B were super friendly and cheerful -- having a positive attitude can really brighten up a place! The salon felt like a community to me instead of just a place to get my hair done.

Again, like other reviewers have mentioned, this place is cash only and the parking lot (free) is in the back. If you're coming from the west, you'll see L&B on your right past 9th Street. Keep going until you get to 10th Street; make a right and the L&B parking lot is the second lot on the right. You'll see an L&B sign over the salon's back entrance, which clients can use to enter. The lot can only accommodate about six cars (taking into account the room needed to back out), so that's something to keep in mind. There's street parking, as well, which is metered most of the day and free after 6 PM.

P.S. All clients receive an invitation to L&B's one-year anniversary party on November 1st (at the salon), where it's rumored to offer food, drinks, games, and raffles. And you're welcome to bring guests, too.

The service is good and the staff is nice. They keep you entertained. The hair cut i had the first time was really good but the highlights were ok.

Didn't notice any difference in the keratin treatment i had the next time.

I reserve one-star reviews for food poisoning, inedible dishes, or expensive mistakes. This salon did a horrible job, but no need for a single star review.

I had a Signpost coupon for cut+highlights. I scheduled my appointment with Kimberly but when I got to the salon they put me with Jen. I had no idea who either of these people were so no big deal.

I asked for layers and partial highlights, and to please make the highlights look natural. I think Jen took 10 minutes max to cut my hair. Highlights took a little longer as expected.

The shampoo girl/receptionist/sweeper washed my hair. I think her name was B. This girl had to be the nicest person I have ever encountered at a salon. Incredibly sweet girl. However, the wash was not that pleasant. I did not ask about the shampoo you were using and did not ask for a complete infomercial on the brand. I was tired, just let me close my eyes and relax.

This shampoo girl/receptionist/sweeper was also the stylist. I asked her just to blow my hair. She offered to flat iron it but I said this wasn't necessary. She put her own twist on the blow dry and it looked good.

Wow. I have platinum blonde streaks in my hair. But only on one side, the other side is more subtle. In no way does this look natural.

"Even if you had white streaks in your hair like a skunk I would still love you."

My husband is so sweet.

I should have known something was going to go wrong when I called in to make an appointment. I called in and inquired about the Groupon that was current;y being offered. I informed her that I didn't buy it yet and she told me to not purchase it and they would honor the price and it was cash only. That should have been a red flag right there.

I made my appointment for the next day at 3:30pm with Kim. They said it was the only time available. I arrived early since this was my first time being there. No one was at the front, except another customer who was waiting. I eventually was greeted and told to have a seat and was told about the parking lot in the back. That was great they told me about the parking, but nothing about my appointment.

No one said anything to me after that. Kim was with another customer who seemed to be a first timer and complained about Kim's cutting techniques which was another red flag. She did re-assure the customer, but it did worry me. By 3:50pm I was still waiting around and Kim was still with the same customer. There was no sense of urgency or communication about my appointment.

I asked Kim when she would see me since my appointment was at 3:30pm and it was now 3:50pm. She said she would see me soon, but there was no sense or urgency or communication when I was waiting. I ended up leaving, because with all of these red flags, I didn't want to get my haircut any more.

This review is over due. Wrote it few months back and finally getting around to posting it.

The stylists are nice and the services fairly good. My boyfriend had had a good experience with them and I too, but my last experience left a sour taste in my mouth.

I had booked the last appointment one Saturday afternoon. They called me early that day and asked if I wanted to come in earlier because their 4:00PM cancelled. I said well, I did want an extra service so I'll come in half an hour before my original time, which was 4:30PM. I even left work early to try and make it, but called to tell them I was running late. The receptionist said she was about to call me to tell me they had a very strict 15 minute policy that if you're not there after 15 minutes, you had to book for another day. I most likely would have made it had I not been on the phone with her while driving on the freeway at the same time, but she told me it's better if I rescheduled. I thought fine, whatever.

But then I got mad, pulled over, and called her back. I said, "You didn't even give me a chance. I might have made it there. And, why didn't you tell me about this policy when I booked my appointment? Why couldn't I cancel the extra service and kept my original appointment time?" She responded, "Sorry. Rules are rules." I just thought it was ridiculous. So I tried to again politely suggest that I should have been informed about this 15 minute rule at the time of making the appointment. That way, I wouldn't have bothered leaving work early at all. The receptionist was quite condescending and said, "Well if YOU weren't 15 minutes late, we wouldn't be having this conversation." I could feel neck snapping back and her finger waving at my face through the phone. She proceeded to argue with me saying she was about to call me and tell me about this rule. I felt like I was going in circles.

Here I was, about to pay for about $180 worth of services that day and probably purchased $200 of their monthly membership. I get highlights retouched and color done once a month and a cut every other month. They had lost my business forever, but the receptionist really didn't care. Meanwhile, the poor stylist is just sitting there doing nothing because the receptionist told me not to bother coming in.

I told her I didn't call back to argue with her but merely make a suggestion and tell people when they book an appointment about this very strict 15 minute rule. She really didn't have to bring out the attitude. She thanked me for the suggestion, but she didn't really. Her tone was very snyde and her attitude was uncalled for. I won't be going back.

The shop itself is really cute and I enjoyed my other experiences there, but this really ruined it for me. Sorry Lipstick and Bullets.

This place immediately caught my attention for the name alone, and I couldn't help but let myself run wild with it: "OMG, do they have a 'beauty gun' or something?? A shotgun with 'beauty bullets' full of enough potent MAC makeup, even a drag queen would scratch my new beautiful eyes out in envy???"

Ok, settle down, Republicans, don't get too gun happy cos there's no guns here (Except maybe my ripping arms. GTUUUUH).

I'm so selective with my hair dressers that it had been almost 2 years since my last hair cut, and, damn, was I lookin' all kinds of nappy and castawayish, so I decided to give this place a try and made an appt with Erica.

The place is small but comfy, and there's a tv, where they play movies for you to enjoy while you wait. I parked in the back, and when other clients were leaving, one of the girls asked for my keys to move my car since I was blocking her. No biggie for me, but if you don't want anyone touching your Aston Martin DBS, park that shit on the street.

Erica is the best hairdresser I've ever had; she listens to what you want but offers her opinion and suggestions based on your style and face, and she is genuinely an awesome person. I actually just wanted a trim, but she took a look at my mug and suggested some layers, and she wasn't pushy at all. I was terrified of cutting more of my fried hair than I had planned, but, damnit, if wanted le "Kim Kardashian" hair, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

Erica did an amazing job, and I got compliments right away when my new boo, Kanye, interrupted the lady next to me, saying that I had one of the best hair cuts of all time.

Ok, maybe that didn't happen, but I did get compliments from a lot of people and was so happy with the end result. This is definitely my new salon, and I will be back every 3 months, when I'm not busy being Kim K's hair double for mindless reality trash TV.

What a great find!

I came here for their $13 facial special for this month.
Michelle is new there, so the deal is an express facial to introduce herself to the salon. It's about 20 mins, but the 20 minutes already convinces me to pay full price for their 1 hr facials.

Michelle was very nice and talkative. She definitely knows what she's doing. She checks your skin with a microscope to see what's really going on down on your face. She also uses pretty advanced tools that help remove debris and clogged pores.

After my facial yesterday, my face feels fantastic!

Just a note, you remove your top because she also works on your shoulders and neck. I recommend tying your hair into a bun so the lotion and stuff doesn't get into your hair.

CASH ONLY and there's parking in the rear!