Laurie Richardone finds inspiration in the most ordinary places — a person walking down the street, aromas arising from herbs while cooking dinner, actresses on the silver screen.

With these sights and smells in mind, she creates one-of-a-kind hairstyles and her signature hair-finish oils at Anita Louise, her salon at 128 N. Guadalupe St.

Richardone, a native New Yorker, has been a hairdresser for 30 years and has been in business in Santa Fe for 15. Formerly a runway and editorial stylist, she has traded in the "organized chaos" of the big city and focused on creating the ultimate salon experience.

"People don't want to leave here," Richardone said. "We have a fire going, we serve tea, cookies, you put your feet up, you look at a really great magazine. And you just kind of spend the day with us."

Anita Louise can be a bit difficult to find, hidden off the main street, but it is a little slice of tranquility at the end of a gravel parking lot. Richardone moved the salon into the renovated 1870 adobe gutted by her husband, Genaro DiCecilia, and redone by his company, Tuscan Builders, six years ago, from its previous home on Old Santa Fe Trail.

Richardone has created a relaxing and comforting environment in her salon. Jazz music streams through the wood-floored-and-beamed rooms, and smells from Richardone's hair-care blends — lavender, lemon sandalwood and patchouli — waft through the air. A fire is lit each morning in a kiva fireplace in the workspace Richardone shares with her protégé, Kate Roe.

Roe began as Richardone's apprentice nearly six years ago and has become a talented stylist, Richardone said.

Anita Louise is not named for the 1930s actress, but for a different muse: Richardone's mother.

"My mother was someone who always reinvented herself," Richardone said. "Little short blonde wigs, long black hair down to here, theatrical makeup — she was very fashion forward. And she was a big inspiration."

Since she was a little girl, Richardone has been reinventing others — her first clients were her dolls.

"All my Barbie dolls have little haircuts," Richardone said. "And all the haircuts completely stood up — they're still really cute haircuts."

Richardone hasn't lost that freshness in her styles for her nonplastic clients.

"My haircuts are very modern, meaning that they're timeless, they stood up 50 years ago, and 50 years from now they'll work."

Richardone says that each cut, color and style is tailored to the individual client. She and Roe specialize in Balayage, a French hair painting technique, and they choose cuts that flatter the individual's face shape, features and personality.

"A lot of hairstylists I see, they take that cape and they put it around their neck, and you become a head," Richardone said. "I look at everything down to your shoes. Your shoes tell me what I could do to your hair — how you dress, things that you share with me. I really listen to who's sitting in my chair and that tells me what to do or what not to do."

When Richardone first opened her salon in 1995, the Anita Louise hair-care line included only two shampoos; now she offers four oils, body lotion, an exfoliant, three bath and body oils, four shampoos and four conditioners — and she hopes to add perfumes to her line in the near future. Her hair- and body-care products are made using only pure, natural ingredients, she said.

"For me, it's all about, what are the essentials?" she said. "What do you need in your life to take care of hair and your skin that are completely natural?"

Her products have received praise from publications such as Elle, Town & Country and the Santa Fean, and her hair oils still remain her most popular product. Every bottle is handmade in a workroom at the back of the salon and can be tailored to a client's preference.

Richardone is delighted to celebrate 15 years of business in Santa Fe and credits her success to her keen eye.

"I constantly keep my eyes fresh," Richardone said. "I'm always looking at hair and makeup and what's fresh and what's new and then incorporating that into who's sitting in my chair."

For more information about Anita Louise, call 988-8907 or visit www.anitalouise.com.

Contact Veronica Cruz at 986-3042 or vcruz@sfnewmexican.com.