Go Green with Rusk Hair Tools Today and Every Day

It's Earth Day. Make this day (and all the other 364 days to follow) more beautiful for yourself and the planet you live on, with two new and effective "green" hair appliances from Rusk. Their GO GREEN eco-friendly products include the RUSK Str8 Iron and a RUSK Blow Dryer, both with features that offer pro-style results and help in a small way, to help save the planet.

The products feature elegant, ivory bodies decorated with a logo featuring a stylized, green tree and "Go Green With Rusk" in black letters. This eye-catching adornment alone will remind you to be respectful of the planet's resources, every time you use it. The products are also lightweight so they're easy to use and good for travel. Here are some additional features:





I reviewed the professional Str8 iron by Rusk back in the December 2007 What Works Beauty, Cosmetics & Fashion review column. This new version comes nicely packaged in a Recycled, ‘Smart Size’, brown, corrugated ‘earthy’ packaging printed using Soy ink.





Inside, the iron is slim but still well crafted, to utilize less material than with traditional Rusk Str8 irons. There's no paint to pollute the environment on the outer housing, and there is also a Phthalate-free 9 foot, swiveling power cord. The iron's plates are Petroleum-free so they help to reduce oil consumption in their production. But even better is the Intelligent energy-saving Hibernate Mode. After 10 minutes being left on without use the iron will go into Hibernate Mode and cool down (it will reheat immediately once re-lifted). The iron gets hot, fast, and you can dial up a range of settings up to 446 degrees (Fahrenheit) by number from 1-30 for hair that is: fragile/fine; thin/easily curled; normal; wavy/curly; or coarse/very thick. I tried the one of the settings near the middle, and found that it smoothed the frizz and wave flat in a flash without having to swipe it again. I liked the substantial but lightweight feel of the iron with a 1" plate that works on virtually every length of hair. A power light and push-button on/off switch makes it safer to use, too.


I love the blow dryer, too! This high-performance dryer with a green conscience also comes nicely packaged in a Recycled, ‘Smart Size’, brown, corrugated ‘earthy’ packaging printed using Soy ink. The dryer is a traditional "pistol" shape, but it's so light that your arms will thank you when you've been holding it for a while. There's no paint on the outer housing, and the dryer uses 26% less energy with equal performance to original dryers !! That's already a reason to love it. It also has a swiveling, 9 foot, Phthalate-free power cord. The controls are simple: a High/Low speed setting, and a Hot/Cool/warm setting, plus a "Cool shot" button to set your style, The removable filters are attractively colored green. The dryer delivers the heat you want, without making more demands on the environment...how great is that!

These hair tools are excellent, and even if they didn't help out the planet a bit more, you'd still love them. However, if you invest just a modest amount of "green" on the iron and blow dryer, you can help reduce pollution and do your part to save the planet, without sacrificing any of the performance and results you demand.

These impressive, Rusk GO Green Appliances retail for $135.99 each. They would make a fantastic Mother's Day gift for an eco-conscious mom, and definitely a "must-have" for yourself!

RUSK products are available at salons internationally, visit http://www.rusk1.com/

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2007-ARAKS

I wondered what time the PR staff from People's Revolution had to get up to be at the front of the Altman Building. There they were, and all smiles too, when I arrived at 9:45 A.M. on Super Bowl Sunday. More amazingly, as always, the PR people were beautifully dressed up, even though it was ever chillier today than yesterday and they were sitting right behind the front doors. Since I already knew where backstage was from Gustavo Arango's show on Saturday, I immediately made my way downstairs to the back stage area, to interview James Boehmer, the lead makeup artist for NARS Cosmetics. I met Rachel, my friendly, helpful contact from NARS, and she introduced me to James. I guess I got there a bit later than usual, because many of the models were already "done," but there were still some being made up. James graciously stopped what he was doing to chat with me, stopping our interview only occasionally to check one of the other makeup artists' work.

As you can see from this close-up, this look for ARAKS for Fall is about a balanced, fresh feeling on the entire face. It's not just eyes, or cheeks, or lips. James said the look was inspired by Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice (and that was totally in keeping with the romantic nature of the clothes, too). I loved the slightly flushed, "English rose" cheeks and soft pink lip and you will too, it's just about perfect to add some life to your complexion, especially since you'll be wearing a lot of soft and subdued colors this Fall. The Fall ARAKS look is all about the skin...a flawless but fresh face, NARS "Turkish Red" Cream blush and "Desire" pink powder blush adding a hit of color, but not harsh or brash. "Blend, blend, blend" advises James. On Eyes was part of a new shadow duo that won't be available until the end of August, but worth the wait. "Calahari" is a soft brown" that was blended with another new color "Voyage," a soft fawn with a bit of glitter. On lips, NARS"Tempest" lip gloss --a pink with a bit of mauve, but softened so that it will be universally flattering. It looked beautiful on all the models. This is less about "drama" or making a "statement," and more about bringing your own, natural, glowing, beauty. I'll be posting more photos of makeup and hair, and the clothes, of course, shortly on the Advice Sisters web --- check our FEATURES page http://www.advicesisters.net/Features/Features.html for all the latest after Fashion Week, along with "do-the-look" makeup instructions, courtesy of NARS.

After speaking with James, I wandered over to Peter Elofsson and his artistic team from RUSK. Peter did the hair for ARAKS last season, too. When I arrived, he was busy using a straightening/smoothing iron on a model. Peter explained that his look for ARAKS was inspired by the elegance of the clothes--a soft of Catherine Deneuve feel, but with more "street" (meaning; texture) in it. You'll see that in my photos. Nearly all of the models had long hair, so the "texture" was added by "bending" the hair a bit (you can see this clearly in my photos, which I'll be using in my photo essays on the Advice Sisters Web Site. Hair had a side part and some models had a tiny silver barette holding a few pieces back to the side. Then, hair was sprayed with a RUSK hair spray to keep it in place, but still swingy. For Fall, Peter says long hair isn't just going to "hang" anymore, but will have a sharper edge and more details.

FYI: Creative Nail design (they did the nails for ARAKS last season, too) did the model's manicures with "Fedora," a very dark polish, and "Decadence," a translucent red.


and the ARAKS collection clothes? Unlike the Spring season's diaphanous clothes, these were more substantial for Fall, with soft movement from rich wools, silk and cotton fabrics. There was some color in this collection, although it was still subdued and mostly dark shades of blue, berry, green, and silver (plus the usual black, ivory, coal, and white) One that I particularly liked was a wool/cotton double face dress with bell sleeves that was in a color called "Night," just a shade lighter than the color of the sky just before all the light dies after the day is over. Another was a coat in a color I'd call "Raspberry" but I think it was called "Gooseberry" in the show description. It was tailored, but with gathering in the back, so it looked dressy, and elegant. A pine silk twill drop shoulder dress with drop puff sleeve was fresh and young, and very pretty. The fashion critics may disagree with me, but the only "miss" for me were the outfits with knickers or shorts, paired with lace-up boots. "Hot pants" or long knickers are "stage-y" and cute for a party, but not flattering on everyone. A cute look that is easy to wear and modern, were the lace-up ankle boots with traditional "oxford" detailing shown with many of the outfits.