Bring forth the things that matter.

Risse-RE is a bold hairstylist whose clients travel from all over Michigan to her home-base near Detroit.

Located five minutes from the Oak Park suburbs, Risse’s artistry has made its mark at Hair Rock Café. A natural-born creative, she navigated her way to the hair industry through adversity.

“I wanted to [study] interior design but was not able to due to finances. My brother suggested hair school and once I was accepted, I loved it…”

She immersed herself in the subject matter and learned the many facets of the hair care industry. Prior to working at Hair Rock Café, Risse worked as an assistant stylist and met hair artist Cool-C.

“I remember admiring his ads and some of the work he did for shows; he does hair like no one else in Detroit. I remember looking at him saying ‘I want to be just like that.’”

She was unable to assist for Cool-C, but when he pulled put together a team of travelling stylists, Cool-C admired and remembered Risse’s drive. The group went by the name Hype World and their string of talent garnered the full attention of peers at hair shows.

Hype World’s trendsetting presentations brought them instant fame and recognition at every hair event they attended. “We would do hair shows, keep the same models, and travel; it was like we were celebrities. Everyone would wait for our team to be featured. It was great!”

The camaraderie Risse had with her team also had a positive effect on her work ethic. She not only grew confident from working with Cool-C but also had a new found appreciation for sharing tips and techniques.

“Whatever I learn I like to share with other people because that is how I was taught. I’m not the type of stylist that tries to hold everything and keep everything to myself. If I see a fellow stylist who is hungry and motivated, why not help them the same way?”

BEAUTY: HAIR (Q&A)—

What is your trademark?

My clients are referred to me for my short hair styling. I love natural and healthy hair and show my clients that you can still have an edgy style that is healthy. I’m a perfectionist. Clients have to me their experience is like I’m performing surgery on hair because I am that meticulous.

What do you feel is the best direction to go for your clients, safe or something new?

I like to find out what my clients do for work, my clients range from corporate America to musicians. So I try to do work that fits their lifestyle with a bit of an edge. I like to always push myself and try different things.

If you were to give your clients four hair care products to get them through a month, what would they be?

1. Organic Olive Oil Mousse
2. Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray
3. BBD King Keala Oil
4. KeraCare Hydrating Shampoo

For more information regarding Risse-Re’s work visit www.thesassysocialites.com
Call: 313-363-9155

In the glitz and glam of Hollywood, stunning hairstyles are a way of life and Kim Kimble is the go-to stylist for A-List celebrities when they need a red carpet coif or an emergency “do.”

Kimble’s new series L.A. HAIR, premieres Thursday, May 31 at 10 PM ET/PT with eight, one-hour episodes, viewers follow Kim as she manages her team of talented, yet high-strung stylists – including her mother Jasmine. Divas Kelly Rowland, Brandy, Laila Ali, Garcelle Beauvais, Omarosa, Mary Mary, Kym Whitley, Mikki Taylor, Shari Headley and Kim’s other bold-face named clients are featured in the series.

Beauty Editor, Jen Prudhome, exclusive feature and interview with the founders of LAID Brand, celebrity hairstylist David L. Hensley and CEO Adam Rauch.

David L. Hensley is a hair stylist and Chief Creative Officer with over fifteen years of hair care experience. His work is in demand on two coasts, in Beverly Hills, California and South Florida, where he provides the LAID Brand experience to celebrities and general consumers. Chief Executive Officer and co-founder for LAID Brand, Adam Rauch tells how they arrived to the key ingredient of their cruelty-free products:

Some things can become very excessive.

Rita Patel founded mineral cosmetic collection MiA BelleZZa a year ago in an effort to provide a line of mineral makeup that naturally blends to the wearer’s skin tone, is hypoallergenic, and offers a wide array of intense pigments. The products contain a combination of minerals including titanium dioxide, zinc oxides, and iron oxides. MiA BelleZZa, which translates to my beauty in Italian, is symbolic of new wave developments in the mineral makeup market.

“With MiA BelleZZa everyone can create their own beauty. I wanted to create something that was more of an Italian luxury line and in the mid-price range.”

Rita cites her teenage years as the starting place for her desire to develop the MiA BelleZZa mineral makeup collection. She was born in England, moved to the United States and discovered her interest in the cosmetics industry while in high school. There was not a day where Rita did not wear cosmetics, further stating that she was raised to step out in public wearing no less than eyeliner and lip gloss.

Darrell Walden takes the mystery out of finding the right jewelry for the right occasion. Simplicity is sexy.

Filled with contagious enthusiasm and great vibrations, Chaz spoke with us about Beauty in Fashion’s Night Out and how WEN® brought the model’s final looks to life.

Super talented celebrity makeup and hair stylist Terrell Mullin talks about his favorite things, advice to women about makeup and his greatest achievement to date.

Terrell is the key makeup and hairstylist to Eva Marcille (his cousin) and has enhanced beauties Nia Long, Nicole Richie, Portia de Rossi, Niecy Nash, Teyana Taylor, Mary Mary and countless other print models to name a few…

Makeup Maestro Derrick Rutledge has a candid talk with Obvious Magazine’s Beauty Editor about his professional journey, struggle with overweight, and painting face for “The Two Big Os.”

Words by Beauty Editor: Jen Prudhome

Twenty-three years ago, Derrick Rutledge started his career as a makeup artist in college while studying Producing and Directing, in addition to Vocal Performance. A major part of his studies consisted of studying fashion photography and professional lighting, an experience which made him familiar with posing models, and gain an understanding of the best angles for his subject. While staging his own fashion shoots, he became accustomed to painting the faces of his own models.

“That’s why it’s very difficult to for me to be at a shoot and not say something. Because I love to pose models I know how to make you look your best. The face angles and what lighting is best.”
It was this area of his education that allowed him to exercise his artistic abilities which included drawing and painting. His knowledge of color from his art background allows him to understand the importance of color when applying it to the face, as well as the placement of dark and light.

“I come from an old school of artist where they didn’t have money to afford airbrushing to make things perfect, you had to be perfect.”

Once he graduated from Webster University he moved to Washington, DC he met a publisher that asked him to assist on a major photoshoot, which lead to an opportunity for him to go to Europe.  For six weeks Derrick led beauty shoots for several companies and hair salons which opened opportunities for his work to be featured on billboards. When the publisher sold his company to Dudley Products in North Carolina, Derrick was asked to run beauty books for Dudley.

After three years he was asked to develop and expand their product line by adding additional colors that complement an array of skin tones. Derrick considered this to be a major stepping stone for his budding signature collection.

While Derrick did not remain with Dudley Products, his exit opened new opportunities. He received a phone call several months later asking him to work with Black Entertainment Television (BET). They wanted him to work with Kenya Moore, (the key makeup artist at BET went on vacation), and Derrick was asked to extend his services to the flagship shows on the network for over five years.

“What had happened was at that time BET would bring in the [music] artists and they would come in with their makeup artist.  But word started to spread around about this big guy that worked in the makeup room that could paint face.”

His tenure at BET allowed him to work beauty wonders with clients on a consistent basis including Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Yolanda Adams, and Cece Winans. He recognized that his field of work gave him a unique opportunity to help other people but it also opened doors for his own personal development. Derrick’s professional journey also brought him to the core of his weight problems, and in a monumental weight-loss feat, he was able to invest more time into his individual enterprise after his move away from BET that he regards as a leap of faith. He considered overweight as something that did not have to be an obstacle in the midst of what he wanted to achieve. Derrick shared that his spiritual connectedness brought him the honor of working with “the two big Os:” Oprah Winfrey and First Lady Michelle Obama. “I’m truly grateful, truly honored, and truly blessed…”

Jen: Among your clientele you’ve worked with Oscar winning actress Mo’Nique, music legend Patti LaBelle, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and First Lady of Michelle Obama. What about your work resonates with all of these women?

Derrick: What I do for Oprah, First Lady Michelle, Mo’Nique, Yolanda, CeCe, Chaka, you, your sister, your mother, is give every one of my clients an experience. It’s more than just giving someone good makeup or finding someone that can paint. I’m calm. I’m soothing, and I’m genuine. I look at someone. It’s all in the way that I touch them, the way I apply moisturizer on their face, and look at them in their eyes so they can feel a genuineness coming from me. I’m very passionate when I make someone up. As I’m making them up I’m seeing them transform. It’s not necessarily putting on a lot of makeup; it’s just enhancing what they have. When you look good you feel good.

JP: Everyone was awestruck by Oprah Winfrey’s appearance at the Met Costume Institute Gala, where she was Oscar De La Renta’s Muse.

DR: You don’t understand how good it made me feel for her to ask me to do that. You know? I had only worked for her a couple of times and then she asked me to do that. It was such an honor. And it was such a big event. Then there was photo she took with Lady Gaga that night for Vogue. That was absolutely beautiful.

JP: She looked phenomenal and you could tell that Oprah felt great that evening. For such a major event, where do you start with your inspiration? Do you see the dress or have a conversation with you?

DR: I knew she was going as Oscar de la Renta’s face for the night. Which meant every eye was going to be on her, and him. This was big because it was dealing with the fashion world. They showed me sketches of the dress, and then the actual dress. So I started drawing an eye on a paper, and a lip on another piece of paper so I painted two different types of eyes and lips. I had two or three ideas for what I wanted to do and I when asked her if she had any ideas of what she wanted, she said “just, paint me.” We did her photoshoot the day before the [event] but they made it to look as if it was shoot the same day; which was good because it gave me an opportunity to see what she was going to look like the night of the gala. That preparation comes from the O Magazine covers. My first issue was the July issue of her lying in the hammock, and the infamous one that everyone was raving over was the cover Oprah in the short wig.

JP: When you say transformation, that cover was a transformation.

DR: Yes. And when it comes to Michelle O, people absolutely love the piece of her in black and white with her hands on her face; there was the cover of Glamour from December of last year. We went to Olso, Copenhagen, and the State Ball where the Salahis snuck in. I’ve had so many people say that night was the most beautiful picture she has taken with the President.

JP: I’d love to hear more about DRAF (Derrick Rutledge About Face) and what you are doing for aspiring beauty trailblazers of the future?

DR: I started bringing in makeup artists to shadow me, learn my technique and be able to paint the way I painted with their own touch. I’ve been mentoring young upcoming makeup artists by taking what they’ve already learned and show them what they need to do to become better. The true test is when you have to get out there and do [the work] live. I’m a firm believer that you’re a constant student. As long as I’ve been doing this, I still feel that I can always learn.

To learn more about DRAF (Derrick Rutledge About Face) please visit http://www.drafonline.com.