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FHI Heat Curling Iron (1 1/4″) ($195.00) is really the creme de la creme of curling irons. FHI’s curling iron barrel sizes range from 3/4″ to 1 1/2″, and my girl Pursebuzz recommended I get a 1 1/4″ as a multi-tasking curling iron. This particular barrel size gets you larger curls, and without a curl styling product beforehand, gives you more beachy waves than tight curls. For those less hair savvy, the smaller the barrel, the tighter the curl. Thus, larger barrels are more likely to give you waves than ringlets. Also, longer hair can tolerate larger barrels, because there is more hair to wrap around the barrel.

With my shorter hair style (although, it is rapidly growing out!), I do find the 1 1/4″ to be a little large at times, but I know it would be the perfect size on my previous, longer hair. You can definitely get your Victoria Secret’s full, sexy hair with it! I think I need to pick up a 3/4″ or 1″ barrel curling iron at some point, so that I switch as I need to. Another trick I picked up from Pursebuzz is to use those plastic rollers (they cost a few bucks, and you can find them at a beauty supply store or even your local drugstore). You can pick them up in different sizes, so after you’ve used the hot curling iron, wrap them up in these, to let the curl set and conform a bit more while you do your makeup.

Design: I really liked the handle design of this particular curling iron. It has a digital temperature display, and the temperature can adjust from 212 degrees to 410 degrees Farenheit. Although, mine displays in celsius, and I’m not sure if there’s a way to change it (and I’ve been too lazy to check the instructions manual!). Thicker hair needs higher temperatures in order to keep the curl, while thinner, finer hair requires less heat. To find a good heat setting, you shouldn’t have to hold the barrel in place for more than several seconds. If you find you can’t get a curl unless the iron is in place for a minute, you probably need to crank up the heat. The handle comes equipped with an up and down button for temperature, as well as the power button. Once you’ve found your desired temperature, you can then press the power button once to lock in your temperature. This is great, because I do find I occasionally bump the up or down buttons, and this way, the temperature doesn’t change. There is also a kickstand to allow you to prop up the curling iron on your countertop so the hot bits don’t come into contact with the surface, which is always helpful. I find it doesn’t heat up, as long as you don’t allow the metal to touch the barrel itself.

Time: This baby heats up in under five minutes. I would say just a minute or two, and it’s pretty much ready for me to use. I have thick hair, so I do keep the temperature of this quite high (300+).

Get the low-down on some more pros and cons! Continue reading »

PROENZA SCHOULER
Hair lead: Didier Malige for ghd
ghd lead: Omar Lopez

“Industrial Meets Deco” | Jack and Lazaro rocked the runway by merging a military feel with late 70s and early 80s inspired shapes and lines, to create a collection that was equal parts tough, confident and feminine.

To compliment the juxtaposed runway looks, Didier Malige for ghd led the Directive Team to create a deeply parted, eye-sweeping finger wave, artfully pulled back to one side and cascading down one shoulder. Using the ghd IV mini styler, a modern “finger wave” was created by sectioning off hair, and starting at the crown gently rocking the iron back and forth all the way to the ends. Then, ghd sea spray was worked through ghd Runway Report the model’s hair to soften the wave and add light hold. Next, the hair was set with clips around the face to help accentuate the waves. Finally, the clips were removed, and the hair was swept back to one side and secured using bobby pins, while the front fell loosely over one eye a la 1970s Jerry Hall. The look was finished with ghd ultimate hairspray.

Get details on the hair at Monique Lhuillier! Continue reading »

GOSSIP GIRL stars Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen), Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf), and Taylor Momsen (Jenny Humphrey) get their perfect locks using FHI Heat products!  Here are some tips to get Gossip Girl hair!

Jennifer Johnson, Department Head of Hair for Gossip Girl for Seasons 1 and 2, explains below how she achieves the fashion-forward looks on the show. A professional hairdresser for 18 years, Johnson started her career working in salons, then doing hair for Broadway and for Bette Midler’s tours, and finally becoming a behind-the-scenes hairstylist for film and TV.

“Gossip Girl allows me to exercise lots of creativity because we are dealing with fun characters,” she states. “It’s really great and I feel fortunate!”  Says Johnson, “I can’t say enough about how much the FHI Heat tools help me in my job. I love the shine and smoothness on the hair from the FHI Heat Runway styling iron! I love everything about what it does and offers–the heat, the adjustable temperature–I just can’t say enough good things about it!!! It’s my new favorite tool. I love also the T-Rex clips and the Nano Salon Pro 2000 Blow Dryer!”

Learn how to style your hair like the cast of Gossip Girls!  Continue reading »

MISS SIXTY
Hair lead: Leonardo Manetti for ghd

“Urban Superheroines” - Wichy Hassan, Miss Sixty Designer

The Look
Beautiful, charming and glamorously feminine, a modern homage to the passionate freethinking ideals and values of the 1970’s—liberation, freedom and self-confidence.

Get the how-to!  Continue reading »

ALEXANDER HERCHCOVITCH
Hair lead: Omar Lopez for ghd

“Structured Femininity” - Alexander Herchcovitch

The Look
Inspired by political turmoil in countries across the world, Herchcovitch featured structured military-like designs with ethnic details and voluminous accents.

Get the hair how-to! Continue reading »

A brush is a brush is a brush.  Right?  Wrong!  FHI Heat is out to prove you 100% wrong about what your brush needs are.  They recently launched a professional brush series that is supposed to restore your hair’s natural resiliency and shine as you use them.  The science behind this uses the same technology as FHI Heat’s blow dryers, which basically creates negative ions.  When negative ions are heated, they help lock moisture into the follicle and keep hair looking glossy.

Did I love ‘em?  Continue reading »

Spa Sister’s Microfiber Hair Towel($12.00) purports to quickly absorb moisture from the hair.  It’s supposed to reduce the amount of time you’ll spend blow drying your hair.  The towel is a big bigger than a regular hand towel (the “medium” sized towel - bigger than a wash cloth, smaller than a bath towel), and it is incredibly lightweight and feels quite thin.  I imagine it’s the microfiber that keeps it so featherweight.  I have long, thick hair, so I’m always on the lookout for anything that minimizes my drying time, so I jumped on this product when I heard about it.

Continue reading »

It took me awhile before I was swayed by the abilities of higher end hair dryers. I mean, I had survived for years off of a travel-size hair dryer from some random brand. Granted, I also loathed to dry my super thick and too long hair, so I seldomly did so. Enter the T3 Featherweight. Fell in love with the concept that I could actually blow dry my hair in a whopping five minutes–yes, five minutes!

Eager to try out other brands, I tested out FHI Heat’s Nano Salon Pro 1900 ($270.00), which is a bit more heavy duty than my Featherweight. What I disliked about the Featherweight (mostly the placement of the buttons) is not present in the Nano Salon Pro. I love that there were two speed and three heat settings you could change (plus the cool shot button). Also, unlike the Featherweight, the Nano Salon Pro comes with a diffuser already, which is great. No extra shopping around or trying to find one that works and fits well… (I never bothered to find one, as I’m hair-stupid anyway!)

It dried my hair about as fast as the Featherweight (perhaps a minute or two more), but it definitely impressed me as much as I remember the Featherweight did when I first used it, compared to old school blow dryers. The handle on the Nano Salon Pro is more ergonomic, which is good for my carpal tunnel ridden wrists!

I liked this blow dryer, and it is less expensive than the Featherweight (plus, on sale at Misikko!)–all positives in my book! With the buttons in a place where you’re not always in danger of accidentally turning your dryer off, I think this one is a bit better than the Featherweight. I ended up passing this on to my mom, though, because she blow dries her hair more often and could actually utilize the different heat/speed settings. (Hey, like I said, I’m totally a dunce about hair, so simple is all I really need!)

Find FHI Nano Salon Pro 1900 at www.misikko.com.

T3 Bespoke Labs Featherweight ($200.00)

T3’s Featherweight Dryer revolutionized styling for professionals and women everywhere with T3’s pioneering use of Tourmaline and innovative design. With its sleek, lightweight design, this dryer boasts up to 60% faster drying time than conventional dryers and controls the frizz, improves the shine and delivers healthy-looking, well-conditioned hair. Perfect for everyday use and a real time-saver in the morning.

The secret is T3’s patented Flawless process for infusing high-quality tourmaline deep into the ceramic componentry of the tools to create the maximum negative ions and far infrared heat, eliminating static electricity, decreasing drying times and creating sleeker, shinier, healthy-looking hair. As well as first-class patented technology, the range of T3 tools include premium features such as pro-length, swivel cords which ensure ease of use for top notch results.

Before I get the  dryer’s effectiveness, let me tell you more about my hair and routine, so you can understand my own expectations in a dryer.  I have normal hair in terms of dryness or oiliness, but I have a lot of hair, and it is very thick.  Whenever I go to my hairdresser, I am bound to hear, “You have enough hair for two heads!”  Generally, when I get my hair trimmed (layers), I also get it thinned a bit.  However, it has been quite awhile since I’ve had a trim, so I’m sporting fairly long hair (past my breasts), and it has thickened since my last thinning.

Normally, I never blow dry my hair dry from start to finish.  Usually, I throw my hair up in a towel for twenty minutes or so and vigorously use towel-drying to get rid of a lot of the water.  I’ll blow dry my hair in five minute intervals (I hate blow drying, it feels like such a waste of my time!), and it will take approximately 15-20 minutes of high-heat blow drying to dry completely.

I have been toying around with the idea of purchasing a more high-tech, high-end blow dryer, like the T3 Featherweight, which I have heard raves about.  The idea of paying $200 for a dryer is something that makes me cringe, because I simply could not believe that it would be worth it.  I mean, I’ve been using a Conair that I probably paid $20 for that’s travel-size with a retractable cord, so it was a big leap.

It is worth the price.  As soon as I received my T3 in the mail, I went to take a shower and wash my hair, because I could not wait to see whether it would live up to the hype.  I asked my boyfriend to time me from start to finish–I was going to stand there until it was done, no matter how much time went by–and guess what the time was?  Five minutes.  Five full minutes and my long, thick hair was entirely dry from root to tip.  For me, that’s about a 60 to 75% decrease in the amount of time I need to get my hair dry.   The way the air blows out is in a conical shape, sort of a precise shape, and it doesn’t come out too hot, despite being an 1800 watt dryer (whew!).  It is incredibly light, weighing in at 13 oz (honestly, it felteven lighter than that to me!), which is always a plus.  My hair also dried with good volume and few flyaways, which is always a concern. 

The only drawbacks about this product is that on the Featherweight model, you have two speed settings (high and low), plus a cool shot, but the speed settings is right on the handle and it is pretty easy to flip it on/off while admist drying.  I’d probably want more of a button than a flip switch, but I imagine you get used to it once you are conscious of it.  Also, I very much loved the retractable cord feature on my previous blow dryer, because it makes it a breeze to pack and put it away.  Nonetheless, these are small negatives, and the positives completely makeup for them.

I do wish I had tried out the Evolution model instead, after realizing how easy to use it would have been (I was totally intimidated by the eight speed/heat settings and whatnot–I thought it would be more dryer than I needed).  But when T3’s dryers come with a four year warranty, I don’t see the Evolution in my future any time soon!

Have you tried one of T3’s dryers?  Loved it?  Hated it?  Share your review!

– Get more information on T3 and its range at www.t3tourmaline.com.