Helena Rubinstein 01 - Black Black

Product Information

Following cleansing and toning, clients were advised to feed the skin, alternating nightly between Valaze Beautifying Skinfood – as Dr. Lykusky’s Russian Skinfood Valaze was now known – and Novena Crème, massaged into the skin with the fingers or using the Valaze Massagette. In Paris, Rubinstein had been operating from her Insitut de Beauté Valaze at 126 Rue du Faubourg since 1921. T]wo little words “she paints” often sound like the passing of a sentence for some moral shortcoming. Prejudices are often groundless. None more groundless than the one against rouge, and none better founded that against bad rouge or rouge badly used. Other cosmetics available to help a woman look her best included Valaze Lip Lustre (tinted or untinted), Valaze Lip Pencil, and Tablette Indienne (a cake mascara) all products that had been sold for many years prior to he establishing the American business. Nail cosmetics

Electrolysis treatments to remove superfluous hair remained a staple but Rubinstein appears to have moved to a multiple electrode system. This she advertised as painless, multiple and non-puncturing electrolysis; marketing spin at its most creative.Helena Rubinstein announcing she would be opening a new salon at 52 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Loosely translated the advertisement states: “Madame Rubinstein, who is its creator and soul, called her new establishment a “clinic” to distinguish it from all similar institutions. In 1927, as part of the new Water Lily make-up line, Rubinstein introduced Water Lily Face Powder. It came in the same shades as her earlier powders and was sold in both Complexion and Novena formulations making it suitable for all skin types. However, it retailed for a higher price, as did the later Enchanté Face Powder (1928) which came in a Silver (small-sized) or Chinese Temple (large-sized) boxes. Foundations After New York, Rubinstein opened salons in San Fransisco, Philadelphia and New Orleans (1916), Chicago (1917), Atlantic City (1918) and Boston (1920). By then, she had relocated her New York salon to 46 West 57th Street (1918) and had begun selling her cosmetics through department stores, such as City of Paris in San Francisco and Halle Bothers in Cleveland, as well as select drug stores like the Warner Drug Company in Nashville and the Jermyn Drug Company in Scranton.

O’Higgins, P. (1971). Madame: An intimate biography of Helena Rubinstein. New York: The Viking Press. The home treatment involved four preparations so presumably included cleansing, stimulating and nourishing cosmetics as well as the clay.

Salon treatments

Other new lines added by 1915 included two skin balms, Baume Vert (Balm Vert) and Baume Blanc (Balm Blanc). Above: 1915 New York Salon designed by the modernist designer Paul T. Frankl [1886-1958]. The walls were covered with dark-blue cloth with baseboards and mouldings coloured a deep rose. Furniture was made from rosewood and mahogany upholstered in rose silk. The bas relief was designed by the Polish-American sculptor, Elie Nadelman [1882-1946] (Slesin, 2003). Eau Vert:“[M]uch like Eau qui Pique, but being rather milder, it is more adapted to beginners in treatment, particularly those with dry and sensitive skins.” Rubinstein had a number of cosmetics that could function as a foundation including the older Valaze Cream of Lilies, Valaze Balm Rose, Valaze Snow Lotion, Valaze Liquidine and Valaze Beauty Foundation Cream. Some older protective cosmetics had disappeared; e.g., Balm Vert and Valaze Creme Promenade but Rubinstein now sold Sun and Windproof Balm, Sun and Windproof Cream, and Sunproof Lotion all of which she recommended as foundations.

Follow with Valaze Beautifying Skinfood (Clear-skin Cream) not a cream to nourish, but a skin awakener and refiner. Leave on for as long as possible, remove and finish with Valaze Liquidine. Day: After cleansing, apply Valaze Skin-toning Lotion Special, a bracing tonic and mild astringent.Water Lily Rejuvenating Mask:“[A] perfect combination of ingredients, it produces a smooth, lovely suppleness without being one bit drying to the most fragile-textured skin.” Valaze Beautifying Skinfood or Novena Sunproof and Windproof Creme were considered protective in summer or winter. Rubinstein also recommended wearing Valaze Complexion Powder or Novena Poudre when outdoors, and Valaze Lip Lustre to protect the lips. If engaging in strenuous sporting activities then Valaze Complexion Powder could help mop up any perspiration. Make-up Rubinstein was an early promoter of make-up but made allowances for more conservative views by emphasising the protective value of her face powders and lip cosmetics. As attitudes to ‘paint’ changed during the 1920s, and the use of make-up became more acceptable, Rubinstein extended her range of decorative cosmetics and began to use the term ‘make-up’ more openly. Face Powders Valaze Acne Cream (Medicated Pink Treatment):“[H]eals, soothes, and corrects pimples, blotches, blemishes and all disturbed skins.”

For sunburn there was the soothing Baume Blanc (Balm Blanc) and for sensitive skin Daleihne replaced the use of soap and water. Seasonal treatments Charles S. Welch. Made general manager of Helena Rubinstein, Inc. in 1928. He left a position as general manager of the Rallet Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Coty, to take up this new position. He resigned in 1930 after Rubinstein sold the American company but returned after she regained control.Treatments at Rubinstein’s Maison de Beauté Valaze continued much as before and included remedies for wrinkles and crows-feet, coarse and greasy skin, eye problems, lax facial contours and double chins with massage and face strapping still being of prime importance.