Mani Party with Sally Hansen x Elle Magazine

A couple of weeks ago, I got to watch the Golden Globes in style with the lovely ladies of the Style Coalition. Sally Hansen and Elle Magazine hosted a mani party celebrating Sally Hansen's new Salon Insta-Gel Strips.

We got the chance to walk our own red carpet complete with mani cam after being treated to some gel nail treatments. I had a hard time choosing with 24 different colors and patterns to choose from I really wasn't sure what to pick. In the end I had to try Perfect Poison - a metallic silver snake skin that looks really luxe.

Although a nail technician helped me get my gel tips on, it seemed simple enough. After removing my nail polish and filing down my nails to the desired shape, the nail technician gave my nails a light buff, removed all excess oils with some a cleanser pad (all included in the kit) and then peeled off the nail strips and pressed them onto my nails carefully using an orange stick. She removed the excess strip using a nail file. When all the nails were complete, she did a quick coat of gel top coat before sticking each nail one at a time in the UV light machine where my nails took about 30 seconds each to be cured. The machine turns off the light when finished each nail so it is really easy to make sure you get it right. Once my nails were cured, we removed the excess sticky residue using a cleanser pad, just like at the salon. After that, my nails were fully dry! The whole process took probably 10 minutes or so.



After getting my nails done I had a blast sipping cocktails, tweeting like a maniac about red carpet fashion and hanging with some lovely style and beauty bloggers over some delicious hors' devours including some oh so appropriate golden globe cake pops (which I dutifully avoided). I admired and compared nails with some of the other ladies and found myself really attracted to the Spot On polka dot look color.

At the end of the night, I was gifted a Sally Hansen Salon Insta-Gel Strips starter kit and 2 colors of nail polish so that I can try this on my own - I can't wait to try more patterns.
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I decided to show you the results of the mani that is supposed to last for up to 2 weeks.

The results after 8 days were pretty darn good. If I didn't lift a printer at the office earlier in the day, I don't think I would have caught the edges that lifted from my right index finger and my left middle finger. Otherwise the mani is still shiny and in good shape aside from my nails growing out. Unlike regular nail polish strips or even Shellac, these feel firmly adhered to my nails and don't feel like they will all start peeling if you catch an edge.

By day 14 these are definitely ready to come off.  The nail polish stayed shiny and put for most part, but my nails grew out so much at this point, I wasn't crazy about how they looked. Next time I will try to get the strips closer to my cuticles than the technician did. While the edges I caught on my index and middle finger didn't seem to grow, some spots close to the base of the nails started to flake off a little. However, this nail polish can't be easily removed without an acetone remover, cotton and foil. Armed with these readily available products, you can get your nails clean in about 5 minutes.

Overall I was very happy with my nails. They looked fabulous and I received multiple compliments and people were asking me how I had achieved the unique python effect. It is a much more cost effective and time saving solution vrs going to a salon with results that are definitely comparable.

Golden Globes at Style Coalition Lounge with Dove

Event photos by Ana Schechter

Just last week I was at the Style Coalition Lounge dressed up with some of my favorite blogger friends and watching the Golden Globes thanks to Dove.  We got to treat ourselves to mini hair touch-ups throughout the night and to make things interesting we all filled out a ballot guessing who we thought would take home the awards.  Since I don't have cable, I don't watch too much TV so my guesses were at times wildly off save for my guess for Downton Abbey (on my must see list) and Modern Family (how could you not love it?).

While having my hair touch-up the stylist mixed it up by giving my super cute mini braids and using Dove Style Frizz-Free Shine Cream-Serum to nourish my hair, prevent static and for light styling without any weight or sticky feel.  I loved the light smell (slightly reminds me of apples) and the fact that I am treating my hair even though it doesn't feel like I am using product.

I had a blast tweeting the night away while sipping cocktails and snacking on delicious appetizers.  One of my fave moments of the night was when the dessert version of Golden Globes were brought out.

As for the clothes, they were really the reason I watched the show and I noticed headbands on both Charlize Theron and Michelle Williams looking juvenile on one and adorable on the latter.  Another trend I noticed was the strong prevalence of blush on the red carpet which is not likely to go away anytime soon.

One of the predominant trends of the evening was the Fishtail dress it was all over the red carpet.  While some of the celebrities pulled off this trend looking amazing, there are others that I am not so sure made it happen.
Bérénice Bejo, in Gucci, with Chopard jewels and a Swarovski clutch looks classically movie star beautiful in her vibrant cobalt blue number. Kate Beckinsale looked lovely in her blush Roberto Cavalli.

Sofia Vergara was a knockout in peacock Vera Wang with Harry Winston. The fit and flare shape suited her voluptuous figure perfectly

Tilda Swinton was a stunner in Haider Ackermann's tuxedo dress with Fred Leighton and Pomellato jewels.  (More on this below)

I did not like Reese Witherspoon fire engine red Zac Posen - the Vampy look conflicts with her image and when paired with the big hair had her coming off as trying too hard.

I was on the fence about Rooney Mara in her sultry black Nina Ricci - while the bodice was definitely sexy, the stiff skirt didn't quite look like it belonged on the same dress and just looked kind of awkward.

One of the newest things I saw on the red carpet was a nod to the 1930s in terms of heavy Art Deco influences in gilded geometric shapes.

Shailene Woodley looks lovely in her fishtail in Marchesa with the shimmering beading that accentuated her silhouette.

Salma Hayek with the gilded bodice by Gucci looks every bit the glamorous movie starlet that she is.

Nicole Kidman her gold studded Versace with Fred Leighton jewels never looked taller or more powerful.

Claire Danes in her black and white J. Mendel dress with Bulgari jewels looks sophisticated and grown-up - a long cry from her awkward youth on My-So-Called-Life (how I loved that show).

As for my faves no one did it better than these ladies - sophisticated, unique and unforgettable.

Dianna Agron in Giles with Fred Leighton totally channels Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire (from Hunger Games).  While some said swans were so last year, can anyone really argue with the fact that her look stood out or that she looks beautiful without being trashy?  Wish I could say the same for her fellow Glee co-star Lea Michelle who looked like she was trying to channel Halle Berry from years gone by.

Michelle Williams in Jason Wu with Fred Leighton took a risk by wearing a textured velvet gown with sleeves.  It could have been potentially disastrous but fortunately the shape of the dress is simple and the clean lines show off her svelte shape in a non-obtrusive way.

Emma Stone in head to toe Lanvin spiced up her pretty 2-tone dress with her own touch - the eagle belt adds life and personality in a way that works perfectly for the red carpet while being true to herself.

Angelina Jolie is striking in her perfectly form fitted 2-tone Atelier Versace dress with Lorraine Schwartz jewels.  Never thought that matching lipstick and accessories to your dress would look so good - maybe it works because the bold red is in small doses.

My personal favorite of the night had to go to Evan Rachel Wood in Gucci Premiere with Fred Leighton jewels. The dress in the shimmering peacock feathers that transform into sequins was gorgeous, perfectly fitted and complimented the actresses coloring perfectly.

Last but not least I know I mentioned Tilda Swinton before but she really looks stunning and marches to the beat of her own drum combining feminine and masculine elements that some commented reminded them of David Bowie.