Hair from the Glossies - My Sassoon Makeover

Thanks to Style Coalition, I was invited to the Sassoon Salon Uptown to partake in the Fall beauty event. The Sassoon Salon is brightly lit and well mirrored with stark white shiny tiles and walls contrasted by black leather chairs and counters. After being greeted with a glass  of prosecco at the door, I find my fellow bloggers at the back of the salon snacking on light bites and chatting excitedly as we caught up. We wait to get our "before" pictures taken to contrast against our soon to be polished looks.

Soon after, I have my make-up touched up by Karim Orange, a make-up artist who uses  Au Naturale, a line of organic, non-toxic, cruelty-free cosmetics. She uses a cream concealer to create a flawless complexion before giving me a light dusting of eyeshadow for a look that is natural but makes me feel pretty.

After a touch up a wonderful gentleman named Rob gave me a shampoo and treatment called "Shine". Rob was super considerate asking me of the water temperature was fine and even if I was okay with a good scrub. I have to say it feels really nice to have someone else wash your hair.  He offered me a beverage and an opportunity to recline after he applied the treatment which was in a mini spray format. The treatment which lasts anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks is supposed to work like instant gratification for the hair. It smells pleasant enough on my shampooed head and the longer it sits in, the better my result are supposed to be. A while later after the treatment is washed out, I am paired up with a Stylist named Lei who is adorable and decked out in a cute mint colored outfit and kelly green pumps. 

At the hair station, I notice that unlike traditional salons, there are full body mirrors allow you see how your hairstyle will while it's in progress. Lei asks me a few questions about how I feel about my hair, my lifestyle and what I have in mind. I tell her truthfully that while I love a good haircut, I don't spend more than 5 minutes doing my hair and on most days, even less time. I tell her that I've had hair of all lengths so I'm not afraid to lose any length. I haven't had a haircut in about a year and my hair is long and healthy but not really doing much for me. I don't know what to expect but I have an excitement boiling up inside me for change. Lei tells me she wants to give me more volume and says, "Something a little like this", while gesturing to a picture of a bob. Since, I'm feeling open, I tell her that I trust her to know my hair type and what would suit me best. So she quickly separates my hair into wet sections and cuts it piece by piece and I see a hairstyle begin to emerge.

Lei gives me tips for how to blow dry my hair as she dries it at the roots agains the natural direction of growth and she flat irons my hair before coming in with her discerning eye and gentle touch. She quickly snips away any strays and creates the perfect line. And although I didn't tell her much, I feel like Lei knew intuitively the hairstyle that I wanted deep inside.

Before too long a wave of nostalgia comes over me. When I was young, and I looked at fashion magazines I remember looking at Vidal Sassoon ads with models with perfectly sleek glossy bobs and thinking that that was the epitome of stylish hair. Along the way, as many haircuts and attempts at angled bobs I've experienced, I don't think my hair ever felt as glossy as those magazine pages. Thanks to Lei and the Sassoon team, the angled bob of my teenage dreams has become my own. I can't help but smile and feel like a million bucks. While long hair is pretty, short hair feels stylish!

Sassoon Salon Uptown, 7 West 56th Street, New York, New York 10019
Sassoon Salon Downtown, 32 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011

*All photos courtesy of Natalie Poette

HP x Project Runway Party

Last week I went to the Style Coalition lounge for an HP x Project Runway viewing party. The party theme was color-blocking. Being a lover of color, this was a fun challenge and I found some blue pieces in my closet and made them pop with yellow tights and necklace.  I have to admit it was fun to see color again, and the perfect start to my Easter weekend.

The reason for the theme was based on a Project Runway challenge, where contestants created a look inspired by mid-century art at The Guggenheim.


We got to actually compete against other attendees to create the best design as well with this premise by draping fabric on a dress form. The winning design by Jenny from I-Spy-DIY won the latest HP ENVY X2! It's a PC that transforms into a Tablet for life on-the-go. To be perfectly honest, maybe I now have a little bit of envy. The convertible factor has me a bit awed plus it's the same PC that contestants use on the show.

Project Runway contestant Carol Hannah attended the party to watch this season's competitors send their designs down the runway. You can see all the designs here.


After our competition we sat down to watch the show while snacking on some delicious treats and Pomegranate / St. Germain cocktails. As bloggers always do, there was plenty of witty commentary throughout the show as we tweeted the night away. Thanks to Style Coalition and HP for a colorful lift to my week.

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.

Make Up For Ever Holiday Party at Style Coalition

Last week Style Coalition Lounge hosted a holiday gathering with the talented ladies from Make Up For Ever. While sipping cocktails, we had our chance to get make-up tips from professional make-up artists. When it was my turn I asked about false eyelashes as they are my beauty nemesis. They always add a lot of drama to special occasions but I always have trouble applying them.

The first step is to apply some eyeliner at your lashline to disguise where they will be attached and create a more natural look. She also curled my lashes because my natural lash growth is very straight. Then gently remove the lashes from the packet using only your thumb and a sweeping motion so as not to damage the lashes or put a kink in them. In my case for a more comfortable and customized look, the make-up artist cut the lashes into 4 equal sections but only applied 3 to my lid, with the longest segment at the center of my eye. Before applying them she had me open my eyes with the faux lashes resting on my natural lashes to check for perfect positioning. She applied the segments, using the glue that came with the package.

Alexandre Herchcovitch x HP Launch

A few nights ago I had the honor of meeting famed designer Alexandre Herchcovitch at the Style Coalition Lounge for the exclusive North American launch of HP’s newest Designer Edition.  Following in the footsteps of designers like Vivienne Tam and Tord Boontje, Herchcovitch designed a beautiful laptop that was inspired by his autumn/winter 2012 collection featuring black lace on an olive/gold pearlescent background and vice versa on the interior chassis and keyboard that reflects the custom designed screen saver.  This is a laptop that is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside and comes with a matching travel mouse and embossed sleeve.


While sipping on a Caipirinha and snacking on Brazilian inspired snacks like Brazilian BBQ Chicken and Pão de Queijo I had a chance to sit down with Alexandre for a chat about his development process of the laptop, his mom and his opinions on how American and Brazilian women dress.

The 3rd Annual Fashion 2.0 Awards–February 2012

Last night I had the chance to attend the 3rd Annual Fashion 2.0 awards at the SVA Theatre.  Since I first attended 3 years ago the event has grown exponentially along with the advent of social media as part of our everyday lives.  The event was bigger than ever with bloggers from Style Coalition, social media enthusiasts, social media superstars (like @dkny) in attendance and mingling over cocktails and appetizers.  I got to meet ladies I've seen only through their blogs or twitter and finally have a chance to put a face to a name.

As for the awards ceremony it was hosted by the most adorable, energetic, charming and hilarious Robert Verdi who began the show by tossing a couple pairs of sunglasses from his brand new HSN line to the audience.

There was no surprise when the award for Best Twitter went to @dkny for her witty and constant Tweets!  Best Facebook Award went to Bergdorf Goodman.  Best Blog award went to DKNY.  A special new visionary award was presented to the Gilt Groupe co-founders Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson to acknowledgement of their achievements and leadership as e-commerce game-changers and their tremendous impact on the way the fashion industry/luxury brands, perceive the online space.  Best website award went to Marc Jacobs international.  Best Mobile App went to Tiffany and Co.  Top Innovator Award went to Kate Spade NY.  Last but not least the Best Online Video Award went to Prada for their Real Fantasies Spring/Summer 2011 video I've posted below.

And while not everyone took home awards I was glad we got a chance to sit back and pause and appreciate some of the other videos like Bergdorf's Unleashed, Lanvin with Pitbull, Norma Kamali in 3-D and Rachel Roy's Casual Friday campaign.

We also got a chance to listen to Norma Kamali herself talk about her love of technology and her journey into fashion and tech starting in the 60s.  Kamali stated, "Fashion is not about the clothes today.  What matters and where innovation is, is how we tell the story.  How we personalize it and humanize it...I used to say the 60s were the most exciting time in my life, but it's not anymore.  It's about today and tomorrow."  Kudos to Ms Kamali for her inspiring words and for always looking forward to the future and embracing it.  Can't wait to see her next 3-D fashion video bring fashion to life on the screen.

HP x Style Coalition’s Project Runway Premiere Party

A couple weeks ago in honor of the season premiere of Project Runway, Style Coalition decided to host a truly fabulous party with HP at the Style Coalition Lounge.  Seriously being surrounded by some of my favorite fashion loving ladies with white sangria, macarons, pineapple ice pops, and appetizers after an intense 11 hour work day was just what the doctor ordered. 

All of the above images are courtesy of Ana Schechter Photo

Call me a tech dork but after saying some hello's I ran to play with the HP TouchSmart 610 not even realizing they were part of Style Coalition's own mini Project Runway challenge and began sketching up a storm.  At first I didn't have a sense of the program I was using, but soon enough I got the hang of it and was having a blast.  I previously tried out the TouchSmart TM2 laptop/tablet, but with an even larger work area I had the freedom to create art projects with ease.  I soon started using the back side of a pencil in combination with my finger for precision details and also fluid movement.  I had so much fun that I could use it all day.  I have always been a fan of mixed media, but in my NYC life, don't actually have the room to have too many art supplies.  So I love that the TouchSmart offers a huge variety of tools at your fingertips.  You can jump between pencil, air brush, glitter, crayon and so much more with ease.  Plus there is no need to cleanup tools and forget erasers because with an undo button, you can pretend mistakes or unfortunate lines never even happened.  What do you think of my sketches above?

Here are just some of the sketches that we all created!  Later on in the evening we printed out best work and were judged on our creations.

Check out Jordana of Clutch 22’s fun rendition of Wonder Woman – she won our Project Runway inspired competition for the evening and a great little camcorder to boot!

Between hilarious commentary and tweets we narrowed down our new fave contestants to root for this season.  I couldn't help but cringe at Anya Ayoung-Chee’s lack of sewing skills, be pleasantly surprised at the success of Bert Keeter’s boxer dress and burst out in laughter at Rafael Cox’s unwillingness to part with his do rag.

Thanks HP & Style Coalition for a super fun evening that has me lusting for a TouchSmart of my very own.

PS. HP is currently running a competition to be judged by former Project Runway contestant Mondo Guerra that let’s you put your sketching skills to the test and win your very own HP TouchSmart 610! Four finalists will win an EliteBook Tablet PC - just like the one that the contestant’s use on the show.  What are you waiting for? Get sketching!