Momma Told Me: #IHeartMyNailArt Girls Day In Party w/ Sally Hansen Nail Trends

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#IHeartMyNailArt Girls Day In Party w/ Sally Hansen Nail Trends

#IHeartMyNailArt
Momma Told Me: Be your unique you!

When I was just a little girl I asked my Momma, "What will I be?" I remember the day just as it were yesterday, my ten little piggies sprawled between hot pink toe separators, Momma (who had little tolerance for frills) lovingly daubing sparkle Sally Hansen polish on my tiny nails. With a gentle blow, I scrunched my nose at the smell and giggled for my ticklish feet. A calm Momma smiled coyly and replied, "Why you will be you!" I sighed and scrunched my bottom lip, knowing she had given the obvious answer, "But what will I be when I'm big like you?" I asked again. This time Momma took no time to pause. Pointing to my wiggling little toes she replied, "You'll be just like this polish. The glitter is always changing. If I put something Blue next to it, it turns blue. If I put something Red next to it, it turns Red. But when it is by itself, it simply sparkles!" I was much to young to get the true message of her reply, but I was content enough imagining myself covered in glitter, shining bright like a supernova, besides, it was time to pick out a polish for my hands!
Pinterest board
Growing up I knew the Sally Hansen name well. It was my favorite brand of nail polish, just as Lip Smackers was synonymous with my childhood, Sally was always on my nails. Momma and I would walk down to the corner Walgreens and browse the new shades of lacquer while we'd wait for a prescription to be filled. It was one of the few brands Momma would let me shop from, as she always remarked how affordable it was, and how well the lacquers wore. I didn't care much about the finish or wear, but I certainly was in love with the ever-growing collection of colors. Today my own personal Sally Hansen collection fills a large cosmetics fold out case and spans over 10 finishes from Holographic Effects to Hard As Nails. I've grown up regarding the brand as one of the leaders in the nail industry; especially when it comes to seasonal fashion trends and nail art effects.
Nail Party FavorsSally Hansen Nail Art
When Spring finally rolled around I was itching to play with some of the newest Sally Hansen products and found it a great excuse for a ladies night in. I envisioned a pajama party with my besties and family members round the living room painting each other's toes and swapping girl gab. With my heart set on nail art I grabbed my Balance Rewards Card and the current Walgreens ad and hit the local store for some serious shopping. No sooner had I seen all of the vibrant Xtreme Wear shades than I decided I was going to make it a color party- nails and snacks by shades. And I was in luck, the beautiful bold prints of Salon Effects Nail Strips and Xtreme Wear Lacquers would make for some easy nail art even the amateurs could tackle. With a cart full of Sally Hansen nail color and art products I rolled on towards the very large Easter aisle, where I knew I'd find an array of colorful pastel chocolates to fill my table. I couldn't believe the savings on my cart full of swag and even made cash back with my Balance Rewards points earned! Don't have a Walgreens near you? Shop all of these amazing Sally Hansen products online!

When I got home I set up an inspiration Pinterest Board so all of my attendees, and social media friends could pin some inspiration for nail art. I had a round list of 10 excited attendees on Thursday; but as we all know, life (especially with a family) is subject to change. Halfway through creating my guest individualized nail art goodie pots I received a phone call from my bestie. Her mother was taking her, her girlfriend, and her sister to Vegas for Easter weekend (-3). I was devastated and made her promise to swing by on Monday so I could catch her up on all the juicy nail designs and gossip. As it turns out, planning a last minute party on Easter weekend was trickier than I thought. As I frosted my rainbow themed cake Friday, 2 other guests informed me, last minute, they would no be able to attend at the specified time, but would swing by several hours earlier to hand out and swap manis. I was determined to share my nail art love with each and every one of these woman, if I had eat chocolate and do nails from sun up to sun down (torture, right?)
Sally Hansen#IHeartMyNailArt
By the time my first guest arrived they were in for the VIP treatment, and amazed by the Sally Hansen spread I'd put together. Because Kathy was the first attendee, she got to comb through the goodie pots before anyone else. We flipped through the recent issue of BAZAAR magazine and took some snippets of inspiration directly from the Spring runway. Above, you'll see a wild and avant gaurde mani based on this 4k runway handbag we found in an advertisement. What I loved most about my nail art party was the wide array of women who came through my Sally Hansen Nail Art table. I might not have been able to get more than 4 in the room at the same time Saturday, but that just meant more one on one time to gossip and explore the new Sally Hansen innovations. Each and every guest marveled at how easy it was to create a runway ready look with the new range of Salon Effects polish strips. The 40 something Kathy, who hadn't done her nails in years, fell in love with the Orchid inspired manicure we put together. I did her right hand, then she replicated the look on her left hand with impressive sucess.
Leopard Nails
Nail Art
Sally Hansen's Salon Effects polish strips may have some sticker shock at first, retailing just under $10 per package on average, but quickly proved a valuable investment. We learned to use the strips to stripe and reverse-mani, stretching one strip into two fingers, and two strips for two hands.These really thin, real polish, strips go on just like stickers and remove with regular lacquer remover. Best of all, there is no dry time, so the above raceway inspired mani on Tish's hands was done in just 8 minutes with Sally Hansen Insta-Dry polish and Salon Effects Strips. Those digits were scarfing down rainbow MandMs in no time! We also did a bit of fancy line work with the help of Sally's Nail Art Pens, which can produce some very fine lines, but didn't prove too effective for dotting. The tip is very fine, and quick to dry (so there is no sticky build up or drips), and should be utilized for intricate designs and detail work.
Zebra Nails
Tish and Savannah (above) adored their runway inspired manicures while munching on our color coded candy bar (we finally settled that argument as to whether the pink MandMs taste better than the blue), and the deLish gourmet confections from Walgreens. They hung out the longest, for several hours, and we played around with a few manicures on my own hands (yes, I was the guinea pig). Time and again I could hear my guests remarking "I'm taking this home!" or "Where can I buy this, it's awesome?!" I hadn't planned on trying to boost Sally Hansen sales, but I'll admit I was already shopping the remaining catalog of products in my head as well. When I'd originally gone shopping for supplies, only about 60% of the product spacing was full. There are some great sales right now, like the Buy 2 for $5 Xtreme Wear lacquers (+1,000 Balance Rewards Points) March 31- April 27, 2013, and the Insta Gel Starter Kits for just $19.99! Rumor is there are even printable coupons out there to make these savings really stack up with your Balance Rewards! See more of our savings and nail art designs in our Google+ album.
Sally Hansen
butterfly nails
Xtreme Wear Nails
Thanks to our event Pinterest Board, we had some great fashion inspiration and links to Spring Nail Art techniques. The above sponged ombre look was taken from a runway outfit pairing Hot Pink and Sun Yellow shades. I really love how the deep pink towards the tips pops on the bright Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow shade. Above that is Kathy's manicure, which I helped lay out featuring bright Xtreme Wear Spring shades, a Black sally Hansen Nail Art Pen, and Fly With Me Salon Effects Strips. Kathy and her sisters all have matching butterfly tattoos, so this was a popular design at the party. On top, Amber took a stab at color blocking my nails with Sally Hansen Xtreme wear and Insta Dry (Brisk Blue) shades. We used some medical tape from the local Dollar Store, and the Insta Dry lacquer as a base; though we peeled the tape off a little too soon and some of our line integrity was compromised- not bad for a first attempt though!
Salon Effects Nail Strips
Sally Hansen Nail Art
One of the repeating points of our Girls (Day) In party was how simple it was to recreate, or interpret, runway trends and fashion into wearable manicures. The Kitty, Kitty Salon Effects Strips proved to be one of our most popular prints, and I've since resolved to pick up several more packs for use throughout the year. Most importantly, these unique no-dry, long wear, easy application, strips look like real nail art. The underlying gold hue on this leopard print has a somewhat 3-dimensional appearance as the spots look slightly raised atop it. We confirmed this when we went to clean one of the strips off Sabrina's nails and the gold wiped off first, leaving nothing but perfect leopard spots. I was tempted to use this in a design somehow, but quickly got back to work with the above manis. While Tish was quick to 'call' the Love Letter (top) Salon Effects strips, I did convince her to let me play with them in a Tommy Hilfiger inspired manicure similar to my practice one above.
I Heart Nail Art
Sally Hansen
While it seems like the Salon Effects line was the star of our party (though, in my head I'll think it was my cake), the Nail Art Pens and Insta Dry lacquers presented new tools to most of my guests. It's not uncommon for the average woman to admire nail art with a Pinterest board, or 2, or 3; but the majority of us are too intimidated to attempt our own at home. Thankfully there are wonderful tutorials and even YouTube videos online, and my local Walgreens has a great cosmetics return policy that permits store credit exchanges for shades or products that somehow disappoint the customer. It's no secret that #IHeartMyNail Art, but there just may be a new group of empowered women out there showing off their own nail art skills thanks to Sally Hansen's cutting edge products and my teaching skills! Think you have what it takes to rock some fierce Nail Art? Visit the Sally Hansen Facebook Page and enter to win one of 5 amazing prizes!

What Daughter Says: With the 'writing' on my nails, I can truly express myself every day of the week!






As Required by The FTC: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and COTY #cbias #SocialFabric All the above images are original nail art and content created by Jenna M Wood of Momma Told ME Blog.

25 comments:

  1. What an amazing party! I wish I lived closer to you. This looks like the party of the century! What fun Sally Hansen nail polishes!!!

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  2. I LOVE all of the color in your party! There are so many great neat ideas. Thanks for sharing your Sally Hansen nail tips!

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  3. Wow! That is an awesome party! I'd love to come to your party! I love all the nail art! So cool! I need to go pick up some of those Sally Hansen colors!

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  4. WOW! you're amazing! i love nail art too but I'm not even close to being as great as you. WOW!

    :)
    Carrie
    http://readmylifeascarrie.blogspot.com/

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  5. That party looks like so much fun! Love all the cool nail designs, especially that last picture with the green nails!

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  6. This party looks like it was a great deal of upfront work for you, but wow the ladies must have been inspired. From the beautiful pastels in the "Eats" to the cool baskets..I was just wishing that I could have attended!

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  7. Goodness! What an undertaking! It looks like you guys had fun!!

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  8. Woot, now that's my kind of party! Wish I was near by so I could have gone :) You seem like a great host and I can only imagine what an awesome time everyone had! I'm so nail polish obsessed these days and Sally Hansen is a great brand...the first I was introduced to as a child by my mother!

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  9. Fantastic photos, as always. Do they make any of these products for toes? I am more adventurous with my toes than my fingernails.

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  10. This just amazes me! I would not have the patience but I love seeing all the different designs and all people create with their nails. Beautiful colors and looks like a fabulous party. Now my daughter would love all this nail art.

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  11. Love these nails! Looks like you all had a blast!

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  12. I'm going to borrow this idea for my next MNO. There is something about freshly painted nails that lifts my spirit

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  13. The Salon Effects includes 'thumb' sized strips that work on my big toe, so, in theory, you can use them on feet as well Jenn!

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  14. I totally pinned this! What a fun party idea! I love the idea of splitting up the Sally Hansen strips too, and am glad to see it worked out nicely. Great ideas, and I'm TOTALLY throwing a party like this over the summer!!

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  15. Oh M G!!! Seriously, this is amazing!! Your party was perfect, I love all the color and fun food and nail polishes. What a success!

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  16. I have been wanting to have a similar party but just haven't had the time. It looks uber fun, and the photos look great! HTC?

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  17. wow what a great party - lots of fun , funky nails and lots and lots of color. I know someone who wants to have one of these now. Thanks so much. Its awesome : )

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  18. wow. your nails turned out great! I wish I had a steady enough hand!

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  19. wow! what a fabulous post! loved all the nail art!

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  20. This party is AMAZING! The nail art is fabulous, you guys came up with such pretty designs!

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  21. I love your Mom, what a great answer she gave you!! I also love nail art, I'm all about expressing yourself ... however it may be.

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  22. They turned out great! I wish I could do that, I'm terrible with painting my nails. Looks like a fun party!

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  23. This was one of my favorite posts you ever did! Love the pastels of the M&Ms! Hope you will link up again this Tuesday (today) http://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/2013/07/travel-attire-tea-verizon-voices-fashionista-style-hop/

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