UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE REINS AT THIS YEAR'S OSCARS

The 80th Academy Awards ceremony brought out the stars in all their glory. While past years have yielded some horrific hairstyles this year most played it safe, opting for low key hairstyles. The focus was on soft and sexy with few faux pas in the bunch.  Oscars Hairstyle Gallery

Nominees for Best Ponytail This year's hot trend in ladies' hairstyles was the low-lying ponytail. Cameron Diaz wore hers low but full of volume with lots of face-framing layers. Her hair color was picture perfect with layering that included subtle highlights that both brightened her face and added depth to her style. Jennifer Garner also opted for this style but added volume at the sides and crown while shortening her ponytail into an elongated bun. Both looked stunning.

A big kudos goes out to Miley Cyrus. We panned her grungy Grammy hairstyle but she turned over a new leaf with a sleek and sexy ponytail accented with a flirty side flip. Thanks for listening, Miley. The clear winner in this category was Cate Blanchett for putting her own spin on this popular Oscar 'do. Backcombing created mega volume in just the right place while gathering only half of her hair into a low ponytail allowed the rest of her luscious locks to rest in subtle waves underneath. The result was chic style worthy of a silver screen queen.

Nominees for Best Chignon Another trend to make a guest appearance was the chignon, or low-lying bun. Nicole Kidman and Best Actress nominee Ellen Page both wore the style but with two very distinct end results. Nicole opted for a sleek version with one side swooped over her cheek and a larger bun at the nape of her neck. By contrast, Ellen went flapper style with soft finger waved tendrils that framed her face. Stray wisps peeked out of her bun to mirror the loose waves in the front. We're going to have to declare this one a tie as both looked perfectly coiffed.

Nominees for Best Hair Worn Down

With retro inspired styles Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard and Amy Adams get nods for their 1940s inspired styles. Each sported cascading waves separated by a deep waves that were sleeked back on one side—very glam! Honorable mentions also go to Kelly Preston for her romantic half-up 'do with vintage-style hair clip and Laura Linney for her silky flips and amazing strawberry blonde hair color. But our vote goes to Katherine Heigl for channeling Marilyn Monroe in a head full of sultry waves that made us crave the days of old Hollywood glamour.

Nominees for Best Original Hairstyle While most chose to let the hair flow there were some who broke the mold and opted for full blown updos or short cuts. Renee Zellweger made short look ultra-sexy with an incredible pixie cut that mixed long, wispy layers in front with a close cropped nape. Kerry Russell and Jessica Alba both wore their locks in a swept back bun style. Jessica gets extra points for the two twisted

Nominees for Best Men’s Hair

There weren't any break-away winners in this category as most men kept their hair and wardrobe fairly mainstream. George Clooney looked dapper in his slicked back style with side part and Owen Wilson presented a less tousled version of his trademark 'do with slightly feathered bangs. Josh Brolin also looked yummy with his groomed style and shock of bangs across the forehead. Our choice for best male hair goes to Best Actor winner Javier Bardem of No Country for Old Men. Why? Because, as Oscar host Jon Stuart put it, he played a psycho killer with a Dorothy Hamill haircut. The fact that he showed up without it makes him an automatic winner (and his slicked back style with waves on top was pretty suave).

And the Worst Hairstyle of the Evening Goes to…

With any award ceremony there's winners and there are losers. While it might be nice to say they won in their category each of these nominees is equally guilty of bad hair and we don't want to reward that, now do we?

If you thought Tilda Swinter, Best Supporting Actress winner, looked severe with her jet black hair in the movie Michael Clayton her shock of Ronald McDonald red scraped back into a shapeless French twist made us long for darker hues. While red is a hot color when you couple it with her paler shade of white skin color and barely there eyebrows it's a recipe for disaster. A hint for you, Tilda—if you look more like Queen Elizabeth I than Cate Blanchett did in her movie it’s time to get a spray tan or hire a makeup artist—or both.

Heidi Klum ends up in this category due to her gigantic bun atop the head hairstyle. This slicked-back-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life 'do was then stuffed into an enormous donut and glued into place with more lacquer than was used by the entire cast of Hairspray. On a positive note we will give her the award for the hairstyle that could best double as a pin cushion—hey, we tried to be nice.

As for men with bad manes we have to call out Colin Farrell for his greasy-looking outgrown style and Knocked Up's Seth Rogan for his Grizzly Adams impersonation. While we understand that it’s a long arduous process for men to get ready for the Oscars, what with all that showering and throwing on a tux, is it too much to ask that you book a haircut and find your razor before the big event? On the bright side I bet their dates didn’t have to fight them for mirror time before heading out.

All in all it was a glamorous night with few style offenders. If you needed proof that softer, more natural looking styles are making a huge comeback this year's Oscars made it loud and clear. There were some surprising upsets in the acting categories during the evening but those betting on great hairstyles for the event weren't disappointed in the least.

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