Nailed it.

I have always had a love/hate relationship with painting my nails. I love having them painted but I hate actually painting them; waiting for them to dry, having to itch my face the second I'm done painting them and smudging one or two. With this in mind, you could imagine my excitement a while ago when Sally Hansen came out with a new product, Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. The mere thought of being able to "paint" my nails without even having to actually paint them was enough to make me shake. So, I've been using this product for quite a while and I have had nothing but good experiences with it, I've tries a lot of the colors and patterns and I like that they last a long time and have absolutely no dry time! In fact, I just put on a new set tonight and thought I'd share a bit of the process.

These typically run from around $8.00 to $11.00 depending on where you purchase them, I find them to be cheaper at Wal-Mart and a bit more expensive at CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid. I like to pick them up when I find them on sale and save them for later (I got a few boxes at the Ocean State Job Lot for $3.00 a piece recently!) I got this particular one from Target on the clearance rack for $5.98 and I couldn't pass them up, after all, they were SHINY. This pattern is 002 Snake Charmer, it seemed like it may be limited edition.

The process is quite simple and just takes a bit of practice, each box contains everything you need to apply these from start to finish. This includes 16 nail strips, 8 for each hand (you'll choose the 5 sizes and shapes that fit your fingers best). If you have shorter nails like me, you can double the use out of a box by cutting each strip in half and using each half on opposite hands. This way only one package needs to be open and the other 8 strips can be used in the future. The box says they last up to 10 days and I find this to be true. I've even worn them for up to 14 days before they start to look grown out or peel at the ends.

 

 

Now, after Sally Hansen's success in the nail polish strip realm, a lot of other brands came out with similar products. I was excited to have new and different patterns to try. Here's a bit of a spoiler, I wasn't excited for long.

 I first tried Kiss' Nail Dress in bustier. The pattern was pretty and had sparkle accents which I liked. The Kiss strips were not "real nail polish strips," however, they are more like nail stickers. You apply them in a similar manner to the Sally Hansen ones but the texture is completely different. They are much thicker and the ends are much more likely to fray and become torn. The Kiss Nail Dresses do not last as long as the Sally Hansen ones either, if you're looking for a cool nail design for a special event, these would be great, but for long term wear they are not ideal. I got about 4 days out of them (they did not look nice for all of the four days either) before I HAD to rip them off.

 

Next I gave Maybelline's Color Show Fashion Prints in Midnight Lace. I liked this pattern a lot also because of the sparkle detail, similar to the Kiss ones. I sort of new what to expect with these, I thought they'd be more simliar to the Kiss Nail Dresses than the Sally Hansen nail strips. These are more sticker-like and do not last too long. Again, these are nice for a special occassion or a few days wear.

For me, Sally Hansen is still the queen of nail polish strips. They are made of real nail polish which is why they last so long and once they are applied and have a minute to form to the nail they really last. I love when Sally Hansen comes out with seasonal colors and patterns. Next on my list to try is Revlon's Nail Art Style Strips. These seem more like "nail polish" than nail stickers and have a lot of great patterns.

Update: Found the Revlon Nail Art Style Strips at Ocean State Job Lot, and for a deal as you can see. Will be trying these out soon and doing a review! I'm excited to see how they work.