Brand Face Off

So, a while ago I mentioned in another post that I had picked up two of the Revlon Nail Art Style Strips from the Ocean State Job Lot (which, if you don't have one in your area, is comparable to a Big Lots or other discount store) for $3 a piece where they usual retail at about $10. I absolutely LOVE the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Strips and I have been using them since they launched, but more on that later. Since I can't resist a good deal and I also can't resist an easy way to do my nails, (ugh, the coats, the dry time, the smudges, GAG) I just had to grab these. Since these came from a discount store the style selection was limited (these type of stores get the overflow from mainstream drugstores) so I only found two styles that I would wear, I'm a bit picky with nail colors and the way they clash with clothes, call me crazy. In retrospect I probably should have picked up a few more, or bought doubles of the two that I liked. And such is life.

The two styles I did pick up, however, were Eye Candy and Wild One respectively.


I haven't used Wild One yet, but I did try out Eye Candy last Sunday and am still wearing them today. I don't think that any picture I take is going to do Eye Candy's silver and purple ombre glitter justice. It is SO glittery my nails just sparkle, even in the dark! It's really fantastic, and I'm not even a purple fan. I don't know how Revlon did it, but they made this glitter strip so well. The Sally Hansen glitter strips are some of my favorites (think Glitz Blitz and Bling It On) but they tend to chip off more easily than the plain strips in my experience. I didn't seem to have that problem with the Revlon glitter strips, though. The back of the box states that these strips are "real polish strips" which is the main reason I picked them up. The strips that are not real polish (for instance, Kiss Nail Dress) tend to fray at the end while I'm filing off the excess and peel off much more easily; they are not for long wear.

Here are some photos of the strips on my nails:

 

This particular style happened to match my Starbucks mug, so I guess I like purple a little more than I thought.

Here, after about 7 days, you can see the wearing, mostly at the very tips, the grow out at the cuticle isn't bad:

 

 

The PROS:

1. They last! For me, wear time is important. I don't want to pay 8 or 9 bucks to have a great looking manicure that chips or peels off after a day or two. For another 5 or 6 bucks I can go to the salon and get my nails done. These claim to wear for ten days just like the Sally Hansen Salon Effects, and thus far, mine are wearing well. It's been about 7 days and they have just now started to wear and chip a bit on two nails. (The same happens for me with the Sally Hansen's at about the one week mark.) I use my hands a lot at work and am quite rough on my nails which is why they never grow out nicely.
2. The patterns are fun! I had tried just about all of the Sally Hansen's and frankly, I was bored with the selections. I was so happy to see some new patterns and, of course, to see more glitter. I know that Sally Hansen began coming out with seasonal patterns, which was refreshing, but those aren't always around in the store.
3. They are real nail polish. They apply just like the Salon Effects, they stick well to clean, dry nails and the excess files off easily. This is not the case with the sticker-like nail strip imposters.
4. The box comes with every thing you need, the same exact things as the Salon Effects. (mini file/buffer, cuticle stick, and strips)

The CONS:

1. While these do come with 16 strips, the size difference between the strips isn't great. It seemed to me that a lot of the strips were similarly sized and shaped. I think Sally Hansen's strips have a better selection of sizes and shapes for different nails.
2. I can only get one use out of a box. With the Sally Hansen strips, half of the strips come in one sealed foil pouch and the other half in another sealed foil pouch. Because of this, I can open only one of the pouches and find which strips fit my nails and cut the strip in half to use one half on my left nail and the other on the right nail. (This probably won't work if you have long nails) All 16 of the Revlon strips come in one sealed pouch so once you open it, you either have to use them all or they will dry out. The hoarder in me hates wasting a good portion of the strip.
3. I can't find them ANYWHERE anymore. I don't know if these were limited edition, if Revlon just decided to stop producing them, or if they are just sold out in every store that I check, but I can't find these anywhere anymore! I remember seeing them when they first came out but they seemed to vanish into thin air! This is probably why I found them at the discount store, how sad.

FINAL DECISION:

I really like these strips, if I can ever find them again, I will be re-purchasing.