Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips review – Glam Radar

I was chosen to test Influenster’s Spring VoxBox and, this time around, I’m super impressed with what they sent me.

sally-hansen-salon-effects-review The first thing I tested out was the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. And then I inhaled the SoyJoy. Mmm. Okay, back to the nail strips.
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For an at-home nail color job, $10 seems a bit spendy for a one-time application. It’s not like a bottle of nail polish that you can reuse. However, it’s supposed to last up to ten days and require no drying time whatsoever.

I normally tire of wearing the same nail polish after a couple days, so that part is just “meh” for me. I’m very glad they sent me this design instead of something with animal stripes because I would then have to wear THAT for a week and I hate animal patterns. I guess the long wear kind of helps justify the price, though, especially for those who don’t frequently change their nail polish.

The zero drying time is awesome for me because that means I get to go pee during AND right after application. Hurrah and huzzah! I’m serious. Every single time I put on nail polish, I need to pee right after, even if I’ve already gone just before! Ever have to ask your S.O. to pull your pants down for you so you can go pee? It does something to your sense of dignity. Now I feel like the man owns me.

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Retailing for $10, each set comes with a mini nail file and buffer, a cuticle stick and 2 packets of 8 nail strips. It also comes with a sheet of detailed instructions that’s easy to follow. Mine is called Frock Star.

sally-hansen-salon-effects-review3Well, it’s easy to follow but I’ve found it’s not that simple to just “peel and apply”. Don’t expect this to be a quick stick-on routine just before you head out the door. You definitely need some time, especially if it’s your first time trying out nail strips. The strips are very thin and delicate and tear easily if you’re not careful. The instructions say to stretch it to fit but, even with the gentlest tug, it tore in places where I did not want to see a tear. Thankfully, Frock Star is just a random spread of glitter and I was easily able to layer the leftover lengths over the initial application. I can’t imagine this working well with more regularly patterned strips, though, like the lace ones or the gingham patterns.

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Macro shot of the nails. It really does look like real glitter polish. I love that each hand gets 8 strips to ensure you the best fitting strip.

I didn’t use a topcoat over this to see how long it would last alone. It’s been five days and about 4 of my nails are seeing minimal signs of wear on the ends. Sorry, no recent photos. The rest of my nails are still flawless. There is no lifting or signs of wear around my cuticles. With a good topcoat, I imagine the nail polish would be even more durable.

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 Creepily stroking Ha Ji Won’s face. This picture is still from Day One, btw.

I’ve been getting a lot of compliments on this polish since the day I put it on, mostly from random people. That definitely added favorable points to my opinion of these Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail strips. I do NOT look forward to removing these chunky glitters with nail polish remover, though. Crap.

Would I buy a set? I can’t say yes or no right away. The zero drying time isn’t enough of a draw for me to put this in a shopping cart anytime soon. Nor do I really care if nail polish lasts ten days, since I like to change it frequently. Also, I’m not big on nail art designs but prefer simple colors or textures. Glitter is probably just about the only “design” I’d wear. However, I also like the idea of not adding to my clutter of bottles of nail polish I only tried once or twice never looked at again, while still keeping the looks new and different. If they ever make a mirror or foil-transfer effectstrip, I wouldn’t even hesitate to get it.

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