Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips Review

About a month ago, I tried out Sally Hansen's Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips. I just liked the idea of stickers made of nail polish, and while I'm not a tremendous fan of nail art, some of the options available were pretty appealing.

I opted for Glitz Blitz (top image), and I loved them. I got a lot of compliments and they lasted for a good two weeks without any hassle (much better than typical nail polish). I considered writing a glowing review of them back then, but decided to be fat and watch massive amounts of television while squirting ranch in my mouth, instead.

Around the same time, one of my coworkers tried out the same product in Laced Up (lower image) and she was not as pleased with them as I was. She said they chipped and came off really easily and felt like a huge rip-off. Since I had loved the ones I had tried, I chalked this up to what I supposed was my superior application skills. When I have a different experience from others, it's naturally because I'm better than them, right?

Then a few days ago, I tried Laced Up for myself.  The strips weren't nearly as flexible or as sticky as Glitz Blitz, and have not stayed on well at all. I have only three fingers where the stickers remain, and I'll probably pick those off by the end of the night, since they kind of look ridiculous with just the three (I know, I know, nail polish remover won't destroy my nails nearly as much, but I just love picking at things, okay? Allow me these simple pleasures.)

I don't know for sure, but my guess is that the more opaque styles (like Laced Up) are all worthless, while the more transparent ones (like Glitz Blitz) are fantastic. This will require further experimentation that you may or may not hear about, depending on how lazy I want to be about follow-up (guess: pretty dang lazy). Also, I'm probably already way over my nail-care budget for the month (usually $0 plus a hope to get some polish in my Christmas stocking once a year...I'm definitely not a regular manicures kind of girl), so it's actually probably best for me to hold off on the experimentation. So actually the verdict is: Glitz Blitz rules, Laced Up drools, and you can find out for yourself what you think about the others.

Application Note #1: It took a long time (at least compared to polish) to put these on, but it's worth it to do them perfectly or you'll want to pick them off immediately. However, still try to do everything within an hour of opening the package. Remember that these strips are made of nail polish. I found that the longer they were out of the package, the less sticky they got and were harder to apply.

Application Note #2: The instructions are not entirely clear about this, but you want to use both ends of each strip, or you will run out. There are two packages in each box, and they should be good for two separate applications. Cut the strips in half to use both ends; there should be plenty length for two nails. If there isn't, go cut your nails. Long nails are gross and tacky (I know a lot of people who don't feel this way, but they are wrong).