As I mentioned in a previous post I received a complimentary set of Sally Hansen Salon Effects to try. It is now time for the review. *insert drum roll* I didn't wear mine for any special event or anything, I just decided to put them on for fun (and so I could get this review done). I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the first few pictures. It was a cloudy day and no matter where I went to take pictures, I just couldn't seem to get adequate lighting.
A Little Info About Sally Hansen Salon Effects:
A Little Info About Sally Hansen Salon Effects:
- Unlike most "stick on nail designs" the Salon Effects are real nail polish not plastic stickers which makes them last longer.
- No dry time (except for your topcoat should you choose to use one over top)
- They can be removed with nail polish remover (I haven't tried taking mine off yet)
- According to Sally Hansen they can last up to 10 days
- There are 40 different styles
Price: About $9.99 depending on location.
Location: Can be purchased at drugstores and mass merchandisers
Design:
The style I received was called Wild Child, it is a shimmery bright pink with a zebra print design in black over the top of it. I really like this design, it's kind of funky and fun and right up my alley. As I said before there are 40 designs available, to see the designs go to Sally Hansen's website.
Packaging: It's a simple plastic box, nothing really particularly good or bad about it.
Contents:
- Two foil and plastic packaging containing the polish strips
- One cuticle pusher
- One mini file/buffer
- Directions
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| The Directions (click to see larger picture) |
Nail Polish Strips: Each strip has a plastic layer on top that you peel off and a backing that you peel off before applying the strips. I had a bit of a hard time finding strips that properly fit my nails, I had to trim the sides of some of them to get them to fit. They are plenty long so if you have short nails you could cut them and save the other half to use a different time. I started doing this but it made it more time consuming so I gave up.
Application: I followed all the suggestions in the directions above and then followed each step. The application was harder than I expected it to be. The strips didn't seem to stretch very well in order to fit them at the top of my nails. At the bottom of the nails they stretched too much which made them not stick very well, that was probably user error however. I'm pretty sure I was pulling on them too hard while filing the excess off... but I was having trouble getting the file to take the excess off without being too rough with them. I applied a topcoat afterwords because from what I've read they stay on better with a top coat plus as I said the ends weren't sticking well because they got too stretched out.
Application: I followed all the suggestions in the directions above and then followed each step. The application was harder than I expected it to be. The strips didn't seem to stretch very well in order to fit them at the top of my nails. At the bottom of the nails they stretched too much which made them not stick very well, that was probably user error however. I'm pretty sure I was pulling on them too hard while filing the excess off... but I was having trouble getting the file to take the excess off without being too rough with them. I applied a topcoat afterwords because from what I've read they stay on better with a top coat plus as I said the ends weren't sticking well because they got too stretched out.
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| Immediately after application |
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| 1 day after application |
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| 1 day after applications |
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| 3 days after application |
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| 3 days after application |
Removal: Supposedly they can easily be removed with nail polish. I haven't tried to remove mine but when I do I will update this.
Wrap Up:
Likes:
- The range of designs
- All the the necessary tools are included
Dislikes:
- The file tool you are supposed to use to remove the excess. It didn't work very well which led to me pulling on the strips too much and messing up.
In-betweens:
- Price. $10 is definitely less than it costs to go get your nails done at a nail salon... granted a design done at a nail salon may hold up a bit better. If you cut them in half you'd get more bang for your buck. I honestly don't understand why anyone would want to buy the solid colors of these when you can just buy a bottle of polish for the same price or less.
- Application: maybe it's just me but I found it a bit difficult and frustrating. It's probably a practice makes perfect thing.
Would I buy again?: Maybe, I'd probably wait until they were on sale but I'll probably give them another shot eventually.
note: Complimentary or not I will always be honest in my product reviews, my loyalty is to my readers not to any company.
