I am not a nail girl.
If beauty bloggers are judged on being well rounded in all departments of all things beautiful, I guess I’d be shown the door in an instant and roundly trounced for daring to call myself one. This is because nail polish to me is like milk to a lactose intolerant person. We can deal with it if we have to but we’d suffer for it so we’re better off living without it.
So, the fact that I can sport nail art like THIS is beyond belief!
Leopard print on my nails! Doesn’t it look absolutely fascinating? Never being into nail art or nail polish, it amazed me to see my nails looking like this.
And after I tweeted it (twice, because I was so excited), I promised everyone I’d show you how I did it, because this is, I promise, the easiest thing ever! I promise!
First, you have to get yourself a box of Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips 😛
Erm… I don’t think I ever said that I did this all by myself! 😛 I had a little bit of help from Ms. Sally Hansen and the Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in 320 Kitty Kitty. Ok ok I had a LOT of help from Ms. Hansen 😛
The Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips is a kit of nail polish strips, a cuticle stick and a mini file and buffer. It also comes with very clear instructions which you will be advised to read if it is your first time.
There are 16 nail polish strips of varying sizes in 2 foil sealed packs. I believe they offer 16 because there are different sizes and they allow for mistakes in case you are over eager or clumsy. However, even this dodo only used 10 for all 10 fingers, and you’re advised to toss any unused strips in an open pack, so I felt there was a little bit of wastage there. I think it would be nice if there were 20 strips so we can use it twice. As it is, I don’t know what I’d do with the extra 6 strips.
The first step is to make sure your nails are clean and oil free. No creams or oils or water so wash your hands and dry them properly before starting. Using the dark pink side of the nail file, file your nail to your desired shape. Then, use the white side and buff it to smoothen.
They advise that you wipe some nail polish remover over your nail to ensure it is truly grease free, but I did not. Then, open up a pack of nail polish strips and pick one that fits your nail size.
I was quite gratified to find that in the main, the sizes were decent enough to fit my nails, which aren’t very wide or large. Once you identify the strip you intend to use, peel off the thick plastic cover. Then, peel off the silver strip which will come off together with the paper thin strip of nail polish.
This strip is very very thin and is liable to getting torn and stretched very easily so make sure you handle with care. Place it on your nail and smoothen it in place. What about the excess, you ask?
Fold it over your nail (having slightly longer nails when using this is probably more advisable) then use the light pink side of the nail file to gently file away the excess. If you are rough, you will pull the strip and it will look unsightly. So, be gentle. Then use the cuticle stick to gentle push the strip in place around the edges and you’re done!
Repeat for remaining 9 nails. I found it easier to start with the little finger and work my way up to my thumbs. The first one took a little while but after that, it was just a few seconds for each nail and I was done with this in about 20 minutes. You know the best thing about this? There’s no waiting time for it to dry! 😀
That’s what bugs me the most about applying nail polish. I’d apply a decent coat, and then botch it up because I’m impatient and can’t want for it to dry. Or, I can paint my left hand but not my right properly. With these nail strips, it takes all the hard work away from painting your nails, with no down times and you get perfect looking nails every single time.
Convenience comes at a price of course. In this case, each kit costs RM45.90. OUCH!! 😯
In a nutshell
Convenient nail polish strips that are easy to use and give an instantly impressive result. Once applied, they adhere well to the nail. There is a faint nail polish smell which adds to the illusion of having applied proper polish, but this is quicker without any drying time. It is however very pricey to use often.
Pros: Adheres well to the nail, Convenient, Easy to use
Cons: Pricey
On the pack, it says that these nail strips will last 10 days. I’ve had this on for a few days now, and will wear it for 10 days and let you know what I think of this claim. However, Sally Hansen recommends that you prolong the wear of these nail strips by applying their base coat and to apply a top coat over this. Having neither, I did neither so my application is as true to the instructions in the pack, as possible.
At those prohibitive prices, I cannot see myself using this very often. However, they would be fun for jazzing up an outfit, or for an instant manicure when the need arises. At least this way, I don’t have to risk a nail infection at a salon manicure (which is the reason I stopped going) and its cheaper too 🙂
Have you tried this product or anything like it? I don’t usually do nail product reviews, but this was sent to me by the people at TongueinChic.com and I just had to give it a go because it was so unique! 🙂 If you’d prefer something more DIY take a look at nail art maestro Xin’s Tiger Stripe Tigger nails.
Paris B
Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips retails at RM45.90 per kit and is available at Guardian, Parkson, Sasa and Caring Pharmacy outlets.
I love it! I’m not sure if I want to wear this to work though. I’ll go get a fun kit to try on tonight. 🙂
Hurrah! Its available there too! 😀 I don’t think anyone would notice to be honest. So far, very few people have commented on my nails – or perhaps they just don’t know what to say 😛
Holy moly I’m sooo into leopard print!! ^.^ I may get this heh heh heh.
Yes do! 😀
it’s here. i hv been waiting for this since i don’t remember when. but it’s so pricey. 🙁
Yes it is! 🙁 I would have liked to play around more but the price put me off. Still, its cheaper than a manicure – and about as much fun because you don’t have to wait for drying time 😉
Ahahahahaha… so THAT’s your secret! *wink*
It does sound like something fun to try especially if there’s an event coming up round the corner and your fave nail salon is fully booked out (like around HR/CNY time).
Haha yes sadly that’s my secret to my perfect nail art 😛
woah stylo milo!
i shall see the kitty nails on you in full glory this coming saturday! 😀
Oh yes you will! rawr!
Interesting! Pricey though… Will see how long it lasts on you. I wonder, does it chip?
So far no chips. I’m on Day 3 actually and there’s a bit of wear at the ends because I’m really careless with my nails, but its been holding up well surprisingly.
Really pretty! You rock leopard print nails! My cousin says she’ll sent me a few of these, as I haven’t seen them locally yet. 🙂
Hurray for your cousin! I hope she picks you up some nice interesting designs! 😀 Ask her for the leopard ones – you’d rock them too!
Yeah, I hope she gets some really nice ones. I saw some of their designs online, and there are plain, single color ones. What? Who wants to pay that much money for such a simple “design”? I’d rather paint my nails. (Plus I noticed my typo in my first comment, I said “sent” when I meant “send”. Whoops!)
Haha yes! I saw the Sephora ones and they are all plain and I wondered why anyone would bother when they can just as easily paint their nails 🙂 The french manicure ones looked interesting though. I wonder how that would work though 🙂
Just thought I’d say that local Sephora has these too (just not in the crazy prints) that I tried for free at their recent event. It probably would last me more than a few days if I didn’t have itchy fingers and started picking at them after that.
I wouldn’t want to get these if it means doing it myself because I’m just lazy that way.
Hey Synical, incidentally, I happened to pop into Sephora this morning and I saw the Sephora version! 😀 They only come in plain designs and cost RM35 for 16 which is slightly cheaper than the Sally Hansen ones but still pricey 🙁 They do promise 11 days though vs Sally’s 10 days LOL!
Ouch it is pricy! I was looking at in Guardian the other day. I think people will comes out with dupe soon and the price will drop, hopefully. 😉
I’m sure there are dupes around – Sephora has them for RM35 a kit but I’m not sure if they have the files etc. They might. I’m not familiar with others though. I’m not much of a nail girl 😛
Aha! Secret is now revealed 🙂 Those do look pretty nifty!
Haha clearly no one believed I could manage this by myself 😛
I am not a huge fan of nail polish either! I HAVE to try this! It’s even better than polish and a great selection of styles!! 🙂 Love the leopard one!
Yes indeed! Its way better than polish because I really hate the drying time and people get impressed with you for your awesome looking nails 😉 Just don’t tell them you didn’t do it yourself 😉
*rawwrrr*…price is a bit ouch, but I think I might still give it a try…pity abt the odd number of strips though.
Yes yes should give it a go, and I cannot understand why they could not just give 10 or even 12 and drop the price a little. Less wastage, more sales!
Oooh Imma get meself one of these to play with tonight! 😀
Can’t wait to see which design you choose – make it something exciting!
LOL!!! You got me there PB!!! I seriously thought you were super humble about not being able to do nail art, as for a first timer (obviously this looks perfect!) I hate you for lying! hahahhahahah I love the nails though, I can’t imagine someone so sweet, gentle would sport this nail art design..well..don’t judge me, I haven’t met you in person! We’ll see after october LOL
I did didn’t I? 😉 I didn’t lie though – I didn’t say I painted my nails hehe… And you’d be surprised in Oct Nikki! I’m no kitty cat! 😉
That is SO gorgeous!!! Do they have tiger prints?
I’m not sure GT – Tiger prints would be super cool!
Your nails look so great! I am too lazy to normally do my nails, even though I love looking at pictures of people’s nails. I still haven’t tried these Sally Hansen nail strips, but when I do, I will definitely try the leopard ones (and the glitter, and the houndstooth ones!)
I don’t like polish on my nails at the best of times, so these are really handy for a spot of quick fun 🙂
Ooh so pretty and it looks easy enough for clumsy me to manage! =p
If I can do it, so can you! Go play! 😀 Oh wait, I read Sally Hansen didn’t bring these into the UK – or I might be mistaken.
Nevermind! I’ll drop by Boots and have a look! =p
I will have to give these a try! Not A Rich Girl is also sporting these – I think they are much cheaper in the States!
Are they available in the UK then Jamilla? I think I saw the BritishBeautyBlogger saying they weren’t… or I might be mistaken.
Loooove the leopard prints!!! I’ve never tried nail polish strips before. I’ve some samples from Sephora which I’m yet to try out.
Perhaps those who already enjoy painting nails may not enjoy the idiot-proof application of these strips hehe… but do give the Sephora ones a go and see how they fare. I saw them here too 🙂
That is so pretty! Would love to give it a try too!
I hope you find these in Italy too Gio!