NOTD+Sally Hansen Salon effects Review

A while back while I was in a discount store I picked up a box of the Sally Hansen Salon effects real nail polish strips. I finally got around to applying them today, and I thought I would share with you my experience with them, and show you the finished product.

I bought the nail polish strips in the color How Romantic! These are a mosaic design with different shades of pink. I think I remember these particular ones coming out around Valentine's Day. The design isn't exactly fall appropriate, which is probably why I scored these for 2 dollars. Still, I like the look of them, and wanted to try them out.

The box comes with two separate foil packets that each contain 8 nail polish strips. Before I even began this manicure I decided that I was going to use the nail polish strips as accent nails, that way I could get two manicures out of one box of strips. (I ended up using 6 of the 8 strips, and I used NYC nail polish in Fuchsia shock on the other nails- it matches these strips perfectly!)Plus, I figured if I messed it up too badly, I would get another shot at it. The package also includes a wooden stick for pushing back your cuticles and a little file that is used to shape your nails and remove the excess nail polish strip when you are putting them on.


The packaging tells you to make sure that you have clean nails and then to pick the polish strip that will best fit your nail. Ok, so far so good I had no problems with this step. I was able to find polish strips that would work for each of the nails I wanted to use them on. Then it tells you to peel off the clear protective plastic cover. Again, no problems. Then it tells you to peel the nail polish strip from the backing paper. Here's where I encountered my first issue.

Some of the strips came right off the paper backing no trouble at all. Others were stuck tight to it. I don't know if it's because this is an older design, or because I didn't use it right away after I bought it, but I really struggled to get the paper backing off some of the strips. Because of that, the pattern on some of the strips got a bit distorted. It wasn't too bad, but it was the first hiccup I had with applying these.

After you have the nail polish strip off the backing it tells you to break the silver tab off the strip. Here's where I had problem number two. When I did that to the very first one I managed to rip the nail polish strip right in half. Luckily it ripped in a place that I was still able to use it, but still. I was much more careful after that.

Then, it tells you to place strip against the cuticle line, hold strip at center and press the nail strip to the nail, gently stretching the strip to fit. Well, once again I had issues. I had a hard time getting the pattern straight on my nails, and when I stretched the strip to fit, it again distorted the pattern. So with the other strips, to avoid distorting the pattern, I didn't stretch the strip, which then led to bare spots on my nails.

Overall, as you can probably tell, I had a hard time putting these things on. I think it's just because it was my first time, but still. Had I paid full price for these I have seen them in the stores for anywhere between 8 and 10 dollars) I would have been tremendously upset at the results of this manicure. Because I only paid two dollars, I am not too heart broken. For my first experience with these nail strips, I have to say I am not impressed. I still have 6 strips left to try, and I will give those a shot providing that the strips I have on now last. I have a feeling that the first time I stick my hands in dishwater these will peel right off.

So, while I love the idea behind these, I doubt very much if I will be purchasing these again. For the price, these just simply aren't easy enough to work with. Perhaps others would enjoy these and not have the same issues with application that I did, but for me, it's just not worth the trouble. Unless I see a design I absolutely cannot pass up, I will be skipping these from now on!

Sally Hansen Salon effects nail strips in How Romantic!
 and NYC Fuchsia Shock on the other nails

you can see the gaps where the nail polish strip didn't line up right,
 and I didn't want to stretch it and distort the image further

Have you tried the Sally Hansen Salon effects nail polish strips? What was your experience with them? did I just get a bad batch, or did I do something wrong? Leave me a comment down below and let me know! Thanks for reading!