REVIEW: SALLY HANSEN POLISH STRIPS

Hi guys! Today I'm going to do a review of Sally Hansen's Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. Being a self-confessed manicure snob (check out my review on Shellac here), I had been curious about this product for a while. Easy application, flawless finish and hard-as-nails durability all in one go? It seemed too good to be true, so I decided to test them out myself. I chose a light pink-nude colour (I'm a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to nail colour) called Tu Tu Much for my test run. Here are the results:

Application: The first strip that I applied to my nail was a bit of a learning curve and I ended up removing it and trying again. In theory, the application is very simple. All you have to do is peel off the backing and stick the strip onto your nails. In reality, it takes a bit more maneuvering. The strips are very thin, so I found that the hardest part was lining the bottom of the strip up with the base of your nail without ripping the polish. That said, filing off the top of the strip is super quick and easy. In all honesty, it's probably just as much hassle as painting on nail polish the old-fashioned way.
Score out of 10: 4

Finish: The biggest disappointment with this product was definitely the finish. The reason that I love salon manicures and Shellac is because the finish is smooth and glossy (almost wet-looking) even after it's dry. From far away the polish strips look glossy and smooth, but upon closer inspection you can see all sorts of little bubbles and tears. Although, I do think that the poopy finish might have to do more with my colour choice than the product as a whole. The strips were an opaque pink in the package, but once I peeled off the backing, the colour was completely translucent. I tried adding a second layer, but the finish was still so-so. I would definitely recommend sticking to the patterned strips if you are going to use this product. They look much more opaque.
Score out of 10: 2

Durability: What this product lacks in finish, it certainly makes up for in durability. So far, I've been wearing the polish strips for three days and they still look exactly the same as they did when I applied them. I have typed endlessly on the computer, beaten them up on a waitressing shift and washed my hands repeatedly with little to no effect. While they do have little bubbles and tears, those were there when I applied them.
Score out of 10: 10

Colour Selection: I think the main attraction of this product is all of the crazy patterns that you can get. I did a bit of research to see if anyone else had trouble applying them and it seems that the patterned strips work much better than plain coloured ones. If that's true, then they have a very wide range of patterned polish strips to choose from and - as long as you steer clear of the solid strips - you'll have plenty of selection. To see the whole range of colours and patterns, click here.
Score out of 10: 7

Price: The cost of one package of nail strips here in Canada is usually around $10, but I purchased them on sale for $7.99. The package gives you 16 nail strips of varying sizes, which is enough to do one complete manicure. Even if you bought two packages, the different sizes mean that you wouldn't necessarily be able to do three complete manicures. So while they are slightly more affordable than paying for a professional manicure (which can range anywhere from $5 to $30), they aren't really cost effective unless you buy them on sale.
Score out of 10: 6

OVERALL SCORE: 60% (C-)

Have a great weekend everyone!
Talk soon,
Vi