Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips Twinkle Bell

This is my conference mani. Not crazy, but not boring either. Twinkle Bell is a LE strip and is part of the SH Spring 2012 collection. I love the metallic pearly finish with a good amount of small and medium silver hex glitter.

These strips wear like iron for me with no base or top coat. I usually get bored and take them off before they wear too badly. This set me back about $9, and I’ve heard folks complain about the cost. My thoughts? They wear longer than a salon manicure, and $9 is much less to pay for some awesome nail art (admittedly not with this particular choice) than having someone at a salon. And some of us really suck at nail art. :)

I ended up getting a full 7 days of wear without a chip. Since Tropical Storm Debby conflicted with any sun or after conference fun, there really wasn't anything I did to warrant wear. :( I got totally bored with this mani, so I stopped in Walgreens one morning on my way to conference sessions and bought Essie Bikini So Teeny, so expect a post on that one soon!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Plaid for You

I was texting Abbie an realized that I haven't written a post about this pattern! I was thinking it was a red and green plaid, but it's really red and black. Wear time has been better with this set than Snow Bunny, but I'm not going to make it 10 days. My nails must be growing really fast. I've got to take them off, because it's driving me nuts!

ETA (12/29/2011):

Removal on this one was so weird. The black came off in rubbery pieces that lodged into the sides of my nails and had to be picked out with a toothpick and orange stick. I had to use pure acetone. Blech. I'm wearing Prep's Cool now and am kinda dreading taking it off.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Snow Bunny

I'm going to try to make it through all of December with only my Salon Effects. This is the first set, Snow Bunny. I had a different picture ready to go, but couldn't not use the one with Kitty in the background!
As per usual, the strips are easy to apply. I used some cuticle remove first, because that is usually where I get the first bits of the sticker lifting from the nail. This set seemed more thin than usual, and the end of the supplied cuticle pusher was pretty rounded, so I got some irregular tears near my cuticles.
I wasn't as excited about this pattern as I thought I would be at first, but it's really grown on me and I've gotten some fantastic compliments! Next up will be the green and red tartan plaid.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Spun for You

I love these things! My friend gifted them to me and they turned out fabulously. Sadly, I broke a nail after wearing them for 3 days. :( I was able to carefully trim all my nails down to the same length and save the mani.

I have gotten so many compliments on these! The kids at work absolutely love them. After 3 days I had only minimal tip wear, but after filing down, tip wear is gone!

I got a Nails Inc haul from Sephora, but am patiently waiting until the strips get worn (10-14 days usually) to swatch them.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Misbehaved

When your cat works it, how can you resist? He lays like that and I want to rub my face in his soft, fat belly. But, if I did, he'd eat my face off. Vinny is not nearly as snuggly as he looks. :(

Okay, the nails. The fabulous, fabulous nails. I applied them Wednesday night (very simple, btw), and on Saturday, the only difference at all is the growth. They haven't started to peel or chip at all. I didn't get the decal all the way to the edge of a few of my nails, and I can feel a definite ridge. No need for a basecoat or topcoat. Just the decal. I've gotten comments ranging from "Is that Minx?" to "Oh my! Those look great! How did you do it?" That last comment was from a dude. A very hetero dude. :)

Plenty of folks have scoffed at the cost. I've seen them available at CVS and Walgreens for $9.99, and at Walmart for $8.50. I also found a $2 off coupon at redplum.com (good through 3/31). There are 16 strips in each kit and my nails are short enough that I cut each strip in half. So, I am able to get them for $3.25 a manicure. Much better than $10. I went back and get "Cut It Out" today. I'm excited to see how it comes out.