NotD | Aflorable Nails

 Sally Hansen has been releasing some cool nail products lately especially with their Miracle Gel polishes. I found their Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips when I was cleaning out my makeup drawers and thought I should give it a go. I have used this product a couple of other times but it was a while ago.

Nail wraps have been around for a few years now. They are meant to be the quick alternative for cool nail art instead of painting them yourself. I used the design Aflorable which is a cute name for this springy red and green look. I actually think this product is being phased out as I can't find much information on their website or on Priceline's site. I may have bought this from a bargain bin but I can't remember. This product comes with 16 different sized nail wraps, a cuticle stick, a nail file and an instruction pamphlet.

 I had to prep my nails before using these nail wraps. To do this, I had to remove the existing polish from my nails, push back the cuticles, shape the nails and give them a little buff. Then I gave the surface of the nails another wipe with nail polish remover to get rid of any left over dirt and oil.

The kit provides two sets of eight nail wraps and are meant to fit every sized nail. To use the wraps, one is picked that closely match the nail, the clear protective wrap is removed and then the polish strip is peeled off the backing. The end of the strip is picked that fits the nail and the silver tab is removed. The strip is placed over the nail, starting at the cuticle and gently stretched to and over the nail tip, pressing gently. Finally, the excess strip is filed away.

I must have some weird sized nails as some didn't quite matchup. My troubles didn't stop there... I tried following the instructions which seemed easy enough but my first, second, third AND fourth attempt failed! Some of the wraps didn't peel away from the plastic cover and others got stuck to everywhere except on my nail! So I wasted four wraps (that matched my nails) before I got the hang of it. The wraps that were too big for my nails were easily fixed after placing them on the nails by using the cuticle stick to cut away the excess. If you have different shaped/sized nail beds, then you may run into some troubles (I have one nail that is oddly shaped). The wraps were very flexible and stretchy and bubbles were easy smoothed out. They also don't need a top coat and can be removed with nail polish remover.

The application process took longer than I thought but once I finally got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. I know I definitely cannot paint this design on myself! I remember seeing lots of cool designs from this range but I'm not sure if they're around much anymore. They are said to last for up to ten days and as I'm writing this, I have had them on for a week. There's the usual tip wearing and some fine cracks developing but no chips! I think the design hides it well. I'm quite impressed with the lasting power of these strips! Time to try another nail product!

Have you tried nail wraps before?