Nails by Vicky: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Demo

This demo is for all of those people who have wanted to try Sally Hansen Salon Effects (drugstores), but are not sure how to go about doing them to get the best possible outcome. I will be following the instructions given in the product:

To keep what I tell you and what the instructions tell you separate the instructions will be highlighted like this: instructions. I hope the tips and tricks I give you in this demo help when you decide to try these out!

In the box you receive everything you need to apply the strips: the polish strips themselves, a wooden stick, a small file, and the instructions. Also included in the photo above is a bottle of top coat.

TIP: I was given a tip by another nail art enthusiast who had recently tried the same product and she found that they stayed on longer when you applied a top coat. I can also report that this did in fact work! I would say that they stayed on for a lot longer than the 10 day maximum that they are said to have lasted.

The design I bought was called Peppermint Twist. It is a very versatile pattern! I actually used this pattern for a dance that was very close to Valentine’s Day.

The instructions given start out with the preparation this includes:

            Start with clean, dry nails.

            Push back cuticles with wooden stick.

            Shape free edge of nail with hot pink side of file.

            Gently smooth surface of nails with white side of file.

            Given nails one last swipe of nail color remover to remove any excess dirt & oil. (This step is extremely important as it helps your manicure last longer.) Ensure there is no creamy or oily residue left behind.

            Use warm hands for maximum flexibility and stretch.

There is not much to talk about with these steps however I would like to stress the importance of the fifth step. DON’T FORGET TO DO ONE LAST SWIPE OF NAIL POLISH REMOVER BEFORE APPLYING THE STRIPS! A friend of mine forgot to do this and had a hard time keeping the strips on her nails. It may seem like a very simple and non-important step but it can mean the difference between a perfect nail day and a not so perfect nail day.

After the all-important preparation comes the actual steps for applying the strips.

1. Select best-fitting strip for each nail.

TIP: Select the strip that is just a little bit bigger than your actual nail. This helps the strip apply better to the nail. Also even if when applying you find out that the strip is just a little too big you have the ability to cut off the excess that you do not want with the wooden stick.

2. Remove clear protective plastic cover, then peel nail polish strip from backing paper.

3.Choose the side of the strip that best fits the shape of your cuticles. Break silver tab from strip.

TIP: I have a tip from Heather, the Lipstick Zombie herself! To get more than one use out of the nail strips, you can cut the strips in half. This helps give you both maximum control when placing the strips on your nails and gives you more strips to use the same style twice!

4. Place strip against cuticle line. Hold strip at the center for maximum control.

             Press strip to nail. Gently stretch strip for a perfect fit. Firmly smooth over entire nail.

             Run flat side of cuticle stick along edge of strip to firmly bond strip to nail.

              

         

       

                I found all of these instructions fairly easy to understand and follow. However, the tip they give about stretching the strip confused me and I found no need to do this since the strip was always much longer than my nail. Also the second tip, about running the cuticle stick (wooden stick) along the edge, I found to be extremely important. It definitely helps the strip bond to the nail and if the strip is a little larger than your nail you have the ability at this point to very carefully cut off the excess using the wooden stick. 

      5. Smooth excess over nail edge, forming a crease around the edge of the nail. Gently file away excess from nail edge using light pink side of file.

                TIP: When filing away the excess I found it easier to bend the ending part around my finger so that it surrounded the end of my finger. This allowed me to easily file directly against my nail and it made a clean break.

Repeat steps 2-5 for each nail, applying to thumbs last

To remove strips use nail color remover.

      After applying the top coat (I used Out the Door which can be bought in beauty supply stores or amazon), this is what my nails looked like when finished: