DIY Nail Art Made Simple

As a self-proclaimed nail polish junkie, I’ll admit I was skeptical when I started seeing commercials about Sally Hansen’s new line of nail polish strips. For years I’ve battled stressful days by breaking out the bottle (of nail polish!) and I’ve never been a fan of press-on nails or nail salons, so any DIY tricks are great for me. But after seeing the lace and leopard patterned kits, I broke down and bought the “Skinny Jeans” strips (the others were sold out—a good sign?).
They’re a little pricey at $10 a box, but it’s still far less than you’d be paying at a salon for a similar effect. Plus, you get a cuticle stick and a mini nail file to help with the process. Here are a few tips to ensure a perfectly printed nail:

1. Before beginning the process, I recommend pushing cuticles back and doing any other necessary nail grooming, but don’t clip them too short (see step 5).
2. In the package you’ll find two separate sealed containers with eight nail strips each. I was a little perturbed at seeing this as I, like most other women, have 10 fingers. They are long enough, however, that a couple of the strips can be used twice.
3. Be sure to use the wooden stick to smooth them down completely!
4. After filing them down, I gave the ends of my nails a little snip with my fingernail clippers for a nice smooth edge (the nail file roughed them up a bit).
5. Lastly, do all your nails in one go. You’ll have to pitch the nail strips that are opened and unused—unfortunately, they can’t be used again.

While the nail strips still have the acetone-y smell of bottled nail polish, they didn’t require any dry time. And with the unavoidable exception of a couple of tiny bumps due to my curved nails (hardly visible with the denim pattern) they didn’t mess up at all. It took me about 10 minutes to apply the strips to both hands, and they’re still looking great a week later.
I’ll never be able to give up the bottle, but the nail strips were undoubtedly a success.
Would you ever consider wearing Sally Hansen Real Nail Polish Strips? If so, in what shade/pattern?