Beauty Bit: Flower Power

As a self-admitted beauty junkie, I just love beauty products, shopping for beauty products, talking about beauty products, blogging about beauty products, spending a whole afternoon organizing them and trying them all on at once -- did I just share too much?  Darn-it! They just have such a hold on me!  And after spending the first 10 years of my career working for numerous beauty lines and in some of the best department stores in the world, that fire was just fanned over and over and over.......

So while running my afternoon errands (shopping for frivolous and unnecessary things), I decided to forego the nail salon today and, get ready......wait for it........ try to do my nails myself! Oh the horror.  But since I have the patience of a 2 year old and the dexterity of one, I opted out of painting them and decided to try out the Sally Hansen salon effect nail polish strips.

I found this super cute pattern called Girl Flower - which has this 70's psychedelic feel and seemed to scream "PARTY ON MY NAILS".  So I headed home with my latest "fix" and decided to give it a try immediately (like an addict can ever wait).  They seemed easy enough and the box said that there was "no dry time" and lasted for "up to 10 days".  The box contains all the tools that you will need - small orange stick for cuticle maintenance, emory board with a side for buffing and then 16 nail polish strips (a few extra for those of us that probably will not get it on the first try). 

I cleaned my nails, washed my hands and met my challenge head on!  Surpisingly, as they claimed, the strips were very easy to apply and adhered immediately to my nails.  Once they adhere to the nail, you need to file off the excess strip.  This is where I found it slightly difficult, and struggled to avoid chipping or wrinkling the strip.  But after you get one or two fingers done, the process gets easier......for my left hand that is.  I breezed through the strips on my left hand and then stopped, realizing the daunting task of doing my right hand was still before me.  At this point I contemplated just throwing in the towel and starting a new trend.  But they looked so darn cute that I just had to finish.  So it took me a little longer, but both hands got done and looked super cute. 



Everything you need

The pattern was whimsical and fun - and all under 15 minutes.  My only caveat is that the strips can be slightly jagged at the end of the nail so file/buff carefully to smooth down as much as possible. They cost $10.99 and provide a great alternative to basic nail colors, and a more affordable alternative to Minx nails.  I want to see how they hold up and if they truly last 10 days - stay tuned!  But for now - I have satiated my beauty fix.  My name is Maree and I am a beauty addict......who after today has adorable nails.

Bits of love,

Maree