That being said with all the great patterns that even on my best nail art days I couldn't create, and I was great at nail art, I started taking a more serious look at the polish strips. I once painted a copy Van Gogh's Sunflowers in Arles on one hand and Starry Nights on another for a women going to a Van Gogh exhibit opening. Pictures of those nails turned up in Vogue, Vanity Fair, and W the following month, so I'm not going to be impressed with some stripes and lines. Sally Hansen had the most fun patterns and prints of any of the brands in the drugstore, but I still wasn't convinced enough to spend the money. Then one day on the way to a meeting I broke a nail and it chipped the polish so badly that I needed something quick to fix it. I grabbed some of the regular polish strips stuck one on and voila. No one noticed my yucky nail. That polish strip ended up outlasting the polish I had on, so I thought I'd look a bit deeper.
My next trip drugstore I saw the Salon Insta Gel Strips, and thought I'd give them a try. Since I have the CND Shellac and the UV light from that I decided to use that instead of purchasing the Sally Hansen mini light. I also used 2 coats of the CND top coat instead of the one that came with it. The strips stayed perfect looking for about 2 weeks, ad even with the professional remover and remover strips these were virtually impossible to get off my nails. I had to wrap them for double the usual time.
If you're really into nail art or the cool polish colors, I suggest upgrading to a better UV light, and top coat.
I will definitely be buying them again. They saved me a ton of time, and the color was really pretty. You do have to spend the time getting them on properly, and stretching them just a little to make sure they're taut on the nail then rub, rub, rub, until they are smooth.
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Overall impression: Lasts slightly longer than a regular mani, but nothing like a real gel one.Pros: Easy to do, especially if you aren't good with clean lines. Looks nice while it lasts. Easier to remove than a real gel manicure. Not messy. Price. If your nails aren't too long, you can actually use 1 strip on two nails.
Cons: LED has a short and doesn't stay on. Peels slightly about a week in. CAN chip, even with a few top coats.
I think this is an instance of "You get what you pay for". I would have given them 3 stars (maybe even 4), but the lamp doesn't stay on consistently. This is a real problem since you can only put one finger in at a time. You can fix the peeling by filing it a bit and applying another clear coat. However, the chipping (which isn't terribly frequent) just is what it is.
