Enjoy!

The website describes these benefits:

• Lasts up to 10 days
• Removes easily with nail polish remover
• 24 fashion-forward styles

Plus, there’s no drying time so that should be awesome.

The package, however, is kind of demanding. Remove any polish, buff, run another coat of polish remover just in case.  I did all that. Then, as described, picked the strip that best matched my nail. Yea, if you’ve ever used fake nails then you know you’re going to run into some issue. I guess, in the case of the nail polish strips, you should go for a strip that’s a little larger to be sure you can cover your nail and cut off the rest.

After pulling of protective plastic (more plastic?!) from the top of the strip, you get to tear off the application tab and remove the protective paper from the sticky side. Align it with your nail, stretch as you rub it on and you’re supposed to use one side of the file/buffer to make it “bond” to the nail and then, after pulling the strip over your nail to create a crease, use the edge to file off the remaining strip. It makes sense, in theory, but works so much less efficiently in practice.It wasn’t until my last few fingers that I realized I could save time and effort by simply rubbing/pressing the strips down with my fingers, rather than using the provided buffer.  Plus, I didn’t find the stretching to help all that much but perhaps I should have been a little more rough. The biggest issue I experienced was that the nail polish strips did not file off very easily, at the edge of my nails. The edges would up pretty ragged, sometimes too long and sometimes too short. This results in my manicure looking something like I had already worn it a couple days. I found myself wishing I had nail polish to touch up the edges.. but Salon Effects – Real Nail Polish Strips just don’t work that way.

After 30 minutes, my manicure was finally done. was impressed by a few facts

• The nail polish goes on evenly and smoothly. When I use traditional polish, I tend to use too much and it winds up clumpy.
• The strips give you a vibrant color in one application. I like to wear black but that always requires a a couple layers, which doesn’t help the clumpy problem. The “Blue Ice” shade was gorgeous!
• It wasn’t messy and you don’t have to worry about spills
• While the strips do smell like nail polish, the smell isn’t as strong. This is great if you’re sensitive to smells.
• I was able to pull off a strip and re-align if I messed up.

However, while the strips stuck well to the center of my nails, they were ragged at the tips and just didn’t stick well around the edges, despite having pushed my cuticles back. Aligning was difficult, even if I pulled off and tried to start it over. It proved difficult to cover the whole nail and the strips were sometimes just too small or just too large. When the strips extended over my cuticles, I found it difficult to remove the excess polish.

There were some obvious places where the strips didn’t stick, especially around edges. In the next couple days, small pieces tore off and, after a week or so, three nails had some serious (1/3 or more) tearage so I set to remove the polish. Now, up until then, I had blamed a lot of my problem on user error/learning curve and I was excited to try my next set of Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips.

That was until it took me 20 freaking minutes to scrub the stuff of my nails. I have never had to work so hard or use so many supplies (cotton balls and polish remover) to remove nail polish. If I get carpal tunnel, I’m suing the company. I jest about the last part but, man, was it a pain. I would not like to participate in that activity.

In the end, I didn’t get eight flawless days of manicure ad the removal process is such a pain that, even if my nails hadn’t decided to go on a breakage train, I wouldn’t be up to trying it again just yet. If I had, I’d say this is definitely a product you should purchase, especially in comparison to the price of going to a salon. The strips have some pretty cool patterns and designs that you just cannot easily achieve with traditional polish and I’m not artist. However, at around $10, I would skip this product if you just want a solid shade. It’s so much more economical to buy a whole bottle of your favorite nail polish.

If you’re interested, one of my lucky readers is going to have the chance to try out some Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips for her–or his–self. I was sent so many boxes that I have three to give away to one lucky reader: Booty Camp (pink cammo), Cry Baby (pink) and Squeezed (tangerine).

This giveaway will remain open for two weeks. To gain entries in that time period, post one comment for each of the following:

• Tell me what your typical nail/manicure routine consists of–Mandatory
• Follow me on Twitter–@anaesthetic
• Add a link to a blog post about this giveaway (must include a link to the direct post)
• Add my blog to your Delicious favorites (leave a link to your profile)
• Like this post on Facebook
• Add this post to StumbleUpon or Digg
• A link to a Twitter post about this giveaway (once per day) such as: Win three Sally Hansen Real Nail Polish Strips from @anaesthetic. Visit Reviews by Cole to enter the #giveaway: http://reviewsbycole.com/2011/07/sally-hansen-nail-polish-strips-reviews-and-giveaway Ends 8/02

This giveaway is open to anyone within the USA, UK, Canada or Australia!

Sally Hansen Complete Care 4-N-1 Extra Moisturizer Treatment comes in a typical nail polish bottle. While the polish is clear, the square bottle itself has a pink gradient on it which gives it a slightly prismatic look. If you picked up a blue bottle instead, it does not have the extra moisturizer in it and is the regular formula. I do not know if it might be more drying and, as I don’t even know how to tell if my nails are dry, all I can say is this formula seems to work well enough.

The bottle comes in typical Sally Hansen packaging and is surrounded by mirror-esque cardboard. In some pictures, this makes it look like there are several bottles in the package but this 4 in 1 product is, indeed, only 1 bottle. For some, a price of upwards of $10 will be too much to pay but I think the results really paid off for me.

This nail polish can be used in one of two ways. As a base coat, it fills in cracks and crevices to smooth your nails. Apply another coat, then a coloured polish and finish off with Sally Hansen Complete as a top coat for a super classy 4 layer polish. If you only desire to use it as a clear coat, apply two coats of the polish. Because I do not wear much nail polish, I opted for the latter option and applied two coats.

The polish is thicker than it is thin and it doesn’t seem to take too much to cover a nail. It’s easy to apply and dries fairly fast but you should be mindful of your nails when drying. Sally Hansen Complete Care 4-N-1 Extra Moisturizer Treatment definitely adds gloss, even when just used as a clear coat and I love the shine of my nails. Physically, they feel pretty smooth but almost any polish does make my nails feel smoother. However, I do notice that the tips of my nails do not get quite as jagged so quickly so I’ve only really needed to file them once or twice in about a month.

The real promise of this nail care product is that it does promote nail growth. Most of mine are longer than they have been in years. The strengthening properties are also easily recognizable. One of the main reasons I cannot keep long nails is that, the longer they grow, the more they crack and peel. Cracking and peeling are virtually things of the past now that I am using Sally Hansen Complete Care 4-N-1 Extra Moisturizer Treatment and my longer nails have stayed that way.

I have had 2 nails break off since I began using this product; however, it was not a total break and they regrew fairly quickly. I have had a small crack in one of my nails for some time now but the polish has prevented it from breaking entirely. It does seem as though my nails grew more quickly in the first week or so of using this product which is to be expected from the “30% longer nails in 5 days” advertising claim. The growth is slower and less noticeable at this point but my nails are at a point where they don’t look as stubby as before, so that’s fine by me.

If I have one complaint with Sally Hansen’s 4 in 1 Nail Treatment, it is that it is nail polish and, as such, will chip and peel eventually. If you’re like me, then the tips of your nails will receive the most damage and sometimes in a shockingly quick time period after painting them. While it is easy to apply just a bit of polish to patch up those chips once or twice, I found that the entire nail should be stripped and repainted after that, so that it looks the best. Otherwise, you’ll just be covering up the bubbling and cracking of the old polish which new and that is simply not attractive. Folks who do not impose any stress on their hands might find they do not need to do this frequently. The areas on my nails which do not usually come in contact with anything do look pretty good and the nail polish is resilient there. However, working inside or outside the home will certainly shorten the life of your nail polish and you may have to take it all off and reapply once or twice a week. Maybe that’s normal for some; although, I find it a bit annoying.

However, it’s a small price to pay for a product which has shown me big results. Although, I have been using it pretty regularly, I am surprised at how long Sally Hansen Complete Care 4-N-1 Extra Moisturizer Treatment has seemed to last and would probably buy it again.

In reality, I am not a fan of sandals or even open toes shoes because I don’t like my feet. Partly due to the fact that feet look, well, just weird and partly due to my feet having stubborn calluses as a result of many years running around outside barefoot.

However, I am always looking to remedy the latter issue and I’ve used several foot care products in the search of the “one” that will leave my feet silky soft and ‘smooth. I’ve used foot files, buffers and pumice stones along with various lotions to achieve varying results.

Pumice stones are one of the older methods of softening and smooth hard and dry calluses on feet. They’re pretty straight forward; it’s a stone made out of pumice. Sometimes they’re called “pumice sticks” when a handle is attached and sometimes they come with a brush or file attached to do multiple duties. Sometimes it comes in pretty colours or shapes and sometimes it looks like a lump of grey rock because, oh wait, that’s what pumice is (“a porous or spongy form of volcanic glass, used as an abrasive”). Pumice stones are natural and can be used as part of a green lifestyle!

I’ve used one from Avon Foot Works attached to a handle and had little luck. Part of achieving good luck with pumice stones is finding a stone that is rough enough and that product just wasn’t. The other factor in good exfoliation is effort applied to the stone itself which might be a little easier to do without a handle though this may possibly be rough on the hands where skin is not callused.

I picked up my favourite stone from date in the dollar bin at the local store. (It was mislabeled and came up $2, though, humph!) It was a round stone with two sides and no handle, one the typical gray and the other yellow and was labeled “silver and gold.” The ‘silver’ was intended for abrasive exfoliating and the ‘gold’ was intended for moisturizing afterward even though it seemed to be pretty much the same as the other side. Despite its cheap packaging and price, it worked wonders (until breaking in my luggage on vacation!) and made me feet feel much softer and smoother. As it was a no name item, I have yet to find it again.

On the other hand, foot files are man-made, almost always have a handle and usually have 2 sides: 1 for abrasive filing and one for smooth buffing. Sometimes the files are metal, plastic, emery or even glass with have a sand-paper like look and feel.. I’ve used several, usually drug or dollar store brands, but not to much avail. It seems that pumice stones do a better job for me but, again, that may be because I’m not a fan of the handle. Also, foot files often have a finer grain than pumice stones.

Overall, I prefer the stones to the file because the stones do the work for you. Top it off with a daily lotion like Suave Skin Therapy Advanced Therapy lotion, and calluses will be greatly improved!

So, my recommendation? Avon Foot Works Sloughing Cream and Intensive Callus Cream work well together but for a less messy and easily attainable solution, the classic pumice stone with lotion also works well.

In reality, I am not a fan of sandals or even open toes shoes because I don’t like my feet. Partly due to the fact that feet look, well, just weird and partly due to my feet having stubborn calluses as a result of many years running around outside barefoot.

However, I am always looking to remedy the latter issue and I’ve used several foot care products in the search of the “one” that will leave my feet silky soft and smooth. I’ve used Avon Foot Works Sloughing Cream as in-the-shower treatment along with Avon Foot Works Intensive Callus Cream with mixed results. Avon is a big name in the make up and cosmetics industry and is relatively affordable but is usually seen as a step above drug store cosmetics.

I remember fondly, the Avon Foot Works Sloughing Cream working well on my callused feet even if it was a little messy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work quite as well some years later, probably do to the calluses on my feet worsening over time.

Instructions read that one should use on dry feet after soaking them in Avon’s Condition Foot Soak, then, massage the area until flaky rough, dead skin wash away. I skip the foot soak step but using after a bath or shower would probably help the effectiveness of this product.

After applying the Sloughing Cream which contains rough, abrasive particles, I let it sit and then ‘massaged’ the sloughing cream into my feet. Let me say that massage is misleading; a rough rub is what one should shoot for to make this most effective. In doing so, I was able to see the dead skin actually rub right off. It also made my hands much softer. However, be aware of sores or cuts, especially tiny ones like papercuts, which will become irritated by the rough particles on the Foot Works Sloughing Cream.

Even after 1 application, my feet were notably softer and smoother. Note that using the product on wet feet or in the shower nullifies most of the effects. Water reduces the friction which actually causes the dead, dry skin to rub off.

I follow up with Avon’s Foot Works Intensive Callus Cream which is, unlike lotions, extremely greasy in application and has a very strong mint scent (the sloughing cream has a slight minty smell but it’s almost hard to notice). Unfortunately for me, I don’t like to feel greasy or to smell mint but it does make my freshly sloughed feet feel even smoother and softer!

There’s good news, though. Avon has seems to be developing Watermelon scented Foot Works products as an alternative. I will probably look into the Watermelon Exfoliating Foot Scrub or the Foot Works Exfoliating Bar Soap which should be less mess and usable in the shower, to replace the Sloughing Cream in the future. I hope they expand this line because Avon’s Foot Works product really do work!

In reality, I am not a fan of sandals or even open toes shoes because I don’t like my feet. Partly due to the fact that feet look, well, just weird and partly due to my feet having stubborn calluses as a result of many years running around outside barefoot.

However, I am always looking to remedy the latter issue and I’ve used several foot care products in the search of the “one” that will leave my feet silky soft and smooth. I’ve also foot files, buffers and pumice stones along with various lotions to achieve varying results.

Sometime before I happened upon the Sally Hansen Callus Remover, I tried Avon’s callus buffer, the predecessor of its Foot Works Electronic Callus Smoother with Interchangeable Heads. This was a little machine that looked much like a miniature drill with flat, metal bits instead of, say, a phillips. I didn’t find that the buffer did much at all, even with a head for rough, medium and light calluses. It might have even worked better as a personal massager if I hadn’t been so grossed out by the fact that it had been on my feet!

However, the modern version has only 1 head for the toughest calluses, a pumice head for medium and a nylon brush for gentle cleaning. I still suspect traditional pumice would be more effective than nickel and steel but the new Foot Works Electronic Callus Smoother seems like a worthy upgrade!

In reality, I am not a fan of sandals or even open toes shoes because I don’t like my feet. Partly due to the fact that feet look, well, just weird and partly due to my feet having stubborn calluses as a result of many years running around outside barefoot.

However, I am always looking to remedy the latter issue and I’ve used several foot care products in the search of the “one” that will leave my feet silky soft and smooth. I’ve used both Sally Hansen Extra Strength Callus Remover Gel and Avon Foot Works Sloughing Cream as in-the-shower treatments along with Avon Foot Works Intensive Callus Cream with mixed results. I’ve also used foot files, buffers and pumice stones along with various lotions to achieve varying results.

Both Avon and Sally Hansen are big names in the make up and cosmetics industry and are relatively affordable but are usually seen as a step above drug store cosmetics.

Some years ago, I had been using an Avon product which may have been the Sloughing Cream or its predecessor and I was happy with it. However, I ran out and just never got around to purchasing it again. In the meantime, I forgot about foot care or simply used a pumice stone. I happened upon the Sally Hansen Callus Remover in a store and decided to try it out. It was far different from the pumice stones and sloughing creams which were actually physically abrasive. Sally Hansen Extra Strength Callus Remover Gel promises to “erase deep, thick calluses, instantly exfoliates & smoothes, leaving feet silky-soft & supple” not by physical abrasion but by chemicals.

I thought I’d give it a try. The super slick, clear gel is to be applied to (dry, I suppose) callused skin for 1 minute then washed off with soap and water. I did so. I saw no results. Absolutely nothing. However, I did manage to spill a small amount on my hand when first checking out the product which resulted in an unusual rash; it didn’t make my skin any smoother or softer.

This product might be worth a try in conjunction with a foot file or pumice stone but if I’m going that route, I’ll stick to half the work and just use the file or stone itself. I’m tempted to lay the blame on my super-callused feet (which my husband has compared to “bullet proof” and “steel”) but even a customer with slightly callused feet has bad luck.

I like other Sally Hansen products but, if I were you, I’d pass on this one.