Sally Hansen Salon Effects French Mani Review

Hi I'm Stacey and I'm a nail polish addict. I love nail polish and having colourful nails, I swear I have more polish than I could ever use in a life time and I rarely have plain nails. Personally I blame going through a school system where nail polish was not allowed so ever since I turned 18 I have rarely rocked bare nails. I had always been curious about Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips however at $14.95 for a one time application I could never justify the price, especially when a whole bottle of Essie or OPI polish is only $18-$19. However on a recent trip to priceline I noticed that Sally Hansen had come out with a french mani version of the nail strips. Well this changes the game a little, I have always struggled with french manis, and even when I do succeed the polish chips within a day which is always frustrating!! My curiosity (and 20% off) got the better of me and into my basket they went.

I got home and let them sit there for a while, contemplating when I should give them a go, I decided that last night would be the perfect opportunity since I had nothing else to do. Before I continue my review I would like to mention that while I have never used Sally Hansen strips before I have used Kit Cosmetic nail strips so I did have some knowledge of how these things should work. So please keep reading about my experience of taking my nails from this...

To this...

When I first opened the box I was greeted with 1 little nail file, 1 little cuticle stick, 1 set of instructions, 1 set of white tips, and 2 sets of nail strips....WAIT WHAT!! 1 set of white tips and 2 sets of nail strips that can't add up. Don't worry as I soon found out it does you have to carefully (and I do mean carefully) separate the white tips apart as they are two to a sheet. 

After I had prepped my nails and wiped them over with polish remover to get rid of any remaining oils I set about applying the strips. My first thought was how hard the little pouches were to open, I would pull off the silver backing only to find a plastic membrane had remained which I would have to hack into with nail scissors to retrieve my strips. After I did get the packets opened I was overcome with the familiar smell of nail polish, this ruled out my plans of ever being able to apply these strips in a shared living area. 

Next it was time to apply the white tips, this was a little tricky as 1) it was really hard to guess where my nail line is 2) the sheets are really flimsy and thin 3) the white tabs don't really stick well no matter how much I buffed my nails and 4)I found many of the white tabs to be just a little bit too wide for my nails (I ended up having to trim the sides off). Please note that this did get easier as I went along, but my first thumb has a massive white part to it that looks a little too big. After you get the white strip where you want it its time to file off the excess white part, be very very careful when doing this as it is really easy to rip them.

After this you have to apply the top strip, this is a sheer pink or beige colour depending on the set you get. I found getting these to not sit all over my cuticle and sit centred was a little tricky. They are a little stretchy so you can pull them a little to cover your whole nail but not too much otherwise they will rip (as I found out). When you get it centred you have to push it down with the cuticle stick to there are no air bubbles and once again file it off at the end. I found it a little harder to file this off than the white strips but eventually I got all 10 fingers done.

Afterwards I finished with a layer of clear top coat just to seal the strips onto my nails for longevity. They say these will last for 10 days, so I'll see how I go and report back with how they held up in 10 days time. 

Some initial thoughts

• These were a lot more fiddly than I thought they would be and the whole process took about an hour
• I feel that these weren't the most user friendly strips and that the Kit Cosmetics ones were much easier to use
• Even though I got these 20% off, I'm still a little bitter about paying $11.96 on nails that I will only get to use once. Again to compare to the Kit Cosmetics ones which are $9.90 for 20 strips which gives you 2 wears out of them (4 if your nails are shorter as you can cut them easily and they don't dry up).

x Stacey

Winter Hand Care

Winter Hand Superheroes

Winter, you say the word and you mind conjures up images of grey skies, snow, rain, chunky knits, hot chocolate and warm fireplaces. However for many people it also means dull, dry, and for some unlucky people painfully cracked hands.

My skin is dry all year round, however it intensifies in the winter months. While I managed to control my skin and face early on, I never realised that proper hand care can help to alleviate the discomfort caused by dry hands. I now religiously follow a quick and easy hand care routine a few times a week which has left my skin glowing and feeling all baby soft. 

While the products I use are pretty pricy I justify the cost because a) I spend way more on my face care, and b) just like your face and neck, your hands are one of the first body parts to start ageing if you don't look after them properly. 

The easiest way to combat dry winter skin is to hydrate it. L'Occitane's Dry Skin Hand Cream with 20% Shea Butter is a cult favourite and a beauty award winner many times over, just try it and you'll understand why. At first I was very very hesitant to drop a whopping $39.00 on a hand cream, even though I knew this was a good one I spent years looking around trying to find something cheaper that would be just as good. While there are many fantastic hand creams out there that did hydrate my hands nothing would ever keep them hydrated as long as this one, so in the end after using up and loving a little sample size one I bit the bullet and purchased this bad boy. Well let me tell you what a difference it has made! I have gone from having to moisturise my hands every few hours to only twice a day (morning and night), my skin is smoother and the blotchiness and discolouration has evened itself out. 

If moisturising your hands is the Batman in the fight against dry hands then this little guy is the Robin. L'Occitane's Shea Ultra Rich One Minute Hand Scrub is a divine hand scrub that contains 15% shea oil. I use this scrub twice a week, massaging it into my hands and cuticles. The brown sugar softly removes any dead skin, while the shea oil moisturises my hands so well that I don't always need to use hand cream afterwards. This exfoliation of my hands not only brightens the skin and makes my hands all glowy looking, but it also creates a smooth surface for my hand cream to sink into allowing it to absorb quicker and hydrate longer. 

Nails and cuticles should never be forgotten when looking after your hands, why put in all the hard work for the rest of your hands if you're going to have ragged cuticles and dry nails? OPI's Avoplex Cuticle Oil to Go is a quick and convenient solution to caring for your cuticles. Not only does it smell divine, but this little tube of oil makes your cuticles super soft. I apply this to my finger tips every second night and massage it in to my cuticles and nails before finishing up with hand cream. I find that this not only helps to keep my crazy out of control cuticles neat and tidy, but it also helps to strengthen my nails (which is always an added bonus).

So there you have it, my quick and easy method for beautiful hands all through the cold winter; moisturise morning and night, massage your cuticles every two days, and exfoliate twice a week. Obviously there are other ways to to keep your hands in tip top shape, like maintaining your nails...but that's a whole 'nother post for a whole 'nother day.

Have you tried any of these products, do you love them or loathe them, or do you other products you could recommend? Let me know in the comments below.

x Stacey

Products Mentioned 
L'Occitane Shea Ultra Rich One Minute Hand Scrub - $29 online here
L'Occitaine Shea Butter Hand Cream - $39 online here
OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil to Go - $26.95 online here
*Note all prices in AUD, may be found cheaper elsewhere online :)

An Everyday Fairy Tale??

Gosh I miss Disneyland

"Every once in a while, in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale" - anonymous.

This has to be without a doubt on of the most beautiful quotes floating around out there. Growing up I always believed in once upon a times, happily every afters, miracles, fairy tales, and that one day my prince would come. I personally blame a diet of way too many Disney movies growing up, however looking back there are worse things to believe in. 

The reality is that, while I will never dance away on a cloud in a magical dress that changes from pink to blue, life is full of ordinary miracles and everyday fairy tales. This blog is purely here to document my every day fairy tale, from things that make me smile, products I love, and bits and bobs from my everyday life, this blog will cover it all. Over time this blog may change and grow, as I myself change and grow, I invite you to share the journey with me, and discover your own everyday fairy tale.

x Stacey