The package said they'd last up to 5 days, half as long as the Sally Hansen Salon Effects box promises. That was fine, since that'd get me through the work week. They were less than half as expensive as the Sally Hansen strips, so it's not like I had paid the same for less wear time. The application process was similar to the Sally Hansen strips, except there's no orange stick or file provided, and there's no clear top sheet on the strips to remove. The Essence strips are a bit thicker; I found them easier to handle but harder to smooth over the curve of my nails. There are fewer sizes provided that with the Sally Hansen, and it was harder for me to find ones that fit my nails well, but it worked out okay. I had some bigger gaps around the strip than I'd like on some nails, and smaller gaps on others, but when they were all on it looked fine.
Wearing these, I did find I was noticing the edges of them catching on things, probably because of the thickness of the strips themselves. I probably could have gotten used to that. What really bothered me was how fast they started to look worn. Here they are after about 24 hours--not pretty:
Not only were the tips showing a lot of wear, the black part of the design was flaking off in spots well away from the tips. Since all I'd done in these was sleep and do my office job, I didn't think there was any reason for this sort of damage to have happened so fast.
By the end of day two, it was so bad I called a halt to the experiment. Just look at this mess:
The directions said to just peel them off to remove, which I did. I'm pretty sure I took a layer off my nails in the process—that's one way to get rid of stains, I guess.
So overall, I can't recommend these. Sorry Essence; you do a lot of fun polishes, and I wish you'd send more of them over here, but these strips are not good. I have one more package of these and think if I wear them at all, I'll just have to plan to only have them on for a few hours.
In a more positive vein, Apothica (a sponsor of this blog) and the related site SkinCareRx are doing 12 days of giveaways on Facebook, starting today and running through Christmas Eve. They're going big, too: total prizes between the two giveaways are worth more than $5,000. To enter go to their pages here: Apothica and SkinCareRx.
nice designs, but that's all... i would never throw my money on this :-(
ReplyDeleteThis pattern is pretty-but so not worth it for that kind or wear time.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty design, but yeah, the thought of peeling of a layer of my nails makes me cringe. Bad wear, possibly damaging to the nails? I'll pass. Thanks for the review, I'm always tempted to try these but I definitely will not!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that wear is really bad on those and I hate to peel things off my nails!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen these yet, but I don't think I'll hunt these down anytime soon. Thanks for the review!
Looks perfect!!
ReplyDeleteI loooove this design!
Thank you for reviewing them. Usually I prefer decals to stickers, they come off with polish (wooo I'm always fighting with peels, don't need to stress my nails). About these Essence, even if I can tolerate tipwear, a big NO to design flaking off. You're right, Essence does polishes better than stickers.
ReplyDeleteEeek, thanks for the notice! That is horrible wear over 24 hours. I'm really hard on my nails, too - I can only imagine what they'd look like after a day on my nails!
ReplyDeleteI find it really shocking by how fast the strips have worn off, even if the design itself is pretty.
ReplyDeletemaybe you could you try the next ones with a top coat to see if that makes a difference? Do these have polish in them at all (like the Sally Hansens) or are they more like stickers?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review!
What a great design.. Too bad it doesn't last :/
ReplyDeleteI love the desing of these strips but too bad they don´t last long.
ReplyDeleteNo Essence strips here so no fear that I'd buy them but glad you posted just in case...day 2 and the wear was like that? What a waste of money...I had high hopes as they looked great in the first pix but disappointing for anyone who has bought I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteI had heard these were not the best so I passed them up. They seem like the Broadway Nail Dress disasters which also seemed to pull off a layer of nail. Ah well, saves my pennies for other goodies :)
ReplyDeletelooks gorgeous! pity they did't stay on
ReplyDeleteAhww... too bad they didn't last long! They looked great!♥
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame! The pattern is so pretty! I am glad SH has new designs coming out!
ReplyDeleteOh my, that is just disgusting :( Thanks for the heads up. If i ever see them down here, i will know to just spend my money on the polish :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful design a shame it doesn't last longer.
ReplyDeleteOmg, such a pretty design!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a really pretty. Too bad. Peeling the strips of sounds like a terrible design flaw. Even though I love to peel my np off. *hides*
ReplyDeleteIts really pretty! They just always seem more trouble then they are worth. I have strips to try I just keep putting them off.
ReplyDeleteReally nice design, but it's too bad it doesn't last :( Thanks for the review, I was tempted to get some of these stickers :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a bummer that the strips didn't hold up. They looked really lovely in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI like the pattern, but yeah... those definitely don't hold up and sound like a pain to deal with!
ReplyDeleteLove this pattern.... too bad they sucked lol
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, ladies!
ReplyDeletemuffkins, top coat might help with the wear, but directions didn't mention using it. I like to put on strips when my sensitive-nosed husband is around so if these need topcoat, they're not an option for me in that situation. These are definitely more like stickers; I don't think they have polish in them.