Perl Nail Fashion Strips

I didn't have the time to do my nails before going out of town for Thanksgiving, so I decided that it was the perfect time to test out these "Nail Fashion Strips" by Perl. I got these in a swag bag a few weeks ago.

I was excited when I received this. I've been looking at the Sally Hanson nail strips for a while, but wasn't sure if I could justify the $10.

Perl is a Canadian company, founded in Montreal in 2011. They are sold in stores throughout Quebec or online. You can buy them from their website for $9. They offer free shipping on orders over $35. (perlfashion.com/ )

Packaging:

Seems to be the standard packaging that all the companies are using for their nail strips.Small box with a cut-out that shows the pattern. Nowhere on the box does it say the colour or pattern name. Upon going online, I discovered that the sample I received is called "Jungle Queen". Inside the box were the nail strips, a small file and a mini orange stick.  No nail buffer (part of the instructions tell your to buff your nails)

The Strips:

While these boxes usually contain  20 Nail Fashion Strips good for two manicures (per their website), this sample size only came with 10 strips. The box I got had one strip for the pinky, then 3 strips for the nail next to it, and some of the other strips were a little too big, so I had to cut the strips a little. So if the 20 pack has different sizes, then you might have a set that works perfect for you, and one that doesn't. Or, if they're saying good for 2 manicures, then maybe two sets that are identical, which means some altering needed for both. If they are 2 different sizes, then maybe you can go half with a friend that has bigger/smaller nails, then it wouldn't be so bad.

Application:

Pretty easy. The nail strips are individual and easy to work with. Warm up your hands by rubbing them together (I forgot this step). Buff your nails (which I had a buffer with me), match a strip to your nail, remove one side of the plastic, then remove the other side, place on nail, rub it in a small circular motion to make sure you get all the air out, then you file the rest off in a downwards motion.

Just like doing my nails with regular nail polish, I had a bit of a hard time with doing my right hand, but it wasn't bad at all. I had the most difficulty with filing. Perhaps I was slightly more on top than I should have been as some nails seemed to be missing a tiny bit at the tip. Oops!

Because there was no drying time, I was able to go about my day in a matter of a few minutes without any worries!

Day 1

Wear:

The package and the website don't make any claims as to how long they last. I applied them on Friday afternoon (around 4pm) and took them off Tuesday evening (around 9pm). They have gone through a few showers, normal daily activities, sanding (sanding some wood, always end up getting the nails a bit) and one day of work (computer all day). By the end of it, they were starting to chip off a little and the colour was getting removed at the tips, leaving it white. Because of how they were, it took me lots of willpower to not remove them while still at work. So it lasted approximately 4 days. May have lasted longer if I warmed up my hands first and didn't sand anything, but I think the keyboard would have still gotten to it. I think I can safely say 2 days of a really nice manicure.

Day 4

Removal:

Just peel it off like a sticker! So easy and not much cleanup involved. The only issue, is that like a sticker, it left a bit of a sticky residue on my nails, so I did have to take a quick wipe at them with nail polish remover. But over all, my nails looked great, didn't look dried up or anything afterwards.

Removal

Would I buy?
Since right now they are only found in stores in Quebec or online for the rest of us, probably not. However, if they sold at local Shoppers or Guardian Drugs or even Walmart, then I'd consider it. About the same price as the Sally Hansen ones, but comes with 20 strips, so unless you mess up, you're guaranteed two manicures. So it's like $4.50 per manicure instead of Sally Hansen's  $10.


After testing these out, I've decided to try out some other ones to compare. I've got 3 that I'll be testing out in the next few weeks and hopefully be able to do a good comparison for you!



These were not purchased by me. I have received these free in a "swag bag". Opinions were not influenced and are my own.