Kiss Nail Dress: An Alternative to Sally Hansen Salon Effect Nail Strips?

The blog post that led to me working with Graceful Chic Magazine was this. An entry about my beloved Sally Hansen Nail Strips.

image via sallyhansen.com

I never really felt compelled to try other nail strips or wraps because I was quite content with the quality of the Sally Hansen ones. However, my pal Joni had some Kiss Nail Dress packs at her house, and it just seemed like the perfect after-crab-cracking activity (we love to eat seafood!)

Read on for our experience...

image via kissusa.com

The Kiss Nail Dress products run from $5-8, which is cheaper than the Sally Hansen nail strips (around $10-13).  The Kiss Nail Dress kit comes with instructions, a set of 28 strips, and a file.

Unlike the Sally Hansen strips, which come vacuum sealed and lose their effectiveness after opening, the Kiss nail strips are exposed and attached like stickers to a waxy paper. Therefore, I assume that you can keep the remaining Kiss Nail Dress around for use in the future without worrying that they won't work. 

The "stickers" are relatively easy to separate from the paper.  They are thicker than the Sally Hansen strips and aren't quite as stretchy. With the Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips, they became more flexible with warmth and could be stretched to perfectly cover your nails. With the Kiss Nail Dress, you may find yourself in between sizes. 

After placing the appropriate Kiss Nail strips on your nails, you press them on and smooth out any wrinkles. (Because of the thickness, I found that wrinkles were hard to prevent.) There is no additional layer to peel away from the top of the strips like the Sally Hansen ones. Once you stick the Kiss Nail Dress on, you just file away the excess from the tips of your nails. Due to the thickness of the nail dress, I feel like it is a bit more difficult to get a super smooth edge.

image via instagram

Joni used a more textured design that had 3D effects. I would say these types of designs work better to hide any wrinkles. Hers had more of a true nail art look as if someone took the time to add gems and foil on her nails.  However, she complained of having jagged edges from filing away the strips.

Mine were a cheetah print named "Sexy".  Rrrrr. They have an entirely smooth surface and have a more "stickery"/fake look. I have a couple of wrinkles in them. I, too, suffer from casualties of filing off the nail dress.  Some of the strips got filed away a little short of the edge of my nails so some of my nails are exposed. 

Despite the "They don't come out as perfectly or look as real as Sally Hansen Nail Strips" dilemma, I definitely found the Kiss Nail Dress easier and faster to use. And with the cheaper price tag, I'd totally be open to wearing them again. Also, the BIG difference between the two....you don't need nail polish remover for the Kiss Nail Dress. You just pull them off! 

It's only been Day 2 for these strips, but I'll update you on how they hold up! I believe they are supposed to last 10 days. I'll also let you know about the removal process!

PS. I have read that the really bejeweled Kiss Nail strips are supposed to be super stiff and harder to apply. When I say "really bejeweled", I mean like the very 1st Kiss Nail Dress photo I have in this entry.