NCLA Nail Wraps

Watch out Sally Hansen: there is a beauty company in town that is looking for a piece of the nail sticker market. Meet your new frenemy, NCLA.

I was lucky enough to win a few pairs of NCLA nail wraps from a fellow fashion blogger and was thrilled to give them a try. You guys know I love Sally Hansen’s nail stickers so I’ve been interested in seeing if NCLA could top them. The short story: the patterns are edgier but I prefer the feel and application of Sally Hansen. Let’s break it down:

Pros
The look = insanely hip. I love this ikat print. It’s fashion-forward, a bit edgy, and so colorful. NCLA has a ton of other fun patterns here.

Cost = $16 for 2 sheets of 22 wraps. That’ll get you 3-4 applications for $16 — not bad at all.

Cons
Time commitment = high. NCLA instructs you to paint a clear coat, let it dry, apply the nail wrap, and then add another clear coat. For comparison, Sally Hansen nail stickers don’t require any polish at all, thus cutting down on the application time considerably.

The feel = so-so. It’s tricky to get a super smooth edge on the tips. You’ll need to keep a nail file handy for the first day or so to smooth the edges of the wraps.

Overall Verdict
Fun for a special occasion but the feel could definitely be improved!

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Chic Nail Polish Storage Idea
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2011: A Very Stylish Year in Review

What a phenomenal — and stylish — year it has been. As we await the arrival of 2012, I wanted to take a look back at Style Me Thrifty’s most memorable moments from 2011. And what better way to do that than to serve them up superlative-style (heey high school!).

Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

Most Popular:
Top 10 Tips for Looking Fab at a Bridal Shower
My site stats read loud & clear: women of all ages don’t know what to wear to bridal showers! Glad to know we’re in this together. Thanks for making this post so popular (all my other posts are jealous).

Most Likely to Succeed [in an Internet Search]:
“ombre nails”
Believe it or not, ombre nails was the most searched term that brought traffic to my blog. I find this pretty cool/random! Note to self: post more awkward hand photos.

Busy Bee Award:
December 21, 2011
Despite being a big week for holiday travel, December 21 was SMT’s busiest day for traffic. Thanks for logging in, even on the road, at your grandma’s house, at work! etc.

Chatty Kathy Award:
Introducing… the Spin Pin!
The comments came pouring in when I reviewed Goody’s Spin Pins. In fact, this post is also the most talked about (in person) post amongst my friends and family. Must buy stock in Goody!

Scariest Moment:
The day I joined Twitter
Jumping into the Twittersphere was not an easy decision. So many tweets, so little time. I finally decided – what the heck – and dove in head-first. Join me!

Happiest Moment of 2011:
The day I bought stylemethrifty.com
November 11 will forever hold a special spot in my heart: I finally dropped the “wordpress” from my URL and joined the big leagues with my very own URL. Yay! Thanks for a great year, all!

Chic Nail Polish Storage Idea

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Well, I stumbled upon a photo of the offices of Who What Wear, an LA-based fashion blog, and wanted to flatter them by totally replicating their clever nail polish storage idea.

How chic is this?! Genius!

I’ve always kept my collection of nail polish in a boring plastic Container Store bin. Why was I hiding all of those pretty bottles in the depths of my linen closet for so long?!

After seeing this photo from Who What Wear, I realized it was time to put my love of nail polish front and center. I took a quick trip to Home Goods and picked up a large vase for $9.99, filled it with colorful bottles… and… viola!

If the bf can put his beloved ping pong paddle on display, I’d say a vase of nail polish bottles was long over due!

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Ombre Nails
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Ombre Nails

I’m a sucker for trends. And I think nail trends are especially fun. Where else can you go wild with color or design and still be able to wear it to work?

I stumbled upon the ombre nail trend on Pinterest (my newest obsession) earlier this week and then a fellow beauty blogger mentioned them on Facebook. What exactly are ombre nails? I’m glad you asked!…

Ombre just means shaded or variation in color. You’ve probably seen dresses that go from a bold color and fade down to a lighter shade. Seeing as how I already own about 35 different bottles of nail polish, this seemed like a thrifty trend worth trying!

In all my girly years, I’m not sure I’ve ever painted each nail a different color. Man, I’ve been missing out! I think this trend is fun and surprisingly chic if you choose more neutral colors. Who is going to try this trend with me?

Nail Polishes used (thumb to pinky): Toff by Butter, Glamour Purse by Essie, Lady Like by Essie, Barefoot in Barcelona by OPI, Trust Mauve by Sally Hansen.

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You might also like: Nail Stickers?!

Nail Stickers?!

In a former life, I think may have been a manicurist. I love being girly and doing my nails.

That said, I realize the general female population probably does not share my hidden talent of super steady hands — which is why beauty companies are coming out with a genius, mess-free alternative to nail polish: nail stickers.

Trend-setting celebs like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have been photographed wearing Minx nail stickers in wild patterns like cheetah print and polka dots. Minx strips are applied at a nail salon without a drop of polish and last up to 2 weeks. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, Minx comes with a hefty price tag of $40 and up.

Luckily Sally Hansen has come out with cheaper alternative for us thrifty gals: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips that only cost $8.50 at Target. I’m a sucker when it comes to nail trends (black nails, anyone?) so I picked up the Misbehaved pattern and gave these  a try. Check out my fishnet nails!:

Here’s the scoop on these crazy things…

Application: The box comes with 16 different sized strips that you firmly stick to your nail and then carefully file off the extra to make the strip fit your nail. The strips smell like nail polish but aren’t wet — just sticky enough to adhere to your nail (almost like a stamp).

Time Commitment: THIS is the best part. It took me about 20 min to apply and then I was immediately the door. You don’t have to sit around and wait for them to set or dry!

How Long Did They Really Last? The box promised that they’ll last up to 10 days and I was shocked to find that, sure enough, I went 10 days without a single chip. Perfection. The only reason I finally took them off (using nail polish remover) was because my nails started to grow out a few millimeters and the stickers grew with them. I found that my hair would get caught on the bottom ridge of the nail strip. Odd. Below is a pic at day 9 with the stickers…

Day 9

Overall: I give these a B+. I definitely recommend trying these out, especially for a special occasion. You’ll feel like Lady Gaga for 10 days!