OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps Review

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps are the latest and greatest offering in the world of nail polish strips (others include Sally Hansen Salon Effects and Innoco polish strips).  You can check out the full range of patterns here.

The application instructions are simple.

1. Start with clean, dry nails
2. Remove top clear film; peel strip away from backing
3. Place strip on nail and smooth
4. Crease strip at edge; file of excess in a downward motion.

While I have not tried the Innoco polish strips, I have used the Sally Hansen Salon Effects many times.  When compared to the Salon Effects, the patterns available from OPI are much more complex and interesting… For example the Gold Lace (above) is so intricate it looks as though it was textured… but its not!  Smooth as silk.  The OPI are also more “stretchy” and slightly thinner - it is much much easier to file off the excess strips. 

However, the premade sizes are the OPI’s weakness, at least for me!  The Sally Hansen comes with eight different sizes, and I never have any trouble fitting them to my narrow nail beds.  The OPI also comes with eight different sizes, but they were all slightly too large for my nails, and the one intended for my pinky was too small!  But since they are so easy to trim, I can forgive this!

One other issue I had with the specific OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps that I used, Gold Lace, was that the design was awesome, but much much to large for my fingers!  Let me show you what I mean:

The edge of the strip that is attached to the backing (where it says “remove clear film” is designed to go on the base of you nailbed - where your “moon” is.  The problem is that I have small hands, and even though my nails are long (for me) the design was cut off and I only had black on my tips, not a black band across the middle as it would be if the full design fit on my nail: 



However, it is very easy to flip it over and use the other end instead, which is what I did on my ring finger:



Even with the problems I ran into with sizing and the design, I am very excited to try more of the OPI Pure Lacquer Nails Apps - but next time I will chose one with a full nail design, like this one:

Pure Lacquer Nail Apps are available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for the suggested retail price of $11.95.

Are you going to try the new OPI Nails Apps?  I am going to use my ULTA coupon to pick up a pair soon!