THE INSTANT MANICURE

No matter how quick drying that top coat formula promises to be, we know that an at-home manicure is going to end up being a two hour affair of walking around the house like you've got flippers for hands.

Sally Hansen's Salon Effects makes sure that we'll never have to wait again, and that no liquid lacquers will ever need to touch our nails, unless we want them to. Salon Effects are adhesive nail stickers that come in packs of 16 nail polish strips, an orange stick, a nail file and clear instructions for incredibly easy application. They last for up to 10 days and come in four High-Shine Metallic, and two High-Fashion Pattern finishes.

The CATALOG team had a go at applying them and we were surprised at just how easy they are to apply. The nail strips in the pack are much longer than our nails so we managed to cover two nails with just one strip - economical! The finish is not fully opaque, which gave us the option to layer them over a thin coat of polish below for a slightly different play on their colour. Our only qualm was that that they still had the pong of nail polish, but not having to wait for it to dry more than made up for it.

Priced at $17.90 per pack, Sally Hansen's Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips are available at Watsons stores.