Good evening all! Sorry for not posting lately but I've been reviewing a product that was sent to me and I wanted to test it out to its fullest. It is Incoco Dry Nail Appliques. Basically it is nail polish strips that are made out of 100% nail polish that is 95% dry. The company describes it as a "base coat, color & top coat in a single dry self-stick nail polish strip". They also state you can get up to 14 days of wear out of one manicure.
Most of you have probably seen the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail stickers but Incoco's product has been around a bit longer than SH. It is reported that the SH version has nail polish embedded into theirs. But, you know when you've printed something on paper and you spill water on it how image become's blurry? Well that's how the SH ones appeared to me - not nearly as clear as I had seen advertised. There is also a more expensive professional version called Minx that is offered at some salons - this apparently is a hit with celebrities.
The items Incoco sent me are (in order of appearance in the below pic): Silver Glitter French tips, Urban Jungle (blue w/zebra stripes) &
Crème de la
Crème (light pink cross-hatch), polish removal cloths, and adhesive-backed foil strips. The adhesive strips are so you can reseal the packets so that the leftovers don't dry out and you can use them at a later date.
Notice how they are different sizes on the end of each strip. Once you find the one that is closest to the size of your nail, there are a few tips that really help in applying these. Warm the strip up between the palms of your hand - a few seconds is all that is needed, and this will make it more pliable. If the size you've chosen is too wide, you can narrow it by gently stretching it vertically. If it is too narrow, you can widen it by gently stretching it horizontally. And when I say gently, I mean
gently. If you're not too careful, you could rip it - keep in mind that this is 100% nail polish (also please note that there is a faint nail polish smell when you first open the packet so that's another plus - no lingering nail polish fumes for those who are bothered by it). I use a combination method of trying to center the strip on my nail at the tip or if that doesn't work, I try going side to side while keeping it right at the cuticle at the same time. Once you have it applied to your nail, make sure to press it down on your nail and smooth out any bubbles. Then you will take a nail file (I just used a cheap cardboard-backed emery board) to the tip of your nail and gently file the strip in a downward motion and the excess just falls right off.
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And here's a blurry pic to show you the pretty glitter:
Note the tipwear in the above pic. This was after 4 days of wear, which for me is a good length of time. It's a bit more obvious in this pic than it was IRL. Oh & don't get me started on the removal process - I'll just call it a "glitt-tastrophe". Nothing that a little aluminum foil & pure acetone for a few minutes couldn't take care of. :)
Application gets better with practice so the more you do them the better you'll get. However, in saying that, I personally would save these for a very special occasion because they are gorgeous on but are quite expensive comparatively for just one manicure vs. a whole bottle of salon-brand nail polish.
Their products are available for purchase online at
incoco.com. They also used to be available at Walgreen's but I guess that doesn't matter anymore since they no longer carry them. :( Here is a pic of the set of French tips I purchased at Walgreen's back in the Fall. The day I took this pic my nails felt like posing with a personalized calendar a vendor for work had printed up & sent to me. 8^)
So what do you think? Have you tried them? If not, do you think you will? Let me know!
Quote for the day: "Faith is a living and unshakable confidence. A belief in God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake." --Martin Luther
