Review: Incoco Nail Polish Appliqué | Mint Mojito

Hiya dolls!

Nail wraps are something I am not familiar with at all. Okay, I admit. I own two sets of nail wraps from Nail Inc but have not used them. That counts as not being familiar, right? Hehe! I have seen some from Sally Hansen back in Malaysia but none of the designs attracted me so I never got around to buying them. Into the picture enters Incoco. I was very kindly given some nail polish appliques by Incoco to try out, but will only be reviewing one of them today.

What is Incoco & what it claims:-

- Incoco is an American company which is the first manufacturer of 100% real nail polish appliques - taking nail polish out of the bottle and transforming it into self-stick strips. Say goodbye to the drying time, smudges, and streaks of liquid nail polish! Each applique contains a base, colour and top coat for a brilliant, salon-quality manicure. An Incoco manicure lasts up to 14 days, and can be removed easily with nail polish remover. Each set contains 16 strips in varying sizes, which can be gently stretched to fit any nail size perfectly. Incoco offers over 200 varieties of colours and designs, as well as tips and pedicures.

Like I mentioned earlier, I received four very different styles of nail polish appliques to try out. The picture above shows (from left to right): First Crush*, A Floral Affair*, Mint Mojito*, Tribal Dance*. All four are very pretty, unique designs; but for today, I will be reviewing Mint Mojito*.

Product: Incoco Nail Polish Applique in Mint Mojito
Price: USD$ 8.99 (approx. RM28.60/£5.59)
Made in: USA
Content: 16 double-ended strips

Here's the list of ingredients:-

Here is what is contained inside one pack of Incoco nail polish appliques (excluding the nail file):-

Instructions on how to use it are listed on the back of the packaging as well as included in the form of a leaflet inside the pack. Wondering what that silver strip is? It's actually a sticker used to seal the opened packet containing the nail polish appliques so you can keep the leftover strips that you have and prevent air from entering and drying out the nail polish appliques.

Design: Mint Mojito is a nail polish applique with a light turquoise base and an intricate blue design. I do not really know how to describe the blue design, it reminds me of all things Moroccan, for some reason! It is a simple yet unique design. The blue 'Moroccan' design is not noticeable from afar, but up close it looks gorgeous. I received a few compliments when I had this on saying how pretty the colour and design was- and I agree!

Application/Texture/Consistency: The first thing that hit me when I opened the silver packet was the strong smell of nail polish (which surprised me, because although I knew these appliques are made of nail polish, I never expected them to smell like nail polish- weird me). It was not a bad thing though, 'cause then I knew that it was really made of nail polish. There are two sets of 8 different sized strips to help ensure that I find one that suited each fingernail. Each strip has two different ends to also help ensure it suits the shape of the nail at the cuticle properly- one side is more rounded, whereas the other side is more straight in shape.

I found the strips to fit my nails almost perfectly, except for my thumb and my middle finger. The shape of my thumbnails are a bit weird, because my cuticle is pushed down so low (I don't know what I did), I found that neither ends of the strip fit the shape of my nail near the cuticle. I fixed it by cutting extra bits from the leftover strip and stuck it on my nail, though- so it was not too bad. My middle fingernails are a bit too wide for the strips- but the good thing about these strips is that they are slightly stretchable so I pulled the strip gently and adjusted it to fit my nail. The strips have a flimsy feel, but they do not tear easily. I managed to tear one of the strips slightly, only because I tugged too hard on it. Otherwise, the strips are flimsy-looking, but malleable and rather tough.

The strips are extremely glossy- there was no need for me to apply a top coat to restore its shine even after 10 days. Application itself was tricky at first as I had no experience wearing nail polish appliques. It took me some time to measure the strips against my nails, pull the clear layer of the top, apply and adjust it on my nail, stick it down on my nail hard and file off the excess. I took an hour to apply these strips to my 10 fingernails. However, after applying it all to my nails, the effect was worth it. I did not have to waste any time waiting for my nails to dry; there were no smudges, and the end result was so pretty and glossy!

I managed to save the amount of strips used because one strip could fit two nails, so basically I only ended up using 5 nail strips out of 16. This does help save money, although I do not think that the strips can last very long once opened, so I recommend using them up within a month or two (that is what I plan to do). Incoco recommends using the strips immediately after opening. Removal of these strips were easy- just use nail polish remover, and remove them like you would for nail polish! =)

Durability: I wore these nail strips for 17 days and only experienced minimal chipping. My nail grew so the bottom bit of my nail could be seen, but other than that, the strips remained glossy with very little chips for those 17 days- pretty impressive!

Here's a picture of the instructions on how to use it:

Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how I used it according to the instructions. I was unable to take pictures of myself doing all the steps though, because it's hard to take a picture when I have to use both hands to apply a strip- hee! Hopefully you will be able to get a clear picture of to apply it, though. =)

1. Measure the strips with your nails to find a strip that matches the size of your nail. Then, tear that strip apart from the others.

2. With that single strip, see which side of the strip (the rounder side or the straighter side) matches the shape of the bottom of your nail.

3. There will be 3 layers to each strip. Pull away the top clear sheet and the bottom white cardboard sheet. After doing that, you will be left with the nail polish strip as shown in the picture above. See how glossy it is? =D

4. Tear away the silver bit connected to the nail polish strip and adjust the strip to the shape of your nail. If you have stuck wrong, pull it gently from your nail and stick it on the nail again in the position that you want. You can also lightly stretch the strip to fit parts of your nail that may not be covered by the strip. Once you are happy with it, press it firmly onto your nail and file the excess strip off. Repeat the process on all your nails and you're done!

5. After you are done applying the nail polish appliques on your nails, store the leftover strips in the silver packet and tape the opened end of the packet with the silver tape provided to prevent air from entering the packet and drying out the strips.

That is pretty much how it is done! I thought it was difficult at first but after doing a few fingernails, I got the hang of it and it was actually quite fun and somewhat therapeutic to do- hee!

Here's how Mint Mojito looks like on my nails (excuse my cuticles skin around the nails- they haven't been at their best recently):-

You can probably tell from the picture above that the strip on my thumbnail does not fit it well. I had to cut extra to stick in the gaps but I did not cut it well, so it is obvious up close. It looks fine from far though so it doesn't really bother me.

Would I purchase?- Yes! Probably not Mint Mojito* but definitely other designs. I already have my eye on Maxed Out and Cozy Up! They are not as affordable as purchasing a bottle of nail polish, but I do think these nail appliques are worth the money. They are of good quality and last much longer on the nails than any nail polish I own without me actually having to do anything to maintain it. To get the most value for money, I would definitely go for unique designs which I definitely cannot recreate with my poor nail art skills- hehe! Overall, I really recommend these nail strips if you are in a hurry to do your nails but want lovely, long-lasting results.

Where can I purchase these?- You can purchase these from http://www.incoco.com/ as they provide international shipping.

For more information, you can check out:

Incoco's website: http://www.incoco.com/

Incoco's Instagram @incocoproducts

Incoco's Twitter @incoco

Incoco's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/incoco

Hope you enjoyed this post! Have you tried Incoco products? What do you think of them? =D

xx Amanda