KKCenterHK Nail Strips: Swatches and Review

KKCenterHK has some pretty nifty nail patches. The first kind I tried didn't seem to work well on my nails, but these are much better! These are basically very thin plastic strips.

Most nail patches I've tried that are not actual nail polish have been kind of thick and tend to wrinkle because of the curved shape of some of my nails (if you want to see what I'm talking about, check here).  These are different in that they are very thin and flexible, as well as a bit stretchy.  They worked MUCH better for me than the others (although still not quite as nice as 100% nail polish strips).

KKCenterHK Nail Patches

As you can see in the closeup, I got a few tiny wrinkles on some of the nails, but honestly I got better at it with each nail I did, stretching it just perfectly to minimize the crinkles. Just like the 100% nail polish strips, these take a little bit of practice. Overall, though, they're pretty easy and the result is nice.

I didn't get a chance to test the wear - I only wore them for a day. The problem came in the shower... one and only one of the stickers started to peel up on all the edges. The rest were still stuck nice and tight. I'm not sure what I did differently on that finger, maybe I accidentally touched it and ruined the adhesive before I applied it. Not sure. They were easy to remove though. They peeled off easily without doing any damage, and left the adhesive as a film on the nails that came off right away with polish remover.

As you can see, they come in a sealed package like Incoco, but since these aren't nail polish I don't think they dry out after they're opened. I'm saving the extras for accent nails, so I'll update this post when I find out.

Overall, I actually really liked these!  The design is nice (although I wish the little "tail" of black had fit onto my nails), and they'd be perfect for a special occasion or night out.  They were much easier to manage than other nail patches and didn't bother me with rough or peeling edges.

These can be ordered from the KKCenterHK site here, along with lots of other cool nail patches!

Incoco 24 Karats Wear Test Results

Well, here are the results from my Incoco wear test, and I must say I'm EXTREMELY impressed.

This photo below was taken today on the 13th day of wear (I put them on the morning of Saturday the 5th).

Incoco 24 Karats (Day 13)

I honestly cannot believe how perfect they look after 13 days. The only "flaws" in them are the little bit of out growth (I had been extra careful to push back my cuticles and place them as close as I could), and very slight tipwear. The tipwear shown here actually showed up within just a couple days of wear and hasn't gotten any worse since then. I have had ZERO chips the entire time.

All this said, I feel like I DEFINITELY got my $7.99 worth out of this product. A product that I can put on and wear for my entire 10+ day vacation without having to worry about my nails at all is definitely a winner. This is the only Incoco I've tried to actually wear for this long, but I imagine any of their glitters should have this lasting wear time. I have tried other Incoco strips that were a solid color, but I ended up taking them off after just a few days because I get anxious to change my polish, although I don't know that they'd wear as well as the glitters do. I've also tried Sally Hansen Salon Effects, but haven't had as good results with those either (though I haven't tried their glitter).

My one complaint about this is that I really HAVE to wear them for a long time for the price to be worth it to me. I mentioned in my original post that this is my all time favorite color gold, and I wish so badly that someone would come out with this color gold glitter in regular polish so I could wear it for a day or two at a time and not feel guilty. I was so badly hoping that China Glaze Blonde Bombshell was going to be close, but alas, it's too yellow...

Now here's my dilemma: I almost want to keep these on (I'm still not sick of the color) just to see how long is DOES take for them to chip... BUT I'm soooo anxious to try all the other holiday colors I have and do some more swatches, and I feel like it could be FOREVER before these chip!

What do you think I should do?

Incoco 24 Karats Swatch and Wear Test

Well, I'm in Loreto, Mexico right now and will be for nine days, so I figured instead of taking nail polish stuff with me, I'd try and do a wear test of the Incoco strips. I had this very same color, 24 Karats, on for a whole week before and they looked nearly perfect even when I took them off. Normally I'm too anxious to change my polish so I'm never able to do long wear tests, so I figured this vacation might give me a perfect reason to try out Incoco again.

Incoco - 24 Karats

When I first ordered a set of the 24 Karats strips I was disappointed because I thought the color was dull and plain, but once I put them on I realized it is the definition of a perfect gold glitter for me. I love these better than Milani Gold Glitz AND Butter London West End Wonderland, and that's saying something! Needless to say, I actually don't think I'll mind having these on for ten days straight. I've also gotten much more skilled at applying these after doing it a few times (with both Incoco and the Sally Hansen Salon Effects), and these were very quick and easy to apply. I got it right up against the cuticle and there are no bare spots around the edges at all. They look perfect, if I do say so myself.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects - Laced Up

I was so excited when I found these unexpectedly at Walgreens the other day. This is from the new Salon Effects line my Sally Hansen. Pictured here is Laced Up.



These apply pretty much exactly like Incoco, though I haven't gotten a chance to try Incoco's new Design line yet to compare. My Incoco review and mini-tutorial is here.

What I REALLY like about the Salon Effects vs. Incoco is that each "hand" of stickers comes in its own package. If you have shorter nails like I do, you can use only ONE pack at a time by cutting them in half. Of course, I ended up having to trim a couple strips to the correct nail size, but it's worth the extra effort to get double the number of manicures from each one (especially at $8.50 - $9.99 depending on where you get them)! My mom and I actually got a bunch of designs and split them up so we each had a package of all the designs. Also, I love how readily available they are. I found some at Walmart and some at Walgreens (which had a bigger selection).

They claim to last up to 10 days and I REALLY wanted to test it since I've had Incoco last 11 days for me once, but I was so anxious to try some new transfer foils that I HAD to take them off today. This was day six and they still look wonderful, although I did file some minor tipwear off on day four. I'm guessing these definitely could last for 10 days on some people.



Have you tried any of the "stick-on" nail polish like Incoco or Salon Effects? Do you like them?