I love this design too, isn’t it awesome?!

They applied a little better than the zebra ones, and I really started to feel hopeful. The lighter design and the clear base it was one seemed like it would be more forgiving around the edges if it chipped too.

24 hours later, this is how they looked. The design literally wore right off the base…what in the WHAT?? By later that night most of the nails looked like my thumb, so off they came.

Overall, these designs are so cool…why cant they just work better? It hurts my soul.

These do have some redeeming qualities though. If you are jonesing for these designs like I am, I recommend sticking to the metallic ones with the clear base, and using it only as an accent nail. The pinky and ring fingers wore off the least, and if you put them over dry polish, you can peel them off when they wear down without ruining your manicure. And these don’t dry out like the Sally Hansen ones do, so you can use one as an accent and save the rest for later!

Next up: INCOCO

I feel like not too many people know about Incoco. I have never seen them in stores, but I know there are some salons that carry them and will apply them for you.

I usually order mine from their website. The prices vary from about $7.99-$9.99 but the shipping is really reasonable, so the price works out to about the same as most strips you can find in stores.

Performance wise, these are about the same as the Sally Hansen Salon Effects. The quality even seems a tiny bit better in that they are a little more flexible, which makes them easier to apply. The variety of designs is also a little bigger which I like a lot.

I have ordered this design “Prima Donna” probably about five times now, because it’s really bad-ass, but they also have a ton of more subtle ones and even just plain glitters, as well as some really crazy prints.

After three days the tip wear was really minimal. There was one chip at the cuticle on my middle finger, but that may have been my fault for not wiping my cuticle oil off properly. It has never happened before when using these.

On the sixth day they were chipping enough for me to take them off, which is typical for me with these strips.

Overall these are something I keep coming back to for a reason. Quinnface approved.

And last we have Nail Rock.

Much like the Essie Sleek Sticks, I want to like Nail Rock because they have so many cool designs.

In the past I have tried the Chrome Gold ones, the ones that look like Dalmatian print, the “Fuzzy” Leopard ones…and probably more that I don’t recall.

None of them worked. Like I couldn’t even get them ONTO my nails. And as you can see, I am no amateur at applying nail strips. This was back in the day when you had to use a blow dryer to warm them up when applying them. I heard that they changed the formula and they could now be applied like most other nail strips though, so I figured I would give them another try.

I ordered a 3 pack from ASOS because the price was right…

Nope. Just..no. They barely stick, I just don’t understand. They’re too thick and hard to file off evenly, and when you do file them the edges wear off and you can see the white underneath. Am I missing something? I literally have never gotten an entire set onto my hands.

I must have read the directions 87 times to make sure I wasn’t missing something.

I can’t tell you about the wear time because quite frankly I didn’t actually get to wear them.

If someone out there can give me advice on how to make these work better, please tell me. Because the designs are hot, and I want them to work DAMMIT! Whew, OK deep breath. It’s just nails…

There are more brands out there, but my nails need a break. Maybe a part two in a few months? We’ll see.

If you are looking for the ones I like:

Sally Hansen Salon Effects -Check out the two packs, that’s an awesome deal

and you can find Incoco on their website: Incoco.com

(I am not associated with any of these brands. Links through amazon are affiliate links)