Review: Incoco Dry Nail Appliqué Self-Stick 100% Nail Polish Stripes with French Tips

What is Incoco?

INCOCO. The Revolution in Nail Polish.
The world of nail polish is about to change forever! Finally, there's an answer to the spills and smears of messy nail polish bottles: Incoco Self-Stick 100% Nail Polish strips.

No other product can provide base coat, color coat and top coat in a single dry self-stick nail polish strip. In minutes, you can have a professional manicure that lasts up to 14 days.

Website: http://www.incoco.com

Price: $8.99 for 16 French Tips + 16 Double-Ended Color strips

Each packages includes:

• 16 French Tips
• 16 Double-Ended Color strips
• Mini File
• Cuticle Stick
• Reseal Tape
• Polish Removal Cloth
• Instruction Booklet

I received First Blush:

The claims:

Reminiscent of the blush from your first kiss, this color will touch your heart with warm red for the perfect delicate French manicure.

* Self-Stick 100% Nail Polish Strips
* Goes on dry
* Professional results in minutes
* Lasts up to 14 days!
* Made in U.S.A 

How to use:

• For best results, clean and buff nails lightly. 
• Push back cuticles with wooden cuticle stick.

Nail Strip application: 
Tip: Start with pinky and work towards index. Apply thumbs last.

1. Select the size that best fits your nail. Gently remove top clear film.(The assortment of strip sizes allows the perfect fit for anyone) 
2. Gently peel each French tip strip from backing paper, holding onto the silver tab. 
3. Position French tip onto edge of nail for desired coverage. Firmly smooth French tip and crease at nail edge. File off excess in a downward motion. To realign: Peel nail strip and readjust.  
4. Color Strip: Gently peel color strip from backing paper, holding onto silver tab. Carefully break away silver tab from color strip. Choose one end of the strip that best fits your nail. 
5. Grasp the color strip lay rounded edges against cuticle. Firmly smooth until wrinkle-free. 
6. Crease strip at nail edge and file off excess in a gentle downward motion.

Saving Unused Strips:

• Place nail strips in package and seal with silver tape. 
• Once package is opened, exposure to air causes nail strips to dry out.

To Remove:

• For best results, use the enclosed Incoco polish removal cloth.

Ingredients: Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid / Neopentyl Glycol / Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Acrylates Copolymer, Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol, N-Butyl Alcohol, Ethyl Acetate, Triphenyl Phosphate, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Etocrylene, Stearalkonium Bentonite, Polyvinyl Butyral, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate.
MAY CONTAIN: CI 77891(Titanium Dioxide), Mica, CI 19140(Yellow 5 Lake), CI 15850(Red 6 Lake), CI 15850(Red 7 Lake), CI 77499(Black Iron Oxide), CI 77491(Red Iron Oxide), CI 15880(Red 34 Lake), CI 77510(Ferric Ferrocyanide), CI 77266(Black 2), CI 77007(Ultramarines), CI 60725(Violet 2).

Pros:

• doesn't contain any formaldehyde, DBP (dibutyl phtalate) or toluene
• each strip includes a base coat, color coat and top coat 
• since they recommend to buff nails and push back cuticles for best results, a mini file and a cuticle stick are included in each package in case you don't have some handy
• the assortment of strip sizes - 16 in all - allows the perfect fit for anyone; however, if the strips still not fit as desired, you can try sligthly stretchnig each nail strip for the perfect match
• the nail appliqués are easily removed with nail polish remover (you don't have to purchase their nail polish remover)
• "How to apply" videos, photos and PDF are available on their website
  

Cons:

• doesn't last up to 14 days (I noticed chips on the first day!)
• requires some practice to be able to quickly and perfectly apply strips
• expensive for a single-use product 
• hard to remove
• the polish removal cloth is too small and it doesn't provide enough product to completely remove the polish (I had to finish with regular polish remover)
  

What I think:
When I first received the Incoco package, I was really curious. I think I have heard about their products before, but I never got to try them for myself. Before beginning to apply the nail strips, I checked the photos and viedos on their website, and I thought it looked easy... boy I was wrong! It probably gets easier with practice, but I had a hard time using them the first time!

After reading the instruction booklet like 5 times (and watching the photos and videos on the website a couple of times), I decided I was ready. I was afraid I would mess up, because the strips look so delicate.

I had a hard time deciding which size would best fit each nails, but as the strips are adjustable (you can stretch them), it was OK.

Applying the french tips was the hardest part because you have to position them the right way for desired coverage. I ended up with slighlty uneven tips. Applying the color strips was easier as they go on the entire nail. Oh and doing the right hand was harder since I'm right-handed.

The final result was beautiful even if the french tips were slightly uneven. However, after a few hours, I already noticed some chips!

right hand (full of eczema, sorry!)

left hand

sorry for the TV in the back -_-

This is what my nails looked like after 1 week and 2 days:

I absolutely can't stand chipped nail polish, so I took those strips off because they were getting horrible. They absolutely don't last up to 14 days (I could have made touch-ups, but I wanted this review to be as honest as possible, so I didn't). So this is the results I got after 1 week and 2 days without touch-ups.

This is how the polish removal cloth looks like after I used it:

It's too small and I hadn't enough product to completely remove the polish. I had to finish with regular polish remover.

I would recommend this product, but for $8.99, I would personally invest into a good nail polish that will last me several months (and even years?) instead of those single-use nail appliqués.

Available colors: Check out the French Manicure products available in the Incoco online store.

Recommend? yes

Rating: ★★★★★

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me for review purposes, and the fact that it was free absolutely does not influence my opinion.