Skip to main content

Nail party!


There is no better feeling than a fresh manicure, well maybe there is but, it makes me feel better. I can do my own nails expertly but, I do treat myself every now and again to an actual salon mani.  I tried the gel manicure and loved it BUT it wrecked my nails.  Then I did tips. BIG MISTAKE. I got them applied a week before Corona took over the world and then couldn't get fill ins.  I ended up ripping them off leaving my nails in disrepair for months.  

Then a friend had a Color Street party.  I wanted to support her so I bought a bunch of sets.  They are a bit pricey $11-14, but comparable to a manicure that's pretty cheap. I got them a week later and I ended up loving them.  They last for almost 2 weeks, they look like actual polish and they had great colors and designs. I then ordered a second time. They are a little annoying to remove with regular nail polish (especially glitter) and I wouldn't recommend pulling them off not even a little bit. I ran into a little problem when one of the sets completely would stick to my nails and just fell off.  My stylist quickly replaced them with a new set. When I was ready to ordered a third batch I decided to just google "nail polish strips."  Who knew there'd be such a competition!  There are tons of sites that sell the strips for MUCH cheaper, but could they hold a candle (pun) to Color Street? 

This is after wearing for 2 weeks!

I tried real polish and nail strips.  These are the glitters that fell right off.
FAVORITE SET


If your interested, I did find out!

The first company I found was Lily and Fox.  Most sets were less than $4 with cute designs.  I ordered 3 sets and with shipping the whole bill came to $9.  You can't beat that.  They took about 2.5 weeks to arrive but when they did, they came with the most adorable packing.  It was a personalized hand written note, and a sweet little origami fox.  The styles I picked were just too cute.  I ended up trying them out right away.  They were pretty durable.  My thumb and pointer did "chip" right away but otherwise they lasted about as long as Color Street.  They were the same however in removing them with nail polish remover.  I found a product on Amazon that assists perfectly in removing the strips though.  They are plastic clips that go on the tips of your fingers over the nail.  I roll a piece of cotton with removed and put on the nail and this essentially melts the strip and it slides right off.  Much better than dousing my hands with remover.  Overall, I loved the way my nails looked but they did make my fingers a little heavy.  It was more of a sticker than a nail polish strip but I loved the designs they had.  Overall 4/5


Just adorbs!




Didn't like this set.  Too lightly colored :(

These are magical!

The second company I chose was Dashing Divas.  These range from $7-$8.  These you can buy in the store (Walmart or online through their website.)  I actually received mine in a beauty box subscription probably a year ago before I fell in love with the strips.  These have really cool designs including lotsa bling and overlay styles.  The one I had was a light grey with gold accents and even party nails that looked like a mosaic master piece.  I loved this set but it started falling off in less than a week.  Bummer!  These too felt a little heavy, but if I wouldn't have used the decor, They probably would have stayed longer and felt lighter.  Overall 3/5


The third choice was Ivy & Ash.  These start off at about $5.50.  I loved the styles and bout 3 sets.  I just applied them last night and found there wasn't a good size to fit my ring finger.  I ended up overlaying a piece to hide my nail.  It looks a bit "homemade" even with a top coat.  Disappointing! The pattern was floral with solid blue color called Fallberry.  It only included 2 solid blue strips and I didn't want to be all floral-y.  It would have been great if it had another blue strip.  These when looking up close have a pixelation to them, almost like they were printed on a color copier. Far away it looks fine.  These were light in comparison to the other two I wrote about above.  I will have to write an update on how long these last.  So far I like the feel more than Lily & Fox and Dashing Diva.  Compares to Color Street.  Overall 3.5/5




12/21/20 - I had to come back and revise my review because I tried a new company for the strips.  It was called Deck The Nails.  They have a lot of cute designs, especially for Christmas, hence the name...It came in about 10 days after ordering in a not so flashy packaging.  It did come with a mini nail file which all the others do as well.  It is sealed just like Ivy & Ash and Lily and Fox.  The "tear here" indent in the packaging was so close to the nails I ended up tearing one.  I was ablue to fix it but that wasn't a very good intro.  After opening the package, they reaked of motor oil, like strong.  Luckily after applying, the smell wore off.  The strips are very realalisticwith none of the pixeling the other brands had. They were very strechable which was perfect for my nails.  Sometimes the strips come up short.   Like always I applied my usual base coat but within 5 days, the middle finger and thumb strips were coming off in one piece.  I had bought a Christmas pattern to get me through the holidays and they kinda failed there.  I did have some extras strips so I was able to finagle and "cut and paste" new ones on.  The rest of the nails have stayed put without any chipping or peeling. I really like the quality of the nail strips otherwise.  The colors are vibrant and shiny.  Once you get past the awful, overpowering scent of them, I'd rate them a 3.5/5.






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New business partner

After 17 years my best furry cat friend crossed over the rainbow bridge.  I was absolutely lost as he, Klumzee, was in my life for so long.  He did have a nice long life which I was proud to say I gave him. RIP Klumzee 2003-2020 I always said I wouldn't wait long before I adopted another cat after Klum passed.  And frankly, I really didn't.  A few days later I adopted Hartley the cutest kitten ever. She was such a sweetHART from day one.  I have had her now about 3 weeks and boy is she rambunctious!  She just loves watching me make my candles, do puzzles, write, design on the computer and likes to lend a paw.  I have a little set up where I take my pictures and I kept a succulent plant as a prop.  Well, one morning I work up to find dirt everywhere and Harts playing with a new "toy."  She decided it would be a great new thing to play with and knocked it to the floor and swatted it around.  I was then on a search for a new one.  I found one but it just wasn't the s

Click, post, publish. My first blog

Hi all! I have decided to start a blog for my candle website!  A blog about candles?  BORING!  Well, rest assured that I promise it won't be all about boiling wax and mixing fragrances.  Just a blog about me and about my homegrown ideas.   I have always loved writing and keeping journals so why not incorporate it into my website?  Any questions on how I started?  What my favorite scent is?  Whats my favorite pizza topping?  Or even if you need some advice about life! Go ahead and ASK!  I will be introducing myself little by little in the blogs so stay tuned. Give me a shout at mmcandleland@gmail.com Have a happy evening and welcome to my world!