kit's Time To Shine... Ooh, yeah!

I looooooooove nail wraps. I suck at free-hand nail art and can be pretty impatient, so when nail wraps started popping out I tried every brand I could get my hands on... and my budget would allow me. I've tried lots of Sally Hansen's wraps, eBay, random Asian brands from the two-dollar shop, I even ventured into full nail water decals. I'm generally happy with the quality, design and time these wraps have stayed on. They have been a life saver when I'm frustrated from dodgy attempts at nail art. 

As you may have guessed, this particular post is about kit's Nail Strips. If you haven't seen them around here's a photo. This design is called Time To Shine.

And they look like this on the nails.

I'm gonna insert a break here because the post is rather long but please keep reading because these strips are awesome.

So far, they have been the BEST nail strips I have ever tried and I love this product. Let me tell you my experience with them so you know why I am claiming this. 

In June last year, one of my sister's friends was rocking this awesome manicure and HAD to find out how she'd done them. Turns out a friend of hers was a nail enthusiast and bought the wraps for her and put them on stick on nails for them to last longer. Then one day, I came across a Mecca Cosmetica and found the strips for $9.99. I think the core line has six designs and, every so often, kit releases limited edition designs. Out of all them, I liked this design the best, which is called Shape Up.

Source: http://www.meccacosmetica.com.au/shop/KitCosmetics/LtdEdNailStripsShapeUp/

I really like kit's take on nail strips as the designs are edgy but not over the top, the strips are cheaper than most nail wraps, they are made out of nail polish (more on that later), which in turns makes them really flexible so they can be stretched out a little if they are too thin, and they last a about five days on the nail (at least on mine, when I'm not doing too much manual work). They are also super easy to apply if you've had a little experience with nail wraps.I mostly used my fingers but an orange stick helped me smooth the edges and make sure they were properly stuck. Also, I found a fine gritted file works best for filing the excess off to avoid  bad tip wear later on.

The best two things about them? 

1.There are 20 strips in each packet, which, if there's no error, it can be used for at least two manicures. Four, depending on the design and length of your nails and if you're willing to do a bit of cutting  and shaping on one end of the strip, as they look like this.

2. They don't dry out and become stiff like most real nail polish wraps. For my first packets of nails wraps, I used half of the twenty for a manicure, then forgot them for a month, came back to see how they were doing and found them as good as when I first opened them. My jaw dropped, a month!!! They were usable and flexible. Make a note though, I put them back in it's original packaging without sealing (no sticky tape, staples, zip lock bags, etc.) and away from the sun and heat.

kit recommends using a base coat and a top coat to make them last longer. However, in my experience, I found the base coat makes them last longer but the top coat makes the strips crack after only a few days. 

The first time I got these strips,I wasn't sure if they were glue based plastic wraps or if they were actual polish. I had a look at the ingredients and they looked something like this. 

Not sure about you guys but I'm no connaisseuse when it comes to beauty product ingredients. After a little help from Mr Google, I found out it was basically polish polymers and pigments suspended in citronella oil, which makes them stay fresh for so long and gives them that awesome flexibility.

The only negative I could put onto this strips is that the citronella oil smell is kind of strong   when you open the foil packet and it can stay on your nails for a little while. 

kit is available at Mecca Cosmetica stores and online, Mecca Maxima stores and at kit's stand at Myer stores for $9.99. At the time of this post, Mecca Cosmetica also sells limited edition nail strips as part of a kit that allows you to customise the strips. I haven't actually seen them but that's what I can gather from their website. A trip to the shops might be justified tomorrow...

I must say,I am in loooooooooooooooooooooove with this product. I would highly recommend it if you're on the look out for nail wraps that are easy, funky and cheap. Really, each manicure can cost as little as $2.50. What's not to love?

One last thing, what's with brands not capitalising their names? essence, kit? Are there any others? 

Till next time,

Laura