Incoco Halloween 2013 Fright Night Collection

*Incoco nail strips received as a giveaway prize.*

Howdy everyone!  So sorry I've been non-post status for a couple of days!  Big things have been afoot, not only at Over the Top Coat, but in my personal life as well.  Most everything has been good though, it's just been time-consuming and I've been too tired to stay up late and post like I usually do.  However, I'm back and have lots of exciting things planned in the next few weeks...so yay!  :)

To start, a few weeks ago, I entered Incoco's Pin to Win contest and won their new 2013 Fright Night collection!  I've seen these nail strips popping up on lots of blogs lately and was very excited to have a chance to try them out.  Plus, their Halloween designs are just so adorable, I'm thrilled to have the chance to give them a try!  Today, I've got 3 of the 4 Fright Night designs to show you.  I'm saving the forth for something later so, don't fret!

We'll start with the namesake of the collection, Fright Night!  This pattern shows a silhouetted haunted house/cemetery scene on a glittery orange background.  Classic, spooky Halloween and I love it!  Incoco's strips are very similar, at least in my view, to the Sally Hansen nail polish strips.  Like SH, these are actual nail polish formed into a strip, rather than plastic or some other weirdness.  Because of this, they tend to stick better to the nail and have less issue with bubbling or creasing.  The idea is to have the look of nail polish, without the cleanup or dry time of polish.

Application is fairly easy.  There are 16 strips in each packet, divided into 2 sets of 8 different sizes.  You select the size that you feel best fits your nail, peel off the clear cover and then peel the strip itself from the white backing.  Carefully pull the silver tab off the end of the strip and then place it on your nail.  There is some stretch to the strip, so you'll want to gently pull it tight across your nail and then press the strip firmly into place.  Fold the end over the edge of your nail and file the edge lightly in a downward motion to remove the excess strip.  If you have shorter nails, the strips are double-ended so you could use the excess on another nail if the fit is good.

According to the packaging and website, one Incoco nail strip manicure will last chip-free up to 14 days.  I do wish I could test that for you guys, but I change my polish too often to devote 2 weeks to one mani.  The designs do seem durable and last through showering, handwashing, and regular wear just fine. Incoco's strips do have the look of complicated nail art in under half the time which is pretty great.  They also offer a wide variety of strips including pedicure and French manicure.  So if you're like me and really hate painting your toenails, Incoco's strips could be a good solution.

The second manicure I have to show you uses Spooktacular (ghost pattern on thumb and pinky) and Bone-Rattling (skull pattern on index and ring finger).   Both of these patterns glow in the dark.  Unfortunately, my camera does not do well with capturing that effect so I don't have a photo to show but they do, indeed, glow! 

I've talked a bit about what I like about these strips so let me tell you some of the things I'm not so fond of.  First of all, the sizing seemed a bit large to me.  I don't feel like I have super narrow nail beds, but only about 3 of the 8 sizes fit ALL of my nails well.  So that means I have to make 6 strips fit all 10 nails unless I want to try to cut to size.  I know Incoco is trying to fit as many people as they can with these, but a few more narrow sizes would be nice.

Also, since these are real nail polish, once you open the package that's pretty much it.  The strips dry out in air and lose their ability to stick to the nail.  I think you could probably figure out a way to use the extra by pressing them into wet polish or something, but the shelf life just isn't that great.  One packet of nail strips is good for one manicure.  And since I can use less than half of them, it seems a bit wasteful.  Given the nature of the product though, I'm not sure how they could resolve that issue.  Nail polish dries out in open air.  If it didn't, none of us would be painting our nails at all and what a sad world that would be!

Overall, I do like these strips a lot.  I think the adorable designs and variety of styles more than make up for the few issues I have with them.  They're an especially great way to get the look of difficult nail art without the time, mess and fuss. 

*Incoco nail strips received as a giveaway prize.*

Incoco's nail strips are price from $8.99 to $9.99 for one 16 strip set.  Base coat and top coat are included in the strip so there's no need to use either.  I typically do use a top coat however mostly out of habit, not for shine or durability.  You can keep up with Incoco's news via their Facebook page or blog.

Have you tried Incoco's strips?  What did you think of them?

Thanks so much for reading!