OMG Nail Strips Review - Blue Leopard Strips

*Disclaimer: this product was received for review. All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by anyone or anything.

Hahaa, yes, I'm starting this blog post with a collage!! I'm really proud of this one to be honest :D

A few weeks ago I got contacted by OMG Nail Strips, a New York based company, to do a review of their nail polish strips. I have never used nail polish strips before, so this will be my first time trying it out! *exciting*

GENERAL INFO:

I got to choose two patterns from the more than 100 designs they currently offer. I picked the Blue Leopard Print ones (duh!) and the Geometric Print ones (which I'll be reviewing in a few days).

The strips arrived quickly, in less than 2 weeks. On the website, there's some information about what makes these strips so special:

OMG nail strips challenges everything you thought you knew about nail polish strips. They differ from traditional real nail polish or cheap nail stickers because of their ability to stretch and have a unique resistance to chipping, tearing and wrinkling.  They also dry instantly upon application.

Sounds good to me!

The big difference between the OMG strips and strips from other brands (according to other reviews and info online) is that with most brands, you have to throw away the strips you didn't use when you have opened the package, because they become hard and brittle.

The OMG Nail Strips, however, don't seem to have that issue: the arrived in a non-airtight plastic bag and they weren't brittle, so you can use the strips you didn't use right now at a later time. Super handy!

You get 14 strips in one package, in different sizes. The strips have their size indicated, which is so handy! It ranges from 10mm to 17.5mm.

It might be handy for you to know that on my pinky, I used the 10mm; on my ring finger the 13mm; on my index finger the 13.5mm; on my index finger 11.5mm; and on my thumb the 16mm.

HOW TO APPLY:

The strips come with instructions on the package:

I skipped step 1 but I did apply OPI's Nail Envy as a base coat. Then I applied the strips as the instructions told me. If you misplace a strip, don't panic: if you haven't flattened it out yet on your nail, you can softly lift of from your nail and replace it. I wouldn't suggest doing this more than once though, because it might cause tearing of the strips.

You can watch an instruction video of how to apply the strips here - they mention a little something extra as a trick to keep the strips on better! You have to dip a Q-tip in some polish remover and softly go over your nail with it and over the edges. This helps seal the strips to your nails and makes them last longer.

You do have to be careful not to rub too much with polish remover though - since these strips are made of nail polish, polish remover will dissolve them if you use a lot. On the other hand, it's quite handy if you have some excess piece of strip hanging on the side of your nail: you don't have to struggle with scissors to cut if off but can just use some polish remover. Don't worry, it's not like you immediately will rub off the strip when you go over it with polish remover: I softly went over it with a Q-tip and everything was still fine :)

I first tried everything on my right hand, because this was my first time ever using nail polish strips and I wanted some practice before beginning on the "important" hand ;)

At first, I had some trouble with getting the strips to be completely flat without any creases. But by the time I did my fourth nail, I found the trick: you start by applying the strip near your cuticle area. Then you make sure the middle part (middle as in: draw a straight line from the middle of your cuticle to the tip of your nail) is flat. And then you begin to press the sides of the strip onto your nail, working out from the middle. If this is a bit abstract, you can watch the video I mentioned above :)

After that, I filed off the excess of the strip like the instructions said, went over it with some polish remover, and sealed it in with my Top Shine top coat from Sinful Colors. I had some creases on a few nails, but to my surprise they had diminished a bit by the next morning. Maybe the Q-tip with remover had something to do with it. Only some creases on my thumbs stayed.

Applying it on my left hand went great! I had some creases on my thumb, but the rest of my nails look quite awesome. I think that overall, this was a great first try with nail polish strips, and it went a lot easier than some horror stories I read! :D

And this is how the nail polish strips look on my nails!! You know that my nails are quite long, right. Well, I'm happy to tell you that the strips are even longer (a LOT longer to be precise), so if you have long nails you don't have to worry that the strips will be too short.

Please ignore the crooked nail on my right index finger! Someone hit it with a hockey stick during P.E. a few years ago and it has never been the same since :(

I did find (and you can see that in the pictures too) that these strips are very thin. Which is great for applying them. But, as you can see, my nails have some irregularities and you can see those through the strips in the pictures. They are totally not as visible in real life, but they really stand out here. Using a ridge filling base coat might be a good idea next time :)

A close-up of the design!

AFTER A FEW DAYS:

Now, how well did these last? After two days, I had some tip wear:

On my right hand, I apparently scratched my thumb nail with someting, so you can see a little scratch in the nail wrap there.

I also have a little tear of the wrap at my cuticle, but that's because it was the first nail I tried the wrap on and I had placed it wrong so I had to take it off and re-apply it. That's when a little piece tore off. On the third day, some corners of three nails on my right hand chipped off too.

I do have to say that at no time these wraps tried to peel off from my nails. They stayed on really well and I didn't have any corners lifting off from my nails, which I'm very happy with!

So mine started having tip wear after two days, but I've read other reviews where these had no tip wear until day 5. It will of course have to do with the top coat you use: I used Top Shine by Sinful Colors, but OMG Nail Strips advises to use Start To Finish by OPI.

A LITTLE NAIL ART:

I couldn't resist doing some nail art on top of these nail strips! Since I had some tip wear and some corners that had chipped off after three days, I decided to do a "border" design and just outline the borders with black acrylic paint. I LOVE the outcome, it gives an extra edge to the nail strips!

These strips were super easy to remove btw, I just used normal polish remover and they rubbed right off. A lot easier than rubbing off three layers of polish! :D

OMG Nail Polish Strips are available on their website here for $7.99 per package (one design, 14 strips). 

They're also offering some discounts right now: there's a 5 for $25 promotion with the coupon code "5pack" and a 10 for $45 promotion with the coupon code "10pack". They also started offering nail art party packs here.

You can also find OMG Nail Strips on Instagram: @omgnailstrips or use the hashtag #omgnailstrips. And they're on Facebook as well: https://www.facebook.com/OmgNailStrips if you're interested in following them there :)

A few of my favourite designs from their shop are:

Flowers and lace strips

Rainbow Floral strips

Galaxy strips

Red Snowflake strips

Crows strips

Navy strips

What do you think of these? Which designs do you like best? 

Thanks for reading! And I'll be showing you the second set I got soon ;)