Annie Vazquez guest blogs on fashion for Cultist. Visit her blog at TheFashionPoet.com.
Some gals turn up their noses at knockoffs, but for the rest of us cheapos who can't afford to fork over lots of dough to look good, we welcome them with open arms. Gracias to Forever 21 for all the designer wannabe looks, Steve Madden for mimicking Charles Louboutin and now in the nail world- the copy cats who are giving us fake Minx manicures on a budget.
Remember Minx from last year? Those self-adhesive nail polish stickers with wild designs. Yeah, I was one of the gals who doled out a whopping $60 after seeing celebs like Rihanna and Katy Perry rocking them. As soon as I saw the nail technician peel them off and start pasting them on me, I was like "que"? These are stickers? I was expecting the designs to be meticulously painted on for that much money, but that wasn't the cuento here. Can you say " tremendo rip off."
Now a year later, Miami gals have an alternative to fake a Minx mani for
as cheap as $6. Brands like Sally Hansen, Broadway Nails, Incoco and
Sephora by O.P.I have come out with their own version of Minx imitations
and they look like the real thing. In fact, the first one I spotted on a
girl resembled the flora number I originally got. While all labels
claim to last about two weeks, the quality, price and style of the
sticker strips vary.
Here's what I found out:
Broadway Nails Nail Dress Stick-On Wraps is the most affordable of all
at $5.49. The designs are a little ghetto fab and gaudy however. I came
across four nameless styles like a solid metallic with glitter
detailing, a fuchsia brimming with tiger print, a shiny gold tone
peppered with cheetah spots and the only decent one: a bright flower
print. Despite this, it includes the most stickers of all: 28 strips and
a nail file. You can find it at Kmart, Walgreens, Walmart and Ulta.
Sally Hansen's Nail Effects Real Nail Polish Strips is the best
investment at $9.99. There's about 24 shades to choose from. Solids and
prints come with cute names like Skinny Jeans which is a denim hue,
Misbehaved looks like fishnet stockings and Fly with Me has rainbow
colored butterflies splattered all over it. A box is equipped with 16
strips, a cuticle stick, mini file and buffer. You can nab it Walgreens,
Target, CVS, and Ulta.
Sephora by O.P.I Chic Prints are the priciest at $15 and it only
includes 16 strips. Prints pretty much look like the Sally Hansen
version with the omnipresent stripes, animal and lace. Yet, they do have
a special collection for Glee fans inspired by the characters on the
television series. It's kinda cute since it has musical notes, stars and
polkadots. It's available at Sephora.
Incoco averages at $8.99 and they just collaborated with Cynthia Rowley
to launch her own custom-made version of nail strips. Online
Incoco's Minx versions look somewhat the same as the other labels too.
Although they do have some-stand out designs with hearts and
lattice.There's 30 options and packages come with a file, polish-remover
cloth and cuticle stick. The downside you have to pay shipping. Otherwise, Incoco is sold in a kiosk at Aventura Mall.
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