Minx #1 - At-Home Nail Appliques by Minx

By beautopia · July 23, 2012 · 0 Comments ·

Minx #1 in Technical Tribal - Available at Ulta stores (not available online) - $18 for a full mani/pedi set -

A few weeks ago Minx announced a new at-home applique called Minx #1. Unlike traditional Minx, there is no need for a heat lamp, nor a licensed manicurist to do it for you. As a manicurist, this should probably irk me, but honestly I am not the world's biggest fan of appliques in general and would prefer to do the art myself. Alas, there are just some nail looks that can't be achieved by traditional methods alone, like the quintessential Minx look: chrome. There are chrome polishes galore, but none come close to the mirror-shine of Minx. That said, I really only like these for a short-wear look; a Friday night out and the lazy weekend to follow. The original Minx is no more a long-wear product than their new at-home invention.

Traditional salon Minx needs intense heat to "shrink-wrap" the nails. This product just needs to be stuck on, smoothed out and the excess filed of. The price is a steal considering that salon Minx will cost you north of $45 to be applied, and in this package you get enough for both a manicure and pedicure.

The designs are just as cool as salon Minx, but they're all new, and there will be new designs launched quarterly, according to the company.

Inside the package you will find enough appliques for fingers and toes with a few spares left over. I used some of the ones meant for manicure on my toes and vice versa. The sizing is bizarre. The odds are that you will need to do something similar, and still have to trim some to fit. You'll also find two Minx-branded alcohol wipes to cleanse the nail plate before applying. I simply did a little cuticle work and used some OPI Bond-Aid to cleanse, so I don't know how the wipes perform, however they seem to just be regular old alcohol wipes.

Photo above taken from the Minx Facebook page

You'll need to file the ends off, and they're somewhat thick, so it's a chore. I sort of do the middle first, then pulling to the left of the nail I file the right, then pull to the right and file the left. This way it doesn't all bunch up. The method to using these is similar to the way it's done in salons, only they don't get heated up by the bulb first, they just stick all on their own and don't need to be shrunk on.

WEAR: I only wore these for four days, it's all I could stand. I am extremely finnicky when it comes to my nails and at the first sign of them pulling up at the tips, I caved and pulled them off. They remove very easily, incidentally. A bit easier than salon Minx which is probably to be expected. If I wasn't so OCD, I could have worn these a week, no problem. I didn't make it much further before peeling my salon Minx off, which is a shame, because both Minx #1 and salon Minx were incredibly badass. Overall, these lasted me just about as long as regular Minx, so that's a big savings of both money and a salon visit for at-home users. I need to add that I also used these for a pedicure and over a week later they still look perfect. I'm glad that I can still enjoy the Minx-iness even though I got to antsy to keep them on my tips.

OVERALL: I do like these for special occasions. The reflective quality can't be beat, even by the polish-based appliques. They're steep in price only when you don't compare these to actual salon Minx. When compared to other appliques I feel they're still pretty competitively priced considering there is a pedicure set as well. If you buy Sally Hansen Salon Effects you'd pay $20 or more for a set for both tips and toes, and these Minx #1 come in a matching pair.