A while ago I was invited to the KISS Products Fall/Holiday 2016 Preview event, where I got to see a bunch of the new nail and lash products that Kiss has out now or for the Holiday season. I also got a great goodie bag full of fun products, and I wanted to show you what I received, and give you my thoughts on some of the products I've already had the chance to try out!
As always, while I was given these products for my consideration, this post is not sponsored, and no one even asked me for my reviews. I just want to share my honest opinions about some of these things and show you some of the fun things Kiss has in store.
First, let's take a look at the new KISS lashes that are out. These are their "Blooming Lashes," and I've been surprised at how much I like them and how easy they are to work with.
These lashes are supposed to have a very natural look to them because of the multiple layers of lashes, instead of most other strip lashes which all come out at the same level... something your lashes do not do.
Lily, probably the first ones I tried, and very pretty. Light enough for my face, even with my hooded lids, because the lashes are long but thin and fluttery.
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I've tried about 3 or 4 of the styles I received so far, and I really do like them. I'm not a pro at lash application, but I can get these on at least passably well pretty much every time, as they are pretty easy to work with. The ones with the lighter, more feathery lashes are a bit easier than the denser ones, I found, since the lash band seems to bend easier on those ones. A clear band is always easier to use, in my experience.
Jasmine: probably the boldest lashes I recieved, since they are as thick as Lily (below), but also long and fluttery.
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That said, one of my favourites for my faces was Tulip, since the shorter lashes fit my hooded eyes much better, without overwhelming my eye or eyeshadow as much as the longer options. Tulip is a great option for anyone with small lids who still wants really bold lashes!
Above: Tulip. To see close ups of the other lashes, click on any image in this post. You should be taken to an album with all the pictures of the KISS products, including the other lashes.
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I also recieved a black tinted lash glue (which I will probably never use, because I am not skilled enough to mess around with black glue) and a pack of Trio lashes, which are great for customizing your lashes to be as bold or subtle as you want. But I find they take way more practise than a lash strip, because the placement is very finnicky. I've never successfully applied this type of lashes...
One more eye-related thing that I recieved from KISS were these cool eye tattoos:
I'm not sure when I will get around to using this, since it doesn't fit into my Halloween makeup this year, but maybe I can fit it into a Halloween tutorial? They're really cool for someone lazy about Halloween, or who just doesn't have the skill to do a bunch of Halloween makeup. This one in particular would be really cool either as a lazy costume itself, or as part of something like a witch costume!
It sounds like these tattoos apply just like those water tattoos you used to wear as a kid (or maybe you still wear them, no judgement here!), and come off with baby oil or face cleanser.
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That's all the lash and face products now, so let's have a look at the various types of press on nails and other nail products available from KISS that they were showing off and giving out at the event.
First, here are the most currently relevant things: the Broadway Halloween press-on nails. These come in a bunch of adorable and cool patterns for Halloween. I received two sets, but there is at least one more with a very cute candy corn print. The two I was given glow in the dark, as well, which makes them even cooler.
These are very similar (if not exactly the same) as the usual KISS ImPress nails that I've tried many times before. They already have an adhesive tab applied to the back of each nail, you just pick out your sizes, peel off the plastic backs, and press them on. They're really quick and easy to use and last about a week—I've worn them up to 10 days in the past.
They're also really easy to remove; if you wear them for a full week, they may pop off on their own, or at least start to loosen, but if you only want them for a couple days they're still easy to pop back off with minimum effort or nail damage, and you can try to get a little hot water or nail polish remover under the nail if you need help loosening them.
And since we're already talking about the ImPress nails, above are 4 of the new sets hey have out for either the Fall or Holiday season. I love that these aren't super long, so they don't get in the way of your everyday life. It can be pretty hard going from naturally short nails like mine to long, glamourous nails in minutes. You have no time to adapt!
Back to Halloween...
If you don't want or need fake nails, KISS also has some really cool nail stickers, as well as some fun Halloween nail wraps. I love that KISS gets so into the Halloween fun!
Also pictured above at the polish pop stickers and nail wraps wish are meant for creating accent nails. There isn't enough of any pattern to create a full manicure from, but you can use bits and pieces to dress up your manicure (or even patch up an existing one!)
Continuing on the nail art theme, these waterless nail tattoos are also a fun way to create accent nails, or patch up chips. Or you could use them on every nail for a fun, feathery manicure that looks like you have some mad nailart painting skillz.
KISS also put out two really cool gift sets that would be great for this Christmas for any nail or beauty lover. The first is a great little manicure set with all the tools you need for home manicures:
The second is a nail art kit with brushes, stickers, glitters, foil tape, and a mini topcoat/nail art sealer.:
This is a great little kit, and I've already used some of the glitter from it to create accent nails. I think anyone looking to get into nail art would really enjoy this kit because it has lots to play with, whether you want glitter, dots, or just good brushes to draw your own art. The long, thin striper brush and the fan brush are great for getting cool effects.
Finally, KISS has put out some beautiful Gel Fantasy press-on nail styles for the Holidays, including these two glittery beauties:
As you can see from the picture, these come in a few different lengths, so you can pick the one that is best for your life style comfort level, or existing nails (if you don't want to have to cut down your nails to fit under the fake one, for example). I will point out, also, that these are very different from the ImPress and Broadway nails that I was talking about earlier. Those pop on easily and pop back off whenever you want. But where those are temporary, these seem semi-permanent.
These do come with adhesive tabs, which may act more like the imPress nails, though I haven't tried them, and cannot confirm or deny this theory. The way they were applied to my nails at the event was with a liquid adhesive that is included in each package. The glue is applied to the inside of the nail, as well as your natural nail, and it really sticks these nails on!
The upside to that is that it feels much more natural to use the nails for everyday things like typing, scratching an itch, or playing with your hair. The ImPress nails can move a bit with pressure applied, and never adhere at the edges, so I find hairs can easily stick underneath and get tugged or broken. The Gel Fantasy nails don't allow those annoying things to happen, but they are also much more difficult to remove, and I do feel that they damaged my nails when I took mine off.
You've supposed to file off the shine and they soak your nails in acetone/nail polish remover to get these ones off, and I'll admit I'm a bit impatient, and did that to an extent, but also kinda just pulled them off as soon as I could, which too the top layer of nail with the fake in some places. It took my nails a couple of weeks to grow out and recover from this damage. But that said, I can still definitely see myself using them again. You just need to be careful and/or accept the consequences!
Finally, I also recieved these pretty, simple French manicure style "acrylic" nail press-ons that look to apply the same way as the Gel Fantasy nails. I haven't tested them yet, but I imagine they act the same, or at least very similarly, and really stick to your nails in the same way.
One more thing to point out about the press-on nails: part of the reason they only last about a week—whether we're talking about the ImPress, Broadway Nails, Gel Fantasy, or Acrylic Nudes—is that your nails are going to grow out in about a week to a point where it becomes less attractive and less comfortable to wear the fake nails because of the new gap at the base of your nails. I found this made my nails feel more bendy as they grew out with the Gel Fantasies, probably because more weight and stiffness was at the tip of my nail than the new growth was prepared to handle.
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All in all, while I've said some negative things about some of the products that KISS presented and provided me with, I really do think that this brand has a lot of great things available. I'm particularly partial to their fake nails because they are so much cooler, faster, and more durable than anything I can do to my own nails. They aren't an all-the-time thing, but they are fun to play with!
You should be able to find various KISS products at WalMart, London Drugs, Target, Well.ca, and various other places that sell drugstore nail products.
Thanks for reading!
