Nic's Sticks Nail Lacquer

As an Active Girl, I'm always looking for beauty products that are quick and easy to use...I'm just not the type of gal who spends 2 hours getting ready everyday. I like things quick, easy, no muss and no fuss! Which is why I gave Nic's Sticks by Nicole (by OPI) a try.

I tried out "In The Nic of Time" a coral type shade. It comes in a tube/stick that has a built in brush, for quick and easy application. Just a couple pumps of the top and your colour is ready to be applied. No more dipping back into the jar.

Price: $5-$9. Really, this didn't seem all that bad, but when I looked at the content, the stickonly contained 4 ml. Compared to a bottle of OPI polish, which contains 15 ml and is generally $10-$14, the Nic's Stick suddenly doesn't look like such a deal.

Ease of Application: Seeing as the product is marketed as "Paint & Go Nail Lacquer" I really expected it to be easy to apply and quick drying. I had previously tried a similar style Sally Hansen product which was both very simple and clean to apply and very quick drying, so I had high expectations. The Nic's Stick failed me on both fronts. The brush did not apply smoothly at all, and it took 3 coats to get decent, even coverage. What was even more frustrating is how long it took to dry between coats. Even after allowing it to completely dry, it was very susceptible to smudges. It definitely requires a top clear coat.

Durability and Strength: This is the only thing I am quite pleased with. The colour lasts several days before even starting to show any signs of wear. The colour is vibrant and beautiful, and it does add strength to my nails. With many other polishes I find the colour starts to wear and chip after as little as 2 days, but with the Nic's Stick I am able to wear up to 5 days before the wear becomes evident.

My Recommendation: Shell out the extra couple bucks and buy the real deal, OPI, in a bottle. I didn't really find that the Nic's Stick was any easier to apply than a traditional nail polish, and the only real advantage was it's portability (no need to worry about a glass bottle breaking!). So, unless you are heading on a trip and want to take the polish with you for touch ups, I'd stick with the good old fashioned bottle and brush style polish. For these reasons, I gave the Nic's Sticks 2 Active Girls out of 5.

-AG