So I saw this in various youtube videos so decided to give myself a $10-ish USD budget and see what the recommended products on AliExpress had to offer. It knows me pretty well for cheap nail stamping plates so a few days before I went through and clicked on various things I would buy to make it not all about the stamping.
I chose only options with free shipping and set a limit of $3 per item so I could get a few to try out for the challenge. While many of the products can be found cheaper, I went with the recommended ones since that is the challenge. I also only order from sellers with proven review history so skipped any new sellers.
My total was $10.43 USD and shows on my credit card as $14.37 Canadian. Quite a lot of stuff for under $15. Ordered on May 5th so will be interesting to see how soon they start to arrive. This post was done in two parts, when I ordered the items and then a followup with images and thoughts then I received them all.
“Sosu” Peeling Footmask from AliExpress – $1.54
I have bought non peeling masks from AliExpress before but these foot peeling masks always fill my feed. He has nasty feet so maybe he will try this out for me. There were some cheaper ones in my feed that come in plain silver packs but I opted to go with the one that shows what it is for. I searched and found these as cheap as $1.13 compared to the $1.54 in my recommended feed. The same foot mask is $3.22 on Born Pretty.
Nice to see it did come in a package with advertising. No English instructions and looks like you are meant to put socks on before the mask and wear for a while. He will be my guinea pig for these so watch for a review at some point. Arrived in just over 2 weeks!
Fish Scale Nail Shards from AliExpress – $1.09
I actually picked these in a slightly different colour than shown, more green than blue. Born Pretty sells the same ones (same image at least) for $0.99US so a little more expensive from the recommended AliExpress seller. There are cheaper ones out there though with the same image showing up for as little as $0.73.
I think they sent the wrong ones, these are blue with a purple sheen rather than the green-blue ones but did have the correct number sticker on them. They will still work for the manicure I wanted them for though so it is all good. These took the longest to arrive but it was a little over a month from order date and still well within the stated shipping time. They come in a little pot and sealed in a bag so no worries about a glitter bomb!
Crystal Glass Nail File from AliExpress – $1
I doubt that these will be more than sprayed on glass, but extra nail files are always useful. Just $1, it was around the same price from all sellers and a little cheaper than Born Pretty sells the same file for at $1.29. No choice in colour from the seller so fingers crossed for pink or blue when it arrives.
I was hoping for the purple-blue one but pink was my second choice. As I thought, just sprayed on glass but seems pretty hardy and files well. Better than a lot of the $2-5 ones you would pick up in a beauty store.
Nail Art & Clean Up Brush from AliExpress – $0.99
I needed a new cleanup brush. My trusty Avon eyeliner brush is starting to look a little tattered. So this “oblique nail art and clean up brush” went in the cart for $0.99. It was pretty much the same price from all sellers but turns out this one is sold from Born Pretty and the same price on their website as their AliExpress store.
This was one of the bigger disappointments from my orders. It arrived quickly, in a bunch of packages right on the 3rd week mark. It is a bit too wide and frayed to be useful as a cleanup brush.
Kawaii Note Book from AliExpress – $0.74
Seems a little random as I have never bought or clicked on anything similar but these notebooks came up in my feed and looked cute. They were the only ones in my feed and a fairly new seller so fingers crossed that they show.
The only one I didn’t want from the four notebooks shown since the title makes no sense and its not as cute as the others as a prop. I gave it to him to keep notes at work.
Silicone Nail Stamper from AliExpress – $1.79
I have tried what I think is the same stamper before and don’t use it. Recently, a few people in a stamping group said that these were their holy grail stampers so for $1.79 I thought I would try and see if it has been improved or the AliExpress one is much better than the Born Pretty one. Pretty sure they are the same though. Born Pretty sells and identical looking one for $1.99.
This stamper does have a shallower but more squishy head than my previous one. It is very shiny so will be interesting to see if it needs priming to work. It came well wrapped to make sure there was no damage to the stamper head but had lots of dust and little hairs on the stamper so needed to be cleaned. Considering it was in a plastic bag, wrapped packaging materials and in a mailer envelope, this had to happen at the source or was returned at some point and resold. Not the hugest deal since I get cat hair on mine all the time, but I like them to come looking new.
Set of 10 Pairs of Lashes from AliExpress – $2.29
I hate wearing false lashes so these will likely last me a year! You get 10 pairs for $2.29. The reviews say these have a good band for beginners and is super flexible. So maybe they will make me like lashes more?
The ones I received are fuller than the ones advertised. I am not sure if I prefer them or not but they still have a slightly plasticy look of cheap lashes. They have a long band that you need to cut off before using as it is longer than the lashes. The box was pretty smashed up in mailing but the lashes were fine. Instead of the little stickers, you need to pull the band out from the holes in the box and they seem stuck inside so maybe cut as they are not super strong and you need to give them a good tug.
U Shape Peel Off Cuticle Protectors from AliExpress – $0.99
I have wanted to try these for ages but I have plenty of liquid latex type cuticle protector that it didn’t seem worth paying for them. Since the $0.99 fits in the challenge, I picked up a set. They come in random colours at this price while another seller lets you pick for $1.54 but since they go in the garbage after use, not that fussy. Born Pretty sells the same set for $1.74 at the moment.
Gotta love the fake CND type logo! These were exactly as described and I got the purple ones which made me happy even though I knew they could come in any colour.
The last of my items arrived on June 9th. Barely a month after mailing a few days after my order. Given my history of Aliexpress orders, I am quite amazed they all showed up at all. The lashes are clearly not what was advertised while the fish scale glitter could just be a monitor colour settings issue so will let that one go. I would still try both though. The nail clean up brush definitely looked more delicate in the advertising. I will probably still use it for nail art but it is too thick and messy for cleanup.
I’ve used foot patches that contain bamboo vinegar and they’re meant to improve health or detox your system. Each brand performs and feels different but the most expensive one I’ve tried actually helped me sleep better. It contained several ingredients as well as the bamboo vinegar and less expensive ones did not help me sleep better at all.