Lily and Fox Review: Are They Better Than Color Street?
Not only will you get my honest review of Lily and Fox Nail Polish Wraps, I will also compare them to Color Street to see who comes out on top. Is Lily and Fox a great Color Street Alternative? Keep reading to find out!
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Lily and Fox Review: Are They Better than Color Street
Lily and Fox is a nail strip company that’s giving Color Street a run for their money. Today, I’m sharing all the pros and cons in this Lily and Fox review so you can decide if their nail wraps are something you’d like to try.
Some people will definitely choose Lily and Fox over Color Street and some won’t. So let’s get into all the details below and see which one you might be.
Lily and Fox Review
I heard about Lily & Fox from someone on Pinterest. They left a comment on one of the pins that leads to our Color Street post saying that Lily & Fox was better than Color Street nails. I try my best to follow up on all comments so I told them I’d check them out and now, here we are.
I tried two different sets from Lily and Fox a solid, neutral color and a glitter design. I know Color Street’s glitter designs always last longer for me so I really wanted to compare the two glitters.
Now that I’ve tried out Lily & Fox, I’m ready to share my honest review with all of you. I’ll tell you all about Lily and Fox and compare their nail strips to Color Street’s. We’ll see who comes out on top.
Lily and Fox vs Color Street
Color Street seems like the top dog of nail polish strips. They are the first to come out with a much easier application process while still keeping manicures and pedicures lasting for 10-14 days. They really changed the game of nail polish strips.
But just because they were the first, doesn’t necessarily make them the best. More and more companies are coming out with their own nail wraps. Today, we’ll be comparing newer company, Lily and Fox to Color Street.
Lily and Fox
Lily and Fox doesn’t share much info on their site when it comes to the company itself. They talk about wanting to find a better way to get salon quality nails at home with out the time waste, poking and prodding, and dollars spent at a nail salon.
I did email the company and found out some more info. Lily and Fox was started in 2018. There are parts from around the world that go into making their nail wraps but everything ends up in Australia for final processing. They have an office and warehouse in Perth, Western Australia and another warehouse in Elk Grove, Illinois.
Lily and Fox nails are 100% vegan, non-toxic and cruelty free! They are 10 free which means they don’t include the ten most toxic ingredients that are found in nail polish. You won’t find dibutyl phthalate, TPHP, toluene, xylene, ethyl tosylamide, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, parabens, and tert-butyl hydroperoxide in Lily and Fox nails which I think is pretty amazing.
Color Street
Color Street was created by Fa Park when he saw a woman struggling to polish her nails in a NYC taxi in 1984. He started working on finding the right formula for a real nail polish strip and eventually came out with Color Street, Incoco, and Coconut.
Incoco headquarters is in Clifton, New Jersey and it’s where Color Street and its sister companies are manufactured. All products are made in the USA which means a lot to Park because this is where he made his “American dream a reality”. You can read all about the company on their website.
Lily and Fox Pricing is Way Better
Let’s start with a pricing comparison. This is where Lily and Fox really shines. As of right now nail strips are only $2.99 for a set of 16. For reals!
It’s written as a sales price. The actual price is listed at $9.99 which is still better than Color Street prices. Plus, they have free shipping.
The thing is though, Lily and Fox nail wraps have been at that sale price of $2.99 for ever. They’ve never not used that sales price. Will they eventually stop using the promotional price? I can’t say. But for now, take advantage of that price because it’s amazing!
Check out the photo below to see what comes with your order. How cute is everything?! You don’t get alcohol wipes like you do with Color Street, but you do get a cuticle pusher which is really helpful when applying the nail wraps.
They also gave me an old Christmas set to practice with which is super awesome. I’m not sure if they do this for all first time buyers but it was a nice surprise for me.
The nails themselves come in a foil packaging. It’s not possible to seal them up again but because of the nail ingredients, you can use any extras again without them drying out. That’s a nice bonus. Color Street nail strips will dry out if you don’t do a whole song and dance to reseal them and even then it’s not guaranteed.
Color Street nail strips range in price from $11 – 14 for 16 nail strips and shipping is a flat rate of $3. They do have some deals that drop the prices.
Buy three get one free for colors, glitters, and nail art designs makes prices closer to $8.25 – 9.75. Buy one get one free for French manicures makes them $7 plus the $3 for shipping so if you plan ahead and buy more then you do get a better price. But it doesn’t compare to $2.99.
How to Purchase
Both Lily and Fox and Color Street have websites you can order from and get your nail wraps shipped to your home. You can’t buy either one in stores all though you can get Incoco and Coconut, Color Street’s sister companies, in some stores. Read more about them HERE!
Color Street does have the option of purchasing nails from a stylist. There are some benefits that come from this.
- Support for a friend that is trying to earn some extra money for herself/family.
- Stylist can have a good stock of nails at home which means you can sometimes avoid shipping cost when you buy from them. They can also have retired designs in their stash which means you can nab them when people ordering straight from the site can’t.
- Stylist love to get the word out through parties. In home parties are always fun but not super safe right now but most stylist are great at hosting online parties and making it fun. Hosting an online Color Street party could be a great way to have fun with friends and family while social distancing. Plus, you can earn yourself some free nails.
- If people keep complimenting you on your Color Street nails then you might make a good stylist which gets you discounts on nail strips and could turn into a good little side hustle for you.
None of this is possible with Lily and Fox. They only have purchasing through their website available.
Nail Strip Designs
Both Lily and Fox and Color Street have some great designs. Personally, I think Color Streets designs look a bit nicer and higher quality. Some of Lily and Fox designs look a little off to me. They just aren’t as crisp. It’s like there’s a slight blur to them.
This doesn’t happen on all their designs but I definitely see it in some, especially the holiday designs. I do think Lily and Fox nail designs are getting better though. When I first checked them out a couple of months ago, I only found a handful of designs I liked. Now, they have a lot more cute ones.
Both have holiday designs. Lily and Fox, however, has already sold out of their Halloween designs. Where as, Color Street, hasn’t even stocked theirs yet. I’m not sure if Lily and Fox will restock theirs. It seems like once they’re out of a design, that’s it. They’re done.
Color Street keeps the same nail designs for seasons. They let you know when they will retire a design so you have a chance to stock up on your favorites before they go away.
Lily and Fox, on the other hand, seems to rotate through designs on a regular basis. I loved the light grey set I got but by the time I got back on the site to think about reordering, they were gone. That’s a total bummer in my book. I want to know my favorite designs will be there so I can reorder them anytime I want.
Nail Strip Application Process
The application process between the two nail strips was very similar but Color Street is easier to apply.
Lily and Fox nail wraps go on really well and you can take them off and reposition them if you need to which is pretty helpful. But, the wraps are thicker and more plastic-y which makes them much harder to rip/pull away the excess polish strip you don’t need. You really need to file the extra away which is a bit harder to do. It does get easier with practice.
Lily and Fox nail polish strips are a bit stretchier which makes them go on the nail well but I think this contributes to a bubble problem I’ll talk about in the next section. This is also why most people have said they can only get one manicure out of each Lily and Fox set.
However, I did find a way to get a full manicure and pedicure from one set of Lily and Fox nail strips and still have some nail strips left over. Enough to get another pedicure or manicure for a younger daughter out of them.
$2.99 for a full mani/pedi plus another pedi is a crazy good deal.
Look and Feel
Again, I think the look and feel of both Color Street and Lily and Fox is similar. They both look great when first applied. Color Street nails do have a smoother feel though.
The Lily and Fox nail strips never feel completely dry. They have a sticky feeling to them that I don’t love.
Color Street nail strips last up to 2 weeks. I find the glitter polish has the best staying power. There is no wait time once your nails are on. You can immediately wash dishes or jump in the shower with no negative consequences.
Lily and Fox wants you to wait at least 6 hours before submerging your hands in hot water. I put my nail wraps on before bed so I don’t have to play a waiting game.
Lily and Fox also suggests using a base coat to help their nail strips adhere better to your nails and a top coat to make them last longer. Sally Hansen’s Mega Shine top coat is one they recommend.
This is a total negative in my opinion. I don’t like the idea of extra work but for $2.99 it could be worth the extra effort.
The first set of Lily and Fox nails I put on my bare nails and did not do a top coat. I don’t have to do that for Color Street nails and I wanted a real comparison.
Within a couple of days my nail polish wraps had started to bubble up and pull away from the edges. I think this is partially because of that stretch that happens when you first apply the nail strips.
It feels like they shrink back down which creates those bubbles and exposed tips.
I had to remove the Lily and Fox nail wraps by the end of the week because they looked awful. If you stick to an application with no bottom or top coat then these nails will only last about 3 days.
(Update) From my interactions with the company, they seem like a helpful group who wants you to have the best experience when using their product. After seeing how my grey nail wraps bubbled up they got in touch with me to let me know that it wasn’t normal and I must have gotten a bad set. They no longer have that design so they had me pick two other ones to try out. They have sent me them free of charge.
They do offer a 100% guarantee so if you experience a similar problem or are unhappy with your nail polish strips in any way you should reach out to them. I plan on trying the new sets they send to see if I have a similar bubbling problem and will update this post again with my results.
Lily & Fox Glitter Set
The next set I tried from Lily and Fox was a glitter set because I wanted to see how they compared to Color Street’s glitter designs. For this set, I left my right hand top coat free but I applied a layer of fast dry top coat to the left hand to see if it helped.
The right hand bubbled up just like the first Lily and Fox set I tried, but it bubbled way less than the solid set. I think the glitter holds up better just like Color Street glitter does.
The side with the top coat never bubbled up. It lasted the two full weeks with the only noticeable wear being growth at the nail bed and a tiny bit of nail showing on the tips.
You can see there is a lot of nail showing on the set that didn’t have a top coat on. The bubbles are not as noticeable on the glitter nails but you can really see it on that thumb nail.
I’m still wearing the Lily and Fox glitters on my toes and it’s been over a month. Just like Color Street the pedicure last much longer than the manicure.
Nail Strip Removal
Even though Color Street is made from real nail polish, there are a couple of layers in there. Therefore, cheap, 99 cent nail polish remover doesn’t really cut it. I use the coconut scented ONYX professional nail polish remover and it works great and still comes in at a good price.
Lily and Fox nails has a protective layer built into their nails to prevent nail damage. Because of this layer, the nail wraps simply pull off of the nail with out the need of polish remover.
I was able to peel the nails right off. It does leave a bit of residue on the nails but that washes off with soap and warm water.
If you use a base coat or top coat then you will need to use a nail polish remover. I tried to see if Lily and Fox nail wraps would peel of with the top coat and it did but it damaged my nail so that’s not good. A good nail polish remover was easily able to remove the top coat and strip.
Do They Damage Nails?
There is some debate on whether or not Color Street ruins your nails. Some people’s nails crack and split after too much Color Street use. Other people don’t have a problem with them at all.
Like I said above, Lily and Fox nail polish strips are made with real nail polish but they have a backing on them that prevents nail damage. If your nails have been damaged by other nail strips you should definitely give Lily and Fox a try.
So Which Nail Strip is the Winner?
So, now that I’ve gone over all the pros and cons of Lily and Fox and compared them to Color Street, which one do I recommend?
With a price of $2.99, the winner for me is Lily and Fox. 🦊 While they do have some problems with their nail wraps, the price more than makes up for them.
I would much rather spend 3 bucks on a mani and pedi that I have to paint a top coat on. It’s a very small, extra effort and if you use a fast dry, top coat it’s dry in less than a minute.
The application is slightly more annoying than Color Street’s process but again the price makes up for that.
If Lily and Fox ever stops the $2.99 sale price and starts selling their nail wraps at the listed $9.99 then I would switch back to Color Street. The’ve got more designs that will stick around.
Their nail strips last longer on their own, no top coat needed. Plus, the application process is easier, even if only by a little bit.
Have you tried Lily and Fox nail wraps? We’d love to hear about your experience with them in the comments!
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I really wanted to love Lily and Fox. They are reasonably priced and have tons of designs and send free sets. But the first time I put them on it took an hour. Went to sleep and I woke up and 2 of them had peeled off. I have to mess with them so much, as opposed to Color Street, where if they go over the cuticle I can just peel off the excess without peeling off the whole application. And they only last a few days as opposed to Color Street which last forever.
I started using Lily and Fox a few months ago and love them. I usually don’t go for regular nail polish because I spend much of my time outside doing various sports that are rough on my nails causing a manicure to last less than a week. I also kind of hate the feeling polish and really hate the frustration of painting my own nails.
For $2.99 a set, with easy application and tons of cute designs to choose from, Lily and Fox has become somewhat of an addiction. I
Guessing the original post was written a year or two ago when supply chain issues were still a very present issue for companies, because now Lily and Fox not only has a consistent 20 pages of designs to choose from on their site, if you join their VIP list (free), they send you email updates with new VIP designs at least once a week. My biggest issue is that I now I have so many sets I can hardly stand to leave one on my nails for a week before trying another cute design.
Designs tend to sell out quickly but they have been good about restocking the really popular ones. Still, if I try a set I really love I reorder it immediately (plus another 4 new designs).
I have experienced some of the bubbling issues, mostly on my thumbs and mostly with the solid colors, which is fine since I prefer the glitter ones anyway.
I also always apply a couple coats of a clear top coat to protect the wrap and make my nails smooth and glossy. Also to seal the ends of the nails so the wrap doesn’t peel up. I prefer this extra protection because of the harsh conditions I put my nails through.
Over the course of the week Or however long I end up leaving them on, I will add more layers of top coat to seal down the edges of the wrap to my nail as it grows out. It doesn’t bother me at all.
I’ve never used color street, but the price point has never appealed to me given my rough treatment of my nails. Also, when color street first came out you could only buy them through a “stylist” and I was not interested in that at all. I like that I can buy Lily and Fox directly from their website and get free shipping.
I will also say, they send me a practice set with my first order and every few times I reorder they send me an extra set or two that are not yet released, with a hand-written note thanking me for being a great customer.
I don’t care where these things are sourced, but I do care that they don’t contain the 10 ingredients and have the protective layer so that they just peel right off without me having to use nail polish remover or harming my nails. Overall, they are awesome in my books!
I’ve used Color Street for over a year and love them except for the price. I found Lily and Fox and ordered sixteen pairs, thinking they have to be the same. WRONG! They were a waste of money for me. They aren’t wide enough for my nails so I have to stretch them. They bubble terribly! They start peeling off the next day. They always feel sticky to me. I’ll pay the extra money for the quality of Color Street in the future! I guess it’s true (in my case) that you get what you pay for!
I agree with you. I have had all the exact same issues and ran right back to Color Street
I have been using Lily & 🦊 wraps, and am thrilled with them…..no bubbling or shrinkage whatsoever, and I mainly prefer solid colors……have never felt them to be sticky….I do use a base coat and top coat to give them extra protection ( I have no issue with this procedure) they last at least two weeks with no sign of wear…the only reason I take them off is because of regrowth at the bottom.I did enjoy reading your review….very good.
So,
First of all, Lily & Fox do not make their own wraps, they get it off a long term supplier from Alibaba.com.
(:
I’ve heard different things but I am going off of what the company told me directly.
I don’t think they make all of them as many of the same exact designs can be found in Lovely You. For the price point Chinese imports are my guess. I buy them either way.
I used Sally Hansen Salon Effects for many years, until they were discontinued. I have purchased them more recently on Ebay, but have received a few that were dried out because they were too old. My Salon Effects would last for at best, 10 days, then chipping and peeling began. I have not tried Color Street
I tried Lily and Fox, non glitter, for the first time, no top or base coat. They lasted roughly 5 days. I didn’t notice any bubbles, but definitely had my tips showing by day 2. At day 5, the tips were very exposed and the sides peeling up, also, the nail wraps were oddly spongy, what I would describe as soggy cardboard. I too had managed to get both mani and pedi out of 1 set, except I had to use 2 pieces for my big toe, leaving a crease. The pedi was in good shape at day 5, but I removed it along with the nails.
I also tried the Dashing Diva Gloss strips, purchased at Ross on the clearance rack ($5). They lasted about 10 days, but an additional plus was that there are 32 strips in their set, so, really at least 2 manicures and ones to replace any that are failing.
So, I think Dashing Diva, if at a price around $6 is a better deal than Lily and Fox, at $8, maybe a wash. All are better than paying a salon.
Lily and Fox are usually only $2.99 so they are less than Dashing Diva but I do agree that Dashing Divas are better quality and last longer.
New to this product although I have used Dashing Diva semi-gel. I liked the gel finish with the lamp with Dashing Diva. I ordered one strip of Lily and Fox to try it out. I was surprised to receive the 2nd packet to ‘practice’ with. It was a Halloween design so applied that last night. I also used a gel top coat and LED lamp. So dry time was no issue.
I think being different strips made it a bit harder. The pattern was weird because the strip was longer than my nailbed. I lost part of the design that was the cutest part once applied.
Now I wait to see how they wear. Dashing Diva stayed on 3 weeks with nail growth only showing.
We’ve reviewed Dashing Diva semi-gel nails and they might be our favorite. Because they cure under light they are different from Lily and Fox for sure. The fact that you use a gel top coat should definitely make a difference in the way Lily and Fox Last. I’d love for you to come back and let us know how long they last.
Great review. Recently tried my first set of Lily & Fox. I loved how they went on and lasted 2 weeks. I didn’t use a base or top coat. Easy to peel off, when I was ready.
However, 4 of my nails had a “purple stain”, so I thought. It’s now been over a week and the purple has faded to a yellow green. I took a picture so I could magnify and was shocked to see on 3 nails, it looks like a bruise under nail. On the 4th, it’s a big spot of fungus! I’m 64 years old and have worn every kind of nail. Never have I had anything like this!! And to top it off, I had just ordered 11 more sets!! Going to have to show this to my dr.
Well that’s too bad. I know constantly covering your nails can lead to fungus but 2 weeks is fast. I hope your doctor will be able to provide you with some insight. Thanks for sharing your experience and good luck!
This happened to me too! Though I thought it was just bruising and didn’t even consider fungus! My nails haven’t been the same since and it’s been over a month since I’ve out anything in them. To Kim: you mentioned your nails were harmed when taking off Lily and Fox with the top coat in. What did they look like? I wondered if this is why some of my nails looked bruised and another cracked.
When I peeled off the nails after using a top coat, I could see a tiny layer of nail had been peeled off with them. If I looked at my nails at the right angle I could see a bit of dull area. mostly in the center of my nail, where I could tell a very thin layer had been pulled off.
I’ve been using Lily & Fox for about 18 months and love them! There is an official Facebook page that offers all sorts of advice and help, which is amazing. One thing they’ve said over and over is that you shouldn’t use a quick dry top coat, so I’m not surprised you had trouble. Also, they firmly discourage just ripping them off, for good reason, I’ve destroyed my nails and had to wait months for the damage to wear off. BUT you dint have to use polish remover- you can soak them in warm coconut oil and this really eliminates the possibility of damage! At $3 a set, I’ll take that they’re a tad fussy!!
I only had a problem with the nails when I didn’t use a top coat on them so I don’t think the top coat was the problem for me. They may have changed their info on how to take the nails off but when I did this review I followed their instructions. I have heard that warming the nails up before removing them does help the process so I’ll have to try the warm coconut oil next time. Thanks for the tip.
Do you know why they discourage a quick dry top coat? I hate waiting for polish to dry. That’s main point to using wraps in my opinion. Optionally, is it possible to use a gel top coat and a lamp as someone said they did? I thought you could only use gel with gel…?
Thanks for that in depth review. I did not know that Lilly and Fox was more non toxic. I developed an allergy to nail products after my last pregnancy…over 10 years ago. I can’t wear acrylics, nor UV gels, and color street does bother me if I wear them to often in a row. Getting itchy irritated skin and blisters at the finger tips absolutely sucks. So I am left to only polish and I hate it. For the price and the more non toxic….I am definitely trying them. Thanks 🙂
I hope they work for you, Nicole.
I believe the reason for the bubbles is because you cannot use a quick dry top coat. That is what makes them shrink up. I think it says that on the site or maybe it is on the packaging? I can’t remember but I know I saw that somewhere. I’m sure a quick Google search would confirm that. I’ve use Kd a couple different brands of the Gel Top Coats (Essie, Sally Hansen and Depend O2 Top Gel ) without an issue of shrinking or bubbling. I do also clean my nail beds really well with soap and water and then rub a cotton ball soaked in alcohol over them to remove any residual residue. I don’t like how they stay tacky if you don’t too coat them though and they definitely feel like a sticker on the fingernail because of the thickness. But $3 for a set vs $13 is worth it to me.
Thanks for sharing your detailed review, photos and video. I was on the fence about ordering until visiting your page. I will go ahead and give Lily and Fox a try. Thank you!
In my opinion Color Street is much better. Yeah it costs more but They are thinner so they don’t feel like a sticker on your nail and they last longer.
I have been a die hard Color Street wearer ever since i heard about them. I have a tremor in both of my hands so it is impossible for me to use Polish unless someone helps me. Even the strips, my hands still shake but it’s not quite as bad as polishing your entire finger lol. Anyway, i loved your review. Very indepth. I am going to try Lilly and Fox because of the price alone. That bubble up concerns me but I will use a bottom coat. I have the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel which dries fast to a beautiful shine!
Used my first ever set of Lily and Fox (have used Color Street for a couple years). Put on last night and all of them came off when showering this morning. So disappointed. They were thicker and more plastic-y. So, i wondered how well they’d stay on. For me, if i have to apply a base coat and top coat, i might as well use nail polish too. That negates the ease of nail strips.
I totally get what you’re saying Lisa. If I put nail polish on by itself it chips fast and I can’t do cute patterns so it’s worth it to me to apply Lily & Fox and then add a clear top coat but I understand why others don’t want that extra step. If you are looking for another nail to try then I’d suggest Dashing Divas. After trying both the glaze and regular nail strips are my favorite compared to Color Street and you can buy them in stores and online.
I have used Color Street in the past and currently have my Lily and Fox test set on. I managed to get a 2nd manicure out of the test set, so I wore it for a week with top coat, peeled them off, and this is week 2 with 9 new strips (one was still perfect from last week). I don’t think they are more difficult to apply. They did bubble a bit for me where there was a matte, solid color. I also noticed they react poorly with oil – like if I put coconut oil on my hair or peppermint essential oil on my hands (I do that at work sometimes). They get a weird stickiness to them from reacting to oils. But the price makes them totally worth it for me! I am going to try a glitter set next week and see if they’ll last 10+ days. Color Street I usually get 12-13 days. I see my nail growth before I see the color chipping. I read your review before and after buying L&F. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
I am using Lily & 🦊 nail wraps….have never had bubbling or shrinkage at all. It’s certainly not an issue for me to use a base and top coat…..also, I have never experienced any stickiness with them if I don’t use a top coat…..I use a top coat for extra protection. They last me 2 weeks, I only take them off because of the regrowth at the bottom…….and the price and selection of colors are amazing…I love sparkles, but prefer solid colors, and have no issues whatsoever…..I did like your review however very good.
I have used lily and fox without base or top coat and have been very happy. No bubbles, lasts 10 days. They peel off easy without damage to my nails. I love them.
Thanks for sharing, Anne!