The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

While many still curse the frivolity and unimportance of social media, in Egypt, the likes of Facebook and instagram have become important platforms for Cairenes with an entrepreneurial spirits to showcase their products. Many have turned to importing merchandise that is not readily available in Egypt, the likes of cosmetics and apparel. “Incoco Egypt” has done just that by offering Cairene nail art fans the infamous “Incoco” nail strips.

Stumbling over their Instagram account, we saw in their products an alternative to the hectic and messy process of applying nail polish. We contacted them right away over WhatsApp, chose our favourite colours from those showcased on the account and set up a time and place to meet them and receive our chosen strips.

Our purchase consisted of purple ‘Royalty’ shade (40LE), the red ‘Passion’ colour (40 LE) and a classic French manicure set (50LE). With a 3-for-2 offer, however, we wound up paying for just 2 of them (90LE in total). Incoco Egypt offers a variety of monotonic shades, as well as an array of different designs, including floral, glittery and duo-toned strips. We received our products on time and were given a brief explanation on how to apply them, as well as a complimentary nail file.

The application of the products was, in all honesty, the trickiest part. Each set comes with fourteen nail strips, seven for each hand, so that you have extras to experiment with during the whole trial-and-error process of applying them. Once we got the hang of it, however, the process seemed a lot simpler and, in fact, easier than applying nail polish.

The strips fit perfectly on the nails and looked professionally done – well, as professionally as possible considering the intricacy of it all. They also instantly dried up and stayed put on the nails. Due to the fact that they are actually made from nail polish that has been compressed and dried, they looked just as shiny.

All in all, the Incoco strips were much more practical than one might think, especially in times when one needs to run out of the door and has no extra minutes to spare lounging around while their nail polish dries up. The price, however, may be a bit a bit steep, especially since they are made for one-time use. Nevertheless, the standard and efficiency of the product and service, in terms of delivering the right products at the right time, makes it worth the extra penny or two.