Hi! This is going to be a long winded review, for whoever is shopping around for window film for the first time (like I was). The shopping process: I live on the first floor of a condo in a cold city, and I didn't want to keep my blinds down all the time. One, it made me feel like I was in a bunker; two, the blinds are a sad brown and don't close all the way; three, I have plants that like a bit of light. I was in the process of putting up winterization plastic wrapping on the windows, but then, (and I can't remember how) someone brought up window film with pretty designs. So, I went down a rabbit hole. On Reddit and elsewhere, people gave this brand Artscape excellent reviews. Even though I saw some gorgeous designs from other companies, I still went with this brand because I wanted a good first experience. They didn't let me down. I have a total of five windows upfront. I didn't want to cover the entire window with the film, just the bottom part. My windows slide up to open, and I just wanted that bottom half. In case I wanted some real light to shine in, when summertime comes. So, a total of 5 windows, with the glass pane being (just under) 38" by (just under) 39", I bought three rolls of this film. Three rolls were necessary mainly because of how I'd have to cut it, with how wide the rolls are. The film was delivered pretty quickly. It was a 3day Prime thing, but I didn't mind that at all. It didn't take forever, and so that was good. The application: So, applying the film. Be sure to clean your windows! For one, if you're hoping to have this on for a long period of time (like me), just go ahead and clean your windows. Secondly, it probably does wonders for how strong its "stickiness" is, and how long it will stick. As it says, it doesn't have adhesive. Which is amazing, I found out. After you've cut your squares/rectangles/circles/windows shapes down to size, you're going to need to wipe down the window with a bit of water. I just used a paper towel. But definitely make sure that your window is damp -not soaking, not slightly dry- definitely damp. That's how it sticks. Getting it lined up from top-to-bottom takes patience. For the first window, it took me a couple of tries. If it had adhesive, any further attempts would've been awful. Because it doesn't have adhesive, I just need to peel it off, re-damp the windows, and try again. The product comes with a plastic squigee (spelling?). It sounds aggressive on your window, but really get into it and scrape so that you get every itsy bitsy bubble out. How I did it, exactly: damp the window, line up the top, made sure the top part was line up and stuck, used the squigee to stick everything else and get all the bubbles out. Five windows: the measuring, the cutting, the cleaning, the applying... It all took me two hours. Really quick, in my opinion. End result: It looks amazing. First pictures are my "before"; second pictures are my "right after, but now the sun has set, womp womp"; and then my third pictures are my "after, next day, to maybe show them better". The design is incredible, and I feel will continue to make a complementary statement even if we decide to change the furniture or whatever. It has been a few days since I've applied, and no other bubbles have popped up. There has also been no peeling, that I've noticed. I'm curious to see if it stays sticky in the summer, with warmer temperatures. My windows are also single pane, simple windows. The thickness of this product is MUCH thicker than the winterization plastic wrap. Even though it doesn't cover the drafts/gaps in and around the windows, I swear it definitely helps the cold that seeps in through the glass itself. It has also cut down on the noise we get from outside. Also, the pattern itself is super translucent/foggy. Again, being on the first floor, a couple of my windows look straight at whoever is at the front door. Visitors often look inside to see if their friends are home ("were not your friends. You need to go upstairs"), and people from the other units also can't help but look inside. Our windows are Right.There. You can't help but look inside! So, with this film, it gives our place some MUCH NEEDED privacy. It's great. I've told my family about window film, and especially Artscape. I'd for sure recommend it to whoever is looking for privacy (without the need for ugly blinds to always be drawn down), and a *little* noise/draft-reduction.
