I have to admit that I have been lusting over Kate Spade stationary ever since I discovered the brand. As a writer, I focused my attention over their notebooks and sticky notes. When their This Just In sticky note set went on sale, I swooped in and got myself one, sure that I was getting the better end of the deal.

Sticky notes are an essential part of my life. I am quite content with simple colorful ones—they add a pop to my paperwork while offering the largest surface area possible. But when something cute comes along at a really good price, I can’t resist combining practicality with cuteness.

There are two super important things to look for in a sticky note. The first is the quality of the paper used; no one wants their sticky notes to be curling up, nor do they want the ink to either bleed through or smear. The other essential factor is the stickiness of the note; too much and you can end up tearing important documents; too little and you might lose the note (and, subsequently, your mind).

The Kate Space This Just In sticky note set ended up being mostly disappointing after the initial thrill at how beautiful the presentation is. Set within a hard cardboard, white on black polka dot case, the seven individual packs are all white on mint with gold etched details. While some of them have designs on them that would make them distracting, the light colours used makes the design fade into the background with even a pencil scribbled note.

Where this sticky note set loses all credibility is in both the quality of its paper and its stickiness factor. The paper bleeds through when using liquid ink based pens or felt tipped pens like Sharpies and the sticky part of the note barely sticks, curling up mere second after application, making this set pretty but pretty useless.

Verdict? Not worth it, even on sale.