Nail Product Review

I love getting a good manicure.  I have shaky hands, so I'm not very good at painting my own nails.  So I love treating myself to a nice manicure.  A couple years ago, I tried getting gel nails.  I loved them, because they lasted so long and looked great.  With regular nail polish, even high quality ones, I rarely had more than 1 or two days without a chip.  I tried shellac, but that only gave me a few more days of wear - maximum 5 days.  I've even tried nail stickers.  They gave me about the same amount of wear as shellac.

On a whim, while in a drug store waiting for a prescription, I decided to pick up some press on nails and give them a try.  I bought a few different varieties, and I decided I would review them for the blog in case any one was looking for recommendations!

To start I should note that your own experiences may vary.  I am very hard on my nails.  I don't wear gloves while cleaning or washing dishes.  I also have baths a few times a week, so my nails are subject to a lot of water and cleaning products.

The brands I tried for purposes of this review are:

• L'Oréal® Colour Riche® Press-On Nails
• Nailene Nail Studio
• imPRESS®
• Kiss® gel FANTASY™

So there were good and bad for each type, so I will tackle each one individually.  

First, L'Oréal® Colour Riche® Press-On Nails.  Here is a picture of the nails I chose:

The positives:

• These were the nails I got the most compliments on for the design.
• The sizing was clear and it was easy to locate the same size nail.  Nails had numbers on the back to let you  know the size.  So if you found the correct size for one thumb, you didn't have to keep measuring, you just looked for the nail with the same numbering on the back.

The "not so" positives:

• They chipped at the tips relatively quickly.  The black colour made it more noticeable.
• The adhesive was not very good, I had 3 nails fall off within 3 days.  I had to stick them back on with nail glue, but even at that, they weren't on a full week.

• Of all the nails I bought, these were the most expensive.  They were approximately $15 when I bought them (January 2017).  

Next, Nailene Nail Studio.  Here is a picture of the nails I chose: 

The positives:

• These were the most inexpensive of the nails I tried.  Purchased in January 2017 for $10.
• You could purchase them in a variety of lenghts.  This is a nice feature because I like my nails short, and it is difficult to find press-on nails that are not really long.  I chose the "short" nails for this review.
• They lasted just over a week for me.

The "not so" positives:

• These do not come with any adhesive pads or nail glue, you must purchase that separately.  The Nailene nail glue was $1.50.
• The pink part of the nail was relatively see-through, so it made the nails look sloppy when you look up close:

• If you don't take the nails off yourself, if they break off, it is particularly hard on your nails.  My nails were a mess after this set.

Next, imPRESS®.  This is a picture of the nails I chose:

The positives:

• There was a lot of variety in the way of designs.  Everything from simple French, to some wild patterns with fluorescent colours.  Lots for everyone to choose from.
• The adhesive pads are on the press-on nails, no separate adhesive to fiddle with, no glue.  These were the easiest to apply.
• These were the nails that lasted the longest for me.  I had them on nearly two weeks with no issues.  The only time I had one fall off is when I caught it on my car door, but I stuck it back on with nail glue.
• Easy to take off.  The adhesive is flexible, it doesn't rip at your nail.  Once the nail is off, just put some nail polish remover on the remaining adhesive and it comes off easily.
• Price at time of purchase, January 2017, was $11 regular price, and I got them 25% off.  Bonus!
• They didn't chip. 

The "not so" positive:

• Nothing.  I honestly loved everything about these nails.

Finally, Kiss® gel FANTASY™.  This is a picture of the ones I chose:

The positives:

• The picture doesn't do these nails justice, they were seriously gorgeous.
• These nails had a ton of really beautiful designs.  Very elegant.
• The adhesive pads that came with the nails worked well, I kept these on for a week with no problems.
• The price was similar to imPRESS at $11 to $12.

The "not so" positives:

• The nails seem to come only in one length, which are longer than I'm accustomed to, so I had to file down quiet a bit, and the design I chose had sparkly tips, so I ended up filing off a lot of the sparkle.

So, which were my favourite?  The imPRESS nails, which was probably obvious by my comments.  They were followed closely by the Kiss nails.

Check out my tutorial/review video for the imPRESS nails:

Have you tried press-on nails?  Do you have a favourite brand?  Good experiences?  Bad experiences?  Please share in the comments!

Note: All prices quoted in this article were at time of purchase, January 2017, at WalMart in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.  Prices may vary at your local stores.  

I was not sponsored or paid for this post.  All views and opinions are my own.