imPRESS Press On Manicure in Just Say Yes!

I picked these up last week when I was supposed to be buying other people's birthday presents... oops! Fortunately they have quickly become my choice for a hassle free manicure so no regrets there.

imPRESS Press On Manicure nails are by Broadway Nails. You might've seen their recent campaign with Nicole Sherzinger, it seems to be on every ad break at the moment!

I'd like to point out that I'm not usually as daring as this with the bright pink shade, I tend to go for pastels in the spring - summer months but I couldn't resist a bit of Barbie style for a night out last week!
They literally took about 15 minutes, if that, to apply. I washed my hands and pushed down/trimmed my cuticles before settling down with the pack of nails (which by the way was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE to open.. I broke mine in order to get the nails out!), measured up the sizes I needed for each hand and then used the supplied wipe to clean each nail individually before removing the plastic tab from the back of the nail and pressing it down on my nail.

They lasted around 4 days with only two nails pinging off. The glue on the back of the nails is very strong for temporaries which impressed (heh...) me. There were plenty of size options in the box, I actually have very small nails so there were a few that were a little too big but with any luck Impress will do a Nailene and bring out petite sizes in the future. I'm not bothered about their lasting time to be honest, 4 days was enough for me to feel like I had made good use of them.

They didn't damage my nails, however I did notice a difference in the texture of my nail after removing them, I think this is because there was some moisture build up on the nail bed, similar to when you've had a plaster on for too long but with a bit of hand and nail cream that was easily sorted out.

My only complaint would be that there was only one wipe provided in the packet. This meant when I replaced any nails they only lasted about a day because I hadn't been able to properly clean the nail again.

Overall I would definitely buy these again, I had compliments from almost everyone who saw them..possibly because they were so bright! I plan to stock up for my summer holidays to Turkey and Las Vegas where I won't really have time to keep filing, buffing and painting my own nails. I'm going to go for "Don't Wanna" to tone it down slightly and also the maroon colour. For £8 you really can't argue with this product - the nails lasted long enough to feel like I had made the most of them and they had almost no application time. I bought mine from my local Boots where they had a wide range of colours and styles by imPRESS.

Have you used these?? I know a few people got them in a Glossybox a couple of months ago..let me know!

Love,

Shellac Manicure

Last Friday morning I had a Shellac manicure on my nails. I chose a "Barbie" pink and initially, I was very impressed. I had my nails shaped very square, as that's how I prefer my nails to look, almost fake looking. The process took about 45 minutes and it looked very simple, only 4 coats were needed, one base, 2 colour and one "sealant". In between each coat I had to place my hands under a UV lamp for about 3 minutes. One thing that made me dubious is that I couldn't file my nails once the process was complete due to the top coat being "sealed" over the end of the nail, if that seal is broken then it can allow for the varnish to chip/peel off.

Shellac claims to have a "14 day finish" and unfortunately, I can prove that wrong. By Sunday evening the tip of the varnish on my left index finger had peeled right off. You can see in this photo that I painted over it with a similar shade of pink but even that is peeling off now..

My right hand has been a bit more resilient to whatever it is that my left isn't! I haven't had to re-paint any nails though I have noticed a couple of the tips are cracked slightly more than others, again my index finger is suffering!

I think Shellac nails are perfect if you're looking for a couple of days of flawless nails but you should be prepared for one or two to suffer, especially if you type or do jobs that are very "hands-on" as such. In this sense I don't see why a normal manicure wouldn't suffice.
To look at the 8 nails that aren't chipped I am very, very impressed. They're long lasting and they look like I could have painted them five minutes ago! The chipping could be due to the fact I'm an ex-nail biter and sometimes I find my hands wandering up by my mouth! I don't blame Shellac for not being good enough in this situation, my nails are very impressive to look at and I've had a lot of compliments so I would definitely recommend them.