Once upon a time, I used to love getting my nails done. I practically grew up in the nail salon, getting a mini-version of the pampering my mom treated herself to every other week. When I became a teenager, going with your friends to get your nails done was the thing to do. I used to be bold and get crazy acrylic tips in all the neon colors they had to offer before heading over to the tanning salon (oh, 2009). While I loved long nails, something else started to become prominent when my nail obsession did — cellphones.
Back in those simpler times, it was easy enough to navigate a cellphone with additional inches on your fingers. There were still actual keyboards, with buttons to press. As that style started to die out, making way for touch screens, I faced a dilemma. I also faced college, where I'd be typing on a computer regularly as well. When the nails became too much of an inconvenience, I ditched them. When I tried to go back to them for special occasions, I learned that price had gone way up. Suddenly, nails were an investment in my neighborhood, one that I couldn't make on a broke college student budget. I even stopped painting them, and I went back to biting regularly.
Now I'm an adult who faces a similar dilemma. I still love having my nails done up. Polish alone doesn't quite do it for me and doesn't deter me from biting my nails. However, acrylics are also still a little too much for someone who does so much with their hands on a daily basis, like cooking, cleaning, and typing.
I was looking for a way to keep my nails cute, stop biting them, and not break the bank should my experiment fail. That's when I learned all about press-on nails and how they've changed from the ones in childhood. After discovering both a drugstore brand with rave reviews and a luxury brand that could pass for a high-priced mani, I decided to give them both a go and see what was best for a lazy beauty buyer like myself.
I used to love having long nails. Like Khloé Kardashian, I felt the long nail energy. Sadly, long nails aren't the easiest for navigating everyday tasks (like typing on a computer, texting, and doing other daily life activities).
It's been about a decade since I gave up on glam nails. I'm rough on my hands and fell off the nail-biting wagon, so they're generally just clean and short. That also keeps them pretty primed for press-on nails.
After doing some research online, I found that the best-rated drugstore brand was Impress. They're created by Kiss and start at $11 on Amazon. That's a great deal for someone on a budget.
The set comes with a small file, a cuticle pusher, and a prep pad — everything you need to give yourself a glamorous at-home makeover. The instructions have you wipe down your fingernails before applying the press-on nails.
The adhesive was super simple to use, as it requires just peeling a sticker that's already applied to the nail; a tab shows you which end is the bottom. The instructions say to apply each fingernail with a firm 20- to 25-second press. They also suggest applying the thumbs last, which proved to be a really good idea as I completely forgot how to use my now long-nailed fingers by the time it came to the thumbnails.
I was surprised at how soft the nails were. I worried that the softness would cause them to fall off or chip more easily, but it actually felt more like my real nails, which can grow long but don't get as hard as acrylics do.
By day two of wearing the nails, two things were bothering me. One of the nails I applied was slightly crooked and driving me nuts, but I didn't want to try to fix it and ruin the adhesive. The other problem was that the edges closest to my cuticle kept popping up on some of the nails. I continued to apply pressure to them to keep them intact.
On the third day of wearing the nails, I was enjoying having them on and how they dressed up some otherwise mundane looks. Sadly, the next day would be the last for this set. On day four, any bit of pressure on the tips of the nails would cause the cuticle ends to pop up, so I removed them.
There were little goopy bits of the adhesive left, but that washed off with some hot water. There was no lasting damage to my nails after the removal. I gave them a day to breathe before trying the next set.
The next set I tried was by Static Nails, which brands itself as a "luxury" press-on nail option. I went with the Caviar set, a matte black stiletto nail that runs $16 per set. There are other shape and color options beginning at $14 per set.
The kit came with nail glue and a file/buffer. While the rest of the set had a higher-end feel, I was hoping that the nail glue wouldn't be as frustrating to use as nail glue generally is.
As you can see, I forgot that tip about not applying the thumbnails first. That made the application process take a little bit longer, as did the fact that I had to apply nail glue to both my fingernail and the fake nail. The instructions recommend holding each nail in place for about 30 seconds.
I loved the look of this set. I was immediately feeling super cute after the application. The one setback was that they were much longer than the Kiss Impress set. I tried to file them down a bit but found it was damaging the matte polish. I also didn't want to mess up the shape of the nail too much, but someone who has more experience might fare better.
There were two things that struck me about these nails. One was the hardness of the nail itself, which was much closer to an acrylic feel. The other was how cute the red backs were. It was a subtle detail that really provided some pop.
Unfortunately, the glue wasn't too great. Despite applying ample pressure to the nails during application, my thumbnail popped off while I was doing laundry the next morning.
Nails continued to pop off over the next three days that I wore the set. I loved how they looked and the subtle confidence boost they gave me, but didn't like having to carry nail glue with me everywhere. In my opinion, the stiletto shape made it harder to maintain the nails, as did the matte polish. I'd definitely try Static Nails again, but this time with a lower-maintenance set.
I also wasn't completely a fan of how my nails looked and felt after I removed the set. After three and a half days of wear, I needed to soak my fingers in acetone for about half an hour to get all the glue off. In the future, I might use a different glue.
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Save these tips for using press-on nails to give yourself a lazy-chic manicure.
Ultimately, I think both sets of nails were awesome. The Impress set definitely seems like a more sensible option for everyday wear. The flexibility of the nail and the more easily adjustable length makes them more manageable. They could also, in theory, be applied on the go. I wouldn't count Static Nails out by a long shot, however. The nails do feel luxurious. I think they're better used for a special event. The fact that they're reusable is also a major plus that most drugstore brands can't promise. Each has its perks depending on the kind of lazy beauty queen you consider yourself to be!
