imPRESS Press-On Nails Review - Final Recap

**I received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes from Influenster**

Did you all think I forgot about these?  lol Of course I didn't.  I have been itching to get them off for a week so I can do another mani.  As a blogger, I feel like these aren't practical because I'm used to changing my mani everyday or every other day.  I'm finally relieved to remove them.

Just to recap, this is day 1 for the press-ons.  I had just put them on and I was already regretting it because the design is definitely not me.  I even had co-workers comment on why I had zebra print on my nails.  They know I don't do zebra.  lol.  To get caught up, HERE is the link to my day 1 review.

Here we have day 3 and already there was so much tip wear (my thumb was horrible) that I felt like removing them.  To read day 3's review, click HERE.  I explained how I would apply a top coat on a couple of my nails to see if that helped with wear and tear.

Day 4, I ended up loosing a nail on my right hand so I just took them off.  I left all press-ons on my left hand so that I could continue with the review.  I also applied a top coat to my middle and ring fingers on this hand.  Did it help?  Yes actually.  I had more tip wear on my pinky and pointer than the others.  I would definitely suggest using this method if you use these.

Day 5 and 6, they looked the same (so no need for photos) however they were starting to lift at the sides.  This was an indication that I should remove them or they would pop off soon.

Well, whataya know?  My pinky popped off just yesterday.  This makes it 6 days for the wear time.  I think that is great considering I'm very rough on my hands at work and with all the handwashing and showers I took, I honestly thought they would all come off sooner.  They are advertised as lasting up to a week so there is a plus.

I decided to go ahead and remove them all.  The instructions say to apply acetone or alcohol around the press-on and then lift them off.  That's not exactly what happened.  Since they were lifting on the edges, I flooded my cuticles with polish remover and let it soak for about 30 seconds.  Then I got a cuticle pusher, wedged under a lifted edge, and started removing the nails.  Some came off with ease and others I had literally rip off.  It's not painful but it did damage my natural nails.  I'm assuming that's because they weren't quite ready to come off.  Maybe I could have worn them for another day or 2.  

As you can see, my pointer and pinky are fine, but my ring and middle nails have a feathering effect to them.  This is shreds of my nail that were torn up with the adhesive.  I'm not happy about it at all, but I did give myself a nice mani and applied lots of cuticle oil and a restorative top coat.  Hopefully they will grow out quickly so I can have healthy nails again.

Review Wrap-Up - Final
Price: $ - $5.99-$7.99 depending on where you purchase them but now I'm not so sure that's worth it.
Variety: As far as I've seen, there are a lot of different designs and even solid colors.  For those that may be hesitant about trying DIY nail art, these are great.  You can view a gallery of other designs HERE.
Application:  super easy; only a few minor issues with the protective plastic backing.
Quality: Feedback from readers and nail lovers suggest they look cheap.  I had a lot of tip wear on all nails, especially my frequently used fingers - pointer and thumb.
Wear:  They did stay on for nearly the entire week as advertised with a couple of casualties.  Those could have easily been glued back on or replaced with any of the extra nails in the set.
Removal: easy if the nails are ready.  the ones that were really stuck on there didn't want to come off.  There was some "damage" to my natural nails since I had to rip those off.
Would I Purchase Again: definitely not.  If I had purchased these this time, I would be pretty upset.  I think they are more trouble than they are worth.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this ordeal.  lol I mean it wasn't that bad, but it was.  /:  I have so many fun manis and some swatches coming up so I hope you stick with me.  

imPRESS Press-On Nails Review - Day 1

**I received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes from Influenster**

I am officially back!  I really wanted to do something with real polish on my nails, but I was already drawing a blank (I know right?!) so when I saw that I had received these imPRESS press-on nails in my Spring Vox Box from Influenster, I knew I had to do a review.  I don't do them very often and I quite enjoy them.

If you don't know what Influenster, check it out at the link above.  Basically you get fun free stuff just for participating in small surveys about yourself/your interests.  This time I got these press-on nails.  Unfortunately you don't get to choose the designs you get so I'm stuck with these.  This design is cute for someone else (they remind me of Kayla Shevonne), but it's not something I would ever create on my own mainly because I HATE zebra print.  No offense to those that do, but I just don't.  Sorry.  I just don't like it on me at all. (:

Obviously the first step was to pick out the ones that fit your natural nails the best.  The pack comes with 24 nails (so 12 different sizes) for you to work with.  I was really surprised at how well the shape of the press-on blended with my natural nail shape.  If you've ever used fake nails, you know that's usually not the case.  They are also really flexible so if you have super curved nails, they should still be fine.  When I pressed down, all of the air bubbles came right out.

So here they are on my nails.  They are okay I guess.  I'm really not crazy about them at all.  I think the color of the nude part isn't working right with my skin tone.  The package says 'Fast and Easy, Apply in Minutes", but there was a little more to it than that.  The plastic backing over the adhesive was so difficult to remove.  No bueno!  Once I had about 3 of them already on, I couldn't maneuver to get the other plastic backings off so I had to use my teeth.  All the tweezers did was stretch and tear it.  /:

Aside from the design, I think the length looks kind of nice on my hands eventhough they are longer than I'm used to.  It is kind of creating a problem for me to do my everyday tasks like laundry and going to the bathroom.  lol This photo was taken immediately after application so it looks clean, but actually there was one small issue.  My natural nails don't cover the adhesive completely so now I have fuzz and dirt all stuck to it and it's making under my nails look dirty.  Ew!

I don't feel like with press on nails, you should have to do too much work because they are supposed to be convenient and easy right?  Well as you can see some of them have this little piece that sticks out (from where they were cut off their mold thingy) and so I ended up having to file that part off of 6 out of the 10 nails I'm wearing.  Filing plastic is not fun.

Review Wrap-Up - Day 1
Price: $ - $5.99-$7.99 depending on where you purchase them.
Variety: As far as I've seen, there are a lot of different designs and even solid colors.  For those that may be hesitant about trying DIY nail art, these are great.  You can view a gallery of other designs HERE.
Application:  super easy; only a few minor issues with the protective plastic backing.
Quality: At first they seem flimsy, but really they are just flexible so they can form to your nails.  The design doesn't look like it's something that will rub or peel off but only time will tell.
Wear:  This is just day 1 and so far so good.  They feel like they are really on there.  There will be more updates to come.

Stay tuned for more updates on the imPRESS press on nails. (:

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Product Review

*This product was provided to me from Influenster for review*

So I know we've all read product reviews on these and heard all the hype, but you haven't read mine.  My first attempt at any nail strips was with Sally Hansen (the ones with the skull and crossbones) and it was a disaster.  I figured it being my first time, I probably f'ed it up somehow because they we "chipped" and falling off within the hour.  This was not a good sign and I basically vowed to never buy them again.  Well, I still haven't, but I did get my Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox (review/video coming soon) and low and behold, Sally Hansen Salon Effects were included.  So I guess I'll give them another go.

CLAIMS (from sallyhansen.com):

Nothing feels or wears like real nail polish. Now Sally makes it easy to get Salon Effects anytime, any place using real nail polish – with no dry time! Don’t settle for plastic imitations that peel off. We’re the real thing. Just peel, apply & file! Learn more at www.sallyhansen.com

• No dry time

• Lasts up to 10 days
• Removes easily with nail polish remover

• 40 must-have styles

Ok so 3 out of 4 ain't bad.  I agree that they have some amazing styles and yes they do remove easily.  However,  I have yet to see them last up to 1 day, let along 10 days.  I was lucky to get 5 days out of my Kiss Nail Strips and those I buy all the time.

APPLICATION:

I followed the instructions to the T and wiped my nails down with polish remover to get rid of the excess oils.  I applied them one by one to my nails, each one tearing so easily.  They tore so far back that I couldn't get them to cover the tips of my nails now.  STRIKE ONE!  I tried to pick the correct size for each of my nails, but that was a struggle in and of itself.  The smallest was too skinny for my pinky, the medium sized ones were too fat for my other fingers.  I did the best I could but that was definitely STRIKE TWO!  I then tried to use the file to remove the excess strip but again they kept tearing leaving small chips on my tips, and since they are glitter, they wouldn't file off evenly.  The tips of my nails look and feel rough and have chunks of glitter sticking out, and they are starting to peel up at the tips already.  STRIKE THREE!

I won't even show you all the photos because they are just terrible.  This is exactly why I vowed to never buy them again and I'm glad I did.  NEVER AGAIN!  I will stick with using my Kiss Nail Strips.  You can see my review on those HERE.  Have a great night everyone.

D