Always having perfectly polished fingers? That’s way too much pressure.
That’s why we turned to press-on nails, the manicure hack that looks like you came right out of a salon but costs a fraction of the price and takes just a tip of the time commitment.
After rounding up some of the best brands to try, we settled on Glamnetic as the first to get our fingers on. To make sure to put them to the test, I wanted to try a few of the lengths, shapes and finishes offered and do my normal cooking, cleaning and typing to see if they held up.
They range in price from $14.99 to $21.99 for the longest style, but since they are reusable, this is really a steal in comparison to the $100+ a full set of acrylic nails can cost at a salon in the city.
Since these nails are reusable, even after they fall off you can simply re-glue and keep on rocking a flawless manicure. Since I am a klutz, I just kept my mini bottle of glue with me at all times, since reapplying on the go takes just two minutes tops.
The review:
The company says the nails can last up to two weeks depending on your lifestyle, but knowing my excessive typing, curious cat who loves nibbling fingers and my love of cooking, I just wanted to see how long I could go, since a normal mani only lasts about a week for me before chipping.
To begin, I followed the instructions on the back of the first set of short tips, having chosen the ombre rainbow matte nails called Double Rainbow ($19.99) to start my fake nail journey. I completely removed my old nail polish, washed and dried my hands and pushed back any cuticles I could see. Then, the rest of the application was pretty easy, as all you need to do is match your 10 nails with the 30 included in the box for the perfect fit, apply the nail glue to both the fake nails and your own and then press them on for about 20 seconds each. I chose to file mine down a bit and that was also super easy, as the nails can be cut with regular nail clippers and filed down with the included file.
After about 5 days, one had fallen off while cooking so I decided to call this pair quits and simply removed them with a hot water soak and a bit of prying with the included wooden cuticle stick.
Some notes about the matte nails is while they look incredibly real, they also stain and scuff easier that the shiny version. I also cooked with turmeric one night and the bright yellow spice did stain the nails, so be warned fellow chefs!
Moving on, I went a bit longer and chose the medium length shiny Nebula nails ($14.99) for a change of pace. I also decided to use the brush-on nail glue instead of the included squeeze kind, and wow it was so much easier to apply. I highly recommend investing the extra $6.99.
These felt a bit more like fake nails than the matte ones did since I left these the original length and didn’t file them down. Also since they are super shiny, they look more eye catching than your typical polish or gel on real nails and look and feel more like an acrylic set from a salon. However, since they are smooth, they didn’t stain when cooking or get visibly scuffed up like the matte.
These nails truly felt reusable, even after the full week I wore them with none of the nails falling off. This is a feat for me, as I wasn’t gentle by any means and they held up perfectly.
Last but not least, I wanted to test the long coffin shaped nails called Creme de Nude ($21.99), which looked like the most deluxe French mani of my life.
Application was made so much easier with the brush on glue, given the length of my new claws, so again, worth the $6.99. Also because of the length, I was worried that these would last the least amount of time before chipping, but was pleasantly surprised by how strong they were.
Like the Nebula set, since they are glossy and not matte they also held up to scuffs and scratches, although since they are nude they are more prone to visible stains as with the matte Double Rainbow. However, for a pink healthy nail look and white French tips, these were a standout set.